a99kitten's Musings

On Friday I bought some fresh Ahi and Albacore tuna. Fresh off the boats over at the fish market by my house. It’s been a bad year for ahi and fresh Pacific albacore is seasonal – only available in the summer. But I got both! The guy at the fish market said he found a new hook-up for fresh Ahi so he should get it in once a week now. Yay!

On Friday I seared it. Love seared tuna but you can only use really fresh fish for it to be perfect and pink. For this I found a recipe on line and changed it up for me

Ahi tuna steak (I had him cut mine to 1″ thick)
2 Tbsp dark sesame oil
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp of grated ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
Sesame seeds

Mix the marinade ingredients together in a ziploc bag and coat the tuna steaks with the marinade, seal tightly getting the excess air of out of the bag, and refrigerate for at least an hour. I say 2-3 hours.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium high to high heat. When the pan is hot, remove the tuna steak from the marinade and sear for about 2 minutes to a minutes on each side (for a 1″ thick steak.) The time will depend on how rare you like it. When you flip to 2nd side, sprinkle on the sesame seeds.

Remove from pan and slice into 1/4-inch thick slices. It’s perfect on its own, over sticky rice or salad! This turned out FANTASTIC! I think I will try some sliced avocado with it next time too!

For Saturday dinner, I did my yummy Ahi Poke salad which is here: https://a99kitten.com/?p=6345

Needless to say the poke was delicious with such fresh fish!!

I decided on the albacore for Monday dinner. It was my first time making albacore at home. Mixed 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce, 1/2 tbsp truffle oil and 1/2 tbsp sesame oil in a ziploc. Marinated the tuna for 2 hours in the fridge. Seared the tuna on a HOT pan for 2 mins on each side. Squeezed some fresh lemon juice over it. Delicious. Double dog delicious.

Tonight I made the shrimp that I bought on Thursday but then threw in freezer after finding all the yummy fish on Friday! Shrimp (defrosted), garlic, parsley, red pepper, a little unsalted butter (room temp) and shredded parmesan. Put it all in a foil “packet” and cooked at 400 for 7 minutes. So, so delicious.

I think I’ve turned seal. Or shark. Or bear?

Mix:

1/2 stick of unsalted softened butter
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 chopped garlic cloves
Juice from 1 full lemon
1 lb peeled/deveined large shrimp
shredded parmesan
red pepper flakes
sea salt
pepper

Fold in heavy duty foil making a “packet” and grill (pre-heated) over high heat for 8-9 minutes.

Delicious.

In the winter, I’d toss with some pasta. But today I served with a little bit of bread to just soak up the yummy juices. Seriously easy and seriously yum. Tihs recipe served 2 so easy to add more for larger parties. Although I’d probably make an additional foil packet vs making this one larger.

I’m not even really a fan of jerky to be honest. I was looking at the jerky to buy some for Storm (yes, he gets human grade jerky which is probably not so different from dog grade jerky in reality) and saw this packaging which caught my eye. Husband likes chipotle-flavored anything so I bought some of that and grabbed some chili lime too.

Just opened and tried the chili lime before my hike. It’s delicious!!! Now I need to buy more flavors for sure.

Seriously – try it! (and use my AMZN link above so I get credit and buy more dog treats from them for Storm ;) )

But you can also order directly from them if you can’t find it locally. They are based in Sonoma so a local company for me which I like. And no nitrates, healthy, blah blah which is always good!

http://www.kravejerky.com/brand.htm

Found these recipes via Gojee. They sent out an email with their top Cinco de Mayo recipes and these 2 sounded yummy. I changed them to fit my tastes as I always do so click through to see the actual recipes by the people who deserve the credit!

Tilapia with Corn Salsa:

3 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 tilapia filets
1 tsp. sea salt
Pepper
Chili Powder

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup drained canned yellow corn
1/2 red onion – chopped in large chunks
1 jalapeno, finely minced
3/4 cup fresh mint leaves. roughly chopped
juice of 2 limes (about 1/4 cup)

Place the red onion, jalapeno, mint leaves and lime juice in a bowl. Set aside.

Rinse and pat dry filets. Sprinkle both sides of the filets with sea salt, pepper and chili powder.

Set a large skillet over medium heat. Once it’s hot, add the olive oil and the corn kernels. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the corn is just tender. Leave the heat on while you transfer the corn to the bowl with the other salsa ingredients and give everything a big stir.

Return the pan to the heat and melt the butter. Add the filets and half-cover the skillet, allowing some steam to circulate and some to escape. Cook the fish for 3-4 minutes, then carefully and gently flip the filets. Add the bowl of salsa ingredients and cook with the fish for an additional 3-4 minutes or until it’s just cooked through at the thickest part. Remove fish to a serving plate or plates and top with the corn salsa. I picked the giant hunks of onion out as I HATE onions but thought it might add to the flavor!

I won’t any awards for presentation but hey -this isn’t a restaurant :) If you check the original recipe, you can see I did change things so up to you which you want to try. But my way was **extremely** delicious :)

http://www.gojee.com/food/links/snapper-with-corn-salsa

Served the fish with this corn:

Cuban/Mexican Grilled Corn

Grated cotija cheese (If you can’t find it, substitute with grated Queso Fresco or Italian Parmesan or Greek feta)
Light Mayonnaise (I bet non-fat would work too but no good reason for full fat!)
Cayenne pepper or chili powder
Lime wedges

There are many methods of grilling corn and you may already have a favorite technique. For this recipe, we peeled off entire husks and wrapped in foil. Normally I’d soak the corn first and brush with olive oil and spices but I wanted to try a more charred version and not change the flavors of this recipe so did not do that this time. You grill for about 10-15 minutes depending how hot you’ve gotten your grill. Just watch it.

Brush on a light layer of mayo. Sprinkle desired amounts of cotija cheese and cayenne chili powder. Serve with lime wedges. Husband did most the work on this since I do not man the grill so he gets credit although I did find the recipe and do all the prep work ;)

You will seriously never want other corn again :) Although I do want to try the jalapeno butter also found in the recipe on it as well!

http://www.gojee.com/food/links/cuban-mexican-grilled-corn

This is one of my new favorites. Made this for the 1st time on Friday and I LOVED it. Husband liked it – said the fish was delicious but he didn’t love the pineapple salsa. He doesn’t like the salty/sweet in same bite thing but I LOVE that (hello…popcorn and M&Ms at the movies!) so I am SO totally making this a lot this summer and he can just not eat the salsa (more for me!)

For pineapple salsa:
1 cup diced fresh pineapple
1/3 cup diced Roma tomatoes
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp fresh lime juice

Combine ingredients in a medium bowl and refrigerate until ready.

Fish:
1/2 lb tilapia fillets (2 large fillets)
1 tbsp Canola oil
Flour or Wondra
Chili powder
Garlic powder
Salt and pepper
Fresh lime juice and wedges

Rinse and pat dry the fillets. Season them with salt, pepper, chili and garlic powders. Dredge in flour. I also toss a little of the seasoning in the flour.

In a large pan, heat the oil. When hot, saute the fillets for about 2 1/2 – 3 minutes per side – depending on the thickness. You want them to be golden. (mmm…gold…)

Remove from heat and drizzle with additional lime juice. Spoon the pineapple salsa over the fillets and serve with lime wedges. I served over jasmine rice. YUM. Seriously. YUM.

And takes pretty much no prep or cook time. And tilapia is generally easy to find so there is no reason to not eat this a LOT!

It’s going to be 70 degrees and sunny today! First unofficial day of sprummer (it is spring? is it summer?) It gets colder again next week but that’s next week! So grilling season can begin for now. The year’s first grill will be Soy Ginger Beef Kabobs – have never tried before but recipe sounded yummy! Just finished mixing the marinade and put it in the fridge.

This recipe is for 10-12 kabobs so I just cut it in half for 2 people:

3 lbs of tenderloin
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon mirin
1 teaspoon wasabi )optional – I did not use it)

Also – bamboo skewers

Cut the tenderloin into one-inch cubes. Combine other ingredients in a one-gallon zip-loc bag and shake to mix fully. Place the beef cubes into the bag and place in fridge for at least an hour (I say the longer the marinating the better so I did it this AM for a late afternoon early dinner.)

After marinating, skewer four or five cubes per stick. Grill at 400degrees for 3 minutes and flip, grill for another 3 minutes and remove to a foil lined plate, wrap them with foil and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

I am going to make grilled corn on the cob as well. A tasty Asian-inspired rice dish would go perfectly as well but NO WAY – I’m not making that at home!! Slippery slope if I start making fried rice at home. So maybe just a simple jasmine rice to let the drippings from the kebobs sit on. If I don;t have any carbs at all, I could stab someone. OOOOR…a couple glasses of bubbly to be my carbs might work…

Hopefully tasty! I found this recipe online here: http://foodformyfamily.com/recipes/ginger-soy-beef-tenderloin-kebabs

UPDATE: These were delicious. For sure. I marinated them all day and I would definitely do that again. Stuck with the just the kebobs and corn on the cob and that was a great spring/summer (sprummer) meal. That way you can have a cupcake for dessert without feeling like a fattie :)

Last weekend I found myself craving an Egg McMuffin while out a long hike. I think the combo of starving, exercising and cold weather was makinmg me crave yummy, comfort food :)

I tarted thinking, I can make that at home. A healthier version! What I needed was something to make the egg perfectly round like McDonald’s is. Hysterically (to me anyway!), a friend of mine posted a pciture of a hoemmade Egg McMuffin on Facebook the next morning! I was like – hey!!! See – it can be done! So I asked how they made the egg part. My friend’s wife bought a little doodad at Crate & Barrel. Ok!

The following Wednesday, I ended up at Bed, Bath & Beyond to get some GMCR K cups for work. And I remembered my egg quest. BB&B HAD to have one! Sure enough – they had 2 different kinds. A set of metal ones with little folding handles and then a single one:

Joie Egg Ring

I liked it mainly because if the little chicken face :) So I bought both (not very pricey) and figured I’d test them out. The Joie was $3.99 at BB&B but then add sales tax. Amazon has them for $4.27.

So I tested both out this Sunday. I used the Joie and also one of the metal ones. They both worked well, although the Joie didn’t stick to the egg at all and the metal one was a bit of a challenge getting it to come out without wrecking the shape. I used PAM on both. Also, the metal one has a little place near the folding handle where egg gets stick so you need to soak and then use the sprayer or a toothpick or something tiny to get it out. The Joie cleaned up very easy.

So I VERY excited to have my new little kitchen gadget. I think I will buy another 1 or 2 Joie rings. It was a super easy breakfast to make! And I used cage-free brown eggs, Canadian bacon, a slice of sharp cheddar and a Thomas’ English muffin plus a little PAM on the egg ring. That’s GOT to be healthier than the McD’s version! And I think tasted just like it but less greasy!

YUM!

Of course I bought those same-shaped hash browns at the store and baked them because I LOVE those from McD’s and I’m guessing they are healthier or at least the same calories badness. Pretty sure McD’s probably drops their’s in to the deep frier. I baked these even though I’m sure the pan frying method on the package was delicious :)

Dinner tonight….

• 6 oz Crumbled Feta Cheese (I used the fat-free President Herbed w/tomato & basil)
• Uncured Bacon, cooked and crumbled (I bought the pre-packaged stuff – can get at Trader Joe’s or most grocery stores)
• 6 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, pounded flat (I bought the chicken breast steaks as they are already thinner)
• Toothpicks or kitchen twine (or whatever you can find in your kitchen drawer)
• 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tsp (each) Dried Oregano, Dried Basil
• 1 can (28 oz.) Diced Tomatoes & Juice

Combine feta and bacon in a mixing bowl. Place 1/4 cup of the cheese/bacon mixture on the center of each chicken breast. Fold breast over to enclose mixture; fasten with a toothpick or kitchen twine.

Heat a large sauté pan and add oil. Heat oil to medium and add stuffed breasts; turn breasts while cooking to brown on all sides. Add tomatoes and seasoning to pan. Lower heat to a simmer; cook about 15 – 20 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°. Place chicken on a serving platter (remove toothpicks or twine) and spoon tomato sauce over.

I served with quinoa and some sauteed zucchini and mushrooms.

YUM!

I found this recipe at Trader Joe’s. Obviously they had all of their barnded ingrediemts but I didn’t want to drive over the hill to go to Trader Joe’s. See TJ – you should have opened up where the New Leaf is now (old Albertsons) and then I would have one. But nooooooo…our market is too small for you on the coast. Whatevs. Excellent recipe though! :)

Just received my new dish from Amazon! I saw it at Williams Sonoma last week and *almost* bought it right then BUT I knew I could find it online at a better price (at least the same price with no gouging CA sales tax! Ridiculous that I am highly taxed when I earn my money and then taxed AGAIN when I spend it – jerks!)

It’s so pretty! And I think the rooster handle is what sold me on it :) That and the awesome silver-gray color. Kinda Storm-colored :)

I bought it to braise short ribs in. Staub’s braiser is a bit smaller and doesn’t have the rooster handle. So got the larger Coq Au Vin dish instead. Plus, after making the mistake of making BBQ ribs to eat for dinner while watching the season 2 premier of The Walking Dead last week, I am off most meat for awhile. So the ribs might wait till winter but I’m sure I’ll come up with a good recipe to try in my new fancy dish!

But I think having more fun tools for the kitchen makes cooking a bit more fun. As does more bubbly or wine :) (Julia Child would approve!)

I have been going through old recipes that I have found in magazines, printed from online somewhere, etc. I love finding recipes that sound delicious but have never really had all that much free time to cook much nor did I want to. To me, cooking is a chore unless I am making something that sounds very delicious or for a party or something fun. But everyday cooking? Meh. I’d just have scrambled eggs and call it a day.

After picking out a few good ones and buying ingredients for them all today (going to the store hungry is such a bad idea and I never learn!), I decided to make this one tonight.

So…when you buy shrimp, you need to make sure it’s de-tailed, de-shelled, de-veined and any other de it can be. Because if it’s not, guess who is doing it. You. Ok..so…I actually would be perfectly OK being a vegetarian (except for the occasional McDonald’s cheeseburger). Not a vegan mind you. The idea of giving up cheese is like giving up breathing. But I know myself well enough to know that I freak out over the smallest things with regards to meat. Blech.

As a child, eating at a very nice restaurant with my parents, and after my dad made a special request for a fish sandwich for me so I would like something I ate there, the breading fell off the fish sandwich (because it was some French chef’s idea of a breaded and fried fish sandwich). I saw veins. I started crying. I don’t think I ate fish again for a couple years. Yuck.

So when I saw legs on these shrimp, I wanted to run away. Sigh. Ok, suck it up. So I de-shelled and de-legged these shrimp. I now understand why Julia Child drank on her cooking show (or at least that’s the rumor.) And why the Drunk Cook girl on You Tube videos drinks (besides being really funny!) I get it. Totally. Also…..ARGH! GROSS. People who do this for a living = GROSS! Chefs = EWWWWWW! Sickos! ARGH!

Anyway….

Ingredients:
3 tblsp butter
2 tsp chili powder
chopped garlic (that was my own addition to the recipe – garlic is good!)
1 lb raw peeled shrimp (tails,legs, etc cut off and rinsed…a lot…bottom-feeders….ewwww)
2 tblspn lime juice
1/2 tsp salrt
1/4 black pepper
lime wedges

Directions:
1. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large nonstick pan over medium high heat. Add the garlic and brown, stirring frequently.
2. Add the shrimp, cook about 2 minutes; add the chili powder to the shrimp, cook 2 minutes or until shrimp is opaque in center, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
3. Stir in remaining butter, spices and lime juice and stir until butter has melted. Cover and let stand 3 minutes to absorb the flavors. Serve with lime wedges.

I made some quinoa, so spooned the shrimp over the quinoa. WOW! It was very good. And pretty simple minus the whole gross part. Totally making again – with shrimp procured from the meat counter where they do all this stuff for you. I’ll pay extra. Seriously.