Snapper with Zucchini & Tomato

The game plan was to wait until we have cherry tomatoes in the garden to try this recipe.  With the hot summer we have been having, our cherry tomato plant is now taller than me!  It is not producing a lot yet, a few here and there but they are coming…Yahoo! I love cherry tomatoes.  It is nice to use a lot of your garden fresh items when you can. I think that rice or baked potato would work well with this meal.

Snapper with Zucchini & Tomato

~Cooking Light July 2012 magazine

4 tsp extra virgin olive oil, divided

½ tsp kosher salt, divided

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided

2 (6 ounce) snapper fillets

2 Tbs dry vermouth or white wine

1 cup diced zucchini

1 ½ Tbs minced shallots

1 tsp chopped fresh oregano

1 tsp grated lemon rind

1 cup halved cherry tomatoes

1 Tbs chopped fresh basil

2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add 1 tsp oil to pan; swirl to coat. Sprinkle ¼ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper over fish.  Add fish to pan; cook 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.  Remove fish from pan; keep warm.  Add vermouth; cook until liquid almost evaporates.  Add zucchini, shallots, oregano, lemon rind, 1 tsp oil and 1/8 tsp salt; sauté 3 minutes or until zucchini is tender.
2. Combine zucchini mixture, tomato, remaining 1/8 tsp salt, remaining 2 tsp oil, basil and juice; toss gently.  Serve with fish.

Tupps Tidbits ~ avoid large zucchini, which can be bitter, dry white wine like sauvignon blanc works in place of vermouth

Well the cherry tomatoes were excellent & the meal was healthy but neither one of us liked it.

Not a keeper!  There just was no distinct flavor and seemed very bland.

French Onion Salisbury Steak over Cheese Toasts

As promised we will bring you 2 recipes this week.  These recipes come to us from Cuisine at home magazine.  We picked out the warm, hearty French Onion Steaks & Cheese Toasts.  Really this is just a new version of Salisbury steak but the sauce base is on French onion soup. I am not a big onion fan but hoping this dish will win me over.  We are going to pair this with a Gunflint Red Wine from Cannon River Winery…. (it is one of the ingredients)…Cheers!

French Onion Salisbury Steak

For the Steak –

1 ¼ lb. ground chuck

¼ cup minced fresh parsley

2 Tbs. minced scallions

1 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

2 Tbs. flour

For the Sauce –

1 Tbs. Olive oil

2 cups sliced onions

1 tsp. sugar

1 Tbs. minced garlic

1 Tbs. tomato paste

2 cups low-sodium beef broth

¼ cup dry red wine

¾ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp dried thyme

                Cheese Toasts

                Minced fresh parsley

                Shredded Parmesan

• Combine ground chuck, ¼ cup parsley, scallions, salt & pepper.  Divide evenly into 4 portions & shape into ¾ to 1 inch thick oval patties. Place 2 Tbs. flour in shallow dish; dredge each patty in flour. Reserve 1 tsp flour.
• Heat oil in pan over med.-high. Add patties, sauté 3 minutes each side or until browned. Remove from pan
• Add onions & sugar to pan; sauté 5 minutes.  Stir in garlic & tomato paste; sauté until paste begins to brown, 1 minute.  Sprinkle mixture with reserved flour; cook 1 minute.  Stir in broth, wine salt & thyme.
• Return meat to pan; bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low cover, & simmer for 10 minutes.

• Serve steaks on Cheese Toasts with onion sauce ladled over.  Garnish with parsley & Parmesan.

Cheese Toasts

4 slices Italian baguette, cut diagonally, ½ inch thick

2 Tbs. unsalted butter, room temp.

½ tsp minced garlic

Pinch of paprika

¼ cup shredded Swiss cheese

1 Tbs. shredded Parmesan

• Preheat oven to 400 & place bread on baking sheet. 
• Combine butter, garlic & paprika; spread on one side of each slice of bread.  Combine cheeses & sprinkle evenly over butter.  Bake until bread is crisp & cheese is bubbly, 10 – 15 minutes.

Tupps Tidbits ~  You can wait till the sause comes to a boil to put the toast in the oven, both will be done at the same time.

 

Well this dish winned me over!  It was so elegant & the taste was unbelievable. The patties were moist &tender.  Both are KEEPERS in our home!

Shrimp Po’boys

It has been a very warm start to our summer.  It makes me think of my favorite Beetles tune….Here comes the Sun...Do to do to...Here Comes the Sun….. have had some extremely hot days.  We found a new healthy (non deep fried) recipe makeover for Shrimp Po’boys that will not heat up the house & sounds delicious.  I am hoping the crunchy slaw will make the sandwich worth every bite.

Shrimp Po’boys

Cooking Light Magazine, July 2012

Slaw:

3 Tbs. canola mayonnaise

1 Tbs. minced shallots

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

½ tsp. Dijon mustard

½ tsp. prepared horseradish

¼ tsp. hot pepper sauce (Tabasco)

¼ tsp. grated lemon rind

1 garlic clove, minced

2 ½ cups packaged cabbage/carrot coleslaw

Po’boys:

1 Tbs. cornstarch

½ tsp. grated lemon rind

¼ tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. ground red pepper

1 large egg white

1 pound medium shrimp, peeled & deveined

4 (2 ½ oz) pieces French bread baguette, split & toasted

3 Tbs. stone-ground cornmeal

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

8 (1/4 inch thick) slices tomato

1. To prepare the slaw, combine first 9 ingredients in medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Add coleslaw; toss to coat.  Cover & chill.
2. To prepare the Po’boys, combine cornstarch & next 4 ingredients (through egg white) in a medium bowl; whisk until blended.  Add shrimp; toss well. Marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes, stirring once.
3. Hollow out top & bottom halves of bread, leaving a ¼-inch-thick shell.  Place torn bread in food processor; process until very fine crumbs form.  Set aside ½ cup breadcrumbs; reserve remaining breadcrumbs for another use.  Combine ½ cup breadcrumbs, cornmeal, and black pepper in large zip-lock bag; seal & shake to combine.
4. Remove shrimp from bowl; discard marinade.  Add shrimp to breadcrumb mixture.  Seal & shake to coat.
5. Heat a large skillet over med-high heat.  Add oil to pan; swirl to coat.  Add shrimp; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done.
6. Arrange ½ cup slaw on each bottom half of bread. Top with one quarter of shrimp & 2 tomato slices.  Cover with top half of bread.

Tupps Tidbits ~ you could easily make the slaw ahead of time to cut back on the hands on time… make sure you use a non –stick skillet for this one…also, I liked the fact that you use the ground up insides of the bread to coat the shrimp.

I know it has lots of ingredients & instructions but it was worth it.  The shrimp is actually marinated, breaded, & then seared in a hot lightly oiled pan to save the fat/ calories over a deep fried version.  We both liked the Po’boys & the shrimp had a nice crispy coating. It is definitely a “KEEPER”!   Oh & if anyone really reads this blog, besides Sean’s mom, we did miss a week & will make it up to you next week with 2 recipes in one!

Tangy Shrimp & Scallops

Lost up in the cubbard was a bottle of Neumann’s Own low fat sesame ginger dressing.  Not knowing what we could cook with it we were starting searching.  The recipe we came across listed to cook a stick of butter per pound of scallops…..hmmm… not sounding so healthy but that lead us to the recipe below & still the bottle of Newman’s own is untouched.

Tangy Shrimp & Scallops

http://www.tasteofhome.com/

28 uncooked large shrimp (1 -1/2 pounds), peeled & deveined

28 sea scallops (about ½ pound)

½ cup butter, cubed

7 tablespoons lemon juice

5 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 to 2 teaspoons garlic power

1 teaspoon paprika

• Place shrimp & scallops in a large resealable plastic bag; set aside.
• In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the butter, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder and paprika.  Microwave at 50% power for 1 minute or until butter is melted.  Stir to blend; set aside 1/3 cup for basting. Pour remaining marinade over shrimp & scallops.  Seal bag & turn to coat. Refrigerate for 1 hour, turning occasionally.
• Drain & discard marinade. Alternately thread shrimp & scallops on skewers. Grill, covered over medium heat for 5 -8 minutes or until shrimp turns pink & scallops are opaque, turning once & basting with reserved marinade.

Tupps Tidbits ~ make sure your grill is not too hot & watch you minutes so you do not over cook (like I did….Opps!)

We both loved this dish & thought it would make a great meal for company.  We served it with a nice lettuce salad & fresh fruit for dessert but garlic toast & pasta would make it an awesome meal as well.  We can not wait to make it again & again…Definitely “KEEPER”!