Occasionally, I get in the mood for a good fish taco. I completely and totally blame this on my friend Gretchen from California who introduced me to these tasty treats about five years ago. They are a great treat for a warm summer night (with Coronas, of course), grill night on St. John (with super-fresh fish, of course) or Fridays during Lent.
First I start with some fish filets. I generally use mahi mahi, but I don't see why you couldn't use whatever fish you like. Some people have suggested cod, haddock or tilapia, so I will investigate further. I just wouldn't get anything too "fishy."
I soak the fish in lime juice for a while so it doesn't dry out while I'm grilling it. If I have access to an outside grill, I will use that. If not, I use the George Foreman. Sprinkle some Cruz Bay Grill Rub on each side, and grill the fish until it is white and flaky.
Now it's time to assemble your tacos. Take either hard or soft tortilla shells (I usually use soft). Add tomatos, lettuce (I actually use cole slaw mix because Mexicans use cabbage instead of lettuce), cheese, salsa, etc. I also make "baja sauce" for my tacos, and I really think that is the key to them being super delicious.
To make baja sauce, you combine equal parts of mayonnaise and sour cream (maybe 2 Tablespoons each) and then taco seasoning to taste. It's pretty yummy.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Valentine's Cookies
Yesterday we took Valentine's treats to the nursing home. I figured no matter how sad and lonely I was, the people there were sadder and lonelier (is that a word?). Anyhow, we had a good time, and everyone raved about the heart-shaped sugar cookies I made.
The interesting thing about having all your cookbooks in storage is that sometimes you don't have your old standby recipes and have to try something new. And sometimes you find a gem that replaces your old standby, which is the case with this sugar cookie recipe.
On allrecipes.com, they called it "The Best Rolled Sugar Cookie" recipe, and they would be correct. My former roommate even asked me if I used store-bought dough because she said the cookies were so perfect. She knows me better than that.
The recipe is down below, in case this link ever stops working.
Prep Time: 20 Min
Cook Time: 8 Min
Ready In: 3 Hrs
Original Recipe Yield 5 dozen
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Directions
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth.
Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.
Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.
Most people make their sugar cookie icing by mixing powdered sugar and milk, which is perfectly adequate, but I made a batch of delicious buttercream icing instead.
It was also from allrecipes.com, which is becoming one of my favorite Web sites.
Butter frosting (link)
Ingredients
1/3 cup butter
4 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
In a bowl beat butter or margarine until fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups of the confectioners' sugar, beating well.
Slowly beat in the milk and vanilla. Slowly beat in remaining sugar. Beat in additional milk, if needed, to make of spreading consistency. Tint with food color, if desired.
This recipe made just enough frosting for the cookies. The recipe said it would make 5 dozen, but with a pretty nice sized heart cookie cutter, I still think I got more than 60 cookies. Instead of using food coloring on the icing, I did them in white and sprinkled pink sprinkles and red sugar on them. They looked beautiful. Actually, I have a picture on my Facebook, so maybe I can post it here too.
The interesting thing about having all your cookbooks in storage is that sometimes you don't have your old standby recipes and have to try something new. And sometimes you find a gem that replaces your old standby, which is the case with this sugar cookie recipe.
On allrecipes.com, they called it "The Best Rolled Sugar Cookie" recipe, and they would be correct. My former roommate even asked me if I used store-bought dough because she said the cookies were so perfect. She knows me better than that.
The recipe is down below, in case this link ever stops working.
Prep Time: 20 Min
Cook Time: 8 Min
Ready In: 3 Hrs
Original Recipe Yield 5 dozen
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Directions
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth.
Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour (or overnight).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.
Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets.
Bake 6 to 8 minutes in preheated oven. Cool completely.
Most people make their sugar cookie icing by mixing powdered sugar and milk, which is perfectly adequate, but I made a batch of delicious buttercream icing instead.
It was also from allrecipes.com, which is becoming one of my favorite Web sites.
Butter frosting (link)
Ingredients
1/3 cup butter
4 1/2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
In a bowl beat butter or margarine until fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups of the confectioners' sugar, beating well.
Slowly beat in the milk and vanilla. Slowly beat in remaining sugar. Beat in additional milk, if needed, to make of spreading consistency. Tint with food color, if desired.
This recipe made just enough frosting for the cookies. The recipe said it would make 5 dozen, but with a pretty nice sized heart cookie cutter, I still think I got more than 60 cookies. Instead of using food coloring on the icing, I did them in white and sprinkled pink sprinkles and red sugar on them. They looked beautiful. Actually, I have a picture on my Facebook, so maybe I can post it here too.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Update
Moving into a new house is hard. And, it's hard to keep up with a cooking blog when someone else is doing the cooking at your house. It's nice, but I find cooking to be good therapy. I may have to reclaim my kitchen!
Tomorrow I'm making a ham in the crockpot. I will put the recipe here. I think I owe you lots of recipes, but I will try to get caught up next week.
I also received my first e-mailed recipe from a reader, so I need to make that and report back to the group!
Tomorrow I'm making a ham in the crockpot. I will put the recipe here. I think I owe you lots of recipes, but I will try to get caught up next week.
I also received my first e-mailed recipe from a reader, so I need to make that and report back to the group!
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Recipe-o-rama
Thursday night, we had chicken breasts marinated in that McCormick mojito lime marinade. It was good.
Friday for lunch we had tuna melts and tomato soup (because I couldn't decide between grilled cheese or tuna). Friday for dinner was homemade gnocchi (recipe coming soon) and leftover spaghetti sauce from last week's pizza and Martha White cheddar biscuits, which tasted like the ones from Red Lobster.
Saturday, I made pulled pork in the crock-pot and learned two things: the secret is homemade sauce and cole slaw AND using a butt roast instead of a pork shoulder. Yes, it's fattier (but easy to get the fat off), but there's no bone to deal with. I also made fried green tomatoes, and we tried our hand at some fried pickles. There will be recipes for all this yummy goodness soon enough.
Sunday we had fish tacos for dinner. I also made homemade biscuits and gravy for breakfast (OK, the biscuits not-so-homemade) and made a pumpkin pie from scratch. No cheater crust. And it was easy!
Tonight is spaghetti and meatballs. And soon enough, I will have all of this stuff posted for you. I think my laptop is going to the hospital Thursday.
Friday for lunch we had tuna melts and tomato soup (because I couldn't decide between grilled cheese or tuna). Friday for dinner was homemade gnocchi (recipe coming soon) and leftover spaghetti sauce from last week's pizza and Martha White cheddar biscuits, which tasted like the ones from Red Lobster.
Saturday, I made pulled pork in the crock-pot and learned two things: the secret is homemade sauce and cole slaw AND using a butt roast instead of a pork shoulder. Yes, it's fattier (but easy to get the fat off), but there's no bone to deal with. I also made fried green tomatoes, and we tried our hand at some fried pickles. There will be recipes for all this yummy goodness soon enough.
Sunday we had fish tacos for dinner. I also made homemade biscuits and gravy for breakfast (OK, the biscuits not-so-homemade) and made a pumpkin pie from scratch. No cheater crust. And it was easy!
Tonight is spaghetti and meatballs. And soon enough, I will have all of this stuff posted for you. I think my laptop is going to the hospital Thursday.
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