Happy Birthday, Heather!

Yesterday was Heather's birthday.

If you are following my posts, then you know we did not make it to Orange Beach. So we were not the mere steps away from fresh seafood as I had planned.

I had already taken off of work, since we had planned to come home from the beach last night, and since H and I were both just plain pooped from all of the hospital stuff, I decided to stay home.

I got up before she did and prepared the mantle with our recycled "Happy Birthday" banner and balloons. (The balloons were not recycled. I don't think you can recycle balloons.)

Then Heather got up, and immediately wanted to know if it was "present time." Now she is not normally the one in our relationship that focuses on getting gifts. That person would be me.... I love presents! So I figured that if she was showing that much enthusiasm that early in the morning, then it was definitely "present time."

She opened her gifts, tried on her new "Switch Flops", oohed and ahhed over her other gifts, and then decided to shower and dress and prepare for the day ahead.

After all of that, I asked what she wanted me to do for her birthday supper. She hemmed and hawed, wanting me to decide for her. Well it wasn't my birthday. So I wouldn't say.

Once she realized that the decision was truly hers to make. She spouted out a complete menu. Obviously, she had already given this some thought.

Seared Tuna with Wasabi Glaze, asparagus, and wild rice.

Ok. Easy enough. And I honestly should have thought of it myself, since a medium rare tuna filet is one of her favorite foods.

I'm gonna share the recipe for the tuna with you. It has become a favorite at our house. I was lucky enough to find the tuna on sale, because it can run kinda high normally.

Seared Tuna with Soy Wasabi Glaze

4 6 oz. fresh Ahi tuna steaks, about 3/4-inch thick
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1-2 Tbsp. fresh lime or lemon juice
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1-2 Tbsp. prepared wasabi (I make mine with the wasabi paste from the oriental aisle...very simple!)

Brush tuna steaks on both sides with the oil and season with salt and pepper.

Combine the butter, onion, lime juice, soy sauce and wasabi in a small pan.

Heat a heavy, nonstick frying pan over high heat. Place the tuna in the pan and sear until crispy and brown. Turn over and sear the other side. Be careful not to overcook the tuna. It’s best rare to medium rare.

While the tuna is cooking, heat the butter mixture over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth and emulsified.

Serve the tuna immediately, drenched with the sauce.

Sorry I didn't take a picture. We ate it too fast.

While I'm at it, let me share the rice with you as well. It was a new recipe that had been shared with me. My gosh, it was good. The only thing I would do differently, is that next time, I'll buy plain wild rice. The pack I bought had seasoning mixed in with it already, and I think it made it a little bit salty.

Wild Rice Pilaf

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 to 3 cloves garlic, smashed
1 to 2 strips lemon zest
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup wild rice, preferably whole not broken
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
1 bunch scallions (white and green), thinly sliced (3/4 cup)
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Add the pine nuts, garlic, zest, and thyme, swirl the pan until the nuts and garlic are beginning to brown, about 2 minutes.

Add the wild rice and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until lightly toasted, about 1 minute tops.

Stir in the chicken broth and salt. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to a rapid simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.
Check the texture of the rice and, if needed, continue simmering until tender.
Add more liquid as needed, another 10 to 15 minutes.

(Note: The rice should only just begin to crack when done. If it begins to curl it is overcooked.)

Remove from the heat, scatter the scallions over the surface, fluff with a fork, and remove the herb sprigs and lemon zest before serving. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste.

I normally just broil my asparagus with some sea salt and pepper until wilted.

So... there's supper for tonight. Or this weekend.

Ya'll have a great day!