Some Dishes with Fishes - Round Four

We've been overdue for a "Dishes with Fishes" post for a while now, so here is a look at some of the fish and seafood we've been eating. Previous posts can be found here, here and here.

Pad Kra Praw with Mexican White Shrimp


Pad Kra Praw? Pad Kra Pao? Pad Krapow? However you spell it, this staple of American Thai restaurants is a big favorite of mine. I love the mingled intense flavors of chile, fish sauce and basil. We usually make it with chicken, but it this shrimp version was great. It is also really good with sea scallops...

Grilled Mako Shark with Black Kale and Black Beans


One day, with a bounty of Mako Shark from Catalina Offshore, we did it up two ways. This first one was grilled very simply.

Teriyaki Mako Shark with Shaved Brussels Sprouts


For the second dish, we used a teriyaki-style marinade, and served it with shaved brussels sprouts from our garden.

Pan-seared Cabrilla Grouper with "Pil-Pil" Potatoes and Green Beans


"Pil-Pil" potatoes have become a favorite of ours. We call them that because we first made them after we saw them as a side in a video about making salt cod in the Portuguese "Pil-Pil" style. They went very nicely with this Cabrilla Grouper.

Whole Cardinal Snapper with Chard and Black Beans


We have been really happy with the whole Cardinal Snappers we've been getting from Catalina Offshore and have been experimenting with different ways to cook and serve them.

Whole Roasted Cardinal Snapper Stuffed with Rosemary and Thyme


This version was super moist and flavorful, and the beautiful color of the skin still really came through after cooking.

Tacos Gobernadores with Mexican White Shrimp and Sea Scallops


Tacos Gobernadores, which I think of as shrimp tacos with peppers, onions and cheese, are a staple at local mariscos trucks. This was our take - with some sea scallop thrown in for good measure.

Smoked Bay Scallops and Assorted Fish


Smoked bay scallops are an awesome treat that we first started making this year. They definitely have an "I'll just eat one more" quality to them. Good stuff. This time we also smoked an assortment of fish - we often have pieces left over, and smoking is a great way to use them up.

All Grain Brewing on the Stovetop, and a "Half Nelson" IPA Recipe

We've been wanting to try all grain brewing for quite some time now. Moving to partial mash brewing made a huge difference in the quality of our beers, and we were curious about how much more we could gain from going all grain.

But, every time we thought about taking the plunge, we always balked at the logistics. A 5-gallon brew pot wouldn't fit on our stove top, so we'd need to get a burner for the patio. Then the hassle of getting the three-tiered set up of hot sparge water above the grain bed to be drained into a huge brew pot. And finally, trying to cool the big 5-gallon pot of wort, then lugging it into the house to transfer to the carboy for fermentation... It just seemed like too much.

Then one day a simple solution occurred to us - we could just do a half batch! Essentially, doing a standard partial mash but omitting the extract and keeping the final batch size at 2.5 gallons gets you an all grain beer.

The obvious drawback is that you only get 2.5 gallons of beer, while doing almost the same amount of work as for a 5 gallon partial mash. But still, it is all-grain brewing on the stovetop with no more equipment than you need for partial mash.

We happened to have some Nelson Sauvin hops on hand, so we decided to brew a beer featuring them. The result was a very nice, light (both in color and body - it is lighter than it looks in the photo) and clean tasting beer. Was it better than what we get with partial mash? Hard to say, since we've never worked with the Nelson hops before. We will have to give the technique a try with one of our more standard IPA recipes.

Given the half batch, and the use of the Nelson, we couldn't possibly have named the beer anything other than "Half Nelson" IPA.

Half Nelson IPA

Total batch size = 2.5 gallons; All Grain Mash in 3 gallon beverage cooler; 2.5 to 3 gallon 60 minute stove-top boil; dry hopped for aroma; target abv of 6%.

Ingredients:

6 lb 2-Row Pale Malt
1/4 lb Wheat Malt
1/4 lb Carapils/Dextrin Malt
2 oz Nelson Hops (8.0% AA)
1/2 oz Centennial Hops (8.8% AA)
3/4 oz Simcoe Hops (12.3% AA)
1 tablet Whirlfloc
White Labs WLP051 California Ale V Yeast

Hop Schedule:

1/4 oz Centennial - 60 minutes boil
1/4 oz Centennial - 45 minutes boil
1/2 oz Nelson - 45 minutes boil
1/4 oz Nelson - 30 minutes boil
1/4 oz Simcoe - 30 minutes boil
1/4 oz Simcoe - 15 minutes boil
1/4 oz Nelson - 2 minutes boil
1 oz Nelson- Dry Hop in Secondary Fermenter
1/4 oz Simcoe - Dry Hop in Secondary Fermenter


Heat 8 quarts water to 167 degrees for a target mash temperature of about 152 degrees. Place the crushed grain (2-Row Pale, Wheat and Carapils) into a large mesh bag. Pour the hot water into the beverage cooler, then lower the grain bag into the water very slowly, pushing and prodding with a large spoon to ensure all the grain is wet (this can take several minutes). Put the lid on the cooler and allow to rest 60 minutes.

While the grains are mashing, heat another 5-6 quarts of water to 180-185 degrees for sparging (rinsing the grains). Near the end of the 60 minutes, heat 2 quarts of water to a boil in your brew pot.

After the first mash is complete, remove the cooler lid and open the spigot to draw off about 2 quarts of wort into a large pitcher. The first few draws will likely be cloudy with grain particles; pour it gently back into the cooler over the grain bag to help filter it. Draw off the remaining wort by the pitcher-full and carefully pour that wort into the boiling water in your brew pot; continue until only a trickle of wort leaves the spigot. Pour about 5 quarts of your hot sparge water over the grain bag in the cooler. Gently lift the bag up and down to thoroughly re-wet the grains (but don't slosh). Cover and let sit about 5 minutes. Use the spigot and a pitcher to draw off all of the second wort and add it to your brew pot.

You should have about 3 gallons of wort. Bring the wort to a boil and add hops according to the schedule. With 15 minutes remaining in the boil, stir in 1 tablet Whirlfloc. At time zero, remove the pot from the heat, cover and let sit 10-15 minutes.

Move brew pot to an ice bath and cool quickly to less than 80 degrees. Transfer wort to a primary fermenter (straining off the hops if desired). Add water to reach the 2.5 gallon mark if necessary. Swirl vigorously then pitch the yeast.

Ferment in primary for 1 week, then transfer to secondary. After seven days, dry hop with 1 oz Nelson and 1/4 oz Simcoe. Bottle or keg after fermentation is complete (2 to 3 weeks in secondary).

Sonoran Hot Dogs at Papa Locos in Tucson

If you need a quick bite to to eat in Tucson, a Sonoran hot dog is a pretty good way to go. Coming west into south Tucson on I10, we took a quick detour north to check out Papa Locos.



Papa Locos lives in a little side addition next to a Valero gas station's convenience store. There are a variety of items on their menu, but the Sonoran hot dog was our focus.

Sonoran hot dogs (named after the Mexican State where they originated) are Tucson's version of the bacon-wrapped hot dog. To me, the primary factors that differentiate the Sonoran dog from its cousins are the addition of pinto beans and jalapeño sauce and the distinctive bun (which has the texture of a standard hot dog bun, but is shaped more like a bolillo).



Probably the most well-known place for Sonoran dogs in Tucson is El Guero Canelo, but I found Papa Locos' version to be superior in pretty much every way. The meat, beans and chile sauce each have their own intense flavor, and the combination is fantastic.

Papa Locos' Sonoran dogs go for $2.99 a pop. One each wasn't quite enough for lunch, so Sherry and I split a caramelo (a kind of mini-quesadilla) to pad out the meal.

Highly recommended.

Papa Locos
8201 South Rita Road
Tucson, Arizona
(520) 663-3333 ‎ 

Green Chile Cheeseburgers at Monroe's and Blake's Lotaburger

Road tripping through New Mexico means that Green Chile Cheeseburgers are very much on the agenda. This trip, we had two.

First up was Monroe's, in Albuquerque. I chose Monroe's because it was well-reviewed and within walking distance of our hotel (Casa de Suenos, which I highly recommend). When we arrived, the place was pretty dead. Undeterred, we entered into the harsh, florescently-lit room and sat down.



You can see the green chile cheeseburger above, served with sweet potato fries (I ordered regular fries). Overall, it disappointed. Not enough green chile for the flavor to really come through, and the burger itself was the thin, frozen puck style you would buy at Costco. It was decently prepared, though, and I had no trouble eating it. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said about their carne adovada, which we also tried - way too salty, and lacking in flavor.

Overall, it was a pretty bad dining experience. Monroe's seems like a place that has seen better days, and it would be hard to recommend based on our visit.

The next day, we had a much better meal at Blake's Lotaburger in Deming:



We wrote about the green chile cheeseburger at Blake's a few years ago, and this visit was nearly identical. Here is the Lotaburger with double meat, add cheese and green chile:



The amount of green chile was perfect, with tons of chile flavor and a good amount of heat.



There is nothing complicated about this burger - just a better-than-average fast food burger, well prepared, and with the key addition of chopped up Hatch green chile. If someplace in San Diego puts a burger like this on their menu, I will happily give them my money on a regular basis.

Monroe's
1520 Lomas Blvd. NW
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(505) 242-1111

Blake's Lotaburger
600 North Gold Street
Deming, New Mexico
(575) 544-7302

Ska Brewing's 16th Anniversary and Breakfast at the Durango Diner

After a few days of camping and hiking in Canyonlands National Park with our friends Elise and Tom, we all headed out to Durango for a few days of relaxation.

As it turns out, it was Beer Week in Durango, and to cap off the week, Ska Brewing held a party to celebrate their 16th anniversary. Ska has a great facility, with a nice tasting room and grassy grounds.

Headlining the appropriately ska-themed band lineup at the party were The Toasters, who were celebrating their 30th anniversary. Ska brewed a special black IPA for the occasion, and it was quite tasty.



Also playing were the Nuns of Brixton - a band dressed as nuns covering Clash songs. Very entertaining.

The next morning, we needed some nosh before heading out of town, so we stopped into the Durango Diner.



The place was jam packed. They were serving food not just for the diner, but also for a bar down the street. Despite the mayhem, the staff did a great job of managing the situation.



I'm not sure how much of it was hunger and how much of it was the food, but when I finally got to tuck into my green chile breakfast burrito, I was a very happy man.



Smothered in green chile sauce (mostly mild, but with the occasional kick from a chunk of chile), the burrito was filled with beans, ground beef and egg. Probably not up there in my breakfast burrito hall of fame, but it made for a very satisfying breakfast in a friendly local spot.

Ska Brewing Company
225 Girard St
Durango, Colorado
(970) 247-5792

Durango Diner
957 Main Avenue
Durango, Colorado
(970) 247-9889

Canned Tomatoes and Tomatillos

We ended up with way more tomatoes this summer than we could handle, so we had to do something with the overflow. We are perpetually out of freezer space, so canning seemed the most practical option.

Because our tomatoes had high enough acidity (we checked with a pH meter!), we didn't need to pressure can them - boiling was sufficient. We gave them a quick roast under the broiler first so that the skins could be easily removed.

After it was all said and done, we ended up with 29 pints (mostly red, but a few jars of green zebras):



We also did up a bunch of tomatillos the same way - resulting in a nice little pallet of 1-cup jars:



I think we're set for the winter!

Taco Shop Hot Sauce - Salsa Verde

Two plastic squeeze bottles of heat and flavor have pride of place in our refrigerator door. Hot sauce, red and green, is for us a condiment that sees pretty much daily use - sometimes multiple times a day.

A while back, I posted my recipe for our red, chile de arbol "Taco Shop" hot sauce. This post, however, is all about green.

And green means tomatillos from the garden:



Our green hot sauce is even simpler than the red one. Just tomatillos, green chiles (usually Serranos) and garlic. I put them on a sheet pan and put them under a broiler for 5 minutes or so.



When they are done, the garlic has roasted, the tomatillos have browned and the chiles have softened and blistered.



Then it is a simple matter of blitzing it all up a blender with some salt and a bit of water to loosen it.



We find it convenient to keep the sauce in an 8oz squeeze bottle. It makes for efficient delivery to top your food of choice. In this case, it was breakfast tacos. Yum!

Taco Shop Hot Sauce - Salsa Verde

Makes about 2 cups.

Ingredients:

14 ounces tomatillos, husked and rinsed
2 serrano chiles
3 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup water

Husk the tomatillos and rinse them to get rid of their stickiness.

Place tomatillos, chiles and garlic on a sheet pan and put them under the broiler. Check them after 5 minutes, and then again every minute until they soften and begin to brown.

After letting the pan cool, peel the garlic and take the skin off of the chiles. In a blender, mix everything together with the salt and water until smooth.