We’ve made Salmon Sundays a pretty regular tradition here.  Usually Matt fires up the grill and makes Cedar-Planked Salmon, but this was a good change of pace and worked great on my grill pan.  This was delicious meal that came together easily.

Cuban-Style Grilled Salmon
Food Network Magazine, July/August 2011

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of two lemons or limes
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 large shallots, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin (we omitted this)
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Kosher salt
1/2 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
4 6-oz center-cut salmon fillets, skin removed
1 14-oz can hearts of palm, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
Vegetable oil, for brushing
2 cups mixed salad greens

Preheat a grill to medium high.  In a large bowl, whisk 2 tablespoons olive oil, the juice of one lemon, the garlic, shallots, cumin, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt and half of the cilantro.  Add the salmon and turn to coat.  Let marinate 15 minutes at room temperature.

Meanwhile, toss the hearts of palm and tomatoes in a bowl with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the juice of the remaining lemon, and the rest of the cilantro.  Season with salt.

Brush the grill with vegetable oil.  Grill the salmon round side down until marked on the bottom, about 4 minutes.  Turn and continue grilling until marked on the other side and cooked through, 2 to 3 more minutes.  Divide the salmon among plates.  Serve with the greens and hearts of palm salad; drizzle the juices from the salad over the greens.

Matt and I are trying to eat more fish lately, which has been interesting because both of us become pickier eaters where fish is concerned.  Cedar-plank salmon has become a Sunday night tradition, but this is the first time we branched out to eating fish on a weeknight.  I couldn’t find halibut, and probably wouldn’t have paid up for it anyway.  I used a package of frozen fish called dory, (not this Dory), straight from the cold waters of New Zealand (carbon footprint be darned!).  It was cheap, and this whole dish was remarkably tasty.  I’m putting the original recipe here, but next time I think we’ll use lime instead of orange.  Also, instead of the chipotles in the butter, I used several spoonfuls of the salsa negra I had made the night before.  Not bad for fish!

 

Halibut with Chipotle Compound Butter in Foil Packets
Source: Annie’s Eats

4 skinless white fish fillets (such as halibut), 6-8 oz. each
Salt and pepper
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
2 tsp. minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, divided
1 tsp. grated orange zest
2 tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice
2 cloves garlic, minced, divided
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups corn kernels
½ red onion, diced
2 scallions, chopped
¼ cup minced fresh cilantro, divided

Directions: 
Heat a grill to medium-high heat.  (Alternatively, preheat the oven to 425? F.)

Pat the fish dry with paper towels.  Season the fillets with salt and pepper.  In a small bowl, combine the butter, half of the chipotles, the orange zest, half of the garlic, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ¼ teaspoon of pepper.  Stir with a fork until well blended. Spread the mixture evenly over the top of the fillets.

In a medium bowl combine the remaining chipotles, the orange juice, the remaining garlic, the beans, corn, onion, scallions, and half of the cilantro.  Add in ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper.  Mix well to combine.  Lay four 14-inch squares of foil out on a work surface.  Divide the bean mixture evenly between the pieces of foil, placing it over the lower half of each piece.  Top each mound of the bean mixture with a fillet.  Fold the foil over the fish and fold up the edges to seal the packets.

Place the packets on the grill, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes or until the internal temperature of the fish registers 160? F.  (You can poke the probe of a thermometer directly through the foil rather than opening the packets.)  Alternatively, bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes just until the fish is cooked through.

Open the packets carefully to avoid contact with the steam and sprinkle with the remaining cilantro.  Serve warm.

Source: America’s Test Kitchen The Best Simple Recipes via Pink Parsley Catering

Matt declared this a top-10 recipe.  I didn’t tell him until the next day that it had fish sauce in it.  I think he’ll still eat it!  I also liked this recipe because it provides a recipe for cooking rice if you don’t have leftover rice or forgot to make it the day before.

Fried Rice, Indonesian-Style
Cook’s Illustrated, May/June 2011

5 green or red Thai chilies, stemmed (I used one serrano pepper, seeds and all, and it was spicy.  Jalapenos will work too.)
7 large shallots, peeled (I didn’t use 7, maybe more like 4)
4 large garlic cloves, peeled
2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
2 Tbsp light or mild molasses (I just used Grandma’s – I didn’t realize there was such a thing as light molasses)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp fish sauce
Table salt
4 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 recipe Faux Leftover Rice (recipe follows)
12 ounces shrimp, peeled, deveined, tails removed, cut into 1″ pieces
4 large scallions, sliced thin
2 limes, cut into wedges

1. Pulse chilies, 4 shallots, and garlic in food processor until coarse paste is formed, about fifteen 1-second pulses, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.  Transfer mixture to small bowl and set aside.  In second small bowl, stir together brown sugar, molasses, soy sauce, fish sauce, and 1 and 1/4 teaspoons of salt.  (I omitted this, and had to add salt later.  Guess I forgot I was working with a finely-tuned Cooks Illustrated recipe.)  Whisk eggs and 1/4 teaspoon salt together in medium bowl.

2. Thinly slice remaining 3 shallots and place in12-inch nonstick skillet with oil.  Fry over medium heat, stirring constantly, until shallots are golden and crisp, about 6-10 minutes.  Using slotted spoon, transfer shallots to paper towel-lined plate and season with salt to taste.  Pour off oil and reserve.  Wipe out skillet with paper towels.

3. Heat 1 teaspoon reserved oil in now-empty skillet, gently tilting pan to evenly coat bottom.  Cover and cook until bottom of omelet is spotty golden brown and top is just set, about 1 and 1/2 minutes.  Slide omelet onto cutting board and gently roll up into tight log.  Using sharp knife, cut log crosswise into 1-inch segments (leaving segments rolled).  Repeat with another teaspoon reserved oil and remaining egg.

4.  Remove rice from refrigerator and break up any large clumps with fingers.  Heat 3 tablespoons reserved oil in now-empty skillet over medium heat until just shimmering.  Add chile mixture and cook until mixture turns golden, 3 to 5 minutes.  Add shrimp, increase heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring constantly, until exterior of shrimp is just opaque, about 2 minutes.  Push shrimp to sides of skillet to clear center; stir molasses mixture to recombine, and pour into center of skillet.  When molasses mixture bubbles, add rice and cook, stirring and folding constantly, until shrimp is cooked, rice is heated through and mixture is evenly coated, about 3 minutes.  Stir in scallions, remove from heat, and transfer to serving platter.  Garnish with egg segments, fried shallots, and lime wedges; serve immediately.

 

Faux Leftover Rice

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cups jasmine or long-grain white rice, rinsed
2 2/3 cup water

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering.  Add rice and stir to coat grains with oil, about 30 seconds.  Add water, increase heat to high, and bring to boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until all liquid is absorbed, about 18 minutes.  Off heat, remove lid and place clean kitchen towel folded in half over saucepan; replace lid.  Let stand until rice is just tender, about 8 minutes.  Spread cooked rice onto rimmed baking sheet, set on wire rack, and cool 10 minutes.  Transfer to refrigerator and chill for 20 minutes.

Mmmm…fish. Okay, so not my favorite food. However, I went to a fish market where I could literally see the ocean from their back window (though it was night when I was there, so not really). This was a fantastic fish recipe! And of course, I’m sure the fresh fish did not hurt at all (pretty sure it was caught the same day I bought it…yesterday!). Mmmm…

(recipe courtesy EatingWell.com)
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 ounces Spanish chorizo or turkey kielbasa, diced
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup dry white wine, divided
1 15-ounce can great northern beans, rinsed
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1 1/4 pounds white fish, cut into 4 pieces
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shallot, chorizo (or kielbasa) and thyme and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and 1/4 cup wine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are broken down and the wine is almost evaporated, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in beans and 1/4 teaspoon salt and remove from the heat.
Sprinkle fish with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper; place in the prepared baking dish. Top each piece of fish with equal amounts of the tomato mixture (about 1/2 cup per fillet). Pour the remaining 1/4 cup wine into the pan and cover the pan with foil. Bake until the fish is just cooked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve the fish with the sauce spooned over the top.

My first Sunny Anderson recipe, and it was a good’un!!!   We found the ponzu sauce at an Asian market.  You could sub soy sauce, with a little lemon or orange juice if you have it, and it would probably be pretty similar.  I followed this recipe to a T, except I used less oil.  These are GOOOOOOD.

Shrimp Potstickers

Ingredients

Potstickers:

• 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 3 scallions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 egg
• 40 round wonton or gyoza wrappers
• 3 tablespoons peanut oil

Dipping sauce:

• 1/3 cup ponzu
• 1 scallion, minced
• 1 teaspoon chili sauce (recommended: Sriracha)
• 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Directions

Mom and Dad took me to an excellent Denver restaurant called Venue, in the Highlands when I was home this last time.  I ordered their signature dish, Shrimp and Grits, and it was awesome!  After telling Will about it, he asked if I thought I could replicate it (coming from a good Southern family, the boy loves grits).  I told him I could sure try.  I’m proud of the outcome!  I don’t know exactly how they do their grits at Venue, so I just guessed.  However, they did tell us that they use Emmantaler cheese, which is a type of Swiss.  I found this at the Commissary.  I was reading about Emmantaler in my ingredients book and it said Gruyere is similar, so I imagine that could work too.  Also, at Venue, you get Black Tiger Shrimp. The Commissary here, however, thinks it’s a good idea not to have a fish monger, even though I can see the ocean from the Commissary parking lot (okay, not quite, but almost).  So, I had to get jumbo shrimp which were frozen, so they were not as good as other not-frozen shrimp might have been, however, the dish was still great!  Here’s what I did (I made it up as I went along):

For Grits:

1clove garlic, minced

1/3 cup minced sweet yellow onion

2 TBSP Olive Oil (2 turns of the pan)

1 cup Old Fashioned white grits

1/2 cup chicken broth

1  1/2 cups milk

Salt

1/3 cup Emmantaler cheese, finely grated

Cilantro

Sriracha chili sauce

For Shrimp:

1 TBSP olive oil

1 lb Jumbo or Black Tiger Shrimp

1 clove garlic

pinch of cayenne

salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a sauce pan of medium heat.  Saute onions and garlic until they are softened and have a tiny bit of color (you don’t want them too dark or they will stand out in the grits).  Add broth and 1 cup of milk. Bring to a boil.  Add grits and salt to taste, stirring to combine.  Reduce heat to low and cook grits for 5-7 minutes, then stir in last 1/2 cup of milk.  Cook another 10-15 minutes, until the grits are soft and creamy in texture. 

Meanwhile, season shrimp with salt, pepper and a dash of cayenne.  Heat olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat.  Add garlic and saute.  When garlic is browned and has flavored the oil, remove from pan. Add shrimp to pan and saute 5-7 minutes, or until pink on the outside and opaque in the center. 

Once grits are soften and creamy, stir in Emmantaler.  If grits are too thick, add a splash more milk. 

Serve grits garnished with cilantro on top and Sriracha sauce spread on the plate beside the grits, place shrimp on top of grits. 

This was soooo good and so much fun to try to replicate a recipe.  Of course, Venue does it best, but sometimes it’s fun to experiment!!!

Monkfish Provincial (except Dad doesn’t use monkfish or provincial!)  Easy dish and quick.  Serve over rice.  About 2-3 servings.

Ingredients:
salt and pepper to taste (very little salt)
1/2 tsp fajita seasoning
1/4 cup flour
1 lb halibut (monkfish or tilapia) – roughly chopped
1 TBP olive oil
1 TBP butter
1 clove garlic (or less)
4 TBP RoTel tomatoes
8 oz fresh mushrooms sliced
2 TBP white wine
some dried parsley

Mix the fajita seasoning, flour, salt and pepper.  Lightly coat fish.  Saute the mushrooms and garlic in 1/2 tbp butter.  In a separate pan, heat the olive oil and 1/2 tbp butter.  Cook the coated fish for 3 minutes.  Mix in the garlic, mushrooms and Rotels.  Cook another 2 minutes.  Add the white wine and parsley and cook another minute or so.  Serve over rice.