written by Jim Northern Michigan develops and inspires important writers with a bent toward the outdoors.  Amongst the best was Jim Harrison, whose fine and somewhat naughty road-trip novel “The English Major” includes a (very likely) non-fictional whitefish sandwich at a diner in the village of Epoufette.  Located on US 2 west of the Mackinac Bridge, you’ll find Epoufette around the half-way point of a 60 mile stretch of mostly public, sugar sand beach on the North Shore of Lake Michigan.  Pick a spot.  Pull off the road.  Take a dip and have a picnic.  It’s fre ..read more

One of the most famous (and delicious!) Portuguese combinations of shellfish and pork Serves 6 • 2 medium Spanish onions (sliced thin) • 3 large garlic cloves (minced) • 2 large sweet green peppers (cored, seeded and cut into strips) • 1/4 cup olive oil • 1 large bay leaf (crumbled) • 1 can undrained San Marzano tomatoes, diced • 1 can tomato sauce (8 oz) • 1/4 lb. lean smoked ham (diced) • 1/2 lb. Portuguese linguiça or Spanish chorizo, sliced 1/4″ thick • 1/2 cup dry white wine • 1/4 cup coarsely chopped Italian parsley • 5 dozen manila clams or 4 dozen small littleneck clams, rinsed Stir-fr ..read more

Shucking oysters on this early April Friday morning I popped the top shell off a nice plump Wellfleet and I experienced a sight so frightening that my knees buckled! Looking down on one of thousands of oysters I’ve shucked in my life, NEVER has one looked back up at me! The first thing I did was to show this freak of nature to the staff. Some laughed thinking it was a joke, some were puzzled or even scared, but all agreed that it was one of the plumpest, most succulent and beautiful oysters we’d ever seen. Do I call the news media?…a U of M marine biologist? or do I just squeeze a l ..read more

Serves 4 4 John Dory fillets- 6-8 oz. each 2 carrots cut thin julienne 2 tomatoes, diced 2 leeks cut in thin julienne (use white and part of green) 3 cloves garlic, fine chop 2 zucchini, cut thin julienne 3 T chopped fresh dill 4 T olive oil 1/4 cup fish stock (available at Monahan’s) or dry white wine Salt and pepper 4 pieces of parchment paper 12 x 16 inches (available at Monahan’s) Pre heat oven to 375º. Because the John Dory fillets are fairly thin do a quick sauté of the veggies. Heat pan over medium- high heat, add 2 T olive and add garlic until it just starts to brown. Add v ..read more

We’ve seen a lot of weird looking creatures over the years here at the market, monkfish that look like Jabba the Hutt, 6 foot long Pacific octopus, giant geoduck clams, monstrous toothy wolfish with a mouth full of molars, but my vote for the wildest looking fish has to go to the John Dory. With smooth silver skin like a Jack, a flat body like a flounder, armor like a sturgeon, a dorsal fin like a roosterfish and a head like a snook, this fish looks like it was thrown together from leftover parts of at least 5 totally different species. John Dory are known in much of the world as “Saint ..read more

Simply dip cleaned, peeled gulf shrimp in 1/2 and 1/2, dredge in Drakes batter mix, then fry in about 1/2 inch peanut or vegetable oil. Drain shrimp on a paper towel or grocery bag then toss in a mixing bowl with a good amount of Frank’s Red Hot Sauce to taste. They’re fantastic as is, but you can serve them with blue cheese or Thousand Island dressing and celery sticks if you’d like ..read more

Serves 2 1/2-3/4 lb. spaghetti 1lb. manila clams 3 cloves garlic, minced 4 T olive oil Splash of white wine (4 or 5 T) 2 T Italian parsley, chopped Boil spaghetti al dente Heat large pan over high heat. Add olive oil garlic and clams, stir and cover pot. Shake pan and when clams begin to open (about 2 minutes) add wine and cover until clams all open. Reduce heat, add spaghetti and toss clams and pasta. Serve and garnish with parsley ..read more

Serves 6 as an appetizer 1 1/2 lbs. Monahan’s bone-in salt cod, soak 36 hrs, changing water at least twice a day 1/2 C boiled potatoes cut in 1/2 inch cubes 3 cloves garlic, peeled; in small pan soften at low heat with a little olive oil 2/3 C extra virgin olive oil 2/3 C half + half or milk freshly ground black pepper juice of 1 lemon 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg Cut salt cod into 2 inch wide pieces and submerge in a bowl with a good amount of water and refrigerate for 24-48 hours changing the water at least twice a day. Time depends on how thick and how salty the pieces are. Our Foley’s salt ..read more

Last April we posted an article about salt cod (bacalao). The holidays are approaching and salt cod is one of our many important ethnic offerings. The Italian feast of the seven fishes often includes “baccala” and a good percentage of our December salt cod sales will be for this tradition. Frank Carollo, Joelle Florian, Mike Monahan + Paul Saginaw I’ve loved every salt cod dish that I’ve ever tasted; Portuguese casseroles with potatoes and garlic, Spanish tapa of bacalao stuffed peppers, fried and served over a spicy tomato sauce, Caribbean fritters, Italian style with roasted red peppers ..read more

Wow, the Fourth of July already! It seems to pop up so quickly every year. Family, friends, fireworks and cookouts. I don’t know if you’ve planned your grilling menu yet but I have the perfect idea for serving large (or small) groups that is so simple and will probably be one of the most delicious and memorable meals of the summer! Planked salmon is as easy as soaking a cedar plank, laying the fillet on it, placing on the grill and basting it occasionally with the lid closed until the fillet is opaque in the center. You don’t even need to plate it; you can set the whole plank on a trivet and a ..read more