So while you’ve got your sushi grade tuna out, transport yourself to the tropics with this little dish from Hawaii.  Poke (Po-keh) is a native Hawaiian dish that is basically a tuna tartare with an Asian fusion spin.  I had never heard of it-always thinking of Kalua Pork, Poi, and Spam Musubi when I think of Hawaiian dishes.  So I was surprised to see a raw fish dish on the menu of nearly every restaurant we visited.

We ate it constantly while on vacation.  It is a nice, light dish to eat in the heat and it doesn’t make you feel terrible in your bathing suit.  It is great as a salad or appetizer but I think poke is especially delicious served atop a pile of sushi rice.  Don’t mistake, this dish is not like a ceviche where the fish is actually cooked by the acids in the marinade, but don’t be afraid of the raw tuna!  In Hawaii it is not uncommon to find poke being served at family gatherings and buffets-not the place I typically want to get my raw fish from, but nobody dies.  Just get sushi grade fish and handle it with care, keeping it as cold as possible.

Hawaiian Poke

• 8 oz. sushi grade yellowfin (ahi) tuna, sliced into bite-sized pieces
• 1/4 onion, julienned, I used red but sweet onions like Maui Onions work great
• 1 green onion, diced
• 1/8 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tbsp soy sauce, use low sodium if desired
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp sesame seeds, I used black but regular toasted ones are fine
• salt to taste

1. Combine onion, green onion, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sesame seeds and oil in a bowl.
2. Add bite sized pieces of tuna, mix well.
3. Chill the mixture for 15 minutes before serving so flavors can mix.  Check for salt before serving, the soy sauce can be pretty salty without needing any additional salt.

The raw yellowfin tuna has a really nice firm texture, so be sure to cut it into nice sized bites.

Top sirloin was on sale last week!  I love a good steak.  This is a great steak, and the corn salsa is a wonderful summer side.  This recipe makes more corn salsa than you may eat but it works great leftover in a salad with any left over steak, ala this salad.

Steak with Roasted Corn Salsa

• 3 cups fresh corn (about 3 ears)
• 4 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced separately
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 plum tomatoes, finely diced
• 1 to 2 fresh jalapeño chiles, finely diced (including seeds)
• 1 (2-pound) trimmed boneless sirloin steak, about 1 1/2 inches thick
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

1. Prepare grill for cooking.
2. Make the corn salsa by heating a dry large cast-iron skillet over moderately high heat until hot, then pan-roast corn, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
3. Cook white part of scallions in butter with garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon each cumin and chili powder, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until scallions are tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in corn, tomatoes, and jalapeños.
4. Combine remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and sprinkle on both sides of steak.
5. Grill, turning once, until an instant-read thermometer inserted horizontally into thickest part of meat registers 130°F, 18 to 20 minutes total for medium-rare.
6. Transfer steak to a grooved cutting board and let stand 5 to 10 minutes before slicing.
7. While steak is standing, reheat corn mixture over moderate heat, stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro and scallion greens.
8. Spoon corn on top of sliced steak and pour over any accumulated juices.

I am not the biggest fan of raw fish.  Really, I am not.  I prefer my sushi cooked, my salmon well done, and my tuna-well, let’s just say I don’t particularly care for tuna any which way.  Until recently, that is.  On a recent trip to Uchi in Austin, mrChaos ordered this small dish of Maguro tuna sashimi with green apples, pumpkin seed oil, and goat cheese.  And it rocked my world.  The wonderful crunch and tang of the apples and the creamy bits of cheese went perfectly with the melt in your mouth bites of fish.  Maguro, or ahi, is yellowfin or bigeye tuna and has a firm texture and a buttery mouth feel.  We loved the maguro sashimi at Uchi so much that we ordered it again for dessert.  We have also since made it at home as mrChaos’s georgous photo can attest.

Tuna and Goat Cheese Sashimi

• 6 oz. sushi grade yellowfin tuna, sliced into bite-size pieces
• sea salt and black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp San Bai Zu (see below)
• 1 Granny Smith apple, julienned
• 4 tsp pumpkin seed oil
• 3 oz. soft goat cheese, crumbled

San Bai Zu

• 6 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp water

1. Make the San Bai Zu.  Whisk vinegar and sugar together until dissolved.
2. Whisk in soy sauce, salt and water.
3. Toss the tuna with salt, pepper, garlic, and San Bai Zu.
4. Arrange apple slices on a plate. Place tuna over apples and drizzle with San Bai Zu mixture.
5. Drizzle with pumpkin seed oil and dot with bits of goat cheese.  Serve.

This dish seems complex but really it is a simple, no-cook salad.  Perfect for the end of a hot summer.  Ask your grocer for sushi grade tuna and don’t be concerned if they only have it frozen.  Thaw the fish quickly in an ice water bath or slowly in the refrigerator.  Whole Foods, by the way, does not sell sushi-grade fish but I know it is available by mail order if your local grocer doesn’t carry it.

Woo hoo!  I am glad to be home!  We had this pork tenderloin just before we left and I can’t wait to have it again.

I LOVE a grilled pork tenderloin.  It is one of my favorite things-the outside gets crisp and caramelized while the middle is moist and juicy.  This recipe was originally intended for the grill, but we couldn’t get it together that night and wound up pan roasting it instead.  Boy am I glad!  I know we’ll try again at grilling it in the future but this was wonderful roasted and served with the pan sauce.  As for mrChaos’s opinion: This is the best pork tenderloin ever. Why haven’t you been making this for years?

The pan roasting is a great, quick way to cook the tenderloins.  Marinade the meat before bed and you will have a quick weeknight dinner the next day.  I made our usual rice-a-roni pilaf and some creamed corn (spiced up with jalapeno salt, thanks Melissa!) while the pork roasted.  Despite the honey, this dish is not too sweet and it is great with or without cilantro if you aren’t the cilantro type.

Chipotle Honey Lime Pork Tenderloin

• 2 lbs pork tenderloin (2 small tenderloins)
• 1 cup lime juice, about 8 juicy limes
• zest from 2 limes
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped
• 1 tbsp adobo sauce (from canned chilies)
• peanut oil, or other high temperature oil
• cilantro

1. Trim tenderloins of fat and silver skin as much as possible.  Place in a large ziplock bag or other container to marinate.
2. In a bowl combine lime juice, zest, honey, salt, and garlic powder.
3. Stir to combine, then pour half over tenderloins, reserving half for sauce.
4. To tenderloins add chiles and adobo sauce.  Seal and marinade in fridge.
5. About 30 minutes before you are ready to cook, remove pork from fridge and allow to come to room temperature.
6. Preheat oven to 425°F.  In a large, heavy oven-proof skillet (like a cast iron skillet), heat enough oil to coat over medium high temperature.
7. Remove tenderloins from marinade and sear in hot skillet on all sides.
8. Place the skillet in the oven and roast tenderloins for about 15 min.
9. Check temperature with an instant read thermometer.  Remove pork from the oven at approximately 140-145, cover pork in skillet with foil. Let rest on the counter for 5-10 minutes or until temperature rises to 150.
10. Remove pork to a cutting board, pour reserved lime juice mixture into skillet with meat juices and heat on high.
11. Allow sauce to reduce and thicken slightly, then pour over sliced pork tenderloins.  If you don’t have enough sauce or it thickens too much you can add a little water and continue simmering it until it is the quantity and thickness you want.
12. Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro.

If you choose to grill, start at step 5 and grill your tenderloins about 15 minutes.  Remove from the grill to a platter at 140°F. Pour reserved lime juice mixture over meat and cover with foil.  Allow to rest 10 minutes.  Then slice, garnish with cilantro and serve.

Pork tenderloin is very lean and requires a gentle hand to keep it from drying out.  If you choose to use a pork loin it will require longer cooking time and not be as tender.