Shrimp with Mustard Lime Dipping Sauce

My friend Craig whom is an excellent cook made this fabulous shrimp for a picnic. I couldn't stop eating them. The shrimp were flavored perfectly and I could have eaten them just as they were, but the dipping sauce was a perfect match. They were possibly the best cold shrimp appetizer I have ever had.

Shrimp Fried Rice

Baby Shrimp Fried Rice

Fried rice is a regular visitor in my kitchen because it’s quick and easy.   In my house fried rice makes it to the table at least once a week and the rice of choice is usually Spam Fried Rice. That’s all good with me, because there’s always leftover rice, eggs in the fridge, peas in the freezer and a can of spam in the cupboard.

Today I'm changing it up and making shrimp fried rice.  Thank goodness I had a bag of bay shrimp in my freezer.  This would be excellent with larger shrimp, but all I had where those little guys.  If you do choose to class-up this humble fried rice with larger shrimp, add them just before you add the rice and cook them just until they are no longer pink. They will finish cooking along with the rice.

Shrimp Stock

Whenever I am cooking with shrimp I always save the shells and tails and toss them in the freezer.  When I have accumulated enough shells from about 2 – 3 pounds of shrimp, it’s time for me to make shrimp stock.

Lomi Lomi Salmon

Lucky me!  Visitors from Hawaii means lau lau’s for me from Young’s Fish Market (my absolute, hands down favorite!) and if I’m really lucky I get a bag of poi too!  So the only thing that’s missing is the Lomi Lomi Salmon and maybe… some Chicken Long Rice.

Bay Shrimp Salad

It’s “Fresh Oregon Shrimp Season”, which started in April and continues through to October.

These baby shrimp are tender and sweet with a light saltines.  They taste so fresh and clean that I find myself picking and eating them right out of the container when I bring them home, which means I need to order at least a quarter pound extra so I will have enough to share.

Crab Louis with Sauce Louis

Dungeness crab season in Oregon starts around the first of December and runs all the way through mid-August.  At my house the first crabs of the season get eaten straight out of the shell (caveman style) with the option of drawn butter (which really isn't necessary), because the crab is so naturally sweet and tender, it really needs nothing more.

Magical Butter Sauce 3 - 2- 1

This was a great find from Jaden at Steamy Kitchen, and I was fortunate to bump into it.

The name magical butter sauce fits this recipe perfectly. All it takes are three basic stand-alone ingredients,

Fresh Wild Ahi Tuna

Sashimi grade Ahi tuna at the Eugene Costco?  Yup, someone on the "inside" must have had a plan for this chunk of gold, but I got hold of it first and I wasn't going to leave without it.  The minute I spotted it I knew that there was going to be some deliciousness in my kitchen tonight.

Baked Salmon with Creamy Dill Sauce

Salmon is always a good choice in my house.  We eat it fried, grilled, steamed, poached, smoked, sashimi-ed, lomi-lomi and baked.  The choices are endless. Salmon is an extremely versatile fish that always cooks up moist and has a mild flavor that blends well with all types of recipes.

Baby Lobster Rolls

I had a sudden hankering for a lobster roll that soon became an obsession.  So much so, that I found myself obsessively surfing the internet to find someone to send me a Main lobster, but the price point quickly took me out of the market.  It was so expensive that it seemed to make more sense to hop on a plane to Maine than have them ship me a lobster which I would just turn into lobster salad.  I couldn’t do it.   All I can say on that subject; is if a Maine lobster showed up at my door, I was going to eat it in its purest form.  Not dressed up.   So that was the end of that.

Spicy Seared Scallop Salad

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I love scallops and was looking for another idea of how to prepare them.  I found this recipe by Cathy Lowe and had to give it a try because it sounded so delicious.  Spicy blacked scallops dotting a bed of mixed greens tossed with creamy mustard vinaigrette.

Shrimp Foo Young

Egg foo young is an American Chinese cuisine that was born in the United States back in the 1930’s by Chinese immigrants catering to the Western taste. It can be found on almost any Chinese restaurant menu and if it isn't, someone could easily scramble you up one in the kitchen if you ask. Egg foo young is not about a recipe as much as a way of cooking a vegetable and meat or seafood filled omelet. It can be served plain or with a sauce, it all depends on who’s cooking.

Sea Bass with Tartar Sauce

Sea bass is my favorite white fish.  It may sound a little kooky but sea bass reminds me of a cross between eating lobster and crab in the form of a fish fillet.  It has a mild flavor with a firm texture which makes me think of lobster and a pull apart feel in your mouth that makes me think of crab.

Baked Fish with Fresh Herbs

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I don't know what got into me today but I was feeling very indecisive.  For example;

When I was at the fish market I couldn’t decide on the salmon, black cod or red snapper so I bought all three.  I had different cooking methods and recipes in mind for each.  That quickly changed when I got to the grocery store and discovered a pack of fresh herbs that were labeled “seafood blend” a combination of thyme, lemon thyme, basil and tarragon.

I contemplated this blend for a moment imagining béarnaise sauce over a steak and not of fish. I began to visualize the flavors of each herb in my head and immediately felt that the tarragon would be too strong for the fish.  But because I was in such an indecisive mood I caved in and tossed it in my basket thinking, “Why would they package this blend if it wasn’t going to be delicious on seafood?”

I should have gone with my first instinct and passed on the tarragon.  It just goes to show that you should never shop when you’re hungry or indecisive. 

The tarragon overpowered the fish and by blending it together with the other herbs, it not only overwhelmed the fish, it also disguised the other herbs as if they were not there.  So don’t get fooled like me.  The next time I make herbed fish, the tarragon will definitely get the axe.

There are so many fresh herbs that work wonderfully with fish.  So keep this list in mind when you are making fish and stay away from tarragon.  Thyme, basil, dill, parsley, chives or oregano but definitely not tarragon.  Mix and match and remember a little goes a long way.

BAKED FISH WITH FRESH HERBS

2 – 3    fillets              salmon, mild firm white fish like halibut, mahi mahi or red snapper

1          Tbsp.               olive oil or butter

1          cloves             garlic, minced

¼         tsp.                  kosher salt

pinch                           black pepper

pinch                           red pepper flakes

                                     fresh herbs, thyme, basil, dill, parsley and chives.

                                     fresh lemon juice

Chop the fresh herbs.

Brush your fish with the olive oil or butter and sprinkle with salt, peppers, garlic and fresh herbs.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes or until it is cooked through.

Place fish on a serving dish and squeeze with lemon juice.

Albertson's Shrimp

This recipe comes from Jean Watanabe Hee’s cookbook, Hawaii’s Best Local Dishes and is named Mimi’s Shrimp.  My family refers to it as Albertson’s Shrimp.

Red Snapper Dore

This was the first way that I learned how to cook fish.  I always referred to it as fillet of fish dipped in egg.  Until my husband (boyfriend at the time) said to me as I was making it for him one night, “Oh you mean dore”?  Definitely less wordy so I have use it ever since.

Tartar Sauce

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Everyone has their personal preference as to what makes a good tartare sauce.  Add capers, mustard, wasabi, dill weed, green olives, cooked eggs.  None of that fancy stuff for me!

I love the old stand by tartare sauce with a thick body and a hint of different subtle layers of flavor in the background.  All blending together to compliment rather than overpower.

Cocktail Sauce

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Party idea… shrimp cocktail on a stick.

Years ago when we were in New Orleans my husband and I tracked down an oyster restaurant that was known for their fresh oysters. Even though I can’t seem to remember their name I will never forget the experience.  That’s where we got schooled on cocktail sauce.

Kono's Salmon Picatta

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Kono makes a wonderfully easy picatta sauce that he uses to cook with chicken or fish.  I have never bothered to make it myself because it is one of Kono’s specialties and he does it perfectly. 

Poached Salmon Chinese Style

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Living in the North West has taught me to cook and eat a lot of fresh salmon. The best part about salmon is that it is such a versatile fish that can be dressed up in more ways than you can count. Salmon is a light and flaky fish with a high fat content that helps to retain its moistness and is incredibly forgiving to the cook.