#fishtacos

Last weekend I found myself surprisingly sans boys Saturday night. I never did the math that both would be gone, so I never made alternative plans. Luckily, I said the magic words to quickly gather six additional people in my home on less than 24 hours notice:

#fishtacos

I am such a sucker for good #fishtacos. (And yes, I will continue to hashtag those words because it makes me giggle.) I think one of the reasons I enjoy them so much is that I disdained them for so long before finally trying them. Fish? In a taco? What is that?! My parents are from Ohio. I grew up eating (or refusing to eat, in my case) tuna noodle casserole and baked chicken. Luckily, my mom’s culinary adventuring has blossomed exponentially, as has my interest in all sorts of delicious food combinations that previously seemed odd. Except tuna noodle casserole. That’s still disgusting.

But #fishtacos represent the ultimate in light, refreshing and funky. With the right fish and the right sauce, they can be transcendent. That doesn’t happen often, and there are definitely ways to screw it up royally. I’m looking at you, Long John Silvers. But I figured I could put something together quickly that, while not being exactly transcendent, would be more than passable for guests.

In the morning, I made salsa verde – opting to quickly boil the tomatillas rather than roast them. I thought I’d ruined the whole batch with too much mysterious hot pepper from our CSA, but it actually mellowed out in the fridge. Opposite of what I’d expected.

And I did a quick chicken+coconut milk+cilantro combo in the slow cooker before I left the house for the day. I wanted to give people an option to not have #fishtacos (whatevs) and I knew the leftover chicken would be useful this week (truth). Then, before I arrived back home to finish prepping for the evening, I also visited D’s and two different Sharp Edge locations to fill our growlers, in an attempt to try as many pumpkin beers this fall before the season ends. Smutty Nose Pumpkin Ale, Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale, and Southern Tier Pumking (my favorite, but the hardest to say), plus an array of ciders from Arsenal Cider House. Totally in business.

I made a super fast pico de gallo with CSA tomatoes, more mysterious hot peppers and onions and threw in the last of the cilantro and fresh lime that I used on the fish. Done and done, and ready for friends by seven o’clock sharp.

Hilarity ensued, beers consumed, #fishtacos eaten (and praised. whew!), and even a quick pear crisp devoured.

Not bad for a day’s work.