Not-So-Spicy Fish Tacos

Jeff & I had a craving for fish tacos, but didn't feel like cooking them ourselves, so we headed over to the Moss Fire Grill in the 5 Points Area. We had the tuna rare and it was tasty! Kai enjoyed the black beans and rice, but can't have fish for another few months yet. The only things lacking was a more spicy hot sauce. They had a honey-habenero sauce on the table, but it just tasted sweet. We'll have to work on that for when we make fish tacos next time.

The Green Papaya

Jeff & I took Kai out for lunch today to a new Asian fusion restaurant called The Green Papaya, up on the northside of Jacksonville. The decor was very modern, with glass tables and a lot of metal in the design. The waitresses were friendly and didn't seem to mind Kai's squeals of enjoyment.

"The Amazing"

Red Curry Chicken

We ordered the Green Papaya Salad with chicken (no pic, sorry) for an appetizer and it was spicy! It was tasty, but I think I'll chose spice level 2 next time (strange coming from us, huh?). I had the red curry and Jeff had a dish called "The Amazing." Both were spicy, but not as much so as the papaya salad, whew! The Amazing had a sweet peanut based sauce with fresh steamed broccoli and chicken. Both entrees were delicious, would definitely go there again!

Crack Jack Cherry

Jeff's Mom, Mary Ann, introduced me to the Publix brand low fat frozen yogurt. Now before you pooh-pooh this, let me just say: IT ROCKS!!!! We have had multiple flavors before, but on her last visit Mary Ann picked the Black Jack Cherry. Now, I must admit that I am usually highly opposed to combining fruit with chocolate, but in this case I will make an exception. The Black Jack Cherry is reeeeaaaaaalllly good! This is the third container that I've bought recently and it is really like frozen crack (not that I know what crack it like, LOL)!

Recipe for Two

I got this new cooking magazine from the makers of Cook's Illustrated which takes a bunch of supposedly awesome recipes and pares them down for two people, which seemed like a great idea for us. The recipes all look delicious and as with all the Cook's Illustrated recipes, they break down why the recipe works and why they chose to create it as such.

I decided to try the Glazed Pork Chops with Sweet Potatoes tonight. Although the recipe is for grilled pork chops, we had a sudden rainstorm around dinner time, and I had to make do with just broiling everything. The flavor was still excellent and the chops still turned out juicy. Kai even liked the sweet potatoes with tarragon. I would definitely make it again, trying it next time on the grill.

The pork chop is glazed with a maple syrup and mustard sauce and served with roasted sweet potatoes with tarragon, shallot and balsamic vinegar. Yum!

Beachy Day

After taking Kai to the beach this morning, we stopped off at the Safe Harbor Seafood Market in Mayport to pick up some fresh fish and shrimp. While Kai slept in the car, I ran in and got some mahi mahi, grouper and something new: Vietnamese basa. The clerk told me that the basa is catfish like, so I thought we might try it since we always see it posted on the "Specials" wall at Taste of Thai.

We decided to grill up the shrimp as an appetizer and have fish as the main course. We used the spicy Asian barbecue sauce that we loved over chicken on the shrimp. Jeff made up an avocado and mango salsa to go over the Mahi, which he grilled simply with olive oil, lime juice and salt and pepper. We had our new favorite salad, arugula with prosciutto and goat cheese (thank you again Lisa). For dessert we had fresh peaches topped with vanilla ice cream. YUM!


The meal came out good: fresh, light and summery. It paired very well with our summer wine pick!

Summer Wine Pick

This is a wine we have really enjoyed this summer. It is a highly rated dry rose', and it is under $10.

Wine Review from Robert Kacher Selections:

Description: "Domaine de la Petite Cassagne is located four kilometers from the village of St Gilles on south/south-eastern exposed slopes of the Costières de Nîmes. The soils here are characterized by cailloux deposited by the Rhône River centuries ago. Diane de Puymorin is the dynamic young owner of this super property, which she purchased in 1998. Diane’s goal was to craft unique wines within the Costières de Nîmes appellation. She uses only organic farming methods and believes in strictly limiting yields. The vines destined for the Rosé bottling are pruned explicitly for rosé production and are picked early for optimal fruit and freshness. She employs pressurage directe, or pressing expressly for making rosé, after 12 hours of skin-contact. Domaine de la Petite Cassagne Rosé is a blend of Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvedre. Super fresh and bright, this summer sipper displays deep flavors of strawberries, minerals and sweet herbs." ~ Robert Kacher Selections

Thai It Up

When Jeff & I went on our honeymoon to Thailand, we stayed on the island of Samui. We loved Ko Samui, especially the food! One of our favorites was this little Thai lady who would roam the beach with a yoke strung across her shoulders. On one side of the yoke was a variety of fresh vegetables and the other was a portable hibachi loaded full of meat on skewers. When stopped she would make fresh Green Papaya salad with your choice of grilled meat. It was spicy, crunchy and absolutely delicious! We ate it for lunch every day and have had difficulty finding it back here in the states.

We went to the Jacksonville Farmer's Market today for the first time and saw many of the ingredients for the Green Papaya salad and decided to try to recreate this wonderful meal. We had to also go to an Asian Market to find the long beans and dried shrimp, but it was well worth the trouble. It was soooo goood!!!

Me and the original "Noodle Lady"'s Green Papaya Salad, Ko Samui, Thailand, 2006

Recipe we used: Taken from Thai Table

Green Papaya Salad - Som Tum

1 1/2	tablespoons		palm sugar
3/4			lime
2	cups		green papaya, shredded
6			green beans
1	clove		garlic
1 1/2	tablespoons		fish sauce
1	tablespoon		dried shrimp
2			chili peppers
5			cherry tomatoes
2	tablespoons		peanuts, toasted	Optional

In Thailand, green papaya salad is made using a clay mortar, wooden pestle and a spatula. Smash a clove of garlic first. Then add green beans and halved cherry tomatoes. Pound a few times just to bruise the beans and get the juice out of the tomatoes. Add chili peppers and crush them just enough to release the hotness, unless you like your salad really hot. Add the green papaya, dried shrimp, toasted peanuts, fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar. Use the pestle to push the mixture up in the mortar and the spatula to push it down so that the mixture is mixed well.

However, if you do not have a big enough mortar you can crush garlic, tomatoes, green beans. Set them aside in a large bowl. Add dried shrimp, fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar to the bowl. Add green papaya and mix well. Serve with sticky rice and a sliver of cabbage, green beans and Thai basil.

http://www.thaitable.com/Thai/recipes/Green_Papaya_Salad.htm

Pizzeria Gehring

Jeff & I attempted our grilled pizza recipe for a second time. As we are considering this recipe for our Jags tailgating lineup, we tried it on the smaller portable grill to see if it could match the original. We also changed the toppings a little using fresh Buffalo mozzarella and fresh purple opal basil from our garden. It came out good, the crust was perfect, but I think I like the original cheese combo better. Definitely a keeper for the tailgating menu. Jeff also had some fun with the dough!