
In a less “crazy” world we would be sitting at a table in an elegant restaurant being served a fresh cut of fish full of beautiful flavors. However, with our busy schedules, sitting at that elegant restaurant is not always possible. With the kids running around, the dog needing a walk, or your boss breathing down your neck to get a report finalized- living a simple life, with simple, easy to prepare dinners is what you may desire. I know simple is what I am looking for with what I call my “crazy” schedule! So I was so excited to have the opportunity to share Bumble Bee SuperFresh™ seafood. I decided to not eat alone though, what better way to enjoy a simple elegant dinner, then with friends? What I loved about the product is, Bumble Bee SuperFresh™ is easy to prepare, mirroring the simplicity of their recipes and the taste and quality of their seafood.
To make this dinner feel like we were all at an elegant restaurant together, the table, the wine, and the dishes had an elegant feel that was packed full of flavors, laughs, happiness, and especially happy tummies! Fish recipes are paired perfectly with an Italian sparkling wine like Prosecco, the flavors are aromatic and crisp. You can also enjoy your Bumble Bee SuperFresh™ with Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, or a nice Rosé. If you are more of a red wine lover, Pinot Noir would pair nicely with each of the Bumble Bee SuperFresh™ choices. Pinot Noir is used in the process to make Champagne, and is sometimes used for Rose’ wines. For the dinner with friends, we decided to sample all the different wine varieties, to see which selection we would love with each cut of Bumble Bee SuperFresh™ seafood. Everyone has a different palate, and will enjoy something different, having a variety is always recommended.
With summer here, the temperatures will slowly be increasing. It was important to me to keep the recipes light, packed full of fresh ingredients, with a cool and refreshing feel after every bite. For our appetizer: The traditional Caprese Salad you need a fork, a knife, and a napkin to dig in. For this simple appetizer choice, enjoy a Caprese appetizer, with fresh basil, plump cherry tomatoes, and marinated mozzarella balls, drizzled with balsamic to tie the Caprese flavors all together.
The side dishes I chose for the meal will compliment each of the six varieties of Bumble Bee SuperFresh™. The different varieties you can choose from are: Salmon with Garden Pesto, Salmon with Garlicky Black Pepper & Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Tilapia with Garlic & Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Tilapia with Lemon, Pepper & Herbs, Lemon Shrimp With Garlic & Herbs, Spicy Shrimp Romesco. The first side dish, you can pick up most of the ingredients at your local farmers market. The Country French Green Bean Salad is light, refreshing, and served cold. This side dish is commonly served with any meal at any dinner table in France. 
- 1 lb fresh green beans
- Two medium tomatoes, de-seeded, and diced
- ¼ medium red onion, diced very finely
- 1 Tbsp dijon mustard
- 4 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper taste
- For green beans, remove ends, and break each in half.
- Rinse green beans.
- Bring sea salt water (about 1 tsp of salt) to full boil, place green beans in boiling water, and cook for about 19-20 minutes.
- Rinse cooked green beans under cold water in colander until cool, to stop the cooking process.
- In small bowl, mix vinegar and mustard, salt and pepper first. Whisk in olive oil until you have an emulsion (mixed together well.)
- Toss into salad.
- Add additional salt to taste.
- Enjoy!
To have a creamy, and filling side dish, the Herbed Goat Cheese Cous Cous will pair well with each of the Bumble Bee SuperFresh™ choices. This recipe uses a few fresh ingredients you can find at your farmers market, and wine that you will be enjoying at dinnertime. This cous cous recipe is perfect served cold, and would be lovely severed on a warm summer evening with friends. 
- 5 oz of goat cheese
- 1¼ cups vegetable stock
- 1 cup cous cous
- 1 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped finely
- 8 dried apricots, diced
- ¼ cup green bell pepper (or celery) diced
- ⅓ cup chardonnay
- salt and pepper to taste
- In medium sauce pan, bring vegetable stock to boil, add cous cous and remove the pan from heat. Immediately mix in the goat cheese to give the cous cous a creamy texture.
- Next add in the celery, apricots, basil, chardonnay, and salt & pepper to taste.
- This dish is best served at room temperature, or cold. You can make this dish ahead, and keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Enjoy!
Every dinner during the summer months should include a grilled dish, but this recipe can also be roasted in the oven. Every dish I make, I try to make sure I have more than one option when cooking or baking the dish. Everyone is different, and some do not own a grill- so this dish could be made on the grill, in the oven, or even sautéed in a saucepan. A perfect dish for everyone! Grilled vegetables fresh that day from the farmers market, will make the Bumble Bee SuperFresh™ fish shine! What better way to complement premium fish than with fresh vegetables. The vegetables you choose is the fun part, this dish can be changed up to include your favorite vegetables. 
- For marinade:
- ½ cup balsamic vinegar
- ¼ cup tarragon olive oil
- 1 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped finely
- ¼ tsp fennel pollen
- Vegetables:
- 1½ medium red onion, quartered
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 pint whole baby bella mushrooms, cut in half
- ½ of red bell pepper, cut into large chunks
- ½ of green bell pepper, cut into large chunks
- 1 bunch of asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 ear of corn, cut corn off cob
- In a extra large ziploc bag, add cut up vegetables, and marinade ingredients – balsamic vinegar, tarragon olive oil, fresh basil, fennel pollen, and salt to taste. Shake bag around to coat vegetables completely with marinade. Let sit for about 1 hour.
- If you are grilling vegetables – Use a propane or charcoal grill. Use a grill safe pan and add marinaded vegetables, stir the vegetables and let cook for about 20 minutes.
- If you are roasting the vegetables – Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. On a baking sheet, add marinaded vegetables, and let cook for about 20 minutes depending on oven. Half way through cooking process, toss vegetables to ensure you are cooking all sides evenly.
- Enjoy!
Bumble Bee™ wants everyone to know and experience the taste of good food–and they work to deliver it with Bumble Bee SuperFresh™. AND they definitely did deliver! We all shared a piece of each of the different varieties of Bumble Bee SuperFresh™ seafood. We each had our own favorite, and we all really loved the fish. The process to cook the fish recipes is beyond easy, and no mess involved. In each bag, the fish is sealed in an airtight package, and there is parchment paper for each piece of fish. This is how easy the process is, have an oven set, sheet pan ready, remove fish from sealed package and place in parchment paper, place on sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes or less! Simple right? So if that boss is still breathing down your neck, or your kids are wondering when dinner will be served, don’t stress, just pull out some Bumble Bee SuperFresh™! Then relax, sip some Chardonnay, and enjoy the evening ahead!
Disclosure: Bumble Bee SuperFresh™ gave me free product and said they’d pay me to blog about it IF I liked it. I do! 
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