Searching for inspiration or some fresh new ideas for your summer menu?  Well ya need to look no further than your local farmers market.  Here in Ontario, local asparagus is popping up everywhere and the quality is top notch.  It’s a good source of anti-oxidants, folates and vitamin K.  I often look to asparagus at this time of year to inspire my seafood creations.  Try adding a bit of steamed asparagus tips to the Mediterranean potato salad which accompanies the Lemon Caper Plaice.  Here is the recipe link

Local strawberries are also fresh on the scene.  However unlike asparagus, they won’t be around for too long, so get em while they last.  In Ontario we have been blessed with great strawberry growing weather, so this years crop promises to be plump, juicy and sweet.

Adding local produce to your menu is a great way to generate some buzz in your establishment.  Use these local strawberries at the bar for some creative cocktails and smoothies and in the kitchen for all types of applications from salsas to the traditional strawberry pie.  Have you tried my strawberry & avocado salad with fresh strawberry dressing, topped with a grilled shrimp and scallop skewer?  Here’s the recipe link

Anyone that knows me, knows that I love my fresh herbs.  I use them constantly for marinating fish or just adding some flavour to my morning omelette.   I find when I buy fresh herbs from the market, I never seem to be able to use them all up before they go bad.  Nothing beats being able to snip a few fresh herb leaves when needed.  So far I’m growing flat leaf parsley, English thyme, rosemary, chives, basil and dill.  These are growing in my office!  In fact they are right behind me as I type this blog entry. 

I’m still an ameatuer when it comes to growing anything in soil.  This will be my third season of green thumb progression.  I’ve failed plenty and I have some success stories, but above all I’ve gotten hooked.  Growing food will be a life long obsession for me. 

Oh how I love fresh dill!  It’s a perfect marriage with seafood.  Dill is a very powerful antioxidant and is also high in vitamins A & C, and minerals iron & magnesium. Grow young dill GROW!!!

Chives are my favourite herb of all time.  These are regular chives, but have you ever tried garlic chives?? Soooooo good.  I use chives as a garnish, and anywhere a subtle onion flavour is needed.  Great for salad dressings and marinades as well.  Chives are an excellent source of vitamin A and are very high in vitamin K.  Vitamin K promotes bone health and has an established role in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease. 

If you’re an amateur like myself, growing herbs is a good way to get some green on your thumb.   It’s  important to have an east or west facing window, so the plants get their daily sun.  The rest is just water and love. 

Happy Growing!

Take that ordinary beef tenderloin to a high level with some large, plump, juicy shrimp skewers. This is another unique product that is sure to spark some excitment on your grill menu.  Because the shell is left on, it helps insulate and protect the shrimp during the grilling process.  They are also butterflied which makes them easy to pop out of the shell and also creates a valley to accommodate some sauces.

Duplicating these shrimp skewers from scratch is extremely difficult and time consuming.  Try to neatly pass a skewer though a shrimp shell.  Not an easy task!

The above pic was taken as I was testing out the product on the grill for the first time.  Towards the end of the grilling I brushed a bit of Pad Thai sauce on them and allowed the sweet and spicy sauce to caramalize and soak into the shrimps.  They tasted soooooo good!

To my surprise not one shrimp fell off the skewers.  I thought for sure as the shrimps cooked, a few would fall off.  This is a testament to the quality craftsmanship of this product.

For the Surf & Turf here is what you need:

• 1 High Liner Butterflied Shrimp Skewer (0865 thawed)
• 5oz  Beef tenderloin
• ½ bundle asparagus
• 2 tbs soft butter
• 1 tsp chopped chives
• 1 tsp chopped parsley
• Vegetable oil
• Salt & Pepper

Combine soft butter, chives and parsley.  Season tenderloin and grill to desired doneness.  Lightly brush thawed shrimp skewer with a bit of vegetable oil or spray with compressed vegetable oil.  Lightly season with salt and pepper and place the thawed shrimp skewer onto the hot grill.  Cook for 4 minutes or until done, and allow for a majority of the cooking to happen with the shell side down.  Finish by brushing with herb butter and plate with steamed asparagus and beef tenderloin.

Happy Cooking & Happy Plating!

High Liner has done an amazing job with this skewer (product code 8540).  5 pacific white shrimps have been superbly skewered with a piece of sugar cane.  I used to do this from scratch and it was a pain.  Peeling sugar cane is a tough task on its own.  Then you gotta cut them to size and spike it with the shrimps.  Very very time consuming.  Love how High Liner has shaped the sugar cane so it looks like an actual skewer, with a wide holding handle.

Sugar cane inspired me to pull from my Caribbean roots for this recipe.  This dish would be great as a lunch option as it’s light, healty and screaming to be eatten on a patio.  Both Grace and ED Smith make good jerk sauces, however if you want to make your own, and make it gluten free, here is the recipe:

For the Jerk basting sauce:

• 250ml balsamic vinegar
• 150ml gluten free soy sauce
• ½ large white onion
• 2 bunches green onion
• ¼ bundle of fresh thyme
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 ½ tsp whole pimento (all spice)
• 2 cloves
• Scotch bonnet (use accordingly)

Combine all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.  It should be thick, but it will naturally seperate as it settles.  Give it a good shake before using.  Yields appox 1/2 liter of sauce.

For the Fruit Salad:

• 1 ripe papaya
• 1 ripe pineapple
• 1 ripe avocado
• Lime
• 2 oz Avocado oil
• Coriander (optional)

Peel and julienne the papaya, pineapple and avocado and combine all the ingredients into a bowl.  Toss with lime juice, avocado oil and chopped coriander.  This mix will make approx 4-6 servings.

For the Shrimp:

• 8540 – Sugar Cane Spiked Shrimps (thawed)
• 2 -3 oz Jerk Basting sauce

Place thawed sugar cane spiked shrimps in a saute pan and pour jerk sauce over top.  Bake for 1.5 minutes and then flip and bake until cooked.  Finish on a hot grill and baste with any remaining jerk sauce from the pan.  Serve with a portion of tropical fruit salad.

Thai cusine is here to stay in Canada.  Incoporating a few Thai inspired dishes into your establishment is a good look, especially if your establishment has a varied/international type menu.  Pad Thai is probably one of the most widely adoped dishes from Thailand.   Very affordable and relatively simple to prepare. There is a wide variety of great tasting, affordable prepared Pad Thai sauces available through your foodservice provider.  However if you would like to create your own Pad Thai sauce here is a recipe:

For Pad Thai Sauce – 4 servings

• ½ cup tamarind pulp (no seeds)
• 2 cup water
• 1 cup palm sugar
• ½ cup fish sauce (prepared anchovy stock)
• 2tbs ketchup

In a highspeed blender combine 1 cup of water and tamarind pulp.  Press firmly through a fine strainer and discard tamarind fibers.  Add this tamarind water to a sauce pot with remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce until liquid is thick.  Sauce should taste sweet first, followed by sourness. 

For Pad Thai – 1 serving

• 1 thawed High Liner shrimp skewer (7565)
• 2oz rice noodles soaked in water for at least 45min
• 1 clove garlic minced
• ¼  small shallot minced
• ¼ cup green onions sliced
• ¼  cup firm tofu cut into ½ inch cubes
• ½ cup bean sprouts
• ½  cups bok choy sliced
• Vegetable oil
• Crushed peanuts
• Prepared sweet chili sauce

In a wok/sauté pan heat a bit of vegetable oil, add tofu and stir fry until golden brown (1 -2min).  Add garlic and shallots followed by drained rice noodles.  Stir fry until noodles are soft (1-2min).  If noodles are too dry add a bit of water to help them soften.  Add 1oz of Pad Thai sauce and stir to coat the noodles.  You can add more sauce if you wish.  Finish with the bean sprouts, bok choy and scallions.  Top with crushed peanuts and grilled shrimp skewer.

For the shrimp skewer

Brush shrimp skewer with a bit of vegetable oil and cook over a hot grill for 2-3 minutes or until ready.   Finish by brushing with some sweet chili sauce on both sides. Serve with Pad Thai. 

Tips:

• Good Pad Thai is never too saucy so avoid having the noodles swimming in a pool of sauce. 
• Common mistakes are the over cooking of the noodles. They should be soft but not mushy. 
• Add a bit of red chili’s to the Pad Thai sauce for some added heat. 
• Most vegetables that work for stir fry’s can also work for Pad Thai. 
•  Thinly sliced scrambled egg is also a common ingredient/garnish for Pad Thai dishes. 
• Made from scratch Pad Thai sauce can hold in the fridge for about 2 weeks
• Keep presoaked noodles submersed in water and in the fridge for service.  Pull what you need out of the water when you need it.  After service, unused rice noodles should be utilized for a staff meal or discarded to prevent over soaking.

Bold ethnic flavours are trending right now.  Here is an East Indian inspired dish that is sure to be a hit.  It features a tikka masala sauce that has been baked into the shrimp and then finished on the grill.  Tikka masala sauce is very similar to the popular butter chicken sauce. Pataks makes a real good Tikka Masala sauce, which is available through your foodservice distributor.  For those that would like to make their own Tikka sauce, here is the recipe:

For the sauce:

• 2 medium onion fine dice
• 7 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tbls minced fresh ginger
• 2 sml fresh red chili minced
• 2 tsp ground coriander seed
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tbls ground paprika
• 2 tsp gram masala
• ¼ cup  ground toasted almonds
• 24oz caned crushed plum tomatoes
• 8oz coconut cream
• ¼ cup palm sugar
• 2 cardamom pods

Method:

In a sauce pot heat about 3tbls of vegetable oil, and sauté the onions and garlic for a few minutes. Add in the ginger and chili pepper, followed by cumin, coriander, gram masala and paprika. This mixture will be quite dry so it’s important to monitor the heat to avoid burning the spices.  Toast for a few minutes and then add in the tomatoes.  Bring to a boil and then stir in remaining ingredients.  Turn down to a simmer for 30min, season and reserve.

For East Indian Cucumber Salad:

• 1 English cucumber
• ½ cup plain yogurt
• 1 ½   tbls chopped coriander leaves
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 Lime
• Salt & pepper

Slice the cucumber in half length wise and remove the seeds. Slice into half moons and place into a bowl.  Add yogurt, coriander, cumin and the juice of a lime and mix together.  Taste, season and serve immediately.

For the Shrimp:

• 1 Thawed High Liner Shrimp skewer (1059944)
• 3oz Tikka Masala sauce

Place shrimp in a sauté pan and pour Tikka Masala sauce over top.  Roast in the oven @ 400F for 1 ½  minutes, flip and then cook for another 1 ½ minutes, or until done.  Finish on the grill and baste with any leftover juices from the pan.  Serve immediately with cucumber salad and naan bread.

Here is a great salad idea that utilizes some of my favourite spring/summer fruits.  With every passing week the strawberries get better and better.  The same can be said about the avocados.  This is a great time of year to incorporate these fruits into your menu.  Yes avocado is a fruit!!!  Fruit and seafood are a perfect pair.   I call this a Spring Fling Salad with Shrimp & Scallop Skewer.

I’m in love with our shrimp & scallop skewers (product code 7574).  The pacific white shrimps have been carefully wrapped around each sea scallop and then spiked with the skewer.  It’s a real unique product, which I’m sure your guest will appeciate.

**Nutritional Note – Shrimps and Avocados are often looked upon as foods that are high in cholesterol.  It’s important to note that there are two types of cholesterol, the good (HDL) and the bad(LDL).  The bad comes from animal fat.  Because shrimps are so low in fat, they contain very little bad cholesterol.  Avocados actually contain zero cholesterol, and are high in monosaturated fat, which is a heart healthy fat, that is easy for the body to digest.  Check out these articles from the globe and mail and Best Health Magazine .  This salad is also gulten free.

For the Strawberry Dressing: (yield approx 1 liter)

• 4 cups of strawberries fresh/frozen
• 3 cups of water
• 1 cup sugar
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbls honey
• 1 ½ cup vegetable oil

In a saucepan, combine water, strawberries and sugar and reduce until 1 cup of liquid remains.  Cool the strawberry mixture and then place in a high powered blender with vinegar and honey.  While machine is blending, slowly add in the vegetable oil.  Dressing should be thick, sweet and tangy.

For the Shrimp:

• 2 tbls soft butter
• 1 tsp chopped parsley
• Vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper

Mix a bit of vegetable oil with salt and pepper.  In a separate bowl, combine soft butter and parsley. Brush thawed shrimps with a bit of the oil mixture and place on a hot grill.  Cook each side for approx 2 min or until done.  Finish by brushing each skewer with herb butter and place on top of spring fling salad.

For the Salad – 1 serving

• 2 cups baby spinach
• ½ cup strawberries quartered
• ½ small avocado cut into 3 wedges
• Roasted sliced almonds
• 2oz strawberry dressing

Place the avocado wedges in the center of the plate and position them so that they are the base for the salad.  Combine the spinach and the strawberries with the dressing and neatly assemble on the plate.  Finish with roasted sliced almonds and grilled shrimp & scallop skewer.

Tips:

• Shrimp & Scallop skewer can also be cooked in the oven and then finished on the grill
• A piece of tin foil can be wrapped around the end of the skewer to keep the wood from burning
• Freeze older strawberries and utilize them when it’s time to make another batch of dressing
• Dressing is thick, and requires a good amount of delicate mixing when adding the dressing to the salad.
• Try this dressing recipe with other berries
• Sliced pears make a great addition to this salad
• Increase portion size for a great main course salad
• Slice avocoados to order
• Local strawberries are available in Canada between late May -  early August (weather permitting)

High Liner has quality smoked salmon! You know it’s quality after one slice.  Expertly cured, and smoked, without being overly salty.  It’s also pre-sliced to the perfect thinness. 

This pizza is a combination of sweet, savory and smokey.  Tomato pesto sauce, caramelized red onions, goat cheese and smoked salmon.  The smoked salmon is applied after the pizza comes out of the oven.  It’s finished with a bit of baby arugula, drizzled with olive oil and a fresh squeeze of lemon juice.  Pure niceness! 

Here is what you need:

• Medium size pizza dough
• 4oz thick pizza sauce
• 1tbs basil pesto
• Soft Goat cheese
• 1 medium red onion sliced
• 2oz red wine vinegar
• 1.5 tbs sugar
• Baby arugula
• Olive oil
• 1/2 lemon

Techniques:

Heat a pan with a bit of vegetable oil and allow it to get smokin hot.  Add in the onions and allow them to caramelize.  Try not to move them around to much in the beginning.  After a few moments add in the sugar and toss.  Shortly after add in the red wine vinegar.  When the vinegar has almost all evaporated it’s time to remove the onions from the pan.

They should look nice and vibrant, and taste sweet with a hint of sourness.  They should still have a bit of firmness to them.  Once they are cool, place them in the fridge for service.  When the customer orders this pizza, assembly is very simple. 

Mix the tomato sauce and pesto together (this can also be done ahead of time) and spread evenly onto the pizza dough.  I’m using a multigrain crust.  Next spread the red onions followed by the goat cheese.  I’m using a fork to help crumble the goat cheese onto the pizza.  I find this is the best way, as the goat cheese sticks to fingers easily. 

After a nice thin layer of goat cheese it’s time for the oven.

Smoked salmon has a unique taste and texture and requires no further cooking.  Applying the smoked salmon after the pizza comes out of the oven is a thoughtful touch, which your customers will appreciate, and is worth noting in the menu description.   Top with a bit of baby arugula, drizzled with olive oil and lemon juice. 

These ingredients can also be used on a flatbread for a great sharable appetizer!  A few thin slices of avocado……the posibilities are endless. 

Happy Cooking & Plating!

I love to eat fried calamari that is light, crispy, tender, and above all flavourful.  It’s so sad when it’s done wrong.  All it takes is a few missed steps, and a few careless seconds to get some rubber. A lot of restaurants take pride in dusting their own fried calamari and when done right, it can easily be the star of the appetizer menu!!! 

Should I Marinate in Buttermilk???

This is personal preference.  Some like the buttermilk as the acid helps break down and tenderize the squid.  Some also like the way it helps the flour stick to the calamari.  High Liner Loligo squid is tender and does not require marinating in buttermilk.  With the 9oz pouch it stays sealed until the customer orders it, which greatly increases the shelf life of the thawed out squid. 

Frying Calamari Tips:

• Open squid pouch and place contents in a strainer that has been placed over a bowl to catch the excess flour. Pour in the seasoned flour and shake the strainer until all the calamari is evenly coated with seasoned flour.

• Hot clean oil minimum 350F
• Do not overcrowd deep fryer –  Overcrowding the deep fryer will result in a rapid temperature drop.  Some deep fryers are equipped to handle more loads than others.  Start with small batches and steadily increase.  Document the limitations and relay them to the line cooks. 
• Do not overcrowd the basket – individual calamari rings and tentacles need space to float around, to prevent clumping together.
• Listen to the squid – When the calamari first enters the oil it will sound like rain drops hitting the roof in a heavy downpour.  Then it will settle into a rhythm as it cooks.   At a certain point the rain drops will no longer sound like a storm, and instead more like a rain shower (65-75sec).  This is when it needs to be lifted out of the oil. 
• Taste taste taste – before the dish goes out have your line cooks get in the habit of tasting a ring or two. 
• Inspect - Does it look light and crispy? Is it evenly dusted or has most of the dusting fallen off? 
• Usually when the dusting has fallen off it’s a sign that the temperature dropped below 350F and did not recover fast enough.  Overcrowding was most likely the cause. 
• It’s good practice to have the deep fryers routinly maintained by a professional.  The frequency depends on the usage.  Every 6 months is a good starting point.   
• Before the calamari is plated, place it in a bowl with a lined with paper towel, to clear away any excess oil.  Season, taste, plate!

Happy Cooking & Plating:

My absolute favourite way to prepare calamari is to grill it.  When done right, it is an amazing dish, that is tender and full of flavour.  When done wrong, it can be extremely tough and chewy.

When I was at the Flanagans food show earlier this week in Kitchener Ontario, I had a chance to prepare some Calamari for all those who were lucky enough to pass by our booth.  As people passed by to sample I noticed that there was this love or hate relationship with calamari. Those who hate it were reluctant to try it again, because their past experiences with it were brutally unpleasant.  When cooking squid great care has to be taken, as the line between tender and rubber is very thin indeed.  Here are a few tips that will help you achieve the perfect grilled calamari every time.

Calamari Grilling Tips:

• A great tasting calamari was most likely marinated before it was grilled!
• Do not marinate with citrus juices as the acid will cook the squid making it tough.  Use citrus zest to achieve the citrus taste without the acid.
• Grill should be extremely hot.  Calamari is naturally wet, so if the grill is not hot enough it will steam instead of charring.  A hot grill will also help lock in the juices and reduce the cooking time!
• Use the grill brush to clear away any debris.  This is extremely important as calamari will rapidly pick up this debris if it is not cleared away before hand.
• If marinated using oil, swipe the marinated calamari over a cool section of the grill.  This will allow the excess oil to drip off, which will minimize flare ups when it’s placed on the hottest side of the grill.
• Calamari is cooked when the inside has lost its transparent look.  This normally takes about 2-3min.
• Making incisions in the squid tube during the marinating process helps provide a window to observe whether the calamari is cooked all the way through.
• After the grill marks/charring is achieved, move the calamari to a cooler part of the grill and cover it with a pan.  This will create a dome of heat that will allow the inside to cook quicker.

Taste, taste, taste!  If grilled calamari is new to the menu, then have your grill chef/cook place an extra tube of squid on the grill for tasting purposes.  Before each plate goes out, taste a piece to ensure it’s tender and has been cooked properly.  Keep doing this until you are confident with your grill chef/cooks capabilities with cooking calamari to perfection. Repeat this process with each new grill chef/cook.

Click here for our new calamari recipes