This is what I made with the chum chi I bought at the fish market.   I have made this before and we loved it.  This time it was even better because my fish was so fresh!  I got this recipe from my good pal Tyler Florence, it is in his cookbook Eat This Book.  It is a great cookbook, I suggest you buy it.  Maybe if I sell enough of them Tyler will come over and cook for me. 

Pan-Seared Tuna with Avocado

Extra-virgin olive oil
4 (6 oz) blocks of sushi-quality tuna
Kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper
1 recipe Ginger-soy vinaigrette (recipe follows)
2 ripe avocados, halved, pitted, peeled and sliced

Place a large skillet over med-high heat, and coat with 2 counts of olive oil.  Season tuna generously with salt and pepper.  Lay the tuna in the hot oil and sear for 1 minute on each side to form a slight crust.  Pour half of the vinaigrette into the pan to coat the fish.  Remove the fish to plates and serve with the sliced avocado and the remaining vinaigrette drizzled on everything.

 

Ginger Soy Vinaigrette

 1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
1 jalapeno sliced
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
Juice of 4 limes
¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
¼ tsp sugar
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper


Mix all together until well blended.



 
 

 

OH YUM!  Hubby told me if he had been served this in a restaurant, he would go back to that restaurant often. :)

I got this recipe from my friend Staci and have adapted it a little over the years to suit our taste.

EGGPLANT PARMESAN

1 fresh eggplant, peel the purple skin off (you don't have to, you can eat it, I just prefer not to).  Cut into ½ to ¾ inch slices.  Lay out on anything you want, sprinkle with salt on both sides, let rest for about 30 minutes, rinse off the salt after 30 minutes.  (This tenderized your eggplant & makes it less bitter and makes it OH SO much better – you can skip this step if you want, but I would not suggest it)
 2 or 3 eggs
flour
Canola oil
1 jar any pasta sauce you like.  I like Rao’s marinara for my Eggplant Parm, but since they don’t have it here, I made my own.  If you want the recipe, just ask & I will be happy to give it to you, but I know most of my readers just like to open jars and be done with it.
1 12 oz package mozzarella (I like fresh), cut into ¼ inch slices
Parmesan cheese (I like to use ½ parmesan, ½ pecorino romano)

Heat oil in skillet, coat eggplant slices in egg, then dip in flour.  Add to heated oil.  Fry for 1-2 minutes on one side, flip to other.  Eggplant is done when it is a golden brown and you stick your fork in and it is soft.  Drain on paper towel.

 In a single layer put eggplant in a 9x12 pan (or larger).  Put about ¼ cup sauce on top of each eggplant slice, top with a slice of mozzarella cheese, add parmesan cheese to top (as much as you want).  Bake at 350 about 20 minutes or until cheese is nicely melted.

ITALIAN SALAD


 I just threw this together; I was trying to mimic a recipe from my favorite Italian Restaurant, Buca Di Beppos.  If you are ever close to a Buca's, go eat there & have the 1862 Salad.  Ok, so I just went to the website, to find the correct name for the salad, and it is not on the menu...Aughh...I have no idea why they would take this salad off the menu, it is wonderful.  Eat there anyway & order the salad that starts with a year.

Romaine lettuce
Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
Kalamata olives
Pepperoncinis
Red onion
Parmesan cheese, slice with a cheese grater to make large flakes (or just use the packaged stuff if you must)
Pepperoni
Hard salami
Roasted red & yellow peppers, you can buy or roast them yourself

Italian Herb Vinaigrette – Now, you can use store bought, but it won’t be as good.  Take a few minutes to make your own, it is well worth it.

Italian Herb Vinaigrette
¼ cup olive oil
2 TBL red wine vinegar
1 minced garlic clove
1 TBL finely chopped fresh oregano, or ½ TBL dried oregano
2 TSP finely chopped fresh rosemary or 1 TSP dried
1 TBL ground mustard
Salt and pepper to taste

 Mix all ingredients together using a wire whisk.  Viola, you have dressing. See, that wasn’t so hard now was it?




 
 

This recipe is adapted from one of my favorite cook books, Good Friends Great Taste, A Celebration of Life, Food and Friendship which I could not find a link to.  I got this cookbook at one of my favorite little stores in Atchison, Kansas, www.nellhills.com .  If my friend Lara at www.feedyourkids.com were to write I cookbook, this is the type of cookbook I would expect from her. You can buy the book on Amazon, and no, I am not getting paid by any of these companies/people mentioned above. 

 

Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breast
2 TBL olive oil
2-3 garlic cloves
1/3 cup chicken broth
2 green onions
2-3 TBL fresh cilantro
Juice from ½ a lime
½ TSP cayenne pepper (or more if you like it a little more spicy)
¼ TSP ground ginger

Cucumber Sauce

½ cup water
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
1 TBL honey
½ cup pealed and grated cucumber
2 TBL fresh cilantro
3 heads bib lettuce
½ pound bean sprouts

Make sauce and chill while cooking the chicken.  For sauce mix together first 4 ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and cook an additional 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and refrigerate until cool.  While sauce is cooking, grate cucumber.  Add cucumber and cilantro to sauce when cool.  

For chicken, cut into small bite size pieces, heat oil, add garlic and chicken cook for 3-5 minutes.  Add broth and cook over medium heat until most of the liquid has evaporated.  Stir in green onions, cilantro, lime and spices.  Toss to coat.  

To serve, wash and dry your largest lettuce leaves.  Fill leaves with chicken top with bean sprouts and cucumber sauce, fold the lettuce over and eat. 

***The above recipe is how I like to make it, however if you notice there are no bean sprouts and I used iceberg lettuce in the above picture.  That is because the only head of lettuce I was able to find at the time was iceberg.  I can get other lettuce, but only in the bag.  I guess I could have used sesame leaves because they are plentiful here, but I really don't care for them much & I think that would have been way too funky.  For the bean sprouts, I have not seen a bean sprout here. I did just find out about a large Korean grocery store that has tons of fresh fruits and veggies...I can't wait to try it out.