Sherpa

noun Sher·pa \ˈsher-pə, ˈshər-\

 a member of a Tibetan people living on the high southern slopes of the Himalayas in eastern Nepal and known for providing support for foreign trekkers and mountain climbers.  
-Webster’s Dictionary

Sherpas are recognized as the most capable mountaineers on the planet.  Many of them serve as guides throughout the Himalayas, helping climbers from around the world through difficult treks to the top of some of the Earth’s tallest mountains.  Westerners have adapted the term “Sherpa” to define anyone who serves as a guide or mentor through a difficult or unfamiliar process.  While it may be a bit overly dramatic to equate learning to cook fish with summiting Mount Everest, many people view the two obstacles as being equally insurmountable.  The broad category of seafood contains the most diverse and abundant proteins available.  There are only a couple dozen mammals and birds consumed regularly in the United States, while there are literally hundreds of fish and shellfish to choose from.  Americans fall into three camps with seafood:

1. They love it.

2. They will eat it but are afraid to cook it at home.

3. They outright refuse to try it.  

I hope to help broaden the horizons of the home cook from the first group.  I hope to help the second group become confident with a broad range of seafood cooking techniques.  I hope to encourage the last group to sample a few of the many wonderful food items that come from our oceans.  I believe that seafood offers something for everyone if they can just cast off their preconceived notions that fish are all the same.  My name is John Peery and I was once in the third group.  I found my way to a love of seafood that I strive to share with everyone around me and so can you.  

Allow me to guide you and develop your knowledge of fish cookery with easy tutorials covering basic techniques along with simple guides to help you choose a seafood that is as adventurous as you want to be.  With basic tasting and palate-expanding experiments, I’ll help you grow from foods that are “safer” than fish sticks all the way to cracking your own sea urchins.

It is a super popular dish that is pretty easy to make and everyone loves shrimp.  This recipe is not that special, except that it is.  There is not a lot you can do to make this dish special, but it is just perfect in its simplicity. 

As human populations grow, fishing techniques improve, and refrigeration provides a means to transport fish over greater distances, we have solved that problem.  With that solution comes a new problem:  We now have the ability to over-fish a population of fish without any immediate penalty. 

 The dressing is a bright and fresh mix with only the good, healthy fat found in olive oil.  Add more cracked red pepper if you like it spicy.  This is a regular in my weekday rotation because of how easy it is to make.  Coupled with a nice grilled or baked fish, this is a perfect meal with high protein that is low in fat and net carbs.

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