Grilled Mahi Mahi Fillets and Asparagus with Orange and Sesame

WOW is has been waaaaaaaaaaaaay too long since I posted. I apologize for that. I have been working on recipes and getting my other blog Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen off the ground and going well. But you all know my first love is Rachael and her recipes right? I  have been thinking a lot about it, really I have.

Tuesday I had a Dr's appointment and I realized I had gotten out of the house without my shopping list so I could pick up the ingredients for my next Rachael recipe for you all. Even though the store I needed to go to was all the way on the other side of town, and my house is somewhat in the middle, I just didn't feel like driving back home. So off to the store I go with an idea in the back of my little brain.

I have this free app on my iPhone that is for Food Network. I got my shopping cart, whipped out my phone, and started searching. The planets must have aligned or it was fate or whatever you want to call it, but I went to the recipe section and clicked on the "Main Dish" tab up pops a few recipes. I had been really wanting to cook fish so I thought wellllll maybe I will just grab a fish recipe now and then come back out tomorrow to get the things I need to make a Rachael recipe. The first fish recipe that came up was this one and it sounded really good. Although I had never cooked Mahi Mahi I was feeling adventurous and like I said I really wanted fish. I clicked on the recipe and SURPRISE it was a Rachael Ray recipe! YAY I did the happy dance. People looked at me strange but since I was close to the pharmacy the must have figured "Aww poor girl needs her meds".

The next thing that happened that made me know this was meant to be was when I got to the fish counter and asked for Mahi Mahi. I couldn't see any and was beginning to feel bummed that I would have to substitute another fish or look for another recipe. WALA the fish girl pulls out 5 fillets DING DING DING I needed exactly 5 fillets! OK so maybe I get excited about strange things but this had me very very happy. She wrapped up my little beauties and, since I had already picked up everything else, I made my mad dash for the checkout and scooted home with my treasures.

Once I got home and began getting things ready to go a bit of panic set in. Mahi Mahi is a firm white fish. I could tell by the feel of it that it would be very dry if I over cooked it. If you have ever had over cooked Swordfish you will know what my fear was. But I told myself that I have gotten very good at cooking fish by sight and knew I just needed to keep an eye on it.

Kevin helped me get all the veggies prepped and I got the fish in the marinade. I didn't heat the pan as quickly as she said to because it said to preheat it before the fish was even in the marinade. So I waited and preheated it as the fish was ready to come out.

There is a lot of ginger in the recipe and I was worried that Kevin wouldn't like it because he really dislikes ginger. When we go for sushi I like to torment him by eating the pickled ginger and then trying to get him to kiss me. I am bad, I know.

I have to say that this recipe rated, out of the 5 people that ate it, well lets see, Jessi gave me a two thumbs up and a toe up, she said it would have been 2 toes up but she was sitting on her other leg. Seth barely made a positive ID check on his, Kevin's son Dylan was all smiles, and Kevin said he loved the orange with it even though he had thought he wouldn't. Everyone agreed that this one was a keeper and we wanted to have it again.

So I think that pretty much sums it all up. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!!

Again, not the best picture but trust me you will love love LOVE this one!!

Grilled Mahi Mahi Fillets and Asparagus with Orange and Sesame

4 portions, 6 to 8 ounces each, Mahi Mahi fillets

salt and pepper

2 limes, juiced

3 tablespoons dark Tamari soy sauce

2 inches fresh ginger root, grated, about 1 1/2 tablespoons

1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil

20 blades fresh chives, chopped, or 3 scallions, thinly sliced

For the asparagus:

1 to 1 1/4 pounds asparagus

2 navel oranges

1 inch fresh ginger root

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Preheat grill pan over medium-high to high heat. Season mahi mahi with salt and pepper. Combine the Tamari, lime juice, fresh ginger, and a little vegetable or canola oil in a shallow dish. Turn the mahi mahi in the citrus soy marinade and let it hang out for about 10 minutes. Grill on grill pan for about 6 minutes per side for 1 inch thick fillets. Or until fish is firm and opaque.

Take one spear of asparagus and hold it at each end. Bend it until it snaps and breaks. Use this spear as the guide as to where to trim the ends of your bundle of spears. Using a vegetable peeler to cut long thin strips of zest from the oranges. Cut the ends off the zested oranges and stand them up on the cutting board. Remove the pith with a sharp knife cutting down from the top of the orange. Discard pith. When the oranges are both peeled and trimmed turn them on their sides and cut them into 1/4 inch disks. Set the disks aside. In a skillet with a lid, bring 1 inch of water to a boil with the zests of the oranges and the grated fresh ginger root. Allow the zest and ginger to simmer for at least 1 minute then add salt and asparagus spears. Simmer the spears 3 to 5 minutes, until just tender. Drain the asparagus. Discard the orange zest and ginger. Assemble a few spears on each plate layering them back and forth, crisscrossing the spears over orange slices. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the asparagus and oranges and top with one portion of the grilled mahi mahi. Garnish the assembled fish with the chopped chives or thinly sliced scallion.

Serves 4

Halibut Soup or just call it Epic Yumminess in a bowl!!

Kevin and I got back from Vegas on Friday but I didn't cook until last night. It seems we are much older than we obviously thought we were and we required a rest from our vacation. Seriously it was bed, hot tub, and TV for this girl all weekend long!


Monday comes along and I realize that I have taken a week off from my duties and I dove right back into the book trying to find some goodies for us this week. I was sooooo excited to find this recipe! Halibut is one of my all time faves PLUS it was on sale (thank goodness) this week, so my pound and a half didn't cost me an arm and a leg.


Yesterday morning I had to take Jessi to have a lump removed from her left thumb so that took up much of the morning. I left there at 10:15 with a guarantee from the nurse that Jessi would not be ready to be picked up from her surgery for at least 2 to 3 hours. I rushed home to make my shopping list and hit the road hoping to get my shopping done before I had to pick up my girl. No such luck, I got the call as I was getting some gas on the way to the grocery store. I told them I would be right there. Once I got there and got Jessi loaded up in the car I asked her if she felt up to going shopping with me or if she felt too woozy and just wanted to go home. The trooper that she is said she would be fine. Once we got to the store she asked me if she could drive one of the little carts. I don't know what possessed me to think it would be safer for a person coming off of anesthesia to drive something rather than walking, but at the time it sounded right. An hour later and several bruises on the back of  my legs I began to question my logic. But at  least the only thing she ran over was me. The reason I am telling you all of this is to attempt an excuse for again not having everything I needed for the recipe.....did it work?


Yes I really think I am somehow a bit recipe challenged, but I thought I would point out how crazy my morning was to show that my little scattered brain was much more scattered than usual. When I got settled down and ready to cook I realized I somehow completely overlooked the fact that the recipe clearly called for 1 medium zucchini and the juice of one lime *sigh* I thought "Here we go again"!


Luckily for me this is an AMAZING recipe. Do I think the zucchini and lime juice would have made it better? Sure, but don't worry, even without them this one is so yummy you won't care.


Last night was recipe #55 Halibut Soup. I again fell short of my duties by forgetting to take a picture. I could smack myself because it looked so good in the pot and in the bowl. But I had Seth and Melissa over and they both got their bowls and were going on and on about how good it was that I just flat forgot what I was doing and jumped right in to get my bowl too. 


Minus the missing pieces of the recipe, this is how it went. I did use double what it called for in garlic, but my cloves were so small I felt it needed more. I also cooked my veggies for about double the time it called for and covered the pot to help sweat them down. I wanted to make sure the veggies were good and soft. I pretty much just poached the fish in the hot soup broth, I never brought it back up to a simmer after I put the fish in. I left it on low (#2 on my stove dial) and put the lid back on it for the 5 minutes. The good thing about cooking it this way is that the fish won't over cook. Kevin was doing yard work and I wanted the soup to be ready for him as soon as he got in but not over done. It was perfect. Even little Miss Picky said the fish was cooked perfectly. Oh and she said to say she gave the recipe 1 1/2 thumbs up since the bandage kept her from using her thumb. She is a nut!


I used andouille sausage instead of the chorizo and I didn't remove the casings. Why you ask? Well the darn things just wouldn't come off! I also thought that the andouille would add a bit more spice and I was right. With the andouille and the poblano pepper it was at a nice spice level but not too spicy. I added about 2 cups more chicken stock and I used both the parsley and the cilantro. Plus I used a bit of lemon juice in place of the lime. Like I said, it wasn't perfect, at least in my mind, since I didn't have all of the ingredients. But everyone else said they loved it just the way it was. We all agreed this one is a keeper, and you can bet next time I will remember to pick up ALL of the ingredients!


Oh, make sure and get some nice crusty bread to mop up all that yummy broth!!




Halibut Soup


Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons EVOO
• 1/2 pound chorizo or andouille sausage
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, then sliced into half moons
• 1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup dry white wine (3 or 4 glugs)
• 1 quart chicken stock (I used a quart and a half))
• 1 15 ounce can of hominy (I used the white hominy)
• 1 1/2 pounds fresh halibut, cut into two inch chunks
• 1 medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise, then sliced into half moons
• 1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley leave (a generous handful), chopped
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves (optional)
• juice of 1 lime

Directions


Preheat a large soup pot over medium-high heat with the EVOO (twice around the pan). Remove the sausage casings and slice the sausage thinly. Add the sliced sausage to the pot and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add the onions, carrots, poblano, and garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook, sirring frequently for 5 minutes. Add the white wine and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock, bring up to a simmer, and cook for 5 minutes. You want the soup to be at a gentle simmer when you add the fish so, if necessary, turn the heat down a bit. Add the hominy, the halibut, and the zucchini. Gently simmer for 5 minutes. Finish the soup with the parsley, cilantro (if using), and the lime juice.


Serves 4

Halibut Soup