One Last Goodbye to Summer Flavors

I know it's Autumn now.  I know that I should be cooking all kinds of spice cakes and hearty stews by now.  You know, the foods gracing the cover of this month's Food Network magazine:

But it's hard to move on to a new season without first saying goodbye to the old one. 

So that's what last night's dinner was all about.  Saying goodbye to Summer. 

Boy, Do I Love These...

To wrap up the week dedicated to R's love of all things salty, I made Shrimp Puttanesca.  It has been way too long since the last time I fixed it.  It is salty, tomato-y goodness at its best!

Switched things up a little bit and used a Austintatious Spinach Basil Garlic Linguine from Austin Gourmet Foods. 

This pasta packed quite a punch!  I think it's probably better suited to a milder sauce. 

And it kind of made the finished dish look like Christmas with the red sauce on green noodles...

The key to a good puttanesca sauce????

There is absolutely no substitute for these little guys.

 
And with that picture I say 'goodbye' to Salty Foods Week. 

While I thoroughly enjoyed the delicious foods, I am looking forward to waking up without a super-puffy face and being able to easily slip on my wedding ring again.

Fun with Fish

I recently added yet another food blog to my daily read list - My Kitchen Moovement.   I originally stumbled upon his blog by following a link for Garlic Dill Pickles I found either on foodgawker or TasteSpotting. Unlike most of the other food blogs I follow, this one is authored by a guy.  And a really interesting, well-traveled guy.  I encourage everyone to check it out and be sure to read the 'About' section.

He used to keep a list of his Favorite Foods and their recipes (he has since removed it) posted on the right side of his page.  The Baja-Style Fish Tacos were on that list.  After talking with a coworker, and fellow Dinner Diva, about her own homemade Fish Taco experience the week before, I couldn't wait to attempt my own.

Prior to this experience I had never deep fried anything in my life and had always been a little intimidated by the process.  Thankfully I received a fabulous dutch oven and candy thermometer this past Christmas.  Both proved to be invaluable.

The hubby joined in on the kitchen fun! We had a blast and he was a fabulous sous chef - chopped the cilantro like a pro, measured ingredients with precision and manned the batter station.  And took all of the pictures. 

While R prepared the garnishes for our tacos (sliced the cabbage and made the sauce) I cut a pound and a half of Tilapia filets in to 2" pieces.

Once the oil reached 375 we started frying. 

R was in charge of dredging and battering and I was in charge of the frying part.  It was a little messy, but overall a great system.

The finished product was amazing!  We both loved the tacos and decided the only thing we would do differently next time would be to make the batter a little spicier. 

We both ate leftovers the next day and they were just as good Day 2.  If anything, the sauce was even better.

Although it was a delicious meal, my favorite part was spending time with my love. I can't wait to cook another meal together. 

Captain Tom's

My parents are really good eaters. 

Nobody in my immediate family is picky.  I think we all had maybe 1 food item we did not like and that was about it.  Sweet Potatoes for my dad, lima beans for me, mushrooms for my mom and shrimp for my sister.  Other than that, we are some goooood eaters! 

I have been blessed with a husband who is a really good eater too. 

All of that is to say that I have no problem eating at little "hole-in-the-wall" places because growing up I learned that was where the best food can be found.  And that rule holds true in every country, not just the US. 

One of my favorite little dumpy looking places, that my parents turned me on to, is Captain Tom's.  Now, this place is shaped like a boat, seats maybe 45 people and they only serve seafood.  And it's almost all fried.  (It's the only restaurant where I order fried food.)  And it's all incredibly tasty!

We, R and I, only sit at the inner ring - the seats around the bar / prep area.  We do this for two reasons:

1) It's a lot easier to order from this location (and the wait/bar staff is amazing)
2) That's where the serious Captain Tom's customers / regulars sit.  We have waited over 20 minutes and let countless other customers take other "outer" seats, just waiting for those sacred inner seats.  It's so worth it!

We visited Captain Tom's this past Sunday evening.  I had been craving it for several weeks and we were out running errands, so it was super convenient. 

It was also packed. 

And that's another thing about this place - it's always packed.  And with a wide variety of people - every SES group and ethnicity are always respresented.  It's the strangest thing. 

But I guess that's what tells you a place serves really good food. 

They have some wonderful Oysters on the Half Shell... and here's the best part: you order either 6 or 12, but you always get extras!

Notice the ugly plates and paper red sauce cups.

Strangely though, that's part of the charm.

One character trait I inherited / learned from my dad is that I like to talk to everyone.  Doesn't matter if I know you or not, I'm going to start up a conversation with you. 

Grocery store, DMV, airplanes, Doctor's office, restaurants... it doesn't matter.

R thinks it's weird.

I think I embarrass him sometimes, but I meet a heck of a lot of really interesting people.   

Like the guy sitting next to me at Captain Tom's.  I can't remember how the conversation started, but I learned two really interesting pieces of info:

1) He taught me the real name of what R and I affectionately call "Spicy Beer" - turns out it's called Michelada.   More importantly, he told me what was in the mix and where I could buy some!!!  He also showed me that you could ask for raw oysters to be put in it for that extra zing!!! Yum!!!

This is the "mix" before the beer is added. 

It's hot sauce, worcestershire sauce, a dash of tabasco and lime juice. 

It's like heartburn in a glass.  But so worth it.

We got raw oysters in our "round 2" drinks.

2) Turns out he is a US Marshall.  Talk about an exciting / interesting job... wow.  He told us about the Mexican Drug Cartels, some of the creative ways they catch fugitives here in the US and then also about all of the training that it takes to become a US Marshall.  (I would never make it)

Great food, cold beer and interesting people.  What more could anyone want from a night out?