Cooking With Amanda

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Seared Ahi Tuna Steaks

My hubby is a huge fan of tuna. He'll eat tuna straight out of the can with some crackers. However, I am not a fan of canned tuna. At all. I never have been, not even when I was a kid. I would never touch a tuna salad sandwich or a tuna casserole. It just wasn't for me. So even though my hubby loves those things, I won't ever make them for him. I just can't do it.

I LOVE sushi. I really do. It is a guilty pleasure of mine. Or maybe not so guilty. I mean fish and rice with seaweed, it is actually pretty good for you. And pretty easy to get gluten-free. When ordering gluten-free sushi you just have to be careful about soy sauce (but that is easily remedied if you bring your own.) So many times in the last 3 years I've gone out by myself and ordered sushi.

That is right, by myself. My husband just doesn't like sushi. He'll go out with me occasionally because he knows it is my favorite. But it just isn't his thing. He just doesn't like everything combined together and has a hard time getting it down.

He may love canned tuna while I abhor it. And I may love sushi when he can't swallow it. But these seared Ahi tuna steaks right here is where our loves and hates overlap in a most pleasant way. We both LOVE this recipe!

A few weeks ago I planned a romantic at home date night for after the kiddos were in bed. We both were looking forward to it all day, but of course, bedtime never goes as planned. After we finally got the kids down (which was quite a process and took an extraordinarily long time that night) I quickly marinated and seared our Ahi Tuna steaks.

And then my brother-in-law stopped by to pick something up. I tented the tuna in some tinfoil to keep it warm while he was here. Anyways, it was after 9 before we had our romantic at-home dinner date. But you know what, these seared Ahi tuna steaks were worth the wait.

The marinade gives them a subtle saltiness with a hint of spicy ginger and the sweet flavor of honey. The sesame seeds add a nice crunchy bite and toasted flavor to the silky Ahi tuna steaks. Of course, to make your life easier, the marinade doubles as a dipping sauce. A darn tasty dipping sauce!

Just finish off your fancy meal with some gluten free death by chocolate cheesecake or some gluten free chocolate lemon shortbread and maybe a glass of your favorite wine.

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Seared Ahi Tuna Steaks Recipe

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Ingredients

For the Marinade & Dipping Sauce:

6 tablespoons tamari gluten free soy sauce
6 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

For the Tuna:

1-1 1/2 pounds ahi tuna steaks, preferably 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick
2-4 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons sesame oil

Directions

Mix together all of the ingredients for the marinade. Pour approximately 2/3 of the marinade into a bowl for dipping and set aside, if it is a little strong add a tablespoon or 2 of water or rice wine vinegar.
Pour the remaining marinade into a ziploc bag and add the tuna steaks. Squeeze out all the excess air and marinate in the fridge for 30-60 minutes.
Remove the tuna steaks from the marinade and gently roll in the sesame seeds.
Heat a heavy bottomed skillet until a drop of water dances across the pan and evaporates almost instantly.
You'll cook the steaks in batches, so add about 1 tablespoon of sesame oil to the pan and then sear each tuna steak for about 30-60 seconds on each side. Don't forget to sear the edges too!
Remove the seared steak to a serving plate and cover it with a tent of aluminum foil to keep it warm.
Repeat with remaining steaks, adding more sesame oil as necessary.
Just before serving, slice the tuna steaks on a gentle bias and serve with the dipping sauce.

Notes

If sesame seeds aren't your thing, you can easily leave them off when you make your Seared Ahi Tuna Steaks.
To make it a meal, serve your Seared Ahi Tuna Steaks with some short grain sticky "sushi" rice seasoned with rice wine vinegar, and maybe a few green onions for a fresh touch.

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Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Cookies

I have to admit, I totally get sucked into the pumpkin craze in the fall. Maybe because it only lasts for such a short time, (kind of like every other season, I suppose!) and it just tastes and feels so homey and comforting after all the cool, crisp, or grilled summer foods, but I also just absolutely love the taste!

I love pumpkin every which way. (I mean just check out all the pumpkin recipes I've made in the past!) Sweet or savory, baked or in a milkshake...really the options are endless in these days of the interwebs, am I right? Someone is always coming up with something even more creative!

My husband loves pumpkin just about as much as I do. We were waiting for pumpkin coffee to be stocked on the shelves since early August, and I was one of the first in line the day Starbucks finally released their new and improved pumpkin spice latte! But, my husband is a purist. His most favorite and requested pumpkin recipe every year is good ol' pumpkin pie. And I do oblige.

Thennnn I went ahead and made these pumpkin spice oatmeal cookies, and all bets were off. He became obsessed. As did I. We were eating these so quickly after the kids went to bed, they were gone in an embarrassing amount of time. But it's okay, I was pregnant ;)

He would be texting me from work asking me to remake them again and again. They're quite simple as far as cookies are concerned, but there is just SO much spice, I'm talking TWO tablespoons of pumpkin spice, plus some extra cinnamon in there for good measure, and then a smidge of molasses to really pull all the flavors out onto your palate.

These soft and chewy, spicy, oatmeal cookies may just be my favorite yet! I definitely recommend doubling the batch, because I promise you, these won't last long!

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Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal Cookies Recipe

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Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon molasses
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups old fashioned rolled oats
2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed for 3-4 minutes.
Scrape down the bowl, and mix in the eggs one at a time. Stir in the vanilla and molasses.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and mix until just combined.
Scrape down the bowl again with a rubber spatula, and slowly mix in the rolled oats and pumpkin pie spice.
Scoop out dough with a large cookie scoop and place on the parchment lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart.
Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the edges are golden brown, its okay if the middles look slightly undercooked, they will finish cooking on the pan as they cool.
Allow to set for4-5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Once completely cooled, store in a large zip lock bag on the counter.