Tin Fish in San Diego, California

Before leaving San Diego, I had to make one last stop for a fish taco at the king of fish taco stands - Tin Fish. While this local taco shop has a couple of locations, the most convenient is located right in the Gaslamp Quarter in striking distance of the harbor and Convention Center.  I have never made a trip to San Diego without making a stop here.  This Sunday, since I was getting ready to pack out for Tucson and had a few hours to kill before my flight, it seemed like a perfect time to hit up this spot and enjoy some good, cheap eats and a couple hours of reading in the sun.

While there are lots of "fish taco" options including salmon, mahi mahi, and more, my two favorites are always halibut and shrimp.  Both are "meaty" choices with a lot of substance and hold up well with all the other flavors in the taco.  This time around I opted for shrimp tacos.

 

  

When they arrived they were laden with thinly sliced, crispy cabbage, in addition to cheese, sour cream and homemade pico de gallo.  It took me all of ten minutes to belt back both tacos after which I spent the next two hours basking in the sun, digesting and reading a good book.  Great way to end my San Diego visit.

Zay it loud, Zaytinya tastes great

In addition to all the travel that comes with my job, it also somethings brings people to our DC office.  This week, one of my most favorite coworkers, Dawn, came to town.  Ashley and I decided we couldn't let her visit go by without showing her some of what the District has to offer.  Combine the three of us with Hector, one of our favorite bosses, and you have a recipe for a great night on the town.

Our first stop was Poste for happy hour. Housed in the Hotel Monaco in the heart of DC's Penn Quarter, the restaurant and bar are known for their commitment to sustainability and support of the locavore movement.  After walking by their open air kitchen, I would be interested to eat there, but I wasn't wowed by their happy hour.  Service at the bar was so-so (I don't like having to beg for a happy hour menu), but the wine specials were good for the price and, being a Wednesday night, the bar was quiet enough to actually allow us to talk (and laugh).

After about an hour and a couple of drinks we headed over to Zaytinya for our dinner reservation, still in the Penn Quarter.  Zaytinya is one of my favorite DC meal spots.  In part it tastes like home, taking advantage of many of the Greek flavors I grew up with. But this mezzedes-style restaurant also leans on Lebanese and Turkish roots and flavors to create a consistently delicious and interesting collection of small plates with a more high-brow feel than the village classics I ate as a kid.

Let me say now there are no photos because I was too busy eating and enjoying the company to be bothered.  And for good reason, this was one seriously delicious meal shared with three people who all make me smile, laugh and in one case, nearly cry laughing.

They suggest three to four plates per person to make a meal and since all the plates are perfect for sharing we went about our dinner in rounds. 

First up, Labneh, a salty, tangy strained yogurt served with a pool of olive oil and za'atar (in this case, a combo of thyme, oregano and basil) perfect for dipping the warm fresh pita served liberally to every table; Keftedes Kapama, mini-meatballs made with a combination of ground lamb and beef and served in a rich, homestyle tomato sauce laced with cinnamon and allspice; Lamb Bahar, six perfect nuggets of grilled lamb cut kebab-style served over a healthy bed of tabbouleh and tahini and; Octopus Santorini, tender young octopus marinated and grilled, served over a bed of split pea puree with capers. 

And the winner is? Hector's choice, the Octopus Santorini.  I have to assume the octopus was marinated in citrus and barely touched the grill because it was so tender, lacking any of the chewiness found in ill-prepared versions of similar dishes. Combine the perfectly prepared main ingredient with the smooth, creamy split pea puree and capers (perfect little salty explosions) and you have an absolute standout in our first round. So much so we debated ordering a second plate.  But it's important to note that all three of the other dishes were superb, well seasoned and executed in such a way that even your most snooty foodie could find little to complain about.  And this was the case for the rest of the meal!


Round two began with Kolokithokeftedes, shredded zucchini mixed with mild, sweet cheese and pan fried, served with a lemon caper yogurt that amps up the whole dish; Garides Saganaki, five tender, juicy shrimp sauteed with tomatoes, topped with kefalograviera (a hard, tangy Greek cheese) and flambéed with an ouzo accelerant; Adana Kebab, ground lamb, compressed and skewered before being grilled with sumac, onions and tomatoes and; Urfa Biftek, beef sirloin grilled to medium rare seasoned with cumin and urfa peper and served over a bed of micro greens. 

And the winner is? Dawn's choice, Garides Saganaki.  I really have no idea how the ingenious chefs flambéed the shrimp without it getting tough, but it was perfect and juicy with just the right amount of salty bite from the cheese.  I should probably mention that this particular cheese is to me, the world's most perfect food. I used to eat it every morning at my Aunt's house in Parga, my favorite place in Greece - my happy place.

Round three, our final round, was comprised of Kotopoulo Youvetsi, kebab-style chicken mixed with orzo pasta, a light tomato sauce and grated kefalograviera cheese; Patates Tiganites me Yaourti, allegedly crispy potatoes topped with greek yogurt and caper salt; Sea Scallop, a huge seared scallop served over a tasty dill yogurt sauce and; Shish Taouk, breast meat chicken served kebab-style with grilled tomatoes, onions, garlic and sumac. 

And the loser is? Yes, there was a loser in this round. One of my choices (Dawn made me pick several this last round), the Patates Tiganites were mushy and really should have been described as french fries, "crispy potatoes" was a touch misleading.  But there was a winner too! This round was a hard to choose the biggest standout, in part because we were all getting so full we weren't salavating to try every dish the way we had been the first two rounds.  But I think Ashley's choice, the Sea Scallop, wins out in the end.  It was perfectly prepared, lightly seared and tender.  Alone it might have been bland, but with the creamy dill yogurt sauce (not unlike a very light tzatziki) it was delicious. 

12 dishes, 11 winners and three big winners.  Those are stats any restuarant should stand behind.  All in all the seafood really made its mark on our table and now Zaytinya has been labeled a must for future out of town visitors!

Finally, I can't close this post without saying that great food, in and of itself can make a night, but this night was made by the company.  There are days when I get very frustrated with my job, days when I wonder why I do it.  But the answer comes even quicker than the question. It's the people (or most of them anyway) that make the job worth it everyday.  And I got to share my evening with three of the people that top the list of why I get up and go to work every morning. I am tremendously priveleged to share my day-to-day with the smart, charismatic and compassionate people that are Ashley, Dawn and Hector.  Thanks for a wonderful night out to all three of you and for reminding me every day why it's worth it!

Perfect, pleasing paella or I have no brain cells left for clever titles

Of course my favorite place in the house is the kitchen! Whenever I need a little stress relief it's the first place I head.  This weekend, trying to reestablish the calm I'd been denied for most of the prior month, I spent a happy hour and a half making this delicious Paella dinner.  Based on Tyler's Florence's recipe, like most recipes I blog, it's changed up a bit to meet the flavor profile I want.  The ingredients and recipe follows (with lots of pics, I got a little camera happy once I found my battery!).

But first and more importantly, is wine.  Once the tasty and delicious paella is a reality, what to drink with it?  To answer this question, I strolled into my favorite wine shop, the Vienna Vintner, plugged so many times in this blog you'd think I had stock in the store.  As usual, Victor, one of the owners, produced two perfect options to pair with the shellfish delight.  Traditionally, the Spanish like to drink Albariño, a crisp, fresh white often reminiscent of Viognier.  But a little more interesting is a Verdejo.  Also, Spanish in origin and with some of the same notes you find in a traditional Viognier, this more aromatic wine frequently boasts honey and peach notes that create a nice balance to the spicy kick of the chorizo while still pairing well with the shellfish.  And that's what I chose - an Austum 2009 Verdejo, a great addition to our meal.

And now, on to the Paella...

Ingredients

4 bone-in chicken thighs with their skin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lb Spanish chorizo,
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 Spanish onion, diced
1 green onion, diced
1 leek, cleaned and cut into strips
1 (16-ounce) can whole tomatoes, drained and hand-crushed
1 cup Spanish rice, short to medium grain
1 teaspoon saffron threads
3 cups chicken stock, warm
4 jumbo shrimp, peeled with heads and tails on or 8 extra large shrimp without heads and tails, peeled and deveined
8 littleneck clams, scrubbed
12 mussels, debearded and scrubbed
1/2 cup sweet peas, frozen and thawed
Fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, for garnish
Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

Rinse the chicken pieces and pat them dry. Mix the oregano, paprika and cayenne with some salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub the spice mixture all over the pieces of chicken; marinate for 30 minutes so the flavor can sink in.

Heat the olive oil in a paella pan or wide shallow skillet over medium-high heat. Place the chicken in the pan, skin-side down and brown on all sides, turning with tongs. Add the chorizo and continue to cook until the oil is a vibrant red color.

NOTE: It can be really hard to find good chorizo without going to a Latin Market.  Whole Foods sometimes carries a dried chorizo that is the best choice I've found locally, but they also make a fresh chorizo that is a possible second option if you can't find the more authentic version.

Remove the chicken and sausage to a platter lined with paper towels. After most of the fat has been absorbed by the paper towel, cut the chorizo into bite sized pieces and set aside.


Return the pan to the stove and lower the heat to medium. Make a sofrito by sauteing the garlic, green pepper, leeks, onion, and tomatoes.

Cook until the mixture caramelizes a bit and the flavors meld; season with salt and pepper.

Fold in the rice, stirring to coat the grains. If you can't find Spanish rice, arborio will work just fine.  Stir the saffron into the rice.

Pour in the chicken broth and simmer for 10 minutes, gently moving the pan around so the rice cooks evenly and absorbs the liquid. Do not cover or constantly stir like risotto.

Add the clams, the reserved chicken, and the chorizo. Give the paella a couple of good stirs to tuck in all the pieces and just let it simmer, without stirring, until the rice is al dente, about 15 minutes.

Add the mussels, shrimp and scatter the peas on top and continue to cook for 5 minutes, until the shrimp is cooked through, the mussels are open and paella looks fluffy and moist.

Discard any clams or mussels that did not open (this is important, bad shellfish can really make you sick!). The ideal paella has a toasted rice bottom called socarrat. Allow to rest, off the heat for 5 minutes, and garnish with parsley. Serve with lemon wedges.

Ciao to 2010 with Cioppino

With all the traveling and working and traveling all year long, Ben and I decided that if what you're doing at midnight on New Years you're doing all year, we wanted to be at home, whatever we did.  So we stayed in and enjoyed the quiet and warmth of our own house, with for once, both of us in it.  To add a little of the midnight magic to the mix, we decided to make a special meal to ring in 2011 - Cioppino.  While it finds its roots in San Francisco, Cioppino is also an Italian tradition, and provides a hearty, warm meal perfect for a chilly December night.

I started with a Giada recipe (that's the original in the link), tweaking it as needed to accomodate what I had in the pantry. I also halved it to make it manageable for two people since shellfish doesn't usually reheat well. I served it with roasted garlic crostinis, the recipe (very very basic) is at the end.

Ingredients for Cioppino

1.5 tablespoons olive oil (one generous turn around the pan with the olive oil)
1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1 small onion, chopped
2 medium shallots, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes (this is a best approximation, I just eyeball this stuff)
A generous 1/8 cup tomato paste
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
3/4 cups dry white wine
2.5 cups chicken stock (the original recipe calls for fish stock, but unless you make it homemade I'm not wild about the fish stock you can buy in the store so without the time or requisite fish parts to make my own, I opted for a tried and true, although different alternative)
1 bay leaf
1/3 pound little neck clams, scrubbed (the original recipe calls for manila and if you can get them I'd go that route, but they can be hard to find depending on the time of year and little necks are a reasonable substitute)
1/3 pound mussels, scrubbed, debearded
1/2 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
3/4 pounds halibut, cut into 2-inch chunks

Heat the oil in a very large pot (e.g. dutch oven) over medium heat. Add the fennel, onion, shallots, and salt and saute until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and saute 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Add tomatoes with their juices, wine, chicken stock and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the flavors blend, about 30 minutes.

Add the clams and mussels to the cooking liquid. Cover and cook until the clams and mussels begin to open, about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and fish. Simmer gently until the fish and shrimp are just cooked through, and the clams are completely open, stirring gently, about 5 minutes longer (discard any clams and mussels that do not open). Remove bay leaf. Season the soup, to taste, with more salt and red pepper flakes.
Ladle the soup into bowls and serve.

Crostinis
1 head of garlic
Olive oil
1 half-loaf french baguette

Before starting the Cioppino, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Slice the top 1/3 off the top of a head of garlic, just revealing the individual cloves.  Place the garlic on a piece of aluminum foil, sprinkle the garlic head with olive oil.  Wrap the foil around the garlic, covering it completely.  Roast in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove, allow to cool and open.  Squeeze the garlic head over a bowl to extract the roasted garlic.

While the Cioppino broth is simmering, slice the baguette on a diagonal.  Place the slices on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with olive oil. During the last five minutes of the Cioppino's cooking, place the baguette slices under the broiler until lightly browned.  Remove from broiler and spread the roasted garlic extracted from the head with a knife over the baguette slices.  Serve two slices with each bowl of Cioppino.