Conference turris::cooks

    You can do what my roommate, Pat, does.  Makes a light salad with lots
    of lettuce, and fake crabmeat, flaked.  Low calorie and she says it
    tastes good.  The fake crabmeat doesn't taste all that wonderful to
    me so it is a personal choice.
    
    Linda
    

    food and wine this month has a wonderful section on 'seafood
    sandwichs'.. they have crab rolls, an open faced clam one and a bunch
    of others.  if you want on monday i can input them but if you can't
    wait you should be able to get the magazine for about 3.00 at any
    store/market.
    
    

    Arika,
    
    You might also think about making some salads up for lunch.  Tuna
    salad, or flaked tuna on a bed of lettuce, with wedges of tomato
    is always good. You can also use salmon, or some of the other
    types of sea food. If you want it a little more substantial, you
    could add a scoop of potato or macaroni salad.  Add dressings, or
    seasonings of your choice.
    
    Nils

I've been doing a lot of seafood lately.  I grill/poach/steam some for dinner,
and take the leftover for lunch.  

For a real change, try leftover grilled tuna.  This is especially good if it has
been grilled with some wood.  A small piece of hickory bark, a bit of sucker
shoot from an apple tree, or even some mesquite.  I place the wood on the lava
rocks of my gas grill and close the lid after one side is done.  The result can
be made into traditional; tuna salad, or can be flaked into a chef's salad.

Another favorite is to make leftover swordfish or salmon into a traditional
tuna salad recipe instead of tuna.  Or in a chef's salad.

One recipe I make just for a chef's salad ingredient involves a hunk of cod.
On a large sheet of foil, arrange several slices of lemon to form a bed for the
cod.  Put a generous amount of white prepared horseradish down the middle.  This
will get very mellow and not be hot when cooked, but will give a great flavor 
to the salad.  Put the piece of cod on top, followed by another line of
horseradish down the middle, and another row of lemon slices.  Fold the foil
and seal it completely.  Put the package on a HOT grill about 4-5 minutes to the 
side.  Open and discard the lemons (they might have caramelized and stuck to the 
foil.  Place the fish and juices on a dish and let cool.  When cool, chill the
fish, and save the broth in a separate container.  This broth will gel!  For a
great seafood marinade/salad dressing, mix 2 tbsp cool broth to 1 tbsp balsamic
vinegar to 1/2 tsp dijon mustard.  Add 1/4-1/2 tsp minced dill and mix well.

    This one is my summer favorite.
    
    One large can of red salmon (take out bones and skin)
    Add the fish to cooked and cooled macaroni.  Mix in onions, celery,
    etc. with mayo or favorite salad dressing.  Great lunch or dinner
    when it's hot.
    
    For a variety I sometimes also add tuna or tiny shrimp.
    
    Linda
    

    I too am a seafood lover and could eat it 7 days a week (well, maybe 6
    - and pasta the other night).
    
    There is always the obvious (crabmeat, tuna and lobster salad)
    sandwiches...but I do two other things.
    
    I LOVE shrimp and have brought it to work a number of different ways.
    I make a salad - consisting of shrimp (either the ones from the can
    or ones that I have bought and cooked myself), lettuce, avacado,
    purple onion, and artichoke hearts.  I bring a cruette of Good Seasons
    dressing to work and keep it in the refrigerator.  OR....
    shrimp cocktail.  I boil up the shrimp - bring some lettuce and make my
    own cocktail sauce.  Yum...and shrimp seems to be one of the cheaper
    seafoods on the market right about now.
      
    Also I make a salmon loaf that you can eat cold or heat it up in the
    microwave...here is the recipe:
    
    1 can salmon (cleaned and deboned)
    1 egg
    1 small onion (chopped fine)
    1/2 cup breadcrumbs
    salt and pepper
    sprinkle of lemon juice
    
    Put in a pie plate and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.
    
    I also have a wonderful recipe for shrimp in angel hair that is
    delicious hot OR cold.  Let me know if you want that recipe as well.
    
    Hope some of this helps...
    
    _M_
    
    

    If anyone is interested - here is the recipe for Shrimp and Angel Hair.
    
    It is VERY simple - yet elegant - I hope I don't confuse you guys with
    my recipe - but you sort of have to do two things at the same time.
    Cook the pasta (which takes only 50 seconds) and have the other stuff
    ready to toss with it.  It's the timing more than the skill!
    
    Here goes:
    
    2 Boxes Contadina Angel Hair pasta
    1 stick butter
    1 small bottle of olive oil
    1 shallot diced
    4 cloves garlic (minced)
    1 lb cleaned, deveined, peeled, UNCOOKED shrimp
    1/4 cup parsley
    1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
    1 TBS oregano
    1 tsp marjoram
    1 tsp red pepper flakes
    1 TBS Louisiana Hot sauce (optional) 
    
    In a large fry pan - pour in olive oil and butter - stir to mix
    Add oregano, parsley, red pepper, marjoram, garlic and shallots 
    (be sure not to burn)!
    
    Meanwhile....
    
    In a large pot - bring water to a rolling boil!  (I do not salt water
    for boiling pasta as I find it toughens it...but that's just MY
    opinion.)
    
    Just before you put the pasta in the boiling water - add the raw
    shrimp to the mixture in the fry pan.  This only needs about 3 minutes 
    to cook (or the shrimp will get tough).  Basically, you just want the 
    shrimps to turn pink.
    
    Get a big pasta bowl ready....
    
    Then - put pasta in boiling water.  Boil for 50 seconds - drain.
    Pour pasta in large bowl - pour ingredients from frying pan into
    the pasta and toss with the 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese. 
    
    This serves 4-6 people generously - takes about 10 minutes (at the 
    most) to prepare and I serve it with garlic bread (mmmmm - more garlic)
    and a tossed green salad.  A bottle of wine (of course) goes very with
    it too)
    
    There are many variations to this dish - substituting shrimp with
    chicken, lobster, scallops (although they are hard to see - they blend
    in with the color of the pasta), langostino's...etc.!  You can put in
    green pepper, zucchini, broccoli (actually, I substituted shrimp for
    broccoli...made it a veggie dish), onions, and the list goes on.
    
    I DID find out, however, that if you want mushrooms - to use the ones
    from a jar (or ones that you have already sauteed - because 1/2 the
    mushroom is water and you have too much liquid for the dish - as well
    as the fact that it discolors it.
    
    Whew...this note was longer than I thought!
    
    _M_ (a.k.a Marilyn)
    

    I agree, fish is good food and it's very healthy to eat a lot of fish.
    But you might not want to get carried away and have it for lunch and
    dinner, just a thought. It's kind of like you shouln't abuse a good
    thing, or anything in excess isn't good for you. If you are creative
    and have a variety of other foods with fish you will probably get a
    ballanced diet. But if you have any tendencies to food allergies, you
    may become allergic to the thing you eat all the time.
    
    For example, I used to eat a corn muffin for breakfeast almost every
    morning, now I can't tolerate corn. I used to have a yoghurt every
    day for lunch, now I can't tolerate lactose.
    
    Just food for thought...
    Linda

re .-1
  >  For example, I used to eat a corn muffin for breakfeast almost every
  >  morning, now I can't tolerate corn. I used to have a yoghurt every
  >  day for lunch, now I can't tolerate lactose.
 

Linda:  I recently found I have a lactose intolerance, too.  One of the milk 
  forms that I can tolerate is yogurt with acidophilus bacteria.  The only 
  brand I found that has this bacteria listed specifically among its active
  cultures is stonyfield farm (low-fat or non-fat... I don't know about their 
  high fat variety).

  The other thing to remember is that you can eat fish 2 times a day for quite
  a while without having the same thing.  Unlike meat (beef/pork/lamb) and 
  poultry (chicken/turkey/duck/goose), there are hundreds of differnet varieties
  of edible fish (salt water, fresh water, and shell) that are widely available.

    If you are sensitive to iodine, you may have more acne if you eat a lot
    of salt-water fish (even though you do need SOME iodine) - we started
    eating more ocean fish when we quit eating salt (most people get most
    of their iodine from iodized salt), and it has definitely made a
    difference - almost as bad as one vacation I spent in New Brunswick
    with my mother and my aunt, eating ocean fish three times a day - after
    three weeks, all three of us looked liked teenagers!  My allergist
    thinks you should eat any food that you aren't violently allergic to in
    moderation, if you tend to develop allergies.  I wish I had known that
    years ago, and maybe I would still be able to eat ORANGES - I miss
    them!

I have a limited tolerance for tuna, but the following is an excellent way
to spruce it up.  May be used as a straight salad or in a sandwich.

           1 can white chunk tuna
           1 can fake crab meat (or real if it's payday)
           2 tablespoon crushed pineapple
           Shrimp (optional)
           minced onion (Vidalia if available)
           minced celery
           mayo or Miracle Whip to hold it all together.

           
There is something about the pineapple that, while not pervasive, reduces the
strong fishy taste of the tuna.

    salmon club sandwich
    --------------------
    4 sandwichs
    
    8 thin slices of bacon
    8 slices of white bread
    1 pound skinless salmon fillets, bones removed and cut on a diagonal
      into 8 very thin slices.
    salt and freshly ground pepper
    1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
    2 large, ripe tomatoes, sliced crosswise
    1 head of butterhead or boston lettuce
    
    1.  in large skillet, fry the bacon over moderately high heat until
    crisp, bout 5 minutes.  transfer to paper towels to drain.
    
    2.  preheat the broiler.  toast the bread until golden.  place the
    salmon a a lightly oiled broiler pan in a single layer and broil no
    more than 3 inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes; checking
    frequently, until pale pink and opaque all the way through. remove and
    season lightly with salt and generously with pepper.
    
    3.  spread 1 side of all the toast slices with the mayonnaise.  layer 4
    pieces of toast with the sliced tomatoes, 2 pieces of salmon, 2 bacon
    slices and 3 large lettuce leaves. season the remaining toast with more
    pepper and cover each sandwich. cut in half and serve immediately.  
    
    (this can be done w/leftover salmon from the night before and its
    great)
                                                   

    crab rolls
    ----------
    4 sandwichs
    
    1/2 cup mayonnaise
    1/4 cup plain yogurt
    2 taspoons fresh lime juice
    2 teaspons fresh lemon juice
    1 to 2 celergy ribs, finely chopped
    1 shall shallot, minced
    1 teaspoon minced fresh tarragon, plus tarragon springs for garnish
    salt and freshly ground white pepper
    1 pound fresh crabmeat, preferably dungeness, picked over
    4 sourdough rolls, split in half
    6 large romaine lettuce leaves, finely shredded
    
    1.  in a medium bowl, whisk the mayonnaise and yogurt.  whisk in the
    lime and lemon juices, then stir in the celery, shallot and minced
    tarragon.  season with salt and pepper to taste; mix well.  fold in the
    crabmeat and mix gently until thoroughly moistened.  cover and
    refrigeratge for 1 hour.
    
    2.  preheat the broiler.  place the rolls cut sides up, on a broiler
    plan and broil until golden.  stir the crab filling; season with
    additional salt and pepper if necessary.  spoon the crab onto the bottom
    half of each roll.  set the roll tops slightly askew over the crab and
    garnish with tarragon sprigs.  arrange the lettuce alongside and
    serve immediately.
    
    again, i'm sure this crabmeat salad mixture can be done the night
    before.

   grilled shrimp pita with papaya salsa
    ------------------------------------
    4 sandwichs
    
    1 ripe avacado, preferably hass, chopped
    1 ripe papaya, seeded and chopped
    1/2 cup finely diced jicama
    2 scallions, thinly sliced
    1 jalapeno pepper, seeded (if desired) and minced
    1 tablespoon minced fresh coriander
    2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
    1 pound medium shrimp in their shells, patted dry
    1 teaspoon safflower oil
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    four 6 inch pita bread pockets
    lime wedges, for garnish
    
    1.  light a charcoal fire. let the coals burn until they glow red and
    are covered with gray ash.  alternatively, heat a 10 inch cast-iron
    skillet over moderately high heat for 5 minutes.
    
    2.  in a medium bowl, combine the avacado, papaya, jimcama, scallions,
    jalapeno, coriander and lime juice.  toss and set aside.
    
    3.  toss the shrimp with the oil; spread theem in a single layer on a
    piece of heavy duty aluminum foil and transfer to the grill.  make sure
    the foil doesn't entirely cover the grill so that the smoke from the
    fire can reach the shrimp.  grill the shrimp for about 2 minutes, or
    until just pink around the sides.  turn with tongs and cook for another
    2 minutes; until opague when cut in the thicketsst part.  (alternately,
    spread the shrimp in the hot skillet in a single layer and follow the
    cooking times for grilling.)  let the shrimp cool, then peel and
    discard the shells.  slice each shrimp in half lengthwise.
    
    4.  sprinkle the salsa with the salt, stir gently and set aside 1 cup. 
    stir the sliced shrimp into the remaining salsa.
    
    5.  partially slit open each pita pocket and fill with the shrimp and
    salsa mixtures.  serve immediately, garnished with the remaining
    salsa.
    
    i have no idea how this tastes; in fact, i'm lost to some of the
    ingredients! :)
    

    mackerel fillet and rosemary mayonnaise on a baguette
    -----------------------------------------------------
    4 sandwiches
    
    1 medium green bell pepper
    1 medium red bell pepper
    1 tablespoon olive oil
    1 garlic clove, minced
    2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary or 1 scant teaspoon dried, plus sprigs
    of rosemary, for garnish
    3/4 cup mayonnaise
    4 fresh mackerel fillets, boned but not skinned (5 to 7 ounces each),
      rinsed and patted dry
    four 6 inch pieces of crisp baguettes, halved lengthwise
    
    1.  preheat the boiler.  roast the green and red bell peppers directly
    over a gas flame or under the boiler as close the heat has possible,
    turning until charred all over, about 5 minutes.  enclose the peppers
    in a bag or wrap them in aluminum foil and set aside for about 10
    minutes to steam.  when cool enough to handle, peel the peppers and
    remove the cores, ribs and seeds.  rinse the peppers and pat dry, then
    thinly slice lengthwise.
    
    2.  in a small bowl, toss the pepper strips with the olive oil, garlic
    and 1 teaspoon of the minced rosemary (or 1/2 tgeaspoon dried).  in
    other small bowl, stir together the mayonnaise the remaining 1
    teaspoon rosemary (or 1/2 teaspoon dried).  set both aside.
    
    3.  place a mackerel fillet on a work surface, skin side down.  using a
    small sharp knife, cut down to the skin (but not through it) on each
    side of the dark bony strip that runs down the length of the fillet. 
    pull out the bony strip and discard, repeat with the remaining fillets.
    
    4.  arrange the fillets, skin side down, on a baking sheet lined with
    lightly oiled aluminum foil.  season with salt and broil about 3
    inches from the heat for 5 to 7 minutes, until the meat turns ivory
    and opague at the thickest part.  put the fillets aside till cool enough
    to handle.  remove and discard the skin when cool.
    
    5.  spread each baguette half with a heaping teaspoon of the rosemary
    mayonnaise.  place a mackerel fillet on each baguette bottom and top
    with the roasted peppers.   cover with the baguette tops and cut the
    sandwiches in half.  garnish with a rosemary sprig and serve
    immediately.
    
    

snapper burger with tartar sauce
--------------------------------
6 sandwiches

1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoon minced dill pickler
1 tablespoon drained capers, minced
1 tablespoon minced red onion, plus 6 thin slices
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon minced pasley
6 hamburger buns, prefereably whole wheat
1 1/2 pounds skinless red snapper fillets, rinsed and patted dry
salt
2 cups (lightly packed) arugula leaves

1.  preheat the broiler.  to make the tartar sauce; in a medium bowl, combine
the mayonnaise,, pickle, capers, minced onion, garlic, lemon juice and 
parsley; stir to combine.  set aside.

2.  split the hamburger buns in half.  in the broiler, toast the buns, cut
sides up, just until pale golden.

3.  cut the snapper fillets into 6 equal pieces.  place the fish on a baking 
sheet lined with lightly oiled aluminum foil and season with salt.  broil
about 3 inches from the heat for 4 to 6 minutes, turning once and checking
frequently to prevent overcooking, just until opague throughout.

4.  spread the toasted side of each hamburger bun with 1 to 2 tablespoons
of the reserved tartar sauce.  place an onion slice on the bottom half
of each bun and top with the broiled snapper.  arrange the arugula leaves
over the fish and top with the other hamburger bun halves. serve immediately
and pass the remaining tartar sauce separately.


this was also sounds like heaven!  if anyone tries it before i do; please
post your comments, thanks!