Learn to Cook with Key West Personal Chef

Sign up for ​Cooking Lessons at Isle Cook with Key West Personal Chef Martin Liz. 
Classes will be held on May 6th and May 13th at 5:30pm. Learn to cook and then enjoy eating classic Cuban dishes:
 “Mollettes” - A truly unique dish of Key West, Kobe beef picadillo stuffed in Cuban bread breaded and fried,served with a Caribbean bird pepper sauce
   • Seafood Enchilado or “Chilao” - “Ocean to Table” seafood stew with a tomato- beer base, and yellow corn grits“
   • Queen of all Pudding” - Rum-bathed guava and raisin bread pudding topped with meringue, a Key West native favorite 
Chef and culinary author Martin Liz is a 3rd generation Key West native. Born in Key West of Cuban heritage, he is a true CONCH.  He is classically French trained and specializes in preparing Key West's fresh seafood using the traditional Key West-Cuban cooking styles passed down for generations in his family.

Spearheading the 'Ocean to Table' movement, Chef Martin makes an amazing array of truly unique Key West and Caribbean delicacies. He focuses on utilizing local seafood and exotic, indigenous flora and fauna. His natural creativity coupled with classical training and a desire to preserve the largely lost culinary traditions of his heritage, meld an exotic mix of Cuban, Asian, Afro-Caribbean and French-West Indies. His pallet represents tastes that are exclusively, undeniably, Key West. 

In Chef Martin Liz’s cooking lessons you will learn about the many different types of amazing sea foods. The class will focus on locally sourced unique ingredients, exotic fruits, spices, herbs, and introduction to classic conch cuisine.

Sign up here: http://islecookkeywest.com/lessons-schedule.htm
Visit us at www.keywestpersonalchef.com 

Cero: The Best of the Mackerels

Along with the snowbirds and the cool weather come the skipjacks and the mackerel.

The king mackerel season opens and the annual king mackerel tournament brings a crowd. Sport fishermen give it all they’ve got to bring in the best catch of all.

There are many types of mackerel but the best is the cero mackerel. The cero mackerel isn’t the biggest of the mackerels but by far the tastiest. It is a sushi grade fish that is best served as sashimi and makes an amazing ceviche.

It is a true delicacy of the Key West and the Florida Keys and often under appreciated.

My favorite way to enjoy cero mackerel is in sashimi form with a twist! Using local flavors and some Key West flair! Fresh slice the cero paper thin and eat with a key lime grain mustard vinaigrette. Slice, dip and enjoy.

Key Lime Grain Mustard Vinaigrette

• 1 minced shallot
• 2 tablespoons grain mustard
• ½ cup fresh squeezed key lime juice
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• Sea salt to taste
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Add shallots, grain mustard, and key lime juice to mixing bowl. Stir with whisk and slowly add extra virgin olive oil until blended. Finish by seasoning your vinaigrette to taste with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. Serve with your fresh catch and enjoy!

Shoreline Snapper!

Shoreline snapper! An abundance of great seafood is a lot closer than you think.

So many fishermen go out and spend boat loads of money on rods, reels, boats with all the bells and whistles and often come home with out much of a catch. That’s why they call it fishing and don’t call it catching. There is no worse feeling than being skunked! Believe me, I know. It has happened to me more than a few times.

While you’re cruising around the Keys you will see many people fishing the shore line. You will see people fishing off bridges, sea walls, piers, and random culverts that pass threw the islands. Many times you wonder if they actually catch anything. You better believe they do! They catch a variety of snapper – like gray and lane snapper, grunts, groupers, and the occasional wassa or jewfish.

As a boy, my friend Ivan and I would fish from the seawall across from the car dealership on N. Roosevelt Blvd. We would buy some frozen heron and squid and fish from the shore line. Fishing strictly with a Cuban line, you might know it as a yoyo.

I remember on one occasion, Ivan and I were fishing late at night when it started to rain. So I said, “Ivan I think it’s starting to rain”. When I said that he began to laugh hysterically as he was swing the line from his yoyo around about to cast his line and bait juice was flying all over me. We still get a laugh out of that. None the less, we always had a few fish to take home and fry.

Fish and Grits

Snapper:

• 1 snapper
• 1 cup flour and 1 cup corn starch mixed together and seasoned with salt and pepper
• 3 cups Peanut oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Any type of snapper or grunt is great for this dish.

Make sure to clean your fish well, gut and de-gill your fish.

By scraping the fish with a fork you can descale the snapper.

After your fish is scaled give it a rinse and wash loose scales away.

If you visit a fish market to purchase your fish you can have them clean it for you. Ask for it gutted and descaled.

Score your snapper by making cuts just through the skin.

Season your snapper heavily with salt and pepper.

Dredge in a mixture of 50% flour and 50% corn starch.

Deep fry the dredged fish at 325 degrees for about 10 – 15 minutes depending on size of the fish.

Plate it up with cheese grits and enjoy from the cheeks to the crispy crunch of the tail.

Make sure you are careful that you don’t swallow a bone. Hope you enjoy!

Cheese grits:

• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup instant grits
• ½ cup Machego cheese (or your favorite cheese)
• Whole butter
• ½ cup heavy cream
• Salt and pepper to taste

In a medium size pot bring the chicken stock and heavy cream to a boil.

Add grits and stir. Turn heat on range down to medium high heat and let the grits simmer for about 5 minutes.

Finish by stirring in cheese and butter.

Then season to taste with salt and pepper.

If grits become too thick add chicken stock and stir until desired consistency.

Call us to schedule private cooking lessons and dinner in your home or vacation rental in Key West or the Lower Keys. www.keywestpersonalchef.com   888-882-3336

Holiday Meals Prepared in Your Home or Rental Property

Do you want to have a spectacular Holiday Meal prepared for

 you at home? Check out one of our sample menus, then call

Key West Personal Chef. 305-731-6967

                                     

Sample Holiday Menu

Scallops & Plantain

Seared Scallop Crostini, Plantain Jam, Rum Gastric

Stone Crab Cakes

Key Lime Caper Remoulade

Red Lands Salad

Radish, Pickled Onion, Arugula, Greens, White Balsamic Vinaigrette 

Asparagus & Manchego

Torched, Truffle Oil 

Cayo Hueso Bouillabaisse 

Ocean to table, Lobster, Shrimp, Fish, Aromatic Tomato Based Broth

Caromello Flan Brulee 

Carmel custard bruleed and topped with fresh berries

 www.Keywestpersonalchef.com

Conch Salad is Back!

Throughout South America and the Caribbean one can find many variations and methods for making ceviche. My favorite way to make it I found in the Bahamas. Fresh Citrus juices, lemon, lime and orange; onion, tomato, peppers, and scotch bonnet are the natural fresh ingredients found in the Bahamas style conch salad (ceviche).

As you cross over the bridge heading from Pleasure Island into Nassau you will find several waterside markets serving some amazing ceviche. At those markets it is prepared to order, fresh and delicious. They simply reach a gaff into the water and pull up a string of conchs as they need them.

It is the perfect treat for us here in the Keys when we head out to enjoy a day out at in the Marquesas, Boca Grande, or Woman Key.

We prepare our ceviche ingredients at home and then add our freshly chopped catch once we’re out there and enjoy it on the beach. Of course, harvesting conch is not legal here in the Keys so we substitute fish and it is just as good. Sunshine, a cold beverage, sandy feet, and a big bowl of ceviche is one of the great ways we spend our time in Key West!

Conch Salad  or  Ceviche

• 1 pound conch or other white fish

• (snapper, dolphin, snook, hogfish, cero mackerel)

• 1 large yellow onion diced

• 1 green pepper diced

• 1 tomato diced

• 3 oranges juiced

• 2 lemons juiced

• 2 limes juiced

• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

• ½ teaspoon garlic

• Sea salt to taste

• Fresh ground pepper to taste

• Minced Scotch bonnet to taste (extremely spicy so be careful)

• ¼ peeled and diced cucumber (optional)

• Add a little cilantro if you like, I do 

Mix all ingredients let stand for 15 minutes and enjoy
To book Key West Personal Chef for an authentic, unforgettable Island Style Meal prepared in your home or vacation rental, visit our website www.keywestpersonalchef.com  

Fire Roasted Dolphin

The sun is scorching and the dolphins are running.  Not our lovable marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises but the delicious mahi mahi – also known as dorado in the Spanish speaking countries.

I wish I had a great story of catching a record breaking bull dolphin (male of the species) but I don’t!  I think the few times that I went out for dolphin we cruised around looking for weed lines out past the reef. We would troll for hours searching for random debris floating in the water.  I think a lot of the time I was looking more for a square grouper than anything else. We usually ended up just catching a buzz rather than that dolphin I always hear people boasting and bragging about. Truthfully it’s pretty embarrassing being born and raised here and not ever caught a dolphin. Some friends like to tell me “your mamma never let you out the backcountry!” They even went as far as to not invite me to go with them because they would not catch any dolphin when I was in the boat.

One thing that is for sure is that I have cooked more dolphin than there are chickens running around Key West. It’s hard to walk into almost any restaurant in the Florida Keys or maybe even all Florida without seeing dolphin on the menu – served from blackened to fried or grilled on sandwiches.  Topped with some ridiculous fruit salsa or mango burr blanc.  I think I get a little irate when I see those dishes because I only had to prepare it for ten of my culinary years. One chef even went as far as to say it was “Key West Cuisine”. Well I guess that chef was a tremendous revolutionary in the culinary field! Hey, the bottom line is, that’s what sells. Maybe that’s why I’m here, to make sure I pass on the knowledge of true Key West cooking and the heritage of the Conch Republic cuisine.

Often as a child I remember my father firing up the grill on the weekend. Some nicely cleaned dolphin simply seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil along with whole green peppers and onion slices seasoned the same way. As the Heineken was flowing he would often douse the grill creating a beer steam of fresh seafood, onion, peppers, and charcoal.  It would fill the air! I can still smell it to this day – in my opinion, the best way to eat dolphin by far.

Fire Roasted Dolphin

• 1 1/2 # dolphin cut in 6oz portions
• 1 red pepper whole
• ½ inch sliced large yellow onion
• 1 leek split in ½ long ways washed
• Olive oil
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste
• Kosher or sea salt to taste
• 1 cup white wine or beer (whatever you’re drinking)
• 5 butter chunks

Season fish and veggies with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Once the grill is hot (key to cooking to perfection), place your vegetables first because they take the longest to cook. Turn veggies as needed to prevent overcooking then place your fish on the grill. Leave on for roughly three minutes and flip once. Cook for two more minutes and douse fish and veggies with wine or beer, cook one more minute then pull off the grill. Be careful not to overcook.

The dolphin becomes very dry when overcooked. Finish by rubbing butter chunks on each filet.

“Tip from the chef” – when cleaning dolphin filets be sure to cut the skin off rather than peeling it off.  When you peel the skin off a tough sinew is left behind and is chewy when cooked.  Also make sure to cut out all dark pieces of the blood line for a cleaner tasting filet.  Hope you all enjoy

Chef Martin Liz

www.keywestpersonalchef

Living Your Passion

If you are living your passion can the quality of your life be questioned?

It is a good question that many should stop to think about. My passion is the ocean, fishing, relaxing, the art of cooking, eating, good beverage; all in the company of friends and family.

I was born and raised a Key West Conch (Key West native) and left to the mainland looking for a better life only to eventually return to what I love. There is a belief of the Conchs that anyone who catches island fever and leaves will soon return.

I have worked in restaurants in Key West and other parts of Central and South Florida since the age of fifteen. I also left the kitchen once or twice only to return to my passion – creating and enjoying great food.

Key West provides all to be desired; great boating, island beaches, and a beautiful coral reef great for spearfishing and diving. Out past the reef there is amazing sportfishing where record size fish are just waiting to be caught.

You can spend the day on the ocean and provide dinner for days with all the many species of fish, crab, lobster, and shrimp. When I was a boy riding my bike with friends, there were fruit trees all over town that provided us with all we needed for a day. Sour sops, sapodillas, mango, avocado, Spanish limes, multiple types of peppers and tomatoes. All of these and more grow abundantly on the island. So when I say Key West provides all to be desired, from an island fever Conch boy I mean it. So am I living my passion? I think so!

Guava Sherry Glazed Tuna

Guava Sherry Glaze:

• 1 yellow onion diced small
• 1 table spoon chopped garlic
• 1 small can guava shells  or 3 fresh guavas small dice
• 2 cups sherry wine
• 2 table spoons honey
• 1 cup water
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

In a hot small sized pot add your onions and garlic.

Sauté onions and garlic in a small pot with olive oil until soft onions will turn transparent.

Once onions are transparent turn the burner to a medium heat and add guava and sauté for about 20 seconds to caramelize natural sugars.

Once guava is caramelized add sea salt, pepper, honey, water and sherry wine and continue to cook on medium heat until liquid has reduced by half.

If you have a food processor you can puree the sauce until smooth but it is not necessary.

Tuna:

• 6 oz portions of fresh tuna
• Sea salt and pepper
• Olive oil
• Fresh cilantro leaves

Heat a sauté pan until hot.

Season the tuna loin portion with sea salt, and black pepper. Sear quickly on each side until you reach desired temperature. Once cooked slice very thin and
drizzle with guava glaze. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves. Hope you enjoy!