The Fruits of Our Labor- Local Corn, Tomatoes & Wild Salmon!

Friday, August 31st, 2012 | posted by mike

It’s hard to believe it’s Labor Day weekend already. It’s kind of sad that summer is almost over but happily, we’re right in the thick of harvest season and there’s some great eating to be had. This weekend at Monahan’s, were expecting some seasonal delights to compliment all that wonderful produce that will be right outside our door at the farmers market.

Bluefish have been fattening up and we’ll be bringing some beauties from Maine. Memorial Day to Labor Day marks the traditional season for Maryland soft shell crabs. If you haven’t had the chance to enjoy these delicacies this summer you’d better get ‘em while you can (they’ve been gorgeous!) and they’re almost gone for another year. We’ve also had a great summer of wild Pacific salmon. The sockeye run is over but we’re expecting some nice Alaskan Coho and Colombia River kings for the weekend. We ‘ll also have live crayfish from the Colombia River too! Come in and check it all out!salmon curing in salt

Tons of whole fish, staked fish and shellfish to grace your holiday weekend grill, including some grilling sized Wiley point oysters from the Damariscotta River in Maine! Let them poach in their own liquor and baste with garlic herb butter or garlic BBQ sauce- OOOEEEE!

Today’s recipe uses the best corn and tomatoes of the year. We recommended wild salmon, since the season is almost over, but this salsa would be great with some nice rich bluefish or swordfish.

As usual, last night as my wife, Lisa, was shooting this dish for today’s report, dinner was served cold! But you know, the grilled salmon with this salsa was still fantastic cold. Perfect picnic fare!    Enjoy.

PS. Big bad Bernie just informed me that he will be preparing his roasted tomato, caramelized onion chipotle salsa this weekend, so if you’re not motivated to prepare the tomato corn salsa, pick up some of Bernie’s delicious fresh salsa. It’s great served cold or hot!

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Grilled Salmon with Roasted Tomato Corn Salsa

Friday, August 31st, 2012 | posted by mike

Serves 4

11/2 – 2 lbs. salmon fillet – wild king, Coho, sockeye, or farmed Atlantic

Coarse kosher or sea salt

Pepper

Olive oil

salmon curing in saltCut fillets into portion sized pieces and coat with coarse salt on all sides

Let salmon cure in the salt for 5 min. (this will form a husk around fillet, sealing in moisture and firming it up for grilling)

Rinse fillets in water and pat dry

Season with pepper

Baste with olive oil and on a clean, oiled grill, place fillets skin side up on the grill (if gas grill set at med – high)

Grill for 4-5 min a side (follow the 10 min. per inch rule) until fish is just opaque in center

Serve with a large dollop of salsa on top

Roasted Tomato Corn Salsa

10 plum tomatoes halved and seeded

3 ears of corn, husk removed if boiling, husk on if grilling

1 T olive oil

Kosher or sea salt

Coarse ground pepper

1/2 cup chopped purple onion

2 t cumin

Juice from 1 large or 2 small limes

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 T rice vinegar

1 T jalapeño pepper, finely chopped

2 large or 3 small cloves garlic, leave skin on

Pre heat oven to 450º

Place tomatoes, flat side up, on a sheet tray or broiling pan

Sprinkle with salt and drizzle olive oil over tomatoes

Pop in oven along with garlic and roast until they start to brown around the edges and caramelize (about 15-25 min.)

Let cool, coarsely chop and add to mixing bowl

Boil corn for 5 min. or grill

Cut kernels off the cob and add to mixing bowl

Add rest of ingredients, gently mix and taste for salt, pepper and spiciness

Serve a large dollop on top of grilled salmon. Also great on bluefish or swordfish.

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A Peach of a Scallop Dish

Friday, August 24th, 2012 | posted by mike

Cruising the Ann Arbor farmers market last week, I came upon some small but perfectly ripe peaches and I have to say those were maybe the best and sweetest peaches I’ve ever tasted. It’s been a rough summer for the farmers this year, with harvests way down or nonexistent due to the heat and drought. It seems the farmers that could irrigate were able to get at least some real nice fruit to market.

Some say that during a drought, the water content in many fruits, including peaches, is lower and the sugars condense resulting in a sweeter fruit. Whatever the reason, those were some darn good peaches.

scallop shellI was preparing a grilled snapper a couple years back and the recipe called for the fish to be served with mango salsa. I couldn’t find a ripe mango for the life of me, but the peaches were in season and they do have similarities in texture and flavor. The substitution worked out better than expected and we’ve made lots of peach salsas ever since. The salsa was fantastic with the snapper!

 

Last night we thought we’d try the dish with sea scallops. Slightly spicy with a touch of our Cajun seasoning, the scallops were perfect over the juicy, sweet peach salsa. We pan seared the scallops but they would also be great grilled.

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Seared Sea Scallops with Peach Salsa

Friday, August 24th, 2012 | posted by mike

Serves 4

1 1/2 lb. dry pack sea scallops

Pinch of Monahan’s Cajun seasoning, or Paul Prudhomme’s Cajun Magic

Olive oil

Lightly coat scallops with Cajun seasoning (on the flat sides)

Heat an iron skillet or heavy pan over med – high heat

Add enough olive oil to cover bottom of pan

When sizzling hot, add scallops (flat side down)

Sear till nicely browned, 2-3 min.

Flip and after another 2-3 min, check and see if scallops are barely opaque in the center

Serve on top of salsa

Peach Salsa

2 cups peeled and cubed nice ripe peaches

1/4 cup purple onion, finely chopped

2 T cilantro, finely chopped

2 T fresh lime juice

1 T jalapeño pepper seeded and finely chopped

1 T rice wine vinegar

2 t finely chopped mint leaves

1-2 t honey (to taste)

Gently mix all ingredients

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Give Me Some Skin- On My Squid!

Friday, August 17th, 2012 | posted by mike

I can’t help getting excited when fresh and shimmering whole squid graces our ice. All right, we just had a squid report a few weeks ago but when it’s available and looking so fine, we just can’t get enough. We’ve been praising the joys of squid with an almost evangelic fervor for years. This site offers all kinds of recipes.  Stuffed (calamares rellenos), black bean stir fried, squid satay with Thai peanut sauce, sautéed with pimentos and chorizo, squid in tomato sauce over pasta, squid salad and calamari a la piastra (crispy griddle squid) are some of our favorites.

squid in marinade

 

We received some flawless beauties from Cape Elizabeth, Maine that, since their delicate skin was perfect, cried out to be grilled whole with the skin on. Most squid preparations call for them to be skinned, mainly because the skin will darken and some of it will fall off in most recipes. With a little marinating, an oiled clean grill and a little TLC the skin stayed intact and they cooked up beautifully. Serve them with sharp knives and a squeeze of lemon.

 

 

Here’s the recipe for whole grilled squid.

Since we love squid so much, we used Mike’s drawing on our popular tees!

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Grilled Whole Squid with Roasted Red Pepper and Garlic

Friday, August 17th, 2012 | posted by lisa

Serves 4

11/2-2 lb. whole uncleaned squid, guts and quill removed, skin and fins left on

5-6 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 large red pepper, roasted, then cut into small 1/4-1/2 inch squares

6-8 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed from stem

1 lemon, cut into wedges

1 t sriracha sauce

olive oil

Marinate squid in enough olive oil and 1/2 the garlic to just cover for 15 min.

When grill is ready, roast the red pepper (turn occasionally until it’s black all around, place in plastic or paper bag for a few min. then peel off the black skin), cut into squares – put aside for sauce

To make sauce, heat about a 1/4 cup olive oil over med- high heat, add garlic, red pepper and thyme- when garlic softens and begins to turn golden add sriracha, take off heat and reheat at serving time

Clean grid on grill and brush with a bit of olive oil

Place squid across grid (diagonally) along with the tentacles (also diagonally, so that they don’t fall through onto the coals).

Grill for 3-4 min. a side (a bit longer for larger squid)

Heat the garlic pepper sauce, pour onto serving platter and serve squid over sauce. Serve with lemon wedges

caprese saladThis meal was great with a local tomato caprese salad and a baguette for sopping. WOW!

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Thanks Shigefumi, The Tuna Tartare is Delicious!

Thursday, August 2nd, 2012 | posted by mike

They say that necessity is the mother of invention. That was the case back in 1984 at the Chaya Brasserie in Beverly Hills where chef Shigefumi Tachibe was hit with a challenge. When a table of 6 told him they didn’t like the idea of eating raw beef tartare and they wanted something different, the chef went back to his kitchen and began scanning his possibilities. He noticed a nice loin of sashimi grade tuna. Being a French trained chef, he knew how to prepare an amazing tartare and being Japanese, he knew the wonders of super fresh sashimi grade tuna. Problem solved! The table of 6 loved it, the dish made its way to the menu and its popularity swept the nation (almost to the point of overkill).

tunaIt seemed like everyone was serving a version of tuna tartare, which was a bit scary since the fish is served raw and must be impeccably fresh. Not every restaurant should even be attempting such a dish since there is a good amount of expertise in the buying and grading of these fish. Tuna is graded according to fat content, color and translucency to name a few factors. Price is set on how high a grade the tuna is. Grade 1 plus is the crème de la crème but a strong 2 plus can be suitable if it’s nice and fresh and was properly graded.

In buying tuna for tartare, make sure you’re buying from a market that you trust and can guarantee a fresh high-grade fish. Tell the merchant that you’re serving it raw and make sure the fish is being cut separately from other raw products on its own cutting board and with separate knives. Also, beware of the ever present, inexpensive, CO2 frozen tuna that lots of stores and restaurants sell. Flash frozen with carbon dioxide, it can make a lower grade and even an oxidizing, browning tuna turn bright red. Sometimes sold as “saku blocks” the only good thing about this product is its color. The creamy, “melt in your mouth texture” of fresh tuna is lost. In the samples I’ve tasted, the fats and water seemed to separate leaving a watery texture and an oily aftertaste. Watching food cost and rationalizing that the customer won’t tell the difference (slap enough wasabi in there), this product shows up in even the “finer restaurants” and stores.

If tuna is cheap it probably is. Bottom line, buy cheap and weep! Buy from people that you know to be trustworthy.

This recipe, an adaptation of Chef Eric Ripert’s, is a fantastic summertime dish that makes an easy and elegant appetizer or light supper. We served it last night with an arugula salad and a cold “lazy linguine” pasta dish made by my sister-in-law, Nancy. It made a fine meal. Fresh, light, and elegant. Yum!

Thank you chef Shigefumi.

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Tuna Tartare

Thursday, August 2nd, 2012 | posted by mike

Serves 4

1 lb. sashimi grade tuna: yellowfin or bigeye

1/2 of a cucumber, peel 1/2 of the skin off lengthwise to create striped pattern, then cut into thin slices

3 T olive oil

3 t pickled ginger, finely chopped (available at Monahan’s)

1/4 cup cilantro, finely chopped, use 2T in the tartare, the remaining for garnish

1 t jalapeño (or more if you like a little more heat), finely chopped

11/2 t wasabi powder

1 t toasted sesame seeds

1 T scallions finely chopped

11/2 T lemon juice plus 1/2 a lemon

1 ripe avocado, cut into 1/4 inch cubes

Kosher or sea salt, fresh ground pepper

Rice crackers, thin sliced baguette or wonton crisps

With a good sharp knife, cut tuna into 1/8 inch cubes (I cut around the small amount of the tough sinew and finely chop that part)

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl, except the 1/2 lemon, extra cilantro and avocados

Gently mix ingredients then carefully toss in the avocados

Arrange slices of cucumber around the outside edge of 4 plates

Pack tartare mixture in an oiled 11/2 inch by 21/4 inch round mold in the center of plate, repeat on each plate (If you don’t have a mold use a small, oiled bowl that will hold a nice serving size)

Drizzle each serving with olive oil, squeeze of lemon and sprinkle with remaining cilantro

Serve with rice crackers, thin sliced baguette or wonton crisps

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