Saffron & Cognac Shrimp Bisque

My family knows by now that when they travel abroad the only thing I want is a spice, their choice, from where ever they went.

My daughter Eryka went on a European cruise several years ago and she brought me a beautiful assortment of spices from Tunis. A truffle and olive oil from Italy. Saffron from Spain. To say I was is heaven is an understatement.

Recently, my brother Eddie, who I affectionately call Mr. Ed, traveled to Spain.  Of course, he knew exactly what I wanted ... saffron. And that is what he got me. Thank you Mr. Ed!

Those beautiful, fiery, orange-red threads inspired this recipe.  The intensely flavored stock is made from the shells of the shrimp. The bisque gets its rich velvety texture from cream. And the warm deep flavor of the cognac adds that extra depth of flavor to the bisque. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

• 1 lb. of shrimp, peeled and deveined.  Set peel and tails aside. Discard veins.
• 1 quart seafood stock
• 2 shallots, cut in half, leave skin on
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 5-6 shallots finely diced
• 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• Shrimp
• 1/4 cognac
• 1/4 cup dry sherry
• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 1/4 flour (all-purpose)
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 teaspoon saffron threads
• Salt and pepper, taste
• Pinch of nutmeg
• Italian flat leaf parsley, palm full, chopped

1. To a 5 quart stock pot add shrimp peel, tails, shallots and the stock. Bring to a boil and simmer 20 minutes. 
2. Strain thru a fine colander and discard shallots, peel and tails. Set aside stock.
3. Heat olive oil in a heavy bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Add diced shallots, cook 10 - 12 minutes, stir often. Do not brown, you just want them very soft. 
4. Add garlic and 1 minute, stirring during cooking time
5. Add cayenne and shrimp, cook for 3 minutes. Stir often
6. Pour in cognac and sherry, stir to incorporate and cook 3-4 minutes over medium-low heat
7. Remove shrimp and shallots from pan. Rough chop the shrimp, reserve about 1/3 cup of the chopped shrimp.
8. Using the same pot, add butter allow to melt over medium low heat then add flour, stir 2 minutes. 
9. Stir in cream, half and half nutmeg and saffron. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly till  almost thickened.
10. Add shallots, shrimp and stock, stir through and cook until thickened.  
11. Using either an immersion blender stick or a regular blender, blend through until smooth and creamy.

To serve ladle each bowl with soup,  and then equally divide the reserved 1/3 cup shrimp and spoon over top of each bowl, sprinkle with parsley.

Serve with warm bread of choice, a light salad and your favorite wine. Cheers!

Easy 3-Course Valentine's Dinner

I am not fond of going out to dinner on Valentine's Day. The restaurants are crowded, the service is lacking and the food generally atrocious. I'd rather make a delicious dinner at home that I know we will enjoy more. Today I am sharing a 3-course dinner that is high on the flavor barometer and low on the fuss, a beautifully light pea soup, a parchment baked fish and yummy nutella and banana pastry bundles. If you do some of the prep work ahead of time (like chopping or slicing the veggies etc), it will all come together in about 30 minutes. The soup you can make ahead of time and keep it in the fridge for a day or two. You can even make it at the beginning of week and freeze it till you are ready to serve it, just defrost it and gently warm through. 

I hope you and your loved one have a beautiful Valentine's celebration!

First Course

Spring Pea Soup

Serves 2

1 cup frozen peas, defrosted

1/2 tablespoon canola oil

1/2 tablespoon light butter

3 - 4 shallots, small dice

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 garlic gloves, crushed

5-6 leaves fresh basil, finely chopped

1 tablespoon fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

1 cup vegetable stock

1/2 cup milk (use your preference, whole, 2%, skim etc)

1/2 cup half and half

In a medium stainless steel pot heat the oil and butter over medium heat and add shallots, sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt, saute for 3 minutes. Next add garlic gloves, basil and parsley, cook for another 2 minutes and add stock and the peas. Cover and cook over medium low heat for 5-7 minutes.

Using either a blender or immersion stick blender, process until smooth. Stir in milk and half & half, heat through but do not boil. Add remaining salt or season to taste.

Serve with a dollop of crème fraîche or sour cream.

Second Course

Lemon & Paprika Infused Parchment Roasted Grouper

1/8 cup of olive oil

1/2  teaspoon of minced garlic

Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon

1/2 teaspoon honey

1 teaspoon of smoked paprika (sweet or hot your choice)

3 shallots*, sliced into rings

2 fish fillets* - use your favorite firm whitefish -  I used grouper

Salt

Pepper

Place the first 5 ingredients into a medium bowl. Whisk together until ingredients are incorporated. Add the sliced shallots rings. Let sit for 15 minutes or a few hours (you can even prep this part the night before).

Pre-heat oven at 350 degrees F

Cut two sheets of parchment* enough to create an envelope around the fish. Pat fish dry. Salt and pepper both sides to taste and place in the bottom half of the sheet. Place shallots ring atop each fish fillets and spoon marinade over each fillet. Like you would for an empanada or hand-pie make a pouch with the parchment to enclose the fish.  Place pouches on a lipped baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes or 15 minutes per inch of thickness if you are using a thicker cut of fish.

Third Course

Banana and Nutella Pastry Bundles

1 puff pastry sheet, thawed

1 banana, sliced in 1/2 inch pieces, 9 pieces total

9 teaspoons of Nutella

1 egg, beaten

1. Thaw the puff pastry until you can easy handle it. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Lightly flour your work surface and place your puff pastry down to cut it into 9 squares (remember do not worry about being perfect, it's ok!).

3. In each square, place a teaspoon of nutella topped by the banana slice. Brush the egg along each edge. Take each opposite corner and press tightly together. Repeat to all pastry pieces.

4. Place the pastries on a baking sheet and brush all over with the egg for the extra golden color when baking. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden in color.

5. Place on a cooling rack when done for about 5 minutes

Fish & Green Beans in a Pesto Wine Sauce

I am always looking for meals that cook up relatively fast, especially if it's a weeknight when I get home from a run, after work ... which means it's really late.

I came up with this recipe, as many of my quick to make recipes are developed ... it's what I had in the fridge or freezer.  In this case in both of the aforementioned appliances!

Dashing from one appliance to the other I found some fish in the freezer, a few shallots in the veggie basket, from the fridge, the last of the green beans from my trip to farmer's market, left over white wine and my homemade Quick and Easy Roasted Walnut Pesto.

This recipe truly is a quick, easy any night of the week recipe, but it is especially great on busy weeknights.  It's cooks up in about 15 minutes.  It's a light, flavorful
and the quick cooking method produces an exceptionally tender fish and crisp green beans.

• 4 white fish fillets - (1 pound) such as cod, haddock, monkfish, halibut
• 1 small bunch of green beans (about 2 hand fulls)
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 large shallots, sliced
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon butter, cut into cubes
• 1 generous tablespoon Pesto* (get the recipe for my Quick & Easy Roasted Walnut Pesto)
• 1/4 cup white wine

1. Steam green beans with a sprinkle of water in your microwave for 3 minutes or blanch for 1 minute in boiling water, remove and place in ice water. Set aside.
2. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, add a 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and shallots. Cook for 5-7 minutes on medium low heat until the shallots begin to caramelize.
3. Pat fish dry with paper towel and salt and pepper each side of your fish.
4. Once shallots are cooked push to the outer edges of your pan, raise heat to medium and add the cubed butter and remaining oil. 
5. Gently add the fish in one layer and saute each side until lightly golden (not looking for a char here)
6. Pour 1/4 cup white wine into a measuring cup and add pesto, stir to incorporate.
7. Add steamed green beans to pan lay over fish.
8. Pour pesto-wine mixture over fish and green beens making certain that all pieces are covered.
9. Cover and let cook for 5 minutes.
10. Remove pan from heat to stop cooking. Serve.

Serve with a buttered rice pilaf or orzo and a crisp white wine.  ENJOY!

Recipe Notes: *You can also use store bought pesto if you don't have the ingredients on hand to make it from scratch.

Tuna & Garbanzo Hash

Sometimes I am very organized and I plan out the entire dinner menu for the coming week. I take an hour on Sunday afternoon and do as much prep work as I can so that dinner doesn't turn into a work week hassle.

And then there are times when no planning is done, no prep work gets done and I spend the week jumping through self-induced hoops to figure out what meal is going to make it to the dinner table.

On those occasions, I reach for one of my favorite "go to" meals. I usually have all the ingredients in the pantry to make Tuna & Garbanzo Hash. Normally when you see the word "hash" in a recipe you are expecting a potato to be in there somewhere.  In this case I substituted the potato with garbanzo beans (a.k.a. chick peas) to make this hash.

The flavors of this meal are influenced by sweet, smokey Spanish paprika, briny capers and black olives, garlic, the zing of a lemon and are reminiscent of Spanish and Mediterranean food. 
Best of all - it comes together in under 30 minutes. Enjoy!

• 15-16 oz of canned, tinned or pouch tuna* (preferably Spanish tuna packed in olive oil)
• 1 - 15 oz can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large vidalia or Spanish onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2-4 mini sweet peppers, diced 
• 2 large carrots, diced 1/4"
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1  heaping tablespoon smoked sweet paprika
• 2 teaspoons of capers + 1 teaspoon brine
• 1/4 cup sliced black olives
• Zest and juice of one lemon
• 1/2 cup sherry or white wine

1. Heat a stainless steel skillet  pan over moderate heat
2. Add oil, onions, garlic, peppers, carrots and a light sprinkle of salt. 
3. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until the onions have softened.  
4. Incorporate tomato paste, paprika, and garbanzo beans, stir well to blend, cook for 5 minutes over medium low heat. 
5. Raise heat to medium high and add remaining ingredients, and bring to a bubbling simmer Lower heat and add in tuna, gently stirring to incorporate. 
6. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes to allow ingredients and flavors to meld.

SERVE:
Sprinkle with a light dusting of sweet smoked paprika, top with a few strands of lemon zest and a squeeze of a lemon wedge, serve with white rice or on thinly sliced toasted french bread and chilled white wine.

*Recipe Tip: Whenever I can splurge a little I use Spanish tuna, that comes packed 
in olive oil. The flavor is far superior to the tuna that lines our supermarket shelves, if you have the opportunity to splurge a little, give it a shot.

Lemon-Sage Tuna Steaks

Lately, The Hub and I are "trying" to eat in a mindful manner.

Not exactly a "diet" but more of an awareness of how much we eat (less) of certain body expanding and detrimental foods.

We are eating healthier proteins like fish, other sea-foods, chicken and leaner cuts of pork and "trying" (there's that word again) to  limit our beef consumption to once a week. Easy for me, much harder for The Hub. Why? He's Nicaraguan and in Nicaragua beef is king.

We are also attempting to reduce our ("unhealthy") carb intake.  Attempting ... haha. This is hard for both of us. I am convinced we are genetically hard-wired to consume vast amounts of rice with each and every meal. Yes, sometimes even breakfast!

But we are striving, churning towards "trying" and "attempting" and because of this I put together this recipe for yummy Lemon-Sage Tuna Steaks. Yes it has butter, but it's just  a touch of butter, and of course a splash of white wine. Wine, I hear, is good for the heart.

What did The Hub think of the Tuna Steaks? His typical reply "this **** is good!".
That's always an honor.

Serves 2 - 4

4 tuna steaks
Kosher salt
Pepper
Onion powder
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium lemon - zested and juiced
1/4 cup white wine
5 fresh large sage leaves

1. Season each side of the tuna steaks with salt, pepper and onion powder to taste.
2. To a large flat bottomed skillet or grill pan, over low heat, add the oil and butter. 
3. Once butter melts, add the lemon zest and slowly cook to infuse the flavor into the oil about 2 minutes. The edges of the lemon should start to caramelize.
4. Increase the heat to medium and add the sage leaves to crisp up. Once crisped remove sage and lemon zests from oil, set aside and allow to drain on paper towel.
5. Crank up the heat of the pan and once sizzling add tuna steaks. Cook, per side for 1 to 1/2 minutes for medium rare center, 2 minutes for medium center, 3+ minutes to cook through. Remove from pan at desired doneness and set aside.
6. Remove all but one tablespoon of oil/butter from the pan. Deglaze with lemon juice and white wine. Allow to reduce by half, remove from heat.

To serve, place tuna steak on plate, spoon lemon-sage wine reduction sauce over each steak and sprinkle with lemon zest and crisped sage over top of each steak.

Serve with roasted vegetables and a glass of white wine. ENJOY!

Weekly Recipe Round-Up March 3-7, 2014

This was a big week at 
The Fork Ran Away with the Spoon as we celebrated our Food Blog's One Year Anniversary. We've posted over 180 recipes and are looking forward to posting many more in the new year.  Having the support and kind words, likes and shares from our followers and fellow food blogger has made it all worth while, especially at moments when we wondered if it was worth it. And you know what? It sure is! Thank you all for your continued support!

Don't forget to spring forward this weekend as we catapult into daylight savings time in the U.S. I for one am happy about the time change.  It's been really hard to go out running because by the time I get home from work it's late and it's dark. I am not a good night time runner, not to mention that the park I run at has lights off by sundown. The time change also means I have time to photograph my recipes with natural lighting and that alone is good reason enough! I think this week may be the last of the "cold" weather in South Florida and that I will miss dearly but as the famous philosopher Jagger once said "... you get what you need". 

This week's Recipe of the Week was featured on Wednesdays with Eryka, Caramelized Ginger Chicken.  It had the most shares, pageviews and likes from our awesome followers and for that we Thank You!  Here's a look back at what was cooking in the kitchens of The Fork Ran Away with the Spoon this past week.

Featured on Monday:


Red Curry & Coconut Lentil Soup

This is an easy to prep and cook soup that's perfects for weeknight meals. It's vegetarian, spicy, thick, rich in flavor yet light. Loaded with carrots and potatoes, fiber rich red lentils and lots of warm spices.  Makes a big batch, enough for two meals, so you can eat one, freeze one.




Featured on Wednesdays with Eryka:

Caramelized Ginger Chicken

The chicken is seared over high heat then simmered in a rich sauce of ginger, soy, shallots and garlic. Truly delicious!

Featured on Friday:

Zarzuela de Marisco - Spanish Seafood Stew

The perfect quintessential classic Spanish meal. The mix of various seafood is simmered in a sauce that is first infused with tomatoes, onions, peppers, lots of garlic and of course saffron, then thickened with ground almonds and enriched with seafood stock and sherry. Finally it is quickly flambe'd with brandy and sprinkled with parsley.

Zarzuela de Marisco - Spanish Seafood Stew

One of the dishes that I enjoy having at local Spanish restaurants and on the trips I've made to Spain is Zarzuela de Marisco (zar-zoo-ella de ma-reese-co). Basically, a Spanish Seafood Stew. It's what I consider the perfect quintessential classic Spanish meal. It' warm and hearty and simply delicious. What I love about this recipe is that you use small amounts of seafood to make the whole, so it really isn't as expensive as it may seem at first. The sauce is what makes this dish so special, you simmer tomatoes, onions, peppers, saffron and lots of garlic, then add in ground almonds to thicken the sauce, seafood stock and sherry or wine. The seafood is cooked till just done to keep everything tender.  My favorite part is dipping big pieces of bread into the sauce and scooping out a piece of shrimp and just chowing down. Really, if you have bread, you don't need utensils! 

Serves 4-6

2 -3 fish fillets (get a variety such as snapper, sea bass, mahi) cut into thick chunks
1 pound mussels
1 1/2 pound large shrimp (deveined and peeled - save the peel)
1/2 pound baby octopus, cleaned and cut down (save any cutaway parts)
1/2 pound calamari rings - sliced in thick rings
1/2 large scallops
2 small lobster tails, (shell removed - save shell)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 large onion chopped/diced
2 bell peppers (get  1 red, 1 green) diced
5 - 7 cloves garlic minced
4 large tomatoes chopped or 2 - 14.5 oz cans fire-roasted tomatoes
1/2 cup ground almond
2-3 bay leaf
A pinch of saffron
Salt & pepper - to taste
1 cup cup sherry or white wine
1 1/2 cups seafood stock*
1/4 cup brandy or rum
2 to 3 tablespoons parsley, chopped

• Heat a large heavy bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add oil, onions, peppers and garlic. Saute 5-7 minutes or until vegetables are translucent. Lower heat if needed.
• Stir in tomatoes, almonds, bay leaf, saffron, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer on low for 15 minutes. Sauce will be thick.
• Add sherry/wine and stock, stir, bring back up to a boil, then lower heat to low and continue to simmer for 15 minutes.
• Add in all the fish and seafood, cover and cook for 10 minutes or until cooked through. Make sure to NOT overcook.
• Add brandy, and light with a match.  Be sure to take off heat if cooking on gas stove. Let the flames die down.
• Taste, adjust seasonings, sprinkle parsley over top and gently stir through.

Serve with a big generous loaf of crusty bread, or serve over white rice and a good crisp, dry white wine.

*Recipe Notes: You can make your own seafood stock by using all the shells from the seafood and the trimmings from the onions, garlic and bell peppers. Place them in 3 cups of water, bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer for about 45 minutes. Use in the recipe or freeze for use at another time.

Weekly Recipe Round-Up - Valentine's Week

It was Valentine's Day week and that meant celebrating with food and romance at The Fork Ran Away with the Spoon. Monday started with a 3-course dinner, Wednesday a classic (think Lady and the Tramp) spaghetti and seared chicken and the grand finale on Friday, a decadent chocolate cheesecake. The best part is you don't have to wait till next Valentine's to make these great recipes, you can stir up romance and a romantic dinner any day. We hope you had a great week and an even sweeter Valentine's.

This week's Recipe of the Week was our Easy 3-Course Valentine's Dinner.  It had the most shares, page views/likes by our awesome followers and for that we Thank You!  Here's a look back at what was cooking in the kitchens of The Fork Ran Away with the Spoon this past week.

Featured on Monday:

Easy 3-Course Valentine's Dinner

An easy 3-course Valentine's dinner that is high on the flavor barometer and low on the fuss, a beautifully light pea soup, a parchment baked fish and yummy nutella and banana pastry bundles.And best of all it will all come together in about 30 minutes.

Featured on Wednesdays with Eryka:

Tomato-Basil Spaghetti & Seared Chicken

Is there anything more classically romantic than a simple Spaghetti dinner on Valentine's day? Today we are featuring and recommending Tomato-Basil Spaghetti & Seared Chicken for your Valentine's dinner!  

Featured on Friday:

Rich & Creamy Chocolate Cheesecake

After your Valentine's Dinner, make sure you save room for Eryka's Rich & Cream Chocolate Cheesecake. It's luscious, creamy and yes, just a little decadent.

Weekly Recipe Round-up January 20-24, 2014

It was a week of soups and stews at The Fork Ran Away with the Spoon. Temperatures dropped into the low 40s and high 30s in South Florida. This called for a lot of warm and homey comfort food and coincidentally they all seemed to have a Spanish/Latin flair too! 

This week's Recipe of the Week was featured on Wednesdays with Eryka, Cuban Meat & Potato Stew, a.k.a. Carne con Papa.  It had the most shares, over 200 and pageviews/likes, over 2,500, by our awesome followers and for that we Thank You!  Here's a look back at what was cooking in the kitchens of The Fork Ran Away with the Spoon this past week.

Featured on Monday:

Jax's Chili

Jax's Chili is a chili I've been making for years and has become one of my favorite go-to recipes once the temperatures dip. Using cachucha peppers, red chilies, 3 different types of beans and cocoa powder, the stage is set for the ultimate comfort food. Can be made stove top or in slow cooker I cover both methods in this recipe.

Featured on Wednesdays with Eryka:

Cuban Meat & Potato Stew - Carne con Papa

In *Cuban Meat & Potato Stew* (a.k.a. *Carne con Papa*) the meat and potatoes are simmered in wine, tomato sauce, garlic and paprika,is a big family favorite. Served with steaming white rice and fried green or sweet plantains  makes it *a classic Cuban Sunday dinner*.

Featured on Friday:

Iberian-Inspired Chorizo, Cod and Chickpea Stew

My recipe for Iberian-Inspired Chorizo, Cod and Chickpea Stew is rich, warm and spicy. This tomato based stew brings together the flavors of paprika rich Spanish chorizo, cod fish and chickpeas. Perfect cold weather soup!

Weekly Recipe Round-up January 13-17, 2014

Temperatures really dipped in South Florida this week, low 40s and high 30s in my neck of the woods.  I covered up all veggies and pepper plants because I've put a lot of work into that garden and I sure wasn't going to let a little frost ruin my beautiful crops. I was able to get out on the pavement and run about 8-9 miles this week and that really felt good, cold and all and after each run a really good meal was waiting for me when I got home.  I just LOVE my slow cooker. This was perfect soup and comfort food weather and that's what we featured this week at The Fork Ran Away with the Spoon.


This week's Recipe of the Week was Lemon & Paprika Infused Parchment Roasted Grouper.  It had the most shares and likes by our awesome followers and for that we Thank You!  Here's a look back at what was cooking in the kitchens of The Fork Ran Away with the Spoon this past week.

Featured on Monday:

Lemon & Paprika Infused Parchment Roasted Grouper

One of my favorite way to cook fish is in parchment. If you have never tried it ... you are in for a treat! Why cook in parchment? First, it guarantees a super moist and delicious fish. Second, there is virtually no clean-up of pans. The infusion of paprika, lemon and garlic is one of my favorites for many recipes but with fish it is simply divine.

Featured on Wednesdays with Eryka:

Juicy Soy Sauce Dinner Burger Patties

It's Wednesday with Eryka at +The Fork Ran Away with the Spoon and today we are featuring *Juicy Soy Sauce Dinner Burger Patties*. These dinner patties are bursting with flavor and most importantly super juicy!

Featured on Friday:

Slow Cooker Hearty Red Beans and Ham Soup

Hearty Red Bean & Ham Soup is loaded with lots of onions, peppers, garlic,rich stock and ham as it simmers away in the slow cooker.

Lemon & Paprika Infused Parchment Roasted Grouper

One of my favorite way to cook fish is in parchment. If you have never tried it ... you are in for a treat! Why cook in parchment? First, and foremost, it guarantees a super moist and delicious fish. Second, there is virtually no clean-up of pans. I really don't like washing pans, and no I don't have a dishwasher, I never have. I have a small kitchen and a dishwasher uses precious space that I'd rather use for more kitchen stuff.
Anyway, back to the fish! The infusion of paprika, lemon and garlic is one of my favorites for many recipes but with fish it is simply divine.  I like to soak the shallot rings in it to take any bitterness out and even slightly soften the shallots, so that you aren't biting into a raw shallot once the fish is cooked. The small amount of honey, yes honey, rounds and evens out the flavors of the other ingredients. The fun part is cutting into the parchment and before you taste it, you get the yummy aroma wafting up into the air. Did I just write "wafting"? That's too funny, clearly I am getting carried away! But that just shows how enthusiastic I am about this recipe. Simply put, it's just damn good! It has the Hubs seal of approval, in fact, between bites or should I say when he would come up for air, he was quite complimentary.

Serves 4

1/8 cup of olive oil
1/2 - 1 teaspoon of minced garlic
Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika (sweet or hot your choice)
4 fish fillets* - use your favorite firm whitefish -  I used grouper
3-4 shallots*, sliced into rings
Salt
Pepper

Place the first 5 ingredients into a medium bowl. Whisk together until ingredients are incorporated. Add the sliced shallots rings. Let sit for 15 minutes or a few hours.

Pre-heat oven at 350 degrees F

Cut four sheets of parchment*. Pat fish dry. Salt and pepper both sides to taste and place in the bottom half of the sheet. Place shallots ring atop each fish fillets and spoon marinade over each fillet. Like you would for an empanada or hand-pie make a pouch with the parchment to enclose the fish.  Place pouches on a lipped baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes or 15 minutes per inch of thickness if you are using a thicker cut of fish.

Serve with steamed vegetables and your favorite glass or two of wine for a light meal. Enjoy!

Recipes Notes:
Type of firm white fish I recommend are grouper, snapper, orange roughy or mahi-mahi. But this method is great with just about any fish.
If you don't have shallots use small red or yellow onions or even leeks.
If you don't have parchment, you can use foil.

Spicy Coconut Curry Grilled Shrimp

A Two for Tuesday Recipe 

The last few weeks of extended daylight are within reach, which means I won't be using the outdoor grill as often during the weekdays. By now you probably know that we love curry, coconut and Thai chilies and what better way to use these beautiful and fiery spices and ingredients than with grilled shrimp! A little time to marinate, a few skewers, a scorching hot grill and you are on your way to the most delectable shrimp dish my Spicy Coconut Curry Grilled Shrimp. I love pairing this with sliced avocado wedges and a squeeze of lime.

Serves 2 - 4

1 pound of large shrimp, peeled* and deveined
1 tablespoon coconut milk solid
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon of cumin
1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
1-3 Thai chilies (or to taste) finely minced
2 tablespoons of finely grated ginger root
1 tablespoons of minced cilantro
4 tablespoons of toasted coconut flakes
1 lime cut into 8 wedges
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper