Coloring The City

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. I spent mine relaxing at a mansion on the UES. No big deal. :) But really, I was house/dog sitting for some family friends, which was a welcome break from my small apartment.

Here is a round-up of what I did this weekend:

Spent a lot of time with my new boyfriend, Sam. Some of his favorite activities include rolling in the grass in Central Park, licking the kitchen floor while I cook, (??) watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and eating sticks. Turns out we have a lot in common!

Coconut-breaded fish tacos (round 2) for a girls night in on Friday. We made them with Talapia instead of Mahi-Mahi this time. Much lighter, but just as good!

Stumbled across Shake Shack on the Upper East Side. The line out the door made it easy for me to resist this time, but I’ll have to try hard to stay away this week. It’s on 86th Street and Lexington if you’re in the area, and hungry for the best burger ever.

Explored 2 beautiful gourmet grocery stores. The first image is from Butterfield Market on 78th and Lexington. The second is from Eli’s on 3rd ave and 80th St. (more to come on Eli’s later this week!) My favorite thing about the Upper East side is the upscale food markets. There really isn’t any other neighborhood in Mahattan that has such beautiful grocery stores full of so many artisan foods and beautiful produce.

All in all, a pretty good weekend. The only thing that could have made it better would have been a trip to the Martha Stewart Pie and Tart Pop-up at Little Owl – The Venue in the West Village! The pop-up was promoting Martha’s new book Martha Stewart’s New Pies and Tarts and it looked absolutely amazing! Check out the pictures over at Martha’s Blog.

How was your weekend?

One of my favorite easy dinners is baked fish from the Trader Joe’s Freezer section – I usually go for the Salmon or Mahi Mahi – with a side of steamed spinach or broccoli. While this healthy meal usually does the trick, Sometimes you just need to spice things up a bit. Which, is exactly what I did with this meal. Inspired by the mango I had ripening on my counter and the fish I had in the freezer, I created these Coconut and Cornmeal Breaded Mahi Mahi Tacos with Mango Fruit Salsa.

This dish may sound intimidating, but it’s actually fairly easy to make and very quick. Here is everything you need for a dinner for 2:

Coconut-Breaded Mahi Mahi Tacos with Mango Salsa

• 2 fillets of Mahi Mahi – Sliced horizontally into 4-5 pieces each
• 3/4 cup corn meal (I used Jiffy cornbread mix)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 ripe mango
• 1 avocado
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 lime
• 4 small corn tortillas

Find 3 shallow bowls. whisk eggs in one, flour in another and the cornmeal with coconut in the third. Make sure fish is completely defrosted and patted dry. Coat each piece in flour, then in the egg, next roll the fish in the coconut mixture until completely covered and set aside on a clean plate. Repeat with each piece of fish.

Next, heat the oil olive in a large frying pan and place all of the fish in the pan. Cook on each side for 2-3 minutes until all sides of the fish are browned.

To make the mango salsa, you will need one large bowl. Cut the mango into small chunks and place in the bowl. Slice the 1/2 cup of grape tomatoes and add to the mango. Cut avocado into chunks, add to the bowl as well. Add the coarsely chopped cilantro and squeeze the juice of one lime into the bowl (I squeezed the lime into a separate bowl first to avoid getting the seeds in the salsa.) Mix the salsa gently with a spoon to avoid mashing the avocado or mango. Set aside until fish is done.

While the fish continues to cook, place the 4 tortillas on a damp paper towel and microwave for 20 seconds just to soften and warm them before serving.

To plate your meal, place the tortilla on the plate and add 2 or 3 pieces of fish on top. Next spoon a very generous amount of mango salsa on top and enjoy! As you can see, these tacos truly are over flowing, so be prepared to eat with a knife and fork instead of picking them up like a traditional taco.

I absolutely love this meal. The coconut breading gives the fish a very flavorful crispiness, while the mango salsa gives it a fresh punch. This is a meal that leaves you feelings satisfied but still with room for dessert…which, we know is very important!