Recipes
El Greco Grill
If this El Greco Grill sets the tone for this year's summer grilling, it's gonna be a GOOD year! This Greek feast features chunky vegetable skewers and shrimp in a delightful marinade of ouzo, basil and tomato along with our El Greco seasoning. Make the marinade ahead of time for maximum flavor development and you won't be disappointed. Serve family style on a big platter of rice!
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Orange Tarragon Halibut with Honey en Papillote
The opening of halibut season is a rite of spring in the Pacific Northwest and always brings the excitement of fresh wild bounty. You can do just about anything with halibut, and I've done many, being a huge fan of the fish. It's willing to accept a wide range of flavor, it's meaty and tender while not overly fishy and you can pan-fry, grill, plank or poach it. But this year I've found the best preparation ever, and I love it when seemingly fancy or fussy things turn out to be easy and totally worth it. Such is the case with cooking "en papillote" or "in parchment". These magical little packets create an effective steam chamber that drives a world of flavor INTO this fabulous fish. The packets are easy to make, especially if you are experienced cutting hearts out of folded pieces of paper. Even if you're not, the easy instructions in this Serious Eats article will help you get the hang of it.For this recipe we paired Orange Tarragon Compound Butter with honey and a squeeze of Meyer Lemon. The flavors combine effortlessly both in the packet and on the tongue. Dinner was ready in under half an hour start to finish and the flavor pairings were sensational. Serve with fresh vegetables and a nice white wine for an easy breezy spring dinner.
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Orange Tarragon Compound Butter
We've all been there. You want to add a little pizzazz to your finished dish but just don’t have the time or inclination to go that final step and make a sauce. Enter the Compound Butter. Like a knight in shining (glistening?) armor, these handy little life savers can come straight from the fridge or freezer to the rescue, adding a distinctive depth and pop of flavor. A compound butter is simply a combination of softened butter and any mix of herbs and spices you can think of. Bolder flavors, like chilis, cumin or masalas can be paired with heavier proteins like beef, chicken, lamb or pork, while lighter fare, such as seafood or vegetables are better topped with a blend utilizing lighter herbs like dill, parsley or cilantro. Here, we combine the slightly sweet Orange Tarragon with fresh parsley, tarragon and orange zest for a delicate topping that will take your dish to a whole new level. It pairs well with roasted or grilled vegetables, fish and seafood or pasta.
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Baked Crab Dip with Crostini
Whether you want to have a few friends over to watch a football game or movie, or you want to celebrate a holiday, you're going to need a few things to nosh on. Make the decision easier - and a lot less stressful - by using this wonderful book from the experts at Cook's Illustrated. This All-Time Best Appetizers Cookbook of 75 "only the best" appetizer recipes will make it easy to create a spread with everything from things that can be dipped and/or spread, or eaten by the handful or even two-bite treats. This Baked Crab Dip with Crostini makes perfect use of our delicious Pacific Northwest crab in making a appetizer that will become your "go to" dish to make for any gathering. From the authors: "Why this recipe works - In its ideal form, crab dip is a warm, decadent party pleaser full of creamy, meaty seafood and savory spices. Unlike other versions of this popular appetizer, ours has a high ration of crab to cheese, allowing the sweet crab flavor to come through. To make it even more party-friendly, we used a cast-iron skillet as an oven-to-table cooking vessel, which ensures that your guests will enjoy the dip while it's hot. For a serving option that was sturdy enough to scoop into the rich dip without any need for a spoon, we made a quick batch of crostini from sliced baguettes. To make a savory base for the crab dip, we first cooked onion in the skillet, adding just a bit of Old Bay seasoning and coriander. We then removed the sautéed onions from the skillet and combined them with cream cheese, mayonnaise, and parsley. After gently folding the crabmeat into the mixture, we put the whole thing back in the skilled and baked it until it was warm and bubbly, with the crostini fanned around the perimeter. Do not substitute imitation crabmeat here. To soften the cream cheese quickly, microwave it for 20 to 30 seconds."
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Spicy Fish Salad
The countries in the Persian culinary region are home to many religions, languages, cultures and politics. In culinary traditions, however, they all have a deep love for food that has tart flavors and is fresh and colorful. You'll find fresh herbs at every meal and colorful ingredient used such as pomegranates and saffron. Naomi Duguid's Taste of Persia shows us through delicious recipes and fascinating stories how diverse and wonderful this region is. This gorgeous looking salad uses poached fish and makes for something a little bit different for any meal. From the author: "Kuchmachi is a Georgian dish that’s most often made of simmered chicken or beef or lamb, a kind of meat salad dressed with a savory rich walnut sauce and served at room temperature. This version is made with poached fish. I first tasted a version of fish kuchmachi at a Palm Sunday fasting feast in Akhalkalaki hosted by the Bishop of Javakheti. The guests, most of whom were keeping the Lenten fast (no animal products except for a few days when fish is permitted), were happy to be able to eat fish on this special day. Outside, the landscape was spare and beautiful, with snow capped peaks on the horizon. Not far away lay the borders with Turkey and Armenia. Serve this on a hot day as a main course with an assortment of salads, or serve it as one course in a winter feast, preceded by a clear soup and followed by roast meat or roast vegetables."
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“Portuguese” Barbecued Clams
We love this recipe from The Adventures of Fat Rice, a fabulous cookbook that delves into the vibrant food of Macau, which is a melting pot of Chinese, Portuguese, Malaysian and Indian food. With a sauce that can be prepared weeks ahead of time and stored until needed, this clam dish requires little more time than that necessary to obtain and clean the clams. Perfect for easy summer time dinners! From the Author: "This is our version of a plate of beautiful clams we found at the night market on Jonker Street in Malacca. They’re simply steamed with a fiery, garlicky, smoky, slightly sour sambal that finds its way inside to coat each briny, plump clam. Crisp, fresh cucumbers provide a refreshing contrast to the heat. Served steaming on banana leaves, the dish has a beautiful fragrance that transports us right back to Malacca. Serve alongside Coconut Rice (page 75) or Papo Seco (page 264), with beer or a nice clean white Portuguese wine."
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Mojo
This Mojo recipe from Cuba!: Recipes and Stories from a Cuban Kitchen by Dan Goldberg is for garlic-lovers, but one of our regular customers described the Mojo sauce of his youth as having a fair amount more citrus. Either way, this sauce will become a favorite and you'll find excuses to use it. (Seriously. Make a double batch, as you will put it on everything!! It's great on seafood, rice, veggies...)From the Author: "Mojo is one of the primary flavoring ingredients in Cuba. At its most basic it's composed of garlic, citrus juice, oregano, and oil. Bottled sour orange juice is common throughout the Caribbean, but if you have trouble sourcing it, regular orange juice with added lime juice is a good substitute. Sunflower oil is the most common fat in Cuba, aside from lard and butter, but in this recipe we're using olive oil to further enhance the flavor of mojo-dressed recipes such as baked fish, fried plantains, and grilled chicken."
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Osaka Miso Dressing
I've been spending lots of quality time with Osaka Seasoned Salt lately. Its just so darn cheerful I keep coming back to it! It started when I put this perky seasoning on steamed broccoli with lemon juice and sesame oil, creating a simply spiced combination that became a go-to for lunch. Then on to ramen and 6 minute eggs, fabulous! So I was having Osaka Salt for breakfast too. And now the Osaka Miso Dressing. This stellar flavor combination has been gracing many a crunchy salad and stir-fry this spring and that pushed it over the top. Osaka Salt is now on my desert island spice list.In this dressing, the flavors come together beautifully. It is light and intense, with a strong presence of ginger leading the way. There's just enough toasted sesame to be noticed without overpowering and the vegetal and sesame flavors of the Osaka Salt play right along. This dressing is NOT ginger shy, so cut back a little if you'd like a milder version. Enjoy it on vegetables, noodles or to dress chicken or tuna salad.
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Miso Marinated Halibut
Whether you love black cod, salmon or halibut best, try your favorite in this wonderfully decadent dish. Our miso marinated halibut is adapted from the classic Japanese preparation popularized by chef Nobu Matsuhisa. I've enjoying this dish in seafood restaurants for years, but never tried my hand at it until now. It just seemed so fancy! But when we created our Asian Tea Rub, I knew it would be a perfect flavor match, and it is. The umami-goodness of the miso marinade plays perfectly with the smoky tea and subtle spices. Serve this dish with a simple side of rice and vegetables for an impressive and delicious meal.
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