FRIDAY FISH: Pepper Jack Fish Burgers with Sriracha-Dijon Tartar Sauce

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When approaching Lent — otherwise known here as FRIDAY FISH time — late in each winter, I have for the last few years worked on a loose scheme for planning my fish recipes. I look and see which sorts of meals were the most popular on FRIDAY FISH in the previous year, check on current prices, consider my own cooking bucket list, think about availability, and then give myself time to dream. What’s cooking without dreaming? This year, my six categories that still could change were: 1. frozen fish fillets (inexpensive, easy to keep, and available everywhere); 2. salmon (healthy and nearly everyone loves it); 3. crab (I love it); 4. shrimp (a year-round favorite); 5. fresh tuna (let’s splurge once, kids); and 6. canned fish (because it’s good and has been trending for a year even though I usually include it anyway.) See below.

Next time you go to the grocery store, you may have a hard time finding tinned fish like tuna, anchovies, or sardines in the aisle. That’s thanks to the viral “tinned fish” niche on TikTok and the growing group of online creators making video content on “conservas”—tasty and sometimes elaborate dishes made from canned fish and seafood.

 courtesy: How TikTok's Tinned Fish Craze is Driving Shortages/TIME

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Black Bean Pasta Salad

Black Bean and Corn Salad moves uptown with the addition of orzo, asparagus, and …
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I thought it was time for a new pasta salad for summer not because I needed one but because Sylvie did.  Sylvie’s graduating from high school, you see, and of course she’s having a graduation party.  Since Sylvie, a stellar singer and dancer, has cooked and baked with me since she was a wee girl, I’m thrilled to work out something fun and luscious to go with her dad’s great pulled pork tacos and bring it along to fete one of my favorite students and people.

Listen to Sylvie sing! 

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Melon and Grilled Shrimp Salad with Lemon-Lime Vinaigrette

This is best with a fresh mint garnish, though I forgot to get it on here before snapping the photo!

If you’ve been a food blogger as long as I have, you’ve been through a few different stages of the sport. At one time many of us joined in blog hops and all blogged around a particular subject, chef, or book for sometimes months on end. I belonged to several such groups over the years, but one of my favorites was INA FRIDAYS, which I organized, developed, and participated in April, 2013 – December, 2014. Our fun group of bloggers — many of whom are still blogging years later — cooked and wrote about an Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa) recipe the first Friday of every month; I have wonderful memories of the entire escapade! We all learned lots, but for me, maintaining a job, two blogs, writing a book, and keeping up the house got to be a wee much after a while. I was relieved when we decided we maybe had eaten the best of Ina after all! There’s no doubt though I’m still a big Ina fan and you’ll often see a book or two of hers next to my reading chair or on my counter anytime of year. Type in “Ina Fridays” into the search box and catch a few Ina Fridays if you like...

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FRIDAY FISH: One-Pot Shrimp and Asparagus Rice


I wasn’t taught to fast as a child; it wasn’t part of our tradition, but was something those interesting Catholics down the street did. I was happy as a clam about that because it meant I got cheese pizza on Friday nights at my Catholic girlfriends’ houses. This was so cool because, 1) to “give up meat” seemed a neat thing (foreign) to me and 2) There was no pizza, aka “junk food,” at my house.

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