'BOTW' Citrus Shrimp Tacos

During the summer we manage to throw at least one big bash of a party.  This summer it's 'Margarita Madness' and it's happening next Friday.  To go along with the five gallons of margaritas I'm making, we've decided on a taco/burrito bar.  Scanning the web for ideas I came across these lucious things.....Citrus Shrip Tacos by Southern Living.

Don't they look GOOD! 

Not sure I can do shrimp for 100 people.....probably more along the lines of shredded chicken, but I couldn't resist featuring these on my 'Best of the Web' for this week. 

Photo and recipe by Southern Living

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Ag Summit for D & some authentic Mexican Food for Me

Dominic is either working on the ranch or he's attending meetings.  He once counted 24 meetings within a one month span.  This may not sound like very many meetings to someone if it's part of their job description, but it's not part of Dominic's.  Although, the meetings have everything to do with Agriculture....every single one. He attends these meetings on top of his seven day work week, all for the betterment of agriculture.  I could go on and on about how heavily regulated California is and how difficult it is to sustain a business here, but I won't.  The all day Ag Summit he just attended was put on by our county Supervisor, Steve Kinsey and the Extension Office here in Marin.  It was held to discuss ideas and goals for the future of Ag in Marin and how these goals can be achieved.

So you can imagine, how I feel when he's at a meeting like that, and I'm at a place like Guaymas, on a beautiful, 75 degree November day with four girlfriends, I tend to feel a bit guilty.

Okay.........not that guilty, I was still able to enjoy myself.

Guaymas is an authentic Mexican restaurant that sits right on the water in Tiburon.  Boy, did we ever luck out with the weather!  The outdoor patio was actually too warm.  But we endured.....no worries.  

This was the view from our table on the upper patio.  With San Francisco off in the distance and Angel Island just a short ferry ride away {you can see it on the left side of the photo}, it can't get more picturesque than this.

We started with some Hanna wine.  We brought our own....we're not wine snobs or anything ;) but considering it was my friend, Wendy's birthday, some special vino was most definitely required.

Chips and guaq to start.

Ever since the Border Grill's Alaskan Halibut tacos at the Foodbuzz Fest I ate, I can't get enough of halibut. Devi and I shared the Alaskan Halibut with roasted jalapeno polenta cake, which came with a bowl of rice and black beans and corn tortillas.  I made my own Alaskan Halibut tacos out of this dish.  Halibut is definitely my favorite type of fish.

We also shared a trio of tamales; chicken, pork and green corn masa with cactus and plantain {this one was sweet tasting, almost like dessert for me}.  This was a huge plate full of tamales and we barely put a dent in them....leftovers!

Deb, Wendy & Jody.

Birthday girl's Ceviche....

Round Two:  Dutton Estate Syrah.  This was actually one of Wendy's birthday presents and she wanted to open it.  What's a great bottle of wine if you can't enjoy it with four other good friends, right?!

The only issue with outdoor restaurant seating are the birds!  At least they wait until the customers have vacated the table before devouring the leftovers.

Good friends, good food and wine = a great day.

Downtown Tiburon.

Happy Sunday!

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Stumbled Upon

Don't you love it when last minute plans come together and actually happen?  Last night I met my friend, Debbie in Petaluma for dinner.  We decided on Tres Hombres which is a Mexican restaurant with  great atmosphere.  It's located in the 'Theatre District' of Petaluma and they have indoor and outdoor seating.  The place was packed for a Tuesday evening.  Upon entering, we didn't realize what we stumbled upon.  The hostess asked us if we knew it was 'Taco Tuesday Night'

Can I just say, Score!

I love tacos.  I don't know if I would have ordered them if it wasn't Taco Tuesday but since it was, I couldn't resist.  You can have your choice between Baja fish, chicken, and/or carnitas.

And get this.....for $2.50 per taco!

Margaritas were $3.00 each.  I had a raspberry, my favorite.  I really enjoy that sweet-tart taste a raspberry margarita gives you.

We both ordered the Baja fish tacos, two for each of us.  When I ordered them I didn't realize the fish would be crispy, but I wasn't too disappointed, they were delightful!  Plus food like this, is the reason I exercise.  I'm definitely going back for Taco Tuesday Night......with the kids and Dominic next time.

After dinner, we weren't ready to go home just yet.  It was only 8:30.  So we walked past the outdoor fountain, across the courtyard to this place...

La Dolce Vita is a wine lounge that has quite the extensive wine list where you can order wine by the glass, half carafe, bottle or tastings and they have a light food menu as well.  With the recommendation of our waiter, we decided on the Bacchanlia Zin.  Sticking with my raspberry theme, this wine has raspberry and jammy black cherry flavors with a sweet tobacco finish.  Only 8 barrels of this zin was produced by the Dry Creek Valley winery. 

The atmosphere is quite swanky.  You can enjoy drinking your wine at the wine bottle lined wall sitting at little tables or on the cozy sofa and chair area along the front window or in the bar area where they run foreign films projected onto the wall behind the bar. 

It was a fun evening.  Thanks Deb!

The only problem with drinking some wine on a Tuesday evening is getting motivated at 5 the next morning to get to my Boot Camp class at the gym.  It's still dark out and it feels too comfortable in bed at 5 in the morning.  But I hauled myself out of bed to get to my 5:30 class.

And I'm glad I did.  I was the first person to class this morning.

I turned the lights on and waited for everyone to arrive.

We didn't use these in class this morning.

But we did use these.

And oh, did we ever use these.

We also did some running and sprints outside.  The class is an hour long and it's a great workout.

And this is why I refuse to feel guilty about eating fried fish tacos!

Happy Wednesday!

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Las Guitarras

The other day, after the kids and I finished at the Farmer's Market while walking back to the car, we walked by the Mexican restaurant, Las Guitarras.  Dominic and I have eaten there many times before but the kids haven't.  The outdoor patio looked so inviting, Bryce practically begged me to eat dinner there.

Since Dominic had a meeting that evening, I gave in to Bryce's request.  We picked out an outdoor table to eat at.

With our waters, chips and salsa also showed up at the table.  They bring you two salsas.  Both are on the mild side.....the green was very mild (no heat at all) and the red had a little bit of heat to it.  We dug in.

They do have a children's menu available.  Bryce wanted a burrito, so we ordered the ground beef version for him.  Along with the burrito came rice and beans.

He really liked it.

A peek inside Bryce's burrito shows ground beef, beans and cheese.

Paige wanted a quesadilla......cheese, which also came with rice and beans.

She was diggin it.

I ordered the chicken tostada salad that came with lettuce, beans, cheese, topped with pico de gallo, guacamole and sour cream.  Really good and fresh.

The patio has a huge fountain which the kids enjoyed throwing pennies into, to make wishes. 

I really have to be 'on top of my game' when I take these two out.  Our entire dinner conversation went something like this............

"Mom, do you have pennies for us?"
"Mom, can I tell you my wish?" 

"Will the wish come true?"

"Who grants the wish?"

"How do they know what I'm wishing for?"

"Who gets all those coins in there?"

"How long will it take for my wish to come true?"

"Can I get in the fountain?"

and on and on and on.......

The three of us had a fun dinner date together.  Next time, hopefully daddy can come along too.

Happy Saturday!

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