Fried Fish Soft Tacos

Sorry I've been MIA for a while, we've been moving and haven't really been cooking lately! My kitchen is getting back to normal so I thought I'd post a few things we've done lately.

I've been hearing about fish tacos everywhere lately. So just to kick it up a notch, we did fried fish tacos and used the soft shells. It's fun to have a little break from the norm every once in a while.

Fried Fish Soft Tacos

Ingredients:
6-8 tilapia fillets, cut in half
oil for frying
Flour batter of your choice, we like Zatarain's Fish Fry with lemon added
Desired seasonings for fish, we like mustard, Tony's Creole Seasoning, lemon pepper, garlic powder and onion powder
tartar sauce - see recipe below
desired toppings, we used diced tomato, cheese, and avocado slices
soft taco shells/small burrito shells

Method:
Coat fish fillets in mustard, then sprinkle seasonings over and mix well. Toss in flour batter and fry in hot oil till golden brown and crispy.

Serve on warmed tortillas with desired toppings.

Connie's Tartar Sauce

Ingredients:
1 cup mayo
1/4 cup sour cream
2 TBSP dill relish
2 TBSP onion, finely chopped
2 TBSP olives, finely chopped (I used green olives with the pimento removed - 12 equals 2 TBSP)
2 TBSP green onions, finely chopped
1 tsp lemon juice
dash pepper

Method:
Mix well in bowl and chill before serving.


Fried Fish Soft Tacos

Verdict: Fan-freaking-tabulous!! This will definitely join in the dinner rotation! It was so easy and fun!

Grilled Salmon, Fried Avocado Slices with Spicy Lime Crema

As you can probably tell, I'm a big fan of the Food Network. The other day I was watching Emeril and he fried avocado slices. Hello! This sounded like my idea of heaven. My husband and I are self-titled Avocado Lovers like you wouldn't believe. I tucked that nugget of deliciousness in the back of my mind. Then while at the supermarket the other day, they had salmon on sale for crazy cheap. We bought some and were trying to decide what to serve with it. Remembered avocado...read on...

Christen's Grilled Salmon

Ingredients:

1 large piece of salmon, cut into serving pieces, skin on (sorry I didn't notice the weight!)
olive oil
salt
fresh dill
lemon pepper seasoning

Heat a stove-top grill over medium heat (this will require you to turn on both front and rear burner). Lightly brush the skin sides of the salmon with the olive oil and place the salmon on the grill. Be careful to try to avoid having to place a piece over the area not over a burner. Grill 5-6 minutes, or until it doesn't stick. If it's sticking, it's not ready. In the meantime, lightly brush olive oil on the flesh sides of the salmon. Then lightly sprinkle salt and lemon pepper over each piece. Finish with sprigs of fresh dill. When ready, gently flip over and grill for an additional 4 minutes, or until it doesn't stick. Remove to a serving platter.

We served it with...

Fried Avocado Slices with Spicy Lime Crema

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons hot sauce
4 firm-ripe avocados, peeled, pitted, and each sliced into 8 even pieces
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 Serrano pepper, seeded and minced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
Vegetable oil, for frying
1 1/2 cups flour, seasoned with your favorite seasonings, such as Essence
3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Method:

In a medium bowl, combine buttermilk, hot sauce and avocado slices. Soak for 30 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, lime juice, cilantro, red onion, Serrano pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir to combine. Chill until ready to use.

In a medium cast iron skillet, fill oil to a depth of a couple of inches (no more than halfway up the sides of the pan.) Heat oil to 375 degrees F over medium-high heat.

Combine flour, seasoning and baking powder. Dredge soaked avocado slices in the cornmeal mixture, shaking to remove excess cornmeal.

Place avocado slices in the hot oil and fry until golden, about 1 to 2 minutes each side. Using a slotted spoon, remove slices and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Serve immediately with spicy lime crema.


Grilled salmon, fried avocado slices with spicy lime crema and scalloped potatoes


Fried avocado slices with spicy lime crema, served on a bed of Southwestern-Style corn

The verdict: This was delicious! The salmon was cooked perfectly, not overseasoned. Just fresh tasting. The avocados were fantastic, but what really made the dish was the spicy lime crema! Fan-freaking-tastic! Also, Emeril's recipe uses a cornmeal and flour mixture, but I really do NOT like cornmeal so I used flour only. You may like to try the other way, to each his/her own! But do try it :)

Shrimp Scampi

James has been after me for a little while now to make shrimp scampi. I've never made it before and frankly hadn't felt like looking up a recipe! Then lo and behold, good friend ShoeFanatic posted a recipe for it on her blog! It looked so delicious and she gave it such a great review that I just had to try it. Here is the recipe she used:

Shrimp Scampi

Ingredients:
1 lb peeled and deveined large shrimp
Seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder)
Olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, diced
1/2 tsp dried hot red-pepper flakes
1/2 c. dry white wine
Salt & pepper
5 T butter
3/4 lb angel-hair pasta
Fresh parsley, chopped

Method:

Boil pasta to your liking. Reserve at least 1 cup of pasta water for later.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. You need just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan.

Sauté shrimp, turning over once, until just cooked through, about 2 minutes, and transfer to a large bowl. Add garlic, red pepper flakes and wine to skillet. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, for about 1 minute.

Add butter to skillet, stirring until melted, and then add shrimp back in. Add the parsey as well and coat the shrimp well. In the large bowl, toss the pasta and shrimp mixture well. Add some of pasta water if necessary to keep moist.


The Ingredients


The Finished Product

The Verdict: This was fantastic! I was a little wary of it because it just didn't look like there would be enough sauce for the noodles. I used the medium size shrimp to save money and was just as happy with them. It was great, it wasn't dripping butter down your face like often happens with scampi. James and I both went back for seconds and we will be happily enjoying the leftovers tomorrow night! I highly recommend it! Thanks, Shoe!

Grilled Shrimp Soft Tacos

James and I couldn't agree on what to cook for dinner tonight so we landed on this, our very own concoction! We wanted grilled shrimp but couldn't decide what to cook with it. So we thought up these tacos and made homemade tartar sauce with olives in it to spread on. Here is the recipe for the tacos:

Grilled Shrimp Soft Tacos

1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 envelope of McCormick's Baja Citrus Marinade
1 TBSP water
2 TBSP tequila
juice of 1/2 lime
2 TBSP apple cider vinegar

Mix envelope of marinade, water, tequila, lime juice and vinegar together in a bowl and add shrimp. Coat evenly. Keep refrigerated until ready to put on the grill. When ready to grill, place shrimp on skewers and grill on the bbq. When they are cooked through make soft tacos using toppings of your choice. We used the homemade tartar sauce, lettuce, cheese, avocado slices, pico de gallo, fresh cilantro and a few shakes of hot sauce. You can eat it like a soft taco or fold like a burrito.


All the toppings...


Folded up like a burrito

The verdict: This was fantastic! James was not too sure about adding the tartar sauce as a topping but he did it and was glad. The olives in the tartar sauce gave it a little more of a "fancy" feel. We ate all of the shrimp, as one pound only had 18 shrimp in it. Since we wish we had more to have as leftovers, we just might make this again tomorrow night :) Two very enthusiastic thumbs up!

Pan-Seared Tuna with Avocado, Soy, Ginger and Lime

This recipe is another that is not new to us. We saw it cooked on Food 911 on the Food Network years ago (back when that show came on) and have been enjoying it ever since. My husband James cooked it for our Valentine's Day meal. Enjoy.

Pan-Seared Tuna with Avocado, Soy, Ginger, and Lime
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence
Show: Food 911
Episode: Party of One


2 big handfuls fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1/2 jalapeno, sliced
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, grated
2 limes, juiced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
Pinch sugar
Tony's cajun seasoning, garlic powder and onion powder
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 (6-ounce) block sushi-quality tuna
1 ripe avocado, halved, peeled, pitted, and sliced

In a mixing bowl, combine the cilantro, jalapeno,ginger, garlic, lime juice, soy sauce, sugar, salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Stir the
ingredients together until well incorporated. Place a skillet over medium-high heat and coat with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Season the tuna generously with Tony's, garlic and onion powders. Lay the tuna in the hot oil and sear for 1 minute on each side to form a slight crust. Serve the seared tuna with the sliced avocado and the cilantro sauce drizzled over the whole plate.


The Ingredients


The raw tuna steak all seasoned up!


Sizzling


The sauce simmering


mmmmm avocados!!


The finished product


Gorgeous!!

Notes and The Verdict: MAKE SURE you use sashimi grade yellowfin tuna. Tuna is supposed to be cooked medium rare for best flavor and you don't want fishy tasting stuff that might make you sick. Don't skimp! We paired ours with asparagus and some chicken fried rice that my parents happened to have in their fridge. It was FANTASTIC! A nice red wine went great with it.

Seafood Gumbo

I know, it's a tragedy that I am 28 years old, from South Louisiana and before today I had never cooked a seafood gumbo. Sure I ate plenty, but never cooked myself! Seafood gumbo can be hard on the pocketbook, so I always cooked chicken and sausage gumbo. Today I decided to change that and started looking through my cookbooks for the recipe to try. This recipe came out of the Best of the Best of Louisiana cookbook and was submitted by River Roads Recipes II.

For those that don't know, The Best of the Best of Louisiana cookbook is a compilation of all of the very best recipes of the "Louisiana style" cookbooks. So I knew this would be good! If you are ever looking for a good cookbook, this is THE one to get! Here is the recipe:

Seafood Gumbo

1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup flour
1 large onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (1-pound) can tomatoes, undrained
1.5 pounds frozen okra or equivalent fresh
Oil for frying okra
2 quarts hot water
3.5 tablespoons salt
3/4 teaspoon red pepper
1 large bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon thyme
8-10 allspice berries
Few grains chile pepper
2 pounds headless raw shrimp, peeled
1 pound claw crabmeat, picked
1 pint oysters
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped parsley

Make a very dark roux with oil and flour in a large heavy pot. Add onion and garlic. Cook slowly until onions are transparent. Add tomatoes, and cook on low heat until oil rises to the top (about 30 minutes), stirring frequently. In separate skillet, fry okra in oil on moderately high heat, stirring constantly until okra is no longer stringy. Add the okra to the other mixture, stir and simmer about 10 minutes. Add water, salt and pepper. Simmer partially covered for 45 minutes. Add other seasonings and simmer an additional 20 minutes, then add the shrimp and simmer 15 minutes; then add crabmeat, simmering 15 minutes more. Add the oysters the last 5 minutes of cooking. Taste carefully for seasoning, adding more if necessary. Remove from fire and stir in green onions and parsely. Serve over rice. Variations may be made by adding different seafoods, sausages, or poultry. Serves 8-10.
River Road Recipes II



The Verdict: For the tomatoes I used 2 cans original Rotel tomatoes. It gave it a little extra kick. I also used 1 quart chicken broth in place of 1 of the quarts of water. It made it a bit thicker and a little richer I think, which I really liked. However, next time I would use the low-sodium variety of chicken broth because it made the gumbo a little salty. Still delicious though! I will definitely be making this again! James loved it as well :) This definitely gets two thumbs up!