Maguro Sashimi and Goat Cheese

I think if Ian and I were ever back in Austin and someone asked where we planned to eat in town, our reply would be Uchi, Uchi, Uchi! Ian especially loved the Maguro Sashimi and Goat Cheese, so much so that he couldn't stop talking about it. Here's my knock off version which is a close replica, but I'm definitely no Tyson Cole.

Hint: The success of this dish is all in the quality of the Maguro Tuna

"Ian's Catnip" --N.Du.Kay
Serves 2

INGREDIENTS
1/2 lb Maguro Tuna Sashimi
2 Tablespoons Goat Cheese
1/2 Fuji Apple, thinly sliced
2 Teaspoons Pumpkin Seed Oil
2 Teaspoons Balsamic Vinegar
Freshly Cracked Pepper to taste

Divide Sashimi and Apple slices between two plates. Arrange in a spiral presentation. Crumble 1 Tablespoon of Goat Cheese on each plate. Drizzle on each plate, 1 Teaspoon of the Pumpkin Seed Oil and 1 Teaspoon of Balsamic Vinegar. Season to taste with freshly cracked pepper.

Also tastes great with thinly sliced avocado instead of Fuji Apples.

Ceviche

Ceviche, which is often spelled seviche or cebiche, depending on which part of South America it comes from, is seafood prepared in a centuries old method of cooking by contact with the acidic juice of citrus juice instead of heat. Eat it when it's hot out and you'll understand why I ate this everyday for lunch while in Costa Rica.

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs of firm, fresh red snapper fillets, cut into 1/2 inch pieces,
completely deboned
1/2 cup of fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup of fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 purple onion, finely diced
1 cup of fresh peeled, seeded, and chopped tomatoes
1 serrano chili, seeded and finely diced
2 teaspoons of salt
dash of ground oregano
dash of Tabasco or a few grains of cayenne pepper

ACCOMPANIMENTS
Cilantro
Avocado
Tortillas or tortilla chips

In a non-reactive casserole dish, either Pyrex or ceramic, place the fish,
onion, tomatoes, chili, salt, Tabasco, and oregano. Cover with lime and
lemon juice. Let sit covered in the refrigerator for an hour, then stir,
making sure more of the fish gets exposed to the acidic lime and lemon
juices. Let sit for at least 6 hours, giving time for the flavors to blend.

Serve with chopped cilantro and slices of avocado with heated tortillas for
ceviche tacos or with tortilla chips.

Seaweed Soup

Wakame seaweed can be found at most Korean and Japanese markets. It has a decent amount of calcium and works well in soup.

See-wee Soup, as I called it growing up, is the ultimate comfort food. When it was cold outside, I'd ask my mom to make some. We'd eat it with leftover rice and homemade kim chee. My version is a little different from my mom's as I use seafood and store-bought chicken stock. The key is to use a stock that is not full of seasonings but mostly just chicken and water.

The resulting broth may seem a little bland but the kim chee should take care of that!



Ingredients

2 qt. low sodium, preferrably organic, chicken stock
2 qt. filtered water
1.5 lb. chicken parts: meat, bones and skin. Rinsed well.
1/3 oz. wakame seaweed, cut into smaller pieces, soaked and drained
1/2 c. brown and/or white rice
2 T. fish sauce
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 t. sesame oil
8-12 lrg. shrimp, peeled and de-veined
4 oz. firm tofu, cubed
2" piece fishcake, thinly sliced

Accompaniments

Kim chee and other Asian pickles
Chopped green onion
Sliced hard-boiled egg



Add chicken stock and water to a large stock pot. Bring to a boil. Add chicken parts and bring to a boil again, then turn down to medium low. Do not cover. Skim off foam. Cook until chicken in done. Remove chicken to cool.

Add rice, fish sauce, garlic and sesame oil to the broth. Cover pot. Cook until rice grains start to open up/break apart. Meanwhile, when chicken is cool enough to handle, remove meat and discard bones and skin. Shred chicken into bite-size pieces.

Into the broth add shredded chicken, seaweed, tofu, shrimp and fishcake. Cook for five minutes. Ladle into bowls. Serve with accompaniments. Serves 6-8.

Japanese Cucumber Salad

Hijiki seaweed supposedly is the highest source of calcium among these sea-vegetables. Black sesame seeds (or any unhulled sesame) are also good non-dairy sources of calcium.

The following recipe is inspired by the cucumber salad you get at sushi bars. The recipe is loosely written meaning not many measurements are given. As you will find, I can be really bad at keeping track of little things - like measuring! - as I am more of a fancy free, intuitive kind of a creative person. Usually it works out!

BTW, yes there is seafood in here, not to mention the seaweed.



Ingredients

1/2 large cucumber, diced (leave skins on)
2 shrimp, boiled and chopped in small bits
1 t. dried hijiki seaweed, soaked and rinsed
1 green onion, chopped (green parts)
1/2" piece ginger, grated
A pinch of sugar

Add, to taste:

rice vinegar
sea salt (like Redmond's Real Salt, my favorite)
black sesame seeds, roasted
sesame oil
olive oil (just a little!)
Asian chili sauce (you know, the one with the rooster on the bottle)

Mix together. Let rest 15 minutes before serving.

Halibut Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa

"Mmmmm ... I'm going to vomit these are so f*cking good!"
Serves 2

MARINADE
1 tablespoon olive oil
juice of 3 limes
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon rosemary
sea salt to taste
pepper to taste

FILLING
12-ounce halibut steak
1 cup chopped lettuce
white corn tortillas

SALSA
1 diced mango
3 diced tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped Maui onion
1/4 cup minced cilantro
1 chopped (seeds removed) serrano chili
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon of sea salt
juice of 1 lime

Whisk together all ingredients for the marinade. Coat the fish steaks with the marinade by turning them over in the juice a couple of times to completely wet both sides. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to three hours.

Stir together all the ingredients for the salsa. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Remove the fish from the refrigerator when the fish has soaked up the flavor of the marinade. Heat a lightly oiled ridged grill pan on medium high heat. Grill fish for 5 minutes per side or until done. Remove fish from pan and let cool.

Spray tortillas with water (or run them quickly under the faucet), then sauté them briefly in a lightly oiled skillet over medium high heat.

Arrange fish on top of tortillas. Add lettuce and salsa on top of fish.

Variation: Replace mango with a red pepper. To the filling, add shreadded cheese and a diced avocado.

Amy's Cioppino

Serves 8-10
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Ready In: 1 hour, 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS
Soup Base
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium onions, chopped fine
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery heart with leaves, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 quart fish or chicken broth
2 14.5 oz cans muir glen fire roasted diced tomatoes including juice
1 1/2 cup dry white wine
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 tablespoon basil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Seafood
1 pounds white firm-fleshed fish (seabass, halibut, snapper, cod), cubed
15-20 medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
15-20 scallops
(**Use your imagination and personal preferences as to which seafoods to
add)

Steamed Clams
15-20 manila clams, well scrubbed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped parsley
zest of one lemon
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon of butter

Garnish
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup of gourmet croutons
garlic flavored olive oil

DIRECTIONS
Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and sauté until the onions are translucent. Add the garlic and continue to sauté until the aroma becomes apparent. Be careful not to brown or burn the garlic. Add the white wine and cook until reduced by half. Add the broth, tomatoes and bay leaves. Cover the pot and simmer slowly for about 45 minutes, adding more broth if necessary to maintain a fair amount of broth. Remove and discard the bay leaves. Add the fish and cook for about 8-10 minutes until fish flakes. Add the shrimp and cooked for another 2 minutes. Adjust the salt and pepper as needed.

During the final 15 or 20 minutes of cooking, heat remaining oil in a large skillet. Add the shallots and sauté until translucent. Add the garlic and continue to sauté until the aroma becomes apparent. Be careful not to brown
or burn the garlic. Add clams, lemon zest, parsley, and wine. Cook for about 8 to 10 minutes or until clams open.

To serve ladle the stew in a large soup bowl and garnish with basil, croutons, and a drizzle of olive oil. Accompany with a dry white wine such as Sauvignon Blanc, Frascati or Pinot Grigio.

Tilapia with Beurre Noisette

Beurre noisette is French for hazelnut butter or brown butter. It sounds fancy but this dish is very easy to make.



Marinade:

Juice of one small lime
1 heaping t. capers
1 medium clove garlic, crushed
1/4-1/2 t. maple syrup
1/4 t. dried thyme leaves
Redmond's Real Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
..........
2 tilapia fillets (approx. 2/3 lb. total)
..........

Approx. 1/2 c. julienned sweet yellow onions (small handful)
Olive oil
1 T. Butter, unsalted

Mix together marinade and fish. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or overnight.

In large frying pan, saute onions with a little olive oil over medium heat until translucent (brown/black edges ok). Turn down heat, medium-low, and add butter. Melt butter and let it turn a nice, hazelnut-brown color (do not burn).

Add filets and marinade. Add some water, just enough so the liquid comes up half way up the filets. Cover for a couple of minutes to steam. Remove lid so liquid can reduce. Bath filets with liquid. Cook for just a few minutes until fish is opaque and flakes with a fork.

Transfer filets to warm plates. Drizzle juices and onions over the fish. Serve with rice and baby greens salad.

Fish with Spinach En Papillote

Makes 2 Papillote

En Papillote means food that is wrapped and baked inside parchment paper, not only for the presentation but to seal in and heighten the flavor of the food. Most importantly, cleanup is easy!

Use your imagination and be creative! There are so many variations to this simple fun recipe. This is the one I made last night ...

MARINADE
1/2 cup naturally brewed tamari, low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon peeled, grated ginger
Juice from one blood red orange
1 handful of cilantro
2 5½-ounce halibut steaks, butterflied

FILLING
2 cups fresh, washed, and chopped spinach leaves
2 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
1/2 orange bell pepper, sliced
1/8 teaspoon of grated orange zest
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 shallot, sliced
1 egg white, slightly beaten

GARNISH
pepper to taste
cilantro
olive oil (optional)

Whisk all the ingredients for the marinade together. Coat the fish steaks with the marinade by turning them over in the juice a couple of times to completely wet both sides. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or up to 1 day.

Cut the parchment paper into 2 squares that measure approximately 13 x 18 inches. Fold each square in half and cut the shape of 1 half of a heart. When you open the parchment paper, you will have 1 complete heart-shaped piece.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Remove fish from the refriderator after 30 minutes, when the fish has soaked up the flavors of the marinade. Toss the chopped spinach, mushrooms, bell pepper, orange zest, ginger, and shallots together in a bowl. Open the heart-shaped parchment and lay 1/2 of the spinach mixture a little off-center on the heart. Arrange the fish on top of the spinach. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the leftover marinade over the fish. Season with pepper to taste. Place a few sprigs of cilantro on top. If you desire, drizzle some oil olive on top. Repeat for other heart-shaped parchment paper.

Brush the outer edges of each parchment paper with the egg white, using a pastry brush. Fold one edge of the parchment paper to meet the other edge. Seal the contents inside by making small folds starting at the top, all around the outer edge of the paper, twisting the paper at the end. Put the papillotes on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. When completely cooked, the parchment will puff up with steam.

Before serving let the papillotes deflate a bit. If you try to open immediately after cooking, you will get burned by the steam that has accumulated inside. Unseal the papillotes along the outer edge to reveal the food inside.

Tuna Casserole

I found this recipe for tuna casserole at http://maindish.allrecipes.com/az/86069.asp.

I thought it was pretty good, though I'm not sure it warrants its 5-star rating. Maybe it's a 4. The white sauce should have been a cheese sauce (and with cheese on top). I'd like to try a casserole with freshly cooked tuna, and maybe some gruyere cheese. You know, for fanciness.