Fish Tacos

Typically made with fried fish, this grilled fish variety makes for a lighter version of a delicious mexican inspired taco that always makes me think of San Diego.  We had some tilapia in the freezer and what better way to utilize it than with some cilantro, lime juice, and avocado?

You can marinade your fish with whatever you like, but I opted for my standard ziploc bag filled with diced white onion, chopped cilantro, olive oil, lime juice, orange juice, garlic, oregano, salt, and pepper.  Throw your fish in, put in the fridge and let it sit for 30 minutes to several hours.  

Next, prepare your grill.  If you aren't using a grill, go for a grill pan.  If you are lacking a grill pan, a flat skillet works well too (what I used in this case).  Add a little oil to the skillet and throw on your tortillas.  We opted for small corn tortillas, since these are soft tacos, but if you want flour or crunchy taco shells, by all means, do your thing, but I highly endorse soft tortillas for this meal.

While these are grilling I made a lime mayonnaise with 1 cup mayo, 1 tsp milk, 3 tbsp lime juice, and a dash of the fresh cilantro.  Remove your heated tortillas from the grill/skillet and coat with your desired amount of lime mayo. 

Next, grill your fish on the same pan, with a little excess marinade still suck to the fish.  I'm not really a fan of patting dry, because I don't want to lose the extra flavor.

Since tilapia is a very thin white fish, it will cook rather quickly.  Turn after a couple minutes on one side, and once done, you can break it into smaller pieces to fill your tacos.  I arranged the sliced lettuce on the bottom of the tortilla, topped with the fish, added some fresh avocado, drizzled with about a tbsp of the leftover marinade from the baggy, and topped with a little bit more of the lime mayo. 

Simple, delicious finger food that makes for a good lunch or dinner.

Roasted Chestnut Soup

A very (belated) Happy New Year to you all, dear readers.  I amassed a bit of a backlog of recipes from the holiday season, and with time permitting I can now bring you the pictures and instructions.  This first winter soup was made following a recipe created by Chef Paul Virant from Vie in Chicago (I must admit I had never heard of him or the restaurant either, but then again I don't follow the Chicago restaurant scene at all).

Chestnuts are typically stocked at your local grocer seasonally.  I once attempted to procure chestnuts in the summer, only to discover no market in San Francisco had them in stock.  But come Thanksgiving and suddenly everyone is all about the chestnuts.  Go figure.  (not to be mistaken for water chestnuts, which are always easy to find).  You typically can purchase chestnuts already shelled and in a jar or can soaked in water.

So here's the recipe:
3 tablespoons butter
1 stalk celery, chopped into one inch half moons
1 carrot, chopped into one inch half moons
1 onion, quartered and chopped into one inch half moons
2 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 bay leaf
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth or stock
1 pound peeled chestnuts
½ cup cream
¼ pound bacon

Chop bacon strips into one-inch pieces and add to saute pan over medium-low heat.  Render the bacon and once cooked, remove with a slotted spoon, leaving behind the grease.

Next up add the celery, carrot and onion to same sauté pan over medium-to-low heat and sweat for 5 min, or until the vegetables become softer and translucent.

Add rosemary and chestnuts and cook for 5 more minutes.

Finally throw in the broth/stock and bay leaf, cook until chestnuts are tender and remove from heat.

Add cream and then puree the mixture until smooth, either with an immersion blender, or in an actual standing blender.

Garnish with the bacon and if you have any sage, feel free to fry some up and garnish with that as well.  This makes for a great seasonal cold-weather soup.