A little more watermelon avocado salsa, please.

Summer calls for lighter meals and this was an excellent example! Most fish falls in the category of lighter fare for me. The corvina (from the Pacific coast of South America) was no exception;  meaty, but extremely light in flavor, flaking off in large chunks. It looks and tastes like a cross between mahi and red snapper.

The watermelon avocado salsa was a last minute addition (luckily remembering the watermelon and avocado were sitting on the counter). Our meal was postponed for a half hour to let it chill, but it was worth the wait! A serving for 2 included half an avocado (chunked), the juice of 2 limes, 2 diced slices of watermelon (mini seedless variety), some very thinly sliced white onion, mint and cilantro, salt and pepper to taste, and a touch of extra virgin olive oil. Serve on top of the fish, in many heaping spoonfuls, for a nice contrast to the silkiness of the corvina.

Pink wine! I have to say (due to previous experience some years ago), I had a preconceived notion that pink wine is sweet and not very good.  However, I’ve been hearing excellent things about rosés (especially from the Finger Lakes), and wanted to give one a try. The Hermann J. Wiemer Dry Rosé is actually quite full bodied, and dry, as per the name. It had very slight hints of floral notes, as well as apricot and raspberry. The acidity paired well with the fish and the lime in the salsa. I love finding a Finger Lakes wine I will purchase again!

As it hit 100˚F in Rochester yesterday…….happy hot summer to everyone! Hope you get a chance to enjoy this meal soon!

Corvina topped with watermelon avocado salsa!

Hermann J. Wiemer Dry Rosé. Pink wine is good!

Mid-summer watermelon is wonderfully refreshing.

Fresh basil from the garden! Sliced super fine.

Just a few paper thin slices of onion.

An avocado just looks like summer.

Where’s the Beef?

Father’s Day. What would it be without grilled meat? Well, I guess it would still be a Sunday to celebrate how great our fathers are. But, it might not be quite as manly without the grilled meat! (and a beer as you grill!) So Happy Father’s day…a day after. I hope you got to enjoy something like this Italian themed burger!

As I said in the caprese burger post, it’s fun to make a burger that’s way bigger than you can easily take a bite out of. So, we did it again here! 90% lean irradiated ground beef was once again our beef of choice. For this burger, I chopped up oregano and parsley and mixed it in the meat when I created the patties.  Grill it medium, and it’s incredibly juicy and flavorful. Place it on your grilled Italian hard roll and top the burger with fresh mozzarella, grilled pepper, grilled onion, more fresh oregano and parsley, mixed greens and your favorite tomato sauce.

Make sure to hold it over your plate and have a few spare napkins nearby!

The juicy, dripping, flavorful Italian themed burger.

I can just hear the sizzle and smell the smoke.