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Recipe updated 9/22/2014: I wanted to make a fun party size Ceviche to take to a Halloween party. The picture of the Halloween version is so creepy that I hesitate to show it. But, alas here it is anyway. Don’t let it freak you out!

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Creepy Seafood Ceviche
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Serve with mini cup size Tostitos.

This ceviche is made with medium size shrimp and imitation crab that makes up a 4 quart party size batch. It yields enough to serve 30 or more guests depending on how many appetizers are served along with it.  I never thought I would stop chopping and it was time consuming.  2 hours of slicing, dicing and sneaking bits and bites of shrimp and tomato as I diced along.

2 pounds Medium shrimp; each piece of shrimp quartered
2 medium English Cucumbers; peeled and chopped
5 large Tomatoes; diced
10 ounces Crab Meat; Imitation or real, diced
2 tablespoons sea salt
4 large Fresh lemons; Reserve 1
1/2 cup Clamato juice
1/2 cup +/- Catsup to thicken
1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
8 medium Fresh Limes; Reserve 1
2 teaspoons Cilantro; dried, or 1 cup fresh
3-4 tablespoons horseradish

Preparation

Start by squeezing 3 large lemons and 7 medium lines into a large bowl. Add salt. Dice the Mahi Mahi and add to the juice so that it will begin to process (cook in the juice).  I’ve removed the Mahi Mahi from the ingredients list because I found it to be too fishy for my taste.  Add it if you like??

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Mahi Mahi in lemon-lime juice
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Lemons and limes quartered to juice

I used pre-cooked shrimp but you could also use raw shrimp and let it “cook” in the lemon/lime juice.  However, you would need to double the lemons and limes to have enough fresh juice to cover this large amount of shrimp. When using fresh fish, allow it to rest in the juice, refrigerated for 3 hours.

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Quartering the shrimp

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If you are short on time you can slightly cook the diced Mahi Mahi over medium low heat for a few minutes then cool and add to the juice. Since I was short on time as usual, I had to pre-cook the Mahi Mahi and use pre-cooked shrimp. It was still 2 hours in prep time using this method but was worth the time. I started with 2 pounds of shrimp less the few that I ate while prepping. I was hungry!

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Imitation Crab legs
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Chopping up the legs
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English cucumber is the best
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Chopped up cucumbers

Mix remaining diced ingredients as they are prepared and toss as you add the batches. Prepare the tomatoes last to keep their shape. When adding the tomatoes lift them away from the excess tomato juice before adding to the mixture. Discard the excess tomato juice and seeds.

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Couldn’t resist sneaking a few bites of tomato
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Diced tomato

Lastly, mix in the Clamato juice, catsup, tabasco, horseradish and cilantro, then add any additional salt or pepper to your preference.  Add enough catsup so that you get the thickness that you desire otherwise it may be too soupy.  Garnish with final lemon and lime. Halved and then sliced.

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Slicing lemon and lime for garnish
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Serve with mini cup size Tostitos.

One of the pictures that I took of this dish was for Halloween. The lemon and lime slices were eye-brows and Halloween style eye-ball ice cubes were added for a eerie look.

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Very creepy version

If you like the recipe from KCinAZ, then give me a like or comment on this post. 😀 I’ll try to give you more fun recipes.

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Another Drunkin dish by KCinAZ but this one is a drunkin sidekick that can be paired with fish, chicken or lighter meat dish like pork tenderloin or pork chops.  Since I seem to be obsessed with seafood lately, Halibut was chosen as the main for dinner. We begin with steak cut white mushrooms that are sautéed in olive oil and then reduced with Crown Royal Whiskey and Pinot Grigio for a semi-sweet savory spiced up taste complimented with cooked orange wedge bites and then topped over grilled halibut for this recipe.

Remember the post from a ways back on How to Simply Peel an Orange.  I’ve finally used some of the oranges from my freezer and was pleasantly surprised to see that they had held up so great.  Orange rind was also incorporated into the recipe and this was also from my freezer.  When peeling the oranges, a good portion of orange rind was saved.  The orange rind was cut into slices, topped with sugar and brown sugar and then browned under the broiler.  Well enough about oranges and onto the main recipe; Sautéed Mushrooms and Grilled Halibut.

Sautéed Mushrooms Ingredients
12  ounces Fresh mushrooms; steak cut
4  tablespoons Olive oil
1/2 Yellow onion ; chopped
1  small Orange; wedged and cut into 1/2 ” bits
1/8 teaspoon Celery Salt
1/8 teaspoon Sea Salt
1/8 teaspoon Cavendar’s Greek Spice
1/2 cup Pinot Grigio; or other sweet white wine
1/8 cup Crown Royal Whiskey
1/4 teaspoon orange rind
1   Chicken bouillon

Grilled Halibut Steaks Ingredients
2   Halibut Fish Steaks Frozen
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
1/3 cup Olive oil
1/2 teaspoon Italian Spices
1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
Freshly ground pepper 4-6 twists
1/2 tablespoon celery salt
1/4 cup orange wedges 1/2″ bits from the whole orange above

Preparation

Take two frozen fish steaks and place in gallon sealable bag. Add above ingredients listed under Halibut Steak to the bag and let thaw while it marinades.   Separate the orange wedges and chop into 1/2″ bits.  Reserve about 1/4 cup for mushrooms. Since there is lemon juice in the mix you will not need to refrigerate but can.  It would just take longer to thaw and you would need to adjust your timing.  While the fish thaws begin the mushrooms.   If you’re lucky enough to have fresh fish just marinate in the fridge while you sauté the mushrooms and onions.

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Sauté chopped onions with olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until caramelized; about 5 minutes.  Sprinkle with celery salt, Cavendar’s Greek Spice, sea salt and let continue to caramelize further; about 5 minutes.  Add as much spice as you prefer to get the slightly salty taste but not too much.   Add  remaining orange rind and continue to caramelize for just a short time so as not to burn the rind.

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Add mushrooms and more olive oil if necessary so that mushrooms are coated. Cook for 10 min on medium heat.   Add chicken bouillon,  Pinot Grigio wine and Crown Royal and continue to ….. sip some wine…

….Continue to cook down mushrooms for around 15 additional minutes while grilling or pan frying your fish.

Grilling the Halibut.

Cook on med-high grill for around 15 minute. 5-7 minutes per side. Add salt and pepper while grilling.  To keep the fish moist, brush with marinade while cooking.

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The alcohol does cook away for those of you that might be opposed to using spirits in your cooking.  You can substitute apple juice if you do not stock wine or whiskey.

If you like this recipe from KCinAZ, then give me a like or comment on this post. 😀  I’ll try to give you more fun recipes.

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Fresh oranges in the relish pair to make a savory accompaniment to rich salmon fillets. Serve the citrus relish with any kind of fish, or with shrimp or scallops.  On a diet or NOT you still will enjoy this dish.  A vegetarian or NOT,  you still will enjoy this dish.

We live in Arizona and have our own orange tree so having oranges a plenty for the relish is easy.

Marinade:

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1/4 cup Orange juice
2  tablespoons Olive oil
1  teaspoon Dried thyme
4 Salmon filets; about 1 pound

Spice Rub:

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3/4 teaspoon Paprika
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoons Dried thyme
Salt & pepper Prior to baking

Orange Relish:
2   oranges seedless
1/2 teaspoon Orange zest fresh
1  tablespoon Honey
1/2 teaspoon Onion powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1  tablespoon Fresh Italian parsley chopped
1/2 teaspoon Ginger ground

Preparation–

MARINATE:

Mix orange juice, oil and 1 teaspoon of the thyme in small bowl. Place salmon in large resealable plastic bag or glass dish. Add marinade; turn to coat well. Refrigerate 30 minutes or longer for extra flavor.

BAKE:

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Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix brown sugar, paprika, 1/2 teaspoon thyme and salt in small bowl. Remove salmon from marinade. Discard any remaining marinade. Rub salmon evenly with paprika mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place salmon on foil-lined baking pan.  Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.  Or, grill salmon over medium-high heat 6 to 8 minutes per side or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

RELISH:

Peel orange, section and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Mix all ingredients in medium bowl. Cover.

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If you like this recipe from KCinAZ, then give me a like or comment on this post. 😀 I’ll try to give you more fun recipes.

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Why is it that I love to cook with spirits.  I haven’t figured it out but I do on a regular basis.  Crown Royal Whiskey is one of my favorite cooking ingredients for reducing mushrooms or making a sauce similar to a Marsala Wine sauce.  A few weeks ago, I wanted to do something different with Yellow Fin Tuna.  So, here was invented Drunken Yellow Fin.  From now on anything I make with spirits as an ingredient will probably be called “Drunkin Something”.  What is really funny is that I do not even like the taste of most alcohol unless it’s in food.  Now, wine is a different story.  Maybe that’s why the booze is in the food and the wine is in my glass.

To start, we create a marinate for the Tuna.  It’s composed of:

2- 8 ounce Yellow Fin Tuna Steaks
1/2 cup Royal Crown Whiskey
1/2 tablespoon Old Bay Lemon & Herb Spice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Place these ingredients in a shallow bowl and then add the yellow fin tuna.  Turn tuna a couple of times in the marinate, then refrigerate for around 30-60 minutes.  Turn the tuna every 10-15 minutes depending on how long you want to leave in the fridge.

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Place the lovely tuna on a thoroughly heated medium-high grill.  You could also use a grilling pan if you do not have a gas grill readily available.  Add the following two ingredients after placing the fish on the grill.

1/2 teaspoon chopped basil
freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

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Cook the tuna for 5-7 minutes on each side.  Halfway through the first 5-7 minutes turn the tuna clockwise on the grill so that it scores both directions, horizontally and vertically.

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If the fish appears to be getting dry, spray with a little olive oil to keep it moist as it cooks to a light pink center.  You may want to turn down the heat to medium if it’s cooking to hot.   It’s a  fine balance.  If you take it off too soon then the fish will be undercooked.  Well, some of you may like sushi so this would be okay for you.  We like it cooked medium so that the tuna is still pink in the center but not dry on the outside.  I can highly recommend a great cookbook; “Timing is Everything” by Jack Piccolo to help with determining cooking times.

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I place the finished tuna in a foil wrap and then added a little more Crown Royal.  While the rest of the meal finished up the tuna rested for around 5 minutes in the foil.  Turned out quite well for another new drunkin experiment.

If you like this recipe from KCinAZ, then give me a like or comment on this post. 😀 I’ll try to give you more fun recipes.

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Many of you love the traditional English Beer Battered Fish n Chips but it’s just too much breading for my taste. I know, I don’t want to offend those English cooks out there but sorry… I want to taste the fish more than the breading. A light coating for breading cooked up crunchy is more to my liking. In this recipe I used regular Italian spiced bread crumbs and a light coating of unbleached all purpose flour. Since I just learned about Panko Japanese style bread crumbs, maybe I’ll experiment with that this time. This recipe is so simple and I do love fish n chips. Bite by bite, squirt a little lemon on a piece of the fish, add some tarter sauce to my fork and then pick up the bite and pop it into my mouth. Can’t wait until this evening to cook it up!

This recipe was inspired by one of my favorite Big Oven contributors, Sgrishka’s Chicken Milanese.  Fish fillets can be boring sometimes and I wanted to add a little flavor and variety to a typical fish dinner.

Ingredients

2 Salmon fillets 2  medium Eggs
Salt and pepper to taste 1  cup Dry bread crumbs Italian spiced
1  cup All purpose flour; for dredging 1  tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil

Preparation

Spread flour on paper towel or plate. Beat eggs with 1 tablespoon oil in second shallow dish to form a layer for dredging. Spread Italian bread crumbs on paper towel or shallow dish for the last dredging.

Prepare salmon fillets by patting dry any moisture that may be present.  Season each fillet on both sides with salt and pepper.   Bread fillets one a time. Dredge in flour, coating both sides and shaking off the excess. If fillets are firm enough use tongs to dip both sides in egg mixture, letting excess drip back into baking dish to ensure very thin coating.  If fillets are not firm enough you may need to hand dip each dredge.  Dip both sides of fillets in bread crumbs to form the final coating. Place on wire rack set over baking sheet, allow coating to dry for about 5 minutes. If preparing ahead, then refridgerate until ready to cook; around 1 hour max.

Preheat  large nonstick saute pans over high heat, add 2-3 tablespoons olive oil to form an even layer of oil on bottom of pan. Heat until a sprinkle of water sizzles  in pan. Place fillets in pan allowing enough room to form only one layer.  Cook 2-3 minutes until golden brown and crisp.. Flip over and reduce heat to medium.  Cook an addititonal 2-3 minutes until golden brown and fish appears slightly flaky. Drain on rack set over a baking sheet.  Warm plats in microwave for 3-4 minutes and then plate fish on warm plates.  Serve with lemon and tarter if desired.

If you like this recipe from KCinAZ, then give me a like or comment on this post. 😀 I’ll try to give you more fun recipes.

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Fresh oranges in the relish pair to make a savory accompaniment to rich salmon fillets. Serve the citrus relish with any kind of fish, or with shrimp or scallops.  The oranges were picked fresh from my tree yesterday and after peeling half the basket I’d seen enough orange peel to last a lifetime.  Then it came to mind, lets just peel a couple more choice oranges and make my Citrus Baked Salmon with Orange Relish.  My only mistake with this thought that the recipe is for four servings and there were only two servings of salmon to prepare.  After putting all of the spice rub on the salmon it came to mind that this looked like a little overkill.  After taking the fish from the oven it was obvious that there was too much spice rub.  A good portion of the rub was scraped off and the fish was then edible.  Too much Paprika had made it over powering.  So with that said, it is suggested to make sure to watch your portions and to always add spice rub according to the amount of meat spice.  The pictures that have been added are from when the recipe was originally made and posted on BigOven.com

Ingredients

Marinade: Orange Relish:
1/4 cup Orange juice    2 oranges seedless
2  tablespoons Olive oil 1/2 teaspoon Orange zest fresh
1  teaspoon Dried thyme 1 tablespoon Honey
4 Salmon filets; about 1 pound 1/2 teaspoon Onion powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt 1/4 teaspoon Salt
Spice Rub: 1 tablespoon Fresh Italian parsley chopped
3/4 teaspoon Paprika 1/2 teaspoon Ginger ground
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoons Dried thyme
Salt & Pepper Fillets Prior to baking

Preparation

MARINATE:

Mix orange juice, oil and 1 teaspoon of the thyme in small bowl. Place salmon in large resealable plastic bag or glass dish. Add marinade; turn to coat well. Refrigerate 30 minutes or longer for extra flavor.

BAKE:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix brown sugar, paprika, 1/2 teaspoon thyme and salt in small bowl. Remove salmon from marinade. Discard any remaining marinade. Rub salmon evenly with paprika mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place salmon on foil-lined baking pan.  Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.  Or, grill salmon over medium-high heat 6 to 8 minutes per side or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

RELISH:

Peel orange, section and cut into 1/2-inch pieces. Mix all ingredients in medium bowl. Cover. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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If you like this recipe from KCinAZ, then give me a like or comment on this post. 😀 I’ll try to give you more fun recipes.