Swordfish with Cherry Tomato & Caper Relish & Blue Cheese Polenta

When you Google swordfish, John Travolta's name pops up. Huh? Anyway, a neighbor of ours on the docks offered us some fresh swordfish the other day and we said hell yes! I have some bad past memories of swordfish as does Greg. Some of you may know that it tends to carry some unmentionable items in it. I learned that when I was training to be a kitchen manager at the Charthouse. My friend Matt Orlando taught me how to cut fish and my first fish I cut was swordfish. I saw some interesting things in it......

Anyway, Greg and I were a little reluctant to try it, jeez it's been at least 12 years since I have eaten swordfish. And many more years for Greg. But again when someone offers you fresh fish you do not turn it down. I repeat, you do not turn it down. After searching around for a good recipe I decided to just wing it. I also made a little polenta on the side (Greg says grits I say polenta). I added some crumbled blue cheese at the end just because.

2 swordfish steaks

10 cherry tomatoes

1 clove of garlic, minced

1 generous tbs. of capers

1 tbs. fresh parsley

splash of caper juice

s & p

olive oil

1 cup polenta

s & p

2 tbs. butter

4 tbs. crumbled blue cheese

Marinate swordfish with a few splashes of olive oil and s & p for about an hour in a shallow glass container. Meanwhile cut cherry tomatoes in quarters and mix together with the garlic, capers, caper juice, parsley, s & p and a few splashes of olive oil. Let that sit for an hour. Heat an oven friendly pan over medium high heat with about 2 tbs. of olive oil and pan sear the steaks for about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer into a 400 degree oven and roast for about ten minutes until the steaks are cooked thoroughly.

The polenta was easy, it was quick polenta so no need to give you directions on that. I just decided that at the last moment to add blue cheese.

Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs-Tijuana Style

My first bacon wrapped hot dog was not in Tijuana. It was in a beautiful place called Barra de Navidad which is south of Puerto Vallarta. It was delicious and I crave them often. The traditional street dog comes with yellow mustard and ketchup but I omit those ingredients. I also like to use hot dogs that don't have the first ingredient as "mechanically separated" which grosses me out. I also think the quality of bacon is key. I use a hard smoked thin cut bacon, it works better and gets crispier faster in the pan. Lastly, the bun. I found some wonderful fresh baked buns here in Aruba from Bright Bakery and they work great. I like to butterfly them and throw them open side down in a pan with salted butter until they are golden brown, just like my mom used to make them.

So you need good quality hot dogs, bacon and buns. After preparing the buns, I use the same pan to fry the dogs. I wrap one slice of bacon for each hot dog and fry them until the bacon is crisp and cooked thoroughly, turning them every few minutes.

As far as condiments, I like:

jalapeno slices

dill pickles

diced white onion

diced tomato

lime mayonnaise (you can make your own by squeezing fresh lime juice with mayo)

Cholula hot sauce

Chicken Dijon & Oven Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon

My grandmother used to make a Chicken Dijon. I think it consisted of cream of mushroom soup, chicken, cheese, broccoli and more cheese. It was a great memory of mine and my sister's growing up. Grandma's Chicken Dijon. I would love to recreate it but my waistline doesn't allow for it, so I stumbled upon this recipe in Food & Wine and I thought it was slightly healthier and grown-up version of Grandma's casserole.

Serves 2

Chicken Dijon

1 tbs. ground coriander

2 tbs. olive oil

4 chicken drumsticks, skin-on

salt and pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup chicken broth or stock

3 tbs. whole grain mustard

3 tbs. greek lowfat yogurt

Season the chicken with ground coriander, and salt and pepper. Heat a cast iron skillet with the olive oil to medium-high. Cook the chicken drumsticks on all sides for about 15 minutes until cooked through and nice and brown and crispy. Remove from pan and set aside. Cook the onions and garlic for about 3 minutes in the same pan, scraping up chicken bits and juices. Add the chicken broth, mustard and yogurt and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken back to the pan and toss with the sauce for one minute and serve.

Brussels Sprouts and Bacon

1 lb. brussels sprouts, rinsed and cut in half

4 slices of bacon, diced

2 tsp. smoked sea salt

fresh ground pepper

olive oil

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Heat oven to 425 degrees. Place brussels sprouts mixture on a non-stick baking sheet face down. Roast for 15 minutes until bacon is crisp and brussels are nicely browned.

Smoked Pork Chops & Grits

I miss my smoker. It was a good purchase. $80 and I could use it as a grill. Alas I live on a boat now and there was no room for it. I shed a tear when I sold it before our journey. In order to fill a void in my life I purchased a stove top smoker from Amazon.com. It came in handy during our trip when I used it to smoke fish. Anyway, I love a good pork chop and they get really nice and juicy when you smoke them. I started the smoker on high then reduced the head to medium after about five minutes. It's a really easy recipe and doesn't require a lot of prep time.

Pork:

4 center cut pork chops around 1-1/12 inch thick

1 tsp. barbecue seasoning

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. white pepper

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

Grits:

1/2 cup white grits

2 cups water

2 tbs. unsalted butter

crumbled cheddar cheese

salt

Texas Pete

Season pork chops with all the dry ingredients. Prepare a stove top smoker with hickory wood chips, and place over a medium heat. Leave the lid cracked open as the pan heats on the stove. Place the pork chops in the smoker. As the pan begins to smoke, completely shut the lid and allow the pork chops to smoke until an instant read thermometer registers 140 degrees F, 15 to 20 minutes. Meanwhile, while the pork chops are smoking, place the grits and water in a saucepan and heat the grits until they are boiling. Turn down to simmer and cover. Stir occasionally for about 15-20 minutes. Add cheese, butter, salt and Texas Pete to taste.

Adapted from Food Network-Emeril Lagasse

Eggplant Gratin with Parmesan Custard

I have discovered a few vegetables that are grown locally in Aruba and eggplant is one of them. I usually make the same old eggplant parmesan but decided to go outside my comfort zone and do something a little different. Greg was a bit "thrown off" by the word custard because he immediately thought of ice cream. I think I convinced him otherwise. I adapted this from Amanda Hesser's "The Essential New York Times Cookbook".

1/2 c. olive oil

1 cup diced onion

Salt

2 large peppers, one red and one yellow, cored and chopped

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 large diced yellow tomatoes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

White pepper

3 lbs. eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch slices

2 tbl. water

1 1/2 cup ricotta cheese

3 eggs

3/4 cup grated Parmesan

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup torn basil leaves

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Heat 3 tbls. olive oil in a large skillet and add the onions. Add a pinch of salt and cook until translucent, about 5-10 minutes. Add the peppers and garlic and cook until peppers are tender, about 15 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and water while the mixture simmers until thick and jammy (I like that word). Add salt and pepper to taste.

Meanwhile brush the eggplant on each side with olive oil and place on baking sheets. Bake, turning after about 15 minutes until the eggplant is lightly brown, 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and lower the temperature down to 375 degrees.

Mix the ricotta, eggs, Parmesan, cream and salt and pepper in a separate bowl. Add the basil to the sauce as it simmers.

Oil a large gratin dish with olive oil and make a layer of eggplant, then half of the tomato sauce;repeat. Top with the custard mixture and bake for about 40-45 minutes or until the custard is set and the top is nicely browned.

Red Quinoa, Spinach, Garbanzo & Smoked Paprika Salad

• 1 1/2 cups red quinoa (9 to 10 ounces), rinsed, drained
• 4 cups (packed) baby spinach leaves
• 1 15- to 16-ounce can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), rinsed, drained
• 1 3/4 cups diced zucchini
• 1 cup diced yellow pepper
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 1/2 cup (packed) fresh mint leaves
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely crumbled feta cheese (about 7 ounces), divided
• 1/4 cup Sherry wine vinegar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Place quinoa in large saucepan; add enough salted water to cover quinoa by 1 inch. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until quinoa is tender, 15 to 16 minutes. Drain. Chill until cool.

Meanwhile, combine spinach leaves, garbanzos, cubed zucchini, pepper, red onion, mint leaves, and half of feta cheese in extra-large bowl. Add cooled quinoa and toss gently to blend.

Whisk vinegar and smoked paprika in small bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Season dressing with salt and pepper. Pour dressing over salad; toss to coat. Season generously with salt and pepper. Sprinkle remaining feta over.

Adapted from Epicurious.

Lentil & Feta Salad

Lately I have been dabbling in healthy cold salads. I made a really nice bulgur & quinoa salad the other day and Greg's response was "you can make this stuff anytime". So today I was inspired to make a lentil salad using whatever I had laying around. I like my lentils a bit tougher and chewier so I don't cook them as long. Another flavorful variation is cooking them in chicken or vegetable broth. Once the lentils are cooked, drain and rinse them with cold water, drain then toss all the ingredients together in a mixing bowl.

1 cup cooked lentils

1/4 c. chopped red onion

1/2 diced yellow pepper

1 diced plum tomato

1/4 c. crumbled feta

2 tbs. chopped parsley or dill

1/4 c. olive oil

2 tbs. red wine vinegar

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste