Fish Tacos 2.0

Second chances. Sure, we all romanticize the past in our own way. Probably everyone who reads this wants another stab at something in their past that didn't quite work out in their favor. It could be re-doing high school, because for some reason you glorify a time when you woke up at 6 and ate lunch at 10 am. Or another chance on a relationship with "the one" whose timing was just off. Or even just another chance to finally make it all the way through the buffet to the soft serve machine.

Well, I say if you have the opportunity, go for it! Life is too short, go ahead and give the other person another chance. This is America (unless you're reading this outside of the U.S.) land of second chances!  Here's some advice: if you want to re-live high school, become a high school football coach.

Remember last year when I told you fish tacos are actually really good and that you should give them a try (here's a link if you've forgotten)? Well, I decided to take another look at fish tacos and how I could make them better. Let's just say it was worth it.

Spicy Lime Cilantro Yogurt

• 1 cup Greek Yogurt
• 1 tablespoon Cilantro chopped
• 2 limes zested and juiced
• 1 Jalapeno minced

1. After mincing the jalapeno and chopping the cilantro, mix into the yogurt and add the zest and juice. Refrigerate until the rest of the taco fillings are finished.

Pineapple Salsa

• 1 Pineapple chopped
• 1/2 cup Red Cabbage chopped
• 1/4 cup Red Onion chopped
• Juice from 1 lime
• 1 Carrot shredded

1. After you have chopped and shredded all the produce mix together in a large bowl with the lime juice.
2. Add to tacos once you make your fish.

Beer Battered Cod

Serves 3-4

• 1 lbs Cod cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 cup Flour
• Plus an extra 1.5 cups to coat the cod pieces in.
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
• 1/2 cup Shredded Coconut
• 1 Egg
• 1 bottle Beer (lager or a pilsner would work best)
• Canola Oil

1. Whisk or sift together all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
2. Mix in the wet stuff (egg and beer) and the coconut.
3. Set up your workstation so you can effectively make the best fish of your life. First step to setting up your cod fryin' station is to establish a work direction. Go from cutting board with fish to the flour bowl to the batter to the oil to plate.
4. Coat the cod cubes in the flour. Dust the cubes off and submerge in the batter. Let the excess batter drip off the fish before adding it to the hot oil.
5. You heated up enough canola oil over medium high heat in a skillet to pan fry the fish right? Good. Cook each side for about 30 seconds or until golden brown.
6. Let the excess oil drain from the fish on a plate before assembling your delicious fish tacos.

So instead of having the same-old-same-old for dinner, give fish tacos a second chance to change your mind. All these fishtastic photos by Katy Weaver

Carne Asada Tacos & Sangria

Sometimes in life you have to strip down, whether it's going skinny dipping, refinishing hardwood furniture or simplifying a dish. Instead of doing an infusion or adding some interesting ingredient I decided simplicity would be the best route to take.

Even if it's slightly cold and cloudy, eat this meal outside the comfort of your dining room that's cooled with centralized air and set up the picnic table. Oh you live in an apartment? Open a window while you eat, it's summer, enjoy the nice weather while it's here.

Sangria

Yields almost enough to forget your troubles

• 1 bottle Red Wine opened (I went with the cheapest merlot I could find)
• 2 liters of Ginger Ale
• 1 Orange sliced
• 1 Lemon sliced
• 2 Limes sliced
• 1 Apple sliced
• 1 Peach sliced
• 1 shot Triple Sec 
• 2 shots of White whiskey

1. Cut up the fruit and add everything to whatever samovar you have laying around.
2. Quick note: I used white whiskey, because it was laying around. Bourbon works just as well.
3. Stir it up a bit and serve.

Homemade Chips & Salsa

Chips

• 6 Corn Tortillas
• Olive Oil
• Salt

Salsa

• 4 Tomatoes diced
• 3/4 medium sized Onion diced
• 2 tablespoons of minced Garlic
• 2 Jalapeños diced  
• 1 Lime juiced
• 2 small sprigs of Fresh Parsley finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon Caribbean Jerk Seasoning

1. Pour enough olive oil into a skillet to make a shallow pool, heat over medium. Cook the pieces of tortilla until golden brown on each side. Flip as necessary. This is a very fast process, so keep an eye on them. To drain, place the chips on a cooling rack over paper towels. 
2. Make the salsa by adding all the cut-up vegetables in a medium-sized bowl along with the spices, stir until well mixed.

Carne Asada Taco

Serves two very hungry people

• 1 lbs. Skirt Steak
• 1 teaspoon Olive Oil
• a pinch of Salt
• 2 Jalapeños
• 4 Green Onions
• 6 Corn Tortilla
• Hot sauce

1. Rev up your grill. 
2. To get the most out of your meat, pound it. Pounding your meat will make it flatter and therefor it will have more surface area, which will allow it cook faster, resulting in a more tender piece of steak. Lay some plastic wrap on the kitchen counter, enough to span the length of the steak strips. Lay another layer of wrap over top. You can use anything heavy to pound the meat, even a triple sec bottle.
3. Once the steak is flattened, but not pulverized, throw it in a mixing bowl and drizzle the olive oil over top and add the salt. Massage the oil and salt into the steak with your hands. Yes your hands, it won't kill you, unless your allergic to beef. And if you are allergic to beef, why the hell are you making these tacos?
4. Add the steak, onions and jalapeños to the grill. Flip the onions and the peppers as needed to make sure they don't burn. Only cook the steak a few minutes on each side, keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn.
5. Once the vegetables are grilled and the steak is done (and yes that means it's still a little pink on the inside), let the steak sit for 10 minutes. Cut into strips and place on warm corn tortillas with the salsa and hot sauce. Serve with chips & salsa, sour cream and sangria.

Summer is all about simplicity isn't it? It's the season of taking some time off and spending time in the wilderness away from everything that's complex and stressful. Food should be simple too, especially summer fare. Be sure to read next week's post, I'm making something crazy and elaborate.

All these wonderfully colorful photos by Katy Weaver

Breakfast Chorizo Tacos

For too long breakfast burritos have hogged the spotlight in Mexican inspired breakfast food, but I say it's time to move on to something better than bland beans, cheese, and eggs stuffed in an old tortilla. The breakfast taco should get more attention, its size doesn't leave you bloated, like a burrito, but it's still enough to give you energy to start your day.

Also, good news this blog once again features high quality food photographs!

Breakfast Chorizo Tacos

• 10 oz. Chorizo
• 6 eggs
• 12 corn tortillas
• 2 cups cooked rice
• 3 oz. goat cheese
• 1 cup spinach

1. Start by cooking the rice, because it's going to take the longest.
2. Scramble the eggs and set aside. I put mine in the microwave to keep them warm.
3. Heat the tortillas in a pan sprayed with a little Pam. The oil will help them brown a little. Heat each side for about a minute. While those heat up start cooking the chorizo over medium heat. Stirring occasionally.
4. Once the chorizo is done cooking, place the rice, chorizo, eggs, and spinach in a line on a tortilla. Crumble goat cheese on top and drizzle the hollandaise sause over the top.

Avocado Lime Hollandaise Sauce

• 4 egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 3 oz. butter
• 4-6 oz. purred avocado
• dash of cayenne pepper
• a pinch of lime zest
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Place a mixing bowl over a sauce pan with water in the pan over medium heat.
2. Mix the yolks, water, and lime juice into the bowl. Whisk until thick and pale.
3. Heat the mixture over the pan until they become frothy, be sure not to over cook the yolks by removing the bowl from the heat occasionally. 
4. When the bottom of the bowl becomes visible between strokes of the whisk add the butter and the avocado. Whisk until the butter and avocado be become smooth. Over whisking is encouraged.
5. Whisk in the zest, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.

The spiciness of the chorizo works with the creaminess of the hollandaise sauce and goat cheese, while the rice not only adds an extra texture element to these tacos, but also turns them into a main dish. 

There's a bonus post coming up this week! Featuring artichokes and the avocado hollandaise sauce.

All these fantastic photos by Katy Weaver Photography

Fish Tacos

Put down that taco right now! That taco doesn't compair to a fish taco. If you are eating a fish taco, my apologies, carry on. If you're not eating a taco right now, why not make these fish tacos?

When most people say they don't like fish tacos it's, because they've never tried fish tacos. I'll admit that ordering fish tacos from some restaurants might be more of a gamble than ordering the carnes asada, but if you try this recipe at home, I bet that you'll be hooked on fish tacos.

There's different ways you can cook your fish, but I chose to grill my fish. Grilling is a quick and flavorful way to cook your fish. I decided to cook snapper and it turned out wonderfully, but if you can't get ahold of snapper any sort of white fish will work.

Fish Tacos

• 1 lbs snapper
• 8 white corn tortillas
• 1 mango cut into small cubes
• 1 avocado sliced
• 1/3 cup chopped red cabbage
• 1/3 cup diced red onion
• 1/2 cup sour cream or yogurt
• a small sprig of cilantro chopped
• 1 lime juiced
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

1. Place the snapper in a pan deep enough to hold the fish and the juice from the lime. Lay out your fish in the pan and pour the lime juice over it. Sprinkle the cayenne pepper, paprika, a dash of salt and pepper over the fish. Oh, did you make sure your fish is deboned? You should probably do that. Let the fish sit for a  moment. 
2. Since the fish takes almost no time at all to cook, now is a good time to cut up the mango, cabbage, onion, and avocado. 
3. Now that all the produce is cut up it's a good time to put the fish on the grill. You should only flip the fish once. Cook each side for about 5 minutes, but your grill might vary, so keep an eye on your fish so it doesn't burn. Once you've flipped your fish place the tortillas on the grill just long enough for the flames to heat them and make them soft.
4. Once the fish is finished grilling you can start making your tacos. I like to top my fish tacos with hot sauce and cilantro lime sour cream, which you can make by adding some chopped cilantro and some lime zest to sour cream. If you're watching your weight you can use plain yogurt instead of sour cream. 

Aren't you glad you finally tried fish tacos? They're just as delicious as pork or beef tacos, but they're way better for you. Enjoy!

Photos by Katy Weaver

Quinoa Tacos

What to do with the left over filling of those stuffed peppers...How about making tacos? I just heated the filling from this recipe in a skillet and scooped it into some corn tortillas.