BAREFOOT BLOGGERS AND CEiMB

First, Barefoot Bloggers.

Kate of Warm Olives and Cool Cocktails chose the Tuna Salad from Ina Garten's huge selection of wonderful recipes. Let me just say that I love Kate's blog name!

Because tuna seemed to be ridiculously expensive for some reason at the market, I decided to substitute with some salmon fillets. And instead of chopping up the salmon into chunks, I just served it over some green beans with the avocado salsa mixture on top. Somehow, in my mixing up of the sauce, I must have added too much salt. To me, it was just too salty so this was not my favorite recipe. The yankee however, loved it so much he was willing to eat all of his and what was left of mine. I might be tempted to make this again, but I will be more careful on the salt part. I liked that it was easy to prepare and quick.

You can find the recipe down below.

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Now for Craving Ellie in My Belly!

In our Craving Ellie group, we were hosted this week by Notes from the Table. Thanks for choosing the Jerk Chicken with Cool Pineapple Salsa. I've been hoping someone would choose this!

Wonder who thought up the term "Jerk" chicken? The dictionary defines jerk as:

1. a dull stupid fatuous person
2. an abrupt spasmodic movement
3. (mechanics) the rate of change of acceleration
4. jerky: meat (especially beef) cut in strips and dried in the sun

So, still confused. None of these definitions match up with jerk chicken???? I swear I googled this and there is actually a song called Jerk Chicken and it is sung by a group called Chicken Lips!

The yankee and I started a new diet this week guaranteed to drop four pounds of belly fat in one week. Luckily for us, this recipe fit right in with our diet. I left off the scallions and added just a dash of cilantro instead. We've now been four days on the diet and I have lost one pound. But it is a healthy diet so we are doing pretty well staying on it.

We really liked this! I loved how the spicey hot chicken in your mouth was instantly cooled by the pineapple salsa. The mixture of pineapple and cucumber was delicious! This will definitely be a recipe I put on our dinner rotation. It also reminds me of our honeymoon in St. Thomas. We had a lot of great island food that week.

Now, I have to get off the computer and park myself on the sofa because tonight is . . . . ..

THE SEASON FINALE OF LOST!!!!!!!!!! I'm so excited.

Jerk Chicken with Pineapple Salsa

For the salsa:
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 cup finely diced pineapple
1/3 cup finely diced, seeded English cucumber
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves
For the chicken:
4 teaspoons olive oil, divided
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, about 5 ounces each, pounded to 1/2-inch thick
1 cup chopped scallions (about 6 scallions)
1/2 Scotch bonnet or habanero chile pepper, seeded and finely minced (wear gloves when handling)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger, or 1/4 teaspoon ground
1 teaspoon allspice
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
Directions
For the salsa:
In a small bowl whisk together the honey and the lime juice. Combine the pineapple, cucumber and mint in a medium bowl, pour the dressing over and toss to combine. Set aside.
For the chicken:
Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large skillet over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for about 4 minutes on each side, or until browned and cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
Add the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil to the pan. Stir in the scallions, pepper, garlic, ginger, allspice, and thyme. Cook for 30 seconds over a medium heat. Add the chicken broth and soy sauce and cook until liquid is reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Stir in the lime juice. Put the chicken back in the pan and coat well with the sauce.
Serve with the pineapple salsa.
Yield: 4 servings (1 serving is 1 chicken breast, 2 tablespoons of sauce and 1/3 cup of salsa)

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BAREFOOT BLOGGERS

Tuna Salad
Serves:
4 servings
Ingredients
2 pounds very fresh tuna steak, cut 1-inch thick
4 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for brushing
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black, plus extra for sprinkling
2 limes, zest grated
1 teaspoon wasabi powder
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (3 limes)
2 teaspoons soy sauce
10 dashes hot sauce (recommended: Tabasco)
1 to 2 ripe Hass avocados, medium diced
1/4 cup minced scallions, white and green parts (2 scallions)
1/4 cup red onion, small diced
Directions
Brush the tuna steaks with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place the tuna steaks in a very hot saute pan and cook for only 1 minute on each side. Set aside on a platter.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the olive oil, salt, pepper, lime zest, wasabi, lime juice, soy sauce and hot sauce. Add the avocados to the vinaigrette.
Cut the tuna in chunks and place it in a large bowl. Add the scallions and red onion and mix well. Pour the vinaigrette mixture over the tuna and carefully mix.