Freaking sublime Salmon.

Combine all ingredients to create the marinade. Let sit an hr before adding to fish (if you have time) stirring a couple times.

• 1 tbsp salt
• 4 or 5 cloves: (press the garlic into a paste w knife edge and the salt)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp Worcestershire
• 2 tbsp fresh chopped thyme
• 3 tbsp fresh chopped basil
• 2 tbsp fresh chopped oregano (or 1/2 tsp dried oregano)
• 2 lb King Salmon farmed is ideal …..

taste for need of salt.. flavor profile should be ideal for dipping bread, that should be your baseline

Put salmon in a shallow dish and pour basting sauce over to coat the salmon, reserving 1/3 or more of the marinade to serve over the fish on the plate. Marinate the salmon fillets from 2-3 hours, turning a couple times

Grill to medium-high heat. Take fish out of the fridge at least 30+ mins prior to grilling so it isnt cold when u put on grill. Place the fish on the grill flesh down. Go a couple minutes and get some good grill/char love. Flip and do most of (the rest of) the cooking skin side down, the skin can take it. Use your judgement on the grilling to medium rare.

plate and spoon some of the sauce on the fish.

 

Dont: overcook the fish

Do: use the marinade as a dipping sauce w sourdough bread.

Do: serve with Pinot, too strong of a flavor profile to have with white

Another favorite growing up. Its a soup.

Ingredients:

1. 2 lbs lean range fed organic ground beef
2. 2 eggs
3. 1/2 Medium White Onion
4. Cilantro
5. Whole Large Tomato (firm)
6. 1/3 cup rice
7. Fresh garlic or Garlic Powder (small amount)
8. Beef bouillon 6 squares..yikes
9. Tomato sauce can 8 oz.

• Fill silver pot 2/3 to 3/4 and boil water (no idea how big my silver pot is but will find out)
• Take rice and place in small skillet and boil until a bit soft otherwise you may end up with hard rice in the meatballs. After water boils leave  2 to 3 minutes. Drain, it should be at least to slightly crunchy exterior with outside soft.
• Dice tomato into large chunks.
• Dice half onion into  large chunks, can do smaller if you want. Only large so kids can pull out the chunks.
• Chop 2/3 cup of very large/loose cilantro
• Salt, pepper and garlic powder to meat to taste. Add 2 eggs. Mix into meat. Seems the garlic powder is easily the heaviest of the three. Add rice. The rice should be room temperature.
• Mix the rice into other mixture. The ideal ground beef is very lean range fed organic since it will have a more pronounced beef taste. Put additional GP and perhaps salt into mixture.
• Taste the raw beef, the flavor in mixture must be pronounced. Set aside
• Add 4 B cubes into boiling water. It is key that water is boiling when you add anything.
• Separately heat 2 tbsp olive oil in large skillet and add veggies. Add salt and GP. Large amounts of GP (yes again).
• After 3 minutes add 1/2 of 8 oz can of tom sauce. Saute one more minute and add all of it to boiling water. If not boiling bring to boil.
• Make meatballs a bit larger than golf ball size, a bit larger and add one meatball at a time (so as not to cool off water).
• Once they are all in, bring to full boil.
• Boil on high covered for a while then
• Reduce to low medium heat for pprox 30 minutes til done..not overdone so you can re-heat.
• bam?

Great Jambalaya recipe, takes a little over an hr. Shout out to Mara for basic recipe.

Chicken and Shrimp Jambalaya                                               

Serves a pool party

• 1 large onion
• 5  celery ribs
• 2 med red bell pepper
• 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil
• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 12-16 ounces andouille sausage (typical pack of 2, they vary more is better)
• 1 ½ cups long-grain white rice
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1  tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• teaspoon + of old bay seasoning
• 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 1 cup bottled clam juice (typical bottle)
• 1 ½ cups chicken broth thickish
• 2 large bay leaves or 3 lame ones
• 3/4 lb medium peeled shrimp

1. Dice the onion, celery, red pepper…set aside. Slice the andouille like thick pepperoni slices..set aside. Clean shrimp including tails…set aside
2. Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering.
3. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and cook skin until golden brown.
4. Using tongs, turn the chicken and cook until golden brown on the second side. About 10 min total.
5. Transfer the chicken to a plate with a paper towel to absorb fat and set aside.  This is where you get the fat that you will keep
6. Reduce the heat to low and add the andouille; cook, stirring frequently, until browned, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a plate lined with paper towels and set aside.
7. Empty the fat into a cup. Put 2 tablespoons back in
8. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the vegetables, and cook, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, until the vegetables have softened, about 10 minutes.
9. Add the rice, salt, thyme, and old bay; cook, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Old bay is based on heat/flavor profile….totally yer call. Don’t overdo it, you can always add later.
10. Add tomatoes, clam juice, chicken broth, bay leaves, and browned sausage to the pot. Turn heat up, cover and cook for several minutes to get back to a light boil/heavy simmer for a few minutes.
11. Remove and discard the skin from the chicken; place the chicken, previously skinned-side down in pot on top of all the love. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 12 minutes.
12. Remove chicken, stir, scrape the bottom and put chicken back in on the other side. Replace the cover and continue to simmer until the chicken is no longer pink when cut into with a paring knife, about 12 minutes more.
13. Set aside chicken.
14. Scatter the shrimp over the rice, cover, and continue to cook until the rice is fully tender and the shrimp are opaque and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes more. Don’t overcook the shrimp.
15. While the shrimp are cooking, using forks, de-bone the chicken into small, somewhat shredded pieces.
16. Put back in with the now barely done shrimp. Stir and discard the bay leaves.
17. BAM

Ways to screw it up:

• too much vegetable oil w chicken at outset, the chicken skin will give you a lot of fat.  also dont leave more than the 2 tbsp of total oil in the mix
• too much old bay, don’t kill it, you can always add hot sauce at the table
• too much shrimp
• overcooking the shrimp…needs to be juicy and wonderful remember it will keep cooking a touch once you mix into the hot jambalaya.

This is a variation on a recipe from Jay Harlow in his cookbook “west coast seafood” the single best cookbook on earth. His is a simplified version of an Aqua dish from back in the day. Sauce and mushrooms can be done in advance. Make sure to do the mashed potatoes in advance as well.

Ingredients (for 4)

• 1.5 lb of fresh halibut
• .75 lb of mushrooms to saute
• Small packet of dried porcini’s
• Olive oil
• 4 tbsp salted butter
• White pepper
• Salt
• 3 tbsp Dry Sherry
• Soy Sauce
• 1 cup Chicken (or beef) broth. I like beef.

First marinate the fish:

1. Cut into 4
2. Season with kosher salt and white pepper (mortar and pestle)
3. Drizzle w soy sauce and a tbsp of the sherry
4. Set aside at room temp for 30 min

Then make the sauce: (if you didn’t earlier)

1. In a coffee grinder, grind up half the mushrooms into small enough chunks to use as the crust (set aside)
2. Grind the other half up a touch, but leave as chunks
3. Heat the broth and add 2 tbsp of the sherry
4. Add the larger shroom chunks
5. Simmer for a while and cook way down (1/2 to 2/3)
6. Strain the chunks
7. Set aside

Now do the mushrooms

1. Get rid of stems
2. Slice up
3. Saute in butter to your liking (more than you normally would)
4. Set aside

Finally, the fish

1. Take the halibut, which is getting close to room temp and dry the heck out of it with a paper towel
2. Coat one side with the mushrooms
3. Olive oil a hot pan (can add a touch of butter)
4. Sear, crust side first
5. After a minute or a bit more flip it (dont burn)
6. Finish, either in oven or in pan…..however you normally perfect Halibut

Finally:

1. Reheat the mushrooms and the sauce.
2. Plate the fish along side mashed potatoes and an in-season vegetable.
3. Swirl the butter into the sauce slowly, once its perfect, add a touch of thickener
4. Spoon over fish
5. Spoon mushrooms over fish
6. BAM

Pairs with earthy Pinot in spectacular fashion.

Ways to ruin:

• Marinate the fish for too long
• Burn the mushroom crust
• Skimp on butter
• You MUST have mashed potatoes, the crust and sauce swirled into a bite of mashers is sublime
• By not tipping your fishmonger and getting crappy fish

This is a coconut crusted sea bass with mango salsa for 4 people. Very easy but reliant on a great piece of fish. Shout out to Zach for the basic recipe.

Ingredients:

Fish:

• 1 lb of fresh sea bass
• shredded coconut
• 1 egg
• flour
• butter
• salt
• pepper

Salsa:

• 1 mango (or two)
• 1 small white onion
• cilantro 2 tbsp coarsely chopped or more to taste
• 1 red bell
• 1 serrano, finely diced with seeds and all. if it smells hot use half
• 1 lime
• salt….just a touch to taste

Make Salsa first:

1. Dice up all the goods, toss into a bowl.
2. Add pinch of salt and juice from lime
3. Mix and let it sit for a while

Now the fish:

1. Cut the fish into 9 smallish cubes (2 each and a taster for done-ness)
2. Dry the fish well
3. Salt and pepper fish lightly
4. Dredge each in flour
5. Dip in beaten egg white
6. Roll in coconut
7. Heat large pan
8. Add 2 tbsp salted butter
9. Cook a few minutes per side, don’t overcook
10. done

You can screw up by:

• not drying the fish
• using lame fish
• using too high of heat….burns the coconut
• overcooking…use the 9th piece to pull out and taste
• not using enough serrano (it offsets the intense sweetness of the mango)
• also if you need to, use more mango.

Great shrimp appetizer dish we have come to know over the years. A garlic paprika shrimp that if you do it right is a perfect way to post up and elongate the meal. This is a very texture oriented dish so the “dont’s” at the end are critical.

Ingredients

• 3/4 lb shrimp, larger is better for plumpness.
• Butter 2 tbsp (+)
• Paprika
• Garlic (5 cloves)
• Fresh Parsley 2 tbsp chopped (not necessary btw)
• Salted butter
• Lemon
• Olive oil  (use top shelf, it’s a big deal)

1. Clean shrimp if un-shelled, dry very well (key for searing) and set aside @ room temp for at least 15 min
2. Sprinkle one side of the shrimp with salt and paprika (liberal on the paprika)
3. Press the garlic up and set aside
4. On med-high setting, cover a good large non stick pan with top shelf olive oil Make damned sure they aren’t crowded, it will steam the shrimp if they are and all is lost. Fry the seasoned side to get a nice paprika char crust, not very long, 3 mins maybe.
5. Once you have a nice restaurant level char, turn over and sprinkle  with paprika. Fry for 1-2 minutes tops. Seasoning in the pan gives the butter some love.
6. After 1-2 minute’s (and now charry crust love on both ends) push all the shrimp into a pile into the corner and move that section of pan away from fire
7. Drop 2-3 tablespoons of butter into the edge of the pan still over fire, tilt so it pools towards you. Melt the butter, it will go quickly
8. Add the shrimp into the butter and cook softly. This will allow it to cook without burning. About 60 seconds tops
9. Once its fragrant and cooked,  toss it into the rest of the shrimp to cover them all. Toss gently to disperse the garlic and butter and toss in the parsely
10. Serve in a boat like dish, after they have cooled 60 seconds hit dish w lemon
11. BAM

Here is how you screw up this very simple recipe, I know, I have made all these mistakes

• Overcook the shrimp
• Mess w them while they are searing
• Crowd the shrimp
• Season both sides outside of the pan (the extra salt and paprika that doesn’t make it on the shrimp does wonders for the final butter love)
• Add the lemon to the pan
• Cook shrimp w garlic in pan (you will have major garlic/shrimp charring conflicts)

Barbacoa

This is a family recipe that has been adapted and scaled down from the original. It’s a barbacoa recipe, the perfect slow cooked meat for gatherings. For those feeling their oats, the original has the same format as below except you use a full cow buried in a pit and custom sealed barrels that can hold up to 200 lbs of beef each, cooked overnight using a cord of mesquite wood, 50 lbs of onions, 3 gallons of wine, 6 gallons of jalapeno and whiskey to keep the guys warm who tend to it overnight. My parents donated a cow each year to the big church fund raiser. My dad and his cohorts would go out cut a cord of wood then go find a suitable cow in the herd, bring it around, shoot it, butcher it, cut it up and cook it down. Here now is a version for feeding less people that just takes a trip to the grocery store and a full morning. This is a very simple process but it does take two days.

You need to cook this in one of those big electric cooking dealies you can get at walmart as pictured below

Ingredients:

· 20 lbs lean Chuck, likely a single chunk

· 3 medium cans of pickled whole jalapenos (28 oz each) drained. They must be whole or the jalapenos will dissolve and your acid and heat will be too high

· 5 large white onions

· half bottle ish of Merlot

· Salt to taste

 

Process:

1. Cut the chuck into tennis ball size, all same size

2. Cut onions into quarters

3. You will create layers in the roaster. (see photo below)

1. lay down a bed of tennis balls
2. lay down a portion of your onions
3. lay down a can of whole jalapenos across the bed
4. splash your merlot across the bed of love
5. liberally salt the layer
6. Do this three times, your roaster will be full
7. Add about a cup and a half of water..
8. Roast at 350 for 3 to 3.5 hrs, circulating  about once an hr to keep all moist Go until can be taken apart easily with fork.
9. Once cooked separate meat, shred meat by hand, discarding fat. Do the shredding while it’s hot with a couple of forks. This shredding is the only real work and you must be diligent about it.
10. Separately strain the liquid (separated from flotsam) and set aside to cool overnight in refrigerator.
11. The next morning skim the fat layer in the am, it will be quite a massive chunk of fat. Toss it. You will likely get close to 1.5 lbs of fat
12. Recombine the liquid and the meat in the roaster. Heat up and you are done.

Serve with salsa, lardy tortillas, rice and refried beans.