THE FESTIVE SEASON

Go-wobbly-in-the-knees for lobster & crab~Advent cookies~Michelin Two Star Commis~pricy pimps for your pantry~Elvis' Christmas Album

CHRISTMAS DECORATING BEGINS! Two of these decanters are 100% lead-free while six contain lead oxide, rendering them unsafe, according to Advanced Mixology website. Tap the decanter with a metal utensil—knife, fork, or spoon. The sound has a good and clear ring it’s crystal, compared to the slightly dull sound from a glass decanter. Another simple test to know if a decanter has lead is to hold it against the light. If rainbows form on it, it means that it works like a prism, giving it a high reflective index that indicates lead oxide. Lead crystal decanters are also heavier than a glass one of the same or larger size. 

Lobster & Crab

Come New Year’s Eve, my taste runs to lobsters, King crab, shucked oysters, steamed mussels, sauteed scallops, smoked salmon, and a block of foie gras. Skip the champaign, just go to some nice white.

Lobster

For their first state dinner, President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will host French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte. The meal’s first course is butter-poached lobster topped with caviar. American Osetra caviar, butter-poached lobster from Maine, beef, and California wines. The dinner will include a butter poached Maine lobster, beef with shallot marmalade, American artisanal cheeses, and an orange chiffon cake for desert. Maine’s lobster industry and conservationists over the plight of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. Fewer than 350 of the marine mammals remain, and they face myriad threats including entanglements in fishing gear, vessel strikes and climate change.

In September, Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch, which ranks seafood sustainability, added the American and Canadian lobster fisheries to its “red list” of species to avoid due to the risk harvesting the crustaceans poses to right whales. Several retailers, including Whole Foods, have pulled lobsters from their menus and shelves in response to the two groups’ assessments — a move that has outraged Maine’s lobster industry and lawmakers alike.

Last month, Whole Foods Market paused its sales of the state’s iconic crustacean, saying it doesn’t meet the grocer’s sustainability standards.

Dungeness Crab

Dungeness Crab season. The commercial Dungeness crab season is delayed for the entire coast of California until at least December 16, officials from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Monday. Two separate reasons are the cause for the delay. First, large numbers of migrating whales are still an issue from the Sonoma/Mendocino County line to the Mexico border, and in danger of getting caught in fishing equipment. Second, north of Mendocino, crabs showed low meat quality, also resulting in a delay of the commercial crab season for that region. The next date to reassess when the season can begin is set for December 7, the Mercury News reports.

The humpback whale population in the San Francisco Bay this year made Dungeness crab an impossibility for Thanksgiving dinner. The commercial fishing season was initially set to begin November 15, but the California Department of Fish and Wildlife delayed the season until at least December 1, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Sport crabbing season — aka the non-commercial season — began on November 5, and no crab traps are permitted to better protect whales (only hoop nets or snares are allowed).

Snow Crab

In a turn that can only described as unprecedented, officials have canceled the 2022 Alaska snow crab season. It’s a first for the fishery and a major sign that climate change is altering the ocean as we know it. According to the EPA, the crabs, along with other cold-water Bering Sea species like Pacific halibut, have been moving farther out to sea since the 1980s

Scientists and state officials have been monitoring populations for some time. According to The Guardian, last year’s snow crab harvest was one of the smallest in four decades. While this is the first time the snow crab catch has been halted, it’s almost become the new norm for other species. The fall king crab season was canceled in both 2021 and 2022. Those in the know project that billions (yes, with a “b”) of snow crabs have vanished from their usual Bering Sea spots.

King Crab

My first choice for sometime over the holidays has always been King Crab. After checking three supermarkets I often shop, I come to find that Alaskan King Crab costs from$35, $39, $49 to $69 to $75 per pound, depending on where I choose to buy it. After a small sampling of prices across the U.S., I discovered that Whole Foods had the two of the lowest prices of all. The season for fishing for them was cancelled for the first time since 1994 due to low stocks of them.

Southern Red King Crab

Northwest Fish’s Southern Red King Crab is available from Costco. From the same species as the famous Alaskan Red King Crab, this crab is caught in the Southern Hemisphere at the same great taste. This King Crab is then cleaned, cooked, and frozen at the peak of its freshness, creating an unmistakable sweet flavor and texture. Whether you’re hosting a large party or sitting down to dinner with your family, our Red King Crab will have everyone reaching for seconds.

What Else We’re Eating

ADVENT CALENDAR COOKIES FOR KIDDOS TO HAND PAINT Twelve different lemon-iced sugar cookies with edible Christmas scenes made in Patty Cake's Cookies instagram.com/pattycakescookies/

Where We’re Eating

Chef James Syhabout’s Commis in Oakland again earned two stars, a rating that signifies “excellent cuisine, worth a detour.” Vintage Morel’s review of Commis appeared last January along with photos of the restaurant.

Pricy Pimps for Your Pantry

Serious Eats and they won’t deny trying to get a good deal where they can, especially when it comes to shopping for groceries. Anchovies, canned tuna, cheese, coffee, dashi, ice cream, milk, milk chocolate, olive oil, prosciutto, soy (or fish) sauce, spices, strawberry jam, tea, tomato paste, yogurt, It never hurts to save a couple of bucks here and there, and there are certain dishes where there isn't much difference between using the best-of-the-best ingredient versus something you picked up at the corner store. But there are certain instances where it’s worth going all out for quality ingredients. Whether that means dropping some serious dough on ventresca tuna for a quick, satisfying meal; exploring the vast world of cheese before putting together your next cheese plate; or going out of the way for a fresh, creamy pint of ice cream, there’s no shame in indulging in top-notch goods that make us happy. Here are our favorite ingredients that are worth every penny.

Making copper cookware, carbon steel cookware, solid silver cookware,