Grilled Swordfish with salsa di Giovanna

Grilled Swordfish with salsa di Giovanna.

Sounds fancy huh....
Giovanna sauce is really just a vinaigrette, but in addition to the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and garlic, I added fresh cilantro from the garden to give it a real fresh taste. This makes a wonderful sauce to drizzle over grilled fish, especially a thick swordfish steak.  Serve with my Grilled Corn on The Cob and you have a delicious meal. 



Ingredients

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves 
• 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 (6-8 ounce) swordfish steaks 
• mayonnaise 

1. Mix oil, cilantro and garlic in a medium sized bowl. Whisk in the lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste into the oil mixture. 

• 2. Prepare the swordfish for the hot grill: season the fish with salt and pepper and brush a coating of mayonnaise on both sides. This seals in the fish and you wont' know it's there after it's done. This is a restaurant trick. Grill the fish on a medium high heat for about 3-4 minutes on each side depending on the thickness.  
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• 3. When the fish is done, move to a platter and drizzle the sauce over the fish and serve the rest of the sauce on the side. 

My version of salsa di Giovanna made with cilantro. 

Grilled Swordfish with salsa di Giovanna.

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• Enjoy!
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Grilled Corn on The Cob

Grilled corn on the cob and Grilled Swordfish with Salsa di Giovanna

• Sweet corn, native corn...it's all in season now! If you haven't made grilled corn before, you must give this a try. The first time I made it, I couldn't believe it. Grilling corn takes corn to another level. It can be so simple to do but it can also come out dry or too charred. I'm looking for the corn to be juicy, slight charred with a smokey flavor from the grill and with a rich taste of melted butter and salt with a subtle spicy kick thrown in. If you try my method of microwaving the corn first for just a few minutes and than finish the cooking on the grill, it will come out perfect!

Ingredients

• 4 ears of corn, fully shucked
• 2 Tbsp of softened butter
• chili powder  
• paprika
• salt and pepper

1. Wrap the ears of corn loosely in plastic wrap or put into a large zip lock bag with a sprinkle of water and cook in the microwave on a high heat for 3 minutes. 
2. Spread softened butter all over the cooled corn and sprinkle with salt and lightly sprinkle a little chili powder (optional) and paprika all over.  
3. Grill over medium high heat, turning every 1-2 minutes until browned about 5 minutes total. 

Cook the corn in the microwave first to allow for perfect grilled corn.

Serve hot off the grill and enjoy!

Easy Eggs Benedict with Quick Hollandaise Sauce

Easy Eggs Benedict with Quick Hollandaise Sauce.

I can poach an egg! It feels like the biggest accomplishment when you make a perfect poached egg. The secret is using vinegar in the poaching liquid, this helps to keep the egg together. This is one time that I cheat a little and use a package of Knorr Hollandaise Sauce. It's very good and if you add a little squeeze of fresh lemon into the sauce, nobody will know the difference. I had left over lobster from the night before and added some on top to make this dish extra special.

Ingredients:

• 2 English muffins, halved horizontally
• 4 slices Canadian bacon
• 4 whole eggs for poaching 
• 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• Knorr Hollandaise Sauce
• Cooked lobster or crab for topping
• Fresh squeezed lemon to taste

1. Prepare Hollandaise sauce according to package and keep nice and warm, string occasionally. In a small skillet, over low heat, cook Canadian bacon 2 to 3 minutes per side. 
    
2. In a large skillet, bring water and white vinegar to a low boil. If using a non-stick pan, 1 inch of water is fine or use 3 inches of water if you are not using a non-stick so that the eggs don't stick to the bottom of the pan. Crack eggs one at a time and gently drop each into boiling water.  Cook 4 to 5 minutes, or until eggs are firm on the outside.
    
3. Place toasted English muffin halves on a platter and top each half with a slice of Canadian bacon. Then, using a slotted spoon, place an egg over each slice of bacon. Top eggs with warm Hollandaise sauce and top with lobster if you desire. 

Tip: If making a large batch of poached eggs, use an extra egg as a "test" egg. I like my eggs very runny. 

Jordan "Marshy" Blueberry Muffin Tops

Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins.

When blueberries are in season, 2 things that come to mind are No Bake Blueberry Pie and Blueberry Muffins from Jordan Marsh. I have vivid childhood memories of going shopping at Filene's with my mother and always making a pit-stop at Jordan Marsh to pick up some famous blueberry muffins to bring home with us. It was a big white box with blue writing tied with string. The muffins were loaded with berries and crunchy chunks of sugar on top. If you are from New England, you know what I'm talking about. There have been many recipes posted on the web, claiming to be the original. All are very similar but they are all missing the key ingredient. The original Jordan Marsh recipe used Crisco. Yes, Crisco.....this goes against my grain so I used butter.

Another secret is that the muffins didn't have a bluish tinge inside. This is because the blueberries were mixed in by hand and not mashed like many of the "fake" recipes call for. I love the crunchy top of the muffin sprinkled with sugar and when you get a burst of a fat, juicy blueberry popping in your mouth.........it's so delicious!


This recipe has been circulating since the 60's. John Pupek, longtime baker at Jordan Marsh, finally disclosed the real recipe a few years ago in the Boston Herald.


Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened (Jordan's used Crisco)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 pint blueberries, cleaned and rinsed
• sugar for sprinkling on top

1. Cream together butter, sugar, and salt for 3 minutes. Add baking powder and eggs and mix well. Add flour, milk, and vanilla, and mix well again. Fold in blueberries.
2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Grease and flour muffin tins, and also the tops. Fill cups to the top. Sprinkle sugar on each muffin. 
3. Bake at 450 for 5 minutes, drop temperature to 375, bake 20 minutes more for muffin tops or 30 to 35 minutes more for regular muffins. 
4. Cool and remove from pans. 


A Boston Globe article about John Pupek at A Farewell to the Muffin Man does say "Baker John Pupek followed the secret recipe one batch at a time, folding in the berries by hand to keep them whole and working the batter until the consistency felt just right." 

Muffin top pans! Line with circles of wax paper or the tops tend to break easier than regular muffins. 

This recipe creates a silky batter.

Toss blueberries with a little sugar to keep them from falling to the bottom of the muffin. Hand fold into the batter.

Sprinkle sugar on top to get a crunchy coating. 

No more muffin bottoms left behind!

Baked Scrod with Crabmeat Stuffing

Baked Scrod with Crabmeat Stuffing

Fresh fish stuffed with a luscious crabmeat stuffing. An old time favorite if you love fish! It's so easy and fast to prepare. The stuffing is moist, rich and delicious with surprise bites of sweet crab meat. Once the stuffing is assembled, it's rolled securely in the fish. 

Ingredients

• 1.5 pounds of fresh scrod, flounder or any white fish  
• 2 cups of fresh bread crumbs
• 1 small onion, minced
• 8 ounces of fresh crab meat
• 1/2 fresh squeezed lemon
• 1/4 cup of mayo 
• salt and pepper to taste
• paprika 
• parsley
• olive oil spray

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

1. Mix all these ingredients together and roll up in fish fillets, divide it among two to four good-sized pieces. 
2. Sprinkle paprika and parsley over each piece and spray with olive oil to seal the fish. 
3. Bake for 30 minutes.  

Ready for the oven.