Tonight is the night we have all been waiting for... the final season of Game of Thrones! To go along with the theme of this season, I thought a Fire and Ice recipe was much needed. I tend to like my seafood cold and my meat spicy, so surf ‘n turf made the most sense.
Don't be alarmed by the several different recipes and long list of ingredients. Each of these separate bites of food is simplified to its easiest recipe. And if you want to skip the recipes all together, you can buy a lot of this stuff already made - that way you can just focus on the display. This is the perfect appetizer set up for any Sunday GOT gathering over the next 8 weeks!
SURF:
Blue Ice:
6 cups ice
1/4 cup water
Blue food coloring
In a high speed blender, add ice in two batches. Run each batch on high speed until completely crushed. Mix the water together with several drops of food coloring until light blue. With all the ice in the blender, add the blue water and combine. Place all ice in the serving bowl you plan to serve all the seafood on and freeze until ready to use.
Simple Ceviche:
1 pound any white fish - cubed small (I used halibut)
Kosher salt
3 tablespoons minced white onion
3 garlic cloves - minced
2 tablespoons minced cilantro
1 small jalapeño- seeded and minced
4 to 5 limes - juiced
In a large bowl, toss the fish together with a heavy sprinkle of salt. Mix in the onion, garlic, cilantro, and jalapeño. Cover with lime juice, pressing down the fish to completely submerge. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until cooked through. Serve in little cups or spoons over blue ice.
Steamed Clams:
2 dozen clams
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 garlic cloves - minced
1/4 cup wine
Wash the clams, making sure there’s no grit left on them. Heat olive oil over medium heat and add the garlic for about 1 minute or until fragrant. Pour in the wine and add the clams. Close the lid for about 8 minutes or until clams are all open. Let cool and serve over blue ice.
Roasted Shrimp:
1 pound shrimp - peeled and deveined, tails on
1 tablespoon olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper
Heat oven to 425 degrees. On a baking sheet, toss together the shrimp with the olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Roast for 5 to 8 minutes or until they just turn pink. Serve cold over blue ice.
TURF:
Thai Chile Steak Skewers:
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons Thai Chile paste
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lime - juiced
2 garlic cloves - minced
Kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper
1 pound sirloin steak - cut into 1/2 inch pieces
Grape Tomatoes
Crunchy Chile Oil (found in Asian section)
In a plastic storage bag, add the soy sauce, Thai Chile paste, sesame oil, olive oil, lime juice, garlic, and mix together until combined. Lightly sprinkle the steak pieces with salt and pepper, add to the marinade, close, and refrigerate for at least one hour.
Heat a grill pan to high heat. Thread the steak and grape tomatoes onto short skewers, about 4 pieces of steak and 2 tomatoes on each skewer. Grill for 2 to 3 minutes on each side for medium. Top with crunchy Chile oil. Serve with spicy dipping sauces.
Sausage Pepper Bites:
4 pre-cooked spicy sausages (I use chicken sausage)
1 red bell pepper
Slice each sausage into 8 pieces. Slice the bell pepper into 32 bites, a little smaller than each piece of sausage. Place each piece of sausage over one pepper and put a toothpick in each bite. Serve with spicy dipping sauces.
Boneless Buffalo Wings:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken tenderloins
Kosher salt and pepper
1/2 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup Franks Hot Buffalo Sauce
2 cups finely crushed cornflakes
2 tablespoons flour
Olive oil spray
3 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons butter
Cut chicken into bite size (buffalo wing size) pieces. Lightly sprinkle salt and pepper on all sides. In a large bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and 1/4 cup of the hot sauce and add chicken to the bowl, pressing down to make sure all pieces are covered. Refrigerate for at least one hour.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. In a shallow bowl, mix together the cornflakes and flour. Remove each piece of chicken from the buttermilk mixture and dip into the cornflakes, pressing to stick. Place chicken on a foil-lined, olive oil sprayed baking sheet and spray more olive oil on each piece of chicken. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until cooked through. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup of hot sauce with the honey and butter. Drizzle over the cooked chicken. Serve as is or with ranch dip if desired.