"cod" news and stories

While it's not exactly Matthew Broderick, Marlon Brando and some tasty Komodo dragon, a "Dinner of Supposed 'Blacklisted' Fish" is being sponsored by the Culinary Guild of New England and Legal Sea Foods.

According to the press release, widespread discussion on sustainable fish "is flawed by outdated scientific findings that unfairly turn the public against certain species of fish. In a direct effort to counter existing misinformation about sustainability, the menu for this event is deliberately designed to serve what is commonly believed to be outlawed or blacklisted fish."

The dinner, scheduled for January 24, in Boston, will feature black tiger shrimp, cod cheeks and prosciutto-wrapped hake. And while all three species are indeed listed in Seafood Watch's red "Avoid" column for reasons that include pollution, loss of habitat, use of trawls, overfishing and depleted populations; we're still trying to figure out what exactly blacklisted means (is it the McCarthy era for fish?), and which specific scientific reports are "outdated." What we do know is the dinner will be led by Legal Sea Foods' president and CEO Roger Berkowtiz, who says he's trying to create more dialogue and push the accuracy of assessments of fisheries.

"I always found it curious that chefs and restaurateurs were the last to get information about sustainable seafood. Oftentimes it was from Monterey [Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program] that blacklisted everything, or a group like Chefs Collaborative -- you get a group of people that work off a particular science, and I would argue that science isn't necessarily balanced," Berkowitz told Slashfood in a telephone interview.

You've seen the "dirty dozen" list for produce -- fruits and vegetables that are laden with pesticides, making it worth the cost of buying organic. But did you know there's also a dirty dozen list for fish? Food & Water Watch -- a non-profit group that works to ensure the food, water and fish we consume is safe, accessible and sustainably produced -- publishes an annual "do not eat" list.

Why is it noteworthy? As Barry Estabrook, writer at The Atlantic, explains in a recent article, "Seafood guides tend to focus either on species that should be avoided for reasons related to environmental health (overfishing) or species that should be avoided for reasons related to human health (their flesh is contaminated with chemicals). Food and Water Watch publishes a useful guide that takes both concerns into account."

The below fish fail at least two of their criteria for safe and sustainable seafood. The five criteria are: contaminants; status of the stock; catch method or farming method; economic/social/cultural significance (a community predominantly fishes for this species and depends on it); and key species (it's a primary food source for other wildlife or does it create critical habitat for other wildlife).

• Imported catfish
• Caviar from wild-caught sturgeon
• Atlantic cod
• American eel
• Atlantic flounder, sole, and halibut
• Imported king crab
• Imported shrimp
• Farmed salmon
• Chilean seabass
• Shark
• Atlantic bluefin tuna

The good news? Food & Water Watch offers a downloadable wallet-size guide to "smart" seafood, and also has resources on the site to help you find sustainable alternatives based on your fish tastes (mild, thick and flavorful, etc.).

Each Thursday, we round up a selection of scrumptious links from our friends over at YumSugar. Here's what they've got cooking this week:

• If there were an International House of Doughnuts, these selections would definitely be on the menu.
• Will the MasterChef cookbook spoil you?
• Learn everything you wanted to know about cod, the fish that saved the world.
• The truth about brain freeze will blow your mind.
• Find out why Top Chef D.C. isn't so trivial.
• Honey, are those blackberries in my grilled cheese?
• Skip Capri for some Napoleonic tomatoes and Parmesan crisps.

We have to admit: It's more than a little hard to keep all the renowned chefs of America and their various TV appearances straight. It's getting to the point where, if you're lucky enough to be able to dine in a big city, you're liable to be greeted by the same person who you saw whipping up calamari with Kathie Lee & Hoda in the morning, getting eliminated from a rerun of The Next Iron Chef in the afternoon, and cruelly critiquing young upstarts on Top Chef D.C. in the evening.

Such is the case with Maria Hines of Seattle's renowned Tilth. Okay, so we didn't get to dine at Tilth Sunday night, and it's been a while since she graced the airwaves on Top Chef Masters. But we've missed her bold, distinctly northwestern (not to mention organic and local) flavor profiles, unpretentious plating, and utterly cool, laid-back demeanor. In just a couple short episodes, she became our number-one summer chef crush.

So while we were eagerly awaiting her face-off with Chef Morimoto on Iron Chef America this weekend, we did so with a lump in our throats: Really, does anyone other than the reigning Iron Chef win? Sure, there are a few token wins to reassure us that the whole thing isn't rigged, but surely, pairing up Hines with seafood whiz Morimoto was a "better luck next time" kind of move on the part of the producers.

The spicy-sweet strawberry salsa with which blogger Everybody Likes Sandwiches liberally tops grilled cod is gorgeously red, with tomatoes and red onion chiming in. Vibrantly flavored with chives, cilantro, chile and lime juice, it could stand up to a much bolder fish.

Fruit salsas add tropical notes where you'd guess they'd be found, such as in this recipe for mahi mahi with cumin oil and pineapple salsa, and where you might find them surprising, as in a recipe for skirt steak with orange-cilantro salsa.

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