Grilled Ono fish....OMG

Chances are, unless you've been to Hawaii, you are unfamiliar with the Ono fish. It is also known as Wahoo on the island, and aside from there you can sometimes find it along the West Coast. I happened across in the frozen fish area at my local Trader Joe's and it was remarkably affordable AND very recently caught and packed. Anyway it is a dense, white fish and is similar enough to both Halibut and Mahimahi - so you can substitute those two fishes if Ono is just out of reach.


Anyway, the only way to prepare this is on the grill, which means that a marinade is in order. I used a simple marinade that just included 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup white wine, two teaspoons of sesame oil, 1 minced clove of garlic (more if you like garlic...we used close to two cloves) and about 1 tbsp of chopped, fresh ginger. I let it soak, covered in the fridge for close to two hours (you can let it sit for more but I wouldn't exactly do it a day ahead of time or anything as if it was beef) then took it to the grill.


As it is a lean fish (no fat to trim!) you want to avoid overcooking, so do it over a medium flame. For timing figure something like six to eight minutes per inch of thickness of the filet - ours worked out to be closer to eight minutes a side but we kept a close watch!!!

To accompany the fish, I sautéed fresh spinach (stems and all) with a little olive oil, a few splashes of dry white wine and ground white pepper. Then I topped that with the garlic cloves I had roasted in the oven in more olive oil, savory and pink Himalayan salt (about 10-15 minutes, small ramekin, on 350 degrees).


Also served with a sticky brown jasmine rice.


- Melissa

Just a little inspiration for feeding guests....

Cheese plate extraordinaire intended to serve as a great and easy appetizer...perhaps for upcoming holiday gatherings? Clockwise from left: mixed olives, cracked pepper Toscano, fresh basil leaves, Dubliner cheddar, lemon spicy almonds and pistachios, sliced aged hard salami, aged provolone (never smoked!) and  rosemary olive oil triscuits.

So served with wine. Heh.

- Melissa

Some things enjoyed in wine country...

I wish I could say that this post offered recipes, but it is truly just an excuse for me to, ahem, brag about a few things we ate on vacation as well as make a couple recommendations should you in the Mendocino, CA or Portland, OR areas. 

At Cafe Beajulois (www.cafebeaujolais.com) in Mendocino we weren't expecting to be impressed. We'd eaten at a place the night before (MacCallum House Inn - it is also a B&B - http://maccallumhouse.com) and found it to be ok, but certainly not up to the hype that preceded it. So when we arrived at the Cafe, which is a small house converted into a quaint eatery, we were hungry but hadn't been banking on what T is still calling "the best meal of my recent life."

Delicious 2009 Esterlina Vineyards Pinot Noir. Amazing.
Especially considering we'd had lunch at that very winery.

T's claim of the best thing he ever ate...as copied from the menu itself:

Petaluma Duck Two Ways (Crispy Skin Breast and Leg de Confit),

Caramelized Onion Buttermilk Spätezle, Wilted Kale & Balsamic Jus Lié. 

No mere filet mignon...more like a truffle-topped step into heaven. 
Again, as per the menu: Niman Ranch Filet Mignon, Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes, 
Sautéed Broccolini, Truffle Butter,  Sauce Au Poivre. 

We concluded that meal by not only finishing our wine, but with a cheese platter that did not disappoint either.

On our way back we also stopped in Portland and ate a shockingly GREAT lunch at 50 Plates (http://50plates.com/) which is located in the historic and hip Pearl District of the city. The place has great service, a menu that is both mind-blowing while remaining fairly healthy and is affordable (at least for lunch, though I cannot imagine dinner would break the bank). 

Seafood Chowder, courtesy of 50 Plates in Portland, OR. Chock full of
seafood including mussels, clams and giants chunks of a white fish. Not to
mention the peppery, tomato-based broth and large cuts of new potatoes. 

More from 50 Plates...this is the BLT&T. So the amazing BLT,
on a crispy tortilla, coated with garlic aioli mayo and rare Ahi tuna.
What's not to love? Oh, and ps, the bacon was more of a chopped bacon
jelly, so while there were pieces of actual bacon, it was all over the sandwich!

So that's that. Now, assuming you have all enjoyed a little food porn, I will return to normal food posts with recipes next.....perhaps some grilled Hawaiian Ono and garlic clove & spinach salad? Stay tuned....

Chicken with a Dijon Radish Sauce

So, uh, you have some radishes? Not sure what do with them outside of a salad? Better yet, do you see them in the store and wonder what in the hell people are doing with them at home? Well aside from my penchant for pairing them with sharp cheeses (believe me, it totally works), I was in that same boat. So with a little research and tweaking, I came up with this....

First things first - you'll need radishes. Just rinse them thoroughly (they tend to be fairly grimy), trim all the greenery off and set them aside. Next up is the chicken - I used boneless cutlets that I cut down further and pounded out a little, making more of a scallopini cut. Take the chicken and cook it over medium heat in a large sauté pan with a little olive oil, salt and pepper until it is browned on both sides, but not completely cooked. Now take the chicken out and place it onto a covered plate, but do not empty the sauté pan. Toss in some chopped shallots (1/4 cup, maybe a smidgen more) and let them cook for about a minute. Then stir in 1/3 cup of white wine and 3/4 cup chicken broth and let it all simmer to a slow boil.

Once it is boiling, turn the heat down a little and then stir in 2-3 tbsp of dijon mustard (seriously grey poupon is a must have) and 2-3 tsp of tarragon. Now return the chicken to the pan and let it simmer away in the sauce, while adding in some butter (margarine is my stand-by), say 2 tbsp and let it continue to cook. Halve the radishes (remove the roots too, by the way) and place them in the sauce and replace the pan's cover. Let the entire dish simmer over LOW heat for another 5 minutes and then serve. More tarragon can be added once it is plated.

Served with potatoes, sautéed with onions, and a salad.

- Melissa

Simple, Delicious Pancakes

I am always looking for a great breakfast recipe and this morning I happened across the best pancake recipe I have ever found.  This quick, simple recipe is ready to eat in about 15 minutes and I guarantee you will love every bite!  I got the recipe from allrecipes.com and made one simple change to add a little extra deliciousness!

Here is what you will need:

1 1/2 C all-purpose flour

3 1/2 Tsp. baking powder

1 Tsp. salt

1 Tbsp. white sugar

1 1/4 C milk

1 egg

3 Tbsp. butter, melted

1 Tbsp. vanilla extract  (My addition!  Vanilla in pancakes is amazing!)

Here is how you make them:

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl and make a well in the center.  Pour the milk, egg, vanilla, and melted butter into the well; mix until smooth.  Serving size is 1/4 C mix.  This recipe makes about 10 pancakes.  Enjoy!

- Chris

Lemon, Basil & Pecorino Pasta

Ok, this is amazing. But don't take my word for it...make it and then you can share in the awesomeness! It is pretty easy (we're talking SIX main ingredients, all probably in the house) and doesn't take all that long. 

First you need to get some pasta (I know, how freaking easy!) Now, I happened to have some fresh toasted onion pappardelle in the house - farmers market - so I used that. Realizing that you might not have that, hell, I normally don't, I would suggest a spinach pasta, perhaps linguine. Regular or whole wheat linguine would also work, just think the spinach would compliment the sauce. But I digress. Now, as the water starts to boil (with a few pinches of salt in it) you can turn attention to the simple sauce. 

Take a bowl and combine the juice from 2 lemons, or about 2/3 cup of juice, with a LOT of shredded pecorino cheese, say 3/4 lb. Pecorino is similar enough to a parmesan - albeit much better! - so if you have that, it will work. But let me be clear, this needs to be freshly shredded from a block of cheese, not out of the shaker can in the fridge. Stir this together until it starts to get a little lumpy and then pour it into a small saucepan on very low heat. Add in about 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil and add in some ground black peppercorns, continue to stir. Lastly tear some basil leaves and stir some more then remove from the heat...it is only supposed to be slightly warm, not boiling or hot, i.e., the cheese is not supposed to be melted!

Now just toss the pasta with the sauce in a large bowl, zest some lemon on top and add a few extra basil leaves for a haughty-taughty look, haha. Served with a Cab Franc as we had no Italian wines in house.

Enjoy and think of me touring through wine country for the next week...hopeful to return with some names of great restaurants, wineries and photos of food porn galore! 

- Melissa

Simple Sausage and Peppers

So.  I may have been told that our food is a little too "high class" for some of our followers.  To that I say, you need to live a little and experiment with all the wonderful deliciousness that nature provides us.  Look past a seemingly laborious recipe and bathe in the flavors and aromas of your hard work!  There is not a single recipe on our blog that I would consider too difficult to make and more importantly, not worth the effort.  Having said that, I have stepped it down a notch and I am sharing a simple, yet delicious recipe that takes all of 15-20 minutes to make.  Sausage and peppers...what's not to love?!  (Beware, this is mainly a grill recipe because I refuse to believe that grilling should be limited to a "season.")

Here is what you will need:

1/2 - 1 Lb. of pasta.  (Your amount is determined by the number of people you are feeding so you know better than anyone how much you need.)
4 - 6 Tbsp. of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Can never use enough in my book.)
1 - 2 Red Bell Peppers
1 - 2 Green Bell Peppers
1/2 - 3/4 of A Large White or Red Onion
3 - 6 Cloves of Garlic (Again, you can never use enough in my book.)
4 Spicy Italian Sausages (We prefer to get them from our local butcher but, a more convenient alternative is Shady Brook Farms Hot Italian Turkey Sausage.  Don't knock it until you try it!)
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Directions:

Boil water and cook pasta.  A brilliant chef, whom you may have heard of (Mario Batali), once said, "pasta water should be as salty as the ocean."  Very true!

Cut the peppers, onion, and garlic into strips.  Drizzle the olive oil on them, add salt & pepper.  Cook them
on the side burner of your grill using a perforated vegetable grill pan.  If you do not have a side burner or grill pan first, I am sorry.  Second, cooking them in a skillet on the stove will get you the same result.  You need to cook the vegetable mixture until the peppers are fork tender and the onion is caramelized.  (The picture is what the vegetables look like before you cook them.  This is to give you an idea of how to cut them.)

Grill the sausage at 425 degrees for about 8-10 minutes.  You know your grill better than I do, if it seems too hot, too long, or too short, make a judgement call.

When you are done your plate will look as amazing as the picture below.

Don't fret that there is no sauce to go with this.  The olive oil, sausage and tender vegetables will give you more than enough flavor and texture relief so you don't feel  like you are eating plain pasta.  We made this tonight and I hope you make it soon.  Enjoy!

-Chris