A few weeks ago, we entered and were lucky enough to be one of the winners of a free weekly contest to win a selection of gourmet tuna and salmon products from SAFCOL which has been in business since 1945. (They also have some nice seafood recipes here.)

Recently, a large, heavy box from them arrived…here’s what was in the box:

SAFCOL Gourmet on the Go Chunk Light Tuna:

• 2 Cans Spicy Tuna (Chipotle) 6oz.
• 2 Cans Tuna With Sweet Chili Sauce 6oz.
• 2 Cans Tuna With Tomato Salsa 6oz.
• 2 Cans Tuna With Lemon and Pepper 6oz.
• 2 Cans Tuna Spread 3.4oz.
• 2 Foil Packets Tuna With Spicy Onion in Spring Water 3.5oz
• 2 Foil Packets Tuna With Oven Dried Tomato and Basil in Spring Water 3.5oz

SAFCOL Gourmet on the Go Skinless Boneless Chunk Salmon:

• 2 Cans Salmon With Oven Dried Tomato and Basil in Spring Water 6oz.
• 2 Cans Salmon With Cajun Spice 6oz.
• 2 Cans Salmon With Lemon and Cracked Pepper 6oz.
• 2 Foil Packets Salmon With Lemon and Dill in Spring Water 3.5oz
• 2 Foil Packets Salmon Mediterranean Style in Spring Water 3.5oz

Plus a SAFCOL T-shirt and a calculator.

How To Enter This Free Contest

To get your own free chance to win a selection of seafood products from SAFCOL, all you have to do is sign up for a free membership on Foodbuzz.Com (if you aren’t already a member). Then add SAFCOL as a friend and cast a vote for them using the easy “vote-up” feature to win products and prizes from now throughout July! Two winners are announced every week.

BTW, if you’re a food blogger with a high quality blog, you may also be interested in joining Foodbuzz’s free Featured Publisher Program. You can find out more about it here.

You’ve doubtless heard the term “out to lunch” as used to describe someone who’s not fully engaged in what they are doing; just going through the motions.

In contrast to that I’d like to add the phrase to the verbal pantheon “out to dinner” to describe someone deeply savoring each and every bite with great attention and awareness; someone truly alive to all the sensual possibilities and satisfactions that only a great meal can provide.

Do you remember the first time you had corn on the cob cooked up and buttered only minutes after it was harvested? Your first cream puff, bursting at the seams, swirls of chocolate drizzled pastry brushing your nose? The thrilling sinus rush of wasabi harmonizing with the buttery notes of fresh tekkamaki? The intoxicating scent of Vidalia onions caramelizing on the grill?

Then you’ve been fortunate enough to have that “out to dinner” experience.

Recognized for giving many people that “out to dinner” feeling early in their careers, these chefs were named the 2008 Best New Chefs in America by Food & Wine. Seeking to discover tomorrow’s superstar chefs in the making, Food & Wine’s previous awardees included Thomas Keller in 1988, Nobu Matsuhisa in 1989, and Rick Bayless in 1988.

Check out these two YouTube parody videos from MadTV that hilariously skewer the cooking shows we all know and love.

3 Minute Meal: Tuna Melts

3 Minute Meal: Banana Splits

Looking for a good recipe you can whip up in 60 minutes or less? Try making this recipe for Yellow-Fin Tuna Steaks Stuffed With Pork-Scratchings from The Passionate Cook.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tsp coarsely crushed black pepper
200 g yellow-fin (sashimi-grade) tuna steaks (cut into 2 pieces for a starter)
100 g pork scratchings
4 tbsp roughly sliced spring onions
3 tbsp sweet chili sauce
1 medium pear
1 tbsp dry sherry
1 tbsp sweet sherry
2 tbsp peanut oil

How to Make Yellow-Fin Tuna Steaks Stuffed With Pork-Scratchings
See More of Hugging the Coast’s Fish For Friday Recipes

A letter to the editor by Frank Blum, executive director of the S.C. Seafood Alliance raises some interesting points about a state truth-in-advertising bill (H3028) that if passed, would make illegal for restaurants to market the seafood on their menus as local while substituting higher profit margin imported fish in its place.

Published in Anderson, SC’s Independent Mail, he makes the point that just about everyone benefits from the passage of this bill; restaurants benefit from the freshness that can only be obtained by selling truly local seafood, the fishing industry benefits when it can fairly compete with imported seafood, and diners benefit because they can have confidence that they are getting exactly the fish they ordered.

The SC Seafood Alliance website states that more than 200 varieties of fish and shellfish are native to South Carolina and approximately 30 of them are used in the kitchen. According to Blum, passage of House Bill H3028 will, “tend to level the playing field for imports vs. local and after a few offenders are caught and exposed in the media, others will be reluctant to lie to their customers.”