Grilled Octopus

I am so pleased to share a recipe that I just stumbled upon. I finally figured out octopus…

The key for octopus is that it has to be braised or you’ll be chewing it for a long time! The other thing is that I used a 3 pound octopus for this and it was barely enough for 3 people. I suggest adjusting your octopi for the people and if it will be the main attraction. This is a base recipe and I am not including a marinade as I am still working the kinks out.

1) 2-4 lb cleaned octopus, put in a Crockpot with 5 allspice berries (or a 1tsp of cinnamon), 2 -3 cloves of garlic minced, a bay leaf, some thyme . Cover with red wine. Put on high for 4-6 hours until the skirt (between head and arms) are knife tender.

2) Take out octopus and cut the head off, and cut the arm section in half (4 arms each). The head will be tiny at this point.

3) Get your grill piping hot! All you want to do is add a bit of char/crunch to your octopus since it is already cooked. Oil your grill or the octopus and cook a minute or two a side just to get that crunch you desire. DONE!

4) Put your octopus into a marinade of some type. I would use an Italian dressing in a pinch for now. Let it sit in the marinade for 5-10 minutes. Cut your octopus into bite size pieces. Serve on a bed of lovely saffron or Spanish rice.

Eat.Drink.Savor.

Mussels a la Nosh

Here is a even better recipe than I posted before for steamed mussels. The broth will be even more concentrated and flavorful

1) 2-3 pounds of mussels, let soak in water for a few hours to ensure there is no grit/sand is in mussels. Inspect each mussel for any “beard” hanging out, rip or cut that off. Also, for any mussels that are not fully closed when you grab them, throw them out. Any cracked or damaged ones has the same fate.

2) Add 1 1/2 c. of Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc with 1/2 c. minced shallots, 5 springs of parsley/cilantro, 6 TBSP of Irish butter (Kerry Gold) and 6 cloves of garlic minced into pot. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes.

3) Add mussels and shake or stir a few times during a 6 minute cook. Any longer than that you can overcook them. Examine the broth for any grit. If there is any, let it settle a bit before you pour them over your mussels. Enjoy with some crust bread…

Eat.Drink.Savor.

Cioppino - One Version

Here is an awesome fish stew especially if you love those tomato-based broth ones. A loaf of crusty bread to sop up the broth is really recommended. I have made many versions over the years but this one that is an offshoot of Ina Garten’s, works well. It really comes down to the stock here. This works well for 6 people.

1) Heat 1/4c. of olive oil in a large pot over low to medium heat. Add 2 C. of chopped fennel and 1 1/2 C. of chopped onion. Cook until soft, about 8-10 minutes. Add 3-4 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tsp of fennel seeds and 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes. For that added boost, add 2 anchovies or a TBSP of fish sauce. Cook 1-2 minutes

2) Add 4 C of really good seafood stock. I use lobster broth and add shrimp shells to amp up the flavor. Add a 28oz can of San Marzano whole, peeled tomatoes. and 1 1/2 C. white wine (I use Sauvignon Blanc). and a little salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil and lower heat to barely simmer uncovered for 30 minutes to concentrate the broth.

3) Add about 3 - 3 1/2 pounds of seafood, mixed. I like haddock, squid and shrimp here. Mussels and clams add a little fun to the eating so about 2 dozen of those. Add the fish first then the items that need a little less cooking next. Bring to a simmer, cover and then cook for about 8-10 minutes. You can add an optional liquor here like Pernod, Ouzo, Sambuca but I think the fennel is enough licorice for my tastes. Throw out any shellfish that hasn’t opened.

Eat.Drink.Savor.

Shrimp Gumbo

I often repeat myself but Southern cuisine is the epitome of comfort food. It calls to me! I love soups, stews and chowder especially during cold weather. I have a base recipe I use from Paula Deen and play off of it. Here it is:

1) Saute (with a little oil) 1 C. of okra, chopped over medium heat for 5 minutes. The key is that you don’t want slimy okra in your gumbo. Set the okra aside.

2) In a large saucepan, you will make a roux, 3/3 TBSP of butter to flour. Melt the butter over low to medium heat. Slowly sprinkle in the flour and whisk. You will cook this until it is a light brown and has a pleasant nutty aroma. Make sure you constantly stir or it will burn.

3) To the pan, add 1 onion (your choice) chopped, 1 bell pepper (your choice of color) chopped, 2 cloves of garlic chopped and cook for a few minutes.

4) Now add high quality broth/stock, 4 C. I use lobster or shrimp but you can use chicken. Add 1/4 lb of precooked smoked sausage sliced, 1 tsp of Cajun/cayenne seasoning and a little salt and pepper for taste. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a slight simmer, cover and cook for about 20 minutes.

5) Add 1 lb of large shrimp, either 16/20 or 21/25 in the pot and cook for 5 minutes until shrimp turns opaque. Serve over white rice. This recipe serves about 4-6.

Nosh Options: You can cook that roux longer but you have to be very careful. If you want a thinner/thicker end product, play with the ratio of butter to flour , either 2/2 or 4/4. I like some color in my food so I would add 3 different colors of pepper but keep the same amount to equal 1 pepper. Andouille or some other cajun sausage is recommended to keep it authentic but in a pinch use smoked kielbasa or chorizo which are already cooked. Add Old Bay or something else with a little kick for the spice.

Eat.Drink.Savor.

Steamed Lobster

Growing up in New England, whole lobster is something more transcendent than just eating food. It is a labor of love and something that is shared by all around the table. Many arguments have started over a simple question on how to eat your lobster. Let’s not talk about lobster bibs either..

Anyway, I am a big proponent of steaming vs. boiling lobster. My key reasons are: less water to deal with, less time to heat up the water, room for experimentation and lastly a better preservation of the taste of the lobster. Here is my approach with options:

1) Put 1” of salt water in a 4-5 gallon pot. You can steam 6 Chicken (1 pound) lobsters OR 4 Select (1 1/2-2 pound) or less as you get bigger. If you don’t have this size pot, use 2 smaller ones. The key is not to overcrowd the pot or cooking times will get elongated. If you have a steamer pot, even better.

2) For those, like me, who don’t have a steamer pot, try to build a barrier (rack) between the water and the lobsters. An upside collander, large bowl, seaweed, leeks can work here. If you can’t do this, it will be ok. I prefer having the lobsters at the bottom not sitting in the water.

3) Once the water is boiling and steaming over high heat, put your lobsters in and start timing. Here is an excerpt of a chart that I use from Jasper White’s Lobster At Home:

1 pound lobsters-10 minutes, 1 1/4 pound - 12 minutes and go up in 1/4 pound increments to 2 pounds. Add 2 minutes of cook time. I always shoot over the time as I don’t want to crack open a lobster to check as it is hot and dangerous to do so (think burning your hands). Start the time from when the lobsters go in the pot.

4) Halfway through the cook time, get some long tongs and move the lobsters around.

Nosh Options: Use wine instead of salt water. Use seaweed as your “rack”. Throw in some vodka to the seawater. Put in new potatoes in the bottom of the pot and cook for 10 minutes before you put in the lobsters.

Eat.Drink.Savor.

Moules A La Mariniere - Steamed Mussels

The first of several mussel recipes I will share. The pic shown is one of a Provencal version. But once you have this base recipe down, you can go crazy with experiments. This is a 5-10 minute recipe so bring your appetite. I offer Julia Child’s version and my options:

1) 2 C light dry wine or 2 C seafood stock/water, 1/2 C of sliced shallots or mild onion of your choice, 3 cloves of garlic, a few parsley sprigs/thyme and 6 TBSPs of butter, unsalted. Bring to a boil for 3 -4 minutes.

2) Add 2-4 pounds of cleaned mussels to the pot. Put on high heat and boil for about 5 minutes until all the shells or the majority of them are open. Any unopened shells are likely bad so throw out. Skim out the mussels into serving plates. I like to filter the cooking liquid through a fine cheesecloth or let liquid settle briefly and carefully ladle onto the mussels. Bring your crusty bread!!!

Eat.Drink.Savor.

Tuna

When I grew up, tuna meant opening a can with cooked tuna and oil in it. I wasn’t exposed to nor knew about fresh tuna for a long time. As I have grown wiser and my options have increased, I have become a big fan of tuna. Tuna, like other oily fish, have solid health benefits when eaten in moderation. With the overdue push and efforts on sustainability, the negative stigma of buying and consuming tuna has waned.

For some of you cooking tuna rare to medium-rare is a non-starter. I do recommend that you might start with more of a medium-well, very light meat/pink/red in the middle, work your way toward less over time. For us sushi fans, we can do the all rare but grade of tuna is important. Most tuna sold in the stores are not suitable for sushi. Sushi quality is the highest and mostly is reserved for restaurants and distributors.

Now, enough jibber jabber, how do I prepare this?

1) Keep your seasonings light as tuna is expensive and tuna has more flavor than other finfish. Let the fish absorb the seasonings for 30 minutes to an hour, fridge or counter. I typically like to take the edge off the cold tuna that just came out of the fridge to loosen up the meat fibers on the counter for 20 minutes.

2) Get a skillet super hot. Add your oil, about 2 TBSPs and wait for it to shimmer and you start to see wisps of smoke appear. If you try to skip this step and put the heat on the skillet and the oil at the beginning, you’ll end up smoking the oil. Not good.

3) Put the tuna in the skillet and make sure not to crowd the skillet if you have a lot of tuna. 2-3 minutes per side depending on the heat of the skillet and how long you want to cook it.

DONE!

Eat.Drink.Savor.

Seared Sea Scallops

With what is available to us here in the US, we are rather spoiled. What used to be a short period of the year to enjoy many food items is now a yearlong thing. We have 24/7 and Amazon access to everything we want.

I attempt to stay to my old fashioned roots and use fresh, in-season items. Pictured on the left is Sea Scallops from New England Fishmongers. The season is ending and I just had to grab them. Even though I could get them year round, maybe I am contributing to the sustainability of the product or just supporting the local fishery and the people that work in it. For a viewer:

1 -2# Sea Scallops. Try to have them all the same size to cook evenly.

For the dressing: 1/4C Mayo, 1 tsp Srircha, 1 tsp lime juice and a pinch of sugar. We can play with these ratios to have some fun.

Mix the dressing ingredients, take 1 TBSP and mix with scallops in another bowl.

Put the scallops in a shallow roasting pan, and put in oven at 500 degrees 5 minutes.

Take Scallops out, Put the oven to Broil. Flip scallops over and put a dollop of the reserved dressing. Put in broiler 2-3 minutes.

Eat.Drink.Savor.

Monkfish Medallions

Doesn’t it seem that often, you look past the unfamiliar? You instinctively grab for the cod, haddock or salmon? How about monkfish? Why is it so much cheaper than the rest? A lot of reasons but why should that stop you?

Monkfish is a meaty fish and not the pretty of the fin fish if you saw it whole.. anyway,

1) Cut that fish crosswise, season and then wrap in bacon. The bacon will add a bit of fat and moisture. You can grill it but the fish would cook faster than the bacon.

2) I put these on a soaked cedar plank and put in the smoker. But you can put on the grill and I typically assume it will take 10-20 minutes. Keep checking the temp!!! Once the temp probe can slide in easily and it registers at 140 degrees, you are done. MMMM!!!

Eat.Drink.Savor.

Fried Fish

When it comes frying things, there are many approaches. A shallow fry, a deep fry, a thick batter, a thin one, a coating or none at all. We’ll cover the coating in this post.

For batters, I love to use the southern fry powders that are sold in the stores. They are mostly finely ground corn flour but some have other seasoning added. Instead of using water to mix with the flour, I use dry wine or beer. Either one makes a flavorful batter. If you don’t want too much batter on the fish, thin it out more.

For coatings, I let my spices come out to the party. So many ways to do it. Cornmeal is a go-to but I love just dredging in flour, egg and seasoned bread crumbs.

Fried fish begs for experimentation! Eat.Drink.Savor.