A different take on fish tacos

Finally a new blog. Talking with a friend got me thinking about healthy Mexican. Well, I have a favorite recipe that fits that bill.

This is my take on Fish Tacos. These are not your typical breaded and fried taco. I use fresh baked fish with no breading. I think the flavor of the fish comes through better. I've used Mahi Mahi, Cod and White Roughy. Any white-fleshed flakey fish will do. I prefer a little stronger flavor to stand up the the other flavors.

1 Good sized fillet per person will usually do.
Mexican Crema (a thinner and milder version of sour cream)
A clove of crushed garlic. (mash up real good)
A couple of tablespoons of very finely chopped Cilantro (for those that don't like Cilantro, use a little less but trust me it adds a lot to the final dish.)
Shredded Cabbage
Shredded cheese. (A Pepper Jack is nice but any melting cheese is good.)
1 Avocado, Sliced
1 Package Corn Tortillas (I think Trader Joe's are some of the best around)

Salt and pepper each side of the fillets. Place them on a rack and bake them until flakey. Time will depend on the size and thickness of the fillets.

While the fish is baking take the Crema, crushed garlic and cilantro and mix well in a small bowl. I won't put in exact amounts because everyones tastes are different. Just remember you can always add more but you can't take it out.

There are a couple of ways to handle the tortillas. You can fry them in oil for maybe 30 to 45 seconds. Try frying them in a good Olive Oil. It adds a little different flavor. Or dry cook them in a skillet (don't dry cook in a non-stick pan!).

Now it is just about assembly. Be sure the fish is hot then add a little cheese, the avocado, cabbage and finally the crema. Add a little Cholula hot sauce and you have a great tasting health conscious meal.

Sauce for Pork Shoulder

As promised I'm back today with a vinegar based sauce that is great with the shredded pork from yesterday 1 1/2 cup Cider Vinegar 1/2 cup Ketchup 2 TBL Molasses 2 TBL Brown Sugar 1 TBL Ground Black Pepper 1 1/2 TBL Worcestershire sauce Put them all in a bowl and whisk it all together. This sauce really goes with a warm pulled pork sandwich. Hope you enjoy.

Time to light the smoker

It's getting to be about time to light up the smokers. I some of you "Q" and smoke all winter but for us less fortunate souls here is a great rub to get the season started on a tasty note. Rub Recipe: 1/4 cup Chili Powder 1/2 cup Brown Sugar 2 TBL Garlic Powder 2 TBL Onion Powder 1 TBL Black Pepper, Fresh Cracked 1 TBL Salt 1 TBL Ground Coriander 1/2 tsp Cayenne Adjust the ratios for your own tastes. For a little added flavor coat the shoulder with yellow mustard then put on the rub. If you don't have a smoker or just want an easier cooking time here is one for you. It doesn't get much simpler than this. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Take two lengths of aluminum foil and and lay them into a roasting pan one across the other. Lay your "happy" pork shoulder (coated in the rub) in the middle of the foil. Pull the foil up and seal it well over the meat. Form a nice tent but don't press it down on the shoulder. Put the package into the oven and set your timer for 6 1/2 hours and let it cook. When the timer goes off crank the oven up to 425 degrees and carefully open the foil. Put back in the oven for another 30 to 45 minutes. Remove it from the oven and transfer it to a platter, cover loosely with foil . Let it rest about an hour then shred with two forks or your fingers. That's it. Tomorrow I'll post a recipe for the perfect vinegar based sauce for your pork shoulder

Quartinos is worth the trip

We recently went into Chicago for a celebration lunch to Quartino. On the corner of State and Ontario it is an Italian take on Tapas. Small plates to share and pass. Unlike some Italian restaurants the food is light with the emphasis on fresh and flavorful. Even their tomato sauce is light and delicious.
The décor is simple and old-fashioned with old ice boxes and white enameled appliances. There were televisions in each corner showing old black and white Italian movies with sub-titles. The wait staff is very good and fun. (There was a stumble toward the end but it was taken care of and we left with a very good experience)
The food was excellent with a wide variety of choices. The menu does vary seasonally which adds variety for multiple visits. Our group was fairly adventurous so we tried many different dishes. Some of my favorites were the Carpaccio – slices of beef tenderloin so thin I could see through them served with slices of celery and Parmesan. All I added was a light sprinkling of coarse sea salt. There was a sample tray of sausages that should not be missed. All of their sausages are made in-house as is their duck prosciutto (which is heavenly). The tray comes with apricot and fig jams and raisin bread (that sounded a little strange to me too but it was actually a very good combination with the selection of meats.) Dessert was Zeppoli. They were crispy outside and melt in your mouth tender inside. My wife got the dark chocolate and I the honey dipping sauce. The Zeppoli were good enough without dipping but I couldn’t let the sauce go to waste. We both licked the bowls clean.
With a fun atmosphere, reasonable prices, very good wait staff and very excellent food. It is great place to take a group of fun and slightly adventurous friends. Overall I highly recommend Quartino.

Dynamite Fajita Marinade

I know it’s been a really long time since my last post but my life has been pretty busy and not a whole lot of interesting things were happening. But for the last several weeks I’ve done some experimenting with a Fajita meat marinade and I hit on a really delicious one. At least I think it is.
For the marinade :

3-4 cloves of Garlic, Smash them real good with some Kosher salt. You want it like a paste.

A handful of Cilantro, Rough chopped

A handful of Parsley, Rough chopped

2 Jalapenos, Rough chopped and mashed a little. Add a Serrano for a bit more heat and flavor.

Fresh cracked pepper

3-4 Limes, juiced. You can zest them first to add a bit more flavor.

I don’t give exact measurements because it depends on your individual tastes. If you like something add more, if not add less. If you don’t care for Cilantro just add a little but I think it’s necessary for the full flavor.

Mix this in a bowl with some olive oil. It’s hard to say how much but ¼ to ½ cup is usually plenty. You want it wet but not soggy.

Now for the secret: Grind together Cumin and Coriander seeds to a fine powder and mix that in to the marinade. Mix it all together well.

What kind of Fajitas do you like?

If you use skirt steak for your fajitas (which I think is the best cut) have the butcher trim and tenderize it for you. It saves a lot of time and doesn’t cost anymore. I have used several cuts and a flank steak is good if cut across the grain. Chicken is an excellent option and delicious with the same marinade. I haven’t tried it yet but I’ll bet shrimp are good too, just don't marinade too long, the lime juice can start to cook the raw shrimp.

I rub the marinade into the meat, making sure to get a good coating over the whole piece of meat. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. You can go as long as 24 hours. Scrape the excess marinade off the meat before grilling. I grill mine over a very high heat for 3-4 minutes per side for medium rare. Watch for flare ups because of the oil.

Take some red, yellow and orange peppers and sliced onions, oil them up, salt and pepper them and using a basket cook them on the grill too. The Spice House sells a great seasoning blend called “Milwaukee Iron” that has a great smoky, spicy flavor. Add a little to the peppers and onion before cooking for a bit more kick and lots of flavor.

Warm a flour tortilla on the grill, layer the meat and peppers, add some Chihuahua cheese, Cholula hot sauce, and a dab of Crema Supremo and I am in my happy place.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin Recipe

Here is the way I prep and cook my Pork Tenderloin for the grill.

You’ll need a dry rub. In mine I use brown sugar, dried New Mexico chiles, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, cayenne. You can make it up to your own tastes.

Pre-soak some wood chips (my favorite with pork is apple but any fruitwood is good) in water for at least an hour and prepare some smoke packets. Tear off a piece of heavy duty foil about 8” wide, fold it in half. Lay the wet woodchips in the corner. Crimp the edges at least twice to close. You should have a rectangle about 5" x 4'.Now with the tip of a knife poke a few holes on one face to allow the smoke to escape

First get a Pork Tenderloin. I mean A BIG one. I’ve never tried this with one on the small ones that come two in a pack. They about 6- 8 lbs I guess.

Trim off all of the excess fat and remove the silverskin. This is the most time consuming part of the job but don’t skimp on time.

Now lay the meat on your very clean counter (I don’t have a cutting board long enough). Holding your chef knife parallel to the counter carefully cut down the length of the tenderloin. You don’t want to cut all the way through just enough to open it like a book.

Once that is done grab some bourbon. With a spray bottle spritz the whole inside.

Now go to your fridge and grab some whole grain Dijon mustard. Back at the counter spritz again with bourbon, letting it absorb. Now spread a thin layer of mustard over the whole inside, then sprinkle on the dry rub. You don’t need to overdo it just a nice even layer.

Now close the opened tenderloin and spritz with the bourbon. Cover the outside of the meat with the dry rub. Again no need to overdo it a light layer will do.

Take a package of bacon (Try to use some with no nitrites) and lay the pieces lengthwise over the tenderloin covering it completely. Now with butchers twine tie the bacon in place and to secure the tenderloin shut. I’ll refrigerate for at least a couple of hours before I cook it. I think this allows the bourbon, mustard and rub time to penetrate.

When I light the fire (with a chimney only) I take the prepared tenderloin out of the fridge. (about ½ hour). Place over indirect heat, lay the smoke packets on the coals, cover and leave it. The smoke will start after about 15 mins. Don’t take off the lid until the smoke is almost gone.
Then using a meat thermometer cook until the internal temp reaches 160 degrees. Tent the tenderloin loosely with foil and let it stand AT LEAST 15 minutes. Cut the twine and slice about 1 to 1 ½ inches thick. Serve with some GOOD barbeque sauce (preferably homemade), cole slaw (again homemade) and a cold beer.

Like Spike used to say “It don’t get no better than this.”
Give it a try, it takes some time and effort but it is worth it.

My Favorite Cook Books

There is no end to cookbooks. Every language, every style, every cuisine of the world can be found in a cookbook somewhere and now with the Internet most all foods are fairly easily accessible to an adventurous cook. I have books about cooking seafood, vegetarian foods and anything you can imagine to do with red or green chilies. I have Moroccan, Italian, French and Spanish cookbooks. I have a 598 page tome just on sauces. All are great books and all have helped me in my kitchen adventures. But what is a cook book? Is it just a collection of recipes, just measurements and instructions, page after page of instructions? Maybe because I love to read anyway, I think a cook book should be more. It should tell about the history of how and why cuisine developed, how invading cultures, geography and climate influenced the food in a region. My favorite cookbooks, the ones that are food stained and dog–eared, are more than just recipes. They are filled with stories and histories. They speak of the people that grew, harvested, prepared and cooked the food. The authors of these cook books talk about flavor combinations and foods that complement each other. They stress seasonality and fresh ingredients. They explain the why as well as the how. Maybe they should be called “foodbooks” because they tell stories about the food.
Some of my favorite cookbooks were compiled and written before there was a grocery store on every corner, a time when there were little or no pre-processed foods and the only canned products were what you preserved yourself. That’s not to say I don’t used some canned products but, in most cases, I much prefer the flavor and quality of homemade. Sure it is extra work but in most cases it’s more than worth the effort because you know exactly what is in it because you control the ingredients and flavors. These are some of my favorites because I very seldom will follow a recipe exactly. I almost always add a little of this or take out that. I look at recipes as more suggestion than hard and fast rules
So here are a few of my favorite and most used “foodbooks”. These are used almost daily or when I need a little inspiration to get me out of a rut. They are in no particular order.


The first book I want to talk about is “Culinary Artistry” By Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page.
After my opening paragraphs it may seem a little out of place on my list so let me explain. It is very much a reference volume. It is first because of the wealth of information that is compiled by the authors. It has interviews with various chefs with menu suggestions and how some of the recipes were developed. In it you will find extensive tables or charts of Flavor Matches compiled from the chef interviews. If I am stuck for an idea I can look up an ingredient and find which other flavors compliment it. Almost any food you can name is in the charts. Each table gives the “classic” flavor matches, like basil and tomato, but also some that are not so traditional. There is also a Spice chart that shows which spices complement each other and which combinations to avoid. I think it is an invaluable reference to anyone who, like me, is a tinkerer in the kitchen.

If you know me you know that I love the food of the American southwest, more specifically, the food of New Mexico. So it should come as no surprise that two of my favorites spotlight the food and flavors of Santa Fe. “The Feast of Santa Fe” and “The Good Life” both explore the roots and reasons of NM cuisine and keep alive the old ways of cooking from scratch. These are not Bobby Flay recipes they are simple recipes from people living simple lives but the flavors are bold and multi-faceted.

The Good Life-New Mexico Traditions and Food by Fabiola Cabeza de Baca Gilbert.
First published in 1949, the first half of the book tells the story of a family group and their daily lives and customs. It spotlights special occasions and feast days; the marriage of a son, the harvest of Pinion nuts and ends with the death of the local medicine healer woman. One of the chapters tells of the family heading out on a picnic making a day of harvesting pinion nuts. The foods and recipes are the traditional foods of the New Mexican people and center on corn, squash, and tomatoes, Pinion Nuts and, of course, chilies. There are some meat recipes but mostly the recipes center on what could be grown in the harsh land or harvested from the wild.

The Feast of Santa Fe-Cooking of the American Southwest by Huntley Dent
Another book that stresses the traditions of New Mexico, it describes the influences of the Spanish, the Mexican and Anglo on the foods of New Mexico. Like most cookbooks it is broken down into chapters like Appetizers, Soups, Meats, etc. but begin Traditions, The Santa Fe Larder, A Modern Approach, Sauces, Relishes and Fillings, etc.
In the Traditions chapter there is a section called “Twelve Feasts of Simplicity.” In it he describes the basic ingredients of chiles, corn and beans prepared and served in traditional ways and each day builds on the previous day’s menu. I will follow this one day when I have twelve days to dedicate to it. It is a time consuming way that would be difficult to fit into our insanely busy world.

Spice-Flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean by Ana Sortun
I love this book. It is well written and beautifully (put together) (edited). It is not set up as most cookbooks are. It is broken down by spice and herb families and complimentary spice matches. After introducing the concept of the book, the first chapter spotlights three spices; cumin, coriander and cardamom. She gives descriptions of each spice and then follows with recipes. The remaining chapters follow suit. Each recipe begins with a story and tips and techniques, such as roasting peppers, are sprinkled throughout the book. If you like Middle Eastern cuisine this book is a great addition to a collection. The beautiful photography absolutely makes my mouth water.

White House Chef-Eleven Years, Two Presidents, One Kitchen by Walter Scheib and Andrew Friedman.
I bought this book several years ago on a whim and was pleasantly surprised. It is a very entertaining read. Chef Walter Scheib was brought into the White House by the Clintons (not my favorite first family) to help showcase American cuisine. It is an interesting insight into some unseen White House goings on and I will admit gaining a little admiration for what the Clintons tried to (and did) accomplish by bringing Chef Scheib aboard. He stayed through the first Bush term but apparently wasn’t what the Bush’s wanted. It is a fascinating behind the scenes look at Formal State Dinners and the everyday family meals. There are quite a few recipes here but I think the real reason to read it is for entertainment and enlightenment.




So there are my suggestions for books about food. They may not be what you think of as a cookbook but they are entertaining enough to read away from the kitchen but educational enough to keep close by when looking for that “something different”. If you have any others that I missed I’d love to hear from you.