From Mama's Table to Mine (12 page)

Authors: Bobby Deen

BOOK: From Mama's Table to Mine

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Sweet Chili-Glazed Grilled Tuna

Tuna is hands down my favorite fish. I love that it’s got such a bold flavor and strong texture that it can stand up to almost anything you throw at it. In this recipe, I throw Sriracha hot sauce at it, and true to form tuna is up to the challenge. I like to serve this delicious grilled fish with steamed white or brown rice and grilled or stir-fried asparagus.
Serves 4

¼ cup honey

2 tablespoons Sriracha or other chili sauce, or to taste

4 tuna fillets (6 ounces each)

Lime wedges, for serving

1.
In a small bowl, make the chili glaze by stirring together the honey and Sriracha.

2.
Spray the grill grate with cooking spray and preheat the grill to medium-high heat.

3.
Grill the tuna fillets on one side for 3 minutes. Brush the cooked side with some of the chili glaze and turn. Cook for 3 more minutes for medium-rare (for medium, cook 4 minutes on each side). Place the tuna, glazed sides down, on a serving platter and generously brush the tops with extra chili glaze. Serve with the lime wedges.

BREAKIN’ IT DOWN

Before: 14g fat, 458 calories
After: 1.6g fat, 221 calories

39g protein | 9g carbohydrate | 0g fiber | 313mg sodium

Chili Choices

While you can use any chili sauce you like in this recipe, I highly recommend you try to get your hands on some Sriracha. A Thai hot chili paste that is both tangy and sweet, Sriracha really packs a punch. You’ll find it at specialty or Asian markets.

Memphis Dry Rub Shrimp Skewers

This rub is based on the classic Memphis dry rub for pork or beef ribs. By cutting out the ribs and swapping in plump, fresh shrimp, you go from around 800 calories a serving down to an unbelievable 105 calories per serving, without sacrificing any of that great Memphis flavor.
Serves 4

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon light brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon chili powder

¾ teaspoon ground cumin

¾ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Metal or presoaked bamboo skewers

1.
Spray the grill grate with cooking spray and preheat the grill to medium-high heat.

2.
In a small bowl, combine the paprika, brown sugar, salt, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, black pepper, and cayenne and mix thoroughly.

3.
In a medium bowl, toss the shrimp with the oil. Add the dry rub mixture and toss until the shrimp are evenly coated.

4.
Thread the shrimp onto the skewers, piercing each shrimp with two parallel skewers, leaving about 1 inch of space between each shrimp. Grill, turning once or twice, until cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes in total.

BREAKIN’ IT DOWN

Before: 65g fat, 832 calories
After: 3g fat, 105 calories

15g protein | 2g carbohydrate | 0g fiber | 781mg sodium

Skewer School

Here are a few tips for using skewers on a hot grill. First off, make sure you soak your skewers for about 20 minutes if you are using the wooden ones. This will prevent them from burning on the open flame. When you are threading shrimp or scallops, thread the seafood on two parallel skewers to prevent it from spinning when you turn it on the grill. Lastly, for even cooking on the skewers, make sure you don’t crowd the food you thread onto them.

Peachy BBQ Grouper

We take great pride in our peaches in Georgia, so if you can get your hands on some sweet Georgia peaches, definitely use fresh. But don’t limit yourself to this dish during the short but sweet peach season. Canned peaches are a perfectly respectable stand-in. Once you’ve sampled this fish, you won’t want to wait for peach season to roll around to try it again. And if your market doesn’t have grouper on hand, other white-meat, firm-textured fish like mahi-mahi or snapper are a fine substitute.
Serves 4

1½ cups peeled and pitted fresh or canned peaches, drained if canned

¾ cup bottled low-sodium barbecue sauce

4 grouper fillets (5 ounces each), patted dry

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons canola oil

¼ cup sliced scallions (white and light green parts only), for serving

Lime wedges, for serving

1.
Using a blender, food processor, or immersion blender, puree 1 cup of the peaches until smooth. Pour into a medium saucepan and stir in the barbecue sauce. Simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes.

2.
Spray the grill grate with cooking spray and preheat the grill to medium-high heat.

3.
Season the fish with the salt and pepper, brush lightly with the oil, and grill, covered, until opaque, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Generously brush both sides of the fish with the peach barbecue sauce during the last few minutes of cooking time.

4.
Set the fish on a serving platter and brush the tops of the fillets with more peach barbecue sauce. Finely chop the remaining ½ cup of peaches and scatter chopped peaches and scallions over the fish. Serve with lime wedges.

BREAKIN’ IT DOWN

Before: 16g fat, 637 calories
After: 7g fat, 212 calories

29g protein | 12g carbohydrate | 2g fiber | 430mg sodium

Nutritional count using fresh peaches

Perfect Pairing

Fish paired with a fresh fruit salsa is a match made in heaven. This is healthy, clean food that is packed with all the nutrients and vitamins that your body needs. Get creative and try other fruits, like mangoes, nectarines, or papayas, in place of the peaches.

Glazed Scallops with Pineapple Salsa

Summers in Georgia are something truly special. And this dish transports me there every time I eat it. Sweet, spicy, and tangy, all brought together on a delicate, perfectly grilled scallop. I could eat this just about every day in summer. It’s not so bad the rest of the year, either.
Serves 4

Salsa

1 cup finely chopped pineapples

½ cup finely chopped red bell peppers

2 tablespoons finely chopped red onions

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

2 teaspoons finely chopped jalapeños

Scallops

3 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1 pound sea scallops, patted dry

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

1.
To make the salsa: In a small bowl, stir together the pineapples, bell peppers, red onions, lime juice, and jalapeños.

2.
To make the scallops: Spray the grill grate with cooking spray and preheat the grill to medium-high heat.

3.
In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, and lime juice. Lightly season the scallops with pepper. Grill directly on the grill grate and uncovered, for 2 minutes. Flip the scallops and brush the tops with the honey mixture. Cover and grill until just opaque, 1 to 2 minutes more. Set the scallops on a plate and spoon the salsa over the top.

BREAKIN’ IT DOWN

Before: 5g fat, 232 calories
After: 4g fat, 178 calories

20g protein | 23g carbohydrate | 1g fiber | 173mg sodium

Seafaring

Make sure you use sea scallops, not bay scallops, in this dish. Sea scallops are the bigger scallops. They will stand up to the high heat of the grill much better than their smaller cousins.

CHAPTER 5

Casseroles and One-Dish Meals

IF THERE IS ONE MEAL that can take me back to my childhood in an instant, it has got to be baked spaghetti. I loved it then and I love it now. When I would come home from school and smell that meal cooking away in the stockpot, my mouth would just start watering, y’all. Mama loaded it up with tons of ground beef and topped it off with heaps of Cheddar and Monterey Jack that would come out of the oven positively bubbling over with goodness. It didn’t get much better than that.
The Son’s Baked Spaghetti (Thanks, Mama!)
is every bit as delicious, minus a few calories and grams of fat. Paired with a fresh green salad, it’s a perfect midweek one-dish meal.

One-dish meals are tailor-made for the busy workweek, especially dishes like
Slow-Cooked North Carolina–Style Pulled Pork
. With a meal like this, you can toss all your ingredients into the slow cooker, turn the machine on, leave it to cook, and get on with your day, knowing that dinner is bubbling away at home. Coming back to the smell of this pork is pure heaven.

I think casseroles have gotten a bad reputation for being unhealthy for you. That’s a shame. A casserole is really just the sum of its parts. Load it up with good things and it will be good for you. It doesn’t have to be all about meat and gooey melted cheese or it can be, just lighter versions! During the week I tend to turn to fish and fowl as a leaner source of protein. That’s when I enjoy a casserole like my
Spicy Shrimp and Pasta Casserole
. It’s so good, I find I don’t even miss the meat.

And when I’m craving a meaty meal? I can’t go past my
Cheeseburger Casserole
. I keep the oil to a bare minimum, and I use extra-lean beef and low-fat cheese. You’d be amazed by how a few simple steps like that can make a dramatic difference in reducing calories.

You see, the beauty of a casserole is that it’s so easy to get together you can pull it off any old day of the week. There is, however, one casserole in this chapter that you may want to save for a special occasion. That casserole is the famous
Low-Country Boil
. Make this shrimp and sausage dish on a warm day, throw some newspaper over a table, and dig in with your hands. Now that is a one-pot meal that deserves a party.

Beaufort Shrimp Pie

My Mama created this tasty seafood pie in honor of the beautiful town of Beaufort, located on one of South Carolina’s Sea Islands. It’s filled with plump shrimp and salty bacon brought together in a thick and creamy sauce. This pie is a celebration of Beaufort’s venerable shellfish industry, and it always takes me right back to our first days in Savannah, after we moved up from Albany. That’s when I discovered all the fresh bounty of the sea. Best of all, because it comes together in the blink of an eye, I enjoy this dish (and all the fond memories it brings back to me) right on through the workweek.
Serves 6

2 teaspoons olive oil

½ cup finely chopped onions

½ cup finely chopped green bell peppers

2 cups fresh bread crumbs

¾ pound cooked, peeled, and deveined large shrimp

1½ cups 1% milk

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

¾ teaspoon
The Lady’s House Seasoning

1 teaspoon hot sauce, or to taste

3 turkey bacon slices, coarsely chopped