Off The Counter: 5 Favorite Avocado Recipes

My love for avocados developed later in life.  As I child, I used to watch in horror as my mother dressed them in olive oil, salt and pepper and then savored them slowly.  She was always confident that I would become an avocado lover just like her.  Since our move to California, they've become a regular 'off the counter'staple, either served as my Mom would eat them, mashed into fresh guacamole, or used in recipes like the ones above.

I love living in avocado country!

Images and recipes: 1./2./3./4./5.

Off The Counter: Halibut Hobo Packs And Butter Tossed Corn

To entertain our first guests in our new home, my husband chose a recipe from this month's Food & Wine :  Halibut Hobo Packs.  Besides the wrapping of ingredients into individual foil packs,  there's little prepping for this deliciously healthy meal.  The flavor of the shiitake mushrooms combined with the herbed butter, infuse the fish with an earthy freshness that releases as each individual foil pack is unwrapped.  Alex added extra corn cobs tossed in butter and fresh herbs as a tasty side dish.  Ingredients and instructions below:

  1. 1/4 cup snipped chives
  2. 2 tablespoons tarragon leaves
  3. 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
  4. Salt
  5. Freshly ground white pepper
  6. 2 ears of corn, kernels cut from the cobs
  7. 4 large shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and caps thinly sliced
  8. 4 skinless halibut fillets (6 ounces each)
  9. 8 baguette slices, cut on the diagonal
  1. In a mini food processor, pulse the chives and tarragon leaves until chopped. Add the butter and a pinch each of salt and white pepper and pulse just until the butter is bright green with flecks of herbs. Transfer the herb butter to a sheet of plastic wrap and form into a log. Freeze for about 5 minutes, until the butter is slightly firm. Cut the butter into 16 pieces.
  2. Arrange four 12-inch sheets of heavy-duty foil on a work surface and spray evenly with vegetable oil spray. In a medium bowl, toss the corn with the shiitake and season with salt and pepper. Mound the mixture in the center of the foil sheets and top each mound with a piece of the herb butter. Top with the halibut fillets and another piece of the herb butter and season with salt and pepper. Fold up the foil on all sides and pinch the seams to seal.
  3. Light a grill. Place the foil packets on the grill, close the lid and cook over high heat until the fish is cooked through and the mushrooms are tender, 8 to 10 minutes; let the packets rest for 2 minutes.
  4. Grill the baguette slices for 2 minutes, turning once. Top with the remaining herb butter, allowing it to melt. Open the packets and serve the fish and vegetables with the baguette toasts.
MAKE AHEAD:  The herb butter can be wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 1 month.
Many thanks to DS and BB for their yummy basket of  baked goodies and for joining us in celebrating our new home!

Off The Counter: 4 Culinary Travel Essentials

This is not my typical Off The Counter post.  Considering  I'm minus the counter (shown above is the formica one I grew up with),  I packed a few items in hopes to recreate familiar flavors wherever we are.   Take a look at 4 of my favorite cupboard items:

1.  Peet's coffee and single cup filters for the perfect cup of morning rituals.

2.  Honey to drizzle over yogurt and vanilla ice-cream and to sweeten evening teas.

3.  Rice vinegar to make healthy salad dressings.

and...

4.  Maldon sea salt flakes, because there's simply no better salt.

What are some of your culinary travel essentials?

Off The Counter: Borrowed Recipes

For the next month or so, I'll have neither a kitchen nor a counter, making my Off The Counter posts a bit  more challenging.  However, I would love to continue featuring them throughout my upcoming travels, so I've decided to search out recipes that fit my culinary profile and share them with you .  This week's borrowed recipe for Watermelon And Feta Salad (pages 30-33),  is from House Of Fifty, a favorite online lifestyle magazine.  Crisp watermelon, lime marinated red onions, feta and spinach make this salad not only a visual treat, but also a refreshingly tasty dish. See ingredients and instructions below:

 

INGREDIENTS:

Watermelon, cucumbers, feta, red onion, lime juice, baby spinach, olive oil, mint leaves, salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS:

Thinly slice the red onions, sprinkle them with lime juice and let rest while preparing the rest of the ingredients.  Peel the cucumbers and cube along with the watermelon and feta cheese.  Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix in the baby spinach.  Add softened red onion slices in lime juice, drizzle all with olive oil, salt and pepper to your liking.  Gently toss and garnish with mint.

See the original recipe and other great summer eats in House Of Fifty 's summer 2012 issue here.

Off The Counter: Peach Caprese Salad With Crushed Pistachios

This week's Off The Counter is a fresh take on the traditional Caprese salad.  Sliced peaches and crushed pistachios give this classic a surprisingly sweet and crunchy flavor while the layered arugula leaves add a peppery pop.  Ingredients and instructions below:

Ingredients

Tomatoes, mozzarella, peaches, pistachios, arugula, salt, pepper, olive oil and rice vinegar.

Instructions

Slice the tomatoes, the fresh mozzarella and the peaches.  Layer them on a tray, add the arugula leaves and drizzle all with olive oil and rice vinegar.  Sprinkle crushed pistachios over the top.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Serve and enjoy this seasonal favorite!