Jerk Fried Flounder w/ Green Pepper Sauce

It's Friday!  And it's also another Friday that I have to work until 10:30 tonight.  Bummer, I know.  But I have the whole weekend off and I've got a pretty busy one planned.  Thanks to everyone who voted for me in Challenge #2 of Foodbuzz's Project Food Blog!  I'm crossing my fingers that I get to make it to Challenge #3, which is to throw a luxury dinner party.  Win or lose, I'm having a dinner party on Saturday with a few friends.  So we can either discuss my victory or drink a bunch of wine over good food to drown my sorrows!  Either way, it'll be a good time, with good friends.  And that's all we need right?  Right.

I made this flounder a few weeks ago and it was just beaming with great flavors and color.  It was simple, yet sophisticated.  And above all, it was absolutely delicious!


Ingredients:


2 6 oz. Flounder fillets
2 tablespoons Caribbean Jerk Seasoning
salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup chicken stock
juice from 1 lime
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 roasted green pepper, minced
small handful cilantro, chopped
Homemade Hot Sauce (optional)

Season the flounder fillets w/ the jerk seasoning, and a little bit of salt and pepper, if desired.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet under medium high heat.  Pan fry the fish for about 3-5 minutes today, flipping once.  Transfer fillets to 2 serving plates and tent with aluminum foil.

Add chicken stock and lime juice to same skillet used for fish.  Simmer until the mixture is reduced by half.  Whisk in the butter, hot sauce, and green bell pepper.  Heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pour the mixture over the fillets and garnish with cilantro.

I served this over a Corn & Sweet Pepper Hash (which I will post in the near future, of course) and it was absolutely perfect.  Fresh vegetables, perfectly flaky fish, and quick turnaround.  This should definitely be put on your to-make list very soon!  Enjoy the weekend guys!  And hopefully I'll be posting a luxury dinner post on Sunday, thanks to you guys! 

Quick Stir Fry & CSA Pick Up #1

Ok, seriously. I would have never dreamed of being as excited about vegetables as I am right now. Today was our first CSA pick up, and I feel like it's Christmas. Why have we not done this before now?! Why doesn't the general public know more about these?! I guess that's the beauty of it, it's not commercialized and it's used by people who really care for and appreciate it. I feel lucky. I mean, look at our goods for this week...

This is what we ended up with...

2 lbs. potatoes
1 lb. beets
one bunch of basil (this is more basil than I know what to do with in one week)
a multi-colored array of cute little cherry tomatoes
one sweet beauty watermelon
one head of garlic

You better believe I'll be making use out of these in the next week, until the next batch of goodies comes along! My task for this week, according to Andy, is to get him to like beets (because as of right now, he's not too big of a fan)... any suggestions/recipes you guys know of to make him a converter???

And I don't have much time because I've actually got a volleyball tournament tonight so I'll make this a quick stir fry recipe...

Ingredients:

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into strips
1 bottle Caribbean Jerk marinade
2 tablespoons butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece of ginger, grated
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and julienned
2 small yellow squash, sliced
1 onion, sliced thinly
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
juice from 1 lime

In a medium bowl, combine chicken and marinade. Let sit in fridge for about 30 minutes.

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of butter under medium high heat, and add the garlic and ginger. Stir until fragrant and then add in the chicken pieces. Heat chicken until cooked through, about 8-10 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cover.

Heat remaining tablespoon of butter and add carrot, squash, bell pepper, and onion. Stir fry for about 5 minutes, you want the vegetables softened a little, but still with a crunch/bite to them.

Stir back in the chicken, add lime juice, and stir fry for about 2 minutes longer.

We served this with some simple red rice.

This was absolutely delicious. The vegetables were plentiful and the chicken was flavorful. The shortcut of using a pre-made marinade cuts down on time when you're in need of a quick fix. Enjoy!