villa recipes?

[Backtotheislands]

Ok, we have always eaten out on island and I LOVE doing that, but I'm considering going a little over my budget and may need to cook at the house. What type of cooking do you do on island? We love fish and seafood. Is there someplace to buy fresh fish? I prefer to go out to eat since I'm on vacation, but with a nice sunset and a great outdoor area I might be convinced to "eat in". Thanks for your ideas!

[kgolden]

we send down a box of staples that we like, but when cooking dinners, most villas come with gas grilles, so we grill shrimp w/ garlic and olive oil on skewers with fresh veggies and cous cous. We also grill fish from Starfish Market or put in foil w/ all sorts of herbs etc. We also do take out from Uncle Joes BBQ and just make salad. Yum... CAN'T WAIT TO DO THIS IN 10 DAYS!!!

[shoemak38]

Keep it simple use the grill most villas provide. Starfish market has lots of side dishes so you can spend more time enjoying the view (drinking) rather than preparing dinner.

Last time we brought a cooler on wheels with beef and chicken which we froze. We also had some preprepared sides to cut down prep time.

[jpm]

The salmon fillets at Starfish are quite good--saute 1 minute on each side in a little olive oil, then 7 minutes in the oven at 375, squirt of lemon, a baked potato, and a salad of Josephine's mixed greens makes an excellent at home dinner, topped off with a great sunset view.

[GotToGetAway]

I love to put tilapia in a foil pouch on the grill with onions, peppers, and some pinapple. Easy and delicious.

[Backtotheislands]

Thanks, guys! Keep those ideas coming!

[mahojim]

One of my all time favorite dishes that we cooked on the patio of Plumeria- My Sweet Amy's first trip down- was as simple as it was delicious; grilled shrimp quesadillas.
First we grilled the shrimp whole on medium heat until fully cooked,then removed from the grill.( I know, already succulent...drooly,even...) Then we laid the soft flour tortillas on the grill. We shredded pepper-jack cheese and laid a layer of it on the entire tortilla,- use as much as you like. After we cut the shrimp into bite sized pieces, we oh so gingerly placed them generously on 1/2 of the cheesed tortilla. Just as the cheese started melted ,we folded it end to end to seal it all together, then finished it off on low heat, grill marks and all. We just served it with sour cream, but that's a no-brainer. Next time I'm gonna' make my "Maho Jim's Secret Sauce" for dipping. Ok, here's the oh-so simple recipe that goes great with everything from poppers, to quesadillas, to fajitas, to most things Mexican; add each ingredient as your taste dictates- mayo, honey, and cayenne pepper. That's it. Sweet with heat, baby. That's how MJ rolls.
Also an incredible addition, but a little more time consuming, would be a grilled pineapple salsa with garlic, olive oil, red peppers, diced jalapenos, fresh lime juice and cilantro to go with it.
Ok that's all the secrets that I care to divulge at this time...can't "wow" any of yous folks on the patio next trip should you care to dine in & grill at Chez MJ.
Hope to have helped!
Smiles-
MJ

[Lindy]

For my last trip I marinated a couple pork tenderloins and froze them to add to our cooler of grub. If you don't want to do them ahead of time you can always buy them there and start them marinating in the morning before you leave for the beach. I liberally season the tenderloins with salt/pepper then smear them with a couple tablespoons of good quality Dijon. Then crush up a couple teaspoons of dried rosemary and sprinkle over the Dijon and place the meat into a zip lock bag. I add a good splash of white wine (1/3 to 1/2 cup), a couple tablespoons of olive oil and a couple cloves of garlic, crushed. Then smoosh the bag around to get everything mixed, but not enough to wash the mustard off the meat. Freeze at this point or let sit in the refrigerator until you get back from the beach. If you can flip the bag a couple times while it sits, even better. Take the meat out to come to room temp while you preheat the grill. I start it off on a hot grill over direct heat for 5 min or so to get some nice grill marks, then turn and do the same on the other side. Turn off the center burner and/or move the meat over to indirect heat and cook 15 more minutes with the grill covered. Cover loosely with foil and let rest for 20 minute while finishing the rest of the meal - maybe a packaged rice dish or some sort and a salad. Cut the meat into thin slices cut on a bias to serve. The Dijon is NOT overpowering - it adds a great flavor and keeps the meat moist and juicy. Any leftovers makes wonderful sandwiches for the beach the next day. Yum!

[Coconuts]

I'll toss in an easy but killer side dish that we usually whip up. It's basically a potato salad, but with a twist that makes instant converts of everyone who tries it. You boil about three pounds of baby red or yellow potatoes till they are cooked, and cut them into small pieces. We leave the skin on. In a bowl, combine a cup of mayonnaise with 3 or 4 cloves of very finely chopped fresh garlic (never from a jar), and - magic ingredient follows - a small jar of capers, including their brine. Stir the ingredients and let it sit for a bit to allow the garlic to infuse the liquid, then add the potatoes and toss. Serve chilled. Don't get nicked by the fancy capers near the deli at Starfish; Goya capers from the Spanish section or Pine Peace will do just fine. Enjoy!

All the best,

Kevin

[lazylane]

Nothing more simple than a grilled steak, baked potato and salad!! We also do grilled chicken and use it for sandwiches, chicken salad, etc. We cook breakfast in a lot. We used to take down food, but honestly with having to pay for the checked cooler, we now just purchase at Starfish! I also have the villa provisioned with breakfast and lunch and snack items. A lot of villas have crock pots too and how nice is that after a day at the beach, come home and dinner is waiting for you!!!

[liamsaunt]

The Fish Trap operates a seafood market that has good quality fish. We have gtten tuna, mahi mahi, red snapper, and grouper there. My standard is just to marinate in olive oil and either lemon or lime juice, then grill and serve with either a fruit salsa or a compound butter. Some josephone's greens for a salad and a loaf of bread makes dinner.

Sam and Jacks sells balls of frozen pizza dough that we use to make grilled pizzas. Really easy and the kids love them because they can customize the toppings. We do grilled quesadillas too, which are always a hit.

One of our favorite recipes is for a ginger-teriyaki tuna burger. Even the kids devour these. I chop fresh tuna and combine with minced garlic and dijon mustard and make burger patties. Grill until cooked on the outside and rare on the inside. When they come off the grill they get glazed with a sauce consisting of bottled teriyaki sauce, grated fresh ginger, garlic, and cayenne pepper that is cooked on the stove or right on the grill until reduced to a thick glaze. Super easy and incredibly tasty.

[chicagoans]

Not recipes but my little tip: Since food is rather pricey there I'm big on using leftovers. I always grill up extra meat for dinner to make roll ups or sandwiches for the next day's lunch. (Grilled chicken with lettuce and pesto on a wrap = yum!) And don't forget your leftovers from eating out. Last year we had dinner at Miss Lucy's and my friend and I split her fantastic paella. Even splitting it we had leftovers, so the next night I mixed the leftover paella with a bunch of greens from Josephine's farm - it was an amazing salad! Leftover baked potato, peppers, etc: cut up, saute, add eggs beat with milk for a great frittata.

[mahojim]

Ok, now!
Chicagoans- thanks for the tips! You're talking my language.
Awesome!
Thanks, and
always,
Smiles-
MJ

[mindehankins]

If you haven't tried the local sweet potatoes, you should! You just throw them on the grill as-is, and roast them until the skins are black and there's some "give" to the potato (like a baked potato). You cut them in 1/2 and eat the inside of the potato. We love them with just a little butter. Absolutely delicious! We even buy them here, now, regularly, in the Spanish produce area. As I recall, it took about 1/2 hr for a normal baked-potato sized sweet potato.
The ones to buy are the purple and white ones. We've had best luck at Dolphin or Love City mini mart, finding them.

[AquaGirl]

We like to get Cruz Bay Grill rub from St John Spice and make a marinade. We use the recipe on the CBGR package, with some variations. Its great with chicken or pork chops. We make the marinade in the evening, so the meat can marinate for 24 hours, then we grill them.