Siblings get together!

Alex, Cindy, Gary, and Meg all came to Perdido Key for a quick visit. They drove down Friday and got here in time for lunch. We finished a great lunch and then headed to the beach. That night Denis sauteed up some Snapper that he caught during our Romarco fishing trip. Nothing better than fresh fish! It's Mom's 84th birthday this week and we're all going to Birmingham on Sunday to celebrate.

Things we cooked this week:

Tuna Salad

Adapted from Ina Garten

7.2011 – fabulous with my modifications. Salt was so overpowering that I had to drain dressing off and start again. Original recipe called for 2½ tsp. Needs to be salt and pepper to taste. Next time start with juice and rind from one lime. I started with two and it was good but might be better with a little less. I also drizzled a very small amount of sesame oil into the dressing to add more Asian flavor.

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 pounds very fresh tuna steak, cut 1-inch thick
4 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing
kosher salt to taste, plus extra for sprinkling
coarsely ground black pepper to taste, plus extra for
sprinkling
2 limes, zest grated
1 teaspoon wasabi powder
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (2 limes)
2 teaspoons soy sauce
10 dashes hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)
1 to 2 ripe Hass avocados, medium diced
¼ cup minced scallions, white and green parts of scallions)
¼ cup red onion, small diced (I like to let them soak in some
cold water & then rinse before I use them raw - LB)
sesame oil to taste


Directions

Brush the tuna steaks with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the tuna steaks in a very hot saute pan and cook for only 1 minute on each side. Set aside on a platter.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the olive oil, salt, pepper, lime zest, wasabi, lime juice, soy sauce, sesame oil and hot sauce. Add the avocados to the vinaigrette.

Cut the tuna in chunks and place it in a large bowl. Add the scallions and red onion and mix well. Pour the vinaigrette mixture over the tuna and carefully mix.

Lemony Orzo-Veggie Salad with Chicken

7.2011 – Alex, Cindy, Meg & Gary were here for a quick visit. We made this with just a few modifications – added hearts of palm and champagne vinegar.

Yields: 6 servings
Ingredients

¾ cup uncooked orzo
¼ teaspoon grated lemon rind
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon minced garlic
¼ teaspoon honey
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup shredded skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast
½ cup diced English cucumber
½ cup prechopped red bell pepper
⅓ cup thinly sliced green onions
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
½ cup (2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese
Directions

1. Cook orzo according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain and place in a large bowl.

2. While orzo cooks, combine lemon rind and next 6 ingredients (through black pepper), stirring well with a whisk. Drizzle juice mixture over orzo; toss to coat. Add chicken and next 4 ingredients (through dill); toss gently to combine. Sprinkle with cheese.

ULTIMATE BANANA BREAD

7.2011 I made with frozen bananas and everybody liked it. I think I may have over-mixed it. I thought it was a little dry. I cooked it for 55 min before checking so next time I’ll check at 45. I’ll also be more careful about not over-mixing. It looked beautiful – that’s my picture attached. The bananas on top looked good but we all pulled them off.

Published July 1, 2010. From Cook’s Illustrated.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
We added banana flavor without introducing too much moisture to our banana bread recipe by microwaving the fruit and draining it. We then simmered the banana liquid in a saucepan until it reduced and incorporated it into the batter. We used br…(more)

MAKES ONE 9-INCH LOAF
Be sure to use very ripe, heavily speckled (or even black) bananas in this recipe. This recipe can be made using 5 thawed frozen bananas; since they release a lot of liquid naturally, they can bypass the microwaving in step 2 and go directly into the fine-mesh strainer. Do not use a thawed frozen banana in step 4; it will be too soft to slice. Instead, simply sprinkle the top of the loaf with sugar. The test kitchens preferred loaf pan measures 8 by 4 inches; if you use a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan, start checking for doneness five minutes earlier than advised in the recipe. The texture is best when the loaf is eaten fresh, but it can be stored (cool completely first), covered tightly with plastic wrap, for up to 3 days.

Yields: 0 servings
Ingredients

1¾ cups (8¾ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon table salt
6 large very ripe bananas (about 2¼ pounds), peeled (see note)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter , melted and cooled slightly
2 large eggs
¾ cup (5¼ ounces) packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup walnuts , toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8 by 4-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl.
2. Place 5 bananas in microwave-safe bowl; cover with plastic wrap and cut several steam vents in plastic with paring knife. Microwave on high power until bananas are soft and have released liquid, about 5 minutes. Transfer bananas to fine-mesh strainer placed over medium bowl and allow to drain, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes (you should have to cup liquid).
3. Transfer liquid to medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until reduced to cup, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat, stir reduced liquid into bananas, and mash with potato masher until fairly smooth. Whisk in butter, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla.
4. Pour banana mixture into flour mixture and stir until just combined with some streaks of flour remaining. Gently fold in walnuts, if using. Scrape batter into prepared pan. Slice remaining banana diagonally into -inch-thick slices. Shingle banana slices on top of either side of loaf, leaving 1-inch-wide space down center to ensure even rise. Sprinkle granulated sugar evenly over loaf.
5. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 55 to 75 minutes. Cool bread in pan on wire rack 15 minutes, then remove loaf from pan and continue to cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
SHOPPING

DO THE RIPE THING

Dont even think of making banana bread with anything less than very ripe, heavily speckled fruitunless youre fine with a bland loaf. As bananas ripen, their starch converts to sugar at an exponential rate. In lab tests, we found heavily speckled bananas had nearly three times the amount of fructose (the sweetest of the sugars in fruit) than less spotty bananas. (The exact percentage will vary from fruit to fruit.) But the impact of ripeness only goes so far: We found little difference in sweetness between loaves baked with completely black bananas and those made with heavily speckled ones.

TOO SOON
1.8% FRUCTOSE
A lightly speckled banana has only a little fructose, the sweetest sugar in fruit.

JUST RIGHT
5.3% FRUCTOSE
A heavily speckled banana has a lot more fructose.
STEP-BY-STEP

WHO KNEW? BANANAS HAVE JUICE

Typical banana bread contains just three pieces of fruit. Heres how we upped the number to five without turning the loaf into pudding.

1. EXTRACT JUICE
Microwaving ripe bananas for 5 minutes causes them to release juice.

2. STRAIN IT OUT
After straining the bananas, you should have ½ to ¾ cup of liquid to work with.

3. REDUCE THE JUICE
Reducing the banana liquid yields a concentrated liquor, intensifying flavor without making the loaf wet.
TECHNIQUE

SHINGLE YOUR LOAF

Layering thin banana slices on either side of the loaf adds even more banana flavor to our bread (and brings the total number of bananas in the recipe to six). To ensure an even rise, leave a 1-inch-wide space down the center.



I made this especially for Cindy since I know she is not a big spicy fan. We all (Denis, Alex, Cindy, Gary, & Meg) really liked it. Served it with shrimp and then we all decided we liked it better than tartar sauce with fish.


REMOULADE
¾ cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon spicy stone-ground mustard, preferably Creole (zatarains.com)
3 tablespoons finely chopped celery
1½ tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
½ tablespoon finely chopped scallion
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Whisk together mayonnaise, ketchup, and mustard. Stir in celery, parsley, and scallion. Season with black pepper. Serve immediately (or refrigerate for up to 1 day).