Grilled Salmon with Blackened Seasoning and Gilled Asparagus

Happy Spring!

How ironic that I woke up to 2 - 3 inches of fresh snow this morning...

In an effort to eat healthier (have a mentioned that I am in 2 weddings this summer?), I bought a big, fat, red, wild-caught salmon fillet and some perfectly ripe, in season asparagus at the grocery store a week or so ago (yes, I am behind in my blogging).

You can't get much healthier than that, right?

The weather has been pretty gorgeous (until last night), which means that the grill has been calling my name...but first I had to overcome a challenge.

Steve doesn't like salmon.

Let me rephrase that.

Steve doesn't like COOKED salmon.

He loves the raw salmon that we eat at the sushi bar...but he thinks that cooked salmon is yucky.

I agree with him that some fish gets stronger and more fishy tasting the more that you cook it - like salmon and tuna...which  is why when we cook tuna, we buy high grade tuna, sear it and eat it rare.

But salmon? I wasn't sure if it was safe to undercook salmon.

Plus, I was craving the full flavor of a grilled piece of fish.

The compromise?

Blackened seasoning.

Click HERE for a delicious, basic recipe for blackened seasoning (and some other delicious marinades and rubs - perfect in time for grill season), or you can buy the premade stuff (I would recommend Chef Paul's - he is the pioneer of Blackening fish).

Traditionally blackening includes dipping the meat in butter, then the blackened seasoning, and then pan frying the meat in hot butter in a cast iron skillet...delicious, but not quite as healthy as I was going for...plus it can stink up your house.

My recipe is more heart-healthy, but still gives an excellent flavor that even fish snobs will love.

The verdict? Steve really enjoyed the fish and said it was by far the best way he had ever eaten salmon.

End of story.

What are you waiting for?

And don't forget the humble (yet delicious and nutritious) asparagus recipe at the bottom.

Grilled Salmon with Blackened Seasoning (serves 4)

• 2 lb wild-caught salmon fillet, skin still on the bottom
• 1/2 lemon, plus extra for garnish
• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of blackened seasoning (homemade or store bought)

Rinse salmon fillet and pat dry. Place skin side down on a plate or in a baking dish.

Squeeze the lemon evenly over the top of the fillet, then drizzle the fillet evenly with olive oil.

Rub blackened seasoning all over the parts of the fish that do not have skin (the top and sides).

Let the fish rest while you preheat the grill to 400 degrees.

Put the fish skin-side down on the hot grill, and cook about 6 - 8 minutes, or until the skin is golden brown and the top is starting to get flaky.

Please note: keep a close eye on the fish while it's cooking. If you have smaller pieces, or a hotter grill it will take less time

If desired, remove skin before serving (skin should easily peel off once fish is cooked).

Serve with lemon wedges.

Enjoy!

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Grilled Asparagus (serves 4)

• 1 bundle of fresh asparagus, washed and woody ends removed
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice or balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a zip-top bag.

Preheat grill to 400 degrees

Place asparagus in a grill pan and grill for 4 - 6 minutes, or until crisp tender.

Please note: you can also roast these in a 400 degree oven for 4 - 6 minutes instead.

Enjoy!

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Date Night Dinner: Filet Mignon, Citrus and Herb Shrimp, Baked Potato and Salad

Yum.

I love food.

Have you noticed?

And I love Steve.

Hence, the following dinner was born:

Grilled Filet Mignon, Grilled Citrus and Herb Shrimp, (Grilled) Baked Potato, Salad.

Steve has been ridiculously busy lately.

Like, I would probably be sitting on the floor at Miller Dwan, rocking back and forth in my straight jacket if I was that busy.

But instead, he's tired but calm.

And still going out of his way to do sweet things for me like picking up Kempton's holistic, expensive, and difficult to find dog food from the feed place in Wisconsin...even though I didn't ask him to.

Yes, I do realize that I am crazy.

Why do you ask?

Anyway...I wanted to make him a nice dinner to show him that I appreciate him and everything he does.

Take a look:

Delicious little filet...we don't eat a lot of red meat. One small filet is enough for us to share. Steve likes simple flavors, so I simply rubbed the meat with sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, and a little olive oil.

Citrus and herb shrimp...my favorite way to eat shrimp right now. I'll post the recipe below - you should try it immediately!

Po-ta-toe! We split this too, because I knew that we had plenty of food. To prepare this little bugger I scrubbed it, poked some holes in it with a fork...then wrapped it in aluminum foil that was drizzled with olive oil, salt, pepper and some dried herbs. We cooked it on the grill (along with the steak and shrimp). Yum!

Are you hungry yet?

Everything turned out phenomenal. It's hard to see in the pictures, but the steak was medium rare - exactly  how we like it (I am giving Steve full credit for this, and I would also like to apologize to him for running around squawking about how they were going to be overdone), and the shrimp were perfect.

We shared a bottle of red wine and had a lovely evening.

I use the term "shared" loosely.

Try this shrimp and let me know what you think - it is oh-so-good and the nice thing about this recipe is that you can customize it using whatever citrus and herbs you have on hand...I hope you enjoy it!

Citrus and Herb Shrimp (serves 2)

• 1 lb uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 cup citrus juice: orange, lime or lemon...or a combination of the 3. I usually use 1/2 cup of orange and 1/2 cup of either lime or lemon depending what I have on hand
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt (or sea salt)
• 1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
• 3 tablespoons fresh or 1 tablespoon dried herbs of your choice: try thyme, oregano, basil, cilantro, tarragon, marjoram or rosemary...or a combination. I usually use an Italian blend; or thyme, oregano, and basil...but I have experimented with other combinations and everything seems to turn out really good
• 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Marinade for one hour, stirring occasionally. Preheat grill to 375 degrees. Thread shrimp on skewers (unless they are JUMBO and not likely to fall through the grates) and cook for 2 - 3 minutes per side, or until they are cooked through. Be careful not to overcook! These suckers cook fast and get rubbery when overcooked. Yum!

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Jambalaya!

Yum.

This is one of Steve's favorite meals that I make.

He just told me that last week when I made it.

He said that he doesn't ask for it very often because he always thought it was really complicated to cook.

Wrong!

It is very easy.

Delicious and simple...gotta love that!

It's also pretty hearty, but doesn't require the use of the oven, so if you are getting tired of the light, cool meals of summer and looking for something a little more substantial, this would be perfect!

You can make substitutions to use what you have on hand (or because you can't find andouille sausage anywhere in town...boo!); sometimes I leave out the ham, sometimes I sub out andouille sausage for kielbasa or hot Italian sausage or chicken (although, that makes it less authentic...but still delicious!). I use red pepper instead of green pepper, because it's what I had in the fridge.

Go ahead and play around with the spices, too. I used all dried herbs (crazy, I know), and like to make it spicy.

Go ahead and show your surprise.

I will leave you with the basic recipe and you can tweak it however your heart desires! Just make this soon!

I serve it with some crusty bread and if I'm feeling ambitious, a salad.

And it is even better the next day.

Jambalaya (serves 4 very hungry people, or 6 moderately hungry people)

• 1 pound of raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (I take the tails off too)
• 8 ounces andouille sausage, sliced
• 1 cup of cubed cooked ham (you could also sub cubed cooked chicken)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/3 cup chopped celery
• 3/4 cup uncooked rice
• 2 cups of low sodium chicken broth
• 1 14.5 ounce diced tomatoes (regular or fire-roasted), undrained
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a large skillet or dutch oven; add onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic; saute until tender. Note: if you are using bulk Italian sausage like I did last time (instead of cooked sausage), brown the meat at the same time...it imparts a great flavor on the veggies too). Stir in the chicken broth, tomatoes, rice, sausage, thyme, basil, bay leaves, and red pepper. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and cover. Simmer, covered, until the rice is tender (about 15 - 20 minutes). Check seasonings and add salt and pepper as needed. Increase heat to boiling again and add raw shrimp. Cook until just opaque. Add ham and heat through, checking seasonings one more time. Discard bay leaves...Enjoy!!!

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Buffalo Shrimp Sandwich

Last weekend I made roasted shrimp and risotto for Steve and I. I had been in a cooking funk for a week and I needed something delicious to pull me out of it.

Risotto is that something for me. Yummy comfort food deliciousness. But I've already posted the recipe for that right here.That isn't what this post is about. This post is about what I did with the leftover shrimp the next day for lunch!

I was thinking about making a shrimp po' boy...but I didn't have Louisiana French bread or fried shrimp...two very important parts of a po' boy. So I settled for this:

Buffalo Shrimp Sandwich

• 4 - 6 cooked shrimp (I used leftover roasted shrimp)
• 2 tablespoons of Franks Red Hot or your favorite hot sauce
• 1 slice of provolone cheese
• ranch or bleu cheese dressing
• one sub bun (or hoagie, baguette, etc)

Arrange shrimp on one half of bun, top with hot sauce and provolone cheese. Place under the broiler for 2 - 5 minutes (watch it the whole time...broilers are finicky...it can go from cold to burnt really fast...I keep the oven door cracked) or until cheese is melted and bun is toasted. Top with ranch or bleu cheese and enjoy! If you want an extra kick, you can sprinkle blackened or cajun seasoning on your shrimp first. Yum!

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Grilled Tuna Steaks and PW's Asian Noodle Salad

YUM.

I love tuna steaks. Marinaded, seared, big, fat, juicy, tuna steaks. Last night, I put the steaks in an Asian style marinade because I thought it would go well with this:

Pioneer Woman's Asian Noodle Salad (her most favorite salad ever ever ever ever).

This photo is off of her website, because once again I am a photo slacker and neglected to take pictures.

If you haven't tried it yet, you probably should. It is one of the only recipes on her blog that doesn't include butter. Or heavy cream. Or both. Bless her heart. I changed it up by adding less olive oil and no cilantro to the dressing. I did add lots of cilantro to the salad itself, as well as cutting the recipe about in half (it makes LOTS). This is so delicious and colorful and summery, it is the perfect compliment to a hearty tuna steak.

For the tuna steaks, I marinaded them in the following marinade for about 3 hours, which was a little long...the meat was starting the get a little mealy. But the flavors were fantastic! I would recommend no longer than 1.5 hours. And you could use whatever marinade you wanted to (or just some olive oil and salt and pepper).

Grilled Tuna Steaks with Asian Style Marinade:

• 2 tuna steaks (the fresher the better)
• 3 - 4 tablespoons of soy sauce
• Juice of one lime
• 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons of minced fresh ginger
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard (optional)
• crushed red pepper flakes, to taste (you could also use an Asian chili sauce like Sriracha)

Whisk all marinade ingredients together in a bowl and pour over tuna steaks. Marinade for 30 minutes to an hour, turning occasionally. 

Preheat grill to 400 degrees. Sear marinaded tuna steaks on each side for 2 - 3 minutes, depending on desired doneness. I like my tuna steaks pretty rare, because I think the more well done tuna is, the more fishy tasting it gets. Enjoy!

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Shrimp Scampi Fresca

I think Kempton might have Lyme's disease. He has some of the symptoms and they are getting worse...fast. The earliest I can get him into the vet is tomorrow at 2pm, and in the meantime I am totally freaking out. In an effort to not lose my mind, I am going to tell you a story and give you a recipe. I doubt it will work (to keep me from losing my mind), but you shouldn't let that deter you from making this delicious, lemony shrimp scampi pasta.

Unless you don't like lemons. Because there is lots of lemony flavor in this. It's bold. It's yummy. Although - on a side note - Steve doesn't love citrus flavors (especially lemon and lime), but he loved this. So stop being a sissy.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away - I was a server (fancy term for waitress) at a restaurant called The Oceanic. The Oceanic is situated on Wrightsville Beach on the coast of North Carolina, with a big pier going out into the ocean and tons of fresh fish and seafood on the menu. Delicious. I always used my employee discount to have a meal either before or after my shift...and I usually got the same few things: blackened fish sandwich, grilled shrimp with steamed veggies, or shrimp scampi fresca. The first two are very simple to make at home. The scampi was a challenge though, because it was unlike any scampi I ever had...it had a fresh lemon taste, and delicious cherry tomatoes. I tried (unsuccessfully) to make it a few times after I first moved back to MN. Now that I am older, wiser, prettier, funnier, and a much better cook, I decided to tackle the challenge of re-creating this yummy dish. I think I have recently hit the jackpot. And for the record, I am a better cook than I was back then...but that's about it.

Either way - I finally mastered this. I am already looking forward to making it again. I think it shall become my "house dish", sort of like how Kendall Jackson Chardonnay has become my house wine. Or maybe I'll just eat it all myself and not let anyone come over when I make it...and then I'll hoard all the wine too, and die really fat, drunk and alone. Yup - that's the new plan.

Not a good idea? Fine...here is the recipe. And yes, I will make it for you sometime. Enjoy! 

Shrimp Scampi Fresca (serves 4)

• zest and juice of 2 lemons, divided
• one pound of shrimp, peeled and deveined. I used 16 - 20 count shrimp
• 1/2 of a medium onion, chopped finely
• 3 - 6 cloves of garlic (depending on the size and your taste), minced
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (I used Kendall Jackson Chardonnay. Surprise!)
• 5 tablespoons of butter, divided
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 pint of cherry tomatoes
• kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
• crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
• 1/2 box of thin linguine or angel hair pasta
• parm cheese for garnish

Toss about 2 tablespoons lemon juice and one tablespoon of olive oil with raw shrimp and cherry tomatoes, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and some red pepper flakes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, heat remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a saute pan (or whatever kind of pan you want), along with 3 tablespoons of butter. Saute onion and garlic until tender. Add the wine and remaining lemon zest and juice. Cook down until it starts to thicken...if necessary, add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. While sauce is cooking down, spread shrimp and tomatoes on a baking sheet and put in oven for 5 minutes or until shrimp is just barely done. Check sauce for seasonings and add salt, pepper and crushed red pepper if desired. Add shrimp and tomatoes to sauce, then toss with pasta*. Top with some grated parm cheese. YUM!

*Be careful not to add too much pasta. If you are nervous, just toss in a half at a time...you don't want a lack of sauce, but the sauce is pretty flavorful so you have some room to work there. I want to eat this right now.

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Guest Post: Tara's Nice Bass!!!

Lindsey's note: Here is a wonderful recipe that my friend Tara made for her boyfriend Eli last night for a belated Valentine's Day dinner. If you are looking for a recipe to impress, this would be it! Tara is much more ambitious and brave than I am when it comes to cooking...I would have taken one look at this and ran screaming in the other direction. Usually if I haven't ever heard of or can't pronounce more than two ingredients in a recipe I cry and give up, but she persevered and the results were amazing! If you live in a small town, you probably will need to plan ahead and order the black rice and farro online, and possibly order the fish from your local grocery store (if they do that sort of thing). Please make this for someone you love - it will be worth it! 

The following recipe was adapted by Tara from: Zen Can Cook.

Bass with farro, black rice, baby spinach and tangerine:
 
-Fish (I used one sea bass fillet, I know they are over fished, but it was already dead, couldn’t let it go to waste and because it tastes to goooood. Nice justification right? The recipe called for striped bass, but I couldn’t find any here. Halibut, cod, mahi, salmon would be good, but I think trout would be spectacular.) So this recipe feeds 8 or probably 6 hungry people, choose number of fillets accordingly.  Remove the skin.
4 tangerines
1 T thyme
2 T olive oil
2 T parsley, chopped
1 t sugar
4 T butter unsalted
salt and pepper to taste

-Farro, black rice, green garlic & spinach
6 T olive oil
1 C onion, chopped
2 chile de arbol chopped (I couldn’t find this pepper, use something with a little heat, but not burn your face off hot.)
3/4 white wine
1 T thyme
1/2 C green garlic, sliced (I used ¼ C of elephant garlic instead)
8 OZ baby spinach
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 C black rice (The whole foods grocery store has this usually in a pre-packaged bag. Not in the bulk section. Very high in fiber, amino acids and iron and has a deep nutty taste. It was referred to as the forbidden rice. Ohlalala.)
1 1/2 C Farro (This may be harder to find, but it’s worth it if you can find it. Buy it online or order it from your grocery store. In a pinch you could probably substitute barley or spelt. It is an Italian grain from which all grains have descended. It has a firm texture and nutty flavor.)

Marinate the fish -
Zest the tangerines in a zip lock bag and combine with the 1 T of thyme and 2 T parsley. Throw the fish in and let it soak up the zest herb mix for at least 4 hours. I marinated for 24 hours.

Black Rice-
I used Gina’s wild rice recipe for this the night before. Lindsey's note: our friend Gina has taught us a fantastic wild rice recipe, which Tara duplicated for the black rice...I think it goes something like this: preheat the oven to 500 degrees, put washed rice, water and optional chicken bouillon in casserole dish. Cover, put in oven then turn oven off and let it sit overnight (without peaking or opening the door!). Usually it is one part rice to three parts water (example: 1 cup of uncooked rice, 3 cups water), and then I use one cube of bouillon for each cup of water used.

Farro-
I bought the Farro from Saras table. The chef told me I didn’t have to soak it, but some packages say you need to depending on the quality of the rice. He suggested I make it somewhat like risotto. Sure thing chef! In a medium pan I added the 2 T of olive oil and sauteed the chopped onion and chili until translucent. I dumped the rice in with the garlic to combine the flavors for about one minute. Pour the golden elixir, I mean wine, in and let the farro soak that all up. I kept stirring and adding more water and simmering it down until the farro was cooked. I think I added about 5 c of water in all.

Rice and Spinach
Combine the black rice and farro. (Since I made the black rice the night before I just used the same pan.) Dump the spinach in and add the rest of the olive oil 4 T. The spinach should wilt. I added about ¼ C of wine as well so the rice didn’t burn.  Keep warm. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

The Tangerine Syrup-
Juice 3 tangerines into a sauce pan and add the 1 t of sugar. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer and reduce until syrupy.  Then whisk in 4 T of butter.  Don’t make my mistake, use unsalted butter for this.  Keep warm.

Tangerine Slices-
Cut the remaining tangerine into slices without the rind.

The Fish-
Season the fish with salt and pepper. Heat a pan over medium high heat, add the 2 T of olive oil and when hot (not smoldering) lay the fish in the pan with the marinate. Each side of my fillet took about 4 minutes. It is easy to overcook so don’t be running off multi-tasking right now.

The grand finale-
Plop some farro, black rice, spinach mixture on each plate. Top with the fish. Spoon some syrup over the fish about 1 T.  Then place a couple of tangerine slices on the side. 

PS. I also made 2 king crab legs and placed the meat on top of the fish, totally unnecessary, but hey it was a valentines dinner…Eli cried it was so good.
(pretend there are tangerine slices in the picture below)