Of all the things we sampled, our favorite was the popular Asian tuna, which the cafe serves on ciabatta rolls or as a green salad topping.

The tuna gets a little kick from Sambal Oelek, an Indonesian condiment made from very hot chiles, vinegar, and salt. Sambals vary between countries and regions, and use a variety of chiles, spices, and many other ingredients, so depending on what you have a taste for and what your local Asian grocery store stocks, you can spice up sandwiches and other dishes in dozens of different ways. Just be prepared because this is spicy stuff.

Other samples we tried included the Santa Fe Salad, Southwest Wrap, Turkey Avocado Sandwich, and the Chicken Pesto Pizza, so it’s a good thing we skipped dinner that night.

Recipe Notes

The recipe as distributed at the demonstration yielded a tuna that was much wetter than the version served in the cafe, plus it was much, much spicier, so we adjusted the ingredients amounts to hopefully come closer to the tuna we sampled. The flavor is very good and it makes a delicious stuffing for lettuce wraps, tortillas, tomatoes, on top of cucumber slices for an appetizer, as well as a salad topping. We’ve been stuffing our homegrown heirloom tomatoes with it, and the combination is terrific. Can you guess what kind of tomato is in the photo? It’s Michael’s favorite and we try to grow them every year. Because these tomatoes are sweet, we omit the honey in the tuna and really don’t miss it.

The tuna salad will keep for a day or so, but it tastes best on the day prepared.

(Print this recipe)

ASIAN TUNA SALAD

Adapted from LifeCafe.

Serves 6.

Equipment

3-quart mixing bowl

Ingredients

1/2 cup (120 ml) mayonnaise
1 tablespoon sambal oelek (Indonesian chili paste), or more to taste
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey (optional)
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/2 tablespoon minced ginger
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
4 (6 ounce/170 g) cans tuna, drained and chopped (LifeCafe uses white tuna, we opted for light.)
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Preparation

1. In the large bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, sambal oelek, sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, ginger, kosher salt, sesame seeds, and red pepper flakes.

2. Add the tuna, carrots, green onions, cilantro, and dried cranberries, then toss to mix well. Use as a stuffing for lettuce wraps, tortilla wraps, tomatoes, on top of thick sliced cucumbers, or on top of green salads.

More Easy Healthy Seafood Recipes

More Healthy Tuna Recipes From Around the Blogs

Simply Recipes – Seared Ahi Tuna with Avocado

Steamy Kitchen – Sesame Seared Tuna with Lime Ginger Vinaigrette

Farmgirl Fare – Swiss Chard Tuna Salad

Kalyn’s Kitchen – Tuna Stuffed Avocado Salad with Tomatoes, Cilantro, and Lime

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Our spice cabinet is chock full, and although some spices see more use more than others our quick taco seasoning mix goes into a variety of dishes and makes it easy to whip up these fish tacos in a jiffy. Even on a busy weeknight, we can literally have dinner on the table in about 15 minutes which almost makes up for not having a good taco truck anywhere nearby.

We keep a jar of taco seasoning mixed up and ready to go, all we have to do is toss some mahi mahi or other firm white fish chunks in it, sauté, and it’s ready to serve. Try our mix or come up with your own using your favorite Mexican flavors. Start with chili powder, cumin, garlic, and chipotle pepper powder (or dried chipotle peppers if you find them in a store), and then play around with amounts and other ingredients until you have a flavor profile you like.

(Print this recipe)

FAST FISH TACOS WITH SPICY CHIPOTLE SEASONING

Serves 4.

Equipment

shaker jar with lid
glass pie plate or other container for marinating
large nonstick skillet

Ingredients

4 filets mahi mahi or other firm white fish, cut into bite size chunks
taco seasoning (recipe below or use your own)
2 tablespoons canola oil

SPICY CHIPOTLE TACO SEASONING MIX (small batch)
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

ACCOMPANIMENTS
sliced avocados
lime wedges
cilantro
corn or whole grain tortillas
sliced onions
salsas

Preparation

1. Mix up the taco seasoning and keep it in a shaker jar with a tight lid.

2. Sprinkle the seasoning over the fish, tossing to coat.

3. Warm the oil in the skillet and add the seasoned fish. Sauté, stirring occasionally until the fish is cooked through, about 5 to 7 minutes.

4. Transfer cooked fish to a warm bowl and serve with the suggested accompaniments.

More Good Mexican Food

And of course…

Ideas for a Cinco de Mayo Party Or When You Just Want Some Mexican Food

More Fish Taco Recipes From Around the Blogs

The Paupered Chef – Baja Fish Tacos

Use Real Butter – Fish Tacos

Simply Recipes – Fish Tacos

Chili Cheese Fries – Fish Tacos with Chipotle Mango Slaw

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When I saw this month’s Daring Cooks challenge announcement, my pulse quickened and I envisioned a moist, colorful, flavorful Spanish rice. The sofregit seemed perfect for the season, with fresh tomatoes, peppers, and garlic, and this was a perfect opportunity to test out the paella pan (paellera) Michael gave me for Christmas. That I still had not used. Time to get cracking.

We used our homegrown tomatoes and garlic in the dish, loving the fresh flavor of the tomatoes and the intensity of our garlic. As I studied the instructions, I realized the recipe only used a small amount of the sofregit, but we enjoyed the flavor so much we added more along with a dollop of the allioli to each serving of rice. Each taste was like a game of roulette, not knowing when we would find the sharp bite of the allioli.

This delicious dish comes from an episode of Made in Spain, a public television show starring José Andrés, the internationally known Spanish chef with several restaurants in the DC Metro area. You can find a video of Chef Andrés preparing this dish at the Made in Spain website.

I opted to use shrimp instead of cuttlefish since I have a family of boys who aren’t big into seafood, and the recipe below reflects those changes, including making shrimp broth. You can find the full original recipe at Olga of Olga’s Recipes, who hosted this truly delicious challenge. Thanks to Olga for hosting this month and for choosing a challenge that will certainly get a repeat performance in our house.

To see all of the Spanish rice dishes, visit The Daring Kitchen Blogroll and the Daring Bakers Gallery at Foodgawker.

CREAMY RICE WITH MUSHROOMS, ARTICHOKES AND SHRIMP (ARROZ CON SETAS, ALCACHOFAS, Y CAMARON)

Heavily adapted from José Andrés.

Serves 4.

Equipment

large frying pan
2 quart sauce pan
paella pan (I used a 15-inch/38 cm paella pan, but you may also use a regular pan that size.)
mortar and pestle

Ingredients

SOFREGIT
2 tablespoons olive oil
5 big red ripe tomatoes (about 3.5 to 4 pounds/1.6 to 1.8 k), chopped
2 small onions, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 or 5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup of chopped Portobello mushrooms
1 Bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
pinch ground cumin
pinch dried oregano

RICE
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 artichokes, cleaned and cut into eighths (You can use jarred or frozen if fresh are not available.)
12 Portobello or button mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
2 bay leaves
1 cup (240 ml) dry white wine
Sofregit (see recipe below)
2 cups (300 g) short grain rice (Recommend Valencia, Calasparra or Montsant, though arborio rice will also work.)
6 cups (1.4 liters) shrimp broth or water (Put the shrimp peels in a small sauce pan, add water, bring to boil and cook for about 15 minutes. Strain. Voile, you have shrimp broth.)
pinch of saffron threads (You may substitute turmeric or yellow coloring powder.)
1 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined (The recipe calls for cuttlefish or squid.)
Allioli (see recipe below)

TRADITIONAL ALLIOLI
4 large cloves garlic, peeled
pinch of salt
few drops fresh lemon juice
extra-virgin olive oil (Spanish preferred but not essential.)

Sofregit Preparation

1. Put all the ingredients together in a large frying pan and sauté slowly until all vegetables are soft.

2. Taste and add salt if needed.

Rice Preparation

1. Add the olive oil to the paella/frying pan and warm over medium heat. Add the artichokes, mushrooms, and bay leaf. Sauté until the artichokes turn golden.

2. Add the white wine to deglaze the pan. Add two or three tablespoons of the prepared sofregit and stir.

3. Add all of the shrimp broth or water and bring to a hard boil. Add all the rice, pouring it around the pan to evenly distribute it. Bring back to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Do not stir.

4. Add a hearty pinch of saffron threads and stir to distribute. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 8 more minutes. Do not stir.

5. About 5 minutes before the rice is finished, lay the shrimp around the pan, pushing them down into the liquid so they will cook.

6. Remove pan from heat and let stand a few minutes.

7. Serve with allioli and sofregit on the side.

Allioli Preparation

1. Add the salt to the bottom of the mortar and then add the garlic cloves. Using the pestle, mash the garlic cloves to a smooth paste.

2. Add the lemon juice and continue to mash.

3. Add the olive oil slowly, drop by drop, while you continue to mash the garlic. Keep turning the pestle in a slow, circular motion. Make sure the paste soaks up the oil.

4. Keep adding until you have the consistency of a very thick mayonnaise. This will take about 20 minutes.

References

Wikipedia – José Andrés

Made in Spain

Previous Daring Challenges

You can see all of my previous Daring Challenges in the the Daring Challenges tag list.

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While doing the South Beach Diet, I’m working very hard to make things that we all can enjoy and are healthy. This miso salmon is one of my favorite recipes I’ve tried recently, and it’s easy and fast to boot, so it makes an great weeknight dish. The fish is marinated in miso, mirin, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, and scallions, and quickly grilled. You can make this with either skinless or skin-on salmon steaks. Serve the salmon as whole steaks or sliced on top of a bed of greens, either way you’ll have a quick, tasty, and healthy meal.

We enjoy grilling year round, but some days it really is too cold to cook outdoors, and for those times we use a grill pan on the cooktop. I recently tested a Scanpan Professional Grill Pan, and in fact made this salmon dish on the Scanpan. You can read my review of the Scanpan Professional Grill Pan.

For this final week of celebrating the third anniversary of Andrea’s Recipes, I have one fabulous grill pan (right) just like the one in my review to give away, courtesy of Scanpan. To enter the contest, just leave a comment telling us about your favorite grilled food. Please make sure your email address is correct so I can contact you if you are the lucky winner. Apologies to my international readers, but the pan can only be shipped within the continental U.S. The contest closes at 9 pm EST on Thursday January 29, and Random.org will select the winner. Look for the announcement of the winner in this post soon after.

UPDATE: Congratulations to Cristina, comment #28, the winner of the Scanpan grill pan! Thanks to everyone who entered.

MISO MARINATED SALMON

Makes about 4 servings.

Equipment

grill or grill pan
plastic bag or baking dish

Ingredients

1/4 cup (60 ml) white miso (shiromiso, fermented soybean paste)
1/4 cup (60 ml) mirin (rice wine)
2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons minced green onions
1-1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
4 (8-ounce/) salmon fillets
Salt and freshly ground pepper
yuzu juice, for drizzling (optional or substitute orange juice)

Preparation

1. MARINADE: Whisk together the miso, mirin, vinegar, soy sauce, green onions, ginger, and sesame oil in a small bowl. Place the salmon in a baking dish or plastic bag, pour the marinade over, and turn to coat. Cover and marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

2. GRILL: Heat grill pan to medium-high. Remove the fish from the marinade and season with salt and pepper. Grill the salmon, skin side down, until it is golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the salmon over and continue grilling for 3 to 4 minutes for medium doneness. Drizzle with a little yuzu or orange juice and serve.

Variations

On a grill: Grill the salmon, skin side down, with the cover closed, until it is golden brown and a crust has formed, about 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the salmon over and continue grilling for 3 to 4 minutes for medium doneness.

More Easy Grilling Recipes

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Source: adapted from Epicurious

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I don’t have any Creole or Cajun relatives (that I know of), so for authentic recipes I turn to some of my favorite cookbooks. Emeril calls this particular recipe his “Clean Out the Ice Box and Freezer” Jambalaya, my kind of food, particularly now because after the holidays and fall harvest we have a freezer stuffed full of…stuff. After going through it a week ago we renewed our commitment to using up some of the stash and cleaning it out over the next month, which will of course make room for more stuff. The cycle never ends.

The recipe is pretty straight forward, but I made a few modifications as a I went. First of all, I couldn’t believe it had no celery and I added some anyway. The recipe calls for a mix of dark and white meat, but since Michael doesn’t care for dark meat I used only white meat. I also used brown rice instead of white rice and reduced the oil to 1/3 cup. Not much of a difference in the amount of oil, I know, but I think the recipe turned out just fine. And because this was dinner for all of us, I cut back on the cayenne so the boys could enjoy it too. Michael made up for the lack of heat by pouring some hot sauce onto his servings.

This is an easy dish to prepare, and it’s practically a meal in a pot. Add a green salad or other green vegetable and you are set.

Like many recipes calling for meat, this one has weight measurements, which are more precise than measuring by cups (i.e. 3 cups of sliced sausage).  We buy frozen shrimp in two pounds bags then just weight out what we need each time. A kitchen scale is a handy piece of gear for weighing all kinds of ingredients for cooking and baking. I use mine all the time for weighing meat, vegetables, fruits, flour, nuts, just about anything.

For this week’s celebration of the third anniversary of Andrea’s Recipes, I’m giving away a kitchen scale courtesy of Eat Smart. The scale has a digital display and weighs in both grams/kilos and ounces/pounds and allows you to change them on the fly. It has a simple tare function so you can put a bowl on the scale then turn it on, and the scale will register zero, giving you accurate measurement for the ingredients you add to the bowl. It’s small enough that it won’t take up much space in your kitchen, but sturdy enough to handle up to 11 pounds.

To enter the contest just leave a comment telling us about your favorite meal that helps you clean out your freezer or refrigerator. Please make sure your email address is correct so I can contact you if you are the lucky winner. The scale can be shipped to United States addresses. The contest closes at midnight EST on Wednesday January 22, 2009, and Random.org will select the winner. Look for the announcement of the winner in this post soon after.

UPDATE: Congratulations to Nicole, comment #6, the winner of the kitchen scale!

JAMBALAYA WITH SHRIMP, CHICKEN, ANDOUILLE, AND HAM

Makes about 10 to 12 servings.

Equipment

large cast iron Dutch oven

Ingredients

1/2 cup (120 ml) canola oil (I used 1/3 cup and it came out fine.)
1 pound (~1/2 k) andouille sausage, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch slices
3 medium to large yellow onions, chopped
2 stalks of celery, thinly sliced
1/2 cup (~55 g) chopped green bell peppers
1/2 cup (~55 g) chopped red bell peppers
2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 teaspoon Creole seasoning (Recipe follows or you can use a purchased blend.)
1 teaspoon cayenne, divided
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1-1/2 pounds (680 g) boneless chicken meat, cut into 1-inch cubes (You can use white or dark meat or a mix of white and dark meat.)
1/2 pound (227 g) ham, cubed
3 bay leaves
3 cups medium-grain white rice (I use brown rice.)
6 cups (1.420 liters) water
1/2 pound (227 g) shelled shrimp, thawed if from frozen
5 green onions, chopped, green tops only
1/4 cup (10 g) chopped fresh parsley

EMERIL’S CREOLE SEASONING
2-1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a large cast-iron Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook until it start to render the fat. Add the onions, bell peppers, 1 teaspoon of the salt, the Creole seasoning, and 1/2 teaspoon of the cayenne. Stirring often, brown the vegetables and sausage until they are caramelized, about 15 minutes. Scrape the bottom and sides of the pot to loosen any browned particles (fond). Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

2. Season the chicken with the remaining 1 teaspoon salt and remaining 1/2 teaspoon cayenne. Add the chicken, ham, and the bay leaves to the pot. Brown the chicken for 8 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot to loosen any browned bits.

3. Add the rice and stir for 2 to 3 minutes to coat evenly. Add the water, stir to combine, and cover. Cook over medium heat for 30 to 35 minutes, without stirring, or until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed.

4. Lay the shrimp on top of the cooked rice during the last 5 minutes of cooking and steam until just pink. Remove the pot from the heat and let stand, covered, for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the bay leaves. Stir in the green onions and parsley, and serve.

More Easy Meals

More Jambalaya Recipes From Around the Blogs

NOLA Cuisine – Crawfish and Tasso Jambalaya

FatFree Vegan Kitchen – Tofu Jambalaya

The Perfect Pantry – Arlo’s Saskatchewan Chicken Jambalaya

Hedonia – Jambalaya

References

Wikipedia – Jambalaya

Wikipedia – Cajun Cuisine

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Source: adapted from New New Orleans Cooking, by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch

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In 1985 Penelope Casas introduced U.S. diners to the world of Spanish tapas with the success of her book Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain. Casas is a recognized authority on Spanish cuisine and has published five books on the foods of the region and writes about Spanish food and travel for several major publications. She also leads culinary tours of Spain, a piece of information I have tucked away for my future (but still unplanned) trip to Spain. Last year she published a revised version of her classic book, and I was fortunate to receive a copy for review from the folks at La Tienda.

The book has over 300 recipes, of which 50 are new, and has chapters devoted to tapas in sauce, marinades and cold tapas, tapas with bread or pastry, tapas with last-minute preparation, ingredients and cookware, sources for Spanish products, and tapas menus. The ingredients and cookware section is like an encyclopedia of Spanish cooking, with detailed descriptions of such things as queso Manchego, Marcona almonds, earthenware dishes (cazuelas), and quince paste (membrillo). The menus are very helpful for planning a tapas party, and I can see us having some kind of tapas party in the next few months. The book is very thorough and the only thing I could wish for is more photos of beautiful tapas!

We selected a couple tapas to make for Michael’s little birthday dinner (Happy Birthday, honey!), and I wanted to serve one with seafood and one with vegetables. I chose the Shrimp and Mushrooms in Almond Sauce (Fricando de Langostinos) and the Stewed Zucchini, Peppers, and Tomatoes (Pisto Manchego). Both have sauces worthy of sopping up with chunks of artisan bread. The shrimp tapa marinades overnight in a wine broth with vegetables and herbs, cooks quickly in olive oil, then finishes with mushrooms and a fish broth or clam juice. The recipe calls for straining the sauce, which we skipped because we liked the vegetables. I couldn’t resist the zucchini tapa since zucchini are in season and I have ripe tomatoes and peppers fresh from the garden. It’s an easy dish and comes together quickly. We didn’t have any bell peppers in our garden that were ready yet, but we grabbed some of our Hungarian wax peppers and added them; not traditional but still tasty. They have a bit of heat to them, much like banana peppers, so be careful if you use them as a substitute. Both tapas were healthy and delicious.

I have one copy of this terrific cookbook to give away, courtesy of La Tienda. If you want to win your own copy, leave a comment telling us about your favorite tapas. If you’ve never had tapas, then say so and throw your hat in the ring anyway! Please make sure your email address is correct so I can contact you if you are the lucky winner. Apologies to my international readers, but the book can only be shipped within the continental U.S. The contest closes at 8 P.M. EST on Thursday July 31, and Random.org will select the winner. Look for the announcement of the winner in this post soon after.

UPDATE: Congratulations to Shannon! A copy of Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain is on its way to you!

Shrimp and Mushrooms in Almond Sauce (Fricando de Langostinos)

Equipment

medium glass or plastic bowl
large skillet

Ingredients

1/2 pound shrimp, shelled (Tip: Put the shells in a pot and cover with water. Simmer for about 20 minutes, then strain. Now you have shrimp stock.)
2 slices onion
1 small carrot, sliced
1 clove garlic, lightly crushed and peeled
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
dash of cinnamon
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
kosher or sea salt, to taste
flour for dusting
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small tomato chopped
1/2 cup fish broth or clam juice (I used some of the shrimp stock I made with the shrimp shells.)
2 medium mushrooms, halved, diced, or sliced
1 tablespoon ground blanched almonds

Preparation

1. In the medium bowl, add the onion, carrot, garlic, white wine, bay leaf, thyme, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Add the shrimp and stir. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Discard the bay leaf. Strain, reserving the liquid and all the remaining ingredients.

2. Lay the shrimp on paper towels and pat dry, then dust with flour.

3. In the skillet warm the oil over medium heat. Saute the shrimp for just a minute, turning once, then place shrimp on a warm plate and leave the olive oil behind.

4. Add the onion, carrots, and garlic to the skillet, adding more oil as necessary. Saute until the onions wilt.

5. Stir in the tomatoes and cook for a minute, then add the fish broth and the marinade. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.

6. Strain the sauce (traditional, but we don’t do it) and return the sauce (minus the onions and carrots) the skillet. Add the mushrooms, almonds and shrimp. Taste and add more salt as necessary. Cover and cook slowly for 3 minutes, just until the shrimp are done. Serve warm.

Other Recipes You Might Like

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Source: adapted from Tapas: The Little Dishes of Spain, by Penelope Casas

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I wish I could have visited Spain during my jaunt through Europe in 1996, but time was short and I thought a visit to Spain would come on a later trip that has yet to materialize. One of my childhood dreams was to see the horses in Andalusia, so I must do that as well as enjoy the art, architecture, food, and music. Obviously I have a somewhat romantic view of this future yet unplanned trip, and hopefully someday I will have a chance to fulfill those dreams.

Likewise, I’m afraid I’ve taken a somewhat romantic view of the latest cookbook to arrive courtesy of the folks at DK Publishing. Spain and the World Table is a beautiful book from The Culinary Institute of America which featured Spanish cuisine during the 2006 Worlds of Flavor International Conference & Festival in the Napa Valley. This is more than just a cookbook, it’s a journey through Spanish cuisine with features about the history of Spanish cooking and some of the great Spanish ingredients such as hams, cheeses, wines and sherries, saffron, fresh seafood, potatoes, rice, and chocolate (yes, chocolate, and not just drinking chocolate). The book is oversized with big gorgeous photos and many recipes across eight categories, including tapas, soups, meats, seafood, rice, salads and vegetables, sauces and condiments, and desserts. The recipes represent a range of complexity, and though the book focuses on Spanish ingredients, many are widely available in the United States. Some are more costly in this country, such as serrano ham, but substitutions are often easy to find to keep the dishes within budget.

So far we have made four of the dishes and I have a list of many more I plan to make, including a passion fruit ice cream I’m dying to try. We chose these recipes based on what we had on hand and what was economical, so over the weekend we made a vegetable paella, chicken chilindron, white sangria with amaretto, and shrimp in garlic. The shrimp had loads of flavor from the sauteed garlic and pepper flakes, and the wine reduction made a tasty sauce for dipping fresh artisan bread. The recipe is a bit saltier than I’m accustomed to, so I recommend tasting before adding the second round of salt.

I highly recommend this book if you enjoy world cuisine and experimenting with cooking. And speaking of which, I have one copy of this beautiful book to give away. If you want to win your own copy of Spain and the World Table, leave a comment telling us about a Spanish food you enjoy or would like to try. Please make sure your email address is correct so I can contact you if you are the lucky winner. Apologies to my international readers, but the book can only be shipped within the continental U.S. The contest closes at 8 P.M. EST on Saturday May 31, and Random.org will select the winner. Look for the announcement of the winner in this post soon after.

UPDATE: Congratulations to Courtney of Coco Cooks! A copy of Spain and the World Table is on its way to you!

Equipment

large skillet
serving bowl or platter

Ingredients

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
10 garlic cloves, sliced very thin
16 shrimp (26 to 30 count), peeled and deveined
2 teaspoons sea salt, divided
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
10 tablespoons white wine or lemon juice
1/4 cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preparation

1. Heat the olive oil in the large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the garlic and the pepper flakes for about one minute, then add the shrimp and saute for 1 to 2 more minutes. Sprinkle on 1 teaspoon of the sea salt and a pinch of black pepper.

2. As soon as the shrimp are cooked through, remove them from the pan and set aside in a bowl or on a platter. Remove the garlic just as it starts to brown and spoon over the shrimp. Cover to keep warm.

3. Keep the heat at medium-high and add the white wine or lemon juice. Cook about 4 to 5 more minutes, until the wine reduces by three-quarters, shaking the pan frequently.

4. Taste the sauce and season with more salt and pepper as necessary. Add the chopped parsley and stir. Spoon over the shrimp and garlic and serve immediately with fresh artisan bread for dipping in the sauce.

Resources

The Culinary Institute of America – Worlds of Flavor 2006

Wikipedia – The Culinary Institute of America

Wikipedia – Spanish Cuisine

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Source: adapted from Spain and the World Table, by The Culinary Institute of America

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New England clam chowder ranks in my Top 10 list of comfort foods, and it’s one of my favorite things to order in seafood restaurants. Recipes for clam chowder are hotly contested, and if you get into a discussion about chowder with New Englanders you are likely to get a wide variety of opinions on what is the best clam chowder. When I fix this soup I feel like I’m back in Maine, and that’s good enough for me; serve it en boule and I think I’ve died and gone to heaven.

This recipe starts with cooking some bacon, then sautéing onions in the bacon drippings, cooking it all with clams, clam juice or stock, potatoes, thyme, and bay leaf, and then adding the clams and corn and thickening it all up with some heavy cream. This chowder doesn’t require loads of salt because of the bacon, plus canned clams are kept in brine, and the stock will be salted as well, so I use a light hand with the salt. I almost always use more than the amount of bacon specified in a recipe because I love my bacon. I confess I had a 12-ounce package and it all went into the pot for this chowder. All that flavor gets into the onions and then the flour soaks up some of it and it infuses the potatoes and mixes with the clams and creates a thing of beauty. We only have bacon a few times a year, so by golly I’m going to enjoy it!

If you are a die-hard steam-your-own-clams type, then by all means go for it. If we lived right on the coast and could get them fresh all the time, I would probably steam them myself, but canned minced clams are more economical for us, so that’s what we use.

Fresh herbs add to the flavor, and bay and thyme are traditional herbs to add to clam chowder. Adding parsley during the last few minutes adds a bit of fresh flavor that balances the woodiness of the bay and thyme. The parsley and thyme came from my indoor garden, and hopefully in a few years my little bay laurel tree by the window will have grown some more and I will pick the leaves to toss into the pot for soups like this, but right now he’s still a little guy with just a few leaves so I use dried. I’m hopeful he’ll survive the next couple years as Monkey Boy (toddler) and Top Gun (almost 4) like the leaves, and I found Monkey Boy chewing on one this week!

This is my contribution to this week’s edition of Weekend Herb Blogging, a weekly event founded two years ago by the wonderful Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen. This week’s host is Cate of Sweetnicks, so check out the blog next week for the round-up!

P.S. I made that little boule using the instructions in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Post on that coming soon!

[Updated December 9, 2009.]

NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER

Equipment

5 to 6-quart pot or Dutch oven with lid

Ingredients

4 slices (or more) thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 large yellow onion, diced
2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
16 ounces (472 ml) clam broth
4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1-1/2 pounds), scrubbed and diced medium
1 large bay leaf
1 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
3 (6.5-ounce/184 g) cans minced clams, strained, reserving the juice
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels (135 g), thawed if from frozen
16 ounces (472 ml) heavy cream
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves, plus more for garnish
sea salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Warm the pot over medium heat and fry the bacon until the fat renders and the bacon starts to crisp. Add the onion and cook until it’s translucent. Stir in the flour and cook it until the mixture is lightly browned and has a slightly nutty flavor. If you can still taste flour, it’s not ready.

2. Gradually whisk in clam broth and the reserved clam juice from clams. Add potatoes, bay leaf, and thyme. Simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. (Optional: Mash the potatoes a bit with a potato masher to help thicken the soup even more.)

3. Add the clams, corn, cream, parsley, salt (taste first, may not be necessary) and ground pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and serve garnished with parsley and oyster crackers or in a bread bowl.

Other Comforting Soup Recipes

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I wish I could come home after picking up the kids from school and have time to cook a nice meal. I long for a calm, zen-like cooking experience each day, but instead I find myself chasing after my sons who prefer to run amok, trying to keep them from raiding the refrigerator and the pantry even though I fed them a snack as soon as we got home. We had to put locks on to keep the Three Amigos from eating us out of house and home. Yesterday’s meal was supposed to happen on Monday, but the events of the day and the constant distractions left me disorganized and frustrated at dinner time and I pulled out some leftover pasta sauce and boiled some spaghetti. Now there’s nothing wrong with that, and in fact spaghetti with tomato sauce and/or meatballs is Michael’s favorite meal, but I had a grilling recipe up my sleeve for Cinco de Mayo which I had to grudgingly postpone.

I thought I could start some of the prep for dinner on Tuesday morning, but Monday night we remembered Top Gun, our three-year-old, had a project due for school the next day and I needed to finish some prep work on that before we could do it in the morning. So Tuesday morning was spent cutting photos and pasting them memory-book style onto a piece of paper describing his favorite things, and then we wrote our story about Spike’s visit (Spike is the class mascot, a stuffed kangaroo) and pasted more pictures onto that story.

After dropping the boys off at school I did a little dance in my head thinking our toddler would go down for his afternoon nap and I could do all my prep work, but that was optimistic on my part. For the second day in a row he refused to take a nap and I ended up with a cranky toddler for the afternoon. I hope he doesn’t give up naps early like his oldest brother!

Michael was late getting off work and the boys demanded my total attention for the rest of the day, so I finally tossed a burger and some dogs on the grill for them and saved the fish tacos for a quiet dinner just for the two of us after we got the Three Amigos to bed! We grilled in the dark, talking about our day and the refrigerator that isn’t working and debated whether to repair or replace. Mundane conversation, perhaps, but relaxing nonetheless, and it was time we had to ourselves. Michael said he loved the tacos and the salsa, and the cold beer with a lime wedge tasted pretty good after a busy day.

P.S. Don’t forget about the Grilled Pizzas & Piadinas cookbook give away! Visit the original post to enter. The deadline is Sunday May 11 at 6 pm EST.

GRILLED FISH TACOS WITH MANGO-AVOCADO SALSA

Equipment

grill
grill wok or skillet (Thanks for the Christmas present, Mom & Dad!), coated with cooking spray
medium bowl or a one gallon plastic zip bag
3 medium serving bowls
liquid measuring cup

Ingredients

3 mahi mahi fillets, cut into chunks
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

SLAW
2 cups red cabbage, sliced thin
5 or 6 green onions, sliced thin
1/4 cup light sour cream
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

SALSA
1 mango, cut into small chunks
1 avocado, cut into small chunks
1 jalapeño, finely diced
1 red onion, finely diced
3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
2 limes, juiced

THE EXTRAS
tortillas, corn or flour
1 red pepper, sliced thin
Monterrey jack cheese, shredded

Preparation

1. Preheat the grill.

2. FISH: Stir together the spices and toss with the fish in the bowl or the zipper bag. Set aside.

3. SLAW: In the serving bowl, toss together the sliced cabbage and onions. Measure the cider vinegar in the measuring cup and add the sour cream and salt. Stir until thoroughly mixed, then pour over the cabbage and onions, and stir until the vegetables are evenly coated.

4. SALSA: In the serving bowl, toss together the mango, avocado, jalapeño, onion, and cilantro. Squeeze the limes over the bowl and stir gently.

5. GRILL: Pour the spiced fish into the lightly greased grill skillet/wok and cook over medium heat for about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring occasionally for even cooking. Fish should be slightly firm and opaque when finished.

6. SERVE: Layer your tacos in this order: Slaw, red peppers, fish, salsa, cheese. Enjoy with a cold Corona and lime.

More Recipes with Mango

Thanks for reading this blog through a feed! Copyright © 2005-2010 Andrea Meyers: cooking, gardening & four hungry guys.

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Michael came home from work on Monday and sniffed as soon as he got in the door. “Smells like seafood!” he said, and he was right. This is another one of those dishes that I found in a magazine or online and made it the next day because 1) it sounded good, and 2) I had most of the ingredients on hand. I had some crab that I found on sale, and almost everything else are pantry or frig staples for us. The only thing I needed was the chives. I used to keep a pot of chives in my kitchen garden, but I haven’t started a pot in our new house yet, so I had to pick up some at the grocery store. The price reminded me to start some seeds soon!

The recipe is designed for party appetizers, but I made it for dinner because the little bites are just the right size for the kids, and they were very easy to make. If you have older kids, they could certainly help make this. You just toss all the ingredients together, roll the crab mixture in panko, and bake. The sauce can be whipped up in just five minutes, and you even can prepare it up to two days ahead and keep it in the frig. It worked very nicely for an easy and tasty meal with a side salad.

Equipment

small bowl
large mixing bowl
rimmed plate or pie tin (for rolling in panko)
baking sheet, coated with cooking spray

Ingredients

ROASTED PEPPER-CHIVE AIOLI
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped drained canned roasted red peppers
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic

CRAB CAKES
12 ounces shelled cooked crab, sorted and bits of shell removed
1/4 cup finely diced celery
1/4 cup minced fresh chives
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 large egg
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
1-1/4 cups panko, divided

Fresh chives, rinsed and cut into 1-inch lengths

Preparation

1. AIOLI – In the small bowl, mix all of the aioli ingredients. Cover and store in the refrigerator.

2. Preheat the oven to 475° F.

3. CRAB CAKES – In the large bowl, combine the celery, minced chives, mayonnaise, egg, mustard, and hot sauce. Stir it all with a fork, then add the crab and 1/4 cup of the panko (save the rest of the panko for coating). Stir gently.

4. Put remaining 1 cup panko in the rimmed plate or pie tin. Use your hand to make 24 crab cakes, each about 2 inches wide and 1/2 inch thick. Roll each cake in panko and place on the prepared baking sheet.

5. Bake until golden brown, about 15 to 18 minutes. Transfer the hot crab cakes to a platter and top with the aioli. Garnish with fresh chives and serve hot.

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Source: adapted from MyRecipes.com (Sunset magazine, 2002)

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