Category Archives: Great Finds

New Safe Catch Trout Fillets

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Tender, lightly smoked Safe Catch trout fillets make a great addition to pasta.
Tender, lightly smoked Safe Catch trout fillets make a great addition to pasta.

The name Safe Catch says it all.

The Sausalito canned seafood company purports to be the only brand that tests every catch for mercury. Its newest product, Safe Catch Trout Fillets, is tested to a limit of 0.1ppm, more stringent than the recommendation by the Food and Drug Administration. The product has even been given the nod by the American Pregnancy Association.

I had a chance to try the new products, which come in two varieties: Skinless, Smoked Trout Fillets in Water; and Skinless, Smoked Trout Fillets in Sunflower Oil with Chili. The former contains only trout, water, and salt. The latter has only trout, sunflower oil, salt, and chili.

Two new varieties of trout.
Two new varieties of trout.

The rainbow trout fillets in both are boneless, mild tasting, tender, and flaky.

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Bet You Can’t Resist Chili Crisp Biscuits with Honey-Butter Glaze

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Meet your new favorite biscuit.
Meet your new favorite biscuit.

These babies are total butter bombs.

They also possess a kick of heat, not the kind that knocks you for a loop but rather tickles playfully,

Like Detroit pan pizza, the corner pieces with irresistible crispy edges and sides are worth fighting for first, too.

“Chili Crisp Biscuits with Honey-Butter Glaze” are all that and more, thanks to an entire stick of butter being melted and poured into the pan first, so that the dough bakes up in the pool of it.

With your favorite store-bought chili crisp added to both the dough and the honey-infused butter glaze that’s poured all over the top after baking, these biscuits have personality to spare.

This fabulous recipe is from “Chili Crisp” (Chronicle Books, 2023), of which I received a review copy.

Written by James Park, a Brooklyn-based recipe developer and food writer, it is a collection of more than 50 recipes, both sweet and savory, that star everyone’s new favorite Chinese condiment, glistening orange-red and loaded with warmth and crunchy bits.

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All Roads Lead to Routier

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A most satisfying duck leg confit at Routier.
A most satisfying duck leg confit at Routier.

Watching the Olympics these past few weeks sure made me long to be in Paris.

Fortunately, San Francisco’s Routier more than satisfied my yearning with its comforting French bistro-like fare with California aplomb.

Audaciously opened during the height of the pandemic with only food to-go, Routier has grown into a warm, cozy dining spot, the type every neighborhood would be so lucky to have.

That it not only launched but overcame such a tumultuous time is a testament to its owners: Chef John Paul Carmona, former chef de cuisine of the former Michelin powerhouse Manresa in Los Gatos; Pastry Chef Belinda Leong, who also owns B. Patisserie a few steps away and B. On The Go, the kitty-corner sandwich shop; and Michel Suas, co-owner of B. Patisserie and founder of the San Francisco Baking Institute.

The main floor dining room.
The main floor dining room.

On a Friday night, the corner restaurant with windows all around, was humming with diners galore in the dining room done up in shades of blue.

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Salmon and Corn — The Epitome of Summer

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A restaurant-quality salmon and corn dish.
A restaurant-quality salmon and corn dish.

Gaze at that orange glow of succulent salmon with crisp skin, all in a pool of sunshine-y buttery corn sauce with fancy salmon roe dolloped on top.

I didn’t enjoy it at an upscale restaurant.

Nope, I actually made that dish at home.

Not to brag, but this dish easily looks and tastes like one that would be $40 at a restaurant. However, I made it for probably less than half that cost per person.

What’s more, “Pan-Roasted Salmon with Seared Corn Sauce” is a looker of a dish that actually doesn’t require hours of prepping and primping.

The recipe is from “The Hog Island Book of Fish & Seafood” (Abrams Books, 2023), of which I received a review copy.

Written by chef-restaurateur John Ash, it features more than 250 recipes from Hog Island Oyster Co., the premier sustainable bivalve producer in Tomales Bay, as well as from other chefs and restaurants who are passionate about its shellfish.

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Patagonia Provisions’ New Tinned Sardines

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Grilled bread with summer tomatoes and new Patagonia Provisions Sardines in Coconut Curry.
Grilled bread with summer tomatoes and new Patagonia Provisions Sardines in Coconut Curry.

They may be little, but they pack a punch — in more ways than one.

Patagonia Provisions, the eco-conscious food division of the outdoor gear company, just debuted its newest product: tinned sardines.

If you needed a reason to eat more sardines, just consider: They are a great source of omega-3s, protein, calcium and vitamin B-12. Because they feed on plankton, as opposed to other fish, they don’t have the high levels of mercury that larger fish often contain.

The sardines for Patagonia Provisions are caught by family-owned fishing boats off the coast of northern Spain, where the silvery fish are plentiful and sustainable.

Two new varieties of sustainably-caught sardines are now available.
Two new varieties of sustainably-caught sardines are now available.

I had a chance to try samples of two new varieties: Sardines packed in extra-virgin olive oil, and sardines in coconut curry.

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