Bon Appetit ~ Round 5: Finally Some Fish

Well, well, well...it looks like Bon Appetit is finally listening. It was just last week when I dared them to put salmon on the cover and lookey here what shows up on the June cover!

     Remember ~ I live in Hickville so I know the only way that I will be able to score those tiny tomatoes on the vine will be if I do a little late night raid on someones garden. Reconnaissance mission has begun.

I'm somewhat disappointed in BA because the recipe calls for "wild king salmon." While there is nothing wrong with wild king, in fact I LOVE it, but didn't they know as of May 15 it was officially Copper River Salmon season? At first glance I was hoping that was what that beautiful piece of fish was, but it was not to be.

        I'm on it...like a fat kid on cake!  

 

Results to follow!

If you want to make it with me click here for the recipe. 

The Bon Appetit Throwdown: Round 4

Whose dumb idea was this anyway? I'm talking about this whole Bon Appetit throwdown crap. Well BA must have gotten the memo that dough and I have a love/hate relationship because they have gotten all serious about this throwdown thing and have been playing dirty by bombarding me with yet another cover recipe that features dough. Here’s the thing—I love to eat all things made from dough but I hate to make it. Mostly because I suck at it.

I was coming off a hellacious high from pain meds and wasn’t thinking rational when I made the decision to bring a pound of butter to room temp.

      Think I’m kidding?  There were three plus sticks of butter in a recipe that yielded nine rolls. I can do easy math even when high, so I know that means that there is about a stick of butter in each bun, right? I am usually of the opinion that everything is bedder with budder, but these rolls were practically boiled in butter and that’s just sick and wrong BA!!!   

     The dough was sticky, hence the name I suspect.  So crazy sticky in fact that it would have been easier to get Bazooka bubble gum off of the hind end of a shiatsu then it was to get that crap out of my food processor.  When I finally did I then buttered them up some more and put it in a bowl to rise, just like the BA bully told me to do.  

     Then that shit didn’t rise.

     I waited the allotted time and then some and finally gave up on it and rolled it out, hoping it would rise on the second time around, but nooooo, it just sat there in its own pool of butter all relaxed looking while I looked on in zombie horror from my happy place.

 

So I baked it anyway. Thankfully my friend Shawna had popped over and was there to keep an eye on them, because between the Percocet and Pinot Grigio I almost forgot that I had a bun in the oven. 

Hahahahaha! Are these not the worst looking rolls you've EVER seen?

When Shawna pulled them out of the oven she remarked that they slightly resembled sticky buns. coughbullshitcough, I thought they looked more like road apples.

Hahahahahahaha! Fugly, I know...

I have two friends who also made this cover recipe.  Karen, who is an amazingly talented baker said, and I quote, the texture is awesome and that they were easy to make. I gotta believe her because she knows dough, but Karen, I want whatever pain meds you're on because I think making origami birds is easy compared to making these buns.  

      My other friend, Mrs. Lexus, also an accomplished baker in her own right, made them and said her buns rose to the high heavens and were mighty tasty...but were too buttery. Mrs. L., I want whatever pain meds you're on because I didn't know there was such a thing as "too buttery".

The Lowdown on the Throwdown:

The individual components of this recipe were very good, Vicodin or not. The dough was soft and silky and oh-so-buttery.  The filling, which was butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg was sweet and spicy and did I mention buttery? Then there was the heavenly caramel sauce which was nutty and creamy and UN-freakin-believably buttery!  When you put all that together, minus the fact that my buns were like hockey pucks, what you got was an insanely, buttery, tasty hunka dough. 

      But here is the sad truth...if you are really going to eat a whole sticky bun by yourself, plan for your next meal to be fed to you through an IV tube shortly after you come out of triple bypass surgery.  Just sayin'.   

     Click here to get the recipe.  

OK Bon Appetit you win this one, I'm cryin' UNCLE!  Enough with the dough, would you?  How about some nice fish for a change, like salmon? Are you listening?

Wasabi My Kimosabe

So if you think that I've spent the past five months in the Caribbean just working on my tan and swimming with turtles you are right. Well, only partially right. I did spend a great deal of  time cooking…and doing dishes...or when I wasn't doing dishes I was cooking. It was a vicious cycle.  

This season I added a few new definite keepers to my repertoire of Pisces recipes. One of The Big Guy's favorites was Creole shrimp with Andouille cream, which I served on a bed of kale and then on top of cheesy grits. It was rich and spicy and full of flavor.

One of my faves is a Stephen Pyles recipe that I have been making at home for the past few years but I adapted it to make use of local island ingredients; snapper in a jalapeno broth served on a banana-black bean mash with fried plantains and mango salsa. The picture below is showing it in a serrano broth with fried tortilla strips, which is how I make it at home but in the islands I usually can't find serranos so I use jalapenos and I  also make use of the abundance of plantains and fry some of them up.

But enough about that...we are here to talk about the tuna with wasabi beurre blanc and pineapple-ginger chutney. This is quite possibly thee best thing that I have made in a very LOOOOOONNNNG time, maybe even like forever.

I'd like to take credit for the sauce, but my ass would be chapped if someone took credit for one of my brilliant sauce creations and I don't want no bad karma, so I will tell you that I found the sauce recipe on allrecipes.com.  It was my genius idea thank you very much, to top it with the pineapple-ginger chutney which was my mojo and elevated this dish from "it doesn't suck" to "wow! would it be considered gauche to lick my plate at the table?"

Trust me...you don't even have to like wasabi to like this dish. When you cook the wasabi paste the heat takes the pungency away, leaving a mild flavor that the pineapple and ginger completely love. I know when it comes to wasabi that a little dab will do ya, but by cooking it you knock the sinus clearing effect right out of it and what you are left with is a mild but flavorful sauce that is rich and decadent. I am of the opinion that everything is bedder with budder and wasabi is no exception so don't be afraid to go a little crazy with the green stuff. And just when you think this sauce can't get any better you throw the cilantro in and that's when you want to call a nurse for an IV so you can just mainline it. 

You can make the chutney ahead of time and keep in in the refrigerator until you are ready to make the sauce. Bring it to room temp before serving.
 

To plate this put some beurre blanc on the plate, top with the seared tuna steak, more beurre blanc and then some chutney. Serve remaining beurre blanc and chutney on the side. Then sit back, close your eyes, take a bite and let the flavors explode like fireworks on your tongue!

There you have it! Our new favorite tuna recipe and I dare you to find one person who has eaten this that didn't lick their plate clean and kiss me on the lips! And I can name names.

     I usually serve it with coconut-lime rice (or couscous {I like the Israeli} ) and candied ginger carrots. Go to the "Seafood" tab at the top of this page to see how to put a little piece of heaven on the table. 
     PLEASE let me know what you think after you've eaten this and I'll let you know where to send the thank you flowers.

Top 10 Reasons Why It's Time To Go Home

Tomorrow we are homeward bound! We have spent the past five days in Puerto Rico, where we have been busy getting the boat hauled out and putting her in dry storage. Pisces is all tucked in and buttoned down, ready for a long rest in a safe harbor where she can ride out the hurricane season.
     And after five months of living on the boat I am ready to get my feet back on solid ground.

 The Big Guy, just as we were finished putting her away and ready to leave.

THE TOP TEN REASONS WHY IT’S TIME TO GO HOME

10.   Old cash gone, need new cash.

9.   We have watched all of our DVD’s at least twice and are now ready to watch some quality TV shows for a change, like American Idol (me) and Dancing with the Stars (The Big Guy), and Iron Chef (both of us). Are those shows even still on? Did we miss anything?

8.    I need a new reality. No matter how much one loves White Bay you can only spend so many hours per week people watching at the Soggy Dollar Bar. The same can be said for doing shotskis at Willy T's.

My favorite place in the BVI's...White Bay,  Jost Van Dyke

    

Willy T's and hell yeah we are doing a shotski! When in Rome...

7.   I really, really, really want a salad that is NOT romaine lettuce. And I really, really, really want fresh produce that will last more than one day. Wilted greens one day old that I paid a premium for make me Whiny and Bitchy and I HATE being Whiny and Bitchy. I'm Hot and Flashy so I don't have time for Whiny and Bitchy.
 
6.   Lately I’ve been taking turtles for granted. It’s time to go home when Big hollers at me to look at a huge sea turtle that is swimming along side us and I don’t even  pull my nose out of my book or bother to look up. Sea turtles should NEVER be taken for granted! Shame on me!

I snapped this pic as I was snorkeling with this turtle!

5.   You know I love that man but believe me when I tell you that the boat is getting too small for two people to live 24/7.  Someone may slip and accidentally fall overboard and someone else may accidentally not notice for an amount of time that is considered criminally unacceptable.

4.   I’m tired of cooking. There, I said it. As much and I love to cook and entertain I have to admit I am pretty burned out. Since about mid March I’ve been knocking out thee meals a day, along with an appetizer and an occasional dessert. My energy level is low and my creative juices have slowed down to barely a trickle, so unless it's a really great new recipe that you have to share, I'm not interested.
 

    Blue Corn Crusted Mahi-Mahi with Black Bean & Corn Salsa

and Corn Spiked & Chipotle Mashed Potatoes

 

 Tuna on a Sweet Potato Cake with Mixed Fruit Compote

and Roasted Red Pepper Coulis

3.    It’s getting too dang hot! Add another ten degrees and 90% humidity to my already over heated, hot and flashy body and you got a cranky old bag who is about this close to spontaneously combusting.


2.    I do love the water, but frankly I'm tired of being wet. Last week I was a good three minutes into a shower before I noticed I still had my bra on. Seriously! It's because my clothes are always wet, I'm always wet—be it sea water, dish water or sweat, so showering partially clothed seems almost logical.

1(a).    I say this not in vanity but in sanity. I miss my full length mirror! The only mirror I have on the boat shows me from about the neck up so I really have no idea if I’ve gotten fat(ter) or if I still have the ability to put together a super cute outfit. I looked down at what I was wearing the other day and horrors of horrors, thought, “OH MY GOD…THE BIG GUY MUST HAVE DRESSED ME THIS MORNING!”   

And the number one reason to come home…..

1.      There is a darling little girl named Paisley, that I miss terribly and whom I’m certain needs to plant flowers, pull some weeds, finger paint a wall with spaghetti sauce, play in mud puddles, throw some toys down the toilet, gather pine cones and horse turds, cut her own hair, slide down the laundry chute, do some power shopping, put doll clothes on the dogs, get a manicure....

The #1 reason to come home

On my next post I will share with you the BEST dish that I have made over these past five months. If you don't LOVE it I will give you your money back! 
     Stay tuned for Tuna with Wasabi Beurre Blanc and Pineapple-Ginger Chutney.