Sweet Tequila Shrimp Tacos with Chipotle Lime Crema

My roommate, Courtney, and I got back early from Spring Break on Friday and were still left with the rest of the weekend to bum around and relax after a long 5 days of tanning and doing other recreational activities in Punta Cana. It was perfectly dreary and raining; exactly what I was hoping for believe it or not. The dismal weather gave us the perfect excuse to leave our luggage in the car for two days and not do anything whatsoever. My boyfriend came back in the early evening on Saturday, so after a long day of literally nothing, I thought it would be fun to cook something for us. (Because how often is nothing going on on a Saturday night, right?) I was stuck between the idea of making lasagna or shrimp tacos, but I already had shrimp from whole foods in the freezer, so that seemed like the more practical choice.

These tacos where so good we ended up buying more shrimp the next day so we could make more. I had made shrimp tacos over spring break last year for all of my friends that were staying with me at my dad's condo in Orange Beach, so I tried to remake what I did the first time. I really couldn't figure out exactly what I had done because I didn't write it down, but that just lead me to invent an even better recipe than before (this time taking full advantage of the top shelf tequila someone forgot in my apartment....)

Sweet Tequila Shrimp Tacos with Chipotle Lime Crema 

Shrimp Marinade

Ingredients 

Makes about 4 tacos

½ lb shrimp

1 ½ tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon chopped cilantro

about a teaspoon of lime juice

1 shot of tequila

¼ teaspoon chili powder

 1 clove minced garlic

½ teaspoon salt

few dashes of pepper

**I also made this with about 1 ½ lbs of shrimp and doubled the ingredients. If you are going to marinade it for a longer period of time, decrease the amount of tequila because the flavor can become overpowering.

Chipotle Lime Crema

Ingredients 
½ cup sour cream
½ cup greek yogurt
2 tablespoons of mayo 
2 teaspoons of chilis in adobo sauce (I scooped around the chilis)
½ teaspoon of sugar 
juice of half a lime 
salt and pepper to taste 
*Splash of milk or heavy cream (not necessary but makes it easier to pour) 

The first time I did this I used 2 tablespoons of the adobo sauce instead of teaspoons and it was SO spicy. I had to double the other ingredients and add sugar. 

Pico de Gallo

Ingredients 
(measurements aren't really important here - just work with what you have leftover)
Diced Roma tomatos 
chopped white onion
chopped cilantro 
lime juice 
fresh corn
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Sautéed Louisiana Drum with Garlic Lemon Butter with a side of Light Pea and Corn Orzo

My mom insisted that we make Louisiana drum fish. Personally, I wanted to make cod, but she knows a lot more about fish than I do. I also seem to be the only one in my family that likes salmon, which is a bummer. Especially because it is so good for you! Why do people dislike salmon so much? I don't get it. Is is not classy/sophisticated or something? Anyway, we went with the drum. And it was good, but I undercooked it. And unlike salmon, just saying, this fish can't get away with being slightly undercooked. The butter sauce that was on top though was incredible! We had some leftover and couldn't stop spreading what was left on our warm, homemade naan.

The orzo was also a hit. Orzo is easily forgotten as a side dish, but is it so easy to make, and flexible when it comes to ingredients. You can have a lot or a little, and it will still be delicious. It has definitely become my go to as a side dish for fish. I use seafood stock instead of chicken when I make it wish fish to give it a more unifying flavor. I'm not wild about peas, but they add a nice color and aren't too noticeable in the dish. Also, instead of buying more peas than I needed, I went to the salad making section of whole foods and bought just what I needed so I didn't waste money or ingredients. The sweet corn is a must-do ingredient though.

For the Sautéed Louisiana Drum with Garlic Lemon Butter, I used the butter sauced from the blog The Stay at Home Chef found here. I highly recommend that you make this incredible butter stuff. Actually, double the recipe and have it on hand. It's that good. We also used it as a spread on our homemade naan and it was beyond delicious! -I also put the lemon slices in for about a minute or two before the fish while the pan was heating up to infuse the fish and oil with lemony flavor.

Corn and Pea Orzo
makes enough for 4

Ingredients
1 cup orzo
1 ear of fresh sweet corn
about 1/2 cup skim milk (for cooking the corn)
about 2/3 cup of cooked peas (or more if you really like peas)
1 Tbs. of chopped, fresh basil
1 Tbs. of olive oil
1 1/4 cup seafood stock (you can use all stock, but I always add water to make it slightly less strong)
1/4 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

1. Begin by lightly browning the dry orzo with the tablespoon of olive oil. It's up to you how brown to make it, but just like browning butter, it sneaks up on you. So, the browner it is the nuttier it tastes.

2. Pour the water and seafood stock on top of the orzo, mix a little and then cover and let cook untouched according to the package directions.

3. When the orzo has absorbed the most or all of the liquid, mix in the rest of the ingredients. Serve immediately. (If not, you may need to add more water/stock later because it tends to dry up a little if it rests on the stove for too long).  It tastes best with a spoon directly out of the pan if you ask me...

As you can see, I prematurely put the butter sauce on top of the fish, which prevented me from flipping it back over and cooking it more on the other side like I needed to.