Iron Skillet Seared Swordfish

Iron Skillet-Seared Swordfish Fillet

I'm not a fan of a monochromatic dinner plate - boring to say the least! But, I only had yellow tomatoes, no red ones in the kitchen, so monochromatic it was! However, the finished meal was delicious...well at least the swordfish was! The onion rings were Alexa brand  - and very good - but I had nothing to do with those. The tomatoes were heirloom and there were only yellow ones left out of the box, so, yellow it was. The swordfish...well anything that's basically white to begin with, which will become golden when grilled or sauteed, so we have a monochormatic dinner plate. Not pretty, but damn good delicious! 

The Throw-n-Go:

1 lb. or so swordfish steak
2 TrueLemon packets (use fresh squeezed lemon juice if you must)
fresh ground Tellicherry pepper (if you're lucky to have those tellicherry pepper corns)
grape seed oil

salt to finish

Heat your iron skillet to just smoking. In the meantime, wash and dry the swordfish fillet. On each side, sprinkle one packet of TrueLemon, fresh ground pepper and a smear of grape seed oil. When your skillet is smokin' hot, slap the sworfish fillet down and let it sit there for about 6 minutes. Flip it and let it sear for another 4 or so minutes. Turn off the heat, put a lid over it and let it rest for up to 10 minutes. And then LOVE it!

~~~

YUM!

'till we feast again! 

xoabb

Jambalaya

The beginnings of jambayala...YUM!

On March 29, 2014 cousin Julie and I threw an engagement party for our Miss Mary Shaw and her Richie. It was a Mardi Gras-themed party and I was tasked with making a NOLA jambalaya. Around 20 years ago, GB and I were at a party where the hosts served jambalaya. It was absolutely delicious so I'd asked them for the recipe, which they happily share. Fast-forward to the engagement party, and it was the very first time I ever used their recipe. I used the original recipe as a starting point and then ended up just doing my own thing - a throw-n-go type of thing for sure! Note: As basmati is my go-to rice, Frank's Original RedHot Sauce is our family's go-to hot sauce - nothing better out there! Just love cayenne pepper and can't stand Tabasco Sauce - don't like the pepper it's made out of.

Below is what I did, but, as it was for me with the original recipe, it's just a starting point - just throw and go! Delicious results will be in your future! (Below makes about 3 - 4 gallons; reduce amounts to suit your needs.)

olive oil

2.5 lb. package Costco AMYLU gluten-free Andouille sausage (or equivalent) 

6 lb. (approximate) package Costco boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 large yellow onions, chopped

2 large yellow peppers, chopped

2 large green peppers, chopped

4 large red peppers, chopped

6 garlic cloves, coarsely minced

4 to 5 -14.5 oz.cans petite or regular diced tomatoes 

4 to 5++ 32 oz. boxes chicken stock (I used Whole Foods 365 organic brand)

parsley, chopped

salt

Frank’s Original RedHot Sauce (I used 1/2 of a 12 oz. bottle)

cayenne

~Cajun Seasonings~ by Penzey’s (Hand-mixed from: paprika, salt, celery, sugar, garlic, black pepper, onion, oregano, red pepper, caraway, dill, turmeric, cumin, bay, mace, cardamom, basil, marjoram, rosemary, and thyme. 

2 1/2 C. basmati rice, rinsed before cooking 

3 lbs. fresh shrimp, shelled, tail too (bay scallops could be used as well)

Cook the 2 1/2 C. rice in 5 c. water till just done.
Cut the sausage into 1/4” slices. Cut the chicken into chunks. Remove the tail from the shrimp and cut them in half.  

In a large skillet heat enough olive oil to smear the bottom of the skillet. Place sausage sliced in the skillet in a single layer and sauté until brown. Turn slices over and sauté until that side is brown. Do this in batches and throw done slices in a very large soup pot. (Mine is a 3-gallon All Clad soup pot that I absolutely adore - Thanks Kimmy!) Add the onions, peppers and garlic to the skillet (with more olive oil if necessary) and sauté until done. Do this in batches if necessary as you want the veggies to brown and not steam. When done, add veggies to the soup pot. 

Generously sprinkle the chicken with the Cajun seasonings and sauté in the skillet, adding more olive oil if needed. Do this in batches. When done, add chicken to the big pot. 

Add 4 of the 32 oz. boxes to the soup pot and also the rice. Bring pot to a boil and then simmer until the rice is done. Skim fat off if necessary. 

At this point, you can hold the jambalaya until 20 minutes before you’re ready to serve it. 

Add the shrimp about 15 minutes before you are eating, heat the soup, add more broth if it is too thick and serve. 

Crusty bread is a perfect side. Delicious!

~~~

YUM!

'till we feast again! 

xoabb

Chicken Marsala

Chicken Marsala with Crumbled Crisp Pancetta

Above is one of our more delicious Sunday Family Dinner meals. Chicken Marsala with a secret ingredient added to it. No, those aren't diced tomatoes on top of the dish, it's oven crisped then crumbled pancetta. Talk about taking a delicious dish and making it absolutely awesome! Major yum factor going on here!

Chicken breasts, boneless, skinless and pounded to an even thickness

eggs seasoned with salt and pepper

flour (or gluten-free bread crumbs) seasoned well with thyme, salt and fresh-ground pepper

olive oil

butter

1 large box (or 2 small boxes) sliced mushrooms

2 - 3 tablespoons flour

3/4 of a bottle of marsala wine

1 cup or so chicken stock

pancetta rounds

parsley, chopped

Heat oven to 400. Place pancetta rounds on a parchment covered cookie sheet, put in oven and bake until pancetta is very crispy. Keep a close eye on it so it doesn't burn. Take out of oven and set aside.

Heat about 1/2" mixture of half oil and butter in a large (preferably) cast iron skillet over medium high. Dip chicken in the egg mixture and then the seasoned flour and place in the skillet. Do this in batches so the chicken pieces aren't crowded. (Be careful of the skillet temp as you don't want the delicious brown bits to burn and blacken.) As they are done, put them on an oven-proof platter and lightly cover with foil.

When all the chicken is done, add the mushrooms to the skillet, and more butter if necessary. Saute until the mushrooms have given up most of their moisture and are beginning to lightly brown. Add the flour at this point and cook for another 5 minutes or so, stirring constantly. Add the marsala and chicken stock and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce has reduced by about half. Taste sauce to check for seasonings.

Pour sauce over the chicken, crumble the pancetta over the top and then top all with the parsley.

We served our Chicken Marsala with buttered egg noodles, baby peas and a green salad.

~~~

Yum!

'till we feast again!

xoabb

Clams on the Grill! Corn in the Skillet!

Cousins grillin' up some scrumptious eats

~

Fresh corn-off-the-cob = in the skillet goodness!

The hubs played in a charity golf tournament the other day and won one of the door prizes - a bushel of fresh Long Island Sound clams (actually he won an embarrassing number of door prizes; I've been visiting a lot of restaurants and wine shops of late). While this is one of our favorite foods, a bushel of clams is a lot more clams than two folks could possibly consume. Good thing we have our Sunday Family Dinner tradition! We gathered, they grilled and we all moved directly toward a food coma. SO good! The clams started our meal and were followed by the corn, grilled assorted sausages and a big green salad. So very good!

The T'nG:

For the clams: 

Clams
butter, melted (LOTS) keep it warm (clarified butter is nice)

Store the clams either on ice in a cooler or in the refrigerator in an open bag until ready to use. About 40 minutes before grilling, place clams in a colander and rinse them, then put them in a big bowl (or kitchen sink) and cover them with cold tap water. Sprinkle corn flour or black pepper into the water and give all a gentle stir. Leave the clams - do not stir - in the water for 20 minutes. After that time is up, gently lift the clams individually, or a few at a time, out of the water. Clean anything ugly off the shell, rinse and put into a lasagna-like pan. (It's better to lift them out one by one as just dumping them into the colander would also dump the sand back on top of the clams. Not good.) Place clams on your prepared charcoal/gas grill, see above, and grill with the lid closed until they pop open. As they pop open, place clams on a platter or another lasagna-like pan. Serve. If you have a ginormous amount of clams like we did, use two serving pans and serve the clams in shifts. Delicious!  

For the corn: 

Corn, use frozen, fresh cut off the cob, or in our case, left-over grilled corn cut off the cob
butter 
cayenne and fresh ground black pepper
sea salt

Warm butter in a large skillet (and while I almost always use an iron skillet, for some reason I didn't when cooking the corn that night - what's up with that??). Add corn to the skillet and stir. Let corn sauté, stirring often until it begins to caramelize. Be sure to scrape the bottom of your skillet to get all the lovely brown bits that will be forming there. Add cayenne and black pepper to taste as well as salt. You want it to have a bite, but not enough to take your head off. You can do all of this ahead (takes about 30 minutes for good caramelization) and just reheat right before serving. Wonderful!

~~~

YUM!

'till we feast again!
xoabb

A Spring-Time Dinner

Spring-time table setting.

My mom is the quintessential food gal (read self-taught chef). Not only is the food she creates over the top, the table settings - and everything - is as well. All is just so, from the plates to the linens to the flowers. On top of that, the menus she comes up with are perfection! Consider this (and this is a ~simple~ any week night dinner):

Broiled Herbed Salmon

Salmon fillet - weight depending on number served - below, for four, (one pound)

juice of one lemon, divided
lemon zest

1/4 cup mayonnaise

fresh chopped dill and parsley

black pepper, fresh grated

Rinse salmon fillet and pat dry. Squeeze half the lemon on the fillet. Mix the mayonnaise with the herbs, pepper some of the lemon zest, and other half of the lemon juices. Slice the fillet into individual servings. Coat the salmon with the mayonnaise mixture. Broil until the salmon flakes easily; about 6 minutes. Serve with lemon halves on the side.

Pasta w/Veggies

spagetti, fettucini, whatever shape, cooked to package directions (keep warm)

This night, the vegetables we used were: 

Scallions, sliced diagonally in 1" pieces

garlic, sliced thinly length-wise

red pepper, diced

grape tomatoes, quartered

asparagus, sliced diagonally in 1" pieces

baby spinach leaves

lemon zest

olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a sauté pan. Add the scallions and garlic and cook for 2 minutes or so. Add the red pepper and cook for an additional 2 minutes or so. Add the tomatoes, asparagus, lemon zest and spinach and sauté until done. Turn off heat and WAIT until it's time to serve. You might have to reheat for a minute or so. 

Salad with Fruit

salad greens

pineapple chunks

strawberry slices

pear chunks

walnut pieces

lemon zest

red wine vinegar

olive oil

salt & pepper

Clean the salad greens (I prefer red leaf lettuce - anything will work, tho avoid iceberg for this). In a salad bowl, add the lettuce and all the extras. Just before serving, splash with the vinegar, oil, salt and pepper. Toss, taste for seasonings, correct, and serve! 

The beginnings of the veggie sauté 

 The salmon just before it goes under the broiler 

(notice it's cut into serving pieces).

 The micro-planed lemon skin - that goes on just about everything!

The composed salad before it's tossed

The veggies as they're sautéing 

sautéd veggies just before adding to the pasta

The fabulous meal - salad is just out of photo range...

YUM!

'till we feast again!
xoabb

"Grilled" Pork Chops w/Green Beans and Rice

Pork Chops w/mushrooms, green beans & rice - YUM!
Such a delicious meal it was!

I was in Whole Foods and they had double thick bone-in pork chops on sale so I got two for our dinner. Took them home and told the hubs to fire up the charcoal grill. Shortly later, he came up to the kitchen to let me know that while we had LOADS of charcoal, we had no lighter fluid. Damn. I happened to be on the phone with cousin Julie and she reminded me that there IS another grilling method for meat that is just as tasty - sear in a hot iron skillet and then finish in a hot oven. I hadn't used that method in, well, forever, and had forgotten all about it. I will forget it NO MORE! What delicious pork chops we had!

pork chops

seasonings of your choice; I used Penzey's Arizona Dreaming mix and Southwest mix

salt & fresh-ground pepper to taste

olive oil

butter

1 box already sliced mushrooms

basmati rice

french-cut green beans (frozen this time)

Preheat oven to 425º. Start the rice, following package directions. Season the pork chops. Place iron skillet (any oven-proof skillet will do, but if you don't have an iron skillet, you really should treat yourself) on stove and turn heat to high. Add a swirl or two of olive oil to the skillet along with a pat or two of butter. When they just begin to smoke, add the pork chops and saute on each side till nicely browned. Transfer skillet to the oven and bake an additional 10 - 15 minutes, depending how thick your chops are, or, better yet, use a meat thermometer and remove from oven when internal temp. is around 140º (pork should be 145º, but they will continue to "cook" after removed from the oven). Once you've put the chops in the oven, cook the beans, either boiling in a bit of water, or steaming. When the chops come out of the oven, remove from the skillet and lightly tent them with a piece of foil. Return skillet to stove and add the sliced mushrooms. Stir and add more butter/oil if needed. Saute the mushrooms until golden and they're beginning to crisp around the edges. To serve, place a chop on each plate along with a serving of rice and green beans. Spoon the mushrooms, along with their juices over everything, just the chops, just the rice - however you want to plate it! 

~~~

YUM!

'till we feast again!

xoabb

Mussels Moi, aka, Moules Mariniere

Mussels Moi, aka, Moules Mariniere

This past Christmas, our entire immediate family gathered in Missouri for the holidays. It was the first time we've all been together since my sis, Carrie, and her hubs (Marty) were married in 2001. We've all been back to Missouri since then, but never every single one of us at the same time.

My brother, Bill, happens to be married to a wonderful gal (Chrissy) whose family has celebrated the Feast of the Seven Fishes every Christmas Eve since her childhood, so she led the family on how to assemble this magnificient food orgy. I was asked to make the mussels as Chrissy had had them before and loved them. We served the mussels and smoked trout for the appetizer course, then a calamari salad course. First course was linguini with white clam sauce, then we were on to our entrees - grilled salmon, baked cod and Cayman-style red snapper. 

A whole lotta of fishes were goin' on - and they were all delicious!

2 lbs. fresh mussels
1/2 stick unsalted butter
4 good-sized shallots (onions would do nicely), chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bottle dry white wine, either sauvignon blanc or moscato
1/3 cup dry vermouth
1 12 - 14 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
1 bouquet garni (piece of celery & carrot, 4 sprigs fresh parsley, 3 sprigs fresh tarragon, 4 - 6 blades fresh chives tied together - the parsley and tarragon are very important flavors)
1/3 - 1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped - reserve some to sprinkle over top of bowl
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

crusty French baguette(s), warmed

Place mussels in the sink. Scrub under cold running water and remove any "beards" you find (the seaweed-looking stuff that can be hanging out of the mussel - not all will have a "beard"). Throw away any mussels that are badly cracked or open. Set aside in a colander. Melt butter in a large pot, over medium heat, with a tight fitting lid. Stir in the shallots and garlic and sauté gently until soft. Raise the heat and add the wines and bouquet garni. Bring to a boil and cook for two minutes or so to meld the flavors. Turn heat to high and add the mussels; quickly cover the pot. Steam, stirring gently once or twice, until all the mussels open, about 3 - 5 minutes. Remove mussels from the pot with a slotted spoon; set aside in a serving bowl big enough to hold them and the liquid, (which is added after being reduced). Discard any mussels you see that didn't open. Cover with foil. Stir in the tomatoes and boil the remaining broth (with bouquet garni) until reduced by about half. Fish out the bouquet garni and toss. Stir in the parsley and pour broth over the mussels. Sprinkle remaining parsley on top.

Serve mussels and broth in bowls with the baguettes. 

For our Xmas 2011 Feast of the Seven Fishes, we made 4 lbs. mussels and I doubled most of the other ingredients, (not the wine - but added half a bottle vermouth). This, of course, is not an exact-science recipe. Amounts are suggestions. 


I made this the very first time in 2003 for a Sunday Family Dinner (a very important event in our family). I found the recipe on the now-defunct recipezaar.com and it was originally called Mussels, Sailor Style. It was delicious, but over the years I've changed it so much, it's really my recipe now. So...start here, change it around and make it your own! xoabb

~~~

YUM!

'till we feast again! 

xoabb