Tag Archives: Fish

Grilled Fish Tacos with Mexican-Inspired Slaw

Grilled Mahi-Mahi Fish Tacos with Mexican-Inspired Slaw

Last week, when spring was supposed to arrive, but didn’t, I made this recipe.  It would be perfect eaten with a cold margarita in hand in the fading light of a warm spring day.  Instead, I enjoyed the brightly colored slaw atop smoky grilled mahi-mahi inside my home where the thermostat remains set on heat.  No matter.  It’s a dish I’ll make again.

Mahi-Mahi Taco with Mexican-Inspired Slaw and Accompaniments

This dish is a fine illustration of the point that delicious food isn’t complicated food.  Good ingredients, combined with the proper seasoning, make this Mexican-inspired slaw refreshing and the perfect accompaniment to the mahi-mahi’s earthy rub that brings just the right amount of spicy kick.  Store-bought flour tortillas will bring dinner together that much more quickly, although I urge you to make your own.   Far from complicated and assembled from ingredients you are sure to have on hand, flour tortillas take this meal from satisfying weeknight dinner to something that demands a little more celebration.

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In my fridge: Chermoula

This summer I’m teaching kids cooking classes during the day which means I’m beyond exhausted every evening. I have good intentions, but I have to admit after several hours of children with knives the thought of pulling together dinner makes me weary. However, I’m not succumbing to take-out or scampering off to the frozen food section – at least not yet.

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Macadamia and Coconut-encrusted Mahi-Mahi with Mango Salsa

I’m working on a more in-depth post for later this week, but thought I would send out this link for my appearance on Charlotte Today this morning to help with those Monday blues.  If macadamia and coconut-encrusted mahi-mahi with mango salsa can’t put a smile on your face then I’m not sure what will.  Happy cooking!

Read on for the recipe…

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Summer Peach Salsa

This little salsa should be your go-to recipe for a simple condiment as long as peach season lasts. It takes minutes to prepare, requires no cooking, and is over the top, plate-scraping good on pork. Actually, it is over the top, plate-scraping good on its own, but peach salsa does not a dinner make.

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Bouillabaisse

I made this classic French stew back in December. My parents and grandmother were coming into town and I wanted to make a special dinner to celebrate the occasion. I also had to work the day that they were coming for dinner and as such, didn’t have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen.

Bouillabaisse fit the bill. I spent a little over an hour on the fish stock and broth the day before and on Saturday night, while everyone sipped cocktails, chunks of fish, jumbo scallops, tiny clams, juicy shrimp, and lobster went into the pot to cook. A memorable and delicious dinner was ready in minutes.

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Halibut a la Provencal

Earlier this summer, I was excited to be featured in an article about Davidson College alumni making careers in the food industry for my school’s alumni magazine: the Davidson Journal.   As part of the article, titled “Main Courses,” they asked me to share a recipe that I thought alumni might enjoy.

I wanted to pick a recipe that was approachable, but also taught a technique that could easily be applied to other meals.  My two most frequent requests from clients seeking private cooking lessons is that they want to learn how  to cook fish and that they want to cook healthy, yet still delicious, food.  This recipe for Halibut a la Provencal is perfect on both counts.

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On Television: Maple-Soy Salmon en Papillote

For those who fell in love with the culinary technique of cooking en papillote after my recipe for chicken earlier this year, this recipe for maple-soy salmon is another en papillote recipe to add to your repertoire.   Taking just minutes to assemble, it’s quick and easy making it the perfect solution for a busy weeknight or a weekend dinner with friends.  Plus, it’s delicious.  My husband, a self-proclaimed hater of salmon, can’t eat it fast enough.

Today I had fun sharing this maple-soy salmon recipe with local Charlotteans on WCNC’s Charlotte Today television show.  You can check out the video here.  It’s worth a watch if you love the idea of en papillote, but need a visual demonstration to get you in the kitchen.  Enjoy!

Maple-Soy Salmon en Papillote - Printer Friendly Recipe
Serves 2

2 (5-6 ounce) salmon fillet, skin removed
2 green onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 large garlic clove, minced
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Special equipment: parchment paper, scissors

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and place a rack in the top third of the oven.

Cut out two large rectangles of parchment paper (about 15 x 20-inches) and fold them in half.  Starting from the fold, trace the outline of half a heart with a pen (like you made a Valentine in school) on each folded piece of paper and then cut out the heart.

Unfold the hearts and place one salmon fillet on the right side of each parchment paper heart.

In a small bowl, whisk together the maple syrup and soy sauce.  Sprinkle each salmon fillet with the minced garlic and sliced green onions and then divide the maple-soy sauce between the two salmon; pouring the sauce over each one.

Fold one of the parchment paper hearts in half.  Starting at the top, begin folding the edges down to seal the heart.  Make sure each fold overlaps the next by folding the next edge over the previous one and creasing it firmly.  Continue moving along the outside of the heart until you have formed a package.  Place the package on a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining package.

Bake the parchment paper packages on a baking sheet in the top third of the oven for 12 to 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Serve the fish in the parchment paper packet and have your guests cut it open at the table.  Or, cut open the envelope in the kitchen and slide the fillet and its toppings to a plate.

Pan-Browned Red Snapper with Capers and Lemon

My father was always behind the wheel.  Strapped into life jackets, my brothers and I always stood at the bow of the boat and clutched the railing as we made our way out to that day’s fishing spot.   We used to scream at the top of our lungs when the boat would hit a large wave and spray salty water in our faces.   Standing on the bow of the boat was a fishing trip tradition as much as munching on Lance cheddar cheese crackers, my brothers getting sea-sick, the frequent applications of sunscreen, and the inevitable pulling up of a Key West Grunt.  A successful fishing trip meant that all of these things occurred.  A truly exceptional fishing trip meant that we actually caught a large grouper, a beautiful red snapper, or a shiny Spanish mackerel.

While I no longer stand at the bow of the boat (the railing that I used to clutch only comes up to my knees now), I still sit at the front of the boat when my father and I go fishing.  The unobstructed view, the rhythmic thud of the boat as it rises and falls, and the occasional spray of salty water makes it my preferred spot for the ride out to deepwater.  I took up my perch this Father’s Day when I was lucky enough to get away to Florida for a couple of days and go on a fishing trip with my Dad.
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Pan-Frying Fish

Fried Trout Sandwiches

I’m depressed.  After a week in the Florida sun, enjoying Florida beaches, and eating Florida seafood, I’m having a hard time adjusting to life in land-locked Charlotte, North Carolina. It’s just not the same and frankly, not as fried.

When I think about seafood dinners, I think about chowing down on heaping plates of fried fish served with french fries and hushpuppies.  An iceberg lettuce salad with blue cheese dressing is a great beginning, but everything else should be glistening, crunchy, and very brown.  In short, I think frying is the absolute best way to prepare fish.  And while deep frying is messy and best for a crowd, pan-frying requires less fat and is a little more suitable when cooking for a few or just you! So, what’s involved? 

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