To Sear With Love - Part II

During my last visit to the doctor, my bloodwork revealed that some of my numbers were a bit high. Cholesterol was one of them. I knew automatically where that was coming from. RED MEAT. In my house my hubby is a steak and potatoes kinda guy. He can cook a mean steak. There is no resisting that ribeye. Tonight he brought home a flank steak topped with a roasted corn salsa. Wow. And he makes the most awesome shrimp scampi and also a Cajun style BBQ shrimp. Shrimp is HIGH in cholesterol. You have to really watch your shellfish intake. So I have increased my intake of fish instead. Now my chef is not a fish lover, but my son and I am. There are two fish that he does eat occasionally. One is Mahi Mahi and the other is Tuna. His fish has to be fresh and in fillet form. I haven't found a good fishmonger in the Charlotte area. If you know of one, I would love to know. But there are a few good sources. One for me is through the restaurant. Market value drives his ordering and what is fresh at the time. Unfortunately this source is not available to everybody. But there are Asian markets that have fish tanks with live fish in it. They are swimming around in the tanks. Alive is definitely fresh. The down side is you have to either take it home whole and clean it yourself (YEW), or pay an extra fee for it to be cleaned for you. If you love fishing and don't get squimish, this is the way to go. There is a big Asian market on the corner of Sugar Creek Road and Tryon St in the Charlotte area. Check for Asian markets in your area for fresh fish. Another source is Harris Teeter Supermarkets. They have really been improving their selection. The pictures you see here are tuna steaks we bought at Harris Teeter. There was a time that I would go see the fresh fish counter and balk at the prices. But then I remember that I have paid at least $25.00 an entree at fancy restaurants to have fresh fish. For 3 people that is $75.00. I still love going out to eat. Fancy restaurants don't have TV's playing football and I can get my husband's attention for a while. That alone is worth the money :-).
So if you buy 2 lbs of tuna at $10.99, you are still saving a bunch of money.
We love tuna blackened. I have previously posted the Horsey Sauce to accompany the fish, but my guy loves it just blackened, no sauce.
We serve the fish with rice and a side of either fresh steamed green beans or steamed asparagus. Here is the picture of our great Harris Teeter Tuna find.

They have the most wonderful red/pink color. They were cut 1 inch thick. He sprinkled the tuna steaks with blackening spice. He then took my new skillet and heated it up and then added 1/4 cup of olive oil. He added the tuna to the skillet to sear it.

Depending on the thickness of the tuna and how well you like it done determines the amount of time you should cook each side. We like it rare in the middle. My hubby calls it variables. It depends on the pan, how high the heat is, the thickness of the fish, etc. It can be exasperating cooking with him sometimes because he cooks with his eyes now. He can see how it is cooking and get it right. I still need instructions. But he says that for a 1" tuna steak, cook it for approximately 2 minutes each side. Isn't this a thing of beauty? I had a feast. We put on some jazz music on the ipod stand in the background, and a wonderful Pinot Grigio. The TV still had football on, but that's OK. I am blessed by God. Wonderful food on the table and my guys sitting by my side. That is what makes it taste even better. Love of God, love of family and love of food.
I hope you enjoy.