Tuna Fest, or How to Bring It All Together

It's like Iron Chef. 

My brother, my friend and I got together at my brother's house.  "What should we have to eat?" the conversation began.  "Whatever you want.  You figure out the main ingredient and I'll work with it," was my reply.  My brother brought home 2 1/2 pounds of beautiful Ahi Tuna. 

So how to assemble a dinner only just finding out what the theme ingredient is?  How do the Iron Chefs do it?

I wish I could be as eloquent as Michelangelo when he said, "Carving is easy.  You just go down to the skin and stop," but I'm not.   This is similar to bringing flavors together, however.  Begin with simplicity.  Use quality ingredients.  Add until you have the dish you want to eat.  Then stop cooking.  Easy, right?

For people who can draw, drawing a portrait is easy.  For people who can play a guitar and sing, serenading a beautiful woman is easy.  I haven't acquired those skills.  I have developed my sense of taste, however, and like Michelangelo, the resulting accomplishments look effortless.  (Isn't that awesome?  I AM comparing myself to Michelangelo.  I love being me.)  The good news: anyone with a functional nose and tastebuds can achieve the same results or better. 

As discussed before, the senses of smell and taste inform us of what we like and what tastes good together.  Sweet and spicy, bitter and sweet, sweet and sour, salty and sweet, spicy and sour all work together as compliments.  However, bitter and sour or salty and spicy make a very untasty dish.  Even sweet by itself becomes overpowering. 

So how do you develop your senses and use that in cooking?  First, experience it.  Taste what you are tasting.  Open your mouth slightly and breathe air over it, inhaling through your nose and mouth.  What does it really taste like?  What makes a pear, taste and smell like a pear?  Why isn't it an apple?  The subtle differences make all the difference.

So back to Tuna Night.  We wanted multiple courses. My brother launched the evening off with cocktails and a magnificent Tuna Poke (pronounced PO-kee).  I served a papaya and jalapeno salsa with tortilla chips.  I followed with a simple rice and tuna soup.  Then the main course: a sesame-encrusted and seared tuna on a bed of mixed greens and chimchurri.  For dessert, I made a non-tuna panna cotta with a nice aged port poured over the top. 

Laughter, stories of friends and times since past, good food, good drink.  These are the ingredients of a great evening; And better than any Iron Chef can produce. 

Tuna Poke
1 lb fresh Ahi Tuna
1/2 small Onion (Maui), minced
2 green Scallions, diced
1/2 teaspoon Fresh Ginger, grated
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 teaspoon Sesame Oil
1/2 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 teaspoon Chinese Chili Sauce
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Cut Ahi into at least 1/2" cubes - set aside & refrigerate.  Combine all other ingredients in a large glass bowl & refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

When ready to serve toss Ahi and other ingredients together.


Hot and Sour Tuna Soup
2 tablespoons Canola Oil
1 1/2 tablespoons Thai Red Curry Paste (sold by the jar at most supermarkets)
3 cups Vegetable Stock (or 2 cups Vegetable and 1 cup Fish or Chicken Stock)
1 cup Boiling Water (or as needed)
3 tablespoons Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Rice Wine Vinegar
2 tablespoons White Vinegar
1 cup Long Grain White Rice (I used Jasmine, because that's what I had on hand)
1/2 pound Ahi Tuna, cut into 1" or smaller cubes (it's ok to use the trimmings from the other tuna dishes you're making)
1 tablespoon Fish Sauce
Scallion Greens, thinly sliced, for garnish

In a large pot (I used a Chinese clay soup pot, just because it looks so cool!) heat the oil over medium high heat and add the curry paste.  Mash, stir and whisk the paste until loose, runny and dissolving.  Add the stock and continue to whisk until completely dissolved.  Add the soy sauce and vinegars.  Let come to a low boil and add the rice.  Cover and reduce the heat and let simmer on a low setting for about 20-30 minutes. 

When the rice has plumped up, stir in the fish and fish stock.  Add more boiling water if the rice has taken over the broth.  Cover and remove from the heat.  Let stand for at least 10 minutes.  Serve hot, garnishing each bowl with generous pinch of scallions.


Sesame Encrusted Tuna
1 tablespoon Canola Oil
1 pound Ahi Tuna
1/4 cup White Sesame Seeds
2 tablespoon Whole Mustard Seeds
1 tablespoon Black Peppercorns, crushed
1/2 teaspoon Salt


On a plate, combine the sesame seeds, mustard seeds, peppercorns and salt.  Mix and spread out evenly.  Lay the tuna into the seed mixture and press gently, coating one side of the tuna completely.  Flip the tuna over and repeat. 


Heat the 1/2 the oil in a large non-stick skillet until it begins to smoke.  Add the tuna.  Cook for 30-45 seconds.  Using tongs, lift the tuna out of the skillet, add the remaining oil, flip the tuna to cooked side up and sear the other side, about 30-45 seconds.


Remove to a cutting board and slice into 1/2 inch slices.  The tuna should be just starting to grey around the edges and raw in the middle.  Serve on a bed of fresh greens with a dollop of Chimchurri and a small cup of soy sauce on the side. 


Chimchurri
1 cup, packed, Cilantro Leaves
3 large cloves Garlic, chopped
1/2 medium Red Onion
1 Jalapeno, seeds removed, minced
1 tablespoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar

In the bowl of a food processor, add the cilantro, garlic onion and jalapeno, red pepper flakes and salt.  Pulse several times and then scrape down the sides.  Repeat.  Turn it on and slowly add the vinegar and oil, until it comes together as a paste or slurry. 

Scrape into a serving dish, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 2 or 3 days before. 

Stovetop Cobbler

Stovetop "Cobbler"
3 large tart Apples, peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 tablespoon each of both Butter and Olive Oil
1/3 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
pinch of Salt
3 tablespoons Brandy
1/2 cup Rolled Oats
1 tablespoon Butter
your favorite Nuts, chopped (honey roasted almonds are good)


Melt the butter in a medium frying pan. Add the oil and let get hot. Add the apples, stir and reduce the heat to medium/medium low. Add the sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt. Stir occasionally. The sugars will get syrupy.


In another pan, heat the butter and oil on high. Add the oats and nuts. Reduce the heat to medium and saute until the oats are toasted and aromatic.


Add the brandy to the apples. Ignite with a match and burn off some of the alcohol. Stir in the oats, and reduce heat to low. Stir and let cook for 5 minutes or so. Serve hot!

Gluttony, The Most Filling of the 7 Deadly Sins

I've spoken before of the prodigious and bounteous nature of my Mom's kitchen.  I kid you not, this is an excerpt from a recent email sent prior to a recent visit to my parents home:

"M, is there something I can do to start roasting tomatoes? If you tell me what to get started, I'd be happy to do it. I bought plenty of garlic today and fresh mushrooms if you need any of that. Also bought fettucine and we have spaghetti here so we're in good shape with pasta. I'll make some French bread tomorrow and I have plenty of stuff for salad, either cuke salad or lettuce salad. I think I'll make meatballs, too, since I just picked up some nice hamburger. Will probably also cook up some shrimp, and as I told you, there's chicken breasts, so just let me know what you all want.

"Saturday's dinner will be lamb, new potatoes, asparagus, butternut squash, tomato tarte, dilly casserole bread, and apple pie and peach pie for dessert with vanilla ice cream and homemade peach ice cream. I cooked a beef roast and shredded the meat and am making green chili right now in the slow cooker so we can have burritos one morning for breakfast. We'll figure out something else for the other breakfast."

Keep in mind, this is a partial menu for 5 people for two days. 

The downside of such a weekend is not only in the waistline; it's also the psychological impact of such an event, or what I like to call the 5 Stages of Gluttony. 

1. Denial.  You'll hear things around the dinner table like, "This all looks so delicious!  I'll have a little of everything.  and maybe a an extra helping of that."  Or, "I'll only take one scoop of that on this pass.  I can take a second helping next time."  This is the most dangerous stage, because it sets up the strategy of your meal.  A sense of eager anticipation pervades the room. 
2. Anger.  Ok,  not so much "anger" in the beginning.  Maybe more like concentration.  As the plates fill up, the conversation around the table grows softer.  Oh yes, jokes are still made, and laughter rings out on occasion, but we slowly grow quieter and quieter.
3. Bargaining.  "Just one more bite."  How often have we uttered these desperate words, and how often have we moved right on to the next stage?
4. Depression.  A pointed silence hangs over the room.  No one looks up, but rather we all stare dejectedly at our plates.  Mom cheerfully rings out, "Who wants more?"
5. Acceptance.  The battle is lost.  The remains of the meal will now be relegated to leftovers.  We start doing dishes and anticipate dessert.

The 5 Stages exemplifies the experience, but it's not quite as hopeless as it seems.  As the dinner progresses, the camaraderie of the participants grows.  The food is delicious.  There will be legends told of our accomplishments. 

Tonight for dinner?  How about a modest salad?  And maybe some steak.  And a baked potato.  And pie . . .

Or maybe:

Mediterranean Baked Chicken Breasts
4 large skinless, boneless Chicken Breasts
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
1 tablespoon dried Tarragon Leaves
1 tablespoon Butter
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1/2 medium Onion, minced
Put the chicken breasts, yogurt and tarragon into a plastic bag and let it marinade for a few hours (up to the night before).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In an oven-proof Dutch Oven (I'm using a cast iron Dutch Oven) on the stove top, melt the butter in the oil on medium high heat.  Take the breasts out of the marinade and shake the excess marinade off (a little coating is good) and lay the breasts in the hot oil.  Cook for 2-3 minutes each side, dusting with turmeric and sprinkling with salt.  Add the lemon juice and onions.  Cook until the onions start to turn translucent.  Add the yogurt and tarragon marinade to the pot.  Cover with a heavy lid.

Put into the oven and cook for 20 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes, covered.  I served with Orzo and fresh vegetables.
3/4 teaspoon Turmeric Powder
1/3 teaspoon Cinnamon Powder
1/2 teaspoon Salt
Juice of 1/2 Lemon