Fish Tacos

We were watching the Good Eats episode we taped the other day and Alton Brown was making tacos.  I've never been big on Mexican food because the typical restaurants are all about the generic beans, meat, and cheese.  Living in Texas now, I figured I needed to explore Hispanic cuisine a bit more so I payed attention and of course, my boy Alton had a kickass recipe that made my mouth water.  I happened to have some tilapia fillets in the freezer so I made his featured fish taco recipe.  Unfortunately, I had just bought some tortillas so I used those instead of the super easy homemade ones he made.  I shall not make that mistake again. 

3 cloves garlic
1 cup packed cilantro leaves
2 limes, zested
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup tequila
1 pound tilapia fillets
1 tablespoon olive oil

Pulse the garlic, cilantro, lime zest, cumin, salt, and pepper in a food processor.  When it's blended to a pesto consistency, slowly pour in the tequila with the blade running. 

Pour the mixture into a gallon ziploc bag and add the tilapia.  Squish it around to coat evenly and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. 

Coat a pan with the oil and cook the fish until flaky.

Warm some tortillas and top them with the fish and whatever else you like on your tacos.  Sweet corn at this time of year in Texas is beyond amazing (I'm from Midwest corn country so I should know) so I've been putting corn in everything lately.  I also used avocado and red pepper.  No beans or cheese to be seen anywhere, just crispy freshness.  These tacos were so amazing, I was genuinely sad there were no leftovers.  I will be making them again soon while I can still find good sweet corn.

Smoky Corn and Tomato Bruschetta

This is another one from Food & Wine magazine that looked too good to pass up for Memorial Day.  I made it the other day on the stove to put in fish tacos and it was so awesome that I wanted to make it again on the grill.  (and also because we had a brand new Canon Eos 50D camera to photograph it with!!!)

On the grill:
1 large ear of yellow corn, husked
1 small red onion, peeled and
    halved root to end
4-5 medium tomatoes, halved
1/2 a medium red pepper, seeded
1 small loaf of a hard-crust bread, I used French bread

In a bowl:
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbs fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbs olive oil
1 tsp fresh chopped cilantro
1 tsp fresh chopped parsley

I had to throw a jalapeno in there.  It's a disease, I can't help but make things spicier.  You can leave off the peppers if you want but once they're grilled, they're very sweet.

Prepare the grill (medium heat) and brush all the veggies with olive oil then season with a little salt and pepper.  Place them on the grill and turn every couple minutes until there are light grill marks on all sides.

Be careful flipping the veggies, a tomato half might fit through the grill grates.

Cut the loaf of bread into thin slices.  Place on the grill and let cook until there are light grill marks on both sides.  In a medium bowl, mix the garlic, lime juice, paprika, parsley, cilantro, and olive oil.  When the veggies are done, transfer them to a cutting board, chop into chunks (cut corn kernels from the cob and core the tomatoes), and add to the bowl.  Toss to coat and serve with the bread.  You can leave off the cilantro if you want.  I know several people who don't like it but I liked the color and bite it adds to the salsa.

I made shrimp too.  Bruschetta wasn't quite enough for a full meal.  I just skewered and sprinkled them lightly with salt, paprika, and thyme.  They were delicious and had a nice Jerk seasoning flavor.  Just grill them for a minute or two on each side until pink, squeeze a lime wedge over them and you're good to go.