Grilled Oysters

Grilled Oysters

I went on a weekend getaway with my hubby. We went to Tomales Bay north of San Francisco. I love getting out of the city, away to small-town USA. Just a few hours driving takes you into the country side. Point Reyes Station is a small town with all the things you need. A few stores, a hole in the wall coffee shop (Toby's coffee bar makes very good lattes!) and a handful of restaurants using mainly local ingredients. 

I hadn't done my research properly, I know that now. I totally missed that we were going to cheese-country, but more about cheese in another post.

The view

The real reason for this trip was to go back to Hog Island Oyster Farm. We went there last year and both of us have been craving their grilled oysters ever since. I know we could get our fix in downtown San Francisco, but it would not be the same. There is something special about sitting on wooden benches eating oysters while enjoying the beautiful view of Tomales Bay.

We brought some oysters back with us. I wanted to try to make these scrumptious grilled oysters at home. And my, oh my, oh my - the home grilled oyster was just as tasty as the ones at Hog Island Oyster Company.

serves 3-4

Ingredients:

• 12 oysters (small oyster from Hog Island Oyster Company or any local oysters)

• 1 lemon

Butter:

• ½ stick (55 g) salted butter, cold

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• 2 tablespoons bourbon or whiskey

• 2-3 tablespoons chopped chipotle chilies in adobo-sauce

• 1 sprinkle of salt

• 2-3 garlic cloves

And:

• 1 knife for shucking the oyster (I used a Dexter-Russell)

• salt for the serving plate

Direction:

Dissolve the sugar in the bourbon/whiskey. Add all ingredients to the a food-processor and mix until you have a smooth paste. Chill the butter until semi firm.

At the grill:

Heat your grill to a medium heat (400℉/200℃)

Shuck the oysters like in this video.

Place about ½ teaspoon of the butter in the open oyster and place them on the grill. Close the lid and peak a few times for the butter to melt and the liquid to start bubbling, let the oysters bubble away for about a minutes. Remove from the grill and let them cool for a brief moment before eating.

Seafood Tacos

Seafood Tacos

For the longest time I have been avoiding fish tacos. Why? I really don't know, for me tacos was filled with ground beef, and there was no need to change that. Wrong! By adding seafood to tacos a new world of possibilities openes up.

Tacos are easy to make, basically you need some greens, protein and salsa. This time I opted for poached Petrale sole filets and smoked shrimps.

This is my version:

Serves 2.

Ingredients

• 2 petrale filets, poached
• 4-6 small tortilla, heated
• 6 smoked shrimps, I found smoked chipotle shrimps in my local Whole Foods Market
• a few handful greens or Napa cabbage, finely chopped
• 2 grilled corn ears, and cut of the cob
• 10 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• mango/habanero salsa
• guacamole
• salt
• lemon pepper
• white wine, enough to cover the skillet with about 1 cm

Directions

Make the guacamole and salsa.

Make sure there are no bones in the filets. Season them with salt and lemon pepper. Add white wine to a skillet and bring it to a slow simmer, put the fillets in the pan and poach it until its white and opaque, about 4-5 minutes. You can use more spices in the poaching liquid, but I wanted the delicate flavor of the fish to shine through.

Heat the tortilla and assemble the tacos and serve with a slaw, salsa and guacamole.

Enjoy!

Lemon Pistachio Israeli Couscous

Lemon Pistachio Israeli Couscous

After getting to know the flavor of preserved lemons in Chicken with Preserved Lemons and Green Olives, I wanted to try more recipes with preserved lemons. I bought David Lebovitz's "My Paris Kitchen" and I had to try this yummy recipe. I mad a couple of changes, making it to my linking.

Israeli couscous is a toasted pasta shaped like rice or small balls, If you cant find them in your grocery store, you can substitute it with orzo.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (200 g) Israeli couscous, cooked according to package instructions
• ½ preserved lemon
• ½ cup (1 dl) Italian parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon salted butter
• ½ cup (1 dl) dried fruit, chopped (I used apricot, cherry and prunes)
• 2 tablespoons pistachios, unsalted, coarsely chopped
• pepper to taste

Directions

Scoop out the pulp from the preserved lemons into a strainer over a bowl. Press the pulp to get all the juices out, this will be the dressing to the couscous. Discard the pulp. Dice up the rind, and add it to the bowl with the juice.

Chop fruit, parsley and pistachios, and add it to the bowl.

When the couscous has absorbed all the liquid and is cooked al dente, add the butter and stir until melted.

Mix all the ingredients and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Spicy Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce

Spicy Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Sauce

These spicy lamb meatballs in a tomato-curry are so tasty and flavorful, and I really love it. You would think, that the dish is burning hot when you start adding all the chilies, but somehow the chilies mellow out and just adds a nice heat. Of course I removed all the seeds, but serranos usually pack some heat.

I really like to drizzle the juice from the lemon over the dish when plated. The tanginess brightens the flavor profile of the dish.

For at low calorie version, serve the meatballs over cauliflower rice.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

• 450 g ground lamb

• 1 tablespoon grated ginger

• 1 garlic clove

• 2 Serrano chilies

• 1 teaspoon garam masala

• 35 g (1 dl) plain breadcrumbs

• ¾ teaspoon salt

• 1 egg

Purée:

• 4 tomatoes

• 4 Serrano chilies

• 1 inch (2½ cm) fresh ginger

Sauce:

• 2 teaspoons grape seed oil

• 2 teaspoons cumin

• ¾ teaspoon turmeric

• 2 teaspoons paprika

• ⅛ cup almond slivers

• salt to taste

Topping:

• Serrano chili

• lemon

Direction:

Meatballs:

Peel and grate ginger and garlic. Cut the chilies in half, length-wise and remove the seeds with a spoon. Dice the chilies. Mix meat, garlic, ginger, chili, egg, garam masala and breadcrumbs in a bowl, season with salt. Form about 12 round meatballs with your hands.

Purée:

Cut the chilies in half, length-wise and remove the seeds with a spoon, peel the ginger, and roughly chop it up. Cut the tomatoes in half. Add all the ingredients in a blender, and purée until smooth.

Sauce:

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan and fry cumin, turmeric, paprika and almonds for about 20-30 seconds until fragrant. Add the purée and bring it to a simmer while stirring. Let the sauce simmer for about 15 minutes. Place the meatballs in the sauce and simmer them in the sauce for another 15 minutes. Add more water if necessary. 

Finish of the dish with slices of chili and lemon wedges. Serve the meatballs over rice.

Enjoy!

Fried beef tartare or "Parisian steak" - Pariserbøf

Fried Beef Tartare or "Parisian Steak" - Pariserbøf

Pariserbøf has nothing to do with Paris or France. It's a traditional danish dish with a fancy name. Maybe the white bread it's served on is why it's called Pariserbøf. In Denmark the soft white bread is called French bread. 

Pariserbøf is a patty of lean ground beef on a slice of white bread, panfried and served with raw onion, pickled beets, horseradish, capers, danish pickles and a raw egg yolk on the top.

Danish pickles is vegetables (cauliflower, onion, pickling cucumbers and carrots) pickled in a mustard vinegar sauce. Much like the english Piccalilli.

Pariserbøf is normally on lunch menus in danish restaurants, but it can easily be served as dinner.

Disclaimer: This sauce is made with raw eggs. I recommend using pasteurized eggs. This would minimize the risk of getting Salmonella food poisoning. You can find pasteurized eggs in some supermarkets here in California, on safeeggs.com you can see where to find them in your neighborhood.  In Denmark you'll find it right next to regular eggs. For tips and information on how to handle eggs, check out FDA’s website. The Danish version of FDA,  Fødevarestyrelsen also has advisory on eggs. 

Serves 2

Ingredients: 

• 2 slices of good bread, like a good sourdough bread

• ½ red onion

• 3 tablespoon capers

• 4 tablespoon pickled beets, diced

• 2-6 teaspoon horseradish, freshly grated

• 2-3 tablespoons danish pickles or Piccalilli

• 2 egg yolks

• salt & pepper

• butter for frying

Patties (4 pieces):

• 200 g very lean ground beef (freshly ground)

• 1 teaspoon good mustard like grey poupon country dijon

• 1 teaspoon capers, finely chopped

• 1 egg

• salt and pepper

Directions: 

Dice the pickled beets, grate the horseradish, drain the capers, slice and chop the onions and separate the yolk from the egg white.  

Mix the ingredients for the patties, and form 4, not to thick, patties slightly larger than the bread slices. Put the patty on top of the bread, make sure the patty will stay on the bread. Season with salt and pepper. The extra patties, can be fried and saved for lunch the next day.   

Add a good amount of butter to a skillet and fry the pariserbøf patty-side down first until golden brown. Turn to fry the bread side until crisp. Pariserbøf is served medium to well done. If you use pasteurized eggs or no eggs, the pariserbøf can be served medium rare.

Serve right away with all the toppings.

Enjoy a pariserbøf with a good cold beer.