Tag Archives: dip

Just In Time for Cinco de Mayo – Guacamole

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I can’t believe it’s been over a year since my last blog post, and what a year it’s been.  A global pandemic, a retirement, a cross-country move, going back to the Department of State Office of Inspector General as a retired annuitant leading inspections of Department programs and hopefully, next year, embassies overseas.  

A lot has changed in the past year. You’ll see that Jeannine’s Cuisine has a new look that reflects some of those changes. We now live in Helena, Montana!  We had previously purchased some land here and planned to build a home.  However, when our builder wanted to charge us more than $800,000 for a pretty basic 2,600-square foot home, we decided to go a different route instead.  We found a one-story rancher with the spectacular mountain views you see in the photo at the top of this post.  We’re still working on making it home, but we’re getting there. I’m down to three boxes. Yeah!

Before I went back to work I enrolled in a food photography course taught my Kimberly Espinel, a former Saveur magazine food photographer of the year and a wonderful instructor. It was a little difficult juggling work and photography homework, but it was so worth it. You can check out Kimberly’s blog here. The photos in this blog post were my final project for the class. I think you’ll agree I learned a lot in the class.

On to the recipe – I’ve always wanted to do a post for Cinco de Mayo. When I was looking for ideas for my final project for my photography class, I decided on guacamole. It’s delicious and healthy, and it’s not just for tortilla chips anymore, although some chips and guacamole with a frosty margarita sounds like a perfect combo to me.  Serve it with tacos or anything else you are preparing for Cinco de Mayo.  Pile it on toast, an omelet, or over fresh greens for a salad.  I just love avocados and anything made with them. After doing the photographs for this post, however, and going through two of the big bags of avocados from Costco, I’m going to take a little break from eating them for a while.  

Guacamole

Yield 1 1/2 Cups

You can make this guacamole as simple or elaborate as you choose.  Some purists just mix avocado with salt and pepper and call it a day.  Don’t like tomatoes?  Skip them.  If you only have lemons instead of lime, use lemon juice instead.  I love the taste of cilantro, but some people really detest it.  You do you!  

2 avocados

1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped

Salt to taste

2 tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro

Juice from 1/2 lime

Chopped hot chile to taste (I like to use one serrano, but you can also use jalapeno, habanero or skip it altogether)

1/4 white onion, finely chopped

1/2 tomato, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces

Remove the seed from the avocados and place the flesh in a bowl.  Smash the avocado with a fork or a potato masher.  Add salt to taste and any remaining ingredients you choose.  Mix to combine and serve immediately.  

You can extend the life of the guacamole by squeezing lime juice over the top and pressing plastic wrap on the surface to keep out the air.  Just stir the lime juice in before serving.  

Adapted from Mexican Everyday by Rick Bayless

Smoked Trout Spread – Michigan Style

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Fish Dip 1

Today’s recipe comes from historic Fishtown in Leland, Michigan. Fishtown was an active fishing village in Northern Michigan in the early 1900s, and today it remains as one of the only working commercial fishing villages in Michigan. These days, the fishing shanties on the dock are more likely to house chic boutiques and specialty food shops. However, you can still walk along the docks and observe smoke coming from the smokehouses, fishnets drying in the sun, and the fishing tugs coming in. Fishtown was designated as a Michigan State Historic Site in 1973 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

Fish Town

One of my favorite places for food and drink in Leland is the Cove, located right at the head of Fishtown, overlooking Lake Michigan. The ambience is great, the food delicious, and the beer is cold. However, the Cove is probably most famous for the Chubby Mary, an over-the-top Bloody Mary with a smoked chub poking out of the glass. Whaaat? Is that a fish in that drink? Trust me folks; the tomato juice, horseradish, lime and lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce soak up the smokiness of the fish, and it’s delicious. Mario Batali, who settled in the area, thinks so too, so it has to be good, right?

Chubby Mary

Another Fishtown special is Smoked Whitefish Spread. Smoked whitefish is a little hard to come by in Northern Virginia, so I make this with smoked trout with excellent results. There are variations of this recipe everywhere, but the foundation is the same for all – smoked whitefish is combined with something creamy and some seasonings to make a spread that will go with everything from tortilla chips to rye bread. It’s the perfect appetizer for your next dinner party. With a salad and some bread or crackers, it also makes a pretty decent lunch or snack.

Fish Dip 2

Smoked Trout Spread

8-10 Servings

You can experiment with various kinds of smoked fish for this recipe. The original calls for whitefish, but smoked trout, mackerel, and smoked salmon would work ask well. I used one package of smoked trout filets with good results. Serve with thin slices of cocktail bread, crackers, or crudites.

4 ounces of cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups full-fat Greek yogurt

Splash of Tabasco

1 teaspoon lemon juice

Salt to taste

2 scallions

8 ounces smoked trout (or other smoked fish)

Peel the skin off the fish, remove any pin bones and flake into a bowl, using your fingers to break the fish into tiny pieces.

Beat the cream cheese in a bowl until smooth. Add the yogurt, Tabasco, lemon juice, and salt and stir until smooth and completely blended. Fold in the scallions and trout until distributed completely throughout the mixure. Taste for seasoning and serve.

Fish Dip 3