Saturday, June 28, 2008

Recipe of the Week - Cold Seafood Salads!

In This Issue:
[4th of July Shipping] [Summer Shrimp Salad] [Tuna Nicoise Salad] [Salmon Update]

The sun is finally out in Ferndale as we are closing in on the 4th of July Holiday! Last week, we touched on some Seafood ideas for a 4th of July Party. This week we are featuring a Summer Shrimp Salad with Wild Gulf Shrimp and a Seafood Nicoise Salad Recipe with Shibi Tuna! We really wanted to get these recipes out a couple days ago, but one of my contributors who promised a spaghetti salad recipe had a typing phobia.
So, after a mad scramble to the produce stand, here we go!

Summer Shrimp Salad
Ingredients for Shrimp:
1 lemon, halved
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 pound Wild Ocean Seafoods® Wild Gulf Shrimp, peeled and de-veined

Ingredients for Salad & Vinaigrette:
2 medium ruby red grapefruits, segmented and juice reserved
1 large avocado, pitted, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 tablespoons juice from 1 lime
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2-3 ounces snow peas (about 24), strings removed and cut lengthwise into 1/8-inch strips
16 Bibb lettuce leaves, washed and dried

Prep:
To poach the shrimp: Place 3 cups water in a medium saucepan.
Squeeze the juice of both lemon halves into the water; add the squeezed halves to the water, and add the bay leaf and peppercorns.
Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for 2 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the shrimp.
Cover and let stand off the heat for 8-10 minutes.
Have ready a medium bowl filled with ice water.
Drain the shrimp into a colander, discarding the lemon halves, bay leaf and peppercorns. Immediately transfer the shrimp to the ice water to stop the cooking and chill, about 3 minutes. Drain the shrimp and transfer them to a large dry bowl; refrigerate until needed.
To prepare the vinaigrette:
Place the reserved grapefruit juice in a 1/4-cup measure. If necessary, add enough water to equal 1/4 cup.
Puree the juice, one-quarter of the avocado, lime juice, honey, ginger, salt and pepper together in a blender until smooth.

Plating:
To serve, remove the bowl of chilled shrimp from the refrigerator and add the grapefruit, mint, snow peas and remaining avocado. Pour the dressing over the mixture and toss gently to coat. Arrange the lettuce leaves on four plates and top with the shrimp mixture. Drizzle each salad with any dressing left in the bowl. [TOP]

Tuna Nicoise Salad

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup of red ripe Roma tomatoes
1 cup of small English cucumber, cut into small chunks
2 new potatoes, cooked and sliced
1/2 cup of frenched beans, cooked
4 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
2 6oz Wild Ocean Seafoods® Shibi (Yellowfin Tuna) Steaks, seared- medium rare
2 - 3 large hard-boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
1/2 cup Kalamata Olives seeded, (black olives can substitute)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or ½ Tbsp Dried Parsley
½ cup of crumbled Feta Cheese

For the vinaigrette dressing:
1 level teaspoon sea salt
2 cloves garlic, peeled & finely chopped
1 rounded teaspoon mustard powder
1 tablespoon wine or balsamic vinegar
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs (chives, tarragon, parsley, or basil for example); if using fresh oregano and thyme, use just ½ teaspoon each in the mix
1 Tbsp freshly milled black pepper

Prep:
Quarter Roma Tomatoes
Slice English Cucumber into disks, then quarter
Microwave 2-3 Yukon Gold Potatoes for 4 minutes, cut into quarters or 6 pieces depending on size
Steam Frenched Green Beans
Seed Kalamata Olives
Hard Boil Eggs, chill, peel & quarter
Chop Parsley
Crumble Feta Cheese
Refrigerate until use

Cooking:
Pan Sear Shibi Steaks 1-2 Minutes per side on Med-Hi with olive oil
Slice Shibi into Strips
Pour 3/4 of Vinegrette into vegetables & toss

Plating:
Place vegetables on plates, add 2-4 strips of Shibi per plate or serve family style
Use remainder of vinegrette to cover [TOP]

Salmon Update
Alaska fishermen are facing a double box of high fuel prices and uncertain early runs. Normally, the early run Salmon command a premium price and the first surge of the run is strong. This year, a lot of fuel was spent chasing very few early run fish. As a result, fewer boats are leaving port until there is some run count validation. This has been leading to shorter early season supplies overall.

Wild King Salmon - It looks like many Alaska Salmon Runs are "late" this year. The season leading Copper River Run from May has just reached it's eascapement level almost one month late. It appears that the rest of the Alaska King Salmon runs are going to be late as well. The demand vs supply is very off kilter and wholesale salmon prices have gone thru the roof. We expect a price "spike" in the next 15-30 days until landings improve.

Wild Sockeye Salmon - In a similar story, these runs are late as well. However, the first "surge" when they arrive is much stronger than the King Salmon runs, which are forcast to peak in the second or third surge.

Don't forget to check out our new Seafood by the Portion section. This section allows you to add individual portions to you regular seafood order or choose 6 portions by themselves for a complete order! [TOP]

4th of July Shipping
To get your seafood and accessories by the 4th of July:
Last Day for USPS or UPS Ground Shipping is Monday, June 30th by 12 Noon
Last Day for 2 Day Air Shipping is Tuesday, July 1st by 12 Noon
Last Day for Overnight Shipping is Wednesday, July 2nd by 12 Noon
Saturday July 5th Deliveries Require Overnight Service Plus $15 Saturday Delivery Charge and must be Shipped Thursday, July 3rd.
If you have special needs, please call us toll free @ 1-800-980-2435
[TOP]

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Sunday, June 22, 2008

Grilled Mahi Mahi with Lemon and Caper Dressing

Recipe of the Week – June 22nd 2008

This is an easy preparation that will work well with any white fish such as Pacific Halibut, Ono (Wahoo) or Shutome (Swordfish). As it is summer, we will be concentrating on grilled fish recipes for the next couple of months!

Ingredients:
2 lemons
4 Tbsps olive oil
1 Tbsp capers - drained
1 Tbsp green onion - finely chopped
Sea salt and Ground Black Pepper to taste
4 Wild Ocean Seafoods 4/6oz Mahi Mahi Fillets
2 Tsp lemon pepper
1 Tsp dried dill or 2 Tsp of fresh chopped dill

Prep:
Cut off the ends of each lemon, then split each lemon in half.
Lightly brush or spray the cut sides of the lemons with olive oil.
Grill the lemons over direct high heat until nicely browned, 4-5 minutes turning once.
Remove from the grill and allow to cool.
Squeeze the lemons through a sieve into a small bowl, you will have approximately 1-2 tablespoons of juice.
Add the capers and whisk in 3 tablespoons of oil to form a dressing.
Whisk in the green onion, sea salt and pepper.

Cooking:
Brush both sides of the fillets with olive oil.
Sprinkle lemon pepper over each and then the dill.
Close the cover and grill until the fish flakes when pierced with a fork, approximatley 3-4 minutes per side.
Remove from grill, whisk the dressing once more, then serve over each fillet.

Serve with your favorite vegetables.

Enjoy!

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