Found Friday

Today, I am introducing one of the new weekly features on my blog: Found Friday. While I love to experiment in the kitchen, and spend a great deal of time testing my own recipes or modifying old family ones... I often run across recipes and ideas from other sources that get the old go-round in my kitchen.

Whether it's a cookbook that has been dog-earred, stained, and has notes all over the margins or a trat from a fellow foodie blogger, this is where I will share it. Found Fridays will be all about those discovered little treasures that have found their way into my kitchen battery. This is not a place where you will find Pinterest shares. Pinterest will find its own place on here in the coming days. But, for now, on to FOUND FRIDAY...


Today's finding is brought to you by Kichen PLAY and CUTCO cutlery. If you haven't yet stumbled upon Kitchen PLAY, it's a fabulously inspiring little site from the creator of Taste Stopping (a humorous poke at the elitist foodie sites such as TasteSpotting, FoodGawker, etc., publishing only rejected food snaps). I adore both sites.

Every month, Kichen PLAY hosts a "progressive party." An online potluck of sorts. Six food bloggers are selected to create either a cocktail, amuse bouche, salad, appetizer/soup, entree, or dessert. Here's the catch: each blogger is challenged to incorporate the same product or kitchen tool in creating their dish. Then, readers are invited to play along in a sort of "blog hop," if you will, and recreate one of the featured recipes.

This month's sponsor is CUTCO cutlery. 6 bloggers were given the challenge of using their cutlery to slice and dice their way to success in this month's delectable creations. While I have no experience with CUTCO's product, I have heard nothing but wonderful things about their product line! And, winners of this month's progressive party will win a CUTCO Salad Mates gift set!

After scanning through my choices, I decided to recreate the Summer Ceviche from Aggie's Kitchen.



Ceviche is one of those refreshing summer dishes that I often enjoy at some of my favorite beach restaurants during our many trips up and down the Carolina coasts. But, I've never tried to make it at home. I was always fascinated by the idea that the citrus juices actually "cooked" the fish, but never delighted in actually observing the process. This was my perfect opportunity! I made a few adjustments to her recipe, but not many. Here you go:

Summer Ceviche
1 lb fresh halibut, cut into 1/2" cubes
1/2 red onion, diced small

1 shallot, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 C fresh lemon juice (about 2-3 lemons)
1/4 C fresh lime juice (about 3-4 limes)
Pinch of kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
1/2 red pepper, diced small
2 jalapenos, diced small
Bunch of cilantro, coarsely chopped
Juice from 1 lime
Drizzle of olive oil
Pinch of kosher salt, freshly ground pepper
Melba toast rounds and table water crackers, for serving

Start off by juicing the lemons and limes. I highly recommend a hand-juicer if you don't already have one. It makes quick work of juicing the citrus, and maximizes the quantity of your juice.



Halibut was the star of this recipe not by choice, but rather by accident. I sent the Mr. to the store with a very specific list of ingredients to procure for that night's dinner. On that list? 1 pound of flounder. Readily available, inexpensive, delicious FLOUNDER. What did I get instead? Halibut. Don't get me wrong... having spent many years in Alaska, I love me some halibut! Back in Alaska, halibut is plentiful. And, cheap. There's a reason it is referred to as "poor man's lobster." My parents usually have a deep-freeze full from summer fishing trips. Never in my life have I paid $25 for ONE pound of halibut. But, in light of the fact that the flounder was completely intact, just without a pulse... the Mr. decided I would be better off with a headless, scaleless, skinless fillet. The only whit fish on ice that fit that bill? $25 per pound halibut. Crazy man. At that price, I'll happily skin and decapitate any other fish! But, the halibut was delicious, so I digress...

To prepare the ceviche, combine fish, red onion, shallot and garlic in lg bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover completely with citrus juices, and toss gently to combine.

Cover bowl, and refrigerate for 2 1/2 hours (stirring halfway through) until fish is white and "cooked" through.

To prepare the salad, use a slotted spoon to move the fish mixture to a new bowl (leaving behind the citrus juices). Add the red pepper, jalapenos, and cilantro to the bowl. Dress with lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Gently stir to combine. Serve with melba toast rounds and table water crackers.

This is makes for some light, delicious summer fare that even the pickiest of kids will love. Trust me... mine licked their plates clean!

If you want to participate in this month's progressive party, you still have until July 31 to get those kitchen creations posted. You can find the participatinghere blog posts here and the official rules here