Dishing the Divine » fish

ron’s grilled shrimp

Paula — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 18:45:00 +0000

Who’s Ron? I have no idea… But he posted this fabulous recipe on www.allrecipes.com, and I certainly can’t take credit for something that I didn’t create.

I’m not a huge fan of shrimp, which would explain why a bag that I bought for an event last summer is still in my fridge this summer. These things probably wouldn’t happen if I didn’t buy Costco sized portions, but really, we all know I’m a Costco addict. (Isn’t everyone?) In an effort to clean out our freezer for our pig, I decided that it was time to cook the shrimp already. How bad could it be?

Answer: not bad at all. In fact, very good! Very, very good! Next time I buy shrimp, this will be my go-to recipe. It was easy, tasty, and gorgeous to serve to guests. Three cheers for that, eh?

ron’s grilled shrimp
adapted from www.allrecipes.com

1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 1/2 tsp brown sugar
2 lb jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined

Combine all ingredients except shrimp in a bowl. Mix thoroughly and add shrimp. Cover and refrigerate one to two hours, turning occasionally.

Preheat grill for medium-high heat.

Thread 4-6 shrimp on each of several skewers or place in a grill basket. Grill until the shrimp is pink on the outside and opaque in the center, 5-6 minutes, turning regularly during cooking.

pretty food!

Paula — Sun, 16 May 2010 17:21:23 +0000

On Friday I got a wireless remote trigger that allows me to take my flash off camera and therefore add far more interesting lighting to my photographs. Our chef friend Dave gave me lots of reasons to try this when he made dinner for us that evening. Here are some of the photos I took of his creations.

Dinner was tomatoes layered with goat cheese and basil and then drizzled with a balsamic reduction; a fried potato pancake; and fish covered with a sherry chocolate sauce.

Oh, and edible flowers. How could I forget about those?

Dessert was apple tart served with ice cream with more of that balsamic reduction sauce that had been spooned over the tomatoes earlier in the evening.

Delicious? I should say so.

What is that you said? You want a friend like Dave? I totally understand. But Dave’s my friend and I’m not very good at sharing.

fish tacos

Paula — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 18:42:33 +0000

The first time I ever had a fish taco, I was a high schooler on a mission’s trip in Ensenada, Mexico. I had very strong opinions about food (wait, maybe that hasn’t changed!) and I think the word for those opinions would be, um, closed-minded (okay, so maybe that hasn’t changed much either!). One of the families that we were building a house for wanted to thank us for our hard work, so they made our group fish tacos for lunch. Please understand that at this point in my life, fish was not a word in my culinary vocabulary. So, obviously, I was thrilled that we were going to eat slabs of fried fish of questionable origin covered in some mysterious white sauce. Riiiiight…….

No, really, I was terrified.

But upon my first bite, I was converted. The fish was flaky, crispy, and tasty. The mysterious white sauce was actually good. In fact, it completed the taco. A.Maz.Ing. I wanted to eat fifteen of them, but I realized that there were 29 other kids who also needed lunch. Sharing. It’s so overrated.

I found this recipe on www.allrecipes.com. I’m so glad I did. Print it off (remember that “Print this Recipe” button at the top of this post?) and laminate it and put it on the fridge. Really – it belongs there next to your pre-schooler’s drawings. It’s that good.

By the way, we use tilapia instead of cod and have had great results. I’ve never served it with cabbage (greens – also overrated). If you have some on hand, Pico de Gallo also makes a delicious topping even though it’s not included in the original recipe.

fish tacos

White sauce:

1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 lime, juiced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1 teaspoon minced capers
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/2 – 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, depending on personal tastes

Batter

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup beer

For frying:

1 quart oil for frying
1 pound cod fillets, cut into 2 to 3 ounce portions
12 corn tortillas
1/2 medium head cabbage, finely shredded

Thaw your fish and, if necessary, cut into 3-4″ strips.

Make the white sauce by combining all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, corn starch, baking powder, and salt for the batter.

In a separate bowl, combine the beer and egg.

Mix the beer mixture into the flour mixture just until a few lumps remain. Coat the fish in the batter.

Heat oil in large frying pan over high heat until wavy and then reduce heat to medium. Working in small batches, carefully drop battered fish into the oil and cook until browned on one side.

Once golden on one side, flip the fish and cook until the second side is golden and fish is cooked through.

When cooked, place on a paper towel lined wire rack and blot top with another paper towel to remove excess grease.

While fish is cooking, heat corn tortillas on a pan on the stove until warm.

Serve while fish is still hot. Layer tortillas with white sauce, fish, and extra lime. Enjoy!