As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker program, I received several coupons from Fresh Express redeemable for one free bag of salad each and the challenge to create a recipe featuring the salad.  I jumped at the chance as we already eat a lot of Fresh Express Salads around here.  My favorites include the Baby Spinach, the 50/50, and the Fresh Herb Salad.  Any of those three would create a terrific base for this crab cake salad, but can you think of anything more tender than a 1/4 pound of lump crab meat?  A cake like that deserves a bed of pillows provided by tender baby spinach leaves.  If you’d like to give this salad a shot, or come up with a fresh salad creation of your own, post a comment and I’ll mail you a coupon for a free bag salad, compliments of Fresh Express.

Did you read that right? Yes, 1/4 pound of lump crab meat.  I use the super lump crab meat from Costco.  It’s $13.99 a pound compared to the fishmonger’s $25 a pound.  There are almost never shell pieces mixed in and it tastes and smells delicious, sweet, and delicate.  I cooked these in about 2 teaspoons of olive oil in my Calphalon Unison Slide Non-Stick Griddle.  Crab meat is so tender, frying crab cakes in loads of oil is blasphemous.  This non-stick griddle has such a slippery surface, you can use very little oil when browning, but not run into any sticking or falling apart issues, just be sure not to flip before your first side is completely browned.  As an added bonus, the Unison line is dishwasher safe!

Crab Cake Salad

1 pound super lump crabmeat

1/2 a large white onion, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp olive oil

1 egg

2 tbsp mayonnaise

2 tbsp capers

3 tbsp Italian Parsley, chopped

3 tbsp panko

1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning

cayenne pepper

1 tsp kosher salt

12 turns fresh ground pepper

panko for coating

olive oil

1 bag Fresh Express Baby Spinach

In a large bowl, pick through crab meat and remove any shells you find.  In a saute pan over medium heat, add olive oil, then onions.  Cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add garlic.  Cook one more minute, then add mixture to the crab.  Add egg, mayonnaise, capers, parsley, and panko to crab mixture.  Add old bay, 3 dashes of cayenne from shaker top, salt, and pepper.  Mix all together, then divide mixture into four equal portions.  Form each portion into a round disk about 1 inch tall.

Preheat oven to 300.  Cover the bottom of a rimmed plate with panko.  Place crab cakes one at a time on panko, then coat completely in panko crust.  Heat a non-stick griddle over medium high heat.  Add two teaspoons of olive oil and swirl to coat.  Brown the crab cakes on one side for about 4-5 minutes until lightly browned.   Turn, then brown the second side for 3 minutes.  Add small bits of additional olive oil if pan looks dry.  Move pan to oven and bake 5 more minutes.  Serve over a bed of Fresh Express Baby Spinach, top with blue cheese and Sherry Vinaigrette.

Sherry Vinaigrette

4 tbsp sherry vinegar

6 tbsp olive oil

4 tbsp water

2 tbsp honey

1 tsp kosher salt

12 turns fresh ground pepper

Combine all ingredients and whisk like crazy.  Serve.

Even after breaking out the cloth napkins and my festive Longhorn napkin rings, my football team failed to perform.  With all of this jinxing, you’d think I’d be more frustrated.  The thing is, I Love A Party.  Top to bottom, the whole event.  And this party, created as a contest entrance, represents my very favorite style of party and my style in general.  I’m calling it China and Jeans.  Because though I broke out the china and crystal, polished the silver, and created a luxurious menu, I fully expect you to arrive in jeans.  I know I’ll be wearing jeans, probably paired with flip flops.  Because they’re comfortable.  And don’t give you blisters.  But that doesn’t mean I can’t use my china.

I want to encourage you to break out your china and use it.  There is no point to having beautiful things if they just sit in a cabinet.  And you don’t have to throw a dinner party to do it.  You can eat a hot dog on china all by yourself on a Tuesday if you want.  Life is meant to be enjoyed.

Luxury Dinner Party Menu

Hors d’Oeuvre

Skewered Mushrooms with Fresh Basil Pesto Cream Sauce

Soup

Spinach Soup with Madeira Cream

Entree

Fried Avocado Stuffed with West Indies Crab Salad or Chicken and Cotija Cheese

Lemon Basil Quinoa

Dessert

Cheesecake Tartlet

Beverages

San Pelligrino

Bodega Norton Malbec Reserve 2007

Bodega Sottano Reserva Malbec 2007

Girard Suavingnon Blanc 2008

The contest requirements called for creating a luxurious dinner party menu using new and exotic flavors.  I’m more of a classic flavors cook, but I have a few things that I consider new and exotic in my repertoire.  In home entertaining the soup course has largely been lost.  I love a soup course, and what better medium to deliver your vegetables than soup?  My recipe for spinach soup was written up last August.  I think my fried avocados make a powerful presentation so I offered a choice of fillings with a version of my West Indies Crab Salad or a slightly spicy shredded chicken and cotija cheese.  Quinoa is a relatively new food trend, and I love the crunch it offers in place of a traditional rice or pasta.  I’m still deciding what flavors marry best with the quinoa, but it always seems exotic.

Argentina is quickly becoming one of the world’s up-and-coming wine regions.  I picked 3 selections from Costco all rated 90 points by Wine Enthusiast or Wine Spectator.  I’ve never been a fan of traditional pairing, I prefer to drink what tastes good – not what matches the food.  In red wines, I look for descriptions using the words blackberry, dark fruit, and vanilla – even though my brain doesn’t associate these flavors with wines I enjoy.  Sometimes I think wine educators just grab words out of a hat and then start throwing it around with wild abandon.  Like jammy.  Really?  What does that mean?  No thank you, I would not like a wine glass full of jam.  I don’t even eat jelly with my peanut butter.  In white wine I know I like dry and citrus, while I do not like buttery or sweet.  I just loved the Wine Enthusiast quote on this one, so I picked it, even though it didn’t taste like any pink grapefruit or green apple I’ve ever eaten.

“Bone dry and zesty in acidity, with pink grapefruit, lemongrass and green apple flavors that have a honeyed edge despite the dryness. Vibrant and clean. Nice with a salad of bitter greens and chevre and whatever else you want to add, in a simple vinaigrette. ”

90 Points

Wine Enthusiast

I still haven’t photographed my cheese cake tartlets, so I’ll post the recipe and pictures for that later this week.  Cheers to my sweet friends for dropping plans and joining me with nearly zero notice.  Especially baby Vivian.  Onward and upward to new challenges I go.

This lemon butter sauce added an extra little zest to the fish, and the lemon pepper was a great choice, too.  My lemon pepper came from a local spice company (Good Spice) I found at the Milestone farmers market.  Coincidentally, the summer season for the Milestone Farmers Market kicks off Sunday the 18th at 4531 McKinney Avenue in Dallas from 11-3.  Last time I went I was the only one there, which was kind of eerie, but they did have local eggs and local butter and other cool stuff.

Roasted Salmon

(serves 3)

3/4  lb. Wild Coho Salmon

grapeseed oil

Lemon Pepper

Kosher Salt

Preheat oven to 375.  Place rinsed and dried coho in a glass pan.  Drizzle with a small amount of grapeseed oil, then sprinkle liberally with lemon pepper and kosher salt.  Roast for about 15 minutes.  To test for doneness, gently poke center of fish with a metal fork, fish should flake and fork will feel just slightly warm when removed.

Lemon Caper Butter Sauce

(Serves 3-4)

4 tbsp butter

2 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 tbsp white wine

1 and 1/2 tbsp capers

fresh ground pepper

In a skillet over medium heat, melt butter.  Add lemon juice, wine, capers and stir with a wooden spatula.  Dust surface with fresh ground pepper.  Stir and let continue cooking for 2 minutes then serve.

Anyhow, I’ve been thinking of making fish tacos often recently.  ( I previously integrated them into my diet circa 2001.)  Friday night at a party, someone who works with my sister mentioned Z’Tejas and their fish tacos, and I knew it was fate.  I just *had* to make fish tacos, and I can’t make fish tacos without thinking of SMIL.  Now, mine are a bit different than Z’Tejas, but here’s what I see as integral to a fish taco:  1)  White fish 2) Cabbage 3) Spice and 4) a tortilla.  I used to drizzle a habanero sauce on mine on top of dry cabbage.  Over time, I’ve realized I like my spice *in* my fish and my cabbage to exhibit a saucy-sour component to balance.  Most places seem to serve cream sauces as the side, but in general, I’m just a vinaigrette gal.  So here’s mine.  Don’t get carried away with your ground red pepper, it sneaks up on you and can make your fish crazy hot.  Feel free to change up your fish, just choose a mild white fish and you’re good to go.

Fish Tacos (serves 3)

3 tilapia fillets

sea salt, finely ground

ground red peper

fresh ground black pepper

paprika

garlic salt

grapeseed oil

Heat a skillet (I use an oval non-stick fish pan I picked up somewhere along the way) over medium high heat.  Rinse and dry fillets with a paper towel.  Sprinkle first with sea salt, then red pepper, black pepper, paprika, followed by garlic salt on each side.  You want to cover the surface, but very gently as this is a mild and delicate fish.  Pour about a tablespoon of the grapeseed oil in the skillet, then use a wooden spatula to spread over the entire surface.  Place fillets in skillet and cook until edges turn opaque and center is opaque 1/3 of the way through.  Flip using a wide spatula, then cook on opposite side until opaque throughout.  Depending on thickness, total cook time will be around 5-7 minutes.

Vinaigrette Coleslaw

1/2 head green cabbage

1/2 head purple cabbage

1 large white onion

1/2 c. sugar

1 c. apple cider vinegar

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp celery seed

1 tsp salt

3/4 c. grapeseed oil

Chop cabbage and onion into a large bowl.  In a saucepan, bring ingredients to a boil.  Cook for 1 minute, then remove from heat.  Pour vinaigrette over vegetables, then chill in the fridge.  This will make a large amount.  You can easily half it or serve it with other meals.  It will keep 1 week to 10 days in the fridge.

Serve fish in a warmed whole wheat tortilla and top with coleslaw.  Enjoy!

One of the many perks of living so close to family, aside from the numerous hours of uber-granni care, is that we get to reap the spoils of their bounty.  When my MIL has a fabulous bottle of Cabernet, she always shares with me.  This newest bounty, her freezer full of 50 lbs of fresh caught Coho Salmon is enough to send us over the moon!  This wild caught Alaskan Salmon is amongst our best choices for sustainable fishing.  And to have it caught and brought home by a friend, priceless.  So during our happy dance in honor of this harvest, I’ve been expanding thoughts on my current salmon cooking repertoire.  I love salmon croquettes, broiled salmon, salmon cakes or patties, and even salmon on the Lean Mean Grilling Machine coated in nothing but Brianna’s French Vinaigrette.  But I needed a sauce option.

The result was gratifying, though if you’re a cream fan, you’ll probably find this lacking and want to add 1/2 a cup of cream and cook a little longer for optimal flavor melding.  I’m a citrus girl myself, and here’s the thing in experimental cooking and recipes.  It takes a lot of tasting, a lot of adjusting, and then you arrive at the ah hah moment, the moment of pure realization and clarity and just plain satisfaction in your results.  So in the basis of a good sauce for a light main course, I find citrus, capers, and fresh parsley to be hard to beat.  White wine is tricky, sometimes it adds a ton – like in Bob’s Chicken, but in brothy sauces can turn acidic on you very quickly with a hard recovery.  My general rule is to stay away from wines unless I’m adding fat – be that from cream, butter, or a higher fat content main course.  I’m not saying it can’t be done well without the fat, just that I have a hard time producing it.

Here’s the part where you should look away, Mom.  Just keep ordering fish at restaurants and stay far away from the seafood world in home cooking.  Should you fear fish parts – these things might disgust you.  But then you couldn’t arrive at your own homemade lobster bisque.  I choose to set aside my ick factor and go for flavor.  Besides, my FIL loves salmon skin.  Better than the salmon itself.  How’s that for weird?  So en route to this sauce, I based it with a chicken broth, but used a typical deglazing/reduction technique in my skillet used to cook the salmon.  If I’d used more oil, and was a bit more patient, I would have wound up with much less salmon skin attached to my skillet.  So I chunked the large pieces and let the rest flavor the broth.  After the addition of the lemon, I was left with a still pretty fishy broth.  Lots of people like fish, few like foods described as “fishy” tasting.  In a burst of inspiration, the lime juice saved the day!  Broth became balanced, yin met with yang… and the result was quite attractive by my personal standards.  I do think sauteing the fish with the capers added a depth to the salmon which would have been lacking  if I’d simply added the capers to the broth.

Coho Salmon with Citrus Caper Broth

1.5 Coho Salmon – recently caught from Sitka, AK if you have the means or are lucky enough to profit from those who do

olive oil

Krazy Jane’s Mixed Up Salt

fresh ground pepper

3 tbsp capers

1 large shallot, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 and 1/2 c. chicken broth

juice from 2 small lemons

juice from 1 lime

2 and 1/2 tbsps butter

3 tbsp fresh parsley

In a skillet just slightly over medium heat, warm enough olive oil to barely glaze the surface.  I mean barely.  Drizzle gently dethawed or fresh fish with a small amount of olive oil.  Season surface of both sides with Krazy Jane’s and pepper.  Sauté salmon in oil for 6 minutes on skin side, then flip.  Actual time depends on thickness of your fillets.  Watch for the color change to reach opaque 25-30% of the way through the fish, then flip and look for total opacity on the second side.  Remove fish to plate.

Scrape up any large bits of skin left, but allow the small pieces to remain.  If your skillet looks dry, sprinkle with no more than a teaspoon of additional olive oil.  Saute shallots 1 minute, add garlic, saute another minute.  Pour in chicken broth, then bring to a boil, gently scraping the bottom and cooking for 3 minutes past boil.  Add lemon juice, then lime juice, then butter one tablespoon at a time, continuously stirring.  Add parsley just before serving, cooking no more than 30 seconds.  Plate fish, spoon broth over fish allowing fish to rest on a bed of broth.  Enjoy!

I’m sorry for disappearing so abruptly.  I just came home from Utah and then, well, life did what it seems to have a way of doing and straight took me out of the game.  Seriously you don’t want details, but I had some surgery and much to my dismay, it took just frankly took a truckload more to recover than I was expecting.  So, I’ve been out of the kitchen and off my feet.  It’s so nearly offensive when your body just fails you that often we find ourselves, or at least my family does, just plain hiding and sulking in a corner.  Or maybe not in a corner, but just unable to deliver your usual exuberance and zest for life.

But.  I’m happy to announce again, I’m back y’all.  And the kids return to preschool in a week so hopefully our lives will resume a semblance of normalcy.  I’ve missed you and I’ve missed my kitchen.

I like to fancy myself one of the old school members of our community.  You’re ailing, well the beach cures all.  Get thyself to the ocean, and HEAL.  Luckily the stars aligned and I had a beach vacation setup with my sweet family.  Loving husband could happily reside on a beach, in the surf each and every day, with just his fishing rod, swim shorts, some fresh shrimp for bait, and endless amounts of time.  So he did what he does best, one of the many things anyway, and caught dinner for us.  It wasn’t the year of the pompano, and I was off my a-game and didn’t have my proper spices, but it was still a fabulous dinner.  And it was fresh caught, ours, and didn’t cost $300.

Sweet husband will probably kick me for posting this photo of him with fish – but you have to see it in action to appreciate.  And when I say appreciate, I mean appreciate like the four exuberant toddlers who couldn’t wait to touch this fish.  Tiny pixie, aka junior fisherman in training seen in the corner of said photo, couldn’t have been more excited about this catch.  I’m pretty sure she informed all of Watercolor about daddy’s catch.  In fact, when said fish was caught, She was the deciding factor.  Sweet husband asked her if he should release it or if she wanted to eat it, and well – she was firm in her decision.  I’m raising a baby who loves food as much as her mama.

The rice pictured was all mine as well, but we had some miscommunication on the grocery list, not once but twice!  And wild rice it was.  I’m hear to tell you, Internet, Uncle Ben’s wild rice, still tastes like Uncle Ben’s even if you leave out the seasoning packet.  But thank you Daddy for making that second trip to the grocery, I’m sorry you were mislead.  If the stars had aligned properly, here’s the recipe on how I would have made it – but please note – your rice will look different if you make it with long grain white rice versus a wild grain mixture.

If you haven’t been to the Destin/Seaside/Florida panhandle area, here’s what you’ve been missing.  ALOT. 

Destin is my childhood.  It’s my sweetest memories, my most beautiful place, the place that makes me whole.  That’s my entourage in the photo,  *I* don’t do swimsuit photos!  But they’re all so cute how can you resist?

Oh yes, and our local Publix grocery didn’t carry my blackened seasoning of choice – Cajun’s Choice – I used the Old Bay plus Blackened Seasoning.  Cajun’s Choice is SPICY!  Old Bay is “seasoned”,  as my mother would say, not *hot* but flavorful.  Also, sweet husband wanted a point made that though catching the giant fish is much more fun, smaller fish are much much more tender and flavorful.

Blackened Redfish

5 lbs redfish fillets – I’m totally guessing here – it was a huge fish upwards of 20lbs, trimmed and cleaned heartily and fed 8 adults easily with leftovers

Blackened Seasoning

Kosher Salt

Olive oil

Clean and fillet fish or purchase that way from your fishmonger, (I like Rex.)  Drizzle with olive oil, rub olive oil evenly with your hand, then sprinkle with blackened seasoning and kosher salt.  Grill on medium heat for about 8 minutes per side, depending on thickness of fish.  I watch it until the edges are totally opaque, then flip.

Spanish Style Rice

1 and 3/4 c. Long Grain White Rice * see notes above

3/4 of white onion finely diced

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tomatoes, chopped

4 c. chicken stock

In a skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat.  Add rice and onion, cook 6 minutes, add garlic and cook 2 more minutes.  In a separate sauce pan, heat chicken stock to a boil, add tomatoes, then rice mixture.  Reduce heat to a low simmer and cook 30 minutes.  Test for texture and seasoning, adjust cooking time and salt/pepper as necessary.

For the technique, I reserved all of my lobster shells yesterday after Amelia removed the claw and tail meat.  For the head half, I chopped the lobsters in half and removed the sand sac or grain sac as it appears to be called both.  I couldn’t find a picture online of one, and silly me had my hands all slimy at the time, so I didn’t take one either.  I’ll give the description a shot, since I couldn’t find a good description online, and they call me the google-nator.  It looked like a relatively empty area, directly at the front of the head, up near the eyes.  Inside the sac, it looked like little teeny bits of broken up shell.  Here’s a picture of my stock after straining 3 times, I think the color is just beautiful.

When you watch the Barefoot Contessa on the Food Network, she thinks your fishmonger should have fresh, cooked, de-shelled lobster meat available for purchase.  I’m not sure that mine does, but I’ll put him to the test tomorrow.  If he doesn’t I’ll come up with something to add to our remaining bisque.

Lobster Bisque

(for stock)

1 tbsp olive oil

4 carrots, peeled and chopped

1/2 a white onion, sliced and quartered to slivers

5 stalks celery, chopped

4 lobster carcasses, chopped up and sand sac removed

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 14 oz can tomato puree

2 bay leafs

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

2 tsps kosher salt

4 cloves garlic, chopped

(for bisque)

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. flour

8 c. lobster stock

1 and 1/2 tbsp corn starch

1/2 c. sherry

1 c. milk

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper

2 and 1/2 tsp kosher salt

parsley for garnish

In a large stock pot, warm olive oil over medium heat.  Add carrots, onions, and celery, sautee 10 minutes.  Add chopped lobster shells, then cover with water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer for 30 minutes.  Add bay leaves, tomato paste, and puree.  Simmer another 30 minutes, then add garlic, thyme, and salt.  Simmer another hour.

Strain stock through a fine strainer to a clean pot.  Strain 2 more times.  Wash original stock pot, then melt butter.  Add flour and cook resulting roux on medium six minutes, stirring continuously.  Start by adding 1/2 c. lobster stock, then 1 cup increments until you’ve added 6 of the 8 cups.  During this process, your mixture will go from a paste-like consistency, to a thinner soup.  Use a whisk the whole time to ensure smoothness.  Add sherry and milk.  Combine corn starch with a ladle full of stock, then add the remaining lobster stock.  Add stock and cornstarch mixture.  Add cayenne, pepper, and salt, then bring to a boil and reduce heat cooking on medium low for 30 minutes.  Stir every five minutes or so – being sure to scrape the bottom to prevent scorching.  Taste, season to taste.

*** Here’s where I would have added finely chopped reserved lobster meat if we’d still had some on hand.

Lobster and I, we have a unique kinship.  My best friend Lisa and I once ate at Truluck’s in Austin (when we totally couldn’t afford it) where we attempted to order two pound lobsters each.  Sadly, they were out of two pound lobsters, so when they offered two 1-pound lobsters for the same price, we jumped on it.  Even though that meant, we EACH HAD TWO LOBSTERS on our plate.  Every time I’ve gone to Boston (yep all two of them) I hopped straight for the lobster.  When restaurant.com sends me an email, I’m always secretly coveting the Lobster Gram.  At the Park City Farmer’s Market, I eyed the fresh Maine Lobster booth each week.  I even have a thing for Cider House Rules.  Enough said, point made.

The fabulous thing about having dear sisters is you can rope them into all sorts of stuff you could never get away with on your own.  Kind of like this blog, I’ve gotten a kitchen and grocery budget hall pass ever since I started writing.  Ahem.  Please no one tell my husband I’m not really making money!  It’s all such a fabulous dream!  So when I arrived home to a Gourmet magazine with Lobster Rolls on the cover, *NOT* containing mayonnaise, it was a sign from the gods.  I called up my sweet little sister and announced, we’re making lobsters, how many should I order?  And of course, sweet little sister obliged as she is compelled to do, and a life long dream was fulfilled.

So here’s what they looked like, flown in fresh today to Rex’s Seafood Market. 

And of course, the fishmonger is all, “Dude, you ladies are headed straight home, right?  Cause you know you can’t leave live lobsters in a box in your trunk in 100 degree weather.”  And I’m all, “Shhhh.yeah   of course I wasn’t planning on popping into Target first for an extra large pot.  Like I’d be that stupid.”  Ahem.  Again.  I was going to be fast.  Maybe even leave Amelia in the car with the air conditioning running.  Anyhow, we went straight home and made do with the pans I have on hand.

So then we get the water boiling, salted it and were ready to hit the ground running.  At first, Amelia scoffed at me that I was using tongs to transfer the lobsters to the pot.  Cause apparently on tv, they always use their hands.  She figured out why that was a bad plan on lobster #3 when she nearly scalded herself with boiling water and came close to taking out a too-close-in-proximity computer after the lobster threw a conniption fit when approaching the pot.  This is how the guys looked in the pot.  Note the color and the steam.  Ahh…

The rest of the process was pretty painless.  And Amelia definitely can take on a job as lobster meat excavator, should you so be looking for one.  Her years of hitting every crawfish boil in a 50 mile radius have certainly paid off.  You need champagne uncorked, I’m your gal.  You need lobster de-shelled in the most efficient and effective manner, go for the younger sister.  It was an amazing day.  And we’re obsessed with the results.

If you shy away from shellfish due to to sometimes salt-watery flavor, go for fresh, go for live, and make the most of what you’ve paid for.  I can’t imagine you’ll be disappointed.

The recipe for these Lobster Rolls came from Gourmet magazine.  If you take the magazine, the photo is featured on the cover of their July 2009 issue.  If you don’t, please subscribe.  Your culinary appetite will be expanded and invigorated.  Please click here to their site to see the recipe.  The only changes I made, were my total inability to use hot dog buns, so I used french bread sandwich rolls, with a v-pattern cut from the top to make them open, and I cooked my 1.5lb lobsters 10 minutes, because I always prefer seafood well done.  Sweet husband loved these, but felt on future endeavors, I could add zip, so I’d probably go with more lemon, adding capers, then letting the mixture chill for about 2 hours before serving.  It was fabulous.  Couldn’t recommend this more!

First, I have lovely friends.  Anyone who has ever told you that Dallas was snobby, uppity, or all about the money was just plain wrong.  I say that because that’s what everyone told me for the first decade I lived in Texas.  And I married a boy from smack in the center of Dallas.  Yep.  HP, baby.  I make no bones about the fact that, by nature, I am not an urban person.  That said, I love the amenities that my urban lifestyle affords me.  The plethora of grocery-ing options, an every day of the week out of this world farmers market, an exceptional aquarium to take my kids to, not to mention our omnipresent selection of dining options.  My friends are so dear and so supportive of anything I ever do, I find it astounding.  So cheers to Elizabeth, Rachel, and Kathleen.  And for all my other Dallas kindred spirits, just because you weren’t a part of today’s discussion doesn’t mean I’m leaving you out.  Emily and Genny, COME HOME from Arkansas!  (Totally inappropriate for me to whine seeing as I’ve been out of state for FIVE weeks.)  So one of the things that my sweet friends and I discussed was the amount of time necessitated by some of my recipes.  – This needs a whole new paragraph.

I cook like anyone does a hobby who’s truly engrossed in it.  I think about it, plan it, read about it, love every minute of the process.  That’s *MY* relaxation.  That said, I know there are plenty of people seeking healthy, delicious, quick meals.  So my response – EAT MORE FISH!  Fish cooks so quickly, it’s almost painless, aside from seeking freshness.  Heck I could write my own 30 minute meals cookbook solely containing fish!  So if you’re in Dallas, and particularly, if you’re my neighbor, hop on over to our favorite stop Rex’s Seafood Market.  I’m a huge lover of Central Market and Whole Foods, but in seafood, go with the guy who specializes in fresh.  And for the love of criminy!  I can walk there!  Who can walk to a place like this that also has their own kitchen?  Rex’s has fresh fish flown in every day, I think like around 16 kinds each day, and he can get you live lobsters, as long as you call by noon.  He’s supplying my lobsters for Sunday’s Gourmet magazine ‘s July cover lobster roll recipe.

Another thing that came up is marketing.  I suck at this.  And the irony is, I’m actually kicking butt for any previous version of myself.  But alas… if you want to grow something, you have to work for it and make it easy for people to join your following.  I put a subscribe tab at the top of the main page last week after Kara’s recommendation.  Kara’s been near and dear to me since my first few moments in the great state of Texas and her recommendation was spot on.  So if you would like to get an email each time I update, click that link or the one at the bottom of this post and follow me in near real time.  And while you’re at it, if you’re in the market for stationary, contact Kara.  She’s owned a paper business and now she’s designing her own stationary.  I’m certain if you’re looking for something unique and personal, she’s your gal!  My friends also recommended that I make a facebook page, so that’s going up tonight.  I feel a little tool-ish, but all said, I really want to connect good friends with good food and spread the love.  So if you’re inclined and a facebooker, click here to become a fan of dinnerandconversation.com.

If you’re not from Texas or perhaps Louisiana, you may have never eaten Redfish.  I *think* that Texas Redfish is the same as a Red Drum if you’re familiar with that.  If not, these fish are frequently caught off the Gulf Coast in the Texas and Louisianna waters.  When cooked, it mimicks a slightly more sturdy red snapper or grouper.  Redfish doesn’t show up on my iphone Seafood watch app, so maybe it’s not available on a large scale, or maybe it’s cool – at least we know it’s not on the black list.  When the boys go fishing in Texas, this is what they bring home, and it’s phenomenal.  Zero fishy taste at all, yet meaty enough to hold up to a grill.

Blackened Redfish with Wine Lemon Butter Caper Sauce

2 lbs redfish fillets

olive oil

Cajun’s Choice Blackened Seasoning

4 tbsps butter, divided

2 shallots, finely chopped

3/4 c. Sauvingon Blanc (I used Rodney Strong)

2 tbsp capers

2 tbsp lemon juice

3/4 c. water

3/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp ground white pepper

1 tbsp fresh finely chopped Italian parsley

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Rub rinsed and dried redfish with olive oil on both sides.  Sprinkle cautiously with blackened seasoning on one side (this stuff is hot!  if hot’s you’re thing go for it, but I live in Texas and I’m cautious!) Place fish, blackening side up on a grill pan in oven.  Cook 6 minutes or until approaching opaque.

Meanwhile, melt 2 tbsp of butter in a skillet, add shallots and sautee 4 minutes on medium heat, until soft and fragrant, watching to prevent burning.  Add wine, stir, let reduce, one minute.  Add capers and lemon juice, cook 1 minute, then add 2 additional tbsps of butter.  Stir until incorporated, then add water, reduce 2 more minutes and season with salt and pepper.

At this point, you can turn off if necessary and re-stir just before serving.  Broil fish 1 minute for color. Add parsley to sauce, stir and serve topping fish.

Serve with super simple couscous and ask your spouse to prepare the salad – or cook in advance.  Fish cooks fast and requires attention, your entire entree is prepared in 15 minutes.

Cheers!

The original recipe was created by Bill Bayley in 1947. Mr. Bayley was a restaurateur and guarded his recipe for years until it was eventually published in the 1964 edition of the Junior League of Mobile’s cookbook. I’ve adapted the recipe slightly from Wesson vegetable oil to grapeseed oil, since I just can’t stand to use vegetable oil anymore. Grapeseeed was a great substitution since it’s lighter than olive oil and has such a delicate flavor. I also added chopped chives for color. This salad would be lovely at a luncheon served on a bed of butter lettuce, but I generally serve it with crackers as an appetizer.

I used the Whole Foods Whole Catch Jumbo Lump Crabmeat, but you can also use Costco’s lump crab meat for about half the cost. The advantage to the Whole Foods line is that in two containers – there were no shells at all to pick out. If you haven’t prepared lump crab before after rinsing, just squish the lumps between your fingers to ensure that there are no shells left and separate the crab meat.

I keep promising photos of my mountain adventure so here are a few. I’m hitting at least four outdoor concerts a week. This is actually from the Wednesday Deer Valley free concert series – that’s my son Quentin after he spilled his grandmothers red wine all over his shirt.  Trust me – wine on the side of a mountain can be tricky.  You absolutely have to have these wine bottle and glass holders. 

And this is my best friend Lisa who brought her boys out to stay with me for awhile.  These concerts are a cornucopia of dining al fresco, friends, wine and children running around everywhere.  And here’s me – at the top of the mountain.  I’m spending my days hiking in the quiet and planning luxurious picnics for my evening outdoor concerts.  Rough life, eh?  I highly recommend it for your mental health!

West Indies Crab Salad

1 and 1/2 large yellow onions, very finely chopped

1 lb. jumbo lump crabmeat, picked through for shells

4 oz grapeseed oil

3 oz apple cider vinegar

4 oz extremly cold ice water

1 and 1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/8 tsp finely ground black pepper

2 tbsps chopped fresh chives

In a bowl, layer half the onions, then top with the crab meat, then the other half of the onions.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, vinager, and water for the dressing.  Pour over the crab mixture  and let marinate in refrigerator 6-12 hours – the longer the better.  An hour before serving, stir, add the salt, pepper, and fresh chives.  Stir again just before serving.

Serve on a bed of butter lettuce or on crackers as an appetizer.