Butter-Basted Halibut Steaks with Capers

Ingredients:

2 14–16-oz. bone-in halibut steaks (1”–1¼” thick)
Kosher salt and coarsely ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter
4 sprigs thyme
2 cloves garlic peeled, crushed
3 tablespoons drained capers

Preparation:

Also Try It With:
Arctic char, monkfish, or salmon steaks
Instructions:

1.Season halibut with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium-high heat until beginning to smoke. Cook halibut until golden brown, 6–8 minutes. Turn and cook until other side of fish is golden brown, about 4 minutes longer.

2.Add butter, thyme sprigs, and garlic to pan and cook, tilting pan and spooning butter over fish, until halibut is opaque throughout and butter is brown, about 2 minutes. Add capers; toss in butter to warm through.

3.Divide halibut among plates and spoon butter sauce over.

Simple Roasted Red Potatoes

Ingredients:

4 - 5 medium red potatoes, diced
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of pepper
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
2 tablespoons avocado oil
Nonstick spray

Instructions:

1.Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2.In a medium bowl add all of the ingredients, except nonstick spray. Stir to combine.

3.Spray a cookie sheet lightly with nonstick spray.

4.Once oven is preheated place the potatoes in a single layer on the cookie sheet and cook on the middle rack.

5.After 15 minutes stir the potatoes, being careful to return them to a single layer and cook for 10 more minutes.

6.After the 10 minutes turn on the broiler and broil until golden brown, usually about 3-5 minutes.

Polenta Bake With Shrimp

INGREDIENTS:

2cups whole milk
2cups water
1cup polenta
3ounces Parmesan cheese,
 grated (about ¾ cup)
½teaspoon black pepper
2ounces (¼ cup) melted unsalted butter, divided
1teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1pound peeled and deveined large raw shrimp
1cup halved cherry tomatoes (about 5 oz.)
½teaspoon paprika
2tablespoons sliced scallions

DIRECTIONS:

1.Preheat broiler with oven 
rack 6 inches from heat. 
Bring the milk and water to 
a simmer in a 12-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet. Reduce heat to medium; whisk in the polenta and cook, whisking occasionally, until thick and creamy, about 15 minutes. 
Stir in the Parmesan, pepper, 
3 tablespoons of the melted butter, and ½ teaspoon of 
 the salt.

2.Toss together the shrimp, tomatoes, paprika, and 
the remaining butter and 
salt. Arrange in an even 
layer over the polenta. Broil until the shrimp are cooked 
through and just beginning 
to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. 
Top with the scallions.

Chicken “Under a Brick”

INGREDIENTS:

1 (4-to 5-lb.) whole chicken
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 large red onion, cut into 12 wedges
1 large sweet potato, cut into 1-in. pieces
8 ounces baby portobello mushrooms, halved
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano

DIRECTIONS:

1.Preheat oven to 400°F. Place the chicken breast-side down on a cutting board. Using a pair of heavy-duty 
 kitchen shears, cut down both sides 
of the backbone to remove it. Flip the chicken so that the breast side is up; press down to flatten. Rub with 1 
tablespoon of the oil and sprinkle evenly with the coriander, pepper, and ½ teaspoon of the salt. Heat 1 tablespoon 
of the oil in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet 
over medium-high. Place the chicken breast-side down in the skillet and
 top with a smaller heavy skillet. Cook until the skin is golden brown, about 
5 minutes. Remove the smaller skillet. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

2.Toss together the onion, sweet potato, mushrooms, garlic, and the remaining 
oil and salt. Arrange the vegetables in 
a single layer in the skillet. Place the chicken breast-side up on the vegetables. Bake in oven until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender and lightly browned, about 50 minutes. Serve sprinkled with the oregano.

Pork and Poblano Stew

Ingredients:

4 to 5 poblano chile peppers (about 3/4 pound)
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 1/2 pounds pork shoulder, trimmed, cut into 1 to 2 inch pieces
Salt
1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
1 teaspoon cumin
3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
1 chipotle chili in adobo, minced
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 quart chicken stock (use gluten-free stock for gluten-free option)
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn (no need to defrost if frozen)
1 large (about 1/2 pound) sweet potato, peeled and diced (about 1/2 to 3/4-inch cubes)
Sour cream
Cilantro
Toasted shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas) Optional

METHOD:


1 Char, peel, and chop the poblano chiles: Char the chile peppers on all sides, directly over a gas flame, or broil, turning every minute or so until the chiles are blackened on all sides.
Place in a bowl and cover with a clean dish towel. Let sit for 10 minutes or so, then rub off the blackened charred skin.
Cut away and discard the stem, seeds, and internal veins. Roughly chop the chiles into 1 to 2 inch pieces. Set aside.

2 Sear the cubed pork: Heat the vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven on medium high heat. Pat dry the pork pieces with a paper towel and brown them, working in batches as to not crowd the pan. Sprinkle salt generously over the pork while they brown.

3 Sauté the onions and garlic: Remove the pork from the pan and set aside. Add the chopped onion and cumin to the pan and cook about 5 minutes, until translucent.
Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan while the onions cook. Add garlic and cook for a minute more.

4 Add the chipotle, poblanos, pork, chicken stock and oregano, simmer: Add the chopped chipotle to the onions and garlic. Return the browned pork to the pan. Add the chopped poblano chiles to the pan. Add the chicken stock and oregano. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and let cook for 1 hour.

5 Add sweet potato, corn: After an hour, add the diced sweet potato and corn to the stew. Cook for another half hour to 45 minutes, until the pork is tender and the sweet potatoes are cooked through.

6.To serve, spoon out the stew into bowls. Swirl in a spoonful of sour cream to each bowl. Top with chopped fresh cilantro and toasted shelled pumpkin seeds.