Mahi Mahi Ceviche with Heirloom Tomato Pico de Gallo

Oh man, these were good. I made ceviche once in school with shrimp and wasn't very impressed. But, after eating at the Cactus in west seattle I was inspired to make good, fresh mexican food. So, I did a Bon Appetite search and caught this recipe and it looked pretty damn easy to make. 

My pictures a a little grainy since my ISO was bumped way up on the chocolate tour but I think they look acceptable enough, no? We tried the ceviche on two different types of bread. One, a rice tortilla (pictured below) which I did not like. It was stiff and did not have any flavor. The other was a delightfully small Mediterranean flat bread. A little thicker than a tortilla, very soft and pliable.

Case commented that the fish didn't even taste like fish. And it didn't...not in the fishy flavor. I loved it. It was a delicate citrus-y flavor. Really nice texture, too. It complimented the sweetness of the tomatoes, the kick of the jalepeno, and the charred shallot and corn.

The charred shallot and corn were not a part of the initial recipe but I highly recommend it. I actually set off the fire alarm in my apartment heating up the oil and than sitting outside on the balcony...and subsequently forgetting about it. Ooops, I've never seen my apartment so smoky. Regardless.

Corn on the cob is a revelation for me. Since I got my braces I can't eat it, but I have learned that you can cut the kernels off the cob which for some reason or another I thought was difficult to do. This could not be further from the truth. If you chop up some shallot and cut the corn off the cob, you put it in a heated pan with oil (I've been using garlic avocado oil lately, yum!) than cook it on high heat so the  pan develops that nice brown crust on the bottom. Than I lowered the heat and added a little water to scrap up the awesomeness. And this flavor will tie everything together.

Mahi Mahi Ceviche with Heirloom Tomato Pico de Gallo
Adapted from Bon Appetite 

1 lb. Mahi Mahi Tuna - very fresh, cut up in 1/2 inch cubes
2 T lemon juice
3 T lime juice
1 heaping teaspoon sugar

1 1/2 c. diced heirloom tomatoes
3/4 c. chopped/minced sweet onion
1 jalepeno, seeed, diced
cilantro, chopped
olive oil

romaine lettuce, sliced thinly

1 corn on the cob
1 shallot, chopped/minced

Combine first four ingredients along with freshly ground pepper and sea salt. Let marinate in fridge 4-6 hours. Be sure not to leave in the fridge for longer than 6 hours or the fish will get tough.
While the fish is in the fridge prepare the pico de gallo - combine the next five ingredients along with sea salt. While those are marinating cook/char the shallot and corn as described above. Since the meal is cold - don't worry about keeping it warm. The fish will be done when it is white and no longer has a raw appearance. Once it is done, remove the marinade and add the pico de gallo to the fish. Serve on tortillas or flat bread.


Also, I had left over cilantro that I decided to mix with mayo and slather on the bottom of my flat bread. Oh yes, I like.

Savory Tart

I have been craving sun-dried tomatoes and in accordance with my pastry phobia I purchased a pre-made tart and filled it with:

Chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil

Queso Fresco

Panfried onion, bell peppers and button mushrooms

Than I whisked together 2 eggs, 3/4 c heavy cream and chives and poured it over my toppings. 

This dish is so superbly easy and you can use whatever ingredients you desire. I reheated it in the microwave for work the next day but I would highly recommend not doing that and reheating in the oven instead. Big mushy mess. :( 

Shrimp Sandwich

Just recently had my braces tightened. Nothing quite like making you appreciate food like not being able to eat it. On a recent hike my friend and I went to a truckers diner. I ordered a burger - I had to fork and knife it. This sandwich however, I was able to bite into. 

My favorite thing to do is to dress up mayonnaise. Especially with spicyness. This mayo had chives, lime, salt and Sriracha. The perfect accompaniment to a shrimp burger. I cooked the shrimp in butter and chives on high heat and sliced tomatoes and avocado for the stuffing. The 'burger' was served on a Trader Joe's Brioche Bun with spinach. I was incredibly pleased with it and would probably make it again. The leftover shrimp I dredged in fancy mayo and ate by it's lonesome.

Independence Day Ribs with Charred Corn Salad

Because people love having pictures of them taken while they are eating...

My well of culinary creativity has been dry. I usually can't stay away from my kitchen too long. A visit to my favorite blogs or a glance at Bon Appetit is usually enough to get those creative juices flowing. But nothing. I wander aimlessly around the grocery store frustrated and looking for inspiration. I listlessly scroll through appealing posts but still I stay away from the kitchen. Seattle's short summer has finally arrived and slaving away at the hot stove is not necessarily ideal but still...I mean c'mon! I could whip up a salad or two. Heck, even a tasty alcoholic beverage. Jeez. So finally the Bon Appetit issue came with a salivating picture of ribs on the front and Independence Day was around the corner and I thought, well there it is. 

These ribs were very very good and the recipe is so easy! I highly highly recommend it. Living on the fifth floor of an apartment building, I don't have a grill so it was all in the oven. The only downside was they tasted, er, a little fatty. I think the ribs had a lot of fat on them because I repeatedly ran my finger through the sauce on the plate and licked it off (it was that amazing!) - so I don't think it was the sauce. I am notorious for accidently getting fatty cuts of meat. Once I got bacon that was more fat than meat. I don't know why, I never check.

The meat starts off with a dry rub. You wrap it in tin foil and cook it for 2 1/2 hours.

Than you drain the juices into a measuring cup, chill the juices and the meat. When you are ready to reheat it you add BBQ sauce to the measuring cup shown in the picture above. The bottom color is juice from the ribs, the middle layer is fat from the ribs and the BBQ sauce is on top with the fork driving through the layers.

Than you mix it all up in this clumpy fatty juicy sauce. Trust me it's amazing!

Than you reheat the ribs either on the grill or in the oven like I did. I used half the sauce initially and the rest half way through the cooking process.

While it's cooking make a healthy side dish. I purchased corn on the cob, cut off the kernals and charred them in my cast iron. I added basil, tomatoes and fire roasted red peppers. The dressing was lime, olive oil and sea salt.  

The finished products...

This recipe was for 8 lbs of ribs and I had maybe half of that. However for 8 lbs. of ribs they recommend 1 1/2 c. of BBQ sauce.

Best-Ever BBQ Ribs
Adapted from Bon Appetit

2 1/2 Tb. kosher salt
1 Tb. dry mustard
1 Tb. paprika
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

BBQ Sauce


Preheat oven to 350. Combine dry ingredients and rub on ribs. Wrap ribs in foil and cook for 2 1/2 hours. Unwrap ribs and place juices in measuring cup. Let ribs and juices cool completely. When ready to reheat, preheat oven to 350.

Whisk in BBQ sauce into juices. Baste the ribs with half the sauce. 15 minutes into the cooking baste with other half of sauce.

Salmon Salad

It must be the weather. All this sun is making me crave seafood and shellfish. This particular meal was right up my alley. The salmon was a tad over cooked which was a shame - it made it a little dehydrated and tough but still totally edible. I cooked the Trader Joe's Harvest Grain's Blend (which by the way, is awesome) in a little turmeric, made a mustard vinaigrette for the greens and seared the salmon with lots of lemon and olive oil. Oh and by the way the Trader Joe's salmon comes with lemon!

Deep Fried Oyster po'boy

Mayo, Red Pepper, Onion, Sesame Seeds, and Sriracha

...all mixed together

Delectable Oysters in cornmeal

The awesome sandwhich

The fried oyster 

This is definitely one of the better meals I have made in awhile. Casey went down south for a boy's night and so I made something entirely unappetizing to him - fried oysters with a simplified remoulade. I seriously woke up this morning thinking about it. I love oysters. Raw, Fried, Smoked, Shooters. It's all awesome. I would have to say though that smoked is my least favorite if only because they are so dry and I really love the juicyness of them. This is a Bon Appetite recipe for Oyster Tacos - but I had nice bread rolls in the house and used those instead. The original remoulade recipe has a few more ingredients that I decided to leave out including the main one - relish. I really don't know what I would use the leftover relish for. But I loved the quick remoulade that I ended up doing. Also it called for freshly shucked oysters - which is a lot of work! I purchased and jar of medium oysters. Since I live the northwest I trust that they are fresh. Plus, I am deep frying them anyways. The oysters that I could not fit on the two sandwiches I made, I dunked in the leftover remoulade. *sigh* amazingness.


Oyster po'boy
Adapted from Bon Appetit

Remoulade

1/2 c. Mayo
3 Tb. minced red pepper
3 Tb. minced sweet onion
1 Tb. Sriracha
1 tsp. sesame seeds
freshly ground black pepper and salt


po'boy

1/2 c. yellow corn meal
1/4 c. all purpose flour
2 Tb. cornstarch
1/8 tsp. baking powder

lettuce /tomatoes/sandwich toppers

Mix all ingredients together for the Remoulade. Mix together first four po'boy ingredients. GENTLY dredge the oysters in the mixture. (I plopped them all in there but they are so juicy I got clumps of cornmeal that stuck together and not on the oyster and hence I got deep fried cornmeal balls). Deep fry the oysters for three minutes in 1 inch oil heated to 350. Place on sandwich.

Stuffed Tomatoes

The baked stuffed tomatoes.

Hollowed out tomatoes...

...than stuffed...

...and served with spinach quinoa.

I made sangria last night. It was pretty phenomenal, though it packed a bit more of a kick than I was anticipating. I added the juice of two blood oranges, juice of half a lime, rooibos tea, rum and calvados to some boxed red wine I got at Trader Joe's (which just opened in West Seattle!). The blood orange alone was amazing, I might actually make some this weekend it was so good. To me they taste like a sweeter grapefruit.

This weekend should be photorific. Case and I are traveling north to see the Tulip Festival in Mt. Vernon and onto to Deception Pass and Port Townsend. Later I'll be taking a photography class courtesy of a Groupon. I'm pretty stoked. I keep waffling on getting another lens. I'm ready to 'advance' but I cringe every time I see the price. I may end up renting a lens for a day or two and splurge if I fall in love with one.

As for these tomatoes - pretty damn good. I've never cooked with ground pork - only turkey and chicken. Maybe because Ground Turkey is very lean (healthy, yuck!). I was thrilled with them, Casey not as much. He wasn't a fan of the ground meat but I am totally okay with that texture.

Stuffed Tomatoes
Adapted from Bon Appetit

2 Large Tomatoes
1/2 lb. ground pork
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 c. peppers diced
1/2 c. leek diced
3 minced garlic cloves
1/3 c. bread crumbs
1 tsp. paprika
Handful of parmesan to sprinkle on top

Heat oil. Soften onion, peppers, leeks and garlic. While it is softening, hollow out the tomatoes, chop up the guts and add it to the veggies. Add pork. Add bread crumbs and whatever seasoning you desire to use. Stuff the tomatoes and top with parmesan. Bake it for 30 minutes.

Soupaholic

I find it odd that as our Seattle weather warms up I am making more soups. The one on the top is actually a vegetarian chili and the bottom is a potato leek soup with deep 'fried' shallots. Funny thing deep frying shallots - they never fried, like crispy fried. I was supposed to place a bunch of shallots in olive oil and butter and fry them for 30 minutes. They were in there an hour and never got crispy so I can only imagine the heat wasn't high enough. Oh well, they were amazing anyways and I think I'm actually glad that they were soft and probably saturated with oily goodness. Roasting the potatoes, leeks and arugula gave it a huge flavor boost. No bland soup here. 

The longer days have been giving me a ton of energy. Really happy perky energy. It's weird and a little uncomfortable but overall I suppose it's quite nice. I am making goals, plans, budgets, shopping lists. I'm going to the gym before work, which by the way, means waking up at 4:40. Now I just have to stick with it. I become incredibly discouraged when I 'fall off the horse'. But for now, it's working and that's fine with me.