Baja Blackened Haddock Fish Tacos

Happy summer everyone! Since moving back to Boston, I have been crazy busy with classes and picking up my first restaurant job in the city. I'm surrounded by awesome food all the time, but haven't gotten to make my own too much. Last week was Dylan's birthday, so it was my first chance to make something really special. Since his favorite type of food is "Pacific Mexican" (is this even a real type of food?) I spent five hours whipping up a 3-course meal with these fish tacos as the main event. I've never really eaten fish tacos, so I left the official taste test up to Dylan.

So yeah... They were prettyyyy good. In addition to the tacos, I made homemade tortilla chips, my salsa verde from last spring, some beer-battered coconut shrimp with a Mexican cabbage salad, and fried plantains with vanilla ice cream for dessert. We had to take a walk around the park after dinner to make some room for dessert, but it was worth it and made for a perfect night. :)

 

Baja Blackened Haddock Fish Tacos
Serves: 6 small tacos  Prep: 30 minutes  Total: 40 minutes

Ingredients
6 corn tortillas
1 lb haddock fillets
1 tbs Old Bay spice
1 1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 1/2 tsp paprika
2 tsp pepper
1 cup shredded cabbage
3 pickled jalapenos, sliced
1/3 cup tomato, diced
1/3 cup onion, diced
1/2 avocado, sliced
1/4 cup black beans
3 tbs Crema Mexicana (sub sour cream or mayo)
3 tbs lime juice
1 1/2 tsp paprika
2 tsp jalapeno, finely diced

Directions
Combine Old Bay, garlic salt, paprika and pepper in a small bowl. Lay haddock in a shallow dish and press seasoning onto fillets. Cover efrigerate for 1 hour.
In the meantime, prepare cabbage, pickled jalapenos, tomato, onion and avocado as directed. Bake the black beans on the stove and set aside. To make the white sauce, whisk together Crema Mexicana, lime juice, paprika and finely diced jalapeno.
Fry the seasoned haddock fillets in sunflower seed oil or olive oil, flipping every few minutes until they are completely cook. Lay down corn tortillas and assemble fish, vegetables and white sauce.

Milk Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

I'm pretty sure I could spend the rest of my life making cupcakes and I would be perfectly happy. Perhaps it's my love of miniature things, I don't know. But THESE cupcakes were an exciting discovery. I didn't know exactly what I was making until they were done and sitting in my fridge. What started in my head as a two-layer chocolate cake turned into uber-moist cupcakes that taste exactly like chocolate covered raspberries... but cake. I guess I'm at my best when I have no clue what I'm doing.

I made a full batch for a very special occasion - my friend Garam's birthday! A group of us devoured them pretty fast and when I told an acquaintance that I have a food blog, he asked me where he could order these cupcakes. New business plan? I think so. Don't worry friends, you'll still get free food... for now. ;)

Milk Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes (adapted from Hershey's)
Makes: 24 cupcakes  Prep: 35 minutes  Total: 2 hours

Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup boiling water
2 cups fresh raspberries
3/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup butter, room temperature
6 oz milk chocolate
1/3 cup raspberry juice (from filling)

Directions
Combine sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in eggs, then add milk, oil and vanilla and mix well. Add 1 cup boiling water (batter will be very thin) and pour into cupcake tins. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out dry.
In a small pan, heat water, sugar and fresh raspberries on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until most of the water is cooked down. Pour out 1/3 cup of liquid from boiled raspberries and reserve for frosting. When raspberry filling is relatively thick, remove from heat and refrigerate for 1 hour.
To make the frosting, combine powdered sugar and butter in a large bowl and beat until fully incorporated. Microwave milk chocolate and stir until fully melted, then add butter and sugar with raspberry juice.
When cupcakes are cool, scoop out a spoonful from the center of each and pour in raspberry filling. (You may top with the scooped-out cake if desired.) Pipe on frosting and top with raspberries to serve.

Buffalo Chicken Mac N' Cheese Bites

This is a perfect example of why America has an obesity problem. We reinvent dishes like macaroni and cheese to make them more tantalizing, irresistible and heart-stopping over and over. Fried oreos, bacon sundaes, chocolate covered corndogs, and now - buffalo chicken mac n' cheese. This is terrible. This is wonderful.

We had a Finger Food Challenge in my office last week, so I wanted to make something cheesy but easily portable. I ran out to buy a mini cupcake tin, which I now need to find a hundred other recipes for because they make everything bite-sized and adorable! My love of sliders and miniature food items made these mac n' cheese bites a no-brainer. My coworkers made two different buffalo chicken dips (3 TIMES the buffalo chicken!!!), bruschetta on toast, and two potato samplers with smoked salmon and dill sauce.

The food

Contestants with their prizes

Needless to say, we were all winners.

Buffalo Chicken Mac N Cheese Bites
Makes: 36 bites  Prep: 20 minutes  Total: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1/2 lb elbow macaroni
3 tbs butter
2 tbs flour
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup crumbly blue
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper3/4 cup milk
2 eggs yolks
1/2 cup buffalo wing sauce
1 tbs hot sauce
2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
1/4 cup bread crumbs

Directions
Cook macaroni al dente and set aside.
In a large pot, melt the butter on low heat and add flour. Add mozzarella and crumbly blue cheese, and stir until completely melted. Pour in salt, pepper and milk and heat on high for 3-4 minutes until the mix is fully incorporated. Remove from heat and mix in egg yolks.
In a separate bowl, combine shredded chicken, hot sauce and buffalo wing sauce. Mix well, then transfer into mac n cheese pot. Toss mac n cheese with chicken and spoon into lightly greased mini cupcake tins, pressing down to fill the tins completely. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Curry Chicken Soup with Sweet Potato and Coconut

I've taken a brief hiatus from blogging for a bit in lieu of doing lots of fun traveling, but I plan to come back with a vengeance! I only have a few weeks left in New Jersey before finishing my internship at Johnson & Johnson and moving back to Boston for summer classes. It's very bittersweet, but I want to make the most of my last days and am looking forward to being back with all my Boston friends. In the past few weeks, I've gone away to Syracuse, Boston, Chicago, Atlantic City, and am heading to Cleveland this weekend to visit Dylan one last time. Believe it or not I've still done some yummy cooking but haven't had the time to capture it all - which I'm very mad at myself for. Time to get back on the horse!

This soup reminds me of my mom because she loves Indian food and it's comprised of all her favorite things. I made it right before going home for Mother's Day and promised my mom I would give her the recipe. A lot of people don't love curry, but if you are a fan then you'll love this soup. The sweet potato and coconut subdue the curry powder and all the ingredients create a delicious blend of Indian flavors. With my love of sweet potato, I was just happy to think of a recipe that allowed me to eat more of them! Hope you enjoy and look for more recipes to come very soon. :)

Curry Chicken Soup with Sweet Potato and Coconut
Serves: 6   Prep: 1 hour  Total: 2 hours

Ingredients
2 sweet potatoes
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup coconut milk
1 lb chicken breast tenderloins
1 tbs fresh ginger
2 cloves fresh garlic
1 tsp curry powder
3/4 cup chopped yellow onion
Salt and pepper
Toasted coconut for garnish

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In two separate dishes bake the sweet potatoes for 45 minutes, then the chicken breast tenderloins for 30 minutes. When the sweet potato is done, scoop out the insides and set aside.
In a large pot, combine a little oil, chopped onion, garlic, ginger, curry powder, salt and pepper. Cook at medium heat until the onions have softened, approximately 3-5 minutes. Add the sweet potato and chicken stock, and bring to a boil and reduce by half. Bring to a simmer and add coconut milk and chopped chicken. Heat for another few minutes, then top with toasted coconut to serve.

Homemade Take-out Sesame Chicken

Alright, let's be real. I'm a college student, thus I love any food that falls under the category of "take-out". However, I also love to cook and I'm really cheap so making my own Chinese takeout has been an aspiration of mine for some time. When I stumbled across this recipe it was like the stars had aligned. I found it under a list of Martha Stewart's lighter versions of comfort food, so it takes all the guilt out of take-out and doesn't burn a $10 hole in my pocket per serving.

I made a whole batch to eat all by myself and I'm not sick of it yet. This recipe would also be great for a crowd but... why share?

Homemade Take-out Sesame Chicken (from Martha Stewart)
Serves: 4  Prep: 40 minutes  Total: 40 minutes

Ingredients
3/4 cup brown rice
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken tenderloins
3 tbs honey
2 tbs sesame seeds
2 tbs soy sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
2 eggs whites
1/4 cup corn starch
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup scallions, diced

Directions
Cook brown rice according to package instructions. In a separate pot, steam chopped broccoli over boiling water until cooked through, about five minutes.
To make the sauce, combine honey, sesame seeds, soy sauce and minced garlic in a small bowl. Set aside.
In another bowl, whisk egg whites, corn starch, and salt and pepper. Chop chicken into two-inch chunks and toss in egg mixture. Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat and fry chicken, flipping every 2-3 minutes until fully cooked. When done, add sauce, broccoli and diced scallions into the skillet and heat for another few minutes. Serve over brown rice.

Chocolate Easter Cake with Ganache Frosting

Attention all chocolate lovers: this cake might put you over the edge. Two dense layers of chocolate cake, rich and creamy ganache frosting, topped with shaved milk chocolate (Cadbury, to be exact) and the smoooothest little chocolate eggs you've ever had. (Again, obviously Cadbury... I'm a little obsessed.) I'm usually a fruity dessert lover, but to appease the chocolate eaters in my family I made this rich chocolate cake for Easter dinner back home. Dylan came home with me for the holiday and I have no doubt he was happily fed the whole trip. He's always astounded by how much my family eats. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing...

Posing with the cake

Easter Sunday

Dyeing eggs with Dylan and my sister Megan

Another exciting part about the weekend was that Dylan and I got to celebrate our 2-year anniversary! We've been living 8 hours apart since January, so seeing each other in general is reason enough to celebrate. Back in Boston we would cook together most nights, so we decided to make a nice dinner for the occasion. We had caprese salad, paprika-spiced flank steak, and beer-battered coconut shrimp. Expect to see that coconut shrimp recipe on here soon - it was amazingggg. Then again, how could you go wrong beer-battering anything?

Set-up in the dining room

Caprese salad

Paprika-spiced flank steak and coconut shrimp

Getting back to the cake, I found this recipe on marthastewart.com, which has yet to steer me wrong. This cake was spongy and moist, giving it this awesome sensation of both soft and heavy. The Cadbury chocolate on top is what pushed me over the edge. Dylan introduced me to these chocolates, which are only sold once a year around Easter and are his absolute favorite. This cake would be great to make all year round, but the chocolate egg nest make it particularly adorable for spring. Enjoy! :)

Chocolate Easter Cake with Ganache Frosting (from Martha Stewart)
Serves: 10-12  Prep: 1 hour  Total: 2 hours, 15 minutes

Ingredients
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 cup butter
1 tbs instant espresso powder
3/4 cup water
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 tbs vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
8 ounces semisweet chocolate
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbs corn syrup
8 ounces milk chocolate
Cadbury eggs for garnish

Directions
Preheat oven to 350. Coat two 8-inch cake pans with non-stick cooking spray, cover in parchment paper, spray again and sprinkle with cocoa powder, shaking off excess.
Melt butter in a large pot and whisk in water, cocoa powder and espresso powder until dissolved. Whisk in sugar and remove from heat. Add the remaining wet ingredients first, then dry ingredients, and mix until fully incorporated. Pour into cake pans and bake for 45-50 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
When the cake is done, remove and let cool in pans for 20 minutes. Remove from pans and let sit until cool to the touch. Cut off the rounded tops of both cake layers to make them flat. Place one layer cut-side up on a wire rack over a rimmed baking sheet. Spread a little less than half the frosting in the center of the cake. Cover by laying the second half cut-side down and spread remaining frosting over the top and sides. Refrigerate for 15 minutes or until frosting is firm.
Melt semisweet chocolate, heavy cream and corn syrup together in a heat-proof bowl over boiling water. Let cool for several minutes before pouring over cake. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Before serving, shave milk chocolate with a large knife and garnish on top of cake with Cadbury eggs.

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Happy spring! It's been a while since I have written an official post but I promise I've been making a lot of good stuff. With work and traveling the past few weekends, I haven't been so great about documenting all my creations. These, however, I knew I had to share. I baked these cupcakes for my co-op manager Jaime, who has since left for maternity leave. (We miss you, Jaime!) I found the original recipe on my favorite blog, Love and Olive Oil.

Since I do not have a hand mixer here in New Jersey, I decided to come up with my own frosting. I have the same strawberry cake for my birthday every year and I will definitely use this strawberry frosting from here on out. I think I might have eaten about four cupcakes-worth of frosting just by licking the bowl. Not even kidding. And I don't even regret it because the frosting was that freaking good. The cake itself was sooo delicious, exactly what I expected from such a great blog. All in all another cupcake success. Round two, please?

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes (Adapted from Love and Olive Oil)
Makes: 24 cupcakes  Prep: 20 minutes  Total: 45 minutes

Ingredients
Cupcakes:
1 1/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup oil
1 cup coconut milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp lemon juice

Frosting:
2 sticks butter
4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tbs cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
4 tbs pureed strawberry (or 1/2 cup strawberries
tsp lemon juice

Directions
Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, coconut milk, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until smooth. Pour into cupcake tins and bake for 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out dry.
To make frosting, puree strawberries in a food processor and combine with softened butter, cream, vanilla and lemon juice. Add powdered sugar gradually until perfect texture is achieved.