Beach Life

The weather has been raining on and off since our arrival 2 weeks ago. However, we still seem to catch a moment between the rain in the morning to get out and get Roxy for a walk. If the afternoon looks good we head either to our beach or Playa Sosua. We had Roxy at the beach yesterday and tried to get her into the water at Playa Imbert (beach infant of Infinity Blu). She is just starting to get use to the waves and as she was coming out of the water one wave went right over her head. However, she didn't seem to be too upset about it. I think next time we take her swimming at Playa Sosua or Playa Alicia beach.

Sunday we joined the gang at Ahnvee All-Inclusive resort to attend the Super Bowl Sunday Party. Randy, Raquel, Duff, Holly, Paul, Barb, Dave, Rick and Brenda all attended. It was $1000 Pesos (about $30 CAD) for all-you can eat buffet, watch the game on the large screens and half-time show with vegas-styled Dominican Entertainment. There is a new rum company in Puerto Plata that was serving up "samples" of rum at the entrance. They had pineapple, coconut, dark, amber or white rum. The coconut rum with juice was fantastic. We all had are share of rum "samples".

The resort definitely knew how to cater to a large group and held an interesting event. They had large screens in multiple locations around the resort. Duff went down early to secure a large table for our group - the perfect spot for watching the game and people watching as well. The doors opened at 5 pm and the buffet opened at 6 pm. There was between 500-1000 people at the event, with the majority black Americans - of which most were well over 6 ft and ex-football players. The food kept coming all night long and was continually refreshed by the resort. There was a mix of pasta salad, potato salad, vegetable salads, hamburgers, fried fish, a beef fajita dish and all the fixings as well. The best appetizer type food was the taco bar (homemade taco chips) with pico de gallo, sour cream, salsa fresca, hot sauces and fried, rolled tacos. No one went hungry.

Recipe of the Week: Week 2

Fish Taco's

INGREDIENTS

3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 1/2 lb. cod (or other flaky white fish)
1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil
kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 corn tortillas
1 avocado, cubed
Lime wedges, for serving
Sour cream, for serving

FOR THE CORN SLAW:
1/4 c. mayonnaise
2 tbsp. lime juice
2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp. honey
2 c. shredded purple cabbage
1 c. corn kernels
1 jalapeño, minced

DIRECTIONS

In a medium shallow bowl, whisk together olive oil, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, and cayenne. Add the cod, tossing the filets in the mixture to evenly coat. Let marinate for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the slaw: In a large bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, lime juice, cilantro, and honey. Stir in cabbage, corn and jalapeño. Season with salt and pepper.

In a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat, heat vegetable oil. Remove the cod from the marinade and season both sides of each filet with salt and pepper.

Place the fish on the pan, flesh side down. Cook until the fish is opaque and cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes per side.

Let rest for about 5 minutes before flaking the fish with a fork.

Assemble tacos: Serve fish over grilled tortillas with corn slaw and avocado. Squeeze lime juice on top and garnish with sour cream.