Hot Dish Review

You might think I would be sick of guacamole and margaritas by our fourth day in Cabo, but you would be wrong. Even now, back in the states, I am craving a decent taco, looking forward to exploring some authentic tacquerias on Buford Highway!

After our appetizer tacos at O Mole Mio, B and I were strolling down a side street contemplating eating more when we were corraled by a dodgy guy offering free tortilla soup and sangria if we went to MigueLocos. Free soup you say? We followed him.

Thankfully he wasn’t a knife-wielding psychopath. We chose a table on the sidewalk with a view of the vibrantly painted interior of the restaurant with its kitschy yet inviting Mexican decor. It was obvious that most of their guests were American as English was spoken fluently.

A big bowl of tortilla soup was delivered, as promised. I thought it was quite tasty. B got the complimentary sangria which was pretty good. My margarita was perfect. Guacamole, chips, salsa, and queso with jalapenos were next. I dove into the gooey cheese, scooping it onto a corn tortilla. Everywhere we went the guacamole was great and MigueLocos was no exception.

No longer hungry but craving something fiery, I ordered the shrimp diablo. Really fresh and succulent, the shrimp were in a spicy sauce. Although I wouldn’t label it fiery, it was delicious.

My experiences with food in Cabo San Lucas were certainly consistent. Many dishes were served in a sauce and nothing was very hot and spicy. The corn tortillas were somewhat bland. I’m not sure if this is simply typical of the Baja region or if the food is dumbed down for American consumption. That would be a shame since most people these days are really seeking an authentic experience when travelling. Perhaps it’s the influence of shows like Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations or Andrew Zimmern’s Bizarre Foods, both on the travel channel. I can promise you we were not offered pig brain tacos or fried grasshoppers in Cabo!

Arriving at Capella Pedregal around 1pm last Thursday, B and I quickly made our way to the swim-up bar in front of one of the resort’s restaurants, Don Manuel’s.

I say quickly, but first we had to assess our 3 bedroom, 3 1/2 bath villa, stocked with groceries I had ordered the day before. Our mayordomo was to make guacamole for us, but alas we did not get a personal assistant. Most impressively, however, the ingredients were placed in our refrigerator…..the exact ingredients I use for my kickass guacamole! Of course, I got the recipe from a Mexican cleaning lady twenty years ago. More on this later…..

The first order of business was a Corona Light with lime. Then we slipped on our bikinis and dipped our toes in one of our 2 balcony infinity pools (yeah, I’m serious).

Finally down at one of the infinity pools, we chose 2 deck chairs near the bar, overlooking the white surf and the turquoise waters of the Pacific. Handsome Latino servers happily decked out our comfy padded loungers with fresh white towels as we gazed momentarily at the blue blue sky.

Now it was time for tequila! And a snack, too. B and I ordered two shots of Herradura with salt and limes plus two margaritas. Chips, salsa, and guacamole started us off. The chips were very thick. I was hoping this was not typical to Cabo San Lucas but as the days wore on, it became evident that it was the standard. As were white corn tortillas that were wrapped around our shrimp tacos rather than the coarse, intensely corn-flavored yellow ones.

The shrimp were plump and fresh, as I would expect sitting ten feet from the ocean, and their guacamole was authentic and chunky. Pico de gallo and a habenero salsa provided some kick.

As did our unexpected second shot of tequila. That kick put me to sleep on the chaise lounge to the sound of the crashing waves and the Latin acoustic guitarist that played poolside as the sun set.

A good start.

An old favorite from back in the day…..
My favorite dive, Elmyr in L5P, has been the scene of many hours of drinking margaritas, eating their awesome quesadillas, and just hanging out. I’ve always felt at home with the punk rock crowd. The walls are covered with murals, graffiti, rock posters and flyers….makes it harder to see the roaches.

I recently met SS there along with his brother TS, in town from SF for the funeral. I like to sit on the covered patio but SS wanted to sit at a table in the bar area. Too hungover for tequila, I ordered a refreshing Corona with lime. Me and SS have had countless quesadillas there. Never greasy, almost healthy, they are crisp on the outside and full of flavor.

SS got his usual, steak with avocado. I was going to get my usual too, chicken, onion, black beans, and jalapenos, with guacamole on the side, but ended up getting shrimp instead of chicken. Something new! Each comes with your choice of three salsas, all of them great; pico de gallo, salsa verde, and regular. The plate is garnished with a lettuce leaf with a huge dollop of sour cream.

So what the fuck happened? Our quesadillas were soggy. There was what seemed like a whole can of black beans in mine. SS said his steak was cut into chunks instead of the usual strips….he didn’t like it. And they were bland, too. Guacamole and salsas were as good as always, adding the only flavor to the mushy things.

Standard Tex-Mex items like soft tacos, nachos, and burritos are also on the menu. Everything is a la carte, no worthless rice and refried beans here!

After eight or so years seems like Elmyr is having some quality control issues. I’ll go back, of course. It’s like visiting an old friend.

By the way, I never get their chips. They suck.

1091 Euclid Avenue 404-588-0250

FROM JULIA at THE REYNOLDS GROUP (plus, I drive by it every day!)

Sustainable Seafood Joint Comes to the Virginia Highland Neighborhood

Second Location of Goin’ Coastal to Open in Popular Midtown Atlanta Neighborhood this July

ATLANTA (June 24, 2010)–Goin’ Coastal executive chef and co-owner Zach Kell and co-owner Seth Hendricks will introduce the second location of Goin’ Coastal “a sustainable seafood joint” in Atlanta’s Virginia Highland neighborhood this July. Showcasing a menu that embraces seasonal and sustainable seafood along with locally sourced ingredients, Goin’ Coastal will offer Atlantans Southern fish fare in a comfortable, neighborhood setting.

“At Goin’ Coastal we believe first and foremost in keeping the menu honest and simple to honor our commitment to sustainability,” Kell said. “Overall, our goal is to create a laidback atmosphere for us to connect to the community and for guests to understand the sustainability cause through enjoying delicious, fresh food. We are confident that the menu will become part of a larger conversation and thrive in Virginia Highland, one of Atlanta’s most beloved neighborhoods.”

The Cuisine
Created by Kell, Goin’ Coastal’s menu features an array of Southern-inspired dishes with a focus on fresh fish and seafood. The dishes are designed to showcase freshly caught, seasonally available seafood prepared simply to enhance the natural flavors and textures of the ingredients. Menu highlights include she crab soup; shrimp and grits with seared American shrimp and flash-fried Gulf Rock shrimp served over creamy grits with andouille gravy; fresh seared New Bedford sea scallops with garlic and tarragon Parmesan butter; and Ashley Farms free-range fried chicken with creamy bacon thyme gravy.

A carefully crafted wine list is designed to compliment the from-the-sea fare along with a thoughtful selection of local craft beers.

The Credo
Passionately devoted to the sustainability cause, Goin’ Coastal features only the highest quality seafood, fished or farmed, from sources in the United States and Canada that can exist over the long term without compromising species’ survival and the health of the ecosystem. Co-owner and executive chef Kell’s ongoing commitment to the sustainable seafood movement has provided him with the knowledge to carefully select only the most discerning vendors and freshest products. With more than 75 percent of the world’s fisheries either fully fished or underfished, Goin’ Coastal believes the choices they make will make a positive contribution to the seafood marketplace for all consumers.

The Décor
Located in Atlanta’s Virginia Highland neighborhood, Goin’ Coastal’s décor creates an historic aura that acts as a backdrop for the restaurant’s neighborhood style of service. The warm dining room will seat 65 guests and will feature distressed brickwork, weathered timber accents and walls decorated with unique vintage black-and-white photos of fishermen. Flanked by oversized chalkboards that highlight the fresh catches of the day, the focal point of the dining room is a large mural that features a vintage fishing boat and a description of Goin’ Coastal’s mission as a “sustainable seafood joint.”

The Team
As executive chef and co-owner of Goin’ Coastal, Kell draws upon his 15 years of experience in the restaurant and hospitality industries to provide a unique, sustainable dining experience by combining a comfortable environment with the freshest culinary dishes. He learned his sense of old school hospitality from his mother, who cooked three innovative meals a day from scratch for his family. A graduate of Johnson and Wales in Providence, Rhode Island, Kell attributes his successes to the motivation of his father and the support of his wife, Bre, and he is dedicated to a food philosophy that supports a sustainable menu and the ultimate seafood dining experience.

1021 Virginia Avenue 404-941-9117

We have eaten at Nacoochee Grill in Helen many times since it opened about seven years ago. It has undergone a few minor menu changes but has remained relatively true to its original concept….Southern cuisine with uptown flair.

Set inside a renovated house, Nacoochee makes guests feel at home. Light green walls and country casual decor look shabby chic to us city folks. Probably makes the rednecks scratch their heads and wonder why they didn’t fix it up a little better.

Mom ordered a glass of riesling and I got the muscadine wine by Habersham, the winery right down the street. I left with a bottle of it.

My Dad usually gets grilled or blackened fish with collards and a salad on the side, but opted for grilled shrimp instead. He’s pretty particular about his seafood. His shellfish have to be thoroughly cooked until opaque. I tend to agree, I don’t like the weird texture of undercooked shrimp or lobster. Naturally, his shrimp were a little on the clear side so he sent them back to the kitchen.

Nacoochee Grill serves chicken, fish, and steaks, with an emphasis on their grilled selections, often heavy on the garlic. But don’t forget where you are….in the South. Practically everything is also available fried. Bread service varies, recently featuring cranberry scones and jalapeno cornbread or cheddar biscuits.

Mom almost always orders the Szechuan glazed salmon with a sweet potato and salad. True to form, even on her birthday.

Having had the French country salad several times for lunch I decided to order it with the addition of crab cakes for a lighter dinner. But I couldn’t resist the squash casserole which unfortunately contained more casserole than squash and was covered with cheese….way to make a vegetable unhealthy! My Mom also let me have a few bites of her sweet potato, served with cinnamon butter…..yummo.

The salad was great with field greens, pungent gorgonzola, chewy bacon, walnuts, and sliced apple. I requested it without the red onions and also substituted their house honey balsamic dressing for the bacon vinaigrette that regularly comes with the salad. Their honey balsamic dressing is delicious, so good they sell it. I was planning to buy some on this visit but they were sold out so I took home the leftover dressing from all three of our salads. Free….even better!

No desserts. I had bought a couple of pieces of hazelnut torte from Olde Bavaria Inn earlier. Regretably, they have a new supplier and it was just yellow cake with hazelnut icing….not a torte at all. It sucked.

Under normal circumstances I don’t care for re-runs. Here’s an exception: Saturday at the beach was practically a re-run of Friday, but even more fun! MM and I set up camp as the others gathered beers and supplies. The beach was followed by a brief pool visit, then intoxicated showering.

Seafood was in order and George’s was the place. A brief walk, again in heels, brought us to a quaint yet trendy restaurant in a renovated house. We waited a bit for a table since our group was large and ended up seated on the patio, complete with umbrellas decorated with tiny white lights. Cute.

JS and KS had mentioned their colossal frutta di mare quesadillas the day before, big enough for a meal for two. But for a group of nine, KS thought two would be perfect for appetizers. At $29 each, we could barely polish them off. Drizzled with a spicy aoili and topped with pineapple salsa, each quesadilla was filled with lobster, shrimp, crab, and cheese. Really tasty!

MC and KC, who live in a neighboring town, joined us. They ordered a couple of bottles of Shug pinot noir. ST got a glass of chardonnay and I also opted for white with a semi-sweet reisling.

Entrees were mostly seafood dishes like wild salmon with a cinnamon soy glaze or cioppino, the fish stew of mussels, clams, shrimp and fish in a tomato based broth (that I often find revolting due to my distaste of that combo). MC ordered the seared coconut scallops and gave me a taste. Three ginormous orbs atop a bowl of orzo. Although very nicely done, there were three. It was $27.

I opted for the lemongrass curry shrimp, hoping for 7 or 8 huge prawns since we were on the gulf, but was served about 15 smallish shrimp instead, along with lots of green and red peppers. Disappointing, but the flavor was passable. Again, not a bargain at $24.

Strangely, there were lots of Asian notes to the menu and with my relative expertise on Asian cuisine I should know to stay away from it unless I’m on Buford Highway or at an authentic Asian restaurant. But I rarely listen to my own advice.

Also on offer were lamb chops, spicy Mongol beef tenderloin, Kahlua pork tenderloin for strict carnivores.

Then there was the section of seafood bowls, all of which could be ordered grilled or fried. ST got the fried combo…..shrimp, grouper, and oysters. Served with, what else? Fries. Oh, and don’t forget the fried hushpuppies. The crunch of fried foods is practically irresistable, but it bores me after a bite or two. Batter just masks the flavor. I had an oyster and a fry or two (and maybe a bite of a hushpuppy).

A couple of folks got the grilled grouper bowl. My bite, from KC, totally lacked flavor.

They serve a full lunch menu as well with healthy wraps and spa inspired dishes like the toasted macadamia tofu on a bed of soba noodles which I bet has twice the calories you’d think. Soups, salads, sandwiches, all come in around $13.

No room for sweets, thankfully me and ST had dessert before we left the house!

Portions at George’s are big and so are the price-tags. But the food is solid and certainly worth a visit.

Eight chefs. Two hundred guests seated dockside at lake Clara Meer in Piedmont Park. Dinner Party’s first big event and the weather forecast was threatening thunderstorms, but alas, it was Patrick and Darren’s lucky day. Humidity may have wreaked havoc on some of the chicks’ hair but no rain.

B and I parked in the controversial Piedmont Park deck and walked a bit….glad Patrick recommended no heels. Three drink stations provided cocktails as we arrived at the stone building near the dock. A short rum and ginger drink was a spicy and refreshing start from mixologist Greg Best of Holeman and Finch (I think).

The chef line-up was impressive, including Hector Santiago of Pura Vida and one of last season’s Top Chef contestants. Nick Melvin of Parish and Craig Richards of La Tavola were cookin’, as was Andrew Sheridan listed as chef at The Sound Table, Darren’s new restaurant (along with partners Jeff Myers and Karl Injex) which opens tonight (tonight?).

Local farms provided the farm-fresh veggies and meats while the Pope High School culinary team worked with the chefs for this event to benefit the Piedmont Park Conservancy.

It was nearly impossible to choose a seat as each chef had a different menu, utilizing the same local ingredients for each course. But I love Top Flr so B and I sat at Shane’s table, ironically next to Patrick’s lovely Mom who was seated next to Felicia Feaster, my zodiac twin.

Overlooking the water, the venue was illuminated by candlelight as dusk settled around us. Diners were giddy with anticipation.

Dinner Party guests usually get a printed menu but Shane changed his dishes at the last minute so our table was at his mercy, except for me. I got his actual menu notes! Sommelier Valerie was pairing and pouring, I don’t know how she managed to come up with different wines for each course, and each chef, but she did a splendid job.

Our meal began with an enormous Georgia prawn, split and topped with collards, complimented by vibrant cherry tomatoes, shaved pecorino, and a light citrus vinaigrette.

My favorite dish of the evening, however, would be the second course. I knew the moment I deciphered Shane’s scribbled words of “pork rillette” and “Vidalia confit”. His rillette was less fatty than Abattoir’s but nevertheless rich, served over a perfectly crisp crostini topped with the sweet yet savory caramelized onions. Candied kumquats provided an additional sweet note that works so well with pork. Just brilliant.

Our entree was a thin slice of top round atop a Ceasar salad. We didn’t love it. My steak was not very tender and I thought the dish was a bit boring after the first two incredible courses. But with the red meat came the red wine….hooray! A 2008 Dolcetta d’Alba.

Dessert was a cheesecake, I believe made with Sweet Grass Dairy chevre, presented in a tiny jar with mascerated strawberries. A spoon would have been the preferred utensil to eat it with but given the circumstances, what the hell. Good but not amazing like the dessert at the Dinner Party B and I attended in February.

For their first BIG event, the boys certainly did an impressive job! But you know, I really wouldn’t expect anything less. Look for photos to be posted on their website and on facebook soon.

www.dinnerpartyatlanta.com

For the second year in a row I ended up at Shaun’s during the Inman Park Festival. Last year I made a reservation. My previous experiences at Shaun’s were not spectacular so I thought this was a prime opportunity for the restaurant to redeem itself, despite the burden of the festival crowds.

I’ve yet to be impressed. In fact, neither last year’s or this year’s visit was nearly as good as my first visit. I remember having the shrimp and grits then, seated in the front room by the bar when it was still used as a dining room. The dish was so incredibly rich that it almost made me nauseous. But it was impossible to deny that the shrimp were perfectly cooked, the flavors were pure Southern comfort, with a stick of butter.

Last year my companion and I, seated in the main dining room opposite the semi-open kitchen, shared the Sardinian flatbread that Doty has become known for since his Mumbo Jumbo days. Basically a huge cracker topped with arugula, cheese and olive oil, with occasional variations. Our flatbread was supposed to have goat cheese but we got parmesan instead….not even a reasonable substitution, but I chalked it up to their being so busy. We also ordered the Berkshire pork buns….sliders with pork. I can’t remember if it was shredded pork but I do remember that they were rather uninspired. Our entrees were so boring I don’t recall them at all. But I do remember the dessert, the sticky toffee pudding. A dry clump of cake doused with a cloying sweet (and I guess sticky) toffee syrup. Just plain bad.

Doty was one of the first young Atlanta chefs to re-introduce diners to liver. After 3 1/2 years in business (I swear it seems like 7) he still serves his chopped liver, East Village style, and the chicken liver fettuccini. I hate chicken liver so I won’t be sampling those dishes, although it is possible that my companion last year ordered the chopped liver, after all, he is a New York Jew.

This year LG and I stopped by purely by chance, hoping to score a table outside for a drink. It took me 20 minutes to get her mojito and my mimosa, but the weather was great and the people watching was entertaining. Promptly at 5:00 we were asked to move, so we took a table in the pretty, yet secluded, back patio. Seated on mod plastic chairs next to a wall of jasmine, the setting was very pleasant.

We ordered a bottle of Lambrusco bianco. Sold out. LG ordered a prosecco and I ordered another Mistral Mimosa. Sold out of anything sparkling. After years of being centrally located during the festival you would think they would have their shit together by now. How about a glass of tempranillo for me and the simply red for LG? Our server inadvertantly switched them, but we figured it out. She had already delivered a delicious sesame bread basket with butter.

It was Sunday which is pasta night at Shaun’s. For a mere $12 guests can dine on salad, pasta, and dessert. Chopped salad with buttermilk dressing, celery, and sprouts and your choice of goat cheese raviolis with wild nettle pesto, rigatoni with organic turkey bolognese, or spaghetti with marinara and pork meatballs. I almost went with the goat cheese raviolis. They did look good at a nearby table.

But instead, I ordered the roasted chicken. The menu description says “Benton’s smoked ham, black trumpet mushrooms, grilled ramps, smoked olive oil”. So I’m thinking it is perhaps a half skin-on roasted chicken with mushrooms and ramps. Uh, no. I asked if the skin was crispy and our server said “well….not really. But I can request that for you”. Bad idea. The chicken was boneless breasts stuffed with the mushrooms and ham served over a huge plate of polenta and turnip greens. WTF? The beige skin on the chicken was mushy….the farthest thing from crispy imaginable.

The overwhelming issue at Shaun’s is the misrepresentation of dishes on the menu. Or rather, unclear descriptions, substitutions, and missing ingredients. There’s just no excuse, really. Shouldn’t the chicken dish be described as “stuffed chicken breast with polenta and turnip greens”? Even the ramps were missing, but delivered in a side dish. They were scallions.

LG’s burger was ordinary. With Doty’s Yeah! Burger opening any day one would think the burger here would be kickass. Not so much. It was a thick hunk of meat on an ordinary bun with ordinary cheese. Even the promise of duck-fat fries fell flat. I can name lots of trendy restaurants with better fries, regardless of the type of fat they are fried in. I’m not looking forward to reviewing his new burger joint which is on my roster for an upcoming issue of Atlanta’s Finest Dining.

What’s good about Shaun’s? Doty is a trend-setter with his gluten-free dinners and an early supporter of Slow Food and Georgia Organics. That’s about it.

The service wasn’t bad. The food wasn’t bad. It’s just consistently mediocre.

Opening a fine dining restaurant during the worst of economic times doesn’t sound like a smart business move, but somehow Pacci has survived and thrived. Perhaps it’s chef Keira Moritz who has gained notoriety and respect among her mostly male peers. Maybe its location in one of several new, trendy midtown hotels brings it the automatic business that hotel restaurants rely on, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner to guests.

Or, it could be that it simply kicks ass. It is fairly common knowledge that I rarely eat Italian food. But I acquiesed on this assignment for AFD because I liked that a successful female chef was running the show.

ST and I valeted the HotDishmobile last Friday and walked in to Pacci. There was Geno! How fabulous, I hadn’t seen him since his days at Spice Market. We sat newlywed style on a banquette with a view of the expansive and dark dining room, lit by sets of enormous globes that hung from the high ceiling, shaded by long black fringe. The burgundy velvet and wood tones of the decor are puncuated by light blue and cream jacquard armchairs, one per table. Elegant.

Geno started us out with a couple of specialty bellinis, one with vanilla liqueur and the other with passion fruit. Then he brought out an amuse bouche of butter lettuce with seafood salad, light and fun.

After some discussion, Geno recommended a wine flight for me….a trio of 2007 pinot noirs from Sequana Vineyard, each with a distinct character. I ended up ordering another glass or two of the spicy Dutton Ranch.

The kobe beef carpacio was our first course, dressed with capers, tapenade, and baby arugula. Their bread service was an assortment of crispy wafers, focaccia, and cracker-like bread sticks. Problem with that is, I love authentic Italian bread and would prefer to have that at an Italian restaurant, with sweet butter please.

For our second course ST chose the lobster and butternut squash bisque with creme fraiche. Smooth and creamy, I don’t recall any chunks of lobster but the flavor was rich, reminiscent of she crab soup.

Naturally, I ordered the duck confit. A perfect example of this cooking method, the meat was succulent, falling of the bones, while the skin was super crispy. Served over soft polenta with bits of gorgonzola and blackberry marmalade, it sounds like a foolproof combination. But somehow, the four main components were not integrated. I found the gorgonzola unnecessary and while I do love a sweet accompaniment to duck, perhaps the dish would have been even better with mascerated blackberries. Nevertheless, it was damn awesome.

Eating our way down the menu, next came pastas. ST tried the shrimp fettucini with creamy pancetta sauce, Spring peas, and a soft fried egg on top, a.k.a carbonara. Rich, rich, and delicious. I ordered the sweet potato ravioli (how predictable!). Four raviolis came topped with gorgonzola and speck with brown butter. Rich, rich, and delicious.

More? Yes. The pork chop with fennel, roasted yam, and pomegranate-basil pesto had my name written all over it. One of the best chops I have had in recent memory, very tender. Pesto provided a little Italian flavor, but it was the roasted yams, sliced into thin disks with crispy caramelized edges that were amazing!

ST got the dry aged New York strip, medium, with a side of cannellini beans. Big steak. Good steak. Guess what we had for breakfast….steak and eggs.

Desserts include the quintessential Italian tiramisu and panna cotta, but we opted for the straightforward sweets, chocolate strata and rum bread pudding. I cannot say no to bread pudding! Pastry chef Elizabeth Matheson’s version is baked in its own small casserole dish topped with caramel and a little dollop of vanilla gelato. Personally, I would drizzle the caramel on the hot pudding so it would remain gooey rather than on the cold ice cream, but no matter, it was fabulous. ST’s chocolate strata was a huge slice of chocolate cake layered with chocolate mousse, served with vanilla gelato. Pretty presentation, pretty chocolately.

We were stuffed! Despite a couple of minor complaints, Pacci made a great impression on both of us.

866 West Peachtree Street NW 678-412-2402

Although I didn’t have the chance to eat moqueca in Brazil last month, I have had it several times at Beleza. It is a simple and delicious curry-like fish stew made with coconut milk. I thought it would make an excellent dish to eat while trying out my uva (black grape) caipirinhas!

Well….the caipirinhas were weird. I’ll have to practice to get them right. But the moqueca was excellent! I combined several recipes, mainly using the one on Whats4Eats, cutting it in half for me and ST.

Here is my version:

3/4 lbs. prawns (12 large of the 16-20 count)
juice from 1 lime
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. canola oil
1 large Vidalia onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 red jalapeno, chopped
1 green jalapeno, chopped
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
cilantro (shitload)
black pepper
avocado

Marinate the shrimp in the lime juice and salt for 30 minutes in a glass bowl. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a skillet and cook the onions until translucent (I used a little of the chicken broth so they wouldn’t get too dark). Add the jalapenos and garlic and saute for another minute or two. Stir in the tomatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes until they soften. Add the coconut milk, chicken stock, some cilantro, fresh ground pepper, and shrimp with their marinade. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes or until shrimp are opaque.

The healthy section at Kroger has this awesome instant rice called Annie Chun’s Rice Express. There are three varieties, this time I got the multi-grain sticky rice. (Man, I still miss sticky rice in New York, delivered in plastic wrap.)

Serve the moqueca in a bowl over rice and top with sliced avocado and cilantro. So easy and so delicious! We opened a bottle of cheap tempranillo from Trader Joe’s (I call it “the pig”) since my caipirinhas failed.