Pan Seared Ahi Tuna with Wasabi, Avocado, Soy, Ginger, and Lime

 I don't cook fish very often, because I don't like fish that tastes like fish, and don't like the smell that goes with cooking it.  My hubby loves it though, and is crazy about seared tuna.  Our oldest son got home today from a deep sea fishing trip, and told us to come over to his house and pick up some Yellow-fin (Ahi) Tuna, Red Snapper, and Mahi-Mahi.  He caught it yesterday in the Gulf of Mexico, out from Gulf Shores, Alabama.  He brought home over 100# of fillets, so I decided to try my hand at pan seared tuna.  I adapted a recipe by Tyler Florence, and it turned out well, and was very tasty.  I served it with a wasabi dipping sauce, and a salad with a wasabi vinaigrette.  The hubby was very excited about making this dish...so much so that he put the tuna on the grill before it was hot enough, and cooked it a bit too long!  Bless his heart.  The presentation is not so pretty, because he was in such a hurry to eat the tuna.  In the end, none of that mattered, because it was really delicious.  Despite all the drama, here it is. ;)

Dipping sauce:
*Make this first to let flavors develop
1/2 C water
3-4 tsp wasabi paste (adjust for desired heat)
1/3 C soy sauce
2 TBS peanut oil
1 tsp. sesame oil
2 tsp. finely minced fresh ginger
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 tsp. fresh lime juice
pinch of sugar
Whisk all ingredients together, adjust wasabi to suit your taste, and set sauce aside

Ingredients for fish and salad:

1 TBS fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped

• 1 tsp. jalapeno, seeded, and finely chopped (more if you like it spicy)
• 1 1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 TBS fresh lime juice
• 2 TBS soy sauce
• 2 thinly sliced green onions
• Pinch of sugar
• 2 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 (6-ounce) blocks sushi-quality tuna
• 1 ripe avocado, halved, peeled, pitted, and sliced
•  ripe tomato slices
• Mixed salad greens
• English cucumber
• Olive oil to coast tuna
• Salt and pepper
• Pickled ginger
• 
  
• Directions:

In a mixing bowl, combine the cilantro, jalapeno, ginger, garlic, lime juice, onion, soy sauce, sugar, and olive oil. Stir the ingredients together until well incorporated; set vinaigrette aside.

Put mixed greens on serving plates, place sliced tomato and avocado next to the greens, add thinly sliced cucumber.  Place dipping sauce on the plate in a small dipping bowl.

Put a skillet, or cast iron griddle, over medium-high heat. Rub tuna with olive oil. Season the tuna generously with salt and pepper.  Lightly oil the pan with olive oil. Lay the tuna in the pan, and sear 1 minute on each side to form a slight crust. Serve the seared tuna with the salad, sliced avocado, tomato and cucumbers and Sprinkle a small amount of the remaining cilantro over vegetables, and drizzle the wasabi vinaigrette  over the whole dish.  Add some pickled ginger to the plate, and serve immediately.

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Shrimp Scampi with Pasta

I was craving some shrimp scampi, and had some beautiful shrimp I needed to cook, so I googled a recipe.  The one I thought sounded best was on Food Network, by cute little Tyler Florence.  I tweaked it a bit to suit my taste.  It came out great, and very tasty.  As my hubby says, this one is a keeper.  He also said it was the best shrimp scampi he had ever tasted...but he is my number one fan....so what can I tell you!

Ingredients:
1 # pasta ( I used spaghetti)  cooked al dente, per package directions.
1# shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails left on
6 TBS butter
6 TBS extra-virgin  olive oil
2 shallots, finely diced
3-4 cloves garlic, or to taste
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes, or to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 C dry white wine
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Chopped parsley leaves for garnish

Instructions:
Boil pasta according to package instructions, drain and set aside.  Meanwhile, in large skillet, melt half the butter and oil.   Add shallots, garlic and red pepper flakes and saute' until shallots are translucent, about 3-4 minutes.  Add shrimp; salt and pepper to taste.  Cook until shrimp are pink, about 3 minutes.  Remove shrimp from pan, set aside, and keep warm.  Add wine and lemon juice, bring to a boil.  Then put in rest of butter and oil.  When butter has melted, put shrimp and cooked pasta back in pan.  Stir well, garnish with chopped parsley.  Serve immediately.  I sprinkle mine with a good Parmesan.

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Panko Breaded Butterflied Shrimp

This is what I cooked for dinner tonight.  If the photo is a little off, that's because I was almost stampeded before I could take it!  I found some lovely shrimp on sale at Central Market, and decide to butterfly and fry them with a Panko crust.  My hubby was a bit dubious about using Panko crumbs,  but was thrilled with the end result.  They were crispy, crunchy, and delicious.  Here's how I fried them....simple, and very tasty.

Ingredients:
24 large shrimp
1/2 tsp. salt and  1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 C Aunt Jemima White Corn Meal Mix
1 C flour
1 tsp. Tony Chachere Original Creole Seasoning
1 tsp. paprika
2 eggs
1 C Panko bread crumbs
Vegetable or peanut oil

Instructions:
Peel and de-vein shrimp, leaving tails intact.  I butterflied mine because they were large.  Just start in middle of the shrimp, and cut toward the front.  You can leave the bottom attached, or cut all the way through.  Rinse well, then pat dry.  Put cornmeal mix, flour and seasonings in a bowl, and mix well.  Put eggs in a bowl,  and beat until mixed.  Put Panko crumbs in a flat bowl.  Heat oil to 375F.  Coat each shrimp with the flour mixture, dip in egg, and then Panko crumbs.  Deep fry for about 5 minutes, until golden brown.  I served mine with homemade tarter sauce, cocktail sauce, home French fries, and a garlic slaw.

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New Orleans Shrimp Creole

This is a great dish for Mardi Gras...or any other time for that matter!  Most Shrimp Creole you get in restaurants outside of New Orleans is not very flavorful...usually a bit bland.  This dish was adapted to my taste from a Paul Purdhomme recipe, and it is very good!  NOTE: I make the sauce and let it sit for about an hour so spices marry well, then I add the shrimp and finish cooking.  Add a green salad, and a crusty baguette, and you have a great tasting meal!

Ingredients:
2# raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
6-8 cups cooked white rice
2 TBS bacon grease
1 ¼ C chicken stock
1 ¼ C onions, finely chopped
1 C celery, finely chopped
¾ C bell pepper, finely chopped
2 TBS butter
1 tsp. garlic, finely minced
1 bay leaf
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. white pepper
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
½ tsp. black pepper
¾ tsp. Tabasco sauce
1 tsp dried thyme
¾ tsp. dried basil
1 ½ C finely diced canned tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 tsp. sugar

Instructions:
Wash, peel and devein the shrimp; refrigerate until needed. Sauté vegetables in bacon grease until soft; add butter. Add garlic, bay leaf, salt and all peppers; stir well. Then add rest of spices, including Tabasco, and stock. Cook over medium heat about 5 minutes to allow seasonings to marry; stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and sugar; simmer for 30 minutes. Add shrimp, stir well. Simmer about 5-10 minutes just until shrimp are plump and pink. To serve, center 1 C cooked white rice on plate, and spoon Shrimp Creole over.
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Pan Seared Scallops with Garlic, Olive Oil and Butter

I served these scallops as the first course of our Valentine's dinner last night.  They were delicious, tender, moist and flavorful.

Ingredients:

8- 10 large dry* scallops
salt to taste
pepper to taste
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS butter

2 cloves garlic, finely diced

Minced parsley, optional

Instructions:Pat scallops dry with paper towels. Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste over the scallops (both sides). Heat olive oil in a cast iron frying pan, over high heat. When oil and butter are hot, place the scallops in the pan with at least one or two inches between them.  Baste scallops with butter and oil during cooking. After about two and one half minutes, flip the scallops, add garlic, and cook for another two and a half minutes, continuing to baste them.  Scallops should now be brown on both sides. Remove scallops, and set on warm serving dishes.  Spoon pan juices over scallops, and sprinkle with minced parsley, if desired.  Serve immediately.

* Dry scallops have not been injected with any additives, and should be labled as such.  

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Recipe of the Week

Halibut with Tomato, Garlic, Capers, Olives and White Wine Sauce

I made this for dinner tonight, and it was excellent.  I served it with Herb Parmesan Red Potatoes roasted with butter, and a nice green salad.  My hubby was a happy man!  The recipe was posted on Lana's Cooking, but I adapted it to my taste.

Ingredients

• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 TBS minced garlic
• 2 TBS minced onion
• 1 can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/3 cup stuffed green olives, cut in half
• 2 TBS capers
• 1/2 C dry white wine
• 2 Halibut fillets

Instructions
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes.  Add the olive oil, garlic and tomatoes. Cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes or until the vegetables begin to soften.  Add the green olives, capers,  and wine.  Reduce the heat, cover and cook for 5 minutes.  While the sauce is cooking, season the fish on both sides with salt and pepper. Add the fillets to the skillet, spooning some of the sauce over the fish.  Cover and cook until the fish is flaky and cooked through.

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New Orleans Style "BBQ" Shrimp

Ingredients:
1 C vegetable oil
2 tsp. garlic, minced
4 bay leaves, crushed
2 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
1 C salted butter
½ tsp. dried basil
½ tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
1 TBS paprika
¾ tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
2# large fresh shrimp in the shell

Instructions:
In a large roasting pan, melt butter and add oil; mix well. Add remaining ingredients, except shrimp. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until sauce begins to boil; careful not to let spices burn. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove pan from heat, and let stand uncovered for at least 30 minutes. Return pan to heat and add shrimp, with shells on. Cook over medium heat 6-8 minutes or until shrimp just turn pink. Then, put pan in preheated 450* oven, bake about 10 minutes more. Do not overcook. Serve in shallow bowls with sauce ladled over it, with plenty of fresh, crisp, French baguettes to dip into sauce, and a tossed green salad. Devine!
I started making this in 1975. The original recipe is from "The New Orleans Cookbook".

Emma's Deviled Crab

Ingredients
1 small onion, chopped
½ C celery, minced
½ stick butter
1# lump crabmeat, picked
Progresso Italian Bread Crumbs; just enough to bind ingredients
1 TBS yellow mustard
1 TBS mayo
2 eggs, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Sauté vegetables in butter, do not brown. Mix crab, crumbs; add veggies. Mix in mustard, mayo, eggs, salt and pepper until well blended. Pack mixture into greased crab shells, top lightly with crumbs, bake in 400* oven; or shape into patties, bread lightly with breadcrumbs, and fry in olive oil. Can also be baked in a buttered casserole dish, and used as a main course.
My dear mother-in-law always made these for us when we visited them in Florida. She was a fantastic cook, and an even better person!

Tilapia Filets with Tomatoes, Garlic and Capers

This is a very tasty, quick and easy way to prepare fish.  My family loves it.  I serve it with a side of thin spaghetti with marinara sauce, a green salad and crusty bread!

Ingredients:
3 TBS oil; divided use
½ C flour
½ tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. pepper
4 Tilapia filets (6-8oz. each), or other mild whitefish filets; snapper, cod
¼ C onion, minced
1 C ripe tomato, coarsely chopped and seed removed
2 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 TBS capers
¼ C dry white wine, such as Chardonnay
2 TBS fresh lemon juice
4 TBS butter

Instructions:
Heat 2 TBS of the oil in a 12” skillet over medium heat. Mix flour, salt and pepper; lightly coat fillets. Place coated fish in the hot oil, and cook 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm. Add remaining oil to skillet along with onions; stir and cook until onion is translucent, about 2 minutes. Add tomato, garlic and capers and stir well. Add wine to the pan, stirring to loosen any brown bits from bottom of pan. Add lemon juice, and boil until liquid is reduced by half. Reduce heat to low and add butter; mix in and melt slowly. Place fillets on serving plates and spoon on sauce. Serve immediately.
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