Halibut in Parchment

I went out an got some new clothes on my last day off, nothing big 3 pair of pants and 4 shirts.   The stuff in my closet is getting beat up by my life, I work around food all day then usually cook when I get home so my clothes go through a lot.  Here is a little side bar about me, I usually shop for clothes at the second hand store, I like the feeling that if I spill a gallon of curry sauce down my front I can just throw my outfit away and only be out about 5 bucks.  Anyway when I told Kris that I was going shopping for clothes she asked me to please get rid of some stuff.  We are out of hangers plus I am have more clothes than any 2 normal men and there is no more room in the closet.   So this morning I had to open the closet and come to terms with why I don't wear some of the clothes in there...

Is it really because I don't like to iron those linen shirts?  Is it because I can't wear tan pants to work?  Is it because I don't like to wear some of the bold colors that I used to?  Well, to be honest none of those reasons apply...

OK I am going tell you a game that isn't any fun...  Open up the closet and try on clothes that you haven't worn in say 4 or 5 years.  I say to myself, "I look the same as I did in my wedding picture," but deep down I know that the suit didn't shrink and there is another reason that I can't get my pants to zip.  I just don't like to think about it.  Some of the clothes in my closet aren't exactly things that I don't want to wear they are things that I avoid wearing because...


Well it just makes me think that my stupid Doctor was right when she called me FAT,  I am working on it and here is another winner to prove it!  I hesitate to call it a recipe because really I am putting a bunch of junk willy nilly into an envelope and tossing those into the oven.  This is how it goes:

Cut parchment into 14 inch squares
spray parchment with cooking spray
line each square with Julienned fennel bulbs enough to hold up your fish
Place a filet of halibut on top of the fennel
add salt, pepper, a smashed garlic clove and the grated zest of one lime
Top all that with julienned zucchini then squeeze the juice from half a lime on top

Wrap these guys up in a happy little parchment envelope and put into an oven preheated to 425 for 10 minutes.

There really isn't anything that compares to opening something like this up!  Compare it to opening a little present for dinner, just set the little packages up on each plate with any side dishes that you choose, when you open them you get the smell of all of the steamed vegetables floating up from your plate, The fish is perfectly light and flaky, the zucchini is still crisp and everything is permeated with the flavors of anise and garlic.

Tuna Ceviche with Arugula salad

I have been using Arugula in recipes since the late 80s love to use it... my first experience with the vegetable was Grilled Salmon Steaks with Plum Tomato and Arugula Compote. A retiring Chef that I worked with gave me a recipe when I was the caterer for a small, slightly snooty, private Midwest college. I remember so many blushing brides with their leg warmers and teased hair saying “oh, that sounds so totally awesome!" and their future husband sitting next to them saying "whatever... I mean yes sweetie that sounds great, I love arugula."

Really, let’s face it there is only one reason that we use arugula... see if you can pick it out below:

a. Arugula is wonderful and healthy, jam packed with iron and vitamin A.

b. Arugula has a beautiful, gentle peppery flavor that I just love.

c. Arugula is really fun to say and when you use it in a recipe people are impressed with your foodie knowledge.

Come on you can answer, I won't tell...

That being said this is a fun, light, summer recipe easy to make and really refreshing! I was looking for a new twist on Ceviche and came up with this, really a perfect meal for the hot summer that we are living with now.

For Ceviche:

1 pound of tuna cut into a rough half inch dice

1 1/2 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp grated ginger

1 small onion cut into a fine dice

Juice from 1 lime

Grated zest of the same lime

Small splash of rice vinegar

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 TBS chopped cilantro

Salt and pepper

Ceviche isn't actually raw, not like sashimi; however it is "cooked" through a chemical process not by heat. With that in mind I tossed the first 7 ingredients together and put them into the refrigerator for about an hour then added the coconut milk. I put it back into the fridge until I was ready (a couple hours later). I wanted to make sure that the fish had some time in the acid to cook.

I see a lot of warnings whenever I read ceviche recipes "Never store more than 6 hours," "there are risks associated with eating raw and undercooked meat," "your children will instantly die if they even look at this food!" and the like; relax a little and try it you'll probably be fine. I like to soak mine for at least half an hour (longer if I cut the fish kind of thick) and I think it is best to serve it the day it is made. I will admit that I have had day old ceviche I didn't die from it, but the longer it soaks the more the fish "cooks." After an hour or so it tastes cool, bright and refreshing the next morning the fish takes on the texture of yesterday's gum soaked in lemon juice. Just my observation.

Ok, my mind is wandering a bit, when it is time to serve lay it on a bed of fresh arugula garnish with the cilantro and a little lemon peel. Looking at my picture I should have added a little something else for color, but the flavor was great, and it does play well with the peppery flavor of the greens.

Mahi-mahi with Avocado Melon Relish

Between parades, fire works and recovery from the now famed surgery I had a chance to cook out for the holiday.  The menu for me was Jerk Seasoned Mahi-mahi with an Avocado Melon Relish cooked on the grill of course (Kris chose beef tenderloin with a light spice rub).  I didn't have any Jerk seasoning so I made some, I had all the ingredients in the cupboard, and found this on Epicurious.com I think:

2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp thyme
2 tsp allspice
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground cloves
Mix it all together, liberally coat mahi-mahi fillets and set aside for about half an hour at room temperature to temper.  While that is resting put together the salsa.

The Salsa has:
1 avocado diced
1 slice of watermelon (3/4 cup diced)
1 mango diced
1 small yellow onion diced
juice from 2 limes
grated peel from 1 lime
salt, pepper and chipotle chili powder to taste (really just a sprinkle of each)

The Salsa was a perfect addition to the Jerk Mahi fillets the bright and colorful pop of flavor and color in the salsa had just the right amount of cool acidity to work with the spicy fish.

Holy Mackerel

I was actually looking for fresh Trout, this was to go with the Sweet Potato Pancakes that I made a week or so ago, they just seemed like they would go together. I went to the store that I usually shop at for anything that isn't a suburban white guy favorite. It is an interesting store, when you look at the signs hanging over the aisles they are labeled "Pickles and Olives," "Beans and Rice," "Mexican Food," "Jewish Food," "Bulgarian Food," "Asian Food," "Italian Food," and "Polish Food." That is kind of nice, because if I want Polenta or Arborio Rice I can go to the Italian Food aisle or Rice Noodles I head for the "Asian Food." Oddly, in this store there is an aisle marked "Ethnic Foods" I had walked past that aisle about 100 times and never looked to see what could possibly be an "Ethnic Food" after all that... Turns out it is every non-American born cookie on the market.

Sorry, rambling again... Focus. So I go to the store to get Fresh Trout, they have it but in packs of 6 I can't eat 6 Rainbow Trout and if you follow this blog you know that the fish is only for me. I think the meat department would have broken the package up for me, but I recognized the guys at the counter and my Spanish is only a little worse then their English I just didn't have the energy. Then I saw Mackerel, I remembered a recipe from a book I have brought up before "Hungry Monkey" by Matthew Amster Burton (read this book by the way it is very good). There is a recipe in this book for Mackerel with Teriyaki Sauce. So I picked up the package of 2 Mackerel and put it in the cart with the rest of my shopping.

I won't go into too many details about preparing whole fish, just a little scoop on the inside, remove the head then run a very sharp knife down the length of the fish right along the spine to fillet. Mackerel is really bony so once you get the fillets put them over a bowl this will expose the bones. Now is my favorite part because you need tools! take the needle nosed pliers from your tool box and pull out any bones that you missed during the fillet process. This is the part where Kris came home and looked at what I was doing and asked, "where are you going to cook that?" which I know means "Are you cooking that on the grill or am I going out to dinner with the kids?" I know better, this was going on the grill. I had non-fish dinner for her and the kiddos.

I put the fillets in a zip lock bag, I almost feel silly calling it a recipe:
2 TBS Teriyaki Sauce
Juice from one orange
2 tsp honey
2 Mackerel Fillets

Let them marinade for about 20 minutes them put on the grill first skin side up, to hold in the moisture for about 4-5 minutes then carefully flip (I brushed it again with the marinade) and grill, covered for another 4-5 minutes until done, and the skin is slightly charred.

I had never thought of Mackerel at all really, but this recipe really does work.