Pink Grapefruit Margaritas, Grilled Fish Tacos with Chipotle Sauce and Cookbook #71, Barefoot Contessa, how easy is that?





It's a pretty long title, I know.  Truth be told, I wasn't sure whether I could do this cookbook justice with the recipes I've made from it.  Does a margarita count as a recipe?  Normally, I'd say no, but this is grapefruit, pink grapefruit, and I do adore pink grapefruit.  Not sure why I never thought to try this flavor combo before, but luckily my dearest Ina Garten included this fabulous recipe in her latest cookbook.  It was the perfect margarita, but there are very few margs this chica will pass on.  Ask The Rio if you think I'm lying.

The only adaptation I made was to add a few squirts (couple of tbsps?) of Agave nectar to sweeten it up just a tad. 

Pink Grapefruit Margaritas

from how easy is that? by Ina Garten

Ingredients

• 1 lime, cut in wedges, optional
• Kosher salt, optional
• 1 cup ruby red grapefruit juice
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (4 limes)
• 1 cup orange liqueur, such a Triple Sec
• 2 cups ice
• 1 cup white tequila

Directions

If you like a salt rim on the glasses, rub the lime around the edge of the glass and then dip the rim of each glass lightly in a plate of kosher salt. Set aside to dry.

Combine the grapefruit juice, lime juice, orange liqueur, and ice in a blender and puree until smooth. Pour into a large pitcher and stir in the tequila. If youre not serving the margaritas in salted glasses, stir 1/4 teaspoon of salt into the pitcher of margaritas. Believe me, it will make a difference!  


Not a fan of frozen margaritas? It's just as fine on the rocks.  I took testing this recipe very seriously.  

So what about the non-margarita recipes in this cookbook?  I so want to say I love them all.  And it's not that I don't--I'd make almost everything in there.  They just didn't seem all that original to me.  In fact, if you just showed me the cookbook without the cover, I'd guess it was Barefoot Contessa's cookbook right away.  I know all cooks have a style, but truthfully, I only need so many 4 ingredient roasted chicken recipes that include garlic, white wine and lemon as a base.  It's super duper hard for me to say that about anything Ina does.  

I did make the eggplant caponata for book club and it was a hit with all the girls.  But to my earlier point, I was struck by how similar it was to the Roasted Eggplant Spread in the first Barefoot Contessa cookbook.  A couple of different ingredients, but the basic flavor and concept was the same. There's another shortcake recipe that I swear is the same as an earlier cookbook, it's just a deconstructed shortcake this time.  As always, the photos are stunning and you wish you were Ina Garten after flipping through the book.  That alone might justify the cost and shelf space.

And since Ina Garten is not known for her Mexican/Tex-Mex flavors, I turned to an old favorite recipe of mine to accompany the pink margaritas--Grilled Fish Tacos with Chipotle Sauce.

It starts out with rubbing the fish with a blackening spice. You can purchase at any gourmet store or some grocery stores, or you can make your own quite easily (2 tbsp kosher salt, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper, 2 tbsp paprika, 1 tbsp oregano, 1 tbsp cayenne pepper,  1 tsp chipotle powder, 1 tbsp garlic and 1 tsp dry mustard).

And then you make the chipotle sauce--probably my favorite part of the recipe.  Chipotle is like heaven to me.  For those who love it, you know what I'm talking about.  For those that don't, you can probably leave it out.  And for those who are unfamiliar with it, allow me to make introductions.

You can find these little suckers in small little 7oz cans in the mexican food aisle.  They are smoked jalepenos and have that wonderfully spicy smoky flavor.  Once opened, you only use a one or two of the the peppers.  I pop the rest into the a little jar and they keep for quite a while.   Two of these peppers, finely, finely minced and thrown into a bowl with one tsp of the adobo sauce from the can,  1.5 cup plain yogurt, 3 tsp minced cilantro and 1/2 tsp salt makes a sauce that is both spicy and cool at the same time.  You can also adjust the chipotles or remove the seeds for a slightly less spicy version.

The rest of the fixings for the tacos are just a matter of slicing and dicing. It's a pretty quick meal to throw together.

Warning: grilliing these inside may cause humans and puppies to go into chili-induced coughing fit. If cats are ever awake, they may go into coughing fit as well.

Grilled Fish Tacos with Chipotle Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 lb white fish such as cod or tillapia
• 1 tbsp oil
• blackening spice
• 1/2 head cabbage
• 1 lime freshly squeezed
• 1 green onion finely sliced
• 2-3 Romas, diced
• corn tortillas
• chipotle yogurt (recipe above)

Directions

1. Combine cabbage, green onions and lime juice.  Toss to coat and set aside
2. Preheat grill or place grill pan over medium high heat.  Brush with oil.
3. Arrange fish on plate and oil each piece.  Thinly coat both sides with blackening spice.
4. Place fish on grill and cook 4 minutes on one side, flip and cook additiona 3-5 minutes.  Transfer to tray and let cool slightly.
5. Wrap the tortillas in aluminum foil and warm in 275 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until warmed through.
6. Slice fish into 1 inch pieces. 
7. To assemble, spread cabbage on a warmed tortialla, top with fish and chipotle sauce and tomatoes.