Grilled Fish Tacos with Strawberry Pineapple Salsa

I love tacos, but if you ask for my favorite, it’s got to be tacos made with grilled fish.
The recipe I’m sharing today is one of my favorite versions. It has a bright strawberry and pineapple salsa that truly makes it taste of summer!
I like to use sea bass for the fish in my tacos, but these are also fantastic with swordfish, halibut, or any other firm, hearty fish.
The salsa is made with pineapple and bright, juicy summer strawberries. If strawberries aren’t in season where you live, you can use blackberries, peaches, or even kiwi. (If the salsa is ends up being too tart, try adding up to 1/2 teaspoon sugar.)
Fish tacos are delicious on both corn and flour tortillas, but I almost always opt for corn because I love the taste and texture they add. I also tried these out with paleo tortillas and with lettuce wraps. Both tasted great!
I like to preheat the grill while I’m making my salsa and prepping the fish. Fish tacos are best eaten as soon as they’re made.

Grilled Fish Tacos with Strawberry Pineapple Salsa Recipe

• Prep time: 30 minutes
• Cook time: 10 minutes
• Yield: Serves 4 to 6

Any leftover salsa will keep for several days and can be served with chips or mixed into salads.

Ingredients

For the salsa (makes 2 1/2 cups salsa):

• 1 cup finely diced strawberries
• 1 cup finely diced pineapple
• 1/2 cup finely diced red onion
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 1 cup roughly chopped cilantro, loosely packed
• 1 small red chili, diced (optional)
• 1 lime, juiced (about 1 1/2 tablespoons juice)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional if the salsa is tart)

For the tacos:

• 1 pound firm-fleshed fish (like sea bass, swordfish, halibut, mahi mahi or salmon)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Heavy pinch of cayenne (optional)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Grapeseed or other high heat oil for grill
• 12 small (4- to 6-inch) corn tortillas

To serve:

• Shredded red cabbage
• Sliced radishes
• Avocado
• Sour Cream
• Lime wedges
• Cilantro

Method

1 Make the salsa: In a bowl, mix together all salsa ingredients, except for the sugar, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days.
Taste and add sugar or additional seasonings to taste when ready to serve.

2 Heat the grill. If you have a gas grill, make sure to preheat it for at least 10 minutes with the lid closed. If you have a charcoal grill, push the coals to one side to make high heat and lower heat zones for cooking.

3 Prepare the fish: Remove fish from the refrigerator and pat dry with paper towels.
In a small bowl or jar, mix spices until completely combined. Brush the fish with a little oil, then sprinkle all over with seasoning.
Rest the fish at room temperature while the grill heats up.

4 Oil the grill: When your grill is hot, wipe the grates with oil. You can either use a grill brush or a small wad of paper towels dipped in the oil. Wipe the grates 5 to 10 times until they look black and glossy.
5 Grill the fish: Place your fish, skin side down, on the grill. If using a charcoal grill, place over indirect heat. On a gas grill, turn the heat down to medium (about 350F) and close the lid.
Grill 2 minutes, then check the fish by lifting one corner of the fish to see if it will come up without sticking. The skin should be crisp and brown.
If it lifts easily, flip the fish and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes with the lid closed. If the fish doesn’t lift easily, continue cooking and checking every 30 seconds.
Grill until the fish is cooked through and flakes easily with an internal temperature of 145F.
Transfer the fish to a plate to rest.

6 Grill the tortillas: Turn heat to high and brush grates with oil again (or cook over direct heat on a charcoal grill). Cook tortillas for 30 seconds on each side to warm and soften.
7 Serve: Cut the fish into several pieces. Serve on tortillas, topped with salsa and other toppings.

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Potato Chip Chocolate Chip Cookies

I’ve finally found the recipe to a vegetable-infused chocolate chip cookie that actually tastes . . . hella awesome! Hello, Potato Chip Chocolate Chip Cookies. Sure this might still be a cookie totally absent of any health benefit. But let’s adult as adults do and stretch rationale, because I’m sure we can make a case for how kettle cooked potato chips definitely go towards our daily vegetable intake for the day.

Now with all the preamble out of the way, let’s do the drill down, because if you only make one cookie from the blog, make this one. All hyperbole aside, these are really amazing in flavor and texture. Read on for the details:

• Flavor ~ The perfect blend of sweet and salty. The potato chips aren’t pronounced, just subtle enough to give the cookies small caramelized-like flecks of sweet and salty bites with the slightest crunch.
• Texture ~ Crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The secret ingredient: molasses. It keeps the cookie chewy for days, even if you burn them—which I did with two batches (and still ate them). Small aside, I love the taste of slightly burnt cookies, it has such a deep caramel flavor with a just a side of bitter. Which if you don’t know, I love bitter food. The brand I used is Grandma’s Unsulphured Original.
• The potato chips ~ Use a high quality brand like Kettle Brand. You want them on the thicker side so they keep their “smashed-up”  shape as you fold it into the dough. I used Kettle Brand’s Organic Sea Salt variety. To keep things simple, I gave them a quick crush in my hands until they were the size of oatmeal flakes, a few bigger ones won’t matter so don’t obsess.
• Chocolate ~ Use two kinds of chips.There is no wavering on this. Use a blend of  dark chocolate and semi sweet, it strikes the right balance so the chocolate doesn’t overwhelm the cookie portion. Once I nailed down the cookie formula, I tested a variety of chocolates. Here’s what I came up with: all dark chocolate overpowered the cookie, all semi-sweet was too sweet. A few runs later the winning combo became half  Valhrona’s 66% and Nestle’s Mini chocolate chips. I love how the chocolate chips hold their shape while the chopped Valhrona chocolate spreads and pools.
• Vanilla extract – Forget it. You don’t need it. In fact, after testing the recipe with and without it, I prefer it without the vanilla. A tip I picked up from Thomas Keller. I also used his method for beating cold butter—no softened butter or melted butter? I was skeptical too but it works.
• Baking ~ This should go without saying, but I’m going to reiterate it, make sure you have an oven thermometer to get an accurate read. Case and point, I set my oven temperature at 335 F for 350F  temperature. I know not everyone’s oven is as far off as mine, but even a few degrees can make a difference. In fact I have two, one on each side, that’s how I know the right side of my oven runs 5 degrees higher than the left side. While some things are not as temperature sensitive, baking – especially cookies and cakes, definitely are. So make the $6.95 investment. Here’s the one I use and love (NO affiliate link).

And by all means, when you do make this, please come back and let the rest of us know what you thought.  Love or hate any feedback, makes us all better bakers.

Potato Chip Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: 28-30 three-inch cookies

Directions:

Preparation: Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a stand mixer bowl, fitted with a paddle attachment at medium-high speed, beat butter until smooth, about 2 - 3 minutes. Add both sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scraped down the bowl and add the egg, beat until well combined. Scrape down the bowl and add the dry ingredients all at once and beat on low until just combined. Fold in both chocolates and potato chips.
Use a tablespoon capacity cookie dough scoop or just use a tablespoon and measure 2 scoops and form into a dough balls. Place dough balls on baking sheet 2-inches apart. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown. Don't worry about undercooking them to keep them chewy, they will be chewy anyways with the molasses). Half way through, switch the pans top to bottom and front to back. Remove from oven and transfer baking sheet to a wire rack to cool for 1-2 minutes before removing cookies to a rack to cool .

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Baked Fish with Parmesan Breadcrumbs

This is a lazy, day-at-the-beach type of recipe – it makes the perfect meal to quickly throw together and devour after hours of lounging in the sun.
Here’s what you do: Around 5pm, when everyone is trickling back to the house from the day’s adventures, send someone out to fetch fresh fish fillets. Flounder or sole are both good, or substitute another mild fish.
Meanwhile, get the oven warming and delegate a few houseguests to prepare the breadcrumb topping. Frigo Shredded Parmesan Cheese makes this particular task even easier, and avoids the question of whether your beach house comes equipped with a cheese grater.
As soon as the fish arrives, toss it in a dish with the breadcrumbs and pop it in the oven. Use the time while the fish bakes to open a bottle of wine and throw together a salad.
By the time everyone is showered and assembled for dinner, the fish is ready, too.
Serve it straight from the dish in wedges – don’t try to serve individual fillets since the thin pieces of fish tend to melt together in the oven.
Yes, it’s a little messy and unkempt, but that’s the way you roll during the summer. Nothing fancy — just good cheese, fresh fish, and company to share it with. It’s summer and the livin’ is easy!

Baked Fish with Parmesan Breadcrumbs Recipe

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings

If you are preparing this in a kitchen without a food processor, you can substitute 2 cups of prepared breadcrumbs for the sandwich bread in this recipe. Use fresh, coarsely ground breadcrumbs if possible (avoid finely ground).

Ingredients

• Butter (for the baking dish)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 6 sprigs parsley
• 3 slices (1/4-inch thick) white sandwich bread, cut or torn into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup (2 1/2 ounces) Frigo® Shredded Parmesan Cheese
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 1/2 pounds flounder fillets, or other mild fish
• 1 to 2 lemons, cut into wedges (for garnish)

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 425°F. Butter a large (9- by 13-inch) baking dish.
2 Prepare the fish: Season the fish on both sides with salt and pepper. Lay them in the baking dish, overlapping them as necessary so the fillets all fit in the dish.
3 Make the breadcrumb topping: Strip the leaves from the stems of parsley and add them to a food processor. (Discard or save the stems for another purpose.) Pulse the leaves until well chopped.
Add the bread and pulse until it forms soft, coarse crumbs – you should have about 2 cups of coarse-ground breadcrumbs.  Add the Parmesan cheese, and pulse to mix. Add the melted butter, olive oil, salt and pepper and pulse until mixed.
(If using prepared breadcrumbs, just finely chop the parsley and toss with the breadcrumbs. You can also finely chop the Parmesan cheese, if you like, or just toss it with the breadcrumbs as is.)
4 Bake the fish: Spread the breadcrumbs evenly over the fish.
Transfer to the oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the center of the fish is opaque when probed with a small knife and the breadcrumbs are golden. If you have an instant read thermometer, the temperature of the center of the fish should register 135F.
If the fish cooks before the topping browns, turn on the broiler and broil for about one minute. Watch carefully to keep the breadcrumbs from burning.
5 Serve the fish: With a sharp knife, cut the fish into portions. (You won’t be able to serve one single fillet by itself, since they overlap in the pan and cook into one another.) Transfer to plates and serve with lemon wedges.

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Classic German Potato Salad

I like all kinds of potato salads, but German might be my favorite!
For German potato salad, sliced potatoes are tossed with bacon, sautéed onions, fresh herbs, and a mustardy white wine dressing. It’s a nice change-up from the mayonnaise-based version, and you can serve it warm or chilled.
I follow a couple rules to ensure an excellent potato salad.
First, I make sure to use waxy potatoes, the smaller the better. The baby red potatoes I used in the photos are about six to a pound, and they steam in just 20 minutes. You can use creamer or fingerling potatoes instead if you like — those will cook even faster!
Second, I let the potatoes cool for at least 20 minutes before handling them. They’re easier to deal with when they’re cool, and you can easily peel off the skins with your fingers or a paring knife.
The potatoes are also more firm and less likely to fall apart once they’re a bit cooled, so you can easily cut them into even slices. (Don’t worry if the slices don’t have perfectly clean edges — that’s part of the charm!)

Some recipes for German potato salad use butter or oil, but I find that the bacon provides plenty of richness all on its own.
For a vegetarian version, you could cook the onions in butter or oil instead. Just up the salt, or else add a handful of capers for a salty, savory twist!
Serve the salad hot, warm, or chilled. It’s a perfect side dish for grilled sausages (a classic pairing!), or any of your standard cookout fare.

Classic German Potato Salad Recipe

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 25 minutes
• Cooling time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 4 to 6 servings

This salad can be made up to a day ahead. It can also be easily doubled or even tripled.
Vegetarian variation: Instead of bacon, sauté the onions in butter or oil. Stir in 2 tablespoons of capers along with the fresh herbs, or increase the salt in the vinaigrette to taste.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds (about 8) small red potatoes
• 3 slices (about 4 ounces) thick cut bacon, diced
• 2 medium (3/4 pound) red onions, diced
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup low sodium vegetable or chicken broth (store-bought or homemade)
• 1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh herbs (I like a mixture of chives and parsley)

Special equipment:

• Steamer basket

Method

1 Steam the potatoes: Fill a pot with an inch or two of water and set a steamer basket inside. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Rinse the potatoes and place them in the steamer basket.
Steam the potatoes, covered, for 20 minutes. To test for doneness, use a paring knife to pierce one of the potatoes; steam for a few more minutes if not quite done.
Remove the steamer basket from the pot and let the potatoes cool for 20 minutes.

2 While the potatoes are cooling, make the bacon dressing: In a large skillet over medium heat, sauté the bacon until it begins to render some of its fat, about 5 minutes. (For crispier bacon, cook for 8 minutes.)
Add the onions and sauté for 5 more minutes, until the onions are softened and translucent, and the bacon is cooked through.
Add the vinegar to the skillet. Stir it in with the onions and bacon and let it reduce, about 2 minutes. Stir in the vegetable broth, mustard, salt, and pepper, and turn off the heat.
(If your potatoes aren't quite ready yet, turn off the heat, but then warm briefly again before mixing in the sliced potatoes in Step 4.)

3 Peel and slice the potatoes: Use your fingers or a paring knife to gently peel the potatoes. (You can also leave the skins on if you like a more rustic potato salad.) Slice the potatoes 1/4-inch thick.

4 Stir the potatoes and herbs into the warm dressing: Add the potatoes and chopped herbs to the skillet with the vinaigrette. Gently stir until the potatoes are coated evenly with the herbs, onions, and bacon.

5 Serve the salad warm or chilled. This salad can be made up to a day ahead.

Read More: Classic German Potato Salad