Grilled Halibut with Roasted Pineapple Habenero Salsa

Our family recently took a day trip up to northern Arizona for a break from the oppressive heat here in Phoenix. We went to a small local zoo and then stopped for dinner on the way home in my husband's old college town, Flagstaff. We had heard good things about a Mexican restaurant called Salsa Brava and decided to try it. Oh man, was it good! They had a unique salsa bar, and all the food that we had was pretty awesome. My favorite menu item by far was their Pineapple Habenero salsa, which blew my mind. I knew I would have to try and duplicate it, because I could not stop thinking about it. We found out when we got to the restaurant that they were featured on a Food Network show called Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. I did some investigating and found this recipe based on the original at the restaurant. While it's not identical to what we had at Salsa Brava, it's a pretty close facsimile. I still want to do some more tweaking to see if I can get more of a match, but in the meantime, this will work just fine!

I decided to pair my fruity-spicy salsa with this grilled fish recipe I found on the Cooking Light website. The original recipe has a peach and pepper salsa paired with the halibut, but I thought my pineapple habenero salsa would work just as well. I was right! This. was. fantastic.

Grilled Halibut with Roasted Pineapple Habenero Salsa

For the salsa:

Roasted Pineapple Habenero Salsa
Adapted From: More Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives by Guy Fieri

Ingredients:
4 Roma tomatoes
4 jalapenos, seeded and stems removed
1 habeneros, seeded and stems removed
1/2 medium red onion
1 20 oz can of pineapple tidbits, with juice.
1 cup cilantro
salt to taste

Directions:
1. broil the jalapenos and onion for 5-10 minutes on each side or until skin is blackened. When charred and caramelized on both sides then remove from the oven and let cool for 30 minutes in a bowl with a tight fitting lid.

Add all the roasted veggies, tomatoes,and raw habenero (SEE NOTE BELOW), and pineapple and pulse in the food processor. Add the cilantro and pulse. Add salt to taste. I also added a few tablespoons of olive oil. Let stand for 30 minutes before serving or store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.

NOTE: The habenero pepper is extremely spicy. Start by adding a quarter or a half of the pepper and taste. If your palette can handle it, add the whole thing from there...just taste as you go!

For the fish:

Grilled Halibut
Adapted From: Cooking Light magazine, Jeanne Kelley, JUNE 2010 issue

Ingredients:
4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice $
4 teaspoons olive oil $
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 garlic clove, minced
4 (6-ounce) skinless halibut fillets
3/8 teaspoon salt
3/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray

Directions:
Prepare grill to medium-high heat.
To prepare fish, combine 4 teaspoons juice, oil, paprika, and 1 garlic clove in a large, shallow glass baking dish, stirring with a whisk (I just combined everything in a large, zip top bag). Add fish to juice mixture; turn to coat. Cover and let stand 15 minutes.

Remove fish from marinade; discard marinade. Sprinkle fish evenly with 3/8 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Place fish on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 3 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness.

Serve fish with topped with desired amount of salsa.

Jerk Chicken with Cool Pineapple Salsa (CEiMB)

I am leaving for San Diego tomorrow and I won't be home for the Craving Ellie in My Belly recipe that I chose for our group, so I decided to make it early. I also needed something for dinner tonight, and I thought why not kill two proverbial birds with one stone. See, I am always thinking!!! I am going to leave the commentary short, because I have a ton of packing to do and I am still feeling kinda crappy overall. Procrastination has always been my strong suit!!!

Jerk Chicken with Cool Pineapple Salsa (CEiMB)
2007, Ellie Krieger, All rights reserved

Ingredients:
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)





The Result:
I thought this dish was good, but my husband was not crazy about it. He is a hater of all things cucumber, so it was hard to convince him that the dish was good. I liked the complex blend of flavors...sweet, spicy, savory. My husband is more of a fan of clean flavors, so again not a winner for him. Honestly, his personal preference is not to mix spicy/sweet combinations, and he is not a fan of fruit and meat together either. Picky, picky! I love all those little complex tidbits of taste, so this dish was most satisfying for me. I served this dish with a side of some broad green beans and a small baked potato. Yum! Despite the mixed reviews from my family members, I liked this dish a lot and thought it had an interesting punch.

Pineapple Upside Down Muffins

I recently found this recipe somewhere online, but I have no idea where (eek!). Usually, I like to credit where I find good things. However, no matter how much I back-track for the origin of these muffins, this recipe keeps eluding me. I even googled it; but I can't seem to find this particular one that I used. It's a little frustrating, to say the least!
Normally, when I copy a recipe I am careful to include where it is from, so I can give the author a nod for their intellectual property. It is really bugging me that I cannot find it! Ugh...I give up. If this is your recipe, I deeply apologize for not giving you credit. Truly, I am sorry and it will not happen again. Sigh. Also, if it is yours...please leave me a comment so I can sleep tonight. I can always go back and edit my post to show the proper credit.

As you may have guessed, I decided to bake today. I wanted to use a can of crushed pineapple that I had in the pantry and I thought these lovely, breakfast-y, muffins would be a great grab-n'-go treat for the family. Recipe-aggravation aside, these are a lovely little treat.

Pineapple Upside Down Muffins
By: Unknown (You are out there somewhere...)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup melted butter
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 8oz can crushed pineapple, drained
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp melted butter

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375F, grease 12 cup muffin pan
2. Spoon melted butter evenly into prepared muffin pan, sprinkle brown sugar over top, spoon pineapple over brown sugar, set aside.
3. In a bowl, Combine Flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Make a well in the center.
4. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, melted butter and buttermilk. Add quickly to flour mixture, stir just until moist and blended.
5. Spoon batter into muffin tin over pineapple. Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.
6. When cool, remove from pan and serve pineapple side up.

Jen's Notes:
I have bad luck with muffins/cupcakes sticking to my old pans, no matter how well I grease them. I think it is time for some new ones, but it just is not a priority. Today, I used paper muffin cups to avoid the whole 'stick-in-the-pan' issue. It worked like a charm!



The Result:
These are really yummy! Just like the cake version, only smaller and wrapped in paper cups. I have another can of pineapple, so I will be making more of these very soon!