Our Florida Surf and Turf

On our Florida vacation, our beach house had a grill outside.  We found a nice meat market and picked up a large beef tenderloin, portioned it up, grilled it, and served it with some very garlicky shrimp and a side of potato and brussel sprout hash.  After a day on the beach coupled with this big meal and a couple bottles of red wine, we were all done for after eating!

Beef Filets with Butter Garlic Shrimp

Serves 4

• 4 portions of beef filets
• 1 pound large-ish shrimp, shelled, de-veined, tails removed
• 4  cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 more tablespoons butter,  cut into smaller chunks
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup white wine

Generously season both sides of steaks with salt and pepper.  Grill over hot grill about 4-5 minutes per side (depending on thickness) for medium rare.

White steaks are resting, make shrimp.  Heat cast iron pan over medium heat.  Add 2 tablespoons butter and olive oil.  Add garlic and slowly cook until bubbly and just starting to brown, about 2 minutes (don’t burn!).  Add shrimp, season well, and cook about 2 minutes. Add white wine and let reduce by about half, about 2 minutes.  Once reduced, turn heat off and slowly start stirring in butter chunks, about one at a time.  Taste for any final seasoning and serve over steaks with lots of garlicky sauce.

Potato and Brussel Sprout Hash

• About 3/4 pounds small potatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
• About 3/4 pounds brussel sprouts, ends cut off, sliced in half
• 1 medium white onion, cut into dice
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons  butter

Cook potatoes in boiling salted water until just about cooked through, about 9 minutes.  Drain thoroughly.

Blanch brussel sprouts in boiling salted water until just cooked through, about 4 minutes.  Drain thoroughly.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive in cast iron pan over medium high heat.  Cook onions until cooked through and starting to brown in areas. Season and stir in butter and mix until melted.  Add to a large serving bowl. Tent with foil to keep warm.

Do the same with the potatoes and brussel sprouts, separately in two batches:  Heat a cast iron pan with the oil medium high heat, add the vegggies and season, cook until starting to brown in spots, and melt in the tablespoon of butter.  Add to serving bowl.  Once all veggies are done, give it all a good mix and serve with steaks and shrimp.

Our dinner table at the Beach House

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Shrimp Satay with Peanut Sauce

Samina (of Samina Cooks!) recent post on Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce inspired me to do some of my own.  However, I was having my Dad over for dinner, and I know he loves shrimp, so I decided to swap out chicken thighs for some grilled shrimps.  I marinated the shrimp for about 30 minutes (not too long or your shrimp can get “over-marinated” and turn mushy and not good), grilled them, served them with a peanut sauce, and with some quick pickled cucumbers, radishes, and red onions.  Alas, I’m not sure where my head has been lately, and so this blog will also be missing the (almost) obligatory picture of food.  Sigh.

Serves 4 appetizer portions

• 1 pound fairly large shrimp (U16-20, which means there is about 16-20 shrimp per pound, see this chart for more info), peeled and de-veined
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• Peanut Sauce (recipe below)
• Quick Pickled Cucumber and Radish Salad (recipe below)

Combine all ingredients except shrimp and stir up well.  Add shrimp and let marinate for about 20-30 minutes.  Remove shrimp from marinade and thread onto skewers (about 4 skewers, which have been soaked in water about 15 minutes to prevent them from burning, 4-5 shrimp per skewer.)  Discard remaining marinade.

Grill shrimps on grill about 2 minutes per side.

Serve with Peanut Sauce and Cucumber and Radish Salad.

Peanut Sauce

• 2 garlic cloves, smashed up
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons sriracha
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon lime juice (approximately juice of one lime)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/4 cup chicken or veggie stock

Puree all ingredients in blender.  Taste to make sure it is to your liking.

Feel free to garnish with a few chopped up peanuts.

Quick Pickled Cucumber and Radish Salad

• 1/2 medium sized cucumber, peeled, and sliced very thin (I sliced mine on a mandolin.)
• 5 medium sized radishes, sliced thin (again, did mine on a mandolin)
• 1/2 red onion, sliced thin, mandolin
• 1/3 cup white wine or rice wine (unseasoned) vinegar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• big pinch of salt
• 2 cups water

Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, and water, and stir up until salt and sugar is completely dissolved.

Add cucumber, radishes, and onions.  Stir up, and let sit out on counter to pickled at least 30 minutes, ideally closer to an hour.

Shrimp and Grits Ain’t Just for the South

I lived in the South (South Carolina and Georgia) for about three years, and soon found upon my arrival that they make certain foods there that were completely new to me, yet caused me to wonder how I could possibly ever live life with out them again.  These included pimento cheese, fried green tomatoes, and shrimp and grits.  Obviously, health concerns are not much of a factor to me.  The creamy grits, the salty bacon, the perfectly cooked shrimp – heaven!  And to top it off, it is a dish that is equally acceptable as either breakfast or dinner.  You can’t go wrong!