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🛒 Block 15–18 Shopping List — Fish & Seafood

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The golden rule of fish shopping: Buy it day-of or the day before. Not earlier. Fish quality degrades faster than any other protein. If your usual grocery store doesn't have great seafood, find a fishmonger. Tell them you're cooking fish five nights a week for two weeks — they will help you figure out timing.

⚠️ Equipment Check

  • [ ] Dutch oven — for Tuesday's fish tacos (frying)
  • [ ] Thermometer — essential; also useful for checking oil temp for frying (350°F target)
  • [ ] Fish spatula — wide, thin, flexible; the tool that makes flipping fish easy
  • [ ] Wire rack + sheet pan — for draining fried fish tacos (Session 87)
  • [ ] Coarse sea salt — 3–4 lbs if doing the salt-bake version of Saturday's whole fish

🐟 Proteins — Block 19 (buy as close to cook day as possible)

  • [ ] Salmon fillets, skin-on — 2 thick pieces (Mon); 2 more pieces (Fri miso glaze)
  • [ ] Dover sole or flounder fillets — 2–4 (Tue meunière)
  • [ ] Fresh white fish fillet — cod, halibut, or sea bass; 2 pieces (Wed technique practice)
  • [ ] Whole fish — 1–2 branzino, snapper, or sea bass, 500g–1kg each (Sat; buy an extra for Lab 4 filleting practice if doing it)

🐟 Proteins — Block 20 (buy as close to cook day as possible)

  • [ ] Firm white fish — cod or halibut, 2 pieces (Mon mushroom cook)
  • [ ] White fish for frying — cod, mahi-mahi, or tilapia; 1 lb (Tue tacos)
  • [ ] Salmon fillets — 2 pieces (Wed teriyaki)
  • [ ] Branzino or snapper, whole — 2 small (Fri grill)
  • [ ] Bouillabaisse assortment — 2–3 types: e.g., cod (1 lb), monkfish (1 lb) + 1 lb clams or mussels (Sat); ask fishmonger to save bones/heads for the broth

🥦 Produce — Block 19

  • [ ] Baby spinach — 2 bags (Mon + other sides)
  • [ ] Haricots verts or green beans — 1 lb (Tue)
  • [ ] Bok choy — 2 heads (Fri)
  • [ ] Cucumbers — 3 (quick pickled; Fri and Block 22)
  • [ ] Lemons — 6
  • [ ] Garlic — 2 heads
  • [ ] Fresh dill — 1 bunch (whole fish garnish)
  • [ ] Fresh parsley — 1 bunch
  • [ ] Fresh thyme — 1 bunch
  • [ ] Yukon gold potatoes — 1.5 lbs (Saturday)
  • [ ] Leeks — 2 (Session 84 braised leeks)
  • [ ] Arugula — 2 bags (Service 21 arugula, fennel & orange salad + general)
  • [ ] Oranges — 2 (Service 21 arugula, fennel & orange salad)
  • [ ] Mixed greens — 1 bag

🥦 Produce — Block 20

  • [ ] Shiitake mushrooms — 8 oz (Mon fish + mushroom)
  • [ ] Avocados — 3 (Tue tacos + Wed bowl)
  • [ ] Cabbage — ½ head, shredded (Tue fish tacos slaw)
  • [ ] Jalapeños — 4 (quick pickled for tacos)
  • [ ] Limes — 6
  • [ ] Green onions — 1 bunch
  • [ ] Cucumber — 2 (Wed teriyaki bowl)
  • [ ] Fresh herbs for bouillabaisse — parsley, fennel fronds, thyme, bay (Sat)
  • [ ] Fennel bulb — 2 (bouillabaisse aromatics)
  • [ ] Tomatoes — 4 (bouillabaisse)
  • [ ] Leeks — 2 (bouillabaisse)
  • [ ] Zucchini — 2 medium (Service 22 shaved zucchini salad)

🧂 Pantry

  • [ ] White miso paste — small tub (Session 85 glaze)
  • [ ] Mirin and sake — small bottles (Session 85 glaze + Session 88 teriyaki)
  • [ ] Soy sauce
  • [ ] Rice flour — for fish taco batter (Session 87; all-purpose also works)
  • [ ] Neutral oil — 1 quart (frying Session 87)
  • [ ] Unsalted butter — 1 lb (meunière + pan sauces)
  • [ ] Sesame oil (Session 88 bowl)
  • [ ] Sesame seeds
  • [ ] Saffron — small pinch (bouillabaisse rouille; expensive but worth it)
  • [ ] Fennel seeds — 1 tsp (bouillabaisse)
  • [ ] Baguette — for rouille croutons (Sat bouillabaisse)
  • [ ] Corn tortillas — 2 packs (Tue fish tacos)
  • [ ] Coconut milk — 1 can (Session 82 coconut rice)
  • [ ] Rice — jasmine and/or white (multiple days)
  • [ ] Eggs — 6 (Service 22 bouillabaisse rouille egg yolks; Session 87 fish taco batter)

🐟 Advanced Seafood (Sessions 91–97)

⚠️ Equipment Check

  • [ ] Fish spatula — thin, flexible; essential for turning whole fish without breaking skin
  • [ ] Large cast iron skillet or grill pan — trout amandine and branzino
  • [ ] Large Dutch oven or heavy pot — cioppino and mussels marinière
  • [ ] Sheet pan + wire rack — elevated whole-fish roasting (if not grilling)
  • [ ] Instant-read thermometer — fish is done at 130–140°F (or flakes at the bone)

🐟 Fish & Seafood — Block 19

Buy salmon Thursday for the cure; all other fish as close to cook day as possible.

  • [ ] Skin-on salmon fillet — 1.5–2 lbs, centre-cut preferred (Session 90 gravlax). Buy Thursday. Cure immediately.
  • [ ] Whole rainbow trout — 2 fish (1 per person), cleaned and gutted (Session 91 trout amandine). Day before or day-of.
  • [ ] Whole branzino (European sea bass) — 2 fish, scaled and cleaned (Session 93 grilled branzino). Day-of only.
  • [ ] Fresh white fish fillets — ½ lb halibut, snapper or sea bass (Service 23 ceviche starter). Day-of purchase only.

🦀 Seafood — Block 20

  • [ ] Live mussels — 2 lbs (Session 94 mussels marinière). Buy day-of; store in fridge in colander, never sealed.
  • [ ] Jumbo lump crab meat — 8 oz can or fresh (Session 95 crab cakes). Fresh Dungeness or blue crab preferred.
  • [ ] Mixed seafood for cioppino (Session 96):
  • Littleneck clams — 12–16, scrubbed
  • Mussels — ½ lb
  • Large shrimp — ½ lb, shell-on
  • Firm white fish — ½ lb (halibut, cod or snapper)
  • [ ] Black cod (sablefish) or salmon — 2 fillets, 6 oz each (Session 97 miso glaze). Black cod is canonical; salmon is the accessible backup.

🧅 Aromatics & Produce

  • [ ] Fresh dill — large bunch (gravlax cure)
  • [ ] Garlic — 1 head
  • [ ] Shallots — 4 (mussels, crab cake sauce, cioppino)
  • [ ] Fennel — 1 bulb (cioppino)
  • [ ] Lemons — 4 (trout amandine, salsa verde, ceviche)
  • [ ] Limes — 4 (ceviche acid)
  • [ ] Fresh parsley — 2 bunches (salsa verde, cioppino garnish)
  • [ ] Fresh cilantro — ceviche
  • [ ] Capers — salsa verde, crab cake sauce
  • [ ] Cherry tomatoes — 1 pint (cioppino)
  • [ ] Canned crushed tomatoes — 28 oz (cioppino base)
  • [ ] Haricots verts or thin green beans — trout amandine side
  • [ ] Radicchio — 1 head (Session 93 grilled radicchio)
  • [ ] Celery root (celeriac) — 1 (Session 94 celery root remoulade)
  • [ ] Bok choy or spinach — miso cod side

🌾 Pantry & Dry

  • [ ] White miso paste — small tub (Session 97; lasts months after)
  • [ ] Mirin — small bottle (miso marinade)
  • [ ] Sake or dry sherry — miso marinade
  • [ ] Sliced almonds — small bag (trout amandine)
  • [ ] All-purpose flour — dredging trout
  • [ ] Panko breadcrumbs — crab cake binder
  • [ ] Good olive oil
  • [ ] Unsalted butter — 2 sticks (trout amandine, mussels finish)
  • [ ] Kosher salt and whole white peppercorns — cure and general use
  • [ ] Sugar — cure

🍷 Wine & Liquids

  • [ ] Dry white wine — 1 bottle (mussels marinière and cioppino broth)
  • [ ] Clam juice — two 8-oz bottles (cioppino base depth)
  • [ ] Extra fish stock or clam juice — cioppino

🥖 Bread

  • [ ] Crusty sourdough or baguette — mussels and cioppino service; not optional

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