Category Archives: Recipes

Beef Shortribs with Parmesan Polenta

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One thing I like to do is to get something going and then to leave it alone. I have a lot of other things to do beside stand over a stove for hours on end. Really, to stand over anything. It’s probably why I like using the crock pot. But the crock pot is handy only with certain foods, certain recipes cause it doesn’t do what a cast iron dutch oven will do. For the beef short ribs in the recipe below, I use a cast iron dutch oven. Cast iron cookware ROCKS. If you don’t have some, if you don’t have well-seasoned, well-used cast iron, it is about time you got with the program. Properly seasoned cast iron is virtually non-stick and indestructible.

Good cast iron cookware is passed down from generation to generation. It is an heirloom. One of the things many lamented they lost in the aftermath of Katrina was their cast iron cookware that had boiled gumbos for hundreds of years. It is believed that a small part of the food cooked each time leaves a little something behind adding to the food magic that occurs when cooking with cast iron. Given what I know of physics, I think it is true. I can see an atom or two being substituted out with another atom or two displacing the originals. Whatever it is, cast iron that old and well-used makes food magic. Plus it adds iron to your diet. See, multi-tasking at its best.

Beef Shortribs with Creamy Polenta

4-8 Beef short ribs
1cup onion, chopped roughly
1cup carrots sliced
1/2 cup celery, diced
2-3 cloves garlic
thyme
2cups red wine
2cups broth, beef or chicken
1-2 bay leaves
salt
pepper

polenta
parmesan

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Season short ribs with salt and pepper. Sear on all sides over medium-high heat.
3. Add half the onions, half the carrots, half the celery and all the garlic to the pot. Cook until most of the liquid, if any, has cooked off.
4. Add thyme and bay leaves. Add the broth and wine. Make sure that all the ribs are covered in liquid.
5. Bake in oven, covered, for at least 2 1/2 hours.
6. In the last 45 minutes, add remaining onions, carrots and celery.
7. Take out of oven, remove the ribs from juices. On medium heat, reduce the liquid in the pot by 1/2. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Serve over creamy polenta.
8. Make polenta according to directions on package while liquid is boiling down. Right before removing from heat, add in 1/2-1 cup parmesan.

Macadamia Nut Crusted Halibut with Mango-Papaya Salsa

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One day it was cold. The next day it was warm. Today is gonna be hot. Hot I tell you.

Spring makes me want to get out my shorts and just be outside. Seriously I get itchy feet to not spend anytime indoors. I think it is stir crazy madness from being indoors all winter. If I didn’t have yoga during the winter, I’m sure I would commit mass homicide. Ya know?

The other thing spring does is make me think about food. Okay, maybe I think about food all the time. I like to cook. I like to eat. I like those two things together even more. Even when I travel, the first thing I do is look up different restaurants, holes in the wall and generally check out the food sitch. Museums, places of interest and what the region is known for are secondary. I gotta say I was in HEAVEN when I went to Italy. Umm, cause, ummm, there was just so much damn delicious food at really beautiful places next to museums and places of interest. And the wine, sheesh. Nirvana. Seriously.

But I digress. Spring. Food. Got it. So spring makes me think of things like pesto sauce and pasta primavera. It makes me want to trade in my beef and lamb for scallops and fish. Lighter food for warmer weather. Makes perfect sense to me. Not just salads and the like. But delicate sauces, seafood, chilled white wine. Lets not forget the fruit. Spring makes me crave fruit. Juicy berries. Pineapples and tropical good things.

Having lived in Alaska, I got a lot of great seafood. And for those of you that don’t know, Alaska has GREAT restaurants with really innovative chefs. They do amazing things with seafood. What is even more interesting is the close connection that Alaskans have with Hawaiians. Guess it’s cause we are all so remote from the rest of the country. Both states are separated by miles of stuff before we can get to the next state. So we stick together in lots of ways.

One of the best ways is the fusion of food. The recipe I am posting below is from a restaurant in the Kenai Peninsula, home of the best fly fishing in the world. A place where you can catch record breaking salmon. It is considered the playground of South Central Alaska. And it is. The restaurant is Mykel’s. If you get a chance to go, do. You won’t be disappointed. In either Mykel’s or the Kenai. Seriously.

This recipe combines fish with fruit. Alaska with Hawaii. It says spring. It taste delicious. Fabulosity all rolled together. They make it with a Mango-Papaya Salsa. I prefer a spicy Strawberry one. Both are good. Enjoy.

 

By: Taz

Macadamia Nut Crusted Halibut with Mango-Papaya Salsa

4 6- to 7-oz. Halibut Filets
1 cup Macadamia Nuts—crushed
3/4 cup Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
2 Eggs
1 Tbsp. Water (mixed with eggs)
Flour for dredging
Peanut Oil for sautéing
Seasoning Salt

Place macadamia nuts and panko in food processor bowl fitted with a work blade. Using pulse, crush nuts and panko together until you achieve a medium coarseness. Do not over grind nuts or you will extract oil. Beat eggs with water until smooth. Heat a large saute pan or skillet on medium-low to medium heat. Lightly season halibut, dredge in flour, shake off excess then dip in egg mixture, then place in macadamia nut mixture and coat well. Press nuts on and lightly shake off excess. Add oil to pan and place halibut in pan. Let brown 3 to 4 minutes then turn over. Continue cooking halibut until golden brown on both sides—approximately 6 to 8 minutes total time. If using thick filets (one inch or more), finish cooking in a 350 degree F oven for 7 to 10 minutes. Serves 4.

Mango & Papaya Salsa—Hawaiian Style

1 Papaya—peeled, seeded and cut into small H-inch pieces
1 Mango—peeled, seeded and cut into small H-inch pieces
3 Tblsp. Sweet Chili Sauce
1 can Papaya Nectar (11.5 oz. can)
1 tsp. Mint Flakes—crushed
2 tsp. Chopped Pickled Ginger
1/4 tsp. Salt
Place cut fruit into a mixing bowl, add all other ingredients and mix well. Let set two hours. Can be made up to five days in advance. Serve at room temperature or just warm (do not let boil–fruit will fall apart).

Strawberry Jalapeño Salsa

15-20 strawberries, chopped into small even dice
1/3 medium red onion, finely minced
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
handful of cilantro, well rinsed and finely chopped
1 Jalapeño, finely minced, seeds and all.  (leave the seeds out for less heat)
juice of 1 lime
fresh cracked black pepper

Mix everything in a bowl.  Chill until ready to serve.
~about one hour before serving