Lime Grilled Ahi

Goodbye high-end restaurants! Hello backyard BBQ!  This is one amazingly easy, fantastic recipe, and it quickly made it into my Favorite Recipes Cookbook.

We make this at least every other week in summer time.  For our family, THIS IS summer at it's best:  the smell of seared seafood on the grill, the taste of a chilled wine on your tongue, the sounds of children playing, the warm rays of the setting sun, the pink sky promising a beautiful tomorrow - - the perfect al fresco dinner.

This is so easy you'll wonder why you've paid so much in a restaurant! The key is finding a butcher who knows about delicate seafood, not just meat. You want a high grade yellow-fin tuna, or low grade ahi. Don't pay for a shashimi grade ahi; you are going to sear this fish. In Central Oregon, I go to Newport Market for the freshest seafood and knowledgeable staff.

Here's what you need:

• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup lime juice
• ⅛ cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon ginger, fresh, minced
• ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 lb yellow fin tuna or low grade ahi tuna

***glaze ***

• ¼ cup honey
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped

What to do:

• Mix together olive oil, lime juice, balsamic vinegar, garlic, ginger and cilantro for your marinade. (Note: If I'm out of cilantro, I skip it. Don't make a trip to the market just for the cilantro.)

• Place tuna fillets in shallow baking dish and pour marinade to coat. Turn over and coat again with remaining marinade.

• Allow to marinade 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.

• Mix glaze and set aside.

• Preheat grill for high heat. When high temp is reached, rub grill grate with an oil soaked paper towel. Resoak towel with oil and rewipe grill until grill is shiny clean from oil, about 3-6 times.


• When grill is hot, reduce heat to low and place fillets on cleaned grate.

• Close lid and cook 1-2 minutes.

• Flip carefully and close lid to sear fish, about 1 minute. 

My husband likes his rare, so 1 minute per side is plenty. He usually leaves mine on for another 1-2 minutes when it is just barely pink in the middle. At this point, our family is done. We like it mostly seared and rare.

• Open lid and baste with remaining marinade until cooked as thoroughly as you like brush on glaze and serve.

Serve any remaining glaze with tuna on the table.

Happy grilling!   Laurie

Glazed Grilled Salmon

Here's another delicious, easy grilled Salmon recipe for you to add to your menu next week. Like the one Heather posted last week, this recipe is simple and includes just 5 ingredients. Plus, it only needs to marinade for 5 minutes; about the same amount of time it takes to prep your grill and get it super hot. 

Toss together a salad, and a side of rice, and you've got dinner together faster than Rachel Ray.   Now go fire up the grill and get ready for supper.

Here's what you'll need from the pantry:

• 2 tablespoons splenda
• 1 ½ tsp rice vinegar
• 1 ½ tsp dry mustard
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• ½ tsp molasses dark
• 12 ounces salmon filet, cut in 2-3 pieces

This is so easy:

• Mix together all 5 ingredients. 
• Set aside 1 Tablespoon of marinade in a small dish.
• Place salmon on a plate and pour seasoning over it, covering both sides.
• Let salmon sit, skinless side down for 2 or 3 minutes.

• Grill 5 minutes over indirect heat.  Turn salmon and baste with marinade left on the plate. Grill 5 minutes more.

Drizzle with the reserved seasoning before serving.

Orange - Glazed Salmon

Orange - Glazed Salmon

For as minimal as the ingredients are in this recipe, it is flavor filled! It manages to pack sweet, spicy, and zesty all into one amazing dish! It only takes roughly 6 minutes cook up! Throw in a salad and you will have a meal to remember!

Ingredients:2 Tbsp Cajun Spice
1/2 Tsp brown sugar
Pinch of kosher salt
2 boneless, fresh salmon fillets (6 oz. each)
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp orange marmalade
1 1/2 Tsp lime juice
Lime wedges

Combine: Cajun spice, brown sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Rub mixture over all surfaces of fillets. Saute fillets in oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-heat for 3-4 minutes. Turn fish and saute an additional 2-3 minutes.

Blend: Marmalade and lime juice; swirl in pan until marmalade is melted. Carefully turn fish to glaze on all sides. Fish is done when it begins to flake when tested with a fork

Serve: Slice up lime wedges and serve with fillets

I really loved how the ingredients brought out the best in the salmon and didn't cover up the naturally wonderful flavor of the fish itself! Enjoy!

Halibut Proscuitto Kebabs

Halibut Proscuitto Kebabs:   I give this a 5* rating in my MacGourmet collection.  So easy, healthy and delicious!

Prep:  About 30 minutes
Cook:  About 10 minutes

Ingredients:
¼ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 teaspoon pepper, ground
1 ½ pounds halibut, boned and skinned, cubed
4 cups bread, crusty and thick , cubed
12 ounces proscuitto, thinly sliced (I usually can cut each slice into 3 strips; you may only be able to cut the slices in half depending on how the deli slices the proscuitto for you)

Directions:
Combine olive oil, rosemary and pepper in a bowl. Set aside.
Add cubed halibut and crusty bread. (Make sure it is thick AND crusty. Don't skimp here.)
Toss to coat, then set aside for 5-10 minutes.
Skewer proscuitto on end of a metal kabob, then thread it around a piece of bread, then a piece of halibut, as if you are weaving.
Repeat as needed.
Grill over medium heat, turning often, for about 5-6 minutes.

Notes:  most proscuitto is smoked, so there is no salt added to this recipe