On Fridays, chef Tyler Florence hosts Twitterlicious, a cooking lesson conducted over Twitter (@TylerFlorence). Each week, he posts a poll on his website with 5 different recipe choices for the upcoming Twitterlicious. Whatever dish gets the most votes, he “cooks” while tweeting instructions on his progress in the kitchen. A few weeks ago, he made these incredible Baja Fish Tacos for Twitterlicious.

I’m a big fish taco fan and have already posted about our favourite fish taco recipe. However after making these Baja Fish Tacos, me, Carlo, and our friend Mike, who came over for dinner, all agreed that these fish tacos are way better. It is probably the fried fish, which creates a nice crunchy base for all of the flavours from the spicy chipotle mayo and mango-radish salsa.

We normally never fry things at home because hot oil frightens me since I’m a klutz and burn myself all the time, but I would gladly risk a few burns to make these tacos again. Tyler Florence’s fish taco recipe makes enough food for 4 people at $2.81 per serving.

Baja Fish Tacos
1 pound skinless and boned Mahi Mahi, cod, or other firm white fish (I used Pacific cod)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup panko bread crumbs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
vegetable oil for frying
8 soft flour tortillas
1/4 head of savoy cabbage, finely shredded
1/2 bunch cilantro, leaves picked
2 limes, cut into wedges for garnish

Cut the fish into 1 ounce strips. Create a breading station made up of bowls of flour, beaten egg, and seasoned panko bread crumbs. Using the wet hand-dry hand technique, dredge each piece of fish in the flour, then the egg, and finally cover them with panko.

Once all the fish is breaded, deep fry the fish in small batches in hot oil, around 375 degrees F. When I put the fish in, I was surprised how fast the first batch cooked and wasn’t really prepared. So be aware of how fast the frying process is since once the breading reaches a nice brown colour, the fish is cooked on the inside.

Drain the cooked fish on paper towels and season with salt. Keep them warm until you are ready to serve the tacos.

Mango-Radish Salsa
1 lime
1 mango, diced
2 to 3 red radishes, diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mix together the diced mango, radish, red onion, and squeeze the lime over the mixture. Season with chili powder, salt, pepper, and a bit of olive oil. Add the chopped cilantro and place in the fridge until everything else is ready.

Chipotle Mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 chipotle in adobo, plus 1 tablespoon of adobo sauce
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper

To make this spicy sauce for the tacos, whiz the canned chipotle in a food processor until it is all chopped up. Add the sour cream, mayo, adobo sauce, and lemon juice and whiz further until everything is mixed together and creamy. Season with salt and pepper, and place the sauce in the fridge until you serve the tacos.

To plate the fish tacos, take a toasted tortilla and fill with a few slices of fried fish. Top with the chipotle mayo, mango-radish salsa, shredded cabbage, and chopped cilantro, and then squeeze a wedge of lime over the taco.

I served the Baja Fish Tacos with some really easy and fast to make Mexican Slaw. This side dish recipe serves 4 people at 58 cents each.

Mexican Slaw
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, or to taste
juice of 1 lime
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh chile
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 head green or red cabbage
1 red bell pepper
2 medium carrots, grated
1/4 cup diced green onions
1/4 cup minced cilantro
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Whiz together the mustard, lime juice, garlic, and chile in a food processor, and slowly add the oil. Mix the cabbage, pepper, carrots, and green onions, and toss everything with the dressing. Add the chopped cilantro and season to taste.

Today I got up early and headed to our local Albertsons, where they were roasting Hatch green chiles for the weekend. Thank god I got up early because they only had 250 sacks direct from Gillis Farm in Hatch, New Mexico and they had already sold 230 on Saturday. It turns out that I got one of the last 5 sacks that they had to roast. Score!

The deal was that if you bought a sack they would roast them from free with the big chile gas burners in front of the store. When I saw the ad for the Hatch Chile Fest, I had no idea how big the sack was, but we love green chiles so we immediately knew that we wanted to get one. Turns out that I bought 1 1/8 bushels of Hatch green chiles, or basically a 30-lb burlap sack of freshly roasted green chiles for $28.99.

This photo is deceiving because it doesn’t illustrate just how many chiles we have. Obviously we had more than we could possibly eat this week, so Carlo and I decided to pack up the chiles in ziploc bags and freeze them in small batches, so we can have enough until next season.

We ended up filling 30 bags each with 6 chiles inside, equaling around 180 Hatch green chiles for us to eat. Unfortunately, the chiles have now overtaken our freezer.

Since it was still early after we bagged all the chiles, I decided to make some Hatch Huevos Rancheros for breakfast to make a dent in our bounty of chiles. These spicy eggs feed 4 people at $1.27 per serving.

Hatch Huevos Rancheros
10 to 15 Hatch chiles, stemmed and deseeded
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
olive oil
salt and black pepper
8 eggs
8 corn tortillas
cilantro, chopped
4 tablespoons Mexican crema

Put the Hatch green chiles in a pan and cover them with water, although I threw in a chicken stock cube for some extra flavour. Simmer the chiles for around 30 minutes and then take them off the heat for a few minutes. Blend the chiles and liquid in a food processor until smooth.

Heat up some olive oil over a medium heat, and saut?© the onion and garlic. Once they have softened, add the chile puree and let everything simmer for 5 or so minutes. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

Toast your corn tortillas in either a toaster oven or frying pan. Place two tortillas on each plate and cover with a few scoops of Hatch green chile sauce. Drizzle some Mexican crema over the sauce and top with two fried eggs. Sprinkle some chopped cilantro over the eggs and enjoy.

By the way, this will probably be the first of many Hatch green chile posts over the next few months. Check your local grocery store to see if they are doing any special roasting events over the next couple of weeks. In case you can’t find any Hatch green chiles, you can used the canned version or roast fresh Anaheim chiles as a substitute.

We have really enjoyed watching Top Chef Masters lately. We are huge normal Top Chef fans, but it is just a bit more fun to see such famous chefs scrambling in the kitchen, or draining pasta in a dorm shower. My favourites in the finals right now are Michael Chiarello, Hubert Keller, and Rick Bayless, and I would be happy if any of them won even though I think the final might come down between Michael and Rick.

One of the best parts about watching all of these chefs is the sense of camaraderie in the kitchen. Each of them seems enthralled with each others’ cooking and genuinely likes being around each other. It sure makes a change from the bitchiness and back stabbing kitchen antics in the regular show.

In honor of tonight’s episode where it looks like Michael Chiarello puts the smack down on the mouthy past contest Dale, here is a recipe for a quick appetizer that you can nibble on while enjoying the show. Michael Chiarello says he likes to eat this Spuma di Tonno with champagne, which hopefully he will be drinking tonight after winning again. This tuna spread recipe feeds 6 people as an appetizer for 48 cents per serving.

Spuma di Tonno, from Michael Chiarello’s Casual Cooking
1 7-oz can olive oil-packed tuna, drained
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon heavy cream

Put the tuna in a food processor and pulse to break up the fish. With the machine running, add the lemon juice, soy sauce, and balsamic vinegar. Add the butter and blend until smooth, then stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the processor bowl.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and blend again. Check the seasoning, then add the heavy cream and pulse to blend. Be careful not to overblend once the cream is added or the mixture may break.

Serve the tuna spread at room temperature, or cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days. If refrigerated, return the spread to room temperature before serving.

The tuna spread tastes great on some toasted ciabatta, and even better with a glass of champers.

When we were in LA over the weekend to celebrate our anniversary, we went to the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market on Saturday morning. While the Ferry Plaza Farmers’ Market in San Francisco is still my favourite market, the Santa Monica Farmers’ Market had some incredible looking produce, and a huge variety as well.

Considering it is August, tomatoes reigned supreme at all the stands and there were so many different kinds, including tons of gorgeous heirloom tomatoes. We brought a bunch back to Vegas to cook with this week, but they would be perfect for this Heirloom Tomato and Pesto Tart with Parmesan Crust that I made with tomatoes from the Vegas farmers’ market. This tomato tart feeds 8 people at $1.31 per serving.

Heirloom Tomato and Pesto Tart with Parmesan Crust
6 colorful, medium-sized heirloom tomatoes, sliced 1/6-inch thick
1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup unsalted organic butter, well chilled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
4-ounce chunk, or around 2 cups, good fresh Parmesan, grated with a microplane grater
fresh pesto
2 tablespoons ice cold water
2 tablespoons good extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup slivered basil

The key to a successful tart is great looking heirloom tomatoes. I’d be lying if I could identify each type of heirloom tomato that I bought at the farmers’ market. I based my choices on which tomatoes looked pretty and made sure I had a variety of different kinds to provide a nice range in flavours.

To prevent a soggy tart crust, you need to get the tomato slices as dry as possible. The best way to do this is to lay a double layer of kitchen towels on your counter and place the tomato slices on top. Sprinkle them with a bit of salt and then top the tomatoes with another double layer of kitchen roll.

Gently press on the tomatoes to relieve them of extra liquid. The longer you can let the tomatoes sit, the less chance they will make your crust all gross and soggy.

Preheat the oven to 350ÀöF.

Place both flours, butter, and Parmesan in a food processor, and pulse quickly, about 25 times. The goal is a sandy-looking blend that has some pea-sized pieces of butter in it. Add the 2 tablespoons of ice water, and pulse a few more times. The end result should stick together when you pinch it between your fingers.

Place the dough into a 9- or 10-inch tart pan, and quickly press the dough into the pan by uniformly pressing the dough across the bottom. Work the dough out towards the sides and up to the edge to form a rim. Place the crust in the fridge and chill it for 15 minutes. Once the tart crust is chilled, take it out of the fridge and poke the bottom of the crust a few times with a fork.

Cover the tart with tinfoil and fill the bottom of the crust with pie weights. Place the pan on a baking sheet and cook it on the middle rack of the oven. After 15 minutes, take out the tart crust and gently remove the tinfoil and pie weights.

Place the uncovered tart back in the oven, and cook for another 10 minutes, or until it is a deep golden brown in color. Let the crust cool to room temperature before filling.

Just before serving, spread some fresh pesto on the bottom of the cooled tart crust, and then arrange the tomato slices in a concentric pattern inside the crust. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with some chopped basil. Season with salt and pepper because tomatoes taste excellent with lots of salt.

The tart is served at room temperature and is almost like a tomato salad inside a crust since the tomatoes are left raw with just a simple dressing of olive oil and chopped basil.

I got this Honey Lime Salmon recipe from our good friends Denise and Mike. Eating this flavourful dish reminds me of Austin summer nights at their house, hanging out in the backyard next to the grill and with a glass of cold wine in my hand. I love how food can transport you to other places, and evoke such powerful memories. This recipe always puts a smile on my face whenever we make it, and will forever be called Denise’s Salmon in our house. The recipe feeds 4 people at $2.14 per serving.

Honey Lime Salmon
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated lime peel
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
4 pieces salmon fillet, (about 4 ounces each)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
lime wedges

Mix together the honey, cumin, coriander, salt, lime zest, pepper, and 1 teaspoon of very hot water until everything is thoroughly blended.

Rub the honey-spice mixture all over salmon. You can cook it straight away, but I prefer to let it marinade for a bit to really infuse the salmon with the spicy flavours.

Place the salmon on a grill over medium heat and cook for 10 minutes or just until the salmon turns opaque throughout and flakes easily.

Serve the salmon with a sprinkle of cilantro and some lime wedges to squeeze over the fish. I made the Southwestern Sweet Potato and Quinoa Salad to go with the salmon, and it made for a fast but tasty dinner.

Carlo sometimes makes fun of me for using strange English words that he has never heard of before and which he thinks I make up. For example, he never believed that there was such a word as impetigo until Amy Winehouse got blasted for being all scabby.

Another word he thinks that I made up is clafoutis, and when I ordered one for desert at DB Brasserie a couple of years ago, he finally believed that it was a real word. Clafoutis is just as fun to eat as it is to say: Basically it is a French sweet omelet that is quite custard-y and filled with baked fruit.

Clafoutis are so easy to make and look quite spectacular when you serve them to guests. You can either bake one for dessert or for breakfast, with either occasion making for a delicious treat. This recipe for Plum Clafoutis makes enough for 6 people at 80 cents per serving.

Plum Clafoutis
2 eggs and 1 egg yolk
7 ounces milk
2 ounces cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
just over 1 pound plums
3.5 ounces heavy cream
4 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

I bought these beautiful prune plums from the farmer’s market. They are smaller than red plums and have a yellow flesh that turns pink once they are cooked.

Preheat your oven to 410 degrees F. Wash the plums and slice them open to remove the stones.

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan. Once the butter is melted, add the plums and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add the Gran Marnier. You can be super flashy and light the dish to burn off the alcohol, or you can just cook the plums for a few more minutes until the alcohol is cooked off.

Butter a large pie dish and sprinkle the inside with sugar.

In a small bowl, mix the cold milk together with the cornstarch. In a larger bowl, beat the eggs with the egg yolk, and then add the sugar and mix. Next add the cream and mix further. Lastly add the milk and cornstarch mixture and beat everything together.

Place the cooked plums in the pie dish, face up. Pour the batter over the plums and cook in the oven for about 30 min, until the top of the clafoutis is golden.

Remove the clafoutis from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes or so. Sprinkle with a little sugar and eat the clafoutis lukewarm with a touch of fresh whipped cream.

Unfortunately, turkey burgers are often times a euphemism for a dry and cardboard-tasting poor substitute for a real burger. These Turkey Burgers with Tomato Jam, Olives, and Feta, however, are an exception.

They were perhaps the tastiest turkey burgers that I had every eaten, let alone made at home. The thick chunks of onion, bits of black olive, and nuggets of feta cheese added so much flavour, it was incredible. If you have a hankering for a burger, try grilling up one of these instead for a change. This recipe feeds 4 people at $1.38 per serving.

Turkey Burgers with Olives and Feta
1 pound ground turkey
2/3 cup finely chopped red onion
1/3 cup (about 2 ounces) crumbled feta cheese plus additional for topping
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped pitted Kalamata olives (about 6)
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil plus additional for brushing
1 small garlic clove, pressed
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
coarse kosher salt
black pepper
4 crusty rolls, halved horizontally, or 4 pitas

Tomato Jam
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 14-ounce cans diced tomatoes in juice
1/2 tablespoon sugar
sprinkle of dried thyme
coarse kosher salt
black pepper

Turn on the barbecue at a medium-high heat, and brush or spray the grill rack with a bit of oil so the burgers don’t stick.

Gently mix the turkey, onion, feta, chopped olives, olive oil, garlic, rosemary, and a generous amount of coarse salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Form the mixture into 4 patties, each about 1 inch thick. Spray them with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle them with more salt and pepper.

Grill the burgers until they are charred on both sides and cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Grill the cut side of the rolls until they are toasted, about 2 minutes. If you are using pita bread like I did, they also taste good if you toast them up a bit on the grill.

I had to include this photo of my awesome looking burgers since this was the first thing that I had ever grilled by myself! I was very impressed that they had not crumbled up and fallen through the grate, or they weren’t burnt.

To make the tomato jam, heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic, and cook until the onion is soft and translucent, stirring often, about 4 minutes. Add a can of diced tomatoes with the juice, sugar, thyme, salt, and black pepper to the saucepan.

Cook everything over medium-high heat until almost all of the liquid evaporates and the mixture is reduced to about 1 cup or so, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Cool.

If you can’t be bothered to make this tomato jam, you can skip this step and just use some good ketchup, but I can say that the sweetness of the jam did complement the burgers very nicely.

Take your toasted bun or pita bread and assemble your burger with some tomato jam, and additional feta and chopped olives to top for a delicious and fast summer dinner!

Yesterday I was feeling really sick and rundown as the result of too many late nights and pints of Shiner Bock while back in Texas for a friend’s wedding over the weekend. Whenever I’m sick, I always crave baked potatoes filled with lots of cheddar cheese and broccoli.

Last night I managed to feel better enough to make Twice Baked Potatoes with Cheese and Broccoli, a decadent twist on my usual comfort food. This recipe feeds 4 as a side dish at $1.12 per serving.

Twice Baked Potatoes with Cheese and Broccoli
2 large russet potatoes
grated cheddar cheese
1 small head of broccoli
milk
sour cream
butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper

My favourite way to bake potatoes is to first stick them in the microwave and then in the oven, so the cooking time is faster. Rinse the potatoes with water and use a fork to poke a few holes all over the potatoes. I then wrap up each potato in kitchen roll and place them in the microwave.

Microwave the potatoes on high for 9 minutes, then turn them over and put them on for an additional 9 minutes. After the potatoes are finished in the microwave, they are pretty much cooked but they taste so much better after sitting in the oven for a while getting crispy.

Remove the potatoes from the kitchen paper towel and put them straight on the rack of a preheated 400 degree F oven. Let the skins crisp up for around 15-20 minutes.

Cut up the broccoli into small florets and steam them. Normally I would never advise this, but overcook the broccoli so it will mash up easily with the potatoes.

Remove the potatoes from the oven and cut them in half lengthwise. Scoop out the cooked flesh of the potato and put it in a medium bowl to mash later.

Once you have scooped out all the flesh, put the potato skins on a baking sheet and place them back in the oven while you are making the potato filling.

Take the bowl of potatoes and mash them with some milk and butter. How much butter and milk you use is up to you, but lots of butter makes really good mashed potatoes. Once you have the base for the mashed potatoes, add the cooked broccoli and mash everything together.

Add the grated cheddar and some sour cream to the potatoes and mix. Be sure to season with lots of salt and freshly ground pepper. Lots of salt really brings the flavours together, so don’t be afraid to put a bit more than normal in the mash.

Take out the skins from the oven and place the mashed potato mix inside the skins. Return the potatoes back to the oven for around 10 minutes so that the cheese and butter can melt together. I switched on the broiler for the last few minutes so the top could get a bit browned.

The end result was gooey and creamy, plus it must have had medicinal powers since I’m feeling great today!