Seafood Ceviche

Recipe: Seafood Ceviche
Page: 36
Date Cooked: June 3, 2011

Central Pennsylvania has had a loooonnnnggg winter and when we skipped over spring completely and entered summer, I wasn't too disappointed. I was ready for the warm sun and I was ready for cold dishes - dishes with exceptionally fresh ingredients and bursts of flavor. One of the very first items that came to mind was ceviche. If I was still in Florida I would immediately know where to go to get some great ceviche. However, central PA isn't ceviche central and so I turned to my other option....a JW recipe.

I've never made ceviche before but I of course understand the basic concept. You let the acid from the citrus "cook" the fish - making it OK to eat raw. However, preparing a raw item on my own can be somewhat nerve-wrecking. I tend to be incredibly careful, so I bought the fish the day of and it remained in the fridge until the very last step.

Ingredients: Orange, tangerine, grapefruit, lime, lemon, red bell pepper, green bell  pepper, jalapeno chile, red onion, garlic, scallops, shrimp, salmon, cilantro, olive oil, salt, pepper, and chives.

Quite honestly, this dish was easier than I had expected. It really is just about slicing and dicing the ingredients. I began by slicing the tops and bottoms of the citrus and using a knife to cut the peels, following the contours of the fruit. I then removed each segment and placed all the citrus into a bowl. Finally, I juiced the lime and lemon into the same bowl as the citrus sections.

Peeling the citrus, while following the contours of the fruit

With the citrus out of the way, I moved onto coring, stemming, seeding, and dicing the bell peppers and the jalapeno. I also minced the onion and the garlic.

From Left to Right: Diced red bell pepper, Diced green bell pepper, and Diced jalapeno

I removed the fish from the refrigerator. I began by peeling and deveining the shrimp. I then cut the shrimp, scallops, and salmon.

Ceviche mise en place

With my mise en place ready, it was time to put the ingredients together. I added the bell pepper, jalapeno, onion, garlic, cilantro, olive oil, salt, and pepper to the citrus bowl. I then added the fish - salmon, shrimp, and scallops to the bowl and stirred. The ceviche was covered and placed in the refrigerator to marinate.

After its time in the fridge, I removed the ceviche using a slotted spoon. Finally, I placed some minced chives on top for garnish.

Seafood Ceviche

I took Jonathan Waxman's suggestion and made sure to pair the ceviche with an ice cold beer and let me say I think it made for a pretty good meal. My only complaint was that the citrus segments, particularly the grapefruit, were quite large and didn't seem to go well with the small dice of the rest of the ingredients.

Also, a few days prior to this recipe I was inspired to make a version of Jonathan Waxman's Guacamole and Fresh Chips (a recipe I already made), the fresh chips paired really well with the ceviche. The chips gave a crunchy and salty component that wasn't in the ceviche - all while fitting the theme of the meal.

But there is no doubt that ceviche is a great summertime dish and that this recipe has its merits. Would I make it again - YES but with a few minor adjustments.

Enjoy!

Veal Chops with Roasted Pearl Onions

Recipe: Veal Chops with Roasted Pearl Onions
Page: 189
Date Cooked: June 1, 2011

According to Jonathan Waxman, "chops are the quintessential American cut of meat." While I'm not sure what the statement is based on but if the statement is indeed true, I suppose it makes sense that the recipe is in a book called "A Great American Cook."

Ingredients: Rosemary, lemon, butter, salt, pepper, pearl onions, veal chops, balsamic vinegar

The first part of this recipe entailed making a rosemary-lemon butter. I hadn't done this before and was surprised by its simplicity. However, because it was my first time, the butter wasn't as "pretty" as I would have liked. I mashed the butter in a bowl and then added lemon juice, rosemary, salt, and pepper. I then formed the butter into a log, but it into equal parts, wrapped it in plastic, and put it in the freezer.

Rosemary-lemon butter

I then began prep for roasting the onions. The onions were tossed together with rosemary, butter, salt, and pepper. Afterward, I created a package using parchment paper - rolling up the edges to seal, and placed the pearl onions in the oven to roast.

From Left to Right: Pearl onions tossed with rosemary, butter, salt, and pepper; Package of peal onions; After roasting

Once the onions were done roasting, I let them cool, and then proceed to peel the pearl onions. JW makes reference to "juices" that will be in the packet and placing them into a skillet. When I opened the package, there wasn't any liquid at all. Nonetheless, I proceeded as usual.

Peeled pearl onions

The chops were the easiest part of this recipe. They were seared on each side for a few minutes and then placed in the oven to roast for a bit.

Searing the veal chops

While the veal chops rested after being roasted in the oven, I finished preparing the pearl onions. I added balsamic vinegar to the skillet of pearl onions and heated through. Finally, I was ready to plate the veal chops, the pearl onions, and the rosemary-lemon butter.

Veal Chops with Roasted Pearl Onions

The dish was simple and tasty. I actually really enjoyed the roasted pearl onions and they could have easily been my favorite part of the meal. However, peeling all those onions was no fun task. There must be an easier way. The veal came out perfectly. I think I ended up with a really nice sear on both sides! Finally, the pat of rosemary-lemon butter on top = delicious.

BUT I need to make an important point about the butter. Jonathan Waxman is cuhrazy if his butter proportions are correct. The amount of butter shown in the picture is half the amount of butter he suggested (and even that was too much). Don't get me wrong...I love butter. I think it makes everything incredibly delicious. But, I also would like to avoid clogged arteries. I suppose that would be my 1 major criticism of this recipe. Nonetheless, I kept the remaining butter in the freezer and plan on using it for something else.

Enjoy!

Steak Tartare with Melted Raclette and Potatoes

Recipe: Steak Tartare with Melted Raclette and Potatoes
Page: 170
Date Cooked: May 29, 2011

Tartare is said to be named after the nomadic Tartar people of Central Asia. The legend is that they ate raw meat as they rode their horses and the meat was kept under their saddles in an effort to tenderize it during the day. Similarly, I believe this is also the legend behind the burger. Nonetheless, though the Tartar people may have given barbaric vibes, eating raw meat and all, I think they were on to something!

Ingredients: Filet mignon, red potatoes, olive oil, salt, pepper, shallots, garlic, lemon, jalapeno chile, serrano chile, red onion, parsley, tomato, lime, raclette cheese, and Tobasco sauce

I believe any tartare preparation is really about the knife work. You want that perfect dice on the meat as well as the assorted vegetables and herbs. The key is to have everything be as small and even as possible in an effort to really enjoy all the components of the tartare. With all that in mind, the first step was to dice the meat and let the potatoes boil.

Diced filet mignon

While the potatoes cooked in boiling water, I went right to work on mincing the shallots, garlic, chiles, onion, tomato, and parsley.

Top: Shallots; Garlic; and Chiles
Bottom: Red onion, Tomato, Parsley

With all my ingredients minced and ready to go, I proceeded to finish the tartare. I first mixed the meat with salt and pepper. I then added the shallots and garlic. Thirdly, I added lemon juice and some Tobasco sauce. As I was nearing the end stages of tartare preparation I placed the sliced potatoes under the broiler until they began to brown. I then sprinkled them with the raclette cheese and put it back under the broiler for the cheese to melt.

Browned slices of potatoes

While the cheese melted, I began plating. A mound of the tarate was put on each plate and topped with the minced chiles, onion, parsley, and tomato. Finally, I took the potatoes with melted raclette out of the broiler, put them on the plates.

Steak Tartare with Melted Raclette and Potatoes

I was really happy with the tartare. It had just the right amount of salt and pepper, while the acidity of the lemon juice, lime juice, and tomato worked perfectly. Also, I am a huge fan of the spiciness factor and thought that the Tobasco, jalapeno, and serrano gave the tartare a right amount of kick.

But the best bites were those taken along with the potatoes and raclette. I had never tried raclette before and was surprised by how well the mild, nuttiness of the cheese went with the potatoes (just in case you were wondering, raclette is a semi-soft cow's milk cheese that is commonly used for melting). Nonetheless, the beef and potatoes were in harmony and I truly enjoyed the dish. Who knew I was a meat and potatoes kind of gal?

Enjoy!

Soft-Shell Crabs with Spicy Peas

Recipe: Soft-Shell Crabs with Spicy Peas
Page: 235
Date Cooked: May 25, 2011

Well everyone...they're here! It's soft-shell crab season and the moment I saw them at the fish counter I immediately remembered that JW happened to have a few recipes in "A Great American Cook" that needed this ingredient. A soft-shell crab (a.k.a. blue crab) is simply a crab that has recently molted their old exoskeleton. Thus a real time saver when you think about the fact that you get to just bite right into it! Yep, no cracking any shells - just immediate crab.

Of course the recipe calls for live crabs and even outlines the instructions on how to go about cleaning them on a different page (page: 102). Luckily for me, I could get my "fishmonger" (a Jonathan Waxman term) to clean them for me. Moreover, it appears that I have many firsts during this project and this was the first time I personally cooked a soft-shell crab.

Ingredients: Soft-shell crabs, fresh peas, lemon, unsalted butter, red pepper flakes, and salt

The first step was to shuck the peas, which of course took more time than I would have liked. The recipe gives you the option to use frozen peas and that is definitely something to keep in mind for next time. Regardless this was the only real laborious portion of the recipe.

Shucked peas

With the hard work behind me, I then focused on the crabs. I melted some butter in a skillet and once it stopped foaming, I added the crabs top side down. After a few minutes, I flipped the crabs, added the peas, red pepper flakes, and some salt.

From Left to Right: Soft-shell crabs; Crabs in butter; Flipped crabs with peas, red pepper flakes, and salt

Once the crabs were cooked, I removed them from the skillet and put them on plates. Upon turning off the heat, I added some more butter to the peas and red pepper flakes. And then I finally topped it off with some lemon juice. I then spooned the sauce and peas over the crab and I was done.

Soft-Shell Crab with Spicy Peas

I need to emphasize how incredibly quick and easy this recipe really was. Had I used frozen peas...it would have taken 10 minutes tops! It was ridiculous how quickly this meal came together. The kick from the red pepper flakes with the buttery-lemon sauce = amazing. Furthermore, the peas complimented the crab perfectly. The crab was also a no-brainer to make.

Cooking a certain kind of shellfish for the first time (or cooking anything for the first time) comes with a bit of anxiety; and I was pleasantly surprised to find out how easy it was to make soft-shell crab. There is no doubt in my mind that I would make this again. It was quick, simple, and delicious! Heck it even looks beautiful on the plate!

Enjoy!