Recipe – Tilapia with vegetables in a tequila lime reduction

Last day of dinner with Vita for the week was a quick meal. We wanted to go with something quick and fast. So, I made a slight twist on an old standby and made Tilapia with sauteed vegetables in a tequila lime reduction. We punch up our fish a lot with lots of Mexican and southwestern spices, but the recipe is pretty straightforward. Here we go.

Ingredients:

• 2 large fillets Tilapia
• 1 large lime juiced
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup of gold tequila
• 4 teaspoons southwest seasoning or Cholula dry seasoning
• 1/2 yellow pepper diced
• 1/4 red onion diced
• 1/4 cup of diced cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 bunch of cilantro finely chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
1. Lightly season both sides of the Tilapia Fillets with seasoning.
2. Melt butter in a medium sized skillet over medium high heat and add Tilapia fillets. Cook for two to three minutes and turn fish.
3. Briefly remove the fish from the pan, scrape up flakes and seasoning. Add vegetables and tequila. Simmer for two minutes and return fish to pan. Allow fish to rewarm before removing from heat and serving. Be sure fish is cooked through. It should be fork tender and flaky.

Another incredibly simple recipe that’s really big on flavor. The onions, the lime and the veggies really add something special to the fish. It’s also one of the fastest and most difficult things you can screw up. Goes really well with a rice pilaf or a Spanish rice. Veggies like asparagus or even potatoes are awesome with the lime, tequila sauce drizzled over the top as well.

If you try it, let me know how it goes.

Recipe – Spicy Rosemary Shrimp

I’ve been a very big fan of seafood lately, and since I’ve become dedicated to gluten free I’ve been making lots of it. Tonight, we went with a pre-made Lobster Bisque Soup that we tried (Sam’s Club) and I picked up some fresh shrimp that I briefly sauteed with rosemary and crushed red pepper flakes. It turned out a little bit more lemony than I would have liked, but all in all, I was happy with it.

Personally, I thought the Lobster Bisque (the brand name escapes me) was fantastic. Big chunks of lobster, good color and lots of Italian herbs.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound large shrimp (de-veined, peeled, tail on)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1 tablespoon rosemary (dried is fine)
• 2 teaspoons hot red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 lemon, juiced

Preparation

1. To a medium sized skillet, add olive oil and garlic. Saute over medium heat until golden.

2. Add rosemary, pepper flakes, and shrimp, and cook, stirring. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and transfer to serving dish. If you like, add two tablespoons of butter at the very end and allow it to melt in. This creates more of a “sauce” that you can drizzle over your plate. And if I were eating bread still, I’d douse a good crusty piece in it too :).

3. Squeeze half lemon over shrimp.

That’s it, couldn’t be easier. Still, very tasty and super fast for when you’re pinched on time.

Recipe – Salmon in Garlic and Herb Butter

It’s been a very long time since I’ve posted. You all have my most sincere apologies – especially my friends who added me to their blogrolls or who were visiting daily. I’ve let you all down. But with the New Year comes a renewed interest in blogging, especially when it comes to my food blog. So without further adieu, back to the recipes.

Vita and I have been working out a lot lately and are on a big health kick. That means more seafood. Tonight, I prepared a Salmon sauteed with Butter, Dill and Garlic. Very simple, but big on flavor. Here we go.

Ingredients:

• 2 salmon fillets
• 4 tablespoons of butter
• 1/4 cup of dill, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp Old Bay

Preparation:

1. In a large skillet, melt butter and begin to saute garlic over a medium high heat. As the butter melts season salmon fillets with salt and fresh black pepper.
2. Once all the butter has melted add the dill and place the fish in the pan.

3. Saute the fish for about 3-and-a-half minutes or until the edges begin to brown slightly. Turn over and saute for an additional 2 to 3 minutes or until the fish becomes fork tender.

That’s it. It’s incredibly simple, really delicious and very quick. The garlic adds a scampi like flavor, while the dill gives real depth to the rest of the fish. We served our salmon with our Green Been, Mozzarella and Tomato Salad (Recipe here).

Recipe – Shrimp Scampi Over Whole Wheat Pasta

I’m back from the dead. I’m happy to report that I wasn’t even really close to death. Alas, work, a few days off and a lot of family needs took me away from posting for a bit, but I’m back and ready to rededicate myself and redesign. And to kick things back off, I’ll tell you a bit about the Lobster and Shrimp Scampi Over Whole Wheat Pasta I surprised my wife with last night.

Vita has been working very, very hard lately and she did some awesome stuff for my birthday recently. So to make up for it, I plotted all day. Ernesto, my fish guy, scored me some really nice 4 oz. slipper lobster tails, which come from a number of lobster species related to the rock lobster. They were frozen, so they were a little tougher than normal lobster, but they’re just as flavorful and really great for the price.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of medium to large shrimp, raw, de-veined and shelled
• 2 4 oz. slipper lobster tails



• 5 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon juiced
• 5 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 large shallot minced
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 and a half cups whole wheat spaghetti

Preparation:
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook your spaghetti according to the package.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes until the shallots are translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes.

3. Toss the shrimp with salt and pepper; add them to the pan and cook until they have turned pink. Remove the shrimp from the pan immediately; set aside and keep em warm.

4.Add wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Add the rest of your butter and oil. When the butter has melted, return the shrimp to the pan along with the parsley and cooked pasta. Stir well and season with salt and pepper.

For the Lobster:

Be sure your lobster tails are thawed fully. You can cook them frozen, but they tend to be more tender if thawed first. If you don’t want them to curl, slide a wooden skewer through the base of the tail to the tip. Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees. Brush the tails with a little butter and some olive oil before they go into the oven. Bake the tails for 8 to 10 minutes, a bit longer if they’re frozen. Serve with lemon juice or butter.

There you have it.

Sorry I’ve been absent guys. I’m back in the blogging habit now!

Recipe – Teriyaki Salmon with Grilled Pineapple

I love all seafood, and for my money, Salmon is always up there. It’s a very strong flavor, but I enjoy strong flavors, especially with seafood. And last night, we finally had enough time to get to some serious cooking. The weather was absolutely stunning, which made it the perfect end of summer night to do fish and grilled pineapple – one of Vita’s favorite things.

This is also a very quick grilled meal, so it’s perfect for when you’re short on time. We served it with a side of green beans.

Ingredients:

Teriyaki Sauce ( I like this recipe from Tyler Florance)

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
• Juice of 2 oranges
• 2 tablespoon honey
• 2 tablespoon ginger, peeled and minced
• 1/2 cup scallion, chopped
• 2 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted

Other ingredients

• Two salmon steaks
• 1/2 pineapple, cut into spears
• Salt and Pepper to Taste
• 2 cups of green beans

Preparation:
1. Combine all teriyaki ingredients in a large bowl. Refrigerate for 1 hour before use.

2. After marinade has come together, add it to your salmon steaks and let it rest in a large zip lock bag for up to eight hours, but a minimum of 15 minutes. It can be brushed on if you don’t want the flavors to penetrate the fish.

3. Preheat grill and be sure to use a non-stick grill spray, or even butter to be sure that your fish doesn’t stick.

3. Just how long your fish should be grilled can only be estimated by size and shape. For a 1/2-inch cut of salmon, I’ll leave the grill at a medium highe heat and you should cook the first side 3 to four minutes before I flip. Then it’s about a solid 4 minutes on the second side.

4. After you’ve cooked the first side of your fish, add the pineapple, allow grill marks to appear and turn frequently. You want it to get warm enough for the juices to get going in there, but you don’t want to cook it so long that it might dry out.

Super good, super easy. Enjoy!