We deemed tonight the start of the holiday season. The air got chilly and therefore, a little holiday music came out of my speakers. We had Faith and Tate, our traveling friends who disappeared this fall, over for dinner.
To celebrate we cracked open a special bottle of Jefferson Vineyards Meritage (my favorite!) and made a fish taco feast
The fish of the day was actually delivered this morning in celebration of the Green Choice Award for sustainable seafood choices I won at Foodbuzz.
We tried 3 kinds of smoked wild Alaskan fish – a Halibut that was as smoky as bacon, a hot smoked sockeye that was rich and succulent and a cold smoked salmon that reminded me most of the smoked salmon I love chilled with capers. At first we were a bit puzzled how to prepare these other than lox on a bagel, but we ended up heating them in the oven along with the other foods of the evening and serving them as burritos. It worked out wonderfully.
Other additions included sweet potatoes, roasted pepper and green beans, cheese and avocado.
Green beans underneath!
This dinner turned out fantastic! My favorite of the fish was actually the smoked halibut, which I had never had before. It was really bacony and slightly sweet, which of course I loved.
Our dessert was a chocolate feast. We tried 3 kinds – the Wilbur’s buds, a Toasted Corn chocolate and Quinoa Chocolate, both gifts from blog readers that were unique and delicious.
The toasted corn tasted like popcorn! And the quinoa was like a crunch bar with extra nutrients!
Matt has started The Two Towers without me and I’ve missed all the good parts. Like the one when the orc says “We haven’t had nothing but maggoty bread for three stinkin’ days! What about them? They’re fressssssssssh.”
And then Legolas just said "A red sun rises, blood has been shed this night!”
{ 60 comments… read them below or add one }
I MUST find that Dark Chocolate Quinoa bar! I am ALL for healthifying chocolate!
Salmon as a taco! Never tried that before.
Meritage is such a good wine! Totally caught my eye when I saw this!
Looks like an incredible evening with friends!
quinoa chocolate – so cool!
Ahh I love the line like right after that when the orc says “looks like meats back on the menu boys!” and i kinda think that all of legolas’s lines are pretty BA
enjoy the movie!
I never thought of using smoked fish for fish tacos! Great idea! I will definitely try this!
I LOVE smoked salmon, but I’ve never heard of smoked halibut! I bet it was delicious!
halibut is delicious!! glad you enjoyed dinner. relaxing nights with wine and good friends are the best
mmm..Legolas..
“The rock and pool is nice and cool, so juicy sweet! Our only wish, to catch a fish, so juicy sweet!”
Quinoa and chocolate! YUM! Sounds like a great night Kath!
I loooove fish tacos!!! SO delicious!
What are you preparing for Thanksgiving?
We don’t know yet
Everything about this meal looks fantastic! The fish, the wine, the sweet potatoes, the green beans, the chocolate – all of some of my favorite foods!
i love that you love lord of the rings!
Wilbur’s Buds..Ive never had them and never knew they existed til I read about them on someone’s blog a week or two ago.
The roasted sweet potatoes with the tacos…look great.
Congrats again on your award..and for the fishy gift you received. Nice!
Lets not forget “looks like meat’s back on the menu, boys!” Love that!
Legolas’s line is so cheesy….but he is still SO good to look at. HAH.
WHOA chocolate AND quinoa together?!! Sign me up!! delishicoiusnessssssss is what that sounds like!
I’ll be getting plenty of bacon flavor tomorrow at…Bacon Fest which includes hot buttered bacon bourbon. Not sure if I’ve ever had bourbon before but know that you’re a fan!
oh wow.
Girl, get yourself a Manhattan – and ask for it extra sweet with double cherries! Takes the burn out.
Uh oh…sounds like a should also say a quick little prayer before I drink it! Thanks for the tip!
I’m from Alaska originally so I’m glad the smoked fish you won was wild!! Nothing beats it in my opinion! I bought one of the chocolate bars with Quinoa while I was on tour in France. My other favorite I found there (and have been looking for in the states) was a dark chocolate bar with sesame seeds!
wait, you just heated lox of various kinds? oy, every bone is my jewish body is shuddering! well, as long as you enjoyed it!
Very lightly heated! We didn’t “cook” it. I love some chilled lox with capers as much as you!
I could seriously tuck into one of those burritos now.. and quinoa chocolate!? Yum!!
Quinoa in chocolate? … Sounds like a great combination–the best of both worlds
http://faithfulsolutions.blogspot.com/
Salmon tacos?? GENIUS!
After reading the Lord of the Rings books, I just feel frustrated watching the movie, especially the second one. The scenery was awesome as well as the costume and make up but I feel as if they changed so much.
tate looks like john krasinski from the office in these photos!!
I have always thought that!! And a little Will Schuester too!
Dinner looks great! The Jefferson Meritage is my favorite too…yums. The holiday season is officially here….more time for good food, wine/beer, family and cool weather. Can’t wait!
Saw you had the Dogfish 120 the other day…that is some beer huh!? I visited their brewery about a month ago and they had it on tap. I couldn’t even finish one myself! Super tasty, but really heavy. Dogfish is an awesome brewery and not to far from here….may be a fun trip for you guys if you get the chance. I’m sure matt would appreciate it too. Happy weekend
I would LOVE to go to DF someday!
Quinoa chocolate? Oh my gosh, I have to try some. Sounds interesting. Anything healthy, crunchy, and chocolaty sound good to me.
Hey- that quinoa chocolate looks familiar. Glad you liked it- I love it!
I’ve never even thought of using smoked fish in fish tacos, but the idea is brilliant! FIsh tacos are one of my favorite things in the world- and the best I’ve ever had were both from little shacks on the water in Sausalito, CA and in Victoria, BC (where we waited in line for 90 minutes- and it was worth it!) I never seem to be able to capture the magic at home, though, sadly.
It was delicious – thank you!
Quinoa and chocolate…what a fabulous combination of nutrition and yumminess! I adore smoked fish. When I visit my mom, I love to visit the local fishery for their smoked trout, whitefish and salmon. I never thought to heat it up…we usually just eat it straight from the packaging, with crackers or in a salad. Neat tip!
I love fish tacos and those look amazing!
looks like a great night!
Dinner looks delicious! I’ve never heard of a Quinoa Chocolate Bar. I’m going to have to look for that
Those chocolate bars sound great! I’m guessing they use popped quinoa? I wonder if I could make one at home…hmmm.
Yup – puffed. Let me know if you figure out how to make it!
Yum fish tacos sound soo good
So funny that you’re talking about the quinoa bar of chocolate because I just spotted it at whole foods for the first time this past week. I can’t wait to try it. Sounds delicious (and nutritious, especially for a dessert!)
Those sweet potatoes look awesome! Can you let me know how you made them? I am new to the whole cooking thing, so while I’m sure you just did something basic I still need instructions! lol, thanks!
I described my go-to method in this post when I made perfect wedges: http://www.katheats.com/vocalize
The toasted corn and quinoa chocolate sound great. With the quinoa, I could actually turn chocolate into a food group!
dark chocolate quinoa bar? oh em gee. that sounds delicious!
I love your Faith and Tate dinner parties. It makes me want to be friends with you guys
Halibut is my favorite fish but I’ve never had it smoked before. I don’t think you could go wrong with it, frankly, no matter how you prepare it!
The Two Towers is the best of the LOTR series!! I love Legolas.
The tacos look great — hadn’t thought of putting all those other goodies in there. I eat them often so will have to expand my horizons
Hubby is always watching LOTR and as much as I love the movies, I can’t sit still for so long. And Legolas kicks butt. I loved his and the dwarf’s friendship.
And I want that quiona chocolate bar. It reminds me of Crunch bar and I LOVE those.
Yum, everything looks delicious! I’m especially intrigued by those chocolate bars!
Love love love Meritage! Never had Jefferson though…
We had sweet potato soft tacos last night for dinner too! But no smoked fish to be found, just black beans, sweet potatoes, avocado and a simple cabbage slaw – deeeelish!
The first picture of Faith+Tate cracked me up…I have no idea if it’s true, but it looks like she’s in the middle of a loving (of course!) wifely smack-down, like he just said something slightly inappropriate, and she had to intervene, but it still made her laugh!
Looks like a fun/delish dinner!
Oooh sweet potatoes in tacos–nifty! I bet that’s really tasty, actually. Kind of like a swap for rice in a burrito!
I’m intrigued that you liked the quinoa bar. I’ve never heard of anyone that has had it… always wondered if it was good myself…
OOH i had that quinoa chocolate! It was a lot of fun to eat!! And that smoked halibut…I must find some. Stat.
I’m from Lancaster and I love Wilbur Buds! All of Wilbur’s chocolate covered treats are really the best.