Make-Fast Mondays: Grilled Fish Tacos

The only thing better than welcoming out-of-town visitors is welcoming out-of-town visitors who show up with a cooler full of fish! Our friends Bill and Jamie recently went to Alaska for a fishing trip and came back with a ton of salmon and rockfish, some of which they generously shared with us. The rockfish worked great for these fast, fresh fish tacos.

Grilled Fish Tacos 
1 pound rockfish (or other white fish such as cod or halibut)
1 ½ teaspoons ancho chili powder
1 ½ teaspoons cumin
1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
Juice of one lime
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 corn tortillas, warmed*

Suggested garnishes: lime wedges, shredded cabbage, thinly sliced red onion, thinly sliced green onion, avocado, hot sauce, cilantro

Preheat your grill to medium-high heat. Place fish in baking dish. Whisk together ancho chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, lime juice and olive oil and pour over fish. Refrigerate and let marinade for at least 15 minutes. Remove the fish from the marinade and place on the grill. Grill the fish for 4 minutes and flip it, cooking for another 3-4 minutes. Remove fish from the grill and flake it with a fork. Distribute the fish between the tortillas and top with all your favorite garnishes.

*A note on the tortillas: I’ve warmed my tortillas a couple different ways and have been happy with the results. Depending on your preference, you could try warm them in a frying pan over medium high heat for a couple minutes, or toss them on the grill for a moment once you're done cooking the fish.

New cookbooks earning a spot on the shelf

My cookbook collection has grown quite a bit in recent months thanks to all kinds of thoughtful gifts from friends and family. Here’s a quick rundown of the recipes I think make these books keepers.

The Newlywed Cookbook 
Favorite recipe so far: Southern Shrimp & Grits
Also want to try: Bittersweet Chocolate Tart with Smoked Sea Salt

Thug Kitchen: The Official Cookbook
Favorite recipe so far: Roasted Beer and Lime Cauliflower Tacos with Cilantro Coleslaw
Also want to try: Spiced Chickpea Wraps with Tahini Dressing

One Pan, Two Plates 
Favorite recipe so far: Beef Stew in High Heels
Also want to try: Lemony Risotto with Asparagus, Carrots and Chives

Fifty Shades of Chicken 
Favorite recipe so far: Roasted Chicken with Hearts of Palm, Avocado and Orange Salsa
Also want to try: Jerk Chicken with Spices, Rum, Chiles, and Lime

The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook 
Favorite recipe so far: Sesame-Spiced Turkey Meatballs and Smashed Chickpea Salad
Also want to try: Mushroom Bourguignon

What’s your favorite cookbook right now?

Independence Day weekend full of delicious fun

Wanted to share some snapshots from my holiday weekend here in sizzling Sacramento.

We kicked off the three-day weekend Friday evening by checking out Concert in the Park at Cesar Chavez Plaza. I like to make it to Concert in the Park at least one time each summer because the beer garden always makes for great people watching. We sipped on some frosty IPAs, caught up with friends and hit up the Autentico Taco Azteca truck for some tasty pollo and carne asada tacos (four for $10).

Chris and I headed up the hill Saturday in an attempt to escape the heat. We spent the afternoon hiking the south fork of Silver Creek, which presents some pretty cool waterfalls as it makes its way down into the Ice House Reservoir. Deli sandwiches taste even better when you’re enjoying them on a huge granite slab overlooking a rushing waterfall.

I struggled through a scorcher of a run Sunday morning and rewarded myself with a chilly treat.

We bumped our Independence Day celebration up a day and had quite the Sunday Funday. A few friends came over for a good old-fashioned weenie roast featuring grilled hot dogs and all kinds of toppings. We had all the classics but also pimped out a couple condiments to create this hot little ’dog:

The relish (made by the special man friend) is a combo of diced sweet midget pickles (half of a 12-ounce jar) and 1.5 teaspoons sambal chili sauce. The ketchup gets a little kick thanks to curry powder (half a teaspoon per half-cup of ketchup).

Once full of Ball Parks, everyone headed down to Raley Field for a patriotic evening of River Cats baseball, some ice-cold brews and a dazzling fireworks display.

Getting a taste of the Bay Area at Outside Lands

Chris and I went to the Outside Lands music festival in San Francisco last weekend. We worked up quite an appetite rocking out to groups including Chromeo, Phoenix and Wolfmother.

Luckily, plenty of San Francisco eateries set up shop in Golden Gate Park during the festival. We had our pick from nearly three dozen vendors dishing up everything from organic ice cream and s’mores to crispy mac & cheese and tater tots served with lavender honey mustard.

A couple top tastes:

I tried my first Korean taco, a nice little snack from Namu featuring beef short rib, rice, kimchee remoulade and teriyaki all made portable thanks to toasted seaweed.

Little Skillet’s chicken and waffles—I wish I had some to dig into right now.

Within Outside Lands sat the alluring Wine Lands, a wine tent featuring more than 20 wineries. This place offered a nice diversion from the $8 cups of Newcastle. One-ounce wine tastes went for $2 or $3, or you could purchase a glass for anywhere from $8 to $10.

Tacolicious had a stand at the festival, but we opted to stop in at their Chestnut Street restaurant for a post-concert taco Sunday night. Chris opted for spicy shrimp (their Taco of the Week). I wish I’d ordered not just one but two of the braised beef short rib tacos — great, juicy flavor.

Eating like a rock star in San Diego

I’m officially a marathoner!

Chris and I spent the weekend down in San Diego, where we both ran the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon. And while it might have felt like it, especially around mile 25, we didn’t spend the entire time running. There was a lot of relaxing, as well as a lot of eating, both before and after Sunday’s race.

Here’s a rundown of some of the places we tried.

Rama Thai
We spent Friday and Saturday ingesting some serious carbs, while keeping meat, spicy dishes and dairy at a minimum. Friday night we feasted on Rama Thai’s Pad Thai with chicken, Drunken Noodles with beef, and the Birds Nest, a brothy dish with crispy noodles, shrimp, chicken, bamboo shoots and fresh vegetables.

Bencotto Italian Kitchen
I stumbled upon this newer Little Italy eatery via Yelp. For our last big pre-race meal Chris and I both opted for pasta bowls. Bencotto offers Pasta a Modo Tuo (pasta your way), allowing diners to pick between nine sauce choices and eight pastas, which are all made daily in house. While I thoroughly enjoyed my salsiccia (sausage in spicy tomato sauce) atop pappardelle (large hand-cut fettuccine), Bencotto’s menu featured many other tempting dishes I would have loved to try if I wasn’t uber-paranoid about my stomach.

Karl Strauss Brewing Company
Our post-race binge-fest took place at Karl Strauss’ downtown location. We tried the beer sampler and both honed in on the Pintail Pale Ale. Chris went for the chipotle-marinated flat iron steak, and I refueled with their Turkey Bleus Burger, a turkey burger with gorgonzola and pesto mayonnaise, with a side of some deliciously stinky garlic Parmesan fries.

El Vitral
A couple hours later we were ready to do some more eating, and enjoyed a light dinner of tacos at El Vitral, right next to PETCO Park, home of the Padres. Two taco plates did the trick — the Camaron Enchilados, made with spicy shrimp and mushrooms and topped with avocado cream, and the Taco de Dorado (beer-battered mahi mahi with slaw, salsa verde, crema fresca and chipotle aioli) were gone in no time.

Broken Yolk Café
Monday morning we hobbled down the street to the Broken Yolk Café for breakfast, where I indulged in Betty’s Southern Biscuits and Gravy and eggs over medium. We each ordered a mimosa and learned that we could get a full bottle of champagne for the price of those two drinks, and soon after a chilled bottle of bubbly and mini carafes of orange and pomegranate juices ended up at our table. Definitely helped ease the sore legs a bit!