Cousino-Macul Antiguas Reservas, Halibut, Tuna, & much much More

What a delightfully marvelous weekend it was; I grew weary of steaks and chops and what not so decided that I needed to get more seafood into the diet and onto the grill.

Pictured here is the entire meal....



Asian Marinated Albacore Tuna adorned w/Japanese mayo and capers, roasted red and yellow peppers , bacon wrapped asparagus, and sliced pesto foccacia. Citrus Pepper Halibut served crowned with symbolic mushroom cap as well grilled summer squash.
Balsamic Tomatoes and Avocado Spears and the obligatory Cajun Chicken Breast.

The Asian Tuna was actually prepared by my beautiful wife by slicing the filet into 1/3rds and marinating in mirin, miso, soy sauce, chili sauce, and garlic. This was hands down the evening's best food. The marinade gave the fish a wonderfully subtle japanese/asian flavor with just a hint of spice from the chili sauce. Quite frankly, I was jealous and showed my disapproval by making her sleep on the couch later that evening.
















The Halibut was good though...Halibut is a great versatile fish for the grill and so easy to cook. I didn't marinade at all but simply used a dry rub of Florida Citrus Pepper in Conjunction with some freshly ground Sea Salt I crushed with a mortar and pestle. I pretty much use a mortar and pestle at all times when using herbs...its as common of staple on BBQ night as my wine decanter. You may be wondering about the Family Guy magnet. Hipcheck Jr. thought the plate needed once last final finishing touch and couldnt decide between the Kale, Radish Floret, or the Peter Griffin magnet on the fridge-Call me crazy but I thought he made the right choice.




As for the other items-really for the most part they were simply garnish. I was going to prepare a pesto/mayonnaise remoulade for the halibut but absent-mindedly forgot to pick up the basil. By the time I realized I was already on my second glass of wine....

As for the Wine-It wasn't particularly notable but by that same token was horrifically bad. Maybe I had a bit of sinus congestion but couldn't really disseminate anything on the nose much less on the palate. Maybe I was just in a crappy/indifferent mood. Did you ever notice that the more joyous the celebration the better the wine tastes? Even the cheapest bottle is palatable with the right atmosphere while generally a good wine wont particularly stand out with as unimpressive or otherwise bland evenings fair. For instance-the Marquis Philips certainly stood out as superior to the Cousino-Macul but was tasted during a family gathering and thus seemed a bit more celebratory. Maybe it's just me.

Stay Tuned-Ill be doing a New York Steak as well as Lamb Tenderloin in the next entry.