katy's smokehouse

ok, let me set the scene:










trinidad is about 300 miles north of san francisco, where the redwoods meet the pacific. it's gorgeous.

it's also, according to the proprietors of the unbelievably awesome katy's smokehouse, where about 80% of California's luscious dungeness crab are caught. the ones we get in san francisco, they explained, are overrated, particularly those cooked, then rewarmed specimens at fishermen's wharf. (i did not admit to them that i've always loved sucking down a hot buttered crab at the wharf.) so, we got four crabs, cracked 'em, and ate them with lemon butter.
i practically fainted with joy.

tacos in cabo!

check out these delicious tacos!
the one on the left is an al pastor taco on a corn tortilla. the one on the right is a gringa -- al pastor with juicy pineapples and onions and crisped melted cheese. my arrachera taco is on the far right, hiding from hungry eyes.

i don't know what this place is called ... but if you're in san jose del cabo, just drive on the main road, past the mega store to your right, and turn right at the big sign marked "centro." keep going until you hit the tacos on your left.

we found this place last thanksgiving. a carload of gringos, roaming aimlessly into the city (we were there for a wedding, so no one was really plugged in to the scene), on the hunt for some legit (read: authentic) snacking. and maybe some beers and some trouble. i remember that we stopped in front of a hamburguesa stand and viviana asked directions to a taqueria. the hamburguesos said there no taquerias in the area. uh-huh, sure. this place was just a few blocks down.

moqueca

since i've never had moqueca, it was pretty unlikely that i would be able to tell whether this tasted "right." although i've definitely been venezuelan in a past life, i don't know whether i've ever lived in bahia (i guess the best way to figure that out is to go there and see if it feels familiar ... plane ticket please!), and its been so long since tom has been there that he didn't really quite remember what it tasted like either.

so.

i don't know whether it was moqueca, but it was pretty good!

ingredients

about 2 lbs red snapper (although they say any white fish will do)

1 lime

1 small tomato roughly chopped, 2 medium tomatoes sliced into thin rounds

2 bell peppers (1 green and 1 red) sliced into thin rounds

a lot of roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 small onion roughly chopped, 1 large onion sliced into thin rounds

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup dende oil (thanks diana!)

1 C coconut milk (i used light coconut milk. mistake, mistake. it's just coconut milk mixed with water, and i never would have added a bunch of silly water to the moqueca ... it made it a lot more like a soup and less like a stew. next time i won't let health interfere with consistency. )

pickled jalapeños thinly chopped
salt to taste.

directions

cut fish into 2-inch pieces.

in the food processor: 1 small tomato, 1 small onion, 1/3 C chopped cilantro, 1 t salt, 2 garlic cloves. mix w/ juice of 1 lime.

cover fish with this mix and marinate in the refrigerator for about an hour.

layer 1/2 of the bell peppers, tomatoes and onions & cilantro in a large saute pan.
cover layers w/ fish and marinade.
layer the other 1/2 of bell peppers, tomatoes, onions & cilantro on top of the fish. add jalapenos.

drizzle with olive oil and dende oil.

add coconut milk and salt, and more lime.

stir, cover and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes.

heidrun sparkling mead

like drinking springtime,

but this bloom is out of stock.

please make more, heidrun!

http://www.heidrunmeadery.com/

vietnamese chicken-pineapple soup

i really adore the pineapple soup at bodhi so i tried to recreate it with chicken, with some help from epicurious. i confess that my version almost certainly turned out better than the epicurious recipe would have, but i didn't want to pretend that i just made this whole thing up, and the pineapple broth from the epi recipe is just brilliant.

ingredients

meat from 12 pre-roasted chicken thighs

1 pineapple

vegetable oil

minced garlic

1/4 cup + 2 T asian fish sauce

fresh shiitake mushroom caps, thinly sliced

tomatoes (i used 2 cups of halved cherry tomatoes)

3 baby bok choy, chopped

2 carrots, peeled quartered and sliced

2 daikon root, peeled quartered and sliced.

was there celery? i can't remember. it's possible.

approx. 1 cup mung bean sprouts

fresh mint

tamarind paste

salt

chicken stock

directions

cut peel from pineapple & throw out. then trim outer layer, cutting deep enough to remove eyes (i had no idea these were in there before! this was my first whole pineapple ...), then quarter and chop out the core. puree core and outer layers with 2 C water until smooth, then pour through sieve to get rid of the solid bits. add enough water (or chicken stock) to make about 8 C broth.

cut the rest of the pineapple into small/medium pieces and set aside.

heat oil in a big pot over medium-high heat, then sauté chiles and garlic and stir. add 1/4 C fish sauce and boil until about 1/2 is gone. add pineapple broth and boil.

stir in everything except the chicken and mint and return to boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, about 10 minutes.

meanwhile, heat up some more oil and sauté more garlic. add chicken, cook until hot, then add chicken to soup. then add mint & serve!

this really needed the tamarind paste to taste right. next time i think i'll do away with the bok choy (too stringy) and the daikon (not the right mood for this soup).