Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Festive Low Carb Fish and Shrimp Tacos!

Hankering for something festive, spicy and moderately healthy?  Try Fish Tacos!  They're great for having people over on the patio, and they go great with a bottle of Corona or two (. . . or three, or four. . . ).  They're easy to make and they're quickly becoming a summer favorite of mine because you get the spice of tacos with lower carbs and all the healthy aspects of the fish!  Also, they're really customizable to what you like.  Here's what I made:



What You'll Need:
2-3 Tilapia Filets
and/or
3-4 Pre-cooked Frozen Shrimp (thawed with tails removed) per Shrimp Taco you want to make (so if you want to make 4 shrimp tacos, then that'd be 12-16 shrimp)

Marinade:
I used McCormick Grill Mates Baja Citrus Marinade Mix (they're about $1 at the grocery store in the spice aisle) but you can also make up your own:
1/4 C Lime Juice
1/4 C Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Vinegar (rice vinegar is what I've used, but wine vinegar would also work)
1/4 C of my Rub Mix
OR
3 Tbsp of Taco Seasoning plus 1 Tbsp of Chili Powder or Chipotle Powder

Place the fish and/or shrimp in a ziploc bag and pour in the marinade and then shake/turn the bag back and forth to make sure all the stuff is coated in the bag.  Marinade in the fridge for 20 minutes to 2 hours.  When you're ready to cook, turn on the broiler to warm it up.  Pull out a broiler pan (and I recommend wrapping the top piece of the broiler pan in foil, it just makes cleanup easier in the end) and lay out the fish (if you're cooking shrimp too, don't put it on yet, it doesn't need to cook as long).  For the first part in the grill, don't pour extra marinade on the fish, just take them with what they've got on them from the bag.

Once the broiler is hot and ready to go, put the fish under the broiler with the rack on the 2nd position from the top for 5 or 6 minutes and then remove from the broiler and flip the filets.  If you're also cooking shrimp, now add them to the broiler pan and drizzle any remaining marinade over the shrimp and/or fish so that they're all covered on top as much as possible and return to the broiler for another 5 or 6 minutes.

While the fish/shrimp is in the oven, it's time to make up the toppings! 

Toppings:
You'll definitely need:
Bok Choy or Cabbage (roughly chopped into 1/2" pieces)
Roughly Chopped Fresh Cilantro
Diced Red Onion
Roughly Chopped Orange Peppers (they have a sweeter spice to them and they add to the color of the dish)
Chopped Plum Tomatoes

Optional Add-ins:
Chopped Avocado
Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Salsa
Ranch Dressing

If you want to have a low-carb fish taco, then I used 8'' Soft Taco Carb Balance Flour Tortillas, they're great!  They only have 7g Net of carbs per tortilla, and yet they still have a soft fluffy tortilla taste and texture. If you don't care about carbs, then I really recommend using Taco size Corn Tortillas, they add an extra flavor that really puts these over the top. Stick a few of these in the microwave covered with a moist paper towel for about 20 seconds to soften them up and then layer in the Cabbage, chunks of the fish and/or shrimp, peppers, onions and Cilantro and then top with any of the optional add-ins and enjoy!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Mmmmmm Beer. . . Can Chicken

Want to be able to make your own delicous roasted chicken at home?  Well, this is the recipe for you!  Best of all, a whole chicken is much cheaper than chicken parts, and if you catch it on sale, sometimes you can get a whole chicken for $0.99/pound, that's way better than the $3.99/lb they want at the grocery store (around here anyway) for boneless skinless chicken breasts!  Ideally, you can use a beer can chicken rack, but if you don't have it, it's still possible to make, you just have to be good at balancing the chicken on the can on a cookie sheet (although you'll probably want to use a jelly roll pan or something with some sides so the drippings don't run off onto the oven.

So, first you'll need to pre-heat the oven to 350°.  Then grab a can of your favorite beer: I'd recommend something light, like a lager or a light beer even (I've been using Heineken Light, mainly because the can is taller and thinner than a normal beer can, which makes it easier to get the chicken on it), a heavier beer isn't going to infuse as well and might add too much of a bitter flavor.  So, if you've got the rack, crack open the can of beer and pour out (chug?) about a third of the beer and place the can in the can holder.  Then, take out your whole chicken and make sure you've taken the giblets out of the body cavity.  Lift the chicken and fit the can into the body cavity and arrange the legs to help support the chicken.  If you don't have the beer can rack, then this is a little more difficult and might require some supports or using a high-sided pan like a 9"x13" pan or something to balance the chicken. 

Once you get it so it will stand on its own, rub with a little olive oil or spray on a little cooking spray and then rub liberally with my Spice Rub or your own mix, (a nice mix of rosemary, thyme, garlic powder, salt and fresh cracked black pepper would also work).  Once you've got it rubbed down, put it in the oven and back for about 2 1/2 hours or until it has an internal temperature of 180°.

If you want to be real fancy, you can back some chopped potatoes on the bottom of the pan with the chicken for the last hour or so.  Chop some redskin potatoes into 1/2" to 3/4" pieces and toss in a bowl with some olive oil and some of the above spice rub (or Rosemary, Thyme, Garlic, and Salt and Pepper again) and bake with the chicken for the last 40-50 minutes that the chicken is in the oven.

This is a good recipe to have people over, you'll look like the best chef in the world and there's really very little work to do.  Also, if you have a nice grill, you can also take the chicken off the rack and grill it on medium on the grill for 5 minutes or so to crisp it up a little bit. . .

14 or so Spice Rub (but who's counting. . .)

Emeril's got his rub, and I've made my own version (it even has some of Emeril's Essence in it!) that's great for pretty much any meat or fish, especially when grilling/broiling, because it'll turn into a nice spicy crust.  This should make about 4 cups worth, so make sure you've got a jar or something to hold all of it (or be good at math and cut it in half or fourths), but it's worth it, this will last a long time and is great on ribs, roasted chicken, tilapia, anything really. Here's what you'll need:

Rib Rub

1/2 Cup - Mrs Dash Southwest Chipotle Mix (pretty much the whole bottle)
1/4 Cup - McCormick Grill Mates Mesquite Mix
1/4 Cup - McCormick Italian Seasoning Mix
1/4 Cup - Crushed Rosemary Leaves
1/4 Cup - Sumac
1/4 Cup - Emeril's Essence
1/4 Cup - Thyme
1/4 Cup - Paprika
1/4 Cup - Brownulated Sugar (yes, that's BROWNulated. . . it gives the brown sugar flavor but mixes in easier)
2 Tbsp - Powdered Dried Chipotle Chili
2 Tbsp - Garlic Powder
2 Tbsp - Hot Mexican Chili Powder
2 Tbsp - Dried Minced Onions
1 Tbsp - Ground Cumin
1 Tsp - Dried Ground Ginger

 Mix all together in a big mixing bowl making sure to keep any clumps from developing.  Once it's all mixed in, well, dump it in a big jar or something and you're good to go!

Friday, May 14, 2010

Panini Madness!

So my good friend Justin mentioned that if I really wanted to make my "work from home" days the best, well, I had to get a panini press.  Lo and behold, but the other day, newegg.com had a sale on this bad boy, and now, well, I have my very own panini press/griddle.  So, on Thursday, Caitlin usually goes to her mom's for dinner so it was just me, so I broke out the new hot-ness and fired up the panini press!  I threw together 2 pieces of Oatnut bread, some sliced chicken breast (I tend to cook an extra chicken breast every week or so and chop it up and leave in the fridge for sandwiches or salads or whatever), bacon, sharp cheddar, avocado, and I took a couple tablespoons of regular mayo and added some ground chipotle to it for a little spice and threw it all on the panini press on medium heat and 90 seconds later, mmmmm, deliciously pressed hot sandwich!  Add in a cup of the chicken soup from a few days ago and well, it's like going to Panera only much better and I didn't have to leave the house. . . .

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Spinach Tortellini w/ White Wine Cream Sauce: 2 Ways

Okay, so another night, Caitlin's mouth is still a bit sore, so time for some nice soft pasta!  I've made this dish before, but I suppose it's new to you all: Cheese Stuffed Spinach Tortellini with a Spinach White Wine Alfredo sauce served 2 ways: Caitlin gets Shrimp (which I don't like too much) and Goat Cheese, and I get Bratwurst and Parmesan.  Here's what you'll need, it's a pretty quick meal:

Family Size Fresh Tortellini (20 oz) or two packages regular sized (9oz each) - I used Buitoni Mixed Cheese Tortellini
Jar of Alfredo Sauce - I used Classico Four Cheese Alfredo Sauce (it's got cheese and surprisingly a pretty low fat content for an alfredo sauce)
1 C White wine (if you won't drink it by itself, don't pour it in your dinner!)
2 tsp Oregano
2 tsp Basil
1 C Roughly chopped Baby Spinach

3-5 Sausages (Bratwurst, Sweet or Spicy Italian) and
Shredded Parmesan Cheese

OR

15-20 Shrimp (I used pre-cooked frozen shrimp, just for speed) and
Crumbled Goat Cheese or Gorgonzola

OR

Half and Half if you want to serve it two ways (or combine it into a sausage/shrimp explosion!)

So, start off by boiling 10 cups of water in a large stock pot for the Tortellini.  Add a pinch or two of Salt and some olive oil to the water.  Then in a small saucepan, pour in the pasta sauce, cover the pot, and turn heat onto medium.  In a larger saucepan, boil the sausages on high with enough water to cover them completely.  Once Pasta sauce begins to bubble around the edges, stir slowly and add in wine, basil, and oregano and cover.  After a few minutes, lower the heat down to medium-low and add the chopped spinach.  If you're serving shrimp, then take this time to thaw them out in some warm water.

Once the stockpot water is boiling, then add in the tortellini and boil for 10-12 minutes or until all the pasta is soft and floating.  Boil the sausage for about 10 minutes and then remove from water and slice lengthwise twice into 4 strips and then chop into 1/2" sections.  Add shrimp to boiling sausage water to warm up for a few minutes.  Drain the pasta and plate the pasta.  Add the sausage and sprinkle some Parmesan on top and cover with sauce.  Do the same for the shrimp (or combine them all and be crazy!) and the crumbled cheese.

Delicious, quick, and easy!

Chicken Soup (Chinese Stir-fry version)

Caitlin had to go to the dentist today for a filling so I knew she'd be a bit sore, and she hasn't been feeling too great lately, so it seemed like chicken soup would kill 2 birds with 1 stone.  I ran to the store and picked up what I needed and went to town.  I put a twist it this time by cooking the chicken chinese stir-fry style in peanut oil with ginger and scallions.  I think it's better than my regular All American Chicken Soup.  Here's what you'll need:

Chicken Soup (Chinese Stir-fry Version)
96oz Chicken Stock
4-5 Carrots Cut into 1/2" cubes
1 Medium Red Onion Diced
1 Bunch Celery Sliced into 1/4" slices
2-3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (cut into 1/2" cubes)
1 Bunch Minced Scallions (1/3 to 1/2 C)
3 tbsp Ginger paste or minced Ginger
2 tbsp dried chopped Rosemary (the kind from the jar, you don't have to chop your own)
Handful of Plain Parsley Chopped
12oz bag of Egg Noodles
1/4 C Mirin (Rice Wine from the Asian cooking section)
1/4 C Peanut Oil

Start off by boiling 2-3 quarts of water and 1 tbsp salt in a large stock pot.  Dump in the noodles and boil while you chop the carrots, celery, onion, ginger (if not using the paste), scallions and chicken breasts.  Put the celery and carrots together, and the ginger and scallions together and leave the onion in a separate container.  Once the noodles are done, pour into a colander and rinse the noodles and set aside. Pour the stock in the pot and put back on the burner on medium high heat and add in the celery, carrots and rosemary.

Grab a Wok and heat on medium-high heat with the peanut oil for a few minutes, then add in the ginger/scallion combo.  Stir occasionally for a minute or two and then carefully add in the chicken.  Stir-fry until browned by constantly moving and flipping the mixture in the wok.  Once the chicken has been browned, add it to the stock pot, and be sure to scrape all the oil and ginger and scallions with it into the soup!  Put the wok back on the burner and add in the onions and the mirin and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to soften up and brown a little, then add that to the stock pot.  Lower the temperature to medium-low heat (if at any point it begins a rolling boil, then lower the heat at that time).  Add in the set-aside noodles and the chopped parsley and cover and let simmer for another 15-20 minutes, then remove from heat and serve!

Persian Saffron Chicken (Joojeh)

We had some greek yogurt in the fridge that we had to use up before it started to go bad, so that means one thing for me: Joojeh!  If you know me at all, you know that I love Moby Dick's House of Kebab more than anything pretty much.  Seriously, I could eat there every day.  So I found a recipe online a few years ago that will let me reliably make my own Joojeh (Saffron Chicken Kebab).  Here's what you'll need: (and you might want to make sure your grill is clean, the marinade/basting mixture will fall into the grill and possibly catch fire, so I learned the hard way to clean that out or you're going to have some very well-cooked chicken. . . d'oh!)

Joojeh (Persian Saffron Chicken)

2 lbs Chicken (either chicken leg quarters or boneless chicken breasts cut into roughly 1"-2" pieces)
4-6 Plum tomatoes

Marinade:
1 C Greek-style unflavored Yogurt
1 Large or 2 small White or Yellow Onion Diced
1/4 C Olive Oil
1/4 C Lemon Juice
4 Cloves Garlic, crushed
1 tsp Black pepper (8 to 10 twists of a pepper grinder)
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Saffron threads dissolved in 2 tbsp warm water

Chop the Onion and put into a food processor and pulse until Onion is chopped into a paste.  Pour into non-staining bowl (Metal is a good bet here, Saffron stains pretty much ANYTHING and it doesn't come out, so be careful. . .) and combine the rest of the ingredients and dump in the chicken.  Marinate in the fridge covered for at least 6 hours and as long as 2 days.

Baste:
1/2 C Butter (melted)
1/2 C Lemon Juice
1/4 tsp Saffron threads dissolved in 2 tbsp warm water

Depending on the type of chicken there are two ways to cook this dish.  If you're using chicken quarters, then you'll want to bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes and then switch to the broiler/grill on medium for another 8-10 minutes to crisp up the skin. Put the Tomatoes on a skewer and grill/broil with the chicken when the chicken is done baking.  Baste every few minutes with the Saffron Lemon Butter mixture.

If you've got the boneless chicken breast pieces, you'll want to put them onto metal skewers with a tomato at the end and broil them with the oven rack on the 2nd highest slot below the broiler or grill them on medium heat for 15-18 minutes flipping through the 4 sides every few minutes until the juice is no longer pink. Baste every few minutes with the Saffron Lemon Butter mixture.

If you can find it, shake on some Sumac as well, it really makes the dish.  You might be able to find it at an International Market, but it's tough to find. . . 

Basmati Rice:

Steam rice in a rice cooker before you start cooking the chicken and leave on the warm setting (or on the stovetop with the lid on).  Once you've flipped the chicken for the last time (or taken the chicken out of the oven for baking and started grilling/broiling it) put the rice in a large bowl and set 1/4 of the rice to the side.  Stir in 2-4 tbsp of butter to the remaining 3/4s of the rice.  Prepare some more saffron lemon butter baste and stir into the 1/4 set to the side and then top the 3/4s white rice with the 1/4 saffron lemon butter rice.  Pull the Chicken off the grill and serve with the rice and/or toasted pita/lavash bread.

Mother's Day Tuna Steaks

So for Mother's Day this year, Caitlin and I thought it'd be a good idea to have our Mom's over for dinner, especially since we've started getting the house set up, we finally got all of our place settings from the wedding, and frankly, because even though they live 5 miles apart, our parents hadn't seen each other since the wedding in September. . .
Unsure of what to serve, I decided to make a little recipe that I thought up after a dinner at Copper Canyon Grill:

Ginger Lime Tuna Steaks! I first made this as a salad, with chopped apple wood smoked bacon bits thrown in, but I thought that my dad would probably have a heart attack if he at any applewood smoked bacon bits, and well, it would probably work better with 6 people instead of 2 to have one big communal salad on the side for people to take what they want. Here's the recipe for 2 steaks, so multiply out according to how many you're going to serve:

2 Tuna Steaks (as fresh as possible!)

Marinade:

3 Tbsp Ginger Paste or Diced Ginger
3 Tbsp Cilantro Paste or Diced Cilantro
1/4 C Olive or Avocado Oil (the first time I made this I used Lemon infused Avocado Oil)
1/4 C Lime Juice
1/4 C Soy Sauce
1/4 C Diced Scallions
1/4 C Diced Red Onions
Couple pinches each of Ground Black Pepper and Salt


Okay, so chop all this up and dump in a bowl and stir it up real good. If you want to be fancy and have to clean it afterwards you can use a wand blender or a food processor to chop everything into submission. It should yield a lumpy sauce/paste. Marinade the Tuna steaks in this for at least an hour (I'd recommend overnight if you want the most flavor), I usually just put the steaks in a ziploc bag or some tupperware with the marinade.

Salad:
(This is what I added, feel free to substitute or add in whatever you want with this!)
Baby Spinach
Crumbled Goat Cheese
Chopped Applewood Smoked Bacon (I used 2 slices per salad)
Shredded Carrots
Grape Tomatoes
Diced Avocadoes

Okay, to start off, pre-heat the grill to medium-high (or turn on the broiler in your oven).  While that's heating up, assemble your salad in bowls: A nice bed of spinach topped by everything else, then put in the fridge to keep cool.  Now that the grill/broiler is heated up, take the Tuna out of your marinade pouch, and place them on the grill or broiler pan.  Grill for 3 or 4 minutes and then flip (use tongs and grab the sides so you don't break the steak apart) and grill for another 3 or 4 minutes (I like to also put a dallop of marinade on top at this point so it can coat the Tuna a 2nd time).  Keep the remaining marinade.  If you're worried about the "doneness" of the steaks, cut one in half and see how it looks in there.  Don't worry, the tuna's going to get sliced before it goes on the salad, so you won't ruin any "presentation value".  I usually like the tuna to be about 1/3 cooked on the top and bottom with a third in the middle pink, but cook to your taste, if you know you don't like Tuna that way, then by all means, cook it through!

Once you're done on the grill, slice the Tuna and fan out on top of the salad, then drizzle the tuna(s) and salad(s) with the remaining marinade as a salad dressing (Optional add-in: sprinkle on some toasted sesame seeds)

Enjoy!


For Dessert:


I made this delicious Dark Chocolate Mousse recipe by Bobby Flay.I used about a half a bag of the Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Chips and mixed it up in our Kitchenaid Mixer (hey, somebody paid $300 for that thing, I'd better get their money's worth out of it!) and topped it with some Whipped cream.