Oven Roasted Red Snapper

You will need:

2 whole red snappers 1lb each
1 tbls olive oil
1- 2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly crushed black peppercorns
1 large garlic cloves minced
1 small onion quartered
6 sprigs of cilantro with lower stems removed and discarded + 1 tbls of chopped cilantro leaves for garnish
1 of each small red, yellow, and orange bell pepper sliced thinly   Tip: to be cost effective I grabbed a bag of mini sweet bell peppers that were assorted in the bag already.
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
a few lemon slices (for garnish)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F . Take the 2 whole cleaned fish and place in 14 x 11 baking pan. Make 3 vertical slices on each fish and rub each with the olive oil. Sprinkle the fish with the sea salt and crushed black peppercorns.
Stuff each fish with 3 cilantro sprigs,a few onions quarters, and sliced peppers.Stuff the slits of the fish with the garlic and bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove from stove and drizzle with lemon juice and bake an additional 20 minutes or until the fish is no longer translucent. Garnish with cilantro leaves, lemon slices and additional bell peppers (optional) and serve. Bon Appetit!

Spicy Oven Roasted Crab w/ Garlic Rice Noodles

Ingredients:

For garlic noodles:

1/2 lb rice noodles
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic (pounded)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
2 1/2 teaspoons oyster sauce
1 Tablespoon finely grated parmesan cheese

For spicy Crab:

2 lbs rock, stone, or dungeness crab
1 stick unsalted butter
3-4 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
1 teaspoons black pepper (cracked using a mortar and pestle)
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Heat up 4 quarts of water and let it boil. Add the noodles in the hot water until they are done, drain the water, and set aside to cool down the noodles.

In a pan, saute the garlic with the olive oil in medium heat. The reason for this is to infuse the olive oil with garlic flavor. Remove the garlic and then add in 4 tablespoons of butter and lower the heat. Add in the chicken bouillon powder, garlic powder, oyster sauce and blend well. Set aside to let it cool.

Once the garlic mixture is cool and the noodles are at room temperature, pour the garlic mixture over the noodles and toss them together to blend well. Add in the grated Parmesan cheese and toss well.

Clean and break the crab into small clusters. Heat up the butter in a wok (between medium to low heat) and saute the garlic until aromatic, but not brown. Add in the black peppers, chicken bouillon powder, red pepper flakes and then add the crab and stir well. Add in the sugar and cook the crab until half done.

Dish out and bake it in the oven at 350 degree F for 25-30 minutes. Serve hot with garlic noodles.

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Rock Crab & Shrimp Pasta (scampi style)

Ingredients:
4 clusters of rock crab
1/4 cup olive oil
1 lb peeled and deveined large shrimp (raw; 20 to 25 per lb)
4 large garlic cloves, left unpeeled and forced through a garlic press
1/2 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 lb Gemelli pasta
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Prepare:

Bring a 6- to 8-quart pot of salted water to a boil.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté shrimp, turning over once, until just cooked through, about 2 minutes, and transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. Add garlic to oil remaining in skillet along with red pepper flakes, wine, salt, and pepper and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, 1 minute. Add butter to skillet, stirring until melted, and add crab and simmer for 10 minutes flipping the crab once then remove clusters and stir in shrimp. Remove skillet from heat.

Cook pasta in boiling water until just tender, about 3 minutes. Reserve 1 cup pasta-cooking water, then drain pasta in a colander. Toss pasta well with shrimp mixture and parsley in large bowl, adding some of reserved cooking water if necessary to keep moist. Serve immediately with crab cluster. Bon Appetit!

I’m participating in a internet version of the cooking show “Chopped” in a food group I am involved in. The first round mystery ingredients were shrimp, raisins, beer, and Funyons. A soup, salad or an appetizer had to be made. How do you like my submission  for round one?

Sweet & Spicy Pumpkin Soup with Ale-infused Raisins and Funyon-crusted Shrimp
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
dash cayenne
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 tbsp butter
1 can of organic pumpkin
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup lite cream or half and half
1/2 cup pumpkin ale (1 tbsp separated)
2 tbsp golden raisins
2 tbsp peanut oil for frying shrimp
8 large or jumbo shrimp (I only had medium so I’ll use an extra shrimp or 2)
5 large funyons, finely crushed
Sprig of dill & some broken Funyons for garnish

First crush the 5 large Funyons in a mortor & pestle or whatever your method is. Add the chili powder and paprika and mix well. Then sprinkle shrimp with the mixture and discard any extra.
Heat oil on medium high heat and brown shrimp on both sides until golden and set aside.
Bring the ale to boil, then put the raisins in, remove from heat and let it sit for 5 – 10 minutes in the ale, then drain (reserving 1 tbsp of ale) and set on paper towel.
Chop the onions and gently brown with butter in a pan. Add the pumpkin with onions to the pan.
Add the salt, sugar, nutmeg, pepper and raisins and the one tbsp of reserved ale. Slowly add chicken broth and cream; heat thoroughly, but do not boil.Serve and garnish with 3-4 shrimp, broken Funyons, pinch of chili pepper and sprig of dill. Enjoy!

Monkfish

One day while in the market I picked up some wild caught Monkfish, often referred to as “The poor man’s lobster” because the taste and texture are very similar to that of the popular shellfish. It is also referred to as Goosefish, Anglerfish, and Ankoh, but I just call it delicious! The warty brown skin of the Monkfish hides tasty fillets of white meat, and Monkfish liver is considered a delicacy in Japan and Europe and is often used in sushi. I live about 6 blocks from the Atlantic ocean in south Brooklyn, and I often catch another fish similar in appearance to Monkfish called “Sea Robin”.

Sea Robin

Now while I can’t compare these two fish in taste, they look almost identical to each other, except the Monkfish is bigger in size.They both have a hard plate for a head, and wide strong jaws. The only edible portions of the Monkfish are its muscular tail and its liver. The tail meat of the Monkfish is delicious, dense, sweet, and very similar to lobster.

Pan Roasted Monkfish with Scallop Mushroom Sauce

This bottom-dwelling fish was at one time discarded the same way that Sea Robins are discarded when caught accidentally. As other fish populations declined due to overfishing, monkfish began to be marketed as gourmet fare, costing as much as lobster and sometimes even more! I wonder if eventually this will happen with Sea Robins? Local fisherman tell me all the time that Sea Robins are the new “Chicken of the Sea”.

Some years ago when sea robins were plentiful in NYC.

After tasting sea robin, I must say it is not bad, but it is not as tasty as monkfish. I have seen monkfish as high as $22 lb,  but my local market had it on discount $14 lb so I decided to grab up a couple of filets. I also picked up some bay scallops, heavy cream, and portabello mushrooms for a rich sauce, and enjoyed a simply splendid dish. Since then, it has become one of my go-to dishes for clients and dinner parties for friends, I have also tried it multiple ways. So if I were you I would get to my local market and find some monkfish ASAP. Bon Appetit!

Pan-Roasted Monkfish w/Saffron Beurre Blanc, Klondike Rose Potatoes, and Sauteed Spinach.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground chipotle chile powder

32 peeled and deveined large shrimp (about 1 1/2 pounds)

1 teaspoon olive oil

8 (6-inch) white corn tortillas

2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce

1 chopped tomato

1 chopped jalepeno pepper

1 ripe avocado, peeled and cut into 16 slices   Steamed lobster claws (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; add shrimp, tossing to coat. 2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add shrimp mixture to pan; cook 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from heat. 3. Heat tortillas in microwave according to package directions. Place 2 tortillas on each plate; arrange 4-5 shrimp on each tortilla. Top each tortilla with 1/4 cup lettuce,diced tomato,a couple of jalepeno slices, 2 avocado slices, and 1 1/2 tablespoons lime/cilatro cream sauce. Garnish with lobster claws (optional)

Lime/Cilantro sour cream sauce:

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup mayonnaise

3 TBS minced fresh cilantro

Grated zest of 1 lime

1 TBS fresh lime juice

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Refrigerate up to 4 hours until ready to use.

What can I say about French food? It exudes romance and sexiness. But when most of us hear the name of a french dish we think it’s difficult to cook. First of all, I love shrimp, and I love Cognac so the thought of combining the two had me very excited. Then I threw in the creamy Beurre Blanc sauce in all of its buttery goodness, and i had myself a very good dish. When i was gathering up the ingredients for this dish first thing i thought was “wow, a lot of butter is need for this dish!” But once I added it to the sauteed shallots, cream, white wine and lemon juice and with the constant whisking it became a yummy creamy sauce. When i poured it over the shrimp, it was pure heaven. I’m looking forward to experimenting with more french dishes in the future and bring them to you for you to try at home. Bon Appetit!

You will need:

• 1 shallot, chopped
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon heavy cream
• 12 tablespoons cold butter(unsalted is optional)
• 1/16 teaspoon white pepper
• 5 tablespoons butter
• ¾ lb medium shrimp, rinsed and deveined
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons Cognac

To make Beurre Blanc:

Simmer the shallots, white wine, and lemon juice in a small saucepan over low-medium heat for 5-10 minutes, until the mixture is reduced to about 1 tablespoon. Add the cream and bring to just under a simmer. When the first few bubbles rise, turn the heat down very slightly and add the 12 tablespoons of butter, one tablespoon at a time, whisking constantly. Be sure to allow one pat of butter to melt completely before adding the next. Once the butter is fully incorporated, season the beurre blanc sauce with white pepper and set aside.

In a skillet over high heat, melt 5 tablespoons of butter, and then sauté shrimp, turning a few times until cooked through – about 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and season the shrimp with salt. Carefully add the Cognac(it may flame) and stir thoroughly. Spoon the warm beurre blanc sauce over the hot shrimp and serve with side dish of your choice. Enjoy!

Shrimp & Octopus in black pepper bourbon sauce

Ingredients:

1 lb large shrimp shelled & deviened, and patted dry (leave tails if you wish)

1 can of prepared octopus drained   I used fresh octopus, but canned is easier and faster for most home cooks (octopus recipe coming soon)

1/2 onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup bourbon whiskey

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 tablespoon salt

1 cup ketchup

2 tbsp tomato paste

1/3 cup cider vinegar

1-2 tablespoons liquid smoke flavoring

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, or to taste

Directions:

In a large skillet over medium heat, combine the onion, garlic, and whiskey. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Mix in the ground black pepper, salt, ketchup, tomato paste, vinegar, liquid smoke, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and hot pepper sauce. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low, and add shrimp and simmer for 10 minutes, then add canned octopus and simmer 10-15 additional minutes. Remove shrimp and octopus with a slotted spoon and arrange 0n plates. Run sauce through a strainer if you prefer a smoother sauce and drizzle over the shrimp and octopus and garnish with lemon slices. Serve with a refreshing salad or side dish of your choice. Bon Appetit!