Category Archives: Fish

This Week’s Lunch: Crock-Pot Jambalaya

Posted on January 23, 2012 by kerry

It is going to take me forever to fill in that green background!

This weekend was one of the laziest weekends I’ve had in a long time.

Friday, I had the pleasure of hanging out with Chrissy — an extraordinarily crafty friend and a brand-new blogger. We hung out and watched some bad TV and did some crafting. She’s working on a very cool/geeky Klingon baby hat (no, really — check it out.) I worked on the cross stitch bird that I found on MarthaStewart.com (via Pinterest.) I’ve got a big art project planned for my bedroom wall and this is just one little piece of it. Considering how long it’s taking me — I might be finished in 2015…

Look close and you can see Barley's cute snow beard.

We had our first very snowy day on Saturday and I used that as an excuse to stay home. Sean and I took Barley on a cold, snowy walk. I worked on my cross stitch. I baked fresh Italian sub rolls and almond sugar cookies. I watched a whole bunch of Psych. I did not change out of my pajamas all day. It was fantastic.

Is there any smell better than fresh baked bread?

Sunday followed suit though I did change into real clothes briefly to do some grocery shopping. And we went to the gym. But, otherwise, it was another restful day without any real plans. I did manage to make our weekly lunches; I enlisted the crock-pot to help me create this lazy man’s jambalaya.

Crock-Pot Jambalaya
Made 9 Lunches

So, so easy in the crock-pot!

1 large onion, diced small
3 medium green bell peppers, diced small
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. andouille sausage, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into medium chunks
1, 14 oz. can diced tomato
2 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp. Cajun seasoning
1 lb. 41-50 count shrimp, cleaned and peeled
1, 40 oz. can kidney beans, drained
9 cups white rice, cooked

Mix the onions, peppers, garlic, sausage, chicken thighs, tomatoes, chicken stock, and Cajun seasoning in a large crock-pot. Cook on high for 3-4 hours. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, add the shrimp and kidney beans. Serve on top of white rice.

Posted in Cajun, Chicken, Cuisine, Fish, Healthy, Main Dish, Meat, Recipe, Rice, Sausage, Soup, Starch | Leave a comment

Dinner Tonight: Oven Baked Fish Tacos

Posted on January 17, 2012 by kerry

Today…was a day. All of my Monday meetings were pushed up a day along with all of my Tuesday meetings which meant time at my desk was scarce and I didn’t actually get to serious work until after 5:00. You’d think that leaving the office at 7:00 would mean no traffic. You’d think.

MEH!

Ok, now that I vented, there were three highlights of the day.

First — key lime pie. I made this last night for a meeting today and used some of my precious allotted calories on a slice. Heaven. I was almost transported to Key West for a millisecond.

Second, I got my new laptop speakers in the mail today. These have a great design — they clip on the back of your laptop screen and plug in through the USB port. Super space saving, there are no extra plugs, and they sound great! I’m now enjoying the soulful sounds of Joss Stone from our new media center while I’m typing this blog post. Maybe I’ll torture Sean with some Garth Brooks soon (guilty pleasure from my high school days! Go ahead. Mock away.)

Finally, we had fish tacos for dinner tonight. One of my absolute favorites and it allowed me to use up some leftovers I had from the salads we had on Saturday.

I make fish tacos A LOT. I decided to try an new way of cooking the fish. Normally I saute it with onions and peppers, but tonight I decided it would be quicker and easier to just put it all on a baking sheet and shove it in the oven. Since I used flounder which has thin fillets, it cooked up in 6 minutes! Dinner was ready in 15 minutes … and I was a much happier girl.

Oven Baked Fish Tacos
Makes 6 tacos — served 2 hungry adults

The best part of tacos is that you get to design your own!

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1 lb. flounder or tilapia fillets (these fish are nice and thin and will bake up super fast!)
1/2 avocado, sliced
1 recipe simple slaw (or leftover greens of your choice mixed with a simple vinaigrette)
Sour cream
Your favorite salsa
Cilantro, rinsed and pull the leaves off the stems
6 corn tortillas, warmed

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together the olive oil, chili powder, cumin, and salt.

Spread a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick spray or rub a thin layer of olive oil over the sheet. Place the fish on the baking sheet and use a pastry brush or spoon to spread the paste you just made over both sides of the fish.

Place the fish in the heated oven for about 6 minutes or until the fish is cooked through and flaky.

Serve on the tortillas with the slaw and avocado. Add sour cream, salsa, and cilantro to your taste.

Posted in Cabbage, Cuisine, Fish, Healthy, Main Dish, Meat, Mexican, Quick & Easy, Recipe, Vegetables | Leave a comment

Meyer Lemon Salmon Tartar

Posted on September 15, 2008 by kerry

Once in awhile I like to make really fancy stuff for my friends. I won’t lie — sometimes I just cook for the ooohs and aaahs. The shocker about this dish is that it’s incredibly easy. The hardest part is finding sushi grade salmon (and, well, paying for it!) I was able to get mine at Whole Foods, but any good fish monger should have it. One thing is for sure, now that I know how simple it is to make a tasty tartar, I won’t be ordering it in any restaurants!

Meyer Lemon Salmon Tartar
Serves 4

8 oz. sushi grade salmon
Juice of one Meyer lemon*
Zest of one Meyer lemon
1 tbsp. parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp. shallot, finely chopped
1 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. Dijon Mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Mixed greens, avocado, tomatoes for garnish

Dice the salmon into about 1/4 inch cubes.

To make the dressing, whisk together the lemon juice, lemon zest, parsley, shallot, honey, mustard, and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Put the diced salmon in a bowl. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and mix together. Add about 3-4 tablespoons of the dressing and stir to combine. Let this mixture sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes (or up to 12 hours.)

To plate, use a round mold or cookie cutter (a tomato paste can would work well for this, too.) Put the mold on the plate you will serve on and fill the mold with 1/4 (about 2 oz.) of the tartar mixture. Pack in tightly and then lift the mold.

Garnish the plate with avocado, tomatoes, and mixed greens. Use the remaining dressing to spoon over the greens when serving.

* If you can’t find Meyer lemons, use a regular lemon but you might need to add more honey as Meyer lemons are more sweet (and less tart) than normal lemons. Just add extra honey until the dressing tastes balanced.

Posted in Appetizer, Cuisine, Fancy Pants, Fish, Healthy, Meat, Recipe | 2 Comments

Asian-y Noodles with Grilled Chicken

Posted on August 25, 2008 by kerry

I thought of this recipe on the way home today. Sean and I didn’t have very much in the fridge, but I knew we had some cabbage and some chicken that we needed to use up. I always have tons of flavorful pantry items (spices, vinegars, sauces, etc.) so it was easy to throw together. It turned out great. The noodles themselves were great served at room temperature — perfect for a warm evening like tonight.

You can serve this as a main dish with chicken (as written here) or shrimp; you might also serve as a delicious vegetarian dish by forgoing the meat all together.

Asian-y Noodles with Grilled Chicken

For Dressing:
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 tsp. toasted sesame oil
4 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
Juice of a lime
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. siracha sauce
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

For Salad:
1/2 lb. fettucini
1/2 small head green cabbage, thinly shredded
1/2 small head red cabbage, thinly shredded
1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
2 green onions, sliced
2 tbsp. chives, chopped
1 medium carrot, julienned
1 large chicken breast
Toasted almonds

Put ingredients for the dressing into a small bowl; whisk to combine.

Boil the fettucini noodles for about 10 minutes until al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water until the noodles are cool to the touch. Drain well. Toss together with the cabbage, onions, chives, and carrots until all ingredients are mixed together well. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.

Season the chicken breast with salt and pepper (or, you could also marinate in teriyaki, hoisin, or any other asian-type sauce.) Grill until temperature reaches 165 degrees and slice.

To serve, place some salad in a large bowl. Top with sliced grilled chicken. Garnish with sliced almonds and sesame seeds.

Posted in Appetizer, Asian, Cabbage, Carrots, Chicken, Comfort Food, Cuisine, Fish, Healthy, Main Dish, Meat, Recipe, Side Dish, Vegetables, Vegetarian | 4 Comments

Shrimp and Cauliflower Curry

Posted on August 19, 2007 by kerry

Sean and I went on a Penzy’s shopping spree today. We bought all sorts of fantastic spices — chili powder, cumin, peppercorns, cocoa powder, a few spice blends…and curry powder. We opted to buy sweet curry powder because we like to manage the amount of heat we add to our curry dishes using chiles or cayenne pepper.

With our new loot, I threw together this dish for dinner tonight. I did a little research to see how a curry is generally put together and this is basically a Thai-style curry using coconut milk as well as cilantro and lime as a garnish.

I loved how this recipe turned out; the curry was sweet and spicy and creamy — and a very pretty dish. Usually, I’m pretty critical of my own cooking, but tonight, I had no trouble patting myself on the back (although, I did make it a touch too spicy!)

You can easily tweak this to meet your own tastes. Add chicken or fish instead of shrimp. If you’re a vegetarian, simply ignore the shrimp and add some chickpeas in the end to add protein to your meal.

Shrimp and Cauliflower Curry
Serves 4

1 lb medium (41-50/pound) shrimp, shelled
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
1 large red pepper, julienned
1 large carrot, sliced thin
2 small or 1 large sweet potato, cubed medium
1 large head cauliflower, cut into small florets
4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
1 tbsp. fresh ginger, minced
1 red chile pepper, chopped*
2 tbsp. sweet curry powder
6 oz. coconut milk
1 tbsp. brown sugar
1 cup chicken or seafood broth
Cilantro, to garnish
Lime, to garnish
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan. Sprinkle shrimp with salt and pepper to season and add to the pan. Cook 2-3 minutes or until pink and just cooked through. Set aside.

Set up a pot of water with a steamer basket. Steam the cauliflower until fork tender. Put the steamed cauliflower in a bowl and add the diced sweet potato to the steamer basket. Cook this until fork tender and set aside.

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the pan. Add the onions, carrots, and peppers. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger. Cook until the vegetables are cooked through and soft.

Add the curry powder, salt and pepper, coconut milk, broth, and brown sugar. Stir until well combined.

Add the cauliflower and sweet potato. Toss to coat with the sauce. If you’re sweet potatoes and cauliflower are on the underdone side, bring to a simmer, cover, and simmer until the cauliflower and sweet potatoes are done.

Add the shrimp and toss to coat.

Serve over brown rice and garnish with chopped cilantro and lime wedges.

* Use as much of the chile pepper as you can stand.

Posted in Asian, Carrots, Cauliflower, Chicken, Cuisine, Fish, Healthy, Main Dish, Meat, Recipe, Sweet Potato, Vegetables, Vegetarian | 2 Comments

Herb and Feta Phyllo Wrapped Shrimp

Posted on August 14, 2007 by kerry

This idea came to me as I was thinking about recipes I’d made at school. My practical exam for Food Service Fundamentals included phyllo wrapped, stuffed chicken. At the time, I really hated the recipe. Phyllo is tricky stuff at times and I was NOT happy I had to deal with it under pressure.

But looking back on that recipe, it was kind of neat. The phyllo dough helped make what would otherwise be a boring piece of stuffed chicken into something that looked fancy — and gave it quite a delightful crunch. I started thinking what else could I make using that technique and came up with this recipe.

I brought these to poker on Saturday night and everyone liked them, so I’d say this one is a keeper. It *is* a little time consuming to make — but if you’ve got some time and want to WOW people, give it a try.

A hint for working with phyllo*: when you’re not actively using it, keep it under plastic wrap covered with a damp tea-towel. And just have some patience. Luckily, phyllo isn’t expensive, so if you happen to rip a sheet (and you will!) don’t worry too much.

Herb and Feta Phyllo Wrapped Shrimp

1 lb. large (26-30/pound) raw, easy-peel, shrimp
1 small bunch Italian (flat leaf) parsley leaves, chopped fine
1 small bunch chives, chopped fine
Zest of two lemons
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled fine
1 package, phyllo dough, thawed
1 stick butter, melted
salt and pepper, to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

To prepare your shrimp, peel the shrimp, but keep the tail part of the shell on (like you’d see for shrimp cocktail.) Then, cut each shrimp up the center through the middle vein up to the tail shell. The tail shell will keep the two pieces of shrimp together, but the shrimp will be able to lie flat (instead of curving like they do naturally.)

Place the shrimp in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Combine parsley, chives, lemon zest, and feta cheese in a bowl. Set aside.

Phyllo dough comes wrapped in a plastic bag. Inside the plastic bag, the dough is wrapped in another piece of plastic. Remove the phyllo from the first plastic bag. Use a sharp knife to cut the phyllo dough into three equal lengths through the second layer of plastic.

Unroll one section of dough and keep the others back in the plastic bag inside the fridge until you need them. Cover the phyllo that you are using with plastic wrap and a damp tea towel.

Carefully, lie one sheet of phyllo on the counter. Gently brush with melted butter. Place another piece of phyllo on top of the first. Brush this one with melted butter.

Sprinkle evenly with the herb and feta mixture. You will only need about two tablespoons — too much mixture and it will be hard to roll the shrimp into the phyllo at the end. Cover with a third piece of phyllo and gently pat down over the feta mixture. Brush the third layer with butter and place a fourth, and final, layer of phyllo. Brush with butter.

To recap, you’ll use: phyllo, butter, phyllo, butter, herb mixture, phyllo, butter, phyllo, butter.

Cut the strip of layered phyllo in half. Place a shrimp on the edge of each piece of phyllo. Roll each shrimp up gently and tightly forming what will look like a little cigar with the tail end of the shrimp sticking out one end. Brush the outside of each roll with butter and use the butter to help seal the seam.

Place on a rack that’s placed on top of a sheet pan or cookie sheet.

Repeat with the rest of the phyllo, herbs, and shrimp.

Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes or until the phyllo browns nicely and the shrimp are cooked.

* The Athen’s site has a lot of great information on phyllo including these tips on how to work with phyllo.

Posted in Appetizer, Cuisine, Culinary School, Fish, Greek, Meat, Recipe | 5 Comments

Rock and (sushi) roll!

Posted on July 31, 2007 by kerry

So, there’s no real recipe for this because, well, it’s just basic sushi, but I did spend some time making sushi this summer. And here are some pictures!

Nori, avocado, tuna, krab, and alfalfa sprouts (my little twist.)

I used brown rice — the texture wasn’t exactly the same and the brown rice was a little wetter than I’d have liked…

But it worked! I got a maki roll!

Beautiful sushi footage — I put steamed asparagus in some of the rolls as you can see. Yum!

Right before it makes it into my mouth. Love the wasabi!

Posted in Appetizer, Asian, Cuisine, Fish, Healthy, Main Dish, Meat, Recipe | 5 Comments

Seared Salmon Steaks with Creamy Tarragon Sauce

Posted on October 17, 2006 by kerry

Here’s a recipe that seems high calorie and full of fat, but here’s the secret — it’s not. The creaminess in the sauce comes from a combination of chicken broth, dijon mustard, lowfat sour cream, and a teeny bit of corn starch (to help thicken it up.) You can use this sauce on all sorts of fish or on chicken if you don’t like salmon. It’s also a really tasty topping for vegetables.

Seared Salmon Steaks with Creamy Tarragon Sauce

2 salmon steaks (bones removed)
salt
pepper
2 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. butter
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup lowfat sour cream
3 tbsp. dijon mustard
1 tsp. corn starch dissolved into 1/4 cup cold water
1 tbsp. fresh tarragon, chopped
1/2 tsp. tumeric (optional)

Preheat oven to 400.

Use butcher’s twine to tie your salmon steaks together so that they are a solid mass and look somewhat like a salmony hockey puck. (I was actually able to get mine pre-boned and tied at the grocery store.) Season your salmon steaks on both sides with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil and butter in a medium frying pan over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the salmon steaks and let cook for two minutes then flip them and cook for another two minutes. You’re looking for a nice brown sear on each side.

Transfer the frying pan to the oven (if your frying pan isn’t oven safe, put the salmon steaks into an oven proof dish) and cook for about 12 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches about 140.

Once the salmon steaks reach temperature transfer them to a plate and cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Remove all but about 1 teaspoon of the leftover oil and butter in the pan. Put the pan back over medium heat and add the chicken broth to the pan. Whisk in the dijon mustard and sour cream.

Season with two small pinches of salt and about 10 grinds of black pepper. Bring to a simmer. Add the cornstarch mixture and simmer until the sauce gets thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Turn off the heat and whisk in the tarragon and tumeric (the tumeric will help give the sauce a bright yellow color, but is optional if you don’t have it lying around your spice cabinet.)

Plate by removing the string from the salmon steak (the skin will also come off pretty easily at this point if you’d like to remove that as well.) Top with creamy tarragon sauce.

I served this with some Kashi pilaf and steamed asparagus. If I was any good at plating, it would be one fancy looking meal!

Posted in Fish, Healthy, Main Dish, Meat, Recipe | Leave a comment

Asian Tuna Burgers

Posted on September 13, 2006 by kerry

Last night was one of those argh-what-are-we-going-to-do-for-dinner nights. Our fridge is pretty bare. We had a some brocolli that I picked up at the store last week — and some various frozen meats. On my way out the door in the morning, Sean the Taster said, “I’ll pull something out of the freezer.” Ahh, great, a secret ingredient.

At lunch time, he IMed me to let me know he pulled out some frozen tuna steaks. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them. Sure, I could have just given them a spice rub/marinade and done a quick sear, but since the tuna is pretty good (supposedly sushi grade albeit frozen), but not oh-my-god-melt-in-my-mouth tuna, I wanted to try something different for a change.

A quick search on foodtv.com gave me some ideas and I decided to make asian tuna burgers. The idea came from foodtv.com, but the actual recipe came from the ingredients I had on hand. Paired with some steamed brocolli and some frozen sweet potato fries, it turned out the be a tasty, healthy dinner.

We didn’t have lettuce, tomato, or avocado on hand, but I think they’d be great toppings on this burger.

Asian Tuna Burgers
2 tuna steaks (about 4 oz. each)
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. ground ginger
2 tsp. honey
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. wasabi powder
1 green onion, minced
1/4 tsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. sesame seeds
2 tsp. olive oil
2 seeded hamburger rolls
asian mustard aioli (recipe follows)
lettuce, optional
avocado, optional
tomato, optional

Dice tuna into 1/4 cubes; once it’s all diced run your knife through the tuna again to create a ground consistency. According to the recipe for tuna burgers on foodtv.com, using the food processor will over grind the tuna — however, it did say that a food grinder would also be appropriate. Place your tuna into a medium bowl.

In a small bowl, combine mustard through sesame oil and whisk together until combined. Pour over tuna. Add sesame seeds to the tuna mixture. Mix the tuna, sesame seeds, and dressing together until combined.

Divide the mixture in half and create two round patties. The burgers will probably be a little delicate so handle carefully.

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a medium frying pan until the pan gets hot. Place the tuna burgers in the hot pan. Sear each side of the burger for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes — the second side will probably only need 1 1/2 minutes while the first side will be good for 2. You’re looking for a golden brown sear while leaving the middle of the burger rare (if you like that kind of thing. YOu can cook it longer if you’re weirded out by raw tuna — although, in that case, you’ll probably skip this recipe.)

Place on hamburger buns and top with asian mustard aioli, lettuce, avocado, and tomato as desired.

Asian Mustard Aioli
1 tbsp. dijon mustard
1 tbsp. light mayonaise
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. honey
1/8 tsp. sesame oil

Mix together. Enjoy on Asian Tuna Burgers. I added some of this on top of my steamed broccoli as well and it was yummy!

Posted in Asian, Cuisine, Fish, Main Dish, Meat, Recipe | Leave a comment