It's App Week: App Reviews & Giveaways Here!

iStock Photo

App reviews have become a regular feature here on Pescetarian Journal, so (I thought) why not have an App Week with giveaways of my favorite apps? As a pescetarian, I'm concerned about the state of fish stocks, their health, and the impact of fish farming on the environment. There's great seafood coming from U.S. seafood farms, which ensure the health of their stocks while minimizing negative environmental impact. I have apps that give me current information about the seafood industry and what should and should not end up on my family's plate.  I search for apps that teach me how to find the best seafood, to talk expertly with fish mongers, and to cook seafood dishes that will thrill the most seafood-savvy foodie.

What About the Giveaways?
I'll post several app reviews this week, each with one or more giveaways of an app that you would normally have to buy. Becoming eligible to win the app will be easy (just three steps): a comment, a "like" on my Facebook fan page, and a "like" on the app developer's Facebook fan page. That's it! Let's start with my current favorite app, Teach Me Sushi.


I reviewed Teach Me Sushi last Sunday and showed off my version of the "Fashion Sandwich." This week I made the more basic Maki roll with lump crab, avocado, and cucumber. Teach Me Sushi helped my sushi look and taste authentic despite my lack of expertise. Before this app came along, I had made sushi only twice and the results were laughable, but no more. (Click here for a printable recipe for the sushi.)

My sushi--made using the Teach Me Sushi app tutorial

The Teach Me Sushi app developers are allowing three app downloads, which currently cost $4.99 each, and that means there will be three winners from this post. (The app is currently available for iPhone, iTouch, and iPad.) I will use www.random.org to choose the winners.

1. Leave a comment on this post naming the type of sushi roll or preparation you would love to be able to make and explain why.
2. Click on the following link and "like" my Facebook page: Pescetarian Journal on Facebook
3. Click on the following link and "like" the Teach Me Sushi fan page: Teach Me Sushi on Facebook

Important: While completing the form to leave a comment, please leave your e-mail address in the form (or send it to me at info@pescetarianjournal.com). Your e-mail will not be published. I will need to contact you if you are a winner! 

Thoughts of the Season

Happy Thanksgiving

I am thankful, this Thanksgiving, for my many blessings, my loving family, and my loyal friends, of course. All that. I am thankful, too, for the wonderful, creative, and generous people I have met since summer through food blogging and social media. This year, especially, my faith that most people are good and caring has been renewed. Happy and safe Thanksgiving to all who read this.

A Sensei in Your Pocket: The "Teach Me Sushi" iPhone and iPad App

Fashion Sandwich made using the new "Teach Me Sushi" app tutorial

I've never feared eating sushi. My fear is making it. Two cookbooks and one mangled sushi kit later, I've discovered an iPhone app tutorial that has turned my past sushi-making missteps into descent results. The new Teach Me Sushi app is the creation of Jake Davidow and Drew Lane, who take would-be sushi makers by their virtual hands and lead them, by degrees, into assembling and composing attractive and tasty sushi. I know because all week I've tested the app, which is also available for iPad users. Here's what you get with this $5.99 app:

A Video Menu

Video recipes and demonstrations for making popular sushi rolls, essential for crowd pleasing, include Maki and Futo Maki rolls, Hand Rolls, Nigiri, Rainbow Rolls, Sashimi, and the South African invention, the "Fashion Sandwich." The app also includes video guidance for buying equipment and the freshest fish, preparing vegetables, and cooking rice. Jake includes a video FAQ and invites users to e-mail him directly to get more specific questions answered within 24 hours.

Screenshot Used with Permission from Jake Davidow

A Pescetarian Thanksgiving Menu with Recipes from 6 Amazing Food Bloggers

I'm planning a "big, fat" Pescetarian Thanksgiving for my small family of three and two friends. This feast will feature fresh seafood, organic vegetables and grains and recipes from some of my favorite food bloggers. I hope the photos of my fresh ingredients and the prepared meal will be as beautiful as the bloggers' photos of their creations (click on the links to view recipes and photos). In this post, though, I used photos from iStockPhoto, unless otherwise stated, to show ingredients I plan to use for the meal. Here's my menu--based on recipes by bloggers I admire:

Microsoft Images

The Duo Dishes's Pineapple Sage Cocktail--The infectious energy of Chrystal and Amir radiates from every page of their blog. Based in Los Angeles, these bloggers bring star power (they interviewed Tyler Florence recently) and an adventurous approach to food. I don't drink cocktails much (I'm more of a beer girl), but I'm curious about combining the flavors of pineapple and sage.

Foy Update's Butternut Beet Soup--One look at the photo on Foy's blog, and I knew that her Butternut Beet Soup had to be on the menu. This soup is striking and says "fall" like a flaming Sugar Maple Tree in November.  

House of Annie's Sweet-Sour Chili Dungeness Crab--Nate and Annie are fiercely creative and energetic food bloggers.  This recipe includes my favorite flavors and techniques: sweet and sour, chili, crab, and it's steamed and fried. Here in Maryland there are crab recipes galore, but nothing like Nate and Annie's Sweet-Sour Chili Dungeness Crab.

Wrightfood's Herb and Citrus Crusted Halibut, Roasted and Dressed Beet, Turnip a la Grecque-- I love that Matt Wright shares his techniques for food photography as well as for his amazing-looking food. Click on the link to check out the photo for this recipe. If ever there was a fish dish that deserved a spot at center table on Thanksgiving, it's this one.

Taste of Beirut's Maftoul and Cranberry Beans--Joumana Accad's every recipe on this blog inspires me. She is a prolific food blogger, offering Lebanese recipes for home cooking, along with exquisite photos. This dish looks filling and, with the cranberry beans, rustically elegant.

101 Cookbook's Spiced Coconut Spinach--I became aware of food blogging through Heidi Swanson's blog a few years ago. I love the quiet, contemplative mood she achieves on her blog through the photos, the deep gray typeface, and the open layout.

Microsoft Images 

Dessert--Here's where you can help, dear reader. Desserts are not something I make, generally. Leave a comment with a link, showing me where to find an easy dessert recipe that includes fresh apples. Not only will you help me find a dessert, but you will introduce other amazing bloggers to me and to my readers. Thanks in advance!

Comfort Food Maryland Style

If you know something about Maryland cuisine, that something is presumably connected with crab. But there are more sultry seafood dishes in Maryland that would rank it high among U.S. coastal states for sensational seafood restaurants. Among the best is Langermann's of Baltimore. This upscale eatery, featured recently in Food and Wine's online gallery of restaurants, serves "Southern inspired" comfort food that includes omnivore favorites --chicken, beef, and pork--and splendid seafood dishes for pescetarians (and just plain seafood lovers).

My dinner companions were my husband and son who have become quite tolerant of their meals being photographed from all sides before they can start eating (in the upper-right photo is my husband, his fork poised for digging into the Mahi Mahi).

Main Dining Room (Courtesy of Langermann's)

In the main dining room, Langermann's white-table-cloth setting and dark, polished-wood flooring is juxtaposed above by warehouse-style windows, fixtures and open space. Natural light pours in, gilding the silver in late afternoon. Our appetizers and entrees were flavorful and well presented.

My husband David ordered the "Pan Roasted Mahi Mahi" with fresh corn kernels, asparagus, brown rice, and a perky mango salsa. We started our supper with two appetizers that we enjoyed: the "Crispy Fried Catfish" fingers and Langermann's fabulous "Tuna Crab Tartar." The catfish was as crispy as you would expect with coleslaw and fresh tartar sauce. Although not considered a comfort food, traditionally, the Tuna Crab Tartar, (below right) has chunks of fresh tuna amid cooked crab and topped with crisp sea vegetables and a bright grapefruit wedge. My teenage son ordered herb roasted chicken with mashed potatoes and braised green beans. It was half eaten before I could get a photo.

Langermann's elegant Charleston Shrimp and Grits, my entree, was coziness in a bowl. 

For dessert, we shared a berry cobbler. The fruit filling was appropriately balanced with sweetness and tartness but was topped with a lattice crust that was barely baked. We forgave this because we were more concerned with the filling.

The hostesses and servers were friendly and attentive (but not too much). Parking is free and plentiful and valet service is available on Friday and Saturday nights. Outdoor seating is available as well. Overall, our visit to Langermann's was enchanting, and the food was satisfying. If you happen to be in Baltimore--or live there--you'll be remiss if you don't pay a visit to Langermann's.