Tag Archives: avocado

Eat up, me hearties, yo-ho!

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I think we should call this the pirate taco. “Fish taco” just doesn’t have enough character, especially since I cooked it with spiced rum!

My brother in law dropped off a freshly caught rainbow trout for us on Friday night. (Thank you, Jamie!) We consulted Chef Mark on a cooking method and settled on baking it wrapped in parchment paper, while stuffed with thyme, lemon, garlic, onions and bay leaves. It was  a great meal, but time (and hunger) did not allow for photos. Since the fish was huge, we had plenty left over for the next day. Thus the creation of the pirate taco!

I started by sautéing some onion slices and diced jalapenos in a touch of olive oil. Once browned,  I threw in black beans, rice, diced tomatoes, the leftover fish, some chopped cilantro and cotija cheese. I then poured in a few ounces of spiced rum to steam it since I really only wanted to heat everything up quickly. Once warmed, I added some diced avocados, lime juice, seasoned with salt, and tossed before serving in lightly grilled flour tortillas topped off with salsa and sour cream. Enjoy with rum for a true pirate experience!

The pirate taco. Fire up the stove, Matey!

A little more watermelon avocado salsa, please.

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Summer calls for lighter meals and this was an excellent example! Most fish falls in the category of lighter fare for me. The corvina (from the Pacific coast of South America) was no exception;  meaty, but extremely light in flavor, flaking off in large chunks. It looks and tastes like a cross between mahi and red snapper.

The watermelon avocado salsa was a last minute addition (luckily remembering the watermelon and avocado were sitting on the counter). Our meal was postponed for a half hour to let it chill, but it was worth the wait! A serving for 2 included half an avocado (chunked), the juice of 2 limes, 2 diced slices of watermelon (mini seedless variety), some very thinly sliced white onion, mint and cilantro, salt and pepper to taste, and a touch of extra virgin olive oil. Serve on top of the fish, in many heaping spoonfuls, for a nice contrast to the silkiness of the corvina.

Pink wine! I have to say (due to previous experience some years ago), I had a preconceived notion that pink wine is sweet and not very good.  However, I’ve been hearing excellent things about rosés (especially from the Finger Lakes), and wanted to give one a try. The Hermann J. Wiemer Dry Rosé is actually quite full bodied, and dry, as per the name. It had very slight hints of floral notes, as well as apricot and raspberry. The acidity paired well with the fish and the lime in the salsa. I love finding a Finger Lakes wine I will purchase again!

As it hit 100˚F in Rochester yesterday…….happy hot summer to everyone! Hope you get a chance to enjoy this meal soon!

Corvina topped with watermelon avocado salsa!

Hermann J. Wiemer Dry Rosé. Pink wine is good!

Mid-summer watermelon is wonderfully refreshing.

Fresh basil from the garden! Sliced super fine.

Just a few paper thin slices of onion.

An avocado just looks like summer.

I like it chunky: Guacamole!

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What would Cinco de Mayo be without guacamole?! Our marvelous friend Chef Mark (yup…he’s a chef!), prepared a Mexican feast for  some friends 5 years ago on Cinco de Mayo . It was the 3rd date for Heather and I, and guacaomle and margaritas were a wonderful part of the memorable menu. This is my derivation of the recipes for both.

Chunky guacamole. Pit and scoop out 3 ripe avocados and chop into roughly 1/2″ to 3/4″ chunks. Place in a mixing bowl and squeeze the  juice of 1 lime onto it to keep it from browning (and add some great flavor). Finely chop half of medium white onion and a large handful of fresh cilantro. Dice a small to medium tomato into 1/4-inch pieces. Mince 2 jalapeno peppers (OK..I like it HOT and chunky, but this won’t be too hot if you remove the seeds). 
Throw them all into the mixing bowl with some sea salt (to taste) and stir. This will break up most of the chunks a little, but some hardly at all. Thus…. creating your chunky guacamole.

The margarita. Ah, the margarita. It took me a while to perfect this recipe. I prefer to use a reposado tequila for the smooth smoky flavor. 1800 is a good value and generally my choice. In a shaker with crushed ice add 2 ounces tequila, 1 1/2 ounces triple sec, 1 1/4 ounces fresh squeezed lime juice and 1 1/4 ounces simple syrup. Shake and strain into a margarita glass. Garnish with a lime and orange twist to signify the blending of the 2 flavors. I prefer it up with no salt, but feel free to salt the rim and serve over ice (as I do for Heather 🙂 ).

PS. If you’re in the Rochester area, I highly suggest you take a class from Chef Mark at the Wegmans Pittsford cooking school. It’s very entertaining and informative!

(Chunky!) Guacamole, with hearty yellow corn chips.

The margarita. Up, no salt.

Guacamole ingredients.


Ceviche!!

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Ceviche.  Yeah, I’d had it before.  However… when Heather and I were on our honeymoon a few years ago in Puerto Rico…I realized I hadn’t had ceviche. Just a lame attempt. There was this great little place called Aguaviva, in Old San Juan. We had 3 different types of ceviche that were all fantastic!  The mojitos we had were also an excellent part of that meal, but that deserves a separate post. Soon, I promise.

I perused many recipes and decided to come up with my own that would try and mimic (in one variety), the best of what we had in Puerto Rico. And so…here it is in pictures. Let me know if you want the recipe.

The avocados need to be perfectly ripe, and leave them chunky.

Fresh lime juice and cilantro are VERY important!

Red snapper, jalapenos, sweet peppers, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt and red chili olive oil.

Serve with yellow corn tortilla chips.