Seafood Martinique

Our most often asked for recipe is for Mangospacho (I will post that recipe soon... promise), which does not surprise me. It is our own unique spin on traditional Gazpacho... sweet and tart and a little spicy all at once. What does surprise me, however, is our second most often requested recipe. People don't ask for the Lobster Fondue or the Caribbean Egg Rolls, nor do they ask for our best selling, Maryland-resident approved Crab Cakes.

They ask for Seafood Martinique. It is a simple dish with seafood, a creamy vodka sauce and penne pasta. Nothing crazy. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just consistently tasty. It is so simple that I almost feel bad sharing it with you... like sharing will take away some of the magic when you come in and order it.

Nah... it's still magic. I'll tell you why - the secret is in the sauce. We make our own marina with our own roasted garlic. Your own marinara, or marinara from a can, will work just fine too.

So, here it is... Seafood Martinique... makes 2 large servings. (Enough for dinner tonight and probably lunch tomorrow!)

1-2 tbsp olive oil
8 oz scallops
8 oz shrimp
Salt & pepper to taste
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup marinara sauce
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1 lb cooked penne pasta
1/3 cup grated Parmesan-Romano cheese
1/4 chopped fresh basil
4 oz shredded lobster meat

Heat a large saute pan with the olive oil to medium-high. I suggest using a deep pan if you have one. Saute the shrimp and scallops with a pinch of salt & pepper until nearly done.

Add in the heavy cream and reduce for 1-2 minutes. Add the marinara, tomatoes, pasta, cheese and basil. Stir and heat through. Pour into dishes, top with lobster meat and garnish with more Parmesan-Romano cheese. Eat. Mmmmm.

The Pepper Garden

One of our summer projects at Madfish was a pepper garden. Sadly, it didn't last. The heat and not enough water ultimately caused its demise, but I wanted to share some pictures of the plants and the 'harvest' in its once-upon-a-time glory.

The peppers in the above picture were what we got the most of... we picked cayennes, red hot cherries and serranos almost weekly. We never really used these in any of our dishes, but the boys in the kitchen made some great spicy salsas!

The garden just before the leaves starting getting yellow :)

Our final crop. Red, yellow, orange and green bells plus a couple of hot banana peppers and poblanos. I would like to try to peppers again next year, but maybe in pots instead to hold the moisture.

Any ideas on another 'crop' that we could plant come fall? Our spot is in full sun most of the day, which can be tough. I was thinking some different kinds of lettuce... ?