Wicked Domestic

Now that Elizabeth has Meghan Clare, it’s time for the non-blogging sister to step in and show you all how it’s really done.  A quick recap of my non-blogging life: I live in New Hampshire, I like healthy foods, I like doritos more than I like healthy foods, and I like cookbooks with a lot of pictures.  This past Christmas, Elizabeth gave me a great cookbook called Power Foods.  It has 150 recipes involving the 38 healthiest ingredients out there.  The best part?  Pictures of every single recipe!  The cookbook also starts off with an article about each of the 38 power foods, ranging from vegetables to fruits to seafood. Each article cross references the recipes that have that ingredient, regardless of whether it’s the star of the show or a minor ingredient.  This is really helpful for when I come home with 20 cups of kale and have only one recipe in my repertoire; I can read about why I should be eating kale and have easy access to the recipes that have (hopefully many cups of) kale. Sadly, and not surprisingly, no recipes involve doritos.  sigh.

I spent much of Christmas morning flipping through the pages of Power Foods, selecting which recipes I needed to make ASAP.  I saw this picture for fish tacos and knew that needed to make its way into my kitchen soon.  My goal was to recreate this picture.  We’ll see how I did.

In typical fashion, I decided last minute to make these…making a nice dinner was my form of penance.  I missed the trash day for Christmas trees and asked my boyfriend to take my enormous Christmas tree to the dump in his town.  Turns out, my tree was slightly larger than his Honda and he had to first wedge the tree into the backseat, then saw it in half *in* his car before being able to close the doors.  So I owed him this.  And yes, while he was sawing the tree in half in his car, I stood on the sidewalk in my slippers laughing at him.  I owed him a good meal before the Pat’s game.

Because of my lack of planning, however, I was limited to the fish choices at Hannaford’s.  The recipe calls for either striped bass or red snapper fillets.  I did the best I could and went with catfish.  As long as it’s a white flakey fish, I think anything goes.  Neither striped bass nor red snapper is a listed “power food” so I wasn’t too concerned.  Now that I’m comparing the ingredient list to the list of power foods, I see that the only power food in the recipe is avocado.  Odd…but don’t let that deter you from making these delicious grilled fish tacos.

First, I gathered all the ingredients: power food, regular food, and beer. I pulled together cumin, oregano, chili powder, corona, coarse salt, olive oil, cilantro, 2 lbs of catfish, 1/2 head of cabbage, corn tortillas, limes, avocado, cheese, and hot sauce.  In the interest of full disclosure, the corona was for me to drink.  It’s not needed for the recipe, but it is highly recommended.

In a small bowl, I mixed together the cumin, oregano, chili powder, 2 teaspoons of salt, olive oil,and finely chopped cilantro.  This smelled really really good.  Then the recipe directs you to rub this mixture into the two pounds of fish.  I looked at the two pounds of fish and realized that was way too much for two people.  So I took two of the fillets, probably about one pound.  I used all of the marinade for the fish though and it was just barely enough.  So if you’re doing the fully recipe, you may want to double the ingredients in the marinade.   After this, the fish goes into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Then I cut up a quarter head of cabbage (the recipe says a half head, but I reduced it since there were only two of us).  Cabbage is surprisingly fun to chop.  I tossed the cabbage and 1.5 teaspoons of salt in a medium bowl and let that sit for 30 minutes.

While everything was marinading, I got to work prepping the rest of the ingredients.  I cut up the limes, chopped some more cilantro, and sliced the avocado.  Slicing avocado with a regular knife is what I imagine slicing regular food is like with a really good knife.  Also, did I buy huge avocado and use a regular bowl?  Or is this a regular avocado and a small bowl?  A blogger never reveals her secrets…

Nothing is quite as satisfying funny cruel as making your boyfriend fire up the grill on one of the most frigid nights in January, especially when the grill is on the far side of the deck and he hasn’t shoveled off any of the snow.  Clearly this was not a job for a girl who wears slippers all day long.  So Ryan took the fish out to the grill and did as the recipe instructs, he engulfed it in flames.

In truth, you’re merely supposed to grill the fish.  But that’s neither here nor there.  You take what you can get when you grill in the single digits.

After coming in from the cold, I plated the fish and tried to recreate the image in the cookbook.  I think I did a halfway decent job, right?

While the fish was grilling, I warmed up some corn tortillas in the oven.   I forked the fish into bite sized pieces.  Then we both assembled our own tacos.  I actually don’t have a picture of the finished product because it just wouldn’t transfer. Rest assured it was a masterpiece.  I started off with a few slices of avocado then on top of that I layered fish, cheese, jalapenos, cabbage, cilantro, and some lime juice.  I’m not a huge cabbage fan, but it gave the taco such a great crunch.  On my second taco, I added in some Frank’s Red Hot chile and lime sauce, too.  Overall, this was a great recipe and I was happy to have a chance to blog about it.  The marinade would also be great on chicken.  If you don’t have a grill or don’t want to venture outside, this recipe would also work on a grill pan.  Hope you enjoy it!

- Chrissy

Grilled Fish Tacos, makes one dozen

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon chili powder

coarse salt

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro, plus sprigs for garnish

2 pounds skin-on striped bass or red snapper fillets

5 cups shredded green cabbage (approx. half a head)

Neutral-tasting oil, such as canola or safflower, for the grill

12 corn tortillas

Lime wedges, avocado, Mexican crema (or sour cream), and hot sauce

Stir together cumin, oregano, chili powder, and 2 teaspoons salt.  Mix in the olive oil and cilantro.  Use a sharp knife to make shallow slits about 1 1/2 inches apart into the fish skin; transfer to a large dish and rub both sides with spice mixture.  Refrigerate, covered, for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Toss together the cabbage and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt in a medium bowl.  Let sit for 30 minutes.

Heat the grill or grill pain to high; lightly oil the grates.  Place the fish, skin side up, on the grill.  Cook without moving fish, until opaque throughout, approximately 3-5 minutes. Carefully flip, using two spatulas if necessary.  Cook until fish flakes slightly when pressed in the center, 5 to 7 minutes more.

Transfer the fish to a serving platter; let cool slightly, then shred with a fork into bite-sized pieces.  Garnish platter with lime wedges and cilantro sprigs.  Serve warm or at room temperature (within one hour).  Allow guests to assemble their own tacos, layering fish with cabbage, avocado, crema, hot sauce, and other toppings as desired.

Nutritional information per taco: 184 calories, 1 g saturated fat, 6 g unsaturated fat, 60 mg cholesterol, 14 g carbohydrates, 15 g protein,404 mg sodium, 3 g fiber.

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