Seafood | I Can Cook That

Gazpacho with Grilled Pickapeppa Shrimp

Cooking Light’s August issue had a recipe for Pickapeppa Chicken and Mango Kebabs (that I plan on making soon) that required me to buy a bottle of Pickapeppa sauce. I had never heard of this sauce before and I was intrigued. It’s a Caribbean condiment referred to as “Jamaican ketchup” that is basically a sweeter A1 sauce, made with tomatoes, onions, mangoes, peppers, and other spices.

I thought this sauce sounded like it would be great on shrimp, so I decided to incorporate it into another Cooking Light recipe from the same issue: Gazpacho with Shrimp.

Ingredients:

1 (10-ounce) container grape tomatoes, divided
1 1/2 cups sliced English cucumber, divided
1 cup diced red bell pepper, divided (about 2 peppers)
3/4 cup diced Vidalia or other sweet onion, divided
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
5/8 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
3 garlic cloves
1 (28-ounce) can San Marzano tomatoes, drained
The juice of one lemon
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ cup pickapeppa sauce
20 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (about 8 ounces)

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Clams with Spicy Sausage

I (like most people, I’m sure) cook mostly things I want to eat. Every now and then, I will get a special request and will go outside my comfort zone (like this Meatloaf recipe, or this Sriracha Deviled Eggs recipe) but when it comes to a weeknight dinner, I’m really selfish about what I cook. So I thought it might be nice if I finally made something that was up my boyfriend’s alley more so than mine.

Don’t get me wrong, I still like what’s going on in this recipe. I just don’t usually make meals with sausage. But I was reminded of this recipe for Clams with Spicy Sausage as a suggestion to make on World Oceans Day as a Perfect Protein blogger (more information on that in my post on Thai Coconut Mussels), which was June 8. So. Um. I’m a little late. But this recipe is too tasty not to share!

This recipe can be found in the book The Perfect Protein: The Fish Lovers Guide to Saving the Oceans and Feeding the World and is from the ultimate seafood chef, Eric Ripert. This man knows his fish; one of his restaurants, Le Bernardin is known as a seafood mecca. But this recipe is really easy to make and cooks quickly, making it perfect for weeknight meals. I altered the recipe slightly but the gist is still the same.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 white onion, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon curry powder
the zest of 1 lemon
1 andouille sausage, thinly sliced
1 cup low sodium chicken stock
2 dozen littleneck clams, well scrubbed
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
lemon wedges, for serving

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Thai Coconut Mussels

I am excited to announce that I will be a Perfect Protein Blogger for the summer, to help promote a book called The Perfect Protein: The Fish Lovers Guide to Saving the Oceans and Feeding the World. Written by Andy Sharpless, the CEO of Oceana, and Suzannah Evans, the book discusses how protecting, maintaining, and consuming wild seafood can help to fight both famine and obesity globally.

I am only a few chapters in to the book and already find it fascinating. The general idea behind the book is to try to eat seafood, but to try to eat WLLS: Wild, Local, Little, and Shellfish. Many supermarkets, such as Whole Foods, label their seafood which makes sticking to these more sustainable choices a cinch. But even without the labels, you can still find sustainable options at your local grocer.

As a food blogger, I immediately went to the back of the book, where there are 21 sustainable seafood recipes from some of the nation’s top chefs. They all sounded delicious, but I decided to start off my Perfect Protein posts with a recipe that is simple but packs a ton of flavor into the dish: Sam Talbot’s Thai Coconut Mussels. I love making mussels because they cook up so quickly. This recipe takes about 30 minutes from start to finish. (For another take on mussels, check out my recipe for Mussels in White Wine Garlic Sauce)

I altered the recipe a bit to make it into a meal for 2 instead of an appetizer. I also subbed in some ingredients for what I could find. All of these ingredients can be found in Whole Foods.

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons peeled and grated fresh ginger
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons lemongrass
2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut
1 pound mussels, debearded, scrubbed well, and washed clean
1/3 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon sambal (chile-garlic paste)
1 (13.6 oz) can coconut milk, divided
2 tablespoons torn cilantro leaves, stems discarded
2 tablespoons torn mint leaves, stems discarded
juice and zest of 2 limes
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup white rice, preferably jasmine rice

Continue reading Thai Coconut Mussels

Shrimp Scampi

Seafood is a great weeknight meal because it cooks up so quickly. The only problem is getting to the supermarket to get it because you don’t really want seafood sitting in your fridge for more than a few days. A few weeks ago, my supermarket was having a sale on uncooked frozen shrimp so I grabbed two bags to use for a quick meal.

I somehow have never made Shrimp Scampi, so when I saw a version on Cooking Planit, I decided it was about time! This recipe takes about 30 minutes if you buy the shrimp already peeled, deveined, and with the tails removed. (I have a review of Cooking Planit within my Braised Baby Back Ribs and Creamy Polenta with Brussels Sprouts and Pancetta post if you’d like to read more about this app.)

Ingredients (serves 4):

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds shrimp (about 20 shrimp)
the juice and zest of two lemons
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 garlic cloves
3/4 cup dry white wine
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 lb angel hair pasta
salt and pepper, to taste

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Seared Wild Striped Bass with Sauteed Spring Vegetables

Spring has some of the best vegetables and it’s about time I put some of them to use! Anne Burrell has this fantastic recipe for Seared Wild Striped Bass with Sauteed Spring Vegetables using some of bright green veggies available right now and pairs it with a method for cooking seared wild striped bass that gets the skin super crispy without it curling up.

Ingredients:

Salt
1 bunch asparagus, snapped where it wants to naturally break
2 cups sugar snap peas, tips and strings removed
1 cup shelled fava beans
Extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup morel mushrooms, cleaned and cut lengthwise in 1/2
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
4 (6-ounce) wild striped bass fillets, with skin

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Seafood Risotto

Sorry for the break in posting! I moved into a new apartment and had to get everything up and running before I could go back to cooking. I still don’t have everything set up (which is why my photos are a bit crummy). I now have a gas stove (woo hoo!) and a ton of storage for all my random kitchen gadgets!

On my first night of unpacking some kitchen stuff, I was able to make a favorite of mine for dinner: risotto! I adapted the recipe from a Cooking Light recipe and just fit it to my seafood tastes and what I could find.

Ingredients:

4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (10.5-ounce) can of white clam sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1/3 cup chopped shallots
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed
the juice of 1 lemon
2/3 cup grape tomatoes, halved
4 ounces medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 dozen clams
1 cup cooked mussel meat (or you can buy mussels and put in the same time as the clams)
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Continue reading Seafood Risotto

Sweet Orange Salmon with Browned Butter Orange Couscous

After all the pasta, meat, and desserts I’ve had over the past, oh, month, I think it’s about time to switch back to some seafood recipes.

This is actually two different recipes from Cooking Light but I thought they’d be fantastic together. The Sweet Orange Salmon recipe is so easy and quick to make and the Browned-Butter Orange Couscous can be whipped up in no time as well!

Ingredients

Salmon:

2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
Cooking spray
Orange wedges

Couscous:

2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 cup uncooked couscous
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup coarsely chopped orange sections
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
Orange wedges

Continue reading Sweet Orange Salmon with Browned Butter Orange Couscous

Fish Tacos with Lime-Cilantro Crema

It’s funny how you can go years, even decades, thinking that you don’t like a certain food only to find you can’t get enough of it when you’re older. Fish tacos is one of those foods for me. They pack a ton of flavor but are a healthier option than other proteins (as long as the fish isn’t fried, that is). I also love how quickly you can cook them up, perfect for a weeknight dinner! Cooking Light always has the best taco recipes so I naturally went in search of a fish taco recipe there. I found this recipe in the myrecipes.com new cookbook: Myrecipes’ America’s Favorite Food Cookbook, which you can win by entering below!

Ingredients

Crema:

1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons fat-free mayonnaise
3 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon grated lime rind (I just used the zest of one lime)
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice (I used the juice of one lime)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced

Tacos:

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 pounds red snapper fillets
Cooking spray
8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
2 cups shredded cabbage (or romaine lettuce)

Continue reading Fish Tacos with Lime-Cilantro Crema

Halibut with Coconut-Red Curry

I am very vocal about my love of Cooking Light and myrecipes.com in general. I think it is a fantastic resource to find delicious recipes of all kinds and sort them easily and helpfully. I was recently sent a copy of myrecipes’ America’s Favorite Food: 200 Top-Rated Recipes from the Country’s Best Magazines which is a collection of recipes from All You, Coastal Living, Cooking Light, Health, Real Simple, Southern Living, and Sunset magazines.

What makes this cookbook different than any I’ve ever seen, is that it incorporates a Scan-It/Cook-It technology. Once you download the free Digimarc Discover app onto your smartphone, you are able to scan photos and info boxes in the cookbook which opens up how-to videos, shopping lists, and related recipes. Brilliant!

When I scanned the photo of the recipe I was making (Halibut with Coconut-Red Curry Sauce), it opened a how-to video to see how to prepare the dish, which is a wonderful tool for beginner cooks. The recipe also includes a side bar with substitutes and even tips on how to cook fish without smelling up the whole house.

This is the perfect cookbook for all levels of home cooks and I’m happy to be able to giveaway a copy of this cookbook! Check out the widget below to enter…

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons canola oil, divided
4 (6-ounce) halibut fillets
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger (or a punch of ground ginger)
1 cup light coconut milk
1 tablespoon sugar (or 1 teaspoon stevia)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
3/4 teaspoon red curry paste
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)

Continue reading Halibut with Coconut-Red Curry

Crispy Salmon with Herb Salad

Salmon and salad are a great healthy go-to on a weeknight. You can have your meal on the table in under 20 minutes! This salad is a nice alternative to your traditional salads. Made with four different herbs and spicy arugula, the salad adds a ton of flavor to the crispy salmon. The lemon dressing is fantastic as well! This recipe is from Cooking Light’s cookbook: The New Way to Cook Light.

Ingredients: (serves 6)

1 1/2 cups arugula leaves
1 1/2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 cup small fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup small fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 garlic clove, minced
cooking spray
6 (6 ounce) salmon fillets
6 lemon wedges

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Chilean Sea Bass Tacos with Chipotle Cream

I have never made a taco recipe from Cooking Light that I didn’t love. Honestly, how do they manage to deliver fantastic recipe after fantastic recipe? This one for Chilean Sea Bass Tacos with Chipotle Cream is no different, although the original recipe was made with red snapper. I’ve been having really bad luck recently coming across the fish I want when I go to the market, so I had to sub in Chilean sea bass instead.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, seeded and minced
1 1/2 cups chopped onion, divided
1 1/2 cups chopped tomato, divided
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 pound Chilean sea bass
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
4 (8-inch) fat-free flour tortillas

Scallops Gratineed with Wine Garlic and Herbs

I am on a butter kick. Darn you, Julia Child, and your deliciously simple but butter-filled recipes. There are few things that change the taste of a meal as easily as really good butter. I’m talking full-fat, salted, hand-churned butter. Keep in mind, meals like this should not be a weekly staple. But my goodness are they fantastic as a treat. This recipe for Scallops Gratineed with Wine Garlic and Herbs is no different. I am obviously on a bit of a Julia Child kick at the moment as well which is well timed because her 100th birthday is coming up on August 15. Might I suggest making this lovely (but amazingly easy) recipe to celebrate? I made this as a meal for two, with a salad on the side. It would also make a wonderful appetizer, or just multiply as you see fit.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup minced yellow onions
1 tablespoon butter (I’m talking good butter, no substitutions here!)
1 1/2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
1 clove minced garlic
4 washed dry scallops
salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup flour in a dish
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2/3 cup dry white wine (I used a Sauvignon Blanc)
1 small bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon thyme
1/4 cup grated Swiss cheese (I used gruyere)
1 tablespoon butter cut into 6 pieces

Excerpted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. Copyright © 1961 by Alfred A. Knopf. Reprinted with permission from the publisher Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.

Hake Meuniere over Spaghetti

.With Julia Child’s 100th birthday fast approaching, the food blog world has been celebrating in the best way we know how: honoring Julia Child through her recipes. I am currently reading a book about her life called Dearie: The Remarkable Life of Julia Child by Bob Spitz. (I will have a review of this book when I’m finished reading). I just got to the chapter which describes Julia’s first encounter with French food. Her first meal in France was Sole Meuniere, a simple but absolutely delicious dish. I couldn’t get it out of my mind, so I made a slightly altered version of Julia’s version over spaghetti. I wanted to make it with sole, but my market was all out. Hake is a similar fish, so I substituted it for the sole, so I bring you Hake Meuniere over Spaghetti.

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh spaghetti
3 skinless and boneless hake or sole fillets, 4 to 6 ounces
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup flour
4 tablespoons clarified butter (ghee)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 lemon, cut into wedges

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Snapper with Zucchini and Tomato with Parsley Orzo

My CSA this year allows me to choose 6 items each week to be in my share. Every single time so far, I’ve chosen zucchini as one of the six. I just love it. But with 3-4 pieces of zucchini a week, I am absolutely in search of as many different recipes as I can find. Cooking Light’s latest issue had this wonderful recipe for Snapper with Zucchini and Tomato that I just had to try. They also suggest pairing it with some Parsley Orzo. Note: this recipe makes 2 servings. Multiply as needed.

Ingredients for the snapper:

4 teaspoons coconut oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
2 (6-ounce) snapper fillets
2 tablespoons white wine
1 cup diced zucchini
1 1/2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Ingredients for the orzo:
1/2 cup orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt

Continue reading Snapper with Zucchini and Tomato with Parsley Orzo

Shrimp Florentine Pasta

My boyfriend is allergic to shrimp. And I swear knowledge of this allergy makes me inexplicably crave shrimp. All. The. Time. So I wait for weekdays to make shrimp as much as my little heart desires. Another plus is that shrimp is a super quick meal. This Cooking Light recipe took a whopping 30 minutes from start to finish. And who doesn’t like shrimp, pasta, lemon, and spinach?

Ingredients:

8 ounces uncooked fettuccine (I used fresh pasta so it would cook faster)
2 tablespoons Melt buttery spread (or other margarine)
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
the juice and zest of 2 lemons
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach

Cook pasta according to package directions. If using fresh pasta, it will be done in 2-3 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Add Melt to a saute pan over medium heat. When melted, add the shrimp, garlic, and red pepper flakes to the pan. Cook for 4 minutes, or until shrimp are cooked. (It’s easiest to use tongs so that you can flip the shrimp after 2 minutes).

Add the cooked pasta, lemon juice and zest, black pepper, and spinach. The spinach will wilt significantly, so don’t worry if it seems like there is too much.

Cook for 3 minutes, or until the spinach begins to wilt. Serve immediately with a lemon wedge on the side.

I was not prepared for how strong the red pepper would be. If I made this again, I’d cut the red pepper in half. I actually ended up adding a tablespoon of whipped cream just to cut some of the heat.

I also wanted a bit more of lemon. I ended up adding lemon to the pasta throughout eating the dish. But the base flavors here were good! I just need to adjust the amount of ingredients and it would be a keeper! So, to recap: more lemon, less red pepper = perfect.