Gently Smoked Tilapia

For reasons I won't go into (because I'm not old enough to bitch about my health problems, yet), I have recently gone on an ultra low-fat, low fiber diet.  So, I get 3 tsp. (o.O) of oil and 6 ounces of lean meat a day. Other than that, it's all about carbo loading.

The unfortunate thing is that a typical serving of pasta has 210 calories.  Considering that I need about 2000 calories per day, and that I typically eat a double serving of pasta, that's 5 large bowlfuls of pasta per day.

That's boring.

And just what the creative juices needed to get boiling again.

So, I was smoking jalapenos this weekend for chipotles, and just about the time they were ready to come off the smoker, it was getting to be dinner time. We had a bit of tilapia in the freezer, and I had just made some tomatillo salsa the day before.

A little broccoli, some tomatoes, and a cup of rice later, and we had a good meal.

Gently Smoked Tilapia

What You Need

2 tilapia filets, room temperature

1 tbsp grapeseed oil (because of its high smoke point)

1 cup jasmine rice

1/2 broccoli head

1 tbsp cilantro

1 lime

1/2 cup tomatillo salsa (room temperature)

1 tomato

What to do with it.

Place oil on and heat a cast-iron skillet (or other oven-safe skillet) over medium-high heat until the oil pools in the center. Place your filets on the skillet and immediately remove from heat. Cover each filet with 1/4 cup salsa, then transfer to a smoker at about 150-175 degrees (I placed my skillet right where the firebox joins the smoker to maximize the heat).  Start your rice, squirt about half a lime on your broccoli and add the cilantro to it. Cook this about 5 minutes prior to your rice being done.

After about 20 minutes, pull up your rice, add the other 1/2 lime juice to that & fluff. Remove the tilapia from the grill, plate it all with 2-3 slices of tomato.

We served this with Liberty School chardonnay.

Scallop Mango Salad

I've been in a bit of a slump, I must confess.  Not that I haven't been cooking, mind you: I just haven't been cooking exciting stuff.

I blame my wife, of course.

Her schedule has been a bit crazy as of late, which means getting home around 9:00.  Couple that with getting up at 5:30 in the morning to work out, and we're a little pressed for time. So it's all been about variations on a theme (or repeats).  And spaghetti. Lots of spaghetti.

Now, slowly, her schedule is evening out, and I'm getting back into the swing of things. Still couldn't shake the noodle thing, though...

Scallop Mango Salad

What You Need

1 lb. scallops (about 1/2 dollar-sized), room temperature

1 tsp. butter

1 tsp. minced ginger

3/4 cups shitake mushrooms, quartered

3 campari tomatoes, chopped

1 avocado, diced

1 mango, chopped

1/8 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 shallot, sliced thin

1 1/2 cups chenin blanc

2 tsp. green curry powder.

2 tbsp. plain yogurt

1 tsp. milk

Rice noodles

Salt to taste

What To Do With It

Prep everything ahead of time; this goes quickly once you get started.

Start boiling your water for the rice noodles.

Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add the ginger and gently sautee to awaken the ginger (about 5 minutes).  Then, add the mushrooms and sautee until they begin to soften. Remove and set aside.

While you're sauteeing the mushrooms, begin prepping your dressing by mixing together the yogurt, milk and curry powder, along with a pinch of salt.

About the time the mushrooms come up, your water should be boiling, so add the noodles. At the same time, pour the wine into the same pan you used for the ginger & mushrooms, and turn the heat to high. Once the wine is boiling, drop in the scallops and poach for 1 minute per side. DON'T OVER-COOK.

Remove the scallops and reduce the remaining broth to about 1/3. Rinse your rice noodles under cold water for about 30 seconds.

Once the broth is reduced, add 1-2 tsp of it to the yogurt. Combine everything except the noodles in a bowl and toss.

Put some noodles on a plate, then top with the salad and add a pinch of kosher salt to each plate.

Serve with a sweetish wine. We used a gewurtz, although a  prosecco would also work.

Halibut "Toscano"--Just for the helluvit

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We have a lack of willpower chez nous. Every time we go grocery shopping, we give ourselves a little pep talk about how we're not going to spend a lot of money.

And then we go to our crack dealer, Central Market.

We'd be much better at this game if we only shopped at Fiesta. Nothing wrong with Fiesta, mind you. I'm just sayin'...

But, we went to CM this weekend, and they had halibut on sale. Who can resist? Figuring out how to cook it on short notice presented a bit of a problem. Fortunately, they also had fresh sun-dried tomatoes, and my sister in-law had just bought us some Texas-grown olives. From there, the meal pretty much cooked itself.

Halibut "Toscano"

What you need:

2 tsp olive oil
1 lb. halibut
1 tbsp italian parsley, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp oregeno (minced, if fresh)
1/2 roma tomato, sliced thin
juice of 1/4 lemon
1/2 cup cannelini beans
1/8 tsp salt

1 cup israeli couscous
1/8 cup calamata olives, minced
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped and with about 1/2 tsp olive oil
1/8 cup fresh basil, chopped (or chiffonade)
salt to taste

What to do with it:

Preheat an oven to 425. Mix together the parsely, salt, garlic and oregano. Add the olive oil to the sun dried tomatoes and let them sit.

Place about 2 cups water, some salt and a dash of olive oil in a pot, and start the water boiling. (Once the water starts boiling, throw in your couscous, but don't wait to start cooking the halibut.)

While waiting for the water for the couscous to boil, put 2 tsp olive oil in a pan and turn the pan up to medium-high.

At the point when the oil begins to recede from the center of the pan (just before it starts smoking), put the halibut in, skin side up for 4 minutes.

Take the halibut up, put it skin side down on some aluminum foil. Cover with the parsley mixture, squeeze half the lemon juice on top. Put the tomatoes on top, and surround with the beans. Squeeze the remainder of the lemon on the beans, the fold up the edges of the foil to create a packet, and place in the oven for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, once the couscous gets to al dente (about 11 minutes after you put it in, drain, place in a bowl, and mix in the sun dried tomatoes, basil and olives. Mix, and salt to taste.

Pull out your halibut, plate with beans and couscous. Enjoy with a chardonnay, or maybe even a chianti!

Oh, and you should check out http://www.halfhourmeals.com/food-for-thought/featured-community-member-thomasmorris/! Someone other than my mother thinks I've got something interesting to say!

Tamales, Vato!

If you're from Texas, you know that tamales are considered one of the important food groups, right behind Bar-B-Que. For those of you that aren't from Texas, tamales are traditional south-american fare, often made with beans or pork. They are wrapped in corn husks and steamed. Unlike former President Ford, it is not recommended that you eat the husk.

The holidays, especially, find all the Gringos out searching for their dozen or so Christmas tamales from the most authentic tamaleria (tamale store) they can find. Or if they're lucky, from the person you know that makes them at home. Home-made tamales are made during a tamalada, or tamale-making party.

Although I myself am a Gringo, I also live in Texas, so tamales are muy importante to my diet. This year, I decided to make my own tamales. So far, I've made three batches. I don't see how people can make money selling a dozen tamales for $10, but they are a lot of fun, and you get a certain satisfaction from rolling your own.

Tamales

What You Need

Something in which to steam the tamales (e.g., something that lets you put water on the bottom and the tamales on some surface above the water). A tamale pot (a tamalera) can hold hundreds of tamales, while a lobster pot can hold about 45 tamales.

Corn husks

4 cups masa harina (it is different from corn meal, so make certain your masa has been treated with lime)

5 cups lukewarm water

1 cup manteca (that's lard)

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Filling

Queso Quesedilla

Jalapenos or minced chipotles

Rice (lightly seasoned with sugar and cinnamon)
Raisins

Chicken (prepared with 2 tsp cumin and a can of Ro-Tel)

What To Do with It

Soak the corn husks in warm water beginning about 1 hour before you're ready to start spreading masa.

Start your fillings. If you're doing the chicken, add a couple of chicken breasts to the Ro-Tel and cumin, add enough water to cover the chicken, boil, then simmer rapidly until about 95% of the liquid has evaporated and the chicken shreds with a fork.

For the rice, make some white rice (about 2 servings). Add a few sprinkles of cinnamon, 1/3 cup of raisins and 2 tsp sugar.

For the pepper/cheese filling, slice the jalapenos into quarter strips and de-seed. Cut the cheese into 1/4" strips, each about as long as your jalapeno slices. Mince some chipotles (about 1/4 cup).
Mix your dry ingredients. Add the water and, using your hands, knead until all the dry ingredients are wet. Separately, whip the lard until fluffy.

Combine the masa and lard, and mix (using a dough hook, if you have it) until slightly spongy.

Start your water on medium-high heat. If you're not using a tamale pot, make certain that your pot has an insert that will allow you to place the tamales above the water.

Take a couple of husks and pull apart until you have several corn threads (about 40 for starters). These should be long and thin to use as ties later.

Get some kitchen shears and cut the other husks to about 7-8" long (cut the pointy ends).

Start spreading masa. Ideally, your husks should be about 4-5" wide, and you should use 2-3 tbsp masa. Feel free to use a knife to trim the husks to the correct width. You want to go from side to side with the masa, and leave about one inch on each end. Place your ingredients toward one edge and roll. Tie the ends with your husk threads.

Once you have about 12 (or double the amount that will fit on one layer) tamales done, place 1/2 in your pot, leaving space between them, and begin steaming. After five minutes, add another layer, let steam 5 minutes, add another layer, etc. Once your final layer has been added, steam for 45 minutes (depending on thickness: my tamales are about as big round as a quarter).

Pull them out, let them rest for 15 minutes to firm up, and serve!