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Beat winter blahs with a beach party

The make-ahead elements of this dinner menu make it an easy one to pull off on a weekend. Make the sauces for the shrimp, as well as the Key Lime Pie, early in the day.

While the rice needs to be cooked close to the dinner hour, it can sit for as long as 30 minutes off the fire.

These two shrimp dipping sauces provide options for guests. The traditional cocktail sauce is spiked with orange and lemon for a Floridian style with a fresh-breeze taste.

Buy 1 1/2 pounds frozen, cooked, peeled and deveined shrimp.

Orange And Tomato Cocktail Sauce

Makes 6-8 servings
3/4 cup ketchup
1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons drained, bottled horseradish
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco

Stir together all ingredients until well combined and refrigerate in a serving dish.

— From Gourmet magazine.

If you are tempted to leave out the anchovy in this dip, don't. The dip doesn't taste of fish, but the anchovies round out the flavor. The dip wouldn't be Green Goddess without them.

Green Goddess Shrimp Dip

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped green onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon
3 anchovy fillets, minced, or 1 tablespoon anchovy paste
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Puree all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor and refrigerate in a serving dish.

— From Gourmet magazine.

Florida seafood and citrus seems like a natural marriage because both are harvested in such abundance. Tom Patterson of Foremost Seafood, 1904 Woodman Center Drive, Kettering, says he usually has grouper, snapper, mahi mahi, tuna and shark available.

This recipe uses a tangerine marinade on tuna. Serve it on a crunchy salad of red bell pepper, jicama and jalapeno, accented with tangerine segments.

The recipe can easily be doubled.

If it is too cold to fire up the grill (or if it is still hidden in the garage), cook these on a ridged cast-iron skillet on the stove. In lieu of that, use a regular cast-iron skillet. They brown beautifully.

Tangerine Tuna

Makes 4 servings

Marinade:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup tangerine juice

4 strips, 1/2-inch wide, tangerine zest

3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons Oriental sesame oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 green onions, trimmed, white part minced (green chopped and reserved for garnish)

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

3 strips lemon zest, each 1 1/2 inches long

1 additional tablespoon Oriental sesame oil for brushing the tuna

4 thick tuna steaks

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds for garnish

Combine all the marinade ingredients. Place the tuna steaks in a glass baking dish or plastic bag and pour the marinade over. Marinate in the refrigerator for 60 minutes, turning once or twice.

Drain the tuna steaks and blot dry. Brush the steaks with the sesame oil.

If cooking inside, heat a cast-iron skillet or ridged pan and brush with olive oil. Cook the tuna, turning once, about 2 minutes per side for a 1-inch-thick steak, or just a minute per side for 1/2-inch thick steaks. Ideally the tuna should be rare at the center; if you prefer more fully cooked tuna, recognize that it will likely be dry.

Sprinkle with the green onion tops and sesame seeds and serve with the Jicama and Red Bell Pepper Slaw With Tangerines.

— Tuna recipe from Miami Spice by Steven Raichlen.

Jicama And Red Bell Pepper Slaw With Tangerines

Makes 4 serving
1 cup tangerine juice
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepperv 1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons minced red onion
1 medium jicama, peeled and cut into 2-inch-long matchsticks
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips
2 medium jalapeno, seeded and cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips
Segments from 2 tangerines

Combine the juices, vinegar, chile, salt and pepper and whisk in the olive oil. Stir in the onion. The recipe can be prepared ahead to this point.

Combine the jicama, bell pepper, jalapeno and tangerine segments. Toss gently to combine.

I'll confess I borrowed this recipe for Coconut Rice from the cuisine of tropical countries on the other side of the globe, but it works well with the seafood on the plate.

Coconut Rice

Makes 6 servings
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk (not cream of coconut made for drinks)
1 cup jasmine rice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup roasted pecans
1/4 cup chopped green onion tops

Combine the stock and coconut milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat. Add the rice and salt and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, then turn the heat down, cover and cook, undisturbed, for 18 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit at least 10 minutes, covered. It can rest for up to 30 minutes.

Fluff the rice with a fork and mound in a serving dish. Sprinkle with the pecan and onion tops.

Additional optional condiments might be minced Scotch Bonnet chiles and chopped cilantro.

This recipe for Key Lime pie pairs a crust from Florida chef Allen Susser's New World Cuisine and a filling from the Key West restaurant Mangrove Mamas.

Key limes are now routinely available by the bag at Meijer and some other stores; bottled Grandma Ann's Florida Kitchen Key Lime Juice can also be found in some stores.

Don't expect this to be one of those fake green Ohio versions of Key lime pie. This one is authentically blonde. And the topping is plain, unsweetened whipped cream, not a meringue. Unsweetened whipped cream is an idea borrowed from the Winds Cafe's version of Key Lime Pie; the unsweetened cream balances the sweetness of the filling and crust.

The pie can be made ahead and refrigerated. Cream can also be whipped several hours ahead; just place in a fine strainer over a bowl, cover and refrigerate. A little liquid will drip into the bowl, but the cream will remain fluffy.

Key Lime Pie

Makes 1 9-inch pie

Crust: 1 1/2 cups plain graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup ground pecans
3 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling:
5 large egg yolks
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
Juice from 6 to 8 Key limes, about 2/3 cup

Topping:
1 cup whipping cream, softly whipped

To make crust: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, pecans and sugar in a 9-inch pie pan. Stir in melted butter. Mold crumbs against the sides and bottom of pan. Bake about 6 minutes. Set aside to cool.

For the filling: Beat yolks in a food processor fitted with a metal blade or with a hand mixer, about 2 minutes. Add condensed milk to yolks; process or beat until incorporated. Add lime juice. Process for two minutes; pour into cooled pie shell. Bake at 325 degrees until set, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap set directly on top of the filling, at least 3 hours or overnight.

For the topping: Whip the cream until fluffy but not standing in peaks. Spread the pie with the whipped cream. Cut the pie into slices and serve within the hour.