05

Jul

Mahi mahi

We’ve been eating a lot more seafood lately. I thought it would be more expensive, but when portions are kept at 3 to 4 ounces each, it ends up being the same as we were spending on chicken, pork or beef. Plus, the incredible health benefits from fish make me feel even better–tastes good, good for you. Matt went a little adventurous for a dinner last week and cooked mahi-mahi for the first time. We had just made a trip to Whole Foods in Austin; among our fun findings was a package of cedar papers for grilling.
These are new and amazing. You soak the papers in a dish of water for about 10 minutes, they soften up, and you put your food in them (fish, meat, veggies, whatever), roll the papers and tie them, and grill like crazy! The cedar wrapped around the food allows for amazing taste and scent, and it’s a fabulous idea (better than cedar planks, in my opinion). 8 papers were $6, I believe. 
Grilled Mahi-mahi
Matt did an amazing job with the mahi-mahi. I honestly did not know anything about the fish, so I took lots of pictures throughout the process. We bought the fish the same day we were using it (advise I kept seeing in all of my cookbooks). We bought a pound of the fish. Matt laid the fish out (skin side down) and cut them into 4 squares (4 oz each, small enough to fit in the cedar papers). He seasoned both sides with sea salt and pepper, rubbing it in.
It’s a really pretty fish, with silver and golden skin.

 Then, he removed the cedar papers from the water (10 minutes of soaking) and placed them on the cutting board.

He placed the mahi in the center of the paper and added shrimp/veggies (recipe below) on and around the mahi.

He secured the papers with string and placed on the grill, 10 minutes on each side.

Unwrap carefully and eat, eat. We served with homemade tartar sauce (although it didn’t need it) and couscous.

Shrimp and Veggies (to accompany mahi-mahi)
4 servings
1/2 pound medium raw shrimp, peeled and rinsed
Cut the following into long, thin slices (julienned):
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 zucchini
2 carrots


Combine shrimp and veggies in large bowl. Add:
Juice of 2 lemons
Juice of 2 limes
Dash of garlic powder and black pepper
Pinch of sea salt


Mix with hands (or spoon) until evenly distributed onto shrimp and veggies. Cover with plastic wrap and put in fridge for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Then top onto mahi when you’re ready to grill.

Tartar Sauce
1/2 cup lowfat mayo
Dash of sea salt and pepper
2 TB dill relish
Dash of garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon of dried rosemary and basil

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and serve immediately.
 
While the grill was still hot, I ran out and added a few pineapple and orange slices. Yum. That was dessert.

Hope you had a great holiday yesterday. Happy grilling!

~Laurel~

15 years ago Short URL

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09

Jun

Sweet, Spicy and Minty? Oh, My!

Grilling is always good, but sometimes it’s nice to grill under air conditioning!

In comes
the grill pan!
While NOTHING replaces the the genuine, masculine grill, the grill pan is a great alternative when you crave cool air and being in the kitchen, rather than than lots of sweat and bug bites as outside souvenirs. Our engagement present from the Cluthes (my in-laws) was this amazing Calphalon grill pan. Honestly, I thought it was a generous gift, but I had NO IDEA HOW OFTEN we’d use it! (Thanks, family!) It is so versatile:
seafood
chicken
beef
pork
veggies
fruits
polenta

Sweet, Spicy and Minty? Oh, my!



I was just experimenting, but these worked out well. You can use your favorite veggies (bell peppers, carrots, potatoes, corn, squashes, tomatoes, etc.)  
Grilled Veggies with 3 Flavors
Serves 6 one-cup servings, but easily doubles or triples. Heat pan to medium-high heat.
1) CHOP
1 green bell pepper, sliced into large bites
2 carrots, sliced in half or thirds lengthwise, then in half again (reducing thickness of carrots)
4 red potatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch chips
2) FLAVOR
In a large bowl, toss all veggies in olive oil and a pinch of sea salt.

2A) CARROTS (SWEET)
In a smaller bowl, toss carrots in 2 TB brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Make sure all pieces are coated. Place the tossed carrots on the grill pan, one layer deep. Rinse out bowl to use on potatoes.

2B) POTATOES (MINTY)
Chop 3 TB of fresh mint + a pinch of sea salt and toss potatoes with mint. Add potatoes to the grill pan, in one layer.
 
2C) BELL PEPPER (SPICY)
In a smaller bowl, toss pepper with a pinch of sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper  and 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper. Put on grill.

It might take a couple of rounds to get all of the veggies grilled. When you do so, it will take 5 minutes on each side before flipping with tongs. Cook until the veggies are slightly soft on the outside but not overly charred.

I ate this as an entree, which would be good over rice. It works well as a side, too. Bon appetit!
~Laurel~

15 years ago Short URL 1 Comment

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25

Apr

Shrimp Pocket

Vitalogy by Pearl Jam

While I was at work one day, Matt decided to cook. He’s retraining the grill as summer quickly approaches, getting in a few practice runs before the real Texas heat finally settles in. Matt grilled a steak for himself and created something fun for me, a Shrimp Pocket. I requested lots of veggies and a few jumbo shrimp.

Mirrorball by Neil Young

Matt loves vinyl and put on a few records while he prepped the food…



He wrote out a list of the ingredients for the shrimp pocket…for me.

shrimp pocket
*2 servings*
6 jumbo shrimp
2 stalks celery, cut into 2/3″ bites
2 stalks green onion/chives, chopped
1 zucchini, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 red bell pepper ” “
Large handful fresh green beans
10-12 baby carrots
juice of 3 squeezed lemons   
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. black pepper
2 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
1 t. sesame seeds
1 TB olive oil
3 TB soy sauce
1-2 t. red pepper flakes, crushed in hand

directions:
1) Toss all veggies in a medium sized bowl. Squeeze lemon over veggies and add all seasonings. Adjust seasonings to taste.
2) Add peeled and rinsed (cooked or raw) shrimp to veggies. Toss.
3) Cover bowl with saran wrap or foil and set in fridge for 1-2 hours. 

4) After time in fridge, lay out 2 sheets of aluminum foil. Pour veggie/shrimp mix with sauce onto foil and wrap up to keep all ingredients from leaking out. Place on grill for 20-25 minutes, flipping to evenly cook food. 

Enjoy.

 Sam slept, we ate.
If you prefer not to drag out the grill, you can cook the foil-less pocket ingredients in a wok. It’ll take 15+ minutes to fully cook the carrots and bell pepper. Either way, the veggies will taste delicious and the shrimp will be heavenly. Happy eating!



~Laurel~

15 years ago Short URL

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