One Tequilla...Two Tequilla...Three Tequilla...FLOOR

There is something about Seafood that I love. I can eat seafood every single day and never get tired of it. There are so many different fishes to Choose from and so many distinct flavors. The Flavor combinations are endless. Same goes for tequila!!! Ok maybe not but work with me on this.

This is my first shot at tequila fish. I've seen it dozens of times on menus and I've always been curious to dry it. Low and behold my Darling Husband come home from work with a nice bottle of Tequila. I love his job. His clients bring him booze all the time. I have a fully stocked liquor and wine cabinet thanks to his job. On top of him taking their money, he also get free liquor and goodies. Ahhh the good life.

That night I was listening to the radio and the most bizarre song came on. I love this song, don't get me wrong, but I don't think I've ever heard it on the Radio before. So there I am dancing and singing around the kitchen with my dogs howling along on Que. To an outsider it would look like they were just telling me to shut up but my sweet angels were just singing with their mama. In walks in my Husband...Tequila in hand. That is my inspiration to this recipe.

You put the lime in the coconut and drank them both up, I say WOOOWOOO aint there nothing you can take?

...............you such a silly woman! Put the lime in the coconut........

Coconut Tequila Monk Fish


4 Pieces of Monk Fish (any other fish will do, I want to try shrimp next time)
1/2 cup of Tequila
1 Can of Coconut Milk
2 limes (one sliced, one juice and zested)
1 tablespoon of Butter
Prep time: 5 Minutes
Marinade time: Minimum of 30 minutes
Cook time: 15 Minutes

Mix the Coconut milk, Tequila, Lime Juice and Zest in a large bowl. Add fish and let it marinade for at least 30 minutes.


In a Skillet melt the butter and add the fish. Sear on all sides then add the Coconut mixture to cover the bottom of the pan. Add the Lime Slices on top. Cook through for about 15 minutes.

You can also Grill the fish separately. Make sure that you put the Coconut mixture in a small pan to cook out any of the raw fish juices.

To serve this dish make sure you add the cooked marinade on top with a sprinkle of lime zest.

I have a side of spinach with this dish. Just saute some fresh spinach with some Olive Oil, garlic and Salt & Pepper until the spinach is wilted.

Endless possibilities

One of my favorite things about this time of year is the wonderful weather...I'm still waiting for it. The best part of the summer is all the fresh veggies that grow in the garden. During the summer months my family very rarely buys produce because we have most of it growing in the back yard. Home grown veggies taste 100x better than anything you will find in the store. Just go out back pluck it and cook it. Cheap and delicious. Two of my favorite words.

While I'm still waiting for mother nature to get her lazy butt out of bed and start shining some sun on my dwindling garden I'm still roaming the produce isle. Basil is by far one of my favorite herbs. Its starts out slow but then overnight you will start to see an explosion of beautiful green leaves in you beds. Always keep it trimmed and when you have to much to use just wash them and stash them in the freezer for the cooler months. Basil will give anything you cook a great flavor. With out Basil I wouldn't have one of my favorite summer foods; PESTO. You can put it on anything from Chicken to Fish to Pasta to Bread to Steaks to Pancakes (just checking to see if you are still paying attention...now I think I'm going to play with the idea of pesto pancakes hmmm...). You can make it thin or thick as a paste or dip. The possibilities are endless.

Pesto White Pizza with Chicken

(makes 2 pies)

2 large chicken breast (great use leftover chicken)

Pesto Sauce (recipe to follow)

15 oz Ricotta Cheese

16 oz Mozzarella Cheese; grated

2 Pizza Crusts

Olive Oil

Salt
Pepper

Pesto Sauce

3.5 Cups of Basil (divided)

1/2 Cup Olive Oil

1/4 Parmesan Cheese

Hand full of Pine Nuts

2 Cloves of Garlic

For the Pesto Sauce add the Olive oil, Parmesan Cheese, Garlic, Pine Nuts and half of the Basil in to a blender or food processor. Pulse until the basil is smooth. Add the rest of the basil along with a pinch of Salt and Pepper, Pulse until smooth.

Chop the Chicken into bite sized cubes

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Drizzle some Olive Oil onto your pizza crust so you get a nice golden brown crunch when you cook it.

Scoop out half of the Ricotta and with a circular motion spread it around the dough evenly. Then with half of the Pesto.

Rinse and repeat for the second pie

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Top the Pesto on each pie with the chopped Chicken breasts and the Grated Mozzarella cheese.

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Before putting it in your oven LIGHTLY drizzle the top with a little more Olive Oil, a pinch of salt and a few cracks of pepper

If you don't have a Pizza Pan you can take out one of the shelves from your oven and line it with Aluminum Foil.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.