Dinner for 2: Baja Seafood Bake with Mango Salsa

(and a Salty Dog cocktail!)

Hi everyone and a warm welcome to you all, including new subscribers. We chat about California Cuisine every Friday and I’m so glad you are here.

We are in the middle of our Dinner for 2 series! Each Friday in February features a meal recipe perfect for you and a dinner companion. Maybe that person is your spouse or significant other. But it could also be your best friend, walking partner, or coworker.

Some meals include dessert (yes, portioned just for two!) and others feature cocktails. In case you missed the last few weeks, Dirty Martini Steak Frites (with Dry Martinis) was such a hit as was Chicken with Orange and Shallots (plus Mini Basque Cheesecakes for dessert!).

Dinner for 2 means just that, you and a dining compadre enjoying a meal and good conversation.

Either Martin Sorge’s Lovely Lazy Loaf or Rebecca Blackwell’s Homemade Dinner Rolls would be a yummy addition to either of these meals! Both Martin and Rebecca were recent guests on my new podcast.

Photos courtesy of Martin Sorge and Rebecca Blackwell

If you’d like to know how to spot a good recipe that has been rigorously tested, created by real people (not AI), and is tried and true, my podcast is for you! Plus, you get to meet some talented and creative recipe developers.

Listen with the links below or on your favorite listening platform including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Recipes

Baja Seafood Bake with Mango Salsa

Serves 2

Time: 25 minutes

Tender, succulent seafood seasoned just right with a Baja-style rub. For those who don’t know, Baja California is a Mexican state directly south (baja = “lower” in Spanish) of the U.S. state of California. I think it’s fun that before baking, the dish has the colors of the Mexican flag (red, white, and green!). Enjoy this with a fresh mango salsa that is bright and delicious.

This might look like a lot of food, but I assure you it’s the right size for you and your dinner companion. Depending on your appetite, you may have some leftovers but when my husband and I ate this we did not, lol!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb extra-large shrimp, shells removed

• 1 lb small steamer clams

• 3 to 4 oz (2 thin fillets) mild white fish (Dover sole, tilapia, or orange roughy)

• 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

• 1/2 poblano (or other mild green pepper), thinly sliced

• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Baja Seasoning Mix:

• 1 tsp garlic powder (not salt)

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• 1/2 tsp cumin

• 1/2 tsp chili powder

• 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 1/2 tsp lemon pepper blend

Salsa:

• 1 mango, peeled and diced (about 1 cup)

• 1/2 cup red onion, diced

• 1/2 cup tomato, diced

• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced

• 1/2 poblano (or other mild green pepper), diced

• 1 or 2 jalapenos, diced

• 1 cup cilantro, chopped

• juice of 1 lime

For Serving: tortilla chips, extra chopped cilantro, lime wedges

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 F/230 C. Move the oven rack to the middle position.

2. Place the shrimp, clams, fish, and pepper slices in a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil.

3. In a small bowl, mix together the seasoning ingredients. Sprinkle the mixture over the seafood and peppers evenly. Place the pan in the oven and bake, uncovered, for 12 minutes.

4. While the seafood bakes, combine the salsa ingredients in a medium bowl. Taste and add 1/2 tsp salt, if desired. I don’t add salt because the tortilla chips are salted but you might feel otherwise.

5. Remove the seafood from the oven and serve immediately with mango salsa, chips, and extra garnishes.

Salty Dog Cocktail

Serves 2

Time: 5 minutes

A fresh, citrusy cocktail that only needs two liquid ingredients! For the best tasting drink, be sure to choose quality elements like freshly squeezed grapefruit juice and mid-range vodka (I like Costco’s Kirkland brand). Luckily, we are in the middle of citrus season so finding a fresh grapefruit should be easy for most of you.

Ingredients:

• 6 oz fresh pink grapefruit juice

• 3 oz vodka

• Garnish: salt rim, fresh or dehydrated grapefruit slices

Directions:

1. Wet the rim of two glasses with grapefruit juice or water. Dip the rims in coarse salt and set aside.

2. Tip the grapefruit juice and vodka into a cocktail shaker. Add 4 ice cubes. Cover and shake for 20 seconds or until cold.

3. Add 3 or 4 ice cubes to each glass. Strain the cocktail into the prepared glasses.

4. Garnish with grapefruit slices and, as always, enjoy responsibly.

Tell Me

Who are you dining with this week? I’d love to hear how you are enjoying this series.

Next week’s Dinner for 2: Lemony Fettuccini with Peas (plus Choco-Hazelnut Mini Cakes). This dinner is fall-down good. See you next Friday.