Well that maybe a bit melodramatic but it is forbidden when she is here. That would be seafood of any sort. She just can't eat it and gets sick every time she tries so we don't even bother. When she goes out with the girls or goes out of town she encourages me to indulge....because I absolutely LOVE seafood. Well, she headed to the airport early yesterday morning and about 6:00 I headed into town to get my staples for dinner. The only place open at that time was WalMart but I didn't expect any issues. Turned out I was mistaken. The original plan was to do Surf And Turf. I have 3 of the huge 45 day aged rib eye steaks still in the freezer so was gonna grill one of those along with some lobster tails in a butter and garlic sauce. OOPS!! The only tails that they had were in a large bag and were frozen. I didn't need a large bag and I certainly didn't want frozen lobster. Time to shift gears and go a different direction. Looked around and saw some fresh tilapia and shrimp....the cogs started turning. Here was my new menu plan:
-Cajun Blackened Tilapia
-BBQ Shrimp
-Grilled Asparagus
-Parsley Potatoes
Grabbed the tilapia, shrimp, and asparagus and was headed home (I had potatoes in the fridge). Got all my weekend chores done then headed to my little pub about 3:00 for a couple of adult libations all the while dreaming of this dinner. It's been a LONG time since I've had seafood and was Jonesing for my fix. Started getting things ready immediately upon my return from the pub and here's what I came up with:
Peeled and cubed one large Russet potato, into a pan of salted water to lightly boil
Tossed the asparagus in a bit of Organic EVOO, salt, pepper, and garlic
Into the grilling wok
Shrimp seasoned with my rib rub (done it before and was fantastic!!) then into another grilling wok
Shrimp and asparagus onto the grill
Got the small cast iron griddle and on the grill to heat up with a hefty dose of butter. Sear burner running about 900*
Tilapia fillets seasoned on one side
On to the CI griddle and the other side seasoned. At 900* this isn't going to take long
Dinner all done and plated. Sprinkled the asparagus with some gourmet Parmesan cheese, tossed the potatoes with butter, salt, pepper, and chives. It's show time!! Here's the money shot
The tilapia was absolutely stellar. Perfectly blackened, moist, juicy, tender and unbelievably flavorful. Shrimp was perfectly cooked, just a bit too salty but still fantastic. Taters were done to al dante' and had a really nice flavoring balance. Asparagus also done al dante', which is how we like it. We aren't big fans of mushy asparagus and the addition of the cheese set it over the top. Maybe it's just been so long since I've gotten to eat seafood but this was about my favorite meal in a very long time. The fun part is that I only used half of the shrimp and half of the tilapia so I'm thinking about doing a Po Boy this evening for dinner with what's left.
Side note: I came to the realization yesterday that I have a tendency to take and post a lot of pics detailing every step of my cooking endeavors...possibly too many pics. Last night I kept the picture taking a bit militaristic so as not to overdo it this time, but now wish I hadn't. This dinner was spectacular and I wish I'd caught every step of the process. Oh well, next time I'll take the pics and maybe just be a bit more discriminating on how many I post.
Livin' on the lake and finally got to eat fish,
Robert
-Cajun Blackened Tilapia
-BBQ Shrimp
-Grilled Asparagus
-Parsley Potatoes
Grabbed the tilapia, shrimp, and asparagus and was headed home (I had potatoes in the fridge). Got all my weekend chores done then headed to my little pub about 3:00 for a couple of adult libations all the while dreaming of this dinner. It's been a LONG time since I've had seafood and was Jonesing for my fix. Started getting things ready immediately upon my return from the pub and here's what I came up with:
Peeled and cubed one large Russet potato, into a pan of salted water to lightly boil
Tossed the asparagus in a bit of Organic EVOO, salt, pepper, and garlic
Into the grilling wok
Shrimp seasoned with my rib rub (done it before and was fantastic!!) then into another grilling wok
Shrimp and asparagus onto the grill
Got the small cast iron griddle and on the grill to heat up with a hefty dose of butter. Sear burner running about 900*
Tilapia fillets seasoned on one side
On to the CI griddle and the other side seasoned. At 900* this isn't going to take long
Dinner all done and plated. Sprinkled the asparagus with some gourmet Parmesan cheese, tossed the potatoes with butter, salt, pepper, and chives. It's show time!! Here's the money shot
The tilapia was absolutely stellar. Perfectly blackened, moist, juicy, tender and unbelievably flavorful. Shrimp was perfectly cooked, just a bit too salty but still fantastic. Taters were done to al dante' and had a really nice flavoring balance. Asparagus also done al dante', which is how we like it. We aren't big fans of mushy asparagus and the addition of the cheese set it over the top. Maybe it's just been so long since I've gotten to eat seafood but this was about my favorite meal in a very long time. The fun part is that I only used half of the shrimp and half of the tilapia so I'm thinking about doing a Po Boy this evening for dinner with what's left.
Side note: I came to the realization yesterday that I have a tendency to take and post a lot of pics detailing every step of my cooking endeavors...possibly too many pics. Last night I kept the picture taking a bit militaristic so as not to overdo it this time, but now wish I hadn't. This dinner was spectacular and I wish I'd caught every step of the process. Oh well, next time I'll take the pics and maybe just be a bit more discriminating on how many I post.
Livin' on the lake and finally got to eat fish,
Robert
