I love it when we have guests in town - it gives us the perfect opportunity to entertain and have another person sit at the table and dine with us! It also means that Derek is taking the lead to ensure an "impressive" mean. On the downside, this also means that I'm the one doing the dishes, typically solo (not that this is abnormal or anything). It's kind of like going back to my childhood when my parents cooked and took care of the dishes for the most part (thank you Mom and Dad) but then on holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas...) it was suddenly time for my sister and I to step up and do the dishes...lots and lots of dishes. When it rains it pours I guess. And just so you know, at some point in my childhood I did start contributing to the dishes on a nightly basis and designated myself in the role of "washer" which I still maintain to this day.
Derek had mentioned something about making a tomatillo avocado sauce as a main inspiration for the meal so being my little researcher self - I set out to find the perfect recipe that included this sauce. My search lead me to the following Epicurious recipe - link found HERE
Chile Glazed Halibut and Tomatillo Avocado Sauce
Note: I made the glazed with a few modifications. The following reflects the known changes to the recipe made for three servings.
Glaze
4 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chiles*
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Sauce
1 large avocado, halved, pitted, peeled
2 medium tomatillos (about 4 ounces), husked, rinsed, coarsely chopped**
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 teaspoon (or more) hot pepper sauce
Fish
3 5-7 ounce halibut fillets (each about 1 inch thick)
1/2 orange with skin, cut lengthwise in half, thinly sliced crosswise
Ground cumin
Salt and Pepper
For glaze:
Mix all ingredients in blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
For Sauce:
Combine all ingredients in blender; blend until smooth. Do ahead: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover; let stand at room temperature.
For fish:
Prepare barbecue (medium heat)(we don't have one so we used a grill pan and covered it with a pot...a little ghetto but it worked). Make crosswise slits in each fillet, cutting to within 1/4 inch of bottom and spacing slits about 3/4 inch apart. Brush glaze over top and into slits. Place orange slices in slits. Sprinkle fish with ground cumin, salt, and pepper. Place fish, orange side up, on grill; cover and cook until fish is opaque, about 8 minutes. Using wide spatula, carefully transfer fish to platter. Let rest several minutes. Spoon avocado sauce onto plates, spreading slightly. Arrange 1 fillet over sauce on each plate and serve
For the side dish we wanted to follow the quasi-Southwestern theme and remembered how delicious the tamales were that we had made a few weeks back. They were seen as the perfect single side dish as they incorporated starch (masa) and vegetables (butternut squash and corn).
I do not have the precise recipe, nor did I meticulously watch the preparation of the tamales. However, to make something similar, I would recommend following a standard tamale recipe and adding the following ingredients for the finning:
1 small butternut squash, roasted (seasoned with EVOO, salt, pepper, and cinnamon)
1-2 leeks
1 ear of corn, kernels removed
1 garlic clove
EVOO/butter
salt/pepper
cayenne (pinch)
Saute up the leeks and garlic in EVOO and butter. Add the roasted corn after a few minutes. Saute over low to medium heat so as to not burn the garlic. When soft, add the diced butternut squash (best to dice before roasting, Derek roasted first so cutting it was difficult).
Add as the filling to the masa dough in the soaked corn husks.
Place in a steamer and steam for about 30 minutes.
Carefully remove. We served the tamales out of husk but they can be a good presentation detail - probably best for larger tamales like Bobby Flay serves at Mesa Grill.
I thought the tamales would need something to tie it all together so I came up with the brilliant idea of making a lime crema to accompany them:
It was simply sour cream, juice of one lime, chopped cilantro, and salt. That's it - all mixed together and it was really key in the success of the tamales.
I was so hungry by the time this meal was on the table that I'm sure it would have tasted delicious even if it were not inherently delicious. However, it was...so that was a bonus. I could not get enough of the tomatillo avocado sauce. That is just an wonderful combination of flavors - subtle but perfectly blended. Prepared with some hot sauce to add a little kick - it was great. And the fish was really nice. I used less honey than the recipe called for. I also forgot about it in the microwave so it was liquified when brushed on the fish - therefore, it wasn't much of a "glaze" but rather a marinade (without the marinating process). Regardless, flavor was there even if glazing effect was not.
And the tamales, oh the tamales. I wish I didn't like them as much as I do. They are best made with real lard, yes LARD, but that's what makes them so darn good!! Mind you, Derek always uses less lard (what a terrible word) than it calls for, but it's still there. Whatever - it's the medium for getting my vegetables so it's fine, right?
I can justify anything.
Served with one of my favorite decent priced wines: Beringer Alluvium Blanc. It runs about $17 but its a part of our wine club so we get 20-30 percent off...so it's completely reasonable and so fabulous. It has some of the richness of a Chardonnay and Viogner but then the Sauvignon Blanc comes in and cuts it with some acid.
Gosh...my mouth is watering...is it 5 PM yet?
Derek had mentioned something about making a tomatillo avocado sauce as a main inspiration for the meal so being my little researcher self - I set out to find the perfect recipe that included this sauce. My search lead me to the following Epicurious recipe - link found HERE
Chile Glazed Halibut and Tomatillo Avocado Sauce
Note: I made the glazed with a few modifications. The following reflects the known changes to the recipe made for three servings.
Glaze
4 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chiles*
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Sauce
1 large avocado, halved, pitted, peeled
2 medium tomatillos (about 4 ounces), husked, rinsed, coarsely chopped**
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 teaspoon (or more) hot pepper sauce
Fish
3 5-7 ounce halibut fillets (each about 1 inch thick)
1/2 orange with skin, cut lengthwise in half, thinly sliced crosswise
Ground cumin
Salt and Pepper
For glaze:
Mix all ingredients in blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
For Sauce:
Combine all ingredients in blender; blend until smooth. Do ahead: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover; let stand at room temperature.
For fish:
Prepare barbecue (medium heat)(we don't have one so we used a grill pan and covered it with a pot...a little ghetto but it worked). Make crosswise slits in each fillet, cutting to within 1/4 inch of bottom and spacing slits about 3/4 inch apart. Brush glaze over top and into slits. Place orange slices in slits. Sprinkle fish with ground cumin, salt, and pepper. Place fish, orange side up, on grill; cover and cook until fish is opaque, about 8 minutes. Using wide spatula, carefully transfer fish to platter. Let rest several minutes. Spoon avocado sauce onto plates, spreading slightly. Arrange 1 fillet over sauce on each plate and serve
For the side dish we wanted to follow the quasi-Southwestern theme and remembered how delicious the tamales were that we had made a few weeks back. They were seen as the perfect single side dish as they incorporated starch (masa) and vegetables (butternut squash and corn).
I do not have the precise recipe, nor did I meticulously watch the preparation of the tamales. However, to make something similar, I would recommend following a standard tamale recipe and adding the following ingredients for the finning:
1 small butternut squash, roasted (seasoned with EVOO, salt, pepper, and cinnamon)
1-2 leeks
1 ear of corn, kernels removed
1 garlic clove
EVOO/butter
salt/pepper
cayenne (pinch)
Saute up the leeks and garlic in EVOO and butter. Add the roasted corn after a few minutes. Saute over low to medium heat so as to not burn the garlic. When soft, add the diced butternut squash (best to dice before roasting, Derek roasted first so cutting it was difficult).
Add as the filling to the masa dough in the soaked corn husks.
Place in a steamer and steam for about 30 minutes.
Carefully remove. We served the tamales out of husk but they can be a good presentation detail - probably best for larger tamales like Bobby Flay serves at Mesa Grill.
I thought the tamales would need something to tie it all together so I came up with the brilliant idea of making a lime crema to accompany them:
It was simply sour cream, juice of one lime, chopped cilantro, and salt. That's it - all mixed together and it was really key in the success of the tamales.
I was so hungry by the time this meal was on the table that I'm sure it would have tasted delicious even if it were not inherently delicious. However, it was...so that was a bonus. I could not get enough of the tomatillo avocado sauce. That is just an wonderful combination of flavors - subtle but perfectly blended. Prepared with some hot sauce to add a little kick - it was great. And the fish was really nice. I used less honey than the recipe called for. I also forgot about it in the microwave so it was liquified when brushed on the fish - therefore, it wasn't much of a "glaze" but rather a marinade (without the marinating process). Regardless, flavor was there even if glazing effect was not.
And the tamales, oh the tamales. I wish I didn't like them as much as I do. They are best made with real lard, yes LARD, but that's what makes them so darn good!! Mind you, Derek always uses less lard (what a terrible word) than it calls for, but it's still there. Whatever - it's the medium for getting my vegetables so it's fine, right?
I can justify anything.
Served with one of my favorite decent priced wines: Beringer Alluvium Blanc. It runs about $17 but its a part of our wine club so we get 20-30 percent off...so it's completely reasonable and so fabulous. It has some of the richness of a Chardonnay and Viogner but then the Sauvignon Blanc comes in and cuts it with some acid.
Gosh...my mouth is watering...is it 5 PM yet?
No comments:
Post a Comment