Halibut en Papillote with (optional) Garlic Tarragon Cream Sauce

I remember seeing all these commercials on TV from some frozen food company that now had "en Papillote" meals from France. Oooh la la! Frozen food and France for me however don't go together.....en Papillote means, in parchment; so tonight I'm cooking in season halibut, moi fav fish, in a parchment cooking bag that I picked up at my local IGA. You can make your own bag using parchment or go to a cooking store and pick up already made bags. Tonight my hubby is working, so I'm preparing this halibut meal for one.

1 halibut steak, 1/4 cup of chopped red onion, 2 tbsp. of capers, 1/4 cup of black olives, 1/2 sliced red pepper and 1/2 sliced orange pepper, three slices of lemon, 1 capful of olive oil and 2 capfuls of balsamic, salt and pepper. Salt and pepper the halibut and put into the bag. In another bowl, mix all the ingredients together then put it into the bag with the halibut. Fold up the paper and pop into a 350 degree oven for about 15 to 20 minutes. You'll be able to see through the bag that the fish is white, that's how you'll know it's done. I'm adding a smattering of Garlic Tarragon Cream to mine though it's perfectly delicious without it. Can you say fabulous!?

BBQ Salmon Marinade

I'm not going to tell you how to marinate a salmon, because I ended up adding more of this to my salmon after the BBQ, but let me tell you, it's so siimple and soooo delish:

1 tbsp. lemon juice, 1/2 tbsp. of Dijon, and finally about 3 tbsp. of Hellman's mayo.  Mix up and spread on the BBQed salmon.  Yum, yum, yum.

Halibut with Pesto Cream

Here's a nice simple dinner I made tonight. I haven't had halibut in a long time, but have decided it's time to add more fish to my diet. After a weekend spent BBQing red meat and chicken, fish was a welcome change. Put two halibut fillets into a casserole dish. Set the oven to 300 degrees. In a separate bowl add about two tbsp. of pesto and mix in about four tbsp. of whipping cream and stir. Pour over the halibut, making sure you saturate both pieces. Add a little salt and pepper and put into the oven for about 20 minutes. Lovely!

Salmon Alfredo

This was a nice simple dinner prepared with six small salmon fillets - 1/2 an inch thick. Simply season fish as you like, I used sesame seeds, lemon seasoning, and a little pepper. Then I pan fried slowly in some melted butter, on each side for about 1 minute a piece. Finally when just about finito, add about 1/2 cup of cream to the pan with at least 1/4 cup of fresh-is-a-must Parmesan into the fish and cream casserole. Once you simmer for a couple of minutes more, take the salmon from the pan, put it on a plate and decorate with parsley. Very lovely!

Shrimp Stuffed Trout with Watermelon/Feta Cheese Salad

I had a lovely day by the pool with my two most favorite women, make that three, and my favorite 3 out of 4 guys. My hubby was busy tending to accident prone people in the district, being a firefighter and all, so it was just the few loves of my life, though I missed him and his fantastic smile - I had him the night before, so all was forgiven. Here is another BBQ recipe. It needs a little tweaking, but it was OK for now and perfectly servable to three wine tipsy women starving because their blood sugar was low.

I picked up four little headless trout at the grocery store; and because I knew my mom liked trout, this is what I decided to prepare. I stuffed all four trout with a shrimp stuffing, wrapped them all in olive oiled foil and BBQed for about 20 minutes. Though I'm thinking now, 15 would have been perfect, and I think next time I'll wrap the trout in S & M twine and crisp up the skin over the fire instead. Though the skin was succulent, crispy would have been better.

Learn also how to de-bone these little buggers. I found that there were more bones on one side of their body and my sister told me you could actually use a pair of tweezers to pull out any additionals - please only use tweezers you purchased just for this reason, we don't need any eyebrows on these dudes.

Anyway I sauteed 2 cups of big shrimp in a frying pan with a chopped up onion. Then add about a 1/4 cup of bread crumbs. I then made a little sauteed mushroom and white wine sauce actually using a package of garlic Alfredo sauce and then adding sauteed mushrooms and 1/4 cup of white wine and simmered down and set aside.

Salt and pepper the inside of the trout after you've de-boned them, then stuff with the shrimp stuffing and wrap tightly in twine...I don't know, imagine someone you always wished was wrapped up at your mercy....Then rub with a little more olive oil and put on the BBQ over a medium high heat. Let cook on one side for about 7 minutes, then turn over for about the same time. Put the sauce on the side and dip away. P.S. I also served up Grilled eggplant and zucchini which I actually eat over toast with a little mayo for breakfast.

Watermelon Feta Cheese Salad

Is this weird or what? Simply fabulous and Nigella inspired. First cut up and cube about 3 or 4 cups of watermelon and allow to drain over a paper towel for about an hour or two. Then salt and pepper and toss, adding, 1/4 cup of olive oil. 2 fat tablespoons of dried mint, 2 slices of feta cheese, a handful of olives, and 1 chopped up red onion. Once combined, allow to sit in the refrigerator for a little while and serve. My mom has already lassoed this recipe for an upcoming family picnic.

BBQ Salmon with Tzatziki Salsa and Red Wine Risotto

I'm kind of new to BBQing again. For years I was avid; then for some reason I couldn't understand how to operate our BBQ. My husband explained to me how to operate our BBQ, but we are different learners and I honestly couldn't understand what he was teaching me. I am a complete demonstration sort of person who needs to take notes with occasional requests to "show me one more time." Well I finally I figured it out and I can't stop BBQing! All I have to do is put the propane on full blast, set the BBQ dials to high, sit low to the ground so as to not light my eyebrows on fire, then stick a lighter through the little hole and BOOM! (that's exactly how it sounds when the flames lick our balcony roof). Yes I am exaggerating about the flame part....sort of.

Take a nice hunk of salmon, and put it on tin foil. Rub with a little olive oil, then add some fresh garlic, salt, pepper, and 1/4 cup of Hellman's mayo and layer salmon with slices of lemon and onion. Wrap in tin foil and cook on med/high for about 20-25 minutes. Check your salmon after 15 as you don't want to over cook it. Then for the tzatziki salsa: cut up 1/2 a cucumber and chunk each piece into fours, salt and pepper it, add a little garlic powder, 1/4 cup of plain yoghurt, and 1/4 cup of sour cream. I also added a package of splenda to heighten the flavor and it did. Let the tzatziki sit until the salmon is ready. Cool the salmon just a little and assemble it gorgeously on the plate with lemon and onion slices, top with tzatziki salsa and perhaps a sprig of parsley if you have it. Very delicious.

I also served some risotto. I often wonder how on these cooking competitions on TV, such as Ramsey's Kitchen, chefs FU** UP Risotto. It really isn't hard, and it is a really cool dish that you can just keep on adding liquid to and it only gets more divine. Perhaps I am the one doing it wrong, but it was delicious. This recipe served two 1/4 cups of rice. I sauteed a small chopped up onion with butter over medium heat until the onion was soft and clear. Then add 1/4 cup of arobio rice with 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Let it come to a boil and turn the element down to low. Keep stirring and about every 6 minutes, add another 1/2 cup of liquid until you have about 1 1/2 cups of liquid added. I added 1/2 cup of red wine only and then 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese. Keep stirring and tasting. Then turn off the element and serve, topping with more shaved Parmesan. Delicious!

What to do with a Can of Tuna...

Here is a nice little pan fried tuna patty I made tonight. While writing the title of this recipe it got me humming the old song - "What to do with a drunken sailor.....So what to do with a can of tuna....This recipe is damn tasty as the tarragon is really nice. There is no breading in it as it's only a month until summer and it's time for something low carb. It's simple to make and divine to eat. Simple add two cans of water-packed tuna to a bowl and add, one slice of lemon juice, one egg, 1 tbsp. of tarragon, 1/4 cup of crumbled up feta cheese, salt, and pepper to taste. It will be slightly moist, but you could add some breadcrumbs if you like, but I haven't tried breadcrumbs, so I'm not sure if it would take away the unique flavour. Then in a frying pan over high heat, melt a tbsp. of butter. Take a handful of the tuna mixture and squeeze out excess juice or moisture. Form a little patty (they may be easily breakable because they aren't loaded with gluten) and put into pan right away. Once it's nice and toasty on the one side having formed a crust, flip over and do the same on the other side. Only cook these patties for a couple of minutes so it doesn't get too dried out. I actually topped mine with a curry mayo which was tasty too.

Shrimp and Avocado Seviche

I was introduced to this insatiably delicious appetizer by my friend who hails from Mexico. I served it at my hubby's birthday party last April and was asked by many for the recipe. Every Christmas when I send out my Christmas Cards I send with it a favorite recipe for my friends and family to try. This year I am sending out this appetizer that is delicious every season. It is a flexible appetizer that can be adapted to fit your tastes. First I purchase one bag of already cooked frozen shrimp. I generally buy the bag that is probably about 1 1/2 pounds - don't worry about the exact amount of shrimp as there can never be too much shrimp in this recipe! Make sure the shimp is defrosted first because you don't want it too watery. In a pretty bowl combine shrimp, 2 - 3 chopped avocados, 2 chopped up yellow/red peppers, 1 chopped cucumber, 1 cup of fresh lime juice, 1/2 cup of chopped onion, 1/2 cup of orange juice, 1/2 cup of fresh cilantro leaves, 1 tbsp. of chipotle spice, 1 tsp. of sugar, 1/2 tsp. of salt. Put this concoction into the refrigerator for at least four hours to allow all the flavors to mingle. Serve with some nice baked tortilla chips. ***Last April tomatillos were in season and I added a few of these.