food, and other musings

Fish Tacos

Fish tacos are all about two things: the slaw and the hot sauce. Besides being crisp, a good slaw should be a little tart and definitely creamy. As for hot sauce, if it hasn't burned my lips off yet, what good is it?

These fish tacos are a go-to on weary winter summer nights. Since I don't deep-fry the fish, they're low-fat to boot. You know, so I can look good in my bikini as I run screaming through the DENSE GRAY FOG that cloaks the San Francisco streets right now.



Fish Tacos
Makes 4 tacos

1 bag pre-shredded cabbage, or half a head cabbage shredded by you
4 scallions, chopped
1/3 large cucumber, peeled
3 TBSP mayo
2 TBSP apple cider vinegar
1 TBSP Dijon mustard
3/4 pound white fish fillets, such as red snapper
8 corn tortillas
1 avocado, thinly sliced
1 lime, cut into 4 wedges
salt and pepper to taste

To make the slaw, combine the cabbage and scallions. Prepare the cucumber by cutting it in half lengthwise, and then cutting each half in half lengthwise again. Slice thinly, giving you small "wedges" of cucumber. Add to the cabbage. Add mayo, vinegar, and mustard to the cabbage and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat the oven to broil, or prepare your grill. Season the fish with salt and pepper to taste. Broil until crisp and cooked through. Time will vary depending on the thickness of your fish; check after 4-5 minutes. Flake fish with a fork into small pieces.

Meanwhile, heat the tortillas. I prefer to heat them one by one in a cast iron skillet; you can also use a non-stick pan, or put them in the oven on the bottom rack.

To assemble, mound 3/4 cup of slaw on each tortilla. Top with 1/4 each of the fish and avocado. Season with hot sauce -- these days, I am loving Bone Suckin' Sauce Hiccupin' Hot Habanero Hot Sauce. (Say that three times fast...) Give it a squirt of lime juice and you're in business.

p.s. I know. An actual post. And a recipe. Could you DIE???

cause that's how we roll around here

When Jeff and I threw our holiday party last weekend, I served this spicy-sweet champagne cocktail to the majority of our guests. It was lovely.

To make the ginger syrup:

In a medium saucepan, combine 3/4 cup water with 1/2 cup sliced fresh ginger and 1/2 cup sugar.

Simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let steep 15 minutes. Strain syrup through a sieve into a bowl, discarding solids. Chill until cold.

Happy holidays!

From Gourmet magazine.

Gobble gobble

This year I offered to host Thanksgiving at our place. Then I took a full-time job, had a nervous breakdown, and canceled. I'm Martha's worst nightmare.

Luckily, one of the invitees was willing to have all of us (and then some!) over to her place. We're all collaborating on the menu, which is kind of fun. I wanted to bring a green bean casserole -- you know the one -- but it seemed like all the enthusiasm was of the "Oh isn't that perfect! (But I don't have to eat it, do I?)" variety, so I updated that one. Here's our final list of goodies...what are you making this year?

~ Chicken empanadas
~ Turkey
~ Ham
~ Nannies Party Potatoes
~ Macaroni & Cheese
~ Lemon-roasted green beans and Marcona almonds
~ Cheese & thyme biscuits
~ Creamed leeks
~ Wild Mushroom Stuffing
~ Cranberry Rosemary Wine Jelly
~ Wild Rice stuffing
~ Sweet potatoes
~ Cranberry-mascarpone chocolate tart
~ Chocolate S'more Pie
~ Sweet potato Ice Cream with Maple Glazed Pecans
~ Pecan Pie

Recipe: Pork Tenderloin Southern Style

A recipe! I haven't posted one in ages, but then I haven't been posting very much in general these days. Real work has been pretty draining, as has my grandmother's funeral and the quick trip East. Between all that, I haven't been doing anything noteworthy when it comes to feeding myself. Case in point? For my last "dinner party" I threw together a make-your-own-nachos bar. Don't get me wrong -- they were good, and melted cheese is a cure-all for just about anything -- but fancy it was not.

I've also found myself eating out a lot less. Oh, there are plenty of practical reasons -- my thighs could practically qualify for their own zip code, for one, and we're trying to save our pennies for another -- but it's more than that. I've really been craving the comforts of home in the last few weeks. The gray somber weekend mornings suit me fine, since they don't make me feel like I ought to be out and about, and I've spent many a Sunday lately hunkered down in PJs in front of a stack of magazines, crossword puzzles, and the TV. Sometimes life just sucks the oomph right out of you, I guess.

Pork Tenderloin Southern Style
Serves 4 generously

Last night, Mr. Food Musings and I went shopping for dinner and, instead of the same old tired chicken or fish, I suggested pork tenderloin. Pound for pound, it's as lean and healthy as chicken is, and incredibly easy to prepare. I turned to one of my favorite cookbooks, the kind that never steers you wrong, called The Eating Well Rush Hour cookbook. It's out of print, I think, and my copy is as food splattered and dog eared as they come. We enjoyed our tenderloin with a vegetarian "hash" of sweet potatoes, corn, red onions, sage, and cayenne pepper.

2 3/4 lb. pork tenderloins
fresh ground black pepper to taste
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 small onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup honey or molasses
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 TBSP Dijon mustard
2 tsp soy sauce

Preheat oven to 425º. Season the pork tenderloins with black pepper to taste and set aside.

In a medium-sized saucepan, heat 1 tsp of oil over medium heat. Add onion, jalapeno, and garlic and saute until softened, 2-3 minutes. Add honey, vinegar, mustard, and soy sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until very thick, about 7 minutes.

Heat the remaining 1 tsp oil in a medium-sized ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tenderloin and brown on all sides, 2-3 minutes. Brush the pork generously with the sauce and place the skillet in the oven. Roast for 7 minutes. Turn the tenderloins over, baste with the sauce, and roast 8 minutes more. Let the pork rest for 5 minutes before carving into 3/4-inch slices. Serve with sauce over top.

The Killer (summer) App

I found this easy-peasy recipe in the back of the August Gourmet. The combination of flavors (sweet! salty! smoky!) creates constant surprises for your tastebuds, and nothing tastes like summer more.

Nectarines with prosciutto and basil

I substituted white nectarines for peaches because that's what I had, and prosciutto for jamon serrano, because that's what I could find. I'm confident it turned out just as well.

1/2 tsp Sherry vinegar
1/4 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp ground cumin
3 ripe white nectarines, cut into 8 wedges
1/4 lb. thinly sliced prosciutto
24 basil leaves

In a medium bowl, toss together the Sherry vinegar, sugar, and cumin. Add the nectarines, stir to coat, and let sit 10 minutes. Then wrap a small piece of prosciutto around each nectarine slice, add a basil leaf, and secure with a toothpick.

More pimientos de Padron!

I'm so taken with these peppers that I wrote about them again on KQED's Bay Area Bites! Find out how to prepare them step-by-step, as well as what I think are some of food writing's most memorable examples.

Pimientos de Padron

These are my new favorite snack. I'd read about the small sweet peppers called pimientos de Padron, and knew that about one in ten is nice and spicy while the rest are nutty and mild, but it wasn't until they appeared at the farmers' market a few weeks back that I finally tried them.

It's not just me who fell head over heels; it's Mr. Food Musings and his parents, to whom I've now served them twice.

(Hint: They go down nice with a cold cocktail in hand.)

All you do is coat the bottom of a frying pan with olive oil and heat it up good and hot. Then toss in the peppers whole, and shimmy them around for a few minutes until they blister black and gray. Dump on a fair amount of coarse salt, and pop them in your mouth, all but the stem. My favorites are the spicy ones. You can't beat 'em with a stick.

baby radishes

I just thought these guys were pretty with their frilly citron-colored hats.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

I don't about you, but when I'm having friends over for a spur of the moment brunch, I want to have coffee cake.

So yesterday, I had Mr. Food Musings whip one up.

(Tee hee. Maybe I like being a working girl after all.)

He did a marvelous job, even though he used too much butter (is there really such a thing?). This recipe makes a moist cake that's not too dense, with blueberries along the crust and a brown sugar crumb topping that's finished off with powdered sugar.  I had two pieces at brunch, and I would happily have another if my zipper wasn't already protesting so vehemently.

Amanda's Blueberry Coffee Cake
from Celebrate! by Sheila Lukins
Serves 12

The recipe calls for blueberries, which Mr. FM loves, but I think any berry -- or other fruit, for that matter -- would work nicely. Or you could just as well do without. If you want to serve this as a mid-morning dessert, try it with a dollop of creme fraiche.

12 TBSP cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 c. buttermilk
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c. fresh blueberries
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350º. Butter a 9-inch springform pan. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, and 10 TBSP of the butter in a bowl and mix with an electric mixer until it resembles coarse meal, about 1 minute. Remove 1 cup of the mixture and set aside for the topping.

Add the baking powder and baking soda to the remaining mixture in the bowl and stir to combine. With the mixer running on low, add the buttermilk, egg, and vanilla. Mix the ingredients for 1 minute on high to aerate the batter. Fold in the blueberries and scrape the batter into the springform pan.

Place the reserved cup of topping in a bowl with the brown sugar and remaining 2 TBSP butter. Mix with your fingers until crumbly. Sprinkle this over the batter. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 1 hour or so.

Cool on a wire rack, then remove the sides of the springform pan. Sift powdered sugar over the top.

Snack Attack

Got the munchies? Read about my latest obsession over at KQED's Bay Area Bites.