Pasta, Green Bean and Tomato Salad

The al dente pasta in this salad makes it nice and hardy, while the vegetables keep it fresh and light. This salad is great to take to a party, or at the dinner table as a main or side dish.



Large Pot of Water
s/p
handful of Green Beans - ends trimmed, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 pint Cherry Tomatoes - cut in half
1/2-1 Yellow Hot Chili/Hungarian Wax pepper - thinly sliced, seeds removed
Green Onion or Chives - use scissors a sharp knife to cut into thin slices
2 cloves Garlic - pressed or finely chopped
Lemon Zest
Lemon juice from half a lemon
Fresh herbs - chopped (I used Sage. Basil, Oregano, Rosemary, or Thyme would also taste great.)
EVOO
Ziti or any bite size shaped pasta
Fresh Spinach or any hearty leafy green such as romaine lettuce, watercress, endive, young mustard greens, arugula, or a blend of greens



Cover the pot of water and bring it up to a boil over medium-high to high heat. When the water boils remove the lid, heavily salt the water, and add the green beans. Cook the beans for about two minuets, no longer.

In the meantime, put the tomatoes, hot peppers, green onion, garlic, lemon zest and juice in a large bowl.

Rosemary Skewered Shrimp

I took these little guys to my friends Alisha and Molly's dinner party. I served them with my Creamy Herb Dip. They were easy, tasty and very pretty! There were ten people at the party, so I only put one shrimp per rosemary stem. If you're cooking for more people, or have less rosemary to work with, add two or three shrimp per stalk.



Rosemary Skewers

You'll need a lot of thick rosemary steams. Clean and dry them. Then trim them, if needed.

Firmly hold the top of a rosemary stem between your fingers. Use your other hand to grab the bottom of the herb. Slid your fingers down away from the tip of the rosemary, removing the needle like leaves. You want to clear a space large enough for your shrimp to fit on it.

Set the skewers aside.

Chop the rosemary that you remove from the stalk and use it in the marinade, stalk, and dip.

Marinade

24 Shrimp - peeled and deveined (reserve the heads and shells)
1/5 cup Evoo
1 T Soy Sauce (I used gluten free)
Lemon Juice from 1/2 a lemon (reserve the squeezed lemon)
3 cloves Garlic - crushed and peeled
Black and White Pepper
Cayenne
Smoked Paprika
Thyme
Rosemary
Chives
Sugar
splash of White Balsamic Vinegar
splash of Water

Mix everything together in a bowl. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.

Creamy Herb Dip - Dressing

I made this for a dinner party appetizer of Rosemary Skewered Shrimp. The dip was great with the shrimp, and I have used the leftovers for lots of things since then.



2 c Mayo
1/2 c Buttermilk
8 oz Sour Cream
Juice from 1/2 a Lemon
2 T Fresh Chives - thinly sliced
2 T Fresh Parsley - chopped
2 T Fresh Rosemary - finely chopped
1 T Fresh Thyme
2 T Capers - drained and chopped
1/2 t Smoked Paprika
1/4 t Cayenne Pepper
1/2 t Garlic Salt
White Pepper

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl.

Lemon - Soy Marinated Grilled Halibut

Halibut is a firm white fleshed fish. It's texture makes it great for the grill. The flavor of this large fish is pretty mild and clean. It's great simply prepared and served with a light sauce.



You could substitute any other firm fish for the halibut in this recipe and it would still be tasty stuffs.

1 T Ginger - minced
2 T Lemon Juice
1 t Lemon Zest
1 T Light Soy Sauce (substitute gluten free soy for a GF dish)
1/2 T Dark Soy Sauce (I used a mushroom flavored dark soy)
1 T Dried or a hand full of fresh Parsley
1 T Green Onion - chopped
Garlic Chili Sauce (or other hot sauce)
Splash of Water
Halibut*



*If you buy a large piece of fish, it's best to cut it into manageable pieces. The smaller size is easier to flip and to remove from the grill. I like to keep the pieces about the size of my spatula.

Mix all of the ingredients, except the fish, together in a flat bottomed dish.

Remove about a 1/4 of the mixture and set it aside.

Place your halibut in the dish, move it around, flip it over, spoon some marinade on top of the fish, and cover it.



Let this marinate for ten minutes.


Flip the fish and spoon more marinate on top of it.

Rainbow Trout with Lemon and Herb

This trout was cooked on an indoor grill. An outdoor grill will work just as well. Be sure not to place the fish directly over the flames, so that the skin doesn't burn. You could also dust the fish's skin with flour and then cook it in a tablespoon or two of oil and/or butter, in a sauté pan.



This recipe is for one fish. I served it with half a lobster tail and pasta, it was the perfect amount for the two of us. If the people you're feeding have larger appetites, cook one fish per person.



1 pan-dressed Rainbow Trout
s/p
1 Green Onion (green part only) - sliced
1 stalk Oregano
2 slices of Lemon - cut in half
Cooking String (optional)
Melted Butter (optional)

Rinse the fish and pat it dry. Lay it flat, skin side down.



Season the trout with s/p.

Place half of the onions and oregano on one side of the fish.

Top the herbs with your lemon slices.



Add the rest of the onions and oregano on top of the lemon slices.

Citrus Dressing

I made this dressing for a Chicken Strawberry Mango Salad, but it would be tasty on any greens. It reminds me of a warm summer day. What else would you want from a dressing? Or, for a tasty winter salad, try this citrus vin on my Roasted Sweet Potato and Arugula Salad.

1 Orange
1 Lime
1 Lemon
1 Jalapeño - very finely diced
Chives - thinly sliced
3-4 Garlic - pressed
splash of Soy Sauce
splash of Water
Honey
Black Pepper
EVOO
fresh Mint - minced

Juice the citrus into a bowl. Add a little zest from each fruit. Then, stir in everything but the EVOO and mint.

The amount of jalapeño, honey, and black pepper that's used is up to your taste. Just keep in mind that a vinaigrette should be a balanced mix of sweet, salty, spicy, and sour.

Next, slowly and steadily whisk in the EVOO till the liquid has doubled in volume. Finish by stirring in the mint. I like to do this last so that the mint leaves don't get stuck in my whisk.

This tastes a little like jalapeño jelly. You Texans will know what I'm talking about.

Serve over greens, rice, chicken or fish.
Gluten free.