Caesar-Roasted Swordfish and Pear Arugula Salad

Caesar-Roasted Swordish

From Ina Garten, How Easy Is That?

6 servings

I love Ina, but she uses way too much salt for my taste. Reduce the amount she calls for. The mustard, anchovy paste and capers provide plenty of saltiness.

This recipe calls for swordfish, but testers on her Food Network site used salmon and other fish with success)

Ingredients

2 large garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon anchovy paste

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 cup good mayonnaise

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest (2 lemons)

3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 pounds swordfish, 3/4 to 1 inch thick, cut into 6 portions

1/2 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts (4 scallions)

2 tablespoons good olive oil

3 tablespoons drained capers (I used more) Dry on paper towels. If the capers are wet, the oil will pop.)  

Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. (Be sure your oven is very clean.) Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.

For the Caesar sauce, place the garlic, parsley, anchovy paste, and mustard in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until the garlic is minced. Add the mayonnaise, lemon zest, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon salt (I suggest less salt), and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and pulse to make a smooth sauce.

Place the fish on the pan and sprinkle both sides generously with salt and pepper. (Use less salt.) Set aside one third of the sauce to serve with the cooked fish. Spread the fish on one side with half the remaining sauce, turn the fish, and spread the remaining sauce on the second side. Sprinkle with the scallions and allow to stand for 10 minutes.

Roast the fish for 10 to 12 minutes, until the center is just barely cooked. Cover the fish with aluminum foil and allow to rest on the pan for 10 minutes. (It will continue to cook under the foil, so don't let it get too dry before you let it rest.)

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small saute pan until very hot, add the capers, and cook for 30 to 60 seconds, until they start to pop and are a little crisp. Serve the fish hot with the lemon wedges, frizzled capers, and the reserved Caesar sauce.

(NOTE: Nora Ephron once wrote, if anything tastes good with capers, it surely will taste better without. I disagree. The crispy capers here are really good. When they are fried, they take on a totally different texture. They are a great garnish for this dish. Give them a try.)

Pear Salad

From Harry and David

Dressing

¼ c wine vinegar

1 T Dijon mustard

1 T honey

½ t sea salt

1 t freshly ground pepper

¾ c walnut oil

Whisk together first 5 ingredients. Gradually whisk in walnut oil.

Salad

1 head butter or other lettuce (we used arugula), washed and dried

2 pears, peeled, cored and sliced

2/3 c blue cheese

2/3 c candied walnuts

Tear lettuce into bite size pieces. Arrange on chilled plates. Fan pear slices over lettuce. Crumble bleu cheese on top. Drizzle dressing generously and top with nuts.

Serves 4

The Very Best Turkey Gravy

If you are cooking Thanksgiving dinner, use this product and your guests will think your gravy is the best they ever had. I cook my turkey on a trellis of celery, carrots and onions. I add chicken broth to the bottom of the pan so the veggies don't dry up and burn. 

After the turkey is done, I strain the pan drippings, then I add Williams-Sonoma's gravy base to the strained drippings. I add some flour that has been mixed with cold water. Make sure you combine the flour and water thoroughly, or you will have lumps. Don't add too much of the flour-water mix or the gravy will be too thick. 

This gravy is BEST you will ever taste. I promise. (I'm only giving my secret away because there's a limit to how many people I can have over for Thanksgiving.) 

(PS...ignore the recipe on the jar. Not good.)

Thin Spaghetti with Pesto and Tomatoes

I got this recipe from Good Housekeeping magazine years ago...it's a favorite every summer when basil is plentiful in my garden. The tomatoes add a little extra zest to the pesto recipe and keep the pesto-pasta from being too dry. 

I changed the recipe a bit by making the cherry tomato salad in advance. The tomatoes marinate in the dressing and develop a nice sauce.

Serves: 4 

Cherry Tomato Salad:

1-1/2 pints (about 3-1/2 cups ) cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1/2 (about 1/2 cup) small red onion, thinly sliced

1/3 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves, cut into strips

1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1-1/2  teaspoons red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoons ground black pepper

Pasta:

Salt, as needed

1 packages (16-ounce) thin spaghetti

Basil Pesto:

2 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 tablespoons pine nuts (pignoli), toasted

1 teaspoons salt

1/8 teaspoons ground black pepper

1/4 cups olive oil

1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese

Basil sprigs, for garnish

Directions

Prepare Cherry Tomato Salad. Combine all ingredients. Set aside for 1/2 hour to marinate.

Prepare Pasta: Heat large saucepot of salted water to boiling over high heat. Add spaghetti and cook as label directs.

When spaghetti has cooked to desired doneness, remove 1/4 cup pasta cooking water and reserve. Drain spaghetti and return to saucepot. Add pesto and reserved cooking water; toss well to distribute vegetables.

While pasta is cooking, prepare Basil Pesto: In food processor with knife blade attached, chop garlic. Add basil, pine nuts, salt, and pepper. Finely chop. With processor running, gradually pour in olive oil until blended. Add Parmesan, pulsing to combine.

Transfer pesto to small bowl. Proceed with recipe, or place plastic wrap directly on pesto surface to prevent browning; set aside.

To serve, spoon spaghetti mixture into 4 serving bowls; top with tomato salad. Garnish with basil sprigs.

Absolute BEST Summer Pasta Recipe

Here is one reason to love summer: You just can't get tomatoes in the winter that are as good as they are now.

Here is my favorite recipe using them. I make this practically once a week. We NEVER get tired of it.

Thank you Pierre Franey. 

Pasta with fresh, uncooked tomato sauce
(Pierre Franey, The New York Times 60-Minute Gourmet. Slightly revised by me.)

3-5 large summer tomatoes, about 2-1/2 pounds
4-6 large cloves garlic, peeled, left whole. Bruise them by smacking them with a mallet, or flatten them slightly with side of knife. (Make sure you don't hit them too hard so they break into a lot of pieces.)
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 cup coarsely chopped basil
salt and generous amount of freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup olive oil

1 pound rigatoni or other tubular pasta such as penne
1/4 pound shredded Fontina (or Muenster cheese or Italian sharp cheese if you can find it)
1/2 cup grated parmesan

1. Wash tomatoes. Core and chop into cubes about 3/4-inch square. There should be about 6 cups. Put in bowl.

2. Add garlic, pepper flakes, basil, s&p, olive oil. Cover. Let stand at room temperature several hours (all day). Or chill overnight and bring back to room temperature a few hours before serving.

3. Cook pasta.

4. Shred Fontina in food processor with coarse blade. (Or dice into tiny cubes.)

5. Remove garlic cloves from sauce!

6. Drain pasta. Spoon off 1/4 cup oil from surface of sauce. Add to pasta. Add parmesan cheese, toss. And half tomato sauce, toss. Add half remaining sauce and Fontina cheese, toss. Serve in bowls with remaining sauce spooned on top. 

(Or do what I do, just combine everything together and serve.)

Salad Niçoise with Grilled Tuna

There are many variations of this traditional salad from Nice on the French Riviera. This is from William-Sonoma’s Casual Outdoor Dining by Georgeanne Brennan with a few revisions from me.

This is an ideal recipe for a dinner party as just about everything except for grilling the fish can be prepared in advance. 

The salad can be served at room temperature, which makes it an excellent candidate for serving outdoors if you like. Add some freshly baked bread and some wine and prepare yourself for the compliments.

4 servings 

1 pound tuna fillets, sliced about ½ inch thick

4 medium boiling or red new potatoes,

½ lb thin green beans

2 cups mixed young lettuces

4 tomatoes

1 small hothouse cucumber

4 hard boiled eggs.

½ c Kalamata olives jarred in olive oil, pitted

1 T capers (optional)

8 anchovies in olive oil (optional)

In advance:

1. Cover eggs with cold water, bring to boil, lower heat to simmer, cook 12 minutes. Remove from pan and run under cold water. Cool.
2. Boil potatoes in salted water approx. 20 minutes until tender.  Cool.
3. Trim green beans. Steam until tender 5–7 minutes. Place under cold running water to arrest the cooking. Drain. Cool.
4.  Prepare dressing. 

Preparation:

1. Start fire. 
2. Slice potatoes in ¼ inch rounds
3. Cut tomatoes in wedges.
4. Slice eggs
5. Thinly slice cucumbers.  If using regular cucumber instead of hothouse, peel first.Divide lettuce among 4 large salad bowls or plates.
6. Sprinkle tuna fillets with salt and pepper. Grill tuna. Cook 2–3 minutes on each side for rare. Ideally, the fish should be pink in the middle. Remember….it will continue to cook once you take it off the grill. If you cook until white in the middle it will be overdone and dry.
7. Meanwhile, arrange vegetables and eggs over greens. I like to keep each vegetable grouped together, not tossed. (See photo.) Place grilled tuna fillet on each plate. Add olives, sprinkle with capers, place 2 anchovies on tuna fillet. 
8. Drizzle with dressing.

Dressing… I like to serve this salad with Ina Garten’s Lemon Vinaigrette

1 ½ Tbsp Dijon mustard

¼ c freshly squeezed lemon juice

5 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

¾ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Place all in mini food processor and process until creamy.  Or whisk by hand.

Tip... make extra of this salad dressing...it's great.

Blackened Catfish with Salsa Fresca

We found this recipe in the fish section of my binders (See post of September 11, 2011.)  It looked so good we decided to make it. Soooo glad we did!! It was SUPER easy. The recipe was originally from Real Simple. We made it even simpler by using pre-made seasoning instead of making it ourselves.


Definitely a four star recipe in my book!  Look for my rating system in a future blog.

Blackened Catfish

4 servings

1 ½  pounds catfish filets

Blackened Seasoning (we used Phillips)

Olive oil

Prepare  Salsa Fresca

Preheat broiler. Place filets on a large baking sheet in a single layer. Lightly coat with  olive oil. Liberally spread spice on both sides. Place under broiler, watching closely until lightly charred—about 5 miutes. Turn and broil until cooked through, about 5  minutes more. Serve with Salsa Fresca on top.

Salsa Fresca with Cilantro

8 ounces cherry tomatoes halved

¼ red inion finely chopped

½ green bell pepper chopped

1 jalapeno pepper (or to taste), seeded and minced

1 ½ T fresh cilantro

Mix all ingredients. Add in dressing.

Dressing

1 T fresh lime juice

2 T olive oil

salt and pepper

Enjoy!