Seared Tuna Salad with Wasabi Vinaigrette

Seared Tuna Salad with Wasabi Vinaigrette
From Bobby Flay 

Four and a half years ago I threw my very first dinner party.  I had just graduated college and was living by myself at my parent's new condo in downtown Chicago.  I must have been pretty dead set on throwing that party, because if I recall correctly the condo was so brand-spanking-new that it wasn't even fully furnished yet.  Among the missing furniture was a kitchen table, which makes current-me wonder what past-me was thinking throwing a dinner party (but I could waste a lot of time dwelling on such questions, so let's move on).  I ultimately served this a beautiful seared tuna salad on a black bed sheet spread over the coffee table with everyone sitting on the floor around it to eat.  (Talk about easy-to-please guests - I should throw dinner parties for 22 year olds more often!)

Four and a half years later, I don't remember many more details about that night, and frankly I had nearly forgotten about it altogether.  But I was hanging out with one of my lucky guests the other day and she mentioned that my little dinner party had turned her on to seared tuna for life.  It made me realize how long it had been since I made seared tuna, so I dug through my recipe archives and John and I whipped up that very same dish the next night.  We ate it at the dining room table this time, but it still had all the charm of my dinner party back in 2007.


Ingredients

• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons wasabi paste (usually comes in a shelf-stable toothpaste tube type thing - check the Asian aisle or if your grocery store sells fresh sushi near the fish counter, check there)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 tuna steaks (6-oz each) (make sure you get high quality tuna, since you're pretty much eating it raw - we usually go to a fish market for this dish, but Whole Foods would work too)
• peanut oil
• 4 cups salad greens (we used baby arugula, which was really nice - I would recommend something with character, maybe a little peppery spice - definitely NOT iceberg or even Romain - avoid watery greens)
• 2 avocados, peeled, pitted and thinly sliced
• 2 plum tomatoes, finely chopped

Preparation

1. Whisk together vinegar, wasabi paste, and oil.  Add salt and pepper to taste and set aside.
2. Heat grill or grill pan to medium high.
3. Brush steaks with oil and season generously with salt and pepper.
4. Grill for 30 seconds on each side, just to obtain grill marks (use your discretion, I like tuna really raw and freaked out and made John flip them at like 15 seconds).
5. Thinly slice tuna, against the grain.
6. Place one cup of salad greens on each plate.  Top with avocado, tomatoes, tuna and dressing.

Serves 4.

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Quinoa and Corn Salad

Quinoa and Corn Salad
From Ezra Pound Cake 

As an avid lunch packer, having a cold salad in the fridge all week can be invaluable.  When I'm scrambling to throw something in Tupperware at 7am while simultaneously whipping up breakfast sammies and figuring out who's going to walk this rascal, cold pasta and grain salads are my go-to.  John is too manly to pack a lunch for the office, but since he works from home a few days a week no one has to see him secretly eating leftover homemade salads for lunch on those days.

This salad is really refreshing and a great way to use what's left of summer corn.  If you've never cooked quinoa (keen-wa) before, it's not as scary as it looks.  You can get it in bulk at Whole Foods, and most normal grocery stores sell it now too.  Try the organic or natural aisle, or just ask an employee.  If you can't find it or aren't feeling adventurous, this would also work with couscous, bulgur, faro, or any other small grain.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups uncooked quinoa
• 6 Tbsp olive oil, divided
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (this was about 6 limes for me)
• 1 jalapeno, chopped and seeded, or more to taste
• 1 garlic clove, grated (use a cheese grater - it prevents bites with big pieces of raw garlic, which can be pretty gross)
• 1 tsp coarse salt
• 2 ears of corn, kernels cut off
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1/2 cup scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
• 1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and diced
• 1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped

Preparation

1. Rinse quinoa in a fine mesh strainer for at least 45 seconds, shaking the strainer to make sure everything gets rinsed.  This step is no joke - quinoa has a weird, soapy tasting film on it naturally, and you definitely want to wash it off.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet.  Add rinsed quinoa and saute over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
3. Add 2 cups of water to the quinoa and bring to a boil.
4. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low.  Cook 18-20 minutes, until all water is absorbed and the quinoa looks like it's uncoiling.
5. Remove from heat and let stand, uncovered, until cool.
6. Toast cumin over medium heat in a small skillet for 3 minutes.
7. Combine toasted cumin, 5 tablespoons olive oil, lime juice, jalapeno, garlic and salt in a large bowl.  Whisk to blend.
8. Stir in cooled quinoa, corn kernels, tomatoes, scallions, avocado and cilantro.

Serves 8 as a side dish or light lunch.

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Bacon Blue Cheese Guacamole

 

Bacon Blue Cheese Guacamole
Adapted from The Best Thing I Ever Ate, on Food Network

 

Yes, you read that right.  And yes, it's awesome.  Unless, of course, you hate blue cheese, as does my roommate (that's what I choose to call him when he makes poor life decisions such as this).  But no worries, that just means more for me and the other sane people out there!

 

I made this gem for our big Labor Day BBQ and it was a huge hit.  People tended to take one bite, shoot me a quizzical look, and then exclaim "Oh my God, is there BACON in this?!?"  And then dive back in for more...

 

Ingredients

• 4 ripe avocados, pitted and mashed
• 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed and minced
• 2 large Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 2 jalapenos, chopped (seeds in if you like extra heat - we do!)
• 3 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
• 6 strips bacon, cooked until crispy and chopped into bits
• 1 1/2 tsp paprika
• salt and pepper, to taste
• juice of 2 limes
• 1/4 cup blue cheese
• 1 tsp fresh sage, finely chopped

Preparation

1. Mix all ingredients together.  (If you want to get some extra prep work done the night before, you can chop and mix everything except the avocados and store it in a bowl over night.  Then right before serving, add the avocados and possibly extra salt and pepper.)

Serves a crowd of blue cheese loving guac enthusiasts!

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