Mahi-Mahi Fish Tacos with Slaw and Chipotle-Lime Cream

Those of you who read my blog in the past probably know this, but in 2/12 years of recipe blogging, I don't think I had a single recipe from the Mexican Food genre.  Its not that I didn't like Mexican Food, I just liked it in the moderate kind of way that lots of people like it.  I associated "tacos" with ground beef, shredded lettuce and pre-fab, grocery store crispy taco shells.  I associated burritos with Chipotle.  I didn't like beans of any kind.  And I wished that I could like corn tortillas, but didn't.  And enchiladas were only a vehicle for an unhealthy amount of cheese!

And then I met Jeff Lingle...  Our wedding invitations had the phrase, "It all started with some chips and salsa" on the front and it is true.  There used to be a Mexican restaurant next to my office and my co-workers and I would occasionally order some of their chips and green salsa (Same salsa I tried to re-create at home in THIS post from 2010).  I offered some to Jeff once when he was at the office working on our computers and a few weeks later he asked me out on our first date.  That first date included some Frisbee golf and a Mexican restaurant.  Shortly after, he introduced me to real, quality corn tortillas that you fry up at home for proper, crispy taco shells and delicious home-made re-fried beans.  A bit later, I got him a tortilla press and taco holders for a couple of birthdays.  My sister-in-law, Julie, taught me how to make authentic enchilada sauce from scratch.  And it has gone on from there...

I can honestly say that I have really fallen in love with Mexican Food.  After we got married and moved up here to Highlands Ranch, I set up the "Mexi-Cabinet" in our kitchen.  It has our tortilla press, tortilla warmer, plastic taco holders, metal taco holders, tortilla bowl molds and yes, a tub of lard!

Needless to say, we're into Mexican Food in the Lingle House!  Last weekend Jeff and I braved the grand opening weekend of Trader Joe's in Colorado.  Among some other treats, we picked up some of their corn tortillas and Wild-Caught Mahi Mahi and I tried out a new recipe last night for some fish tacos.  This is a marrying of several recipes that I found online that looked tasty and I took pieces from all of them.  So here you go!  (It sort of looks like a lot of work, but didn't take long at all...)

Marinade

1/4 c Canola oil
2 Tbsp Rice Vinegar (regular white would probably be fine too)
Zest and Juice of 1 Lime
1 tsp Sugar
2 Garlic Cloves, minced
1/2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Chili Powder (My favorite is chipotle for the smoky flavor)
1/2 tsp Pepper
- Whisk ingredients until sugar is dissolved and cover 1 pound of white fish in a bowl or ziplock bag.  Marinade at least 30 minutes. No longer than a couple of hours. (I know the tortilla pic has nothing to do with marinade!  Just wanted to show off the Trader Joe's package!)

Slaw
1 1/2 cups Red Cabbage, sliced thin
1/2 cup Red Onion, sliced thin
Handful of Cilantro, roughly chopped
Jalapeno, seeded & diced (optional)
1 Tbsp Canola oil
2 Tbsp Rice vinegar
1 tsp Sugar or Honey
Juice of 1 Lime
- Mix oil, vinegar, sugar and lime juice and toss with the veggies.  Let sit for at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.

Chipotle-Lime Cream
1/2 cup Sour Cream
Zest & Juice of 1 Lime
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Chipotle Chili Powder
- Mix these together and taste.  Increase anything you want more flavor in.  Don't worry if it seems a little runny.  This actually seems to thicken up a bit after sitting for a few minutes

Optional
Sliced Avocado
Cherry Tomatoes
Feta Cheese

We grilled the Mahi-Mahi and toasted the corn tortillas without oil in a cast iron skillet.  Turned out really delicious!


Hope you all have a lovely weekend!
(And if you're in Colorado and you've never been to one, come up to Denver and we can go to Trader Joe's and buy my favorite Dark Chocolate covered Almonds with Turbinado Sugar & Sea Salt!)

Braided Calzone

I have a confession...

I don't like Pinterest.  I don't know a single other member of the female species that doesn't love Pinterest.  But I really don't.  While it seems to inspire most women to new heights of domestic and culinary creativity, it totally overwhelms me with amazing ideas that I'll never have time or talent to accomplish and images of home, fashion, hair, etc that I can never live up to.  So I mostly pass on it.

But every once in a while, in a moment of desperate restlessness or boredom, I go back on my former opinion, and take a peek.  The peek doesn't usually last long.  I get overwhelmed super fast.

But the other day, during one of these Pinterest "peeks" I did see an idea that I wanted to try.  It was a braided calzone.  I've been working on my homemade pizza skills for the last several months and this seemed like a really fun variation.  So tonight when my sweet friend, Julia, came over for dinner, I whipped up one of these:

Roll out your dough.  Homemade is awesome.  Store-bought would probably be pretty awesome too.

Load your fillings down the middle.  These are my pizza favorites: chicken sausage, mushrooms, olives, artichoke hearts and roasted garlic.

Using clean scissors, cut strips in the sides and then braid that baby all the way down.

(Yes, I know that is a lot of cheese.  Don't judge me.)

I brushed mine with some olive oil and then sprinkled with coarse salt, garlic powder, oregano & a little Parmesan cheese.  Bake at 400 F for about 25 minutes until nice and toasty brown.  Let it sit for about 10 minutes before slicing.

This turned out really delicious!  I served it with some marinara sauce for dipping and a salad and it made a fast and tasty dinner.  You could have a lot of fun with different fillings too.  

So I guess the moral of the story is that Pinterest does have some good stuff and if I just take it in tiny peeks, I can make it out the other end with my sanity still in tact and a good recipe or two :)

Have a good evening!

The Barefoot Contessa Brought Me Back...

So...  I'm back again.  After almost 2 years away from my little blog, a recipe from The Barefoot Contessa has brought me back.  I started writing this blog back in 2009 as a way to share recipes and it sort of turned into a creative outlet for me.  I've had good intentions of firing it back up again for at least 8 months but just have not sat down to do it.  But today, for whatever reason, I was restless out of my mind and I had Mocha Icebox Cake on the brain.

Restless + Obsessive thoughts about Mocha Icebox Cake =  Blog Comeback

Blog Comeback = Happy :)

Now that that is out of the way, most of you that know me know that I really love Ina Garten.  I have most of her cookbooks and her cooking show is my all-time favorite.  Aside from the fact that I  love her recipes and her super laid-back style of cooking, the first cookbook for hers that I ever picked up showed the dedication as: "My home is wherever Jeffrey is."  And that sealed the deal.  We both love men named Jeffrey so that's it.  Its meant to be!

A few months ago she did a special episode on Chocolate Desserts.  The last recipe was for a Mocha Icebox Cake.  I don't know if I've ever eaten an "Icebox Cake" and it probably wouldn't be the type of dessert I would have formerly gravitated toward.  But Ina promised that this dessert makes grown men cry and I trust that woman.  So I gave it a go.  I've made it twice in the last two months and I'm still thinking about it, so that should say something.

Here you go!

Mocha Icebox Cake
(Despite arrogance implied, I did modify this slightly to my tastes.  I think Ina Garten is almost perfect, but I wanted a stronger coffee flavor)

2 cups heavy cream, cold
12 oz mascarpone cheese (I swapped this for cream cheese and it was fine)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup Kahlua (optional)
3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tbsp espresso powder
1 tsp vanilla
About 24 oz good quality, thin & crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies. (See note below)

• In a mixer, blend the mascarpone/cream cheese, sugar, Kahlua, cocoa, espresso powder and vanilla until creamy.  With the mixer running, slowly pour in the cream and whip until stiff peaks form.
• Cover the bottom of a spring form pan with a layer of cookies, breaking some of them into pieces so most of the surface is covered.  Smooth a layer of the mocha cream over the top. Do another layer of cookies.  Repeat so there are 4-5 layers, ending with cream.
• I topped mine with more espresso powder and chopped chocolate chunks.  Refrigerate at least overnight, 24 hours is better.
• (Regarding the cookies, there is a brand called Tate's that you can buy at Whole Foods that she recommends in the video.  They are pricey though, so if you have time, here is a recipe online.  I made this recipe both times for the cookies and they were excellent!!)
• When its time to serve, run a knife around the outside and release the spring form pan edge and slice.

Here is what you'll get...

(Note, this is not my photo. I found it online and am using it from foodjoannie.wordpress.com)

I thought this whole concept might result in a soggy cookie, but it doesn't.  The cookie softens into this really lovely, cakey, buttery, chocolate-studded goodness that I am quite certain you will love!  

And it keeps in the fridge for about 5 days.

And you could make it gluten-free really easily by swapping the cookies for a gluten-free version.

And I think maybe I need to try this same concept without the espresso, beefing up the chocolate and using peanut butter cookies.

Go make this cake, give it to someone, say "I love you" and then bask in coffee and chocolate glow.

Love,

Jenny