Puerto Nuevo-Style Lobster Tacos

Ingredients

Tacos

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
• Toasted-Garlic Rice with Fresh Herbs and Lime
• Crunchy Pear Salsa
• Warm flour tortillas
• Lime wedges
• 6 1 1/2-pound live lobsters, rinsed

Toasted-Garlic Rice with Fresh Herbs and Lime

• 1 1/2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice
• 3 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 12 large garlic cloves, minced
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram
• 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime peel

Crunchy Pear Salsa

• 3 8-ounce firm but ripe Bosc pears, peeled, cored, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 1 large serrano or jalapeño chili with seeds, minced
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Combine all ingredients in medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 3 hours ahead. Cover; chill.)


Directions

Lobster Tacos

Fill very large bowl with ice water. Bring large stockpot of water to boil. Plunge 2 lobsters headfirst into boiling water. Cook 3 minutes (lobsters will not be fully cooked). Using tongs, transfer lobsters to ice water to cool. Repeat procedure twice more with remaining lobsters. Using heavy cleaver or large knife, immediately cut each lobster lengthwise in half. Remove intestinal tract and rinse away green tomalley. Crack claws; remove claw meat. Place claw meat in body cavities.

Preheat broiler. Arrange 6 lobster halves, meat side up, on each of 2 large baking sheets. Brush lobster meat generously with some of melted butter. Broil 1 sheet of lobster halves until meat is just opaque, about 3 minutes. Repeat with second sheet. Arrange lobster halves on platter. Drizzle remaining butter over.

Spoon rice, then lobster meat and salsa onto warm tortillas. Fold up tortillas and serve with lime wedges.

Toasted-Garlic Rice with Fresh Herbs and Lime

Place rice in strainer. Rinse under cold water until water runs clear. Drain well. Bring broth and lime juice to simmer in medium saucepan.

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic; sauté until golden and sticky, about 1 minute. Add rice; stir 2 minutes. Add hot broth mixture and 3/4 teaspoon salt and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover. Cook until rice is tender, about 25 minutes. Turn off heat; let stand, covered, 10 minutes. Add herbs and lime peel to rice; fluff with fork. Season with additional salt, if desired.

Ref: www.epicurious.com

Not gonna lie, I had much higher expectations for this. It was good, just not great. And I think we agreed that we could have done without the tortilla and made it more about the lobster. I really liked the rice even though I only used about 2 cloves of garlic instead the of the suggested 12 cloves (holy stinky breath!) and no cilantro... I know, I know.... but a certain someone doesn't care for cilantro.... lol I was super excited about the salsa after the last cantelope salsa came out so terrific, but this one was only ok... Mike also grilled the lobster tails on the grill stuffed with the salsa which I thought was a great twist and possibly the start of a better recipe next time with perhaps a different type of filling....

Open Faced Tuna Sandwiches with Arugula and Sweet Pickle Mayo

Ingredients

Mayonnaise:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup finely diced sweet pickles (about 2 pickles)

Sandwiches:

• 4 (4 to 6-ounce) albacore tuna steaks
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil for drizzling, plus 1/4 cup
• 4 teaspoons herbs de Provence
• 4 slices sharp white Cheddar
• 1 (1-pound) loaf ciabatta bread halved horizontally
  
• 2 cups arugula, thinly sliced

Directions

For the mayonnaise: In a small bowl, mix together the mayonnaise and sweet pickles until smooth.

For the sandwiches: Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Season the tuna with salt and pepper. Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with the herbs de Provence. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Place a slice of cheese on each piece of fish during the last minute of grilling. Using a pastry brush, brush the bottom half of the bread with 1/4 cup of olive oil. Cut into 4 pieces, each about 4-inches long and 3-inches wide. Grill, cut side down, for 30 seconds to 1 minute until toasted and golden.

Spread the grilled bread with the sweet pickle mayonnaise. Place a tuna steak on top. Top with the arugula and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.

Ref: www.FoodNetwork.com

Loved it. Hands down a fantastic sandwich! I was running low on extra virgin olive oil so I had to skimp a tad, but it still came out great. I'm sure using the recommended amount of olive oil would have only added to the flavor. Never really used arugula before, but it's a GREAT flavor with the fish. The only thing that we did differently was cooking the tuna steaks well. Still good but I'd still like to try it a little more rare. I was pleasantly surprised with the sweet pickle mayo. I'm generally a dill pickle girl and still may try it will dill later but the sweet ones were delicious!

Grilled Mahi-Mahi with Avocado-Melon Salsa

Ingredients:

• 1 small avocado, diced
• 1 cup 1/3-inch cubes cantaloupe
• 1/2 cup diced red onion
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 3/4 teaspoon grated lime peel

• 4 6-ounce mahi-mahi fillets (each about 1 inch thick)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 tablespoons Jamaican jerk seasoning

Directions:

Oil grill rack. Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Toss first 6 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Season salsa generously with salt and pepper.

Brush fish with 1 tablespoon oil. Spread seasoning in dish. Dredge fish in seasoning, turning to coat. Grill fish until just opaque in center, about 4 minutes per side. Serve with salsa.

Wine: 2007 Amador Cellars Zinfandel ( LOVED it!)
Rich and complex with supple layers of black cherry, plum, raspberry and vanilla followed by warm clove and nutmeg spices on the finish.
www.amadorcellars.com

Ref: epicurious.com

Cantaloupe in salsa never occurred to me. Then again if even half of these recipes "occurred" to me, I wouldn't be domestically challenged and would be a happy, famous, chubby chef off living the dream somewhere... haha. Anyways, this was a crazy flavor combination between the jerk seasoning on the fish, to the salty, sweet, sour flavors of that delicious salsa! I've been really good lately at following directions (at least in cooking, lol) because I think the key to the salsa is the proportions of each ingredient. So yea, follow the directions. lol. Also I snagged that photo from epicurious. Totally forgot to take a picture of mine last night. But I promise it looked the same! :D