Kona Brewing Co. Koko Brown

Koko Brown

For my second beer post, I've chosen the Koko Brown, which is part of the Aloha Series offered by Kona Brewing Co. of Kailua-Kona on Hawaii's Big Island.  This American brown ale comes in at a healthy 5.5% ABV and is flavored by toasted coconut and other natural flavors (I believe these flavors to be derived from some portion of the pig snout, though I have no evidence flavor-wise or otherwise to support this).

I found it to be medium bodied and smooth with the light brownish-red hue of an island girl who has passed out by the pool after too many pina coladas.  Come to think of it, the aroma is reminiscent of that as well.  The taste is first malty and nutty, then followed by toasty caramel and a slight bit of hops.

It reminded me of the time I was tracking the Vice-President of Eritrea as he was using a Maui Luau as a cover to meet with arms dealers from Davao, Philippines.  I accidentally shot the fire dancer in the throat with a tranquilizer dart from my pinkie toe ring and burned down the east wing of the Sheraton.  Anyways, I'd had a caramel sundae from the McDonald's drive through earlier that day whilst wearing coconut lip balm and drinking a luke warm Natty Light.  I do adore the Islands.

And I think you'll enjoy this taste of the tropics...

Grilled Chicken Tacos with Pineapple-Chipotle Mojo

First, I must apologize for the delay in posting.  I have only recently returned from attending the Pocket Watch-Grappling Hook Convention in Dubai.  It was excellent and full of intrigue, as always.  One evening, as I danced the Bachata with a one-eyed Panamanian double agent called Luisa Conchita Maria Gonzales Hernandez-Hernandez, I recollected a steamy summer sunset on a dusty street in Ciudad Acuna upon which a transexual prostiute and I drunkenly engulfed street tacos which were nothing at all like those I have described below.

Grilled Chicken Tacos with Pineapple-Chipotle Mojo

2 Boneless Skinless chicken breasts

Abodo seasoning

1 red onion sliced

¼ cup pineapple diced finely (I used fresh, but canned would probably be fine)

1-2 chipotles in adobo sauce, minced

½ cup cilantro chopped

3 cloves garlic minced

1-2 jalapenos diced

1 serrano diced

Juice of ½ an orange, 1 lime, and 1 lemon

¼ cup olive oil

Salt and pepper

Really easy, just season your chicken with adobo and grill for 3-4 minutes per side with the onion.  Set aside to rest while you throw together the mojo.  Put all the ingredients but the olive oil in a bowl then whisk in the olive oil.  Slice the chicken across the grain and serve on warm tortillas with grilled onions and topped with the mojo and a little more fresh chopped cilantro and fresh jalapeno slices. 

Amberjack Chowder

Amberjack Chowder


I made this dish with amberjack because it was what I had on hand, but you could use any firm, white fish.  In fact, I used this as a way to use up old back-of-the-freezer fish that I figured wouldn't be very good as a featured dish on its own.  Because the flavors of the chowder are so bold, the fish doesn't necessarily have to be top notch.  I wouldn't use canned tuna or anything, but its a great opportunity to clean out the freezer.

Here it is....

As always, I don’t cook from recipes so these measurements are completely pulled out of my rear end, but they should be reasonably close.  Taste often throughout the process and adjust according to your taste.

2 tbs bacon grease

2 tbs butter

1 sweet onion, diced

2 large ribs celery, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 link smoked sausage, sliced thin

¼ cup flour

1 cup heavy cream

2 cups milk

2 cups stock

2 cups corn

1 can new potatoes, drained and diced

1.5 lbs AJ (or other fish) filets

2 bay leaves

¼ tsp fennel seeds

1/4tsp cayenne

Kosher salt, cracked pepper to taste

Sweat onion, celery, garlic in grease and butter over medium heat. Add bay leaves, fennel, then add sausage and cook until slightly browned.  Add flour and stir for about 3 min.  Stir in all liquid slowly to avoid lumps.  Bring to a boil then lower heat to simmer.  Add corn and potatoes and season with cayenne, salt and pepper.  Season fillets with your favorite seafood seasoning (I used Everglades Seasoning).  Add AJ and place the lid on the pot and continue simmering 5 min or so.  Use your stirring spoon to break up the fish into bite size chunks.  Simmer 5 more minutes or so and you’re ready to go.  I poured a little of the Yuengling I was drinking in there at the end to thin it out a bit, you could do the same or add more milk/stock.

Shiner Ruby Redbird

Shiner Ruby Redbird


I realize this might not be all that exciting for some of y'all for my first beer post, but I was excited to finally find this in Florida.

I enjoyed it.  Thought is was kind of a fun and interesting post-lawnmowing type beer.  The ginger is the dominant flavor, though there are hints of wheat and the grapefruit is subtle. I would actually prefer a little more grapefruit and less ginger.  The dominance of the the ginger  coupled with the fact that it is highly carbonated makes it taste a little too much like ginger ale for me.  It was better when poured into a pint glass and allowed to sit a bit to warm and let some of the fizz dissipate.


All in all, another good offering by the folks at Spoetzl.  

Jalapeno Garlic Grouper

Welcome to my new blog.  I, Smarmy McFadden, international playboy extraordinaire, will be your guide on this little culinary journey.  It will be primarily a way for me to share recipes and reviews of food that I eat during my many adventures. I'll do a little beer and wine tasting as well.  I should let you know that I don't actually ever cook with a recipe, so any recipes I share are approximations.  I don't spend time in a test kitchen replicating and tweaking recipes - that's for you to do - but hopefully this will give you a starting point or some inspiration.


Also, since I just decided to do this, most of the pictures I'll use initially are crappy cell phone pics. Going forward, I'll try to bust out the DSLR for cooks that I think will make the blog.


For my first entry, I'm busting out a riff on the Jalapeno Garlic Tilapia from my former two-time place of employment Johnny Carino's.  Yes, I was fired twice from the same job.  This was a really tasty dish and it was pretty cool because I used free range yard eggs to make the homemade pasta, grouper that I caught fishing just a couple days prior, and homegrown tomatoes from the garden, so there was a lot of all-natural going on.  

So, here it goes...

Jalapeno Garlic Grouper

Homemade pasta

3c All-purpose flour

1tbs Olive oil

3-6 tbs water

2 eggs

Salt

Make a pile with the flour on your clean countertop.  Use your finger to make a well in the top of your flour pile (think volcano).  Drop in your eggs, oil, salt, and 3 tbs of the water and start to work in with a fork slowly until it starts to come together as a dough.  Then knead for 5 minutes or so, adding extra water as needed.  Wrap in plastic wrap and toss in the fridge for about 20 minutes minimum to rest.  Use a pasta maker or roll out very thin and cut into quarter inch wide fettucini.  Boil for about 3 minutes.

2 grouper fillets

2tbs flour for dusting

Salt and pepper

1.2 tsp Cayenne, optional

3 cloves garlic minced

4 green onions thinly sliced

1 tbs flour for sauce

½ c milk

2 tbs Parmesan

2 tbs pickled jalapenos, diced

1 tomato diced

Lightly dust your fillet with flour seasoned with salt and pepper and a little cayenne if you like.