Recipes

(Bis)Quick Conch Fritters

I love Conch Fritters. Back in the days before conch harvesting was made illegal in Florida, I spent many summer days collecting conch and many summer nights cooking conch fritters. If you make them remember not to skimp on the conch in each fritter or else you might as well be eating hush puppies. I would suggest running your conch through a meat grinder or food processor, finely ground, for this quick, easy and tasty recipe. Read more…

Acapulco Margarita Grouper Grilled

Grilling any fish is a touchy matter because the delicate meat can cook faster than is expected. Once you get the hang of grilling seafood you will realize it only takes a short while to grill. Read more…

Alice’s Black Bottom Key Lime Pie

Chef Alice Weingarten has changed the name and location of her Key West restaurant, (Alice’s Key West is closed
Chef Alice Weingarten is now at The Restaurant at La Te Da) but the accolades and recipes have always followed.  Several of her dishes are twists on American and Key West standards, including her Aunt Alice’s Magic Meatloaf and Black Bottom Key Lime Pie, see below.
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Andrea’s Hogfish Ceviche

This is from The Flavors of the Florida Keys by Linda Gassenheimer.

You can tell the fish is really fresh when you walk into the Eaton Street Fresh Seafood Market in Key West. There’s no fish smell. Andrea Morgan did what many lawyers probably wish they could do: retire at a very young age and move to Key West. She and her husband, Sean Santelli, quickly realized that there were very few fresh seafood markets, despite the fact that they were surrounded by bountiful seas filled with some of the best seafood in the world. In fact, they said, 90 percent of the fish caught here is trekked out of Key West. Sean started fishing on his boat, the Outcast, and Andrea started cooking. Hogfish is a beautifully white firm fish caught in deep water. The texture and flavor, when fresh, are amazing. It’s best to assemble the salad just before it is served. Use the freshest fish you can find.

Serves 8

1 orange, freshly squeezed (about 1 cup)
12 limes, freshly squeezed (about 2 cups)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon hot pepper sauce
1 pound fresh hogfish (grouper or mahimahi can be used)
1 red bell pepper, diced (about 2 cups)
1 small red onion, diced (about 2 cups)
3 plum tomatoes, diced (about 2 cups)
4 celery stalks, with leaves, diced (about 2 cups)
1 small jalapeño pepper, diced
3/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup cilantro leaves
chopped Tortillas or crackers for dipping

Juice the orange and enough limes to measure 3 cups. Add the salt and hot pepper sauce to the juice and set aside. Cut the hogfish into small, bite-size pieces and let marinate in the citrus juice while chopping the red bell pepper, red onion, tomatoes, celery, and jalapeño pepper. Place the vegetables in a large bowl. Spoon the hogfish and all its liquid into the bowl of vegetables.

Serve after the hogfish and vegetables have marinated for 30 minutes. The hogfish should be opaque white. Just before serving, stir in the white and black pepper and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with tortillas or crackers.

Atsa Spicy Shrimp

Are you tired of the same old shrimp? How lucky that you have so much shrimp to eat. Well here is a recipe for a Great Curry Shrimp dish you will love.

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Bahama Conch Chowder

Conch is can be kind of chewy (that’s a nice way of saying tough). There are several methods to solve this: 1. put it through a grinder or food processor, 2. pound it until tender and then cut it up in small pieces 3. slow cook it extra long (this method will work well with this recipe). Let me know how your’s turned out. Read more…

Blue Crab Stuffed Grouper

Last week you grilled some grouper and topped it with salsa. The week before you fried some grouper fingers. Now you are looking for something different. This baked Blue Crab Stuffed Grouper is the perfect choice and your family may suspect you somehow got take out from that famous seafood restaurant you enjoyed during your last Florida Keys vacation.

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Braised Key Deer Ribs

Just a note: Key Deer are Federally protected. This recipe is Just For Fun but it will also work well with any legal deer.

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Broiled Florida Lobster

OK so you got some lobster tails, by hook or crook, and now you need a fast, easy and tasty recipe. This one is for you. Read more…

Caribbean Conch Fritters with Island Hot Sauce

I love Conch Fritters. Back in the days before conch harvesting was made illegal in Florida, I spent many summer days collecting conch and many summer nights cooking conch fritters. If you make them remember not to skimp on the conch in each fritter or else you might as well be eating hush puppies. I would suggest running your conch through a meat grinder or food processor, finely ground, for this recipe. Read more…