What’s an omnivorous wife to do to keep her pescaterian husband happy? Welcome to my daily dinner dilemma. This usually means some sort of fish and vegetable or salad with potatoes or rice but that gets old. Compound this with my desire to stay away from the evil gluten as much as possible (oh beautiful pasta how I miss thee), and you can see the limitations inherent. So in order to please the Mr. in the kitchen I find a little creativity comes in handy.
Here’s a great vegetarian option I’ve come up with and everybody loves it, you won’t even miss the meat. Papas con Rajas Tacos (potatoes with roasted chile strips). This recipe feeds my family of three so adjust as needed. Hope you enjoy….
First you roast the Poblano Chile’s.
Preheat the oven broiler to high, and position an oven rack four to five inches below the broiler. Place the peppers on a baking sheet or broiler pan Watch the peppers carefully, and turn them every one to two minutes to ensure even roasting. Roast for about 10 minutes until skin is blistered and blackened. When finished roasting place them in a paper bag to cool. Once they’ve cooled you should be able to peel off the skin easily. Cut peeled peppers into strips and set aside.
Next you roast a Potato.
Preheat (or lower) oven to 425. Take one large potato and cut it into long wedges like large fries. You can season them anyway you like, I used my beloved Goya Adobo Seasoning and added a bit of cumin and paprika then tossed them with olive oil. Spray cookie sheet with oil place potato wedges on sheet and bake until tender (about 30 minutes). Make sure to turn the wedges halfway through cooking.

Chop Tomatoes, Shred Cabbage and Heat Corn Tortillas
While potatoes cook chop some tomatoes. I like to add chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime to the tomatoes. Shred some cabbage and put them in small serving bowls. You’ll also want to heat up some corn tortillas just before the potatoes are done. I use about a dozen to make six tacos.

Have Toppings Handy
Make sure you’ve got Tapatio and Salsa handy. We used green salsa this time but all agreed that the chipotle salsa I used a subsequent time complimented the potato better.

And Now for the Secret Ingredient!
Daughter and I found this amazing Russian Sour cream at our neighborhood market. It’s creamier and sweeter than regular sour cream and a bit thicker than Mexican crema. It’s kind of in between the two
Papas and Rajas ready to be tucked into some delicious tortillas.

Side Dish
Tonight’s accompaniment is Arroz con Maiz (rice with corn). I cooked the rice and frozen corn in vegetable stock.

YUM!
Assemble your taco with all the ingredients and top off with some sliced avocados

Dinner is served!
One of my favorite people in the whole world happens to live in the Boston area, so when I was called to the Dominican Republic on family business I decided to take a long 3 day layover in Boston to boogie with my girl G-Bird. Leaving the Mr. and Daughter to fend for themselves for a whole week, I pack two climates worth of clothing and set off. Boston and Santo Domingo here I come!
I must admit as happy as I am to see my friend, the 20 degree weather that greets me in Boston is not tickling my fancy. Quick G-Bird, we gotta get us some warm liquid stat! That’s right Ladies and Gentlemen it’s Pho time. G-Bird takes my me her local neighborhood Vietnamese place called Ph Yuen Dong. We had actually been there before when I visited with my daughter 5 years earlier but that was before I got serious about my Pho.
The place was bustling and we were lucky to get a table in the back. Busy usually portends goodness so I was hopeful and cold and ready for some liquid sunshine. Service was not the greatest. It appeared that there was only one server for the whole restaurant and he was swamped. After waiting a long time, I finally get to order my usual crispy spring rolls and rare beef Pho. Bonus points for having three sizes of Pho, small, regular and large. I opt for the small since I’m on a portion downsizing kick and it turned out to be plenty for lunch. First up crispy spring rolls. Uh oh, hmmm a bit greasy, filling lacking flavor and it tasted like old oil. Also very skimpy on the condiments, no extra lettuce leaves to wrap them in. Lets hope the Pho is better, right? Sad to report it was only mediocre. The broth lacked depth and no jalapeños were included in the condiment dish. When I asked they looked at me weird. Braintree what the Pho?
Anyway, I can’t say I minded too terribly, the company was really what it was all about.

Crispy Spring Rolls – Eh
Rare Beef Pho – More Eh
First Course Presidente Beer a seriously delicious beer that taste better with humidity!
Chicken Mini-Mofongo served in a Pilon with a sofrito broth and Avocado! MMMMM.
Mofongo on my plate drizzled with broth and welcoming me home.


While your bugs cook you can put together your stuffing. Here are your ingredients. You’ll want to start by melting the stick of butter and putting that aside. Some will be used for dipping and some for the stuffing. In a bowl add your can of clams with juice and all and enough bread crumbs to get it to a good stuffing consistency. Now add 1/4 to 1/2 of the melted butter and season to your liking.
Mmmmm, looking good. Now drain your lobsters and let them cool for a bit
Once they’re cool enough you’ll want to slice them straight down the middle, but don’t cut all the way through the back shell.









Eh, not all that
Too much Ice












