The One Arm Cookbook

This is a collection of our favorite recipes that have been passed on for generations among our friends and family as we explored baja. All are designed to be simple campfare that can be thrown together after a long day of fishing or motorcycling with one hand while sipping a beer with the other.

Halibut on Foil with Butter and Garlic topped with Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese (cheese is optional)

Halibut on Foil with Butter and Garlic topped with Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese (cheese is optional):

In Baja, besides motorcycling, there is the fishing and believe me it’s world class. Both coasts, the Pacific and the Sea of Cortez, offer year-round fishing with literally hundreds of different species to catch.

But if you find yourself in the estuaries of the Pacific, get yourself over the shelf of a sloping sandbar in about eleven feet of water, and you can catch halibut almost any time of the year. Some months are better than others but fresh halibut is our favorite. These are California Halibut and keepers for us weigh around 6 pounds but can grow up to 35.

Our dear friends, Tom and Candy Lanza, created this dish years ago. And we stole it without shame! My wife, Tammy, has made this recipe a tradition in our family. You can cook these delicate filets in a pit filled with coals on a lonely beach or in a BBQ on your back patio back in civilization.

Out of all the ways to cook this divine fish, we feel this is the tastiest and the easiest method after a long day out adventuring, especially down in Playa de Estero, where the halibut are plentiful.

Serving size:

 Depending on size of the halibut, 1 to 1 ½ fillets per person. Left overs will not go to waste!

 Ingredients:

A couple of sheets of aluminum foil

Fresh halibut filets (1 ½ per person)

Garlic salt to taste

1 stick of real butter

Grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Method:

Filet a fresh Halibut and put on plate

Pat down the Halibut with paper towels, put back in frig or ice chest to keep chilled

Heat up BBQ (charcoal or gas) to piping hot but leave the top open or off (closing the lid will end with poached fish not crispy)

Lay out aluminum foil with the edges turned up to catch and hold the butter (double layer of foil recommended)

Smear a half of a stick of real butter on the foil and be careful not to poke holes in the foil

Sprinkle liberally, garlic salt on the butter and foil

When the butter is bubbling, lay the filets of halibut on the foil

When the edges of the fillets start to whiten and less pink is visible, gently flip the fillet smearing more butter on the foil to prevent sticking

(Optional) – Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese

Cook until flaky and white, no visible pink in the center… poke with spatula edge, the fillet should bounce back when done

When you taste this delicacy your know you are living well and so go forth!

Serve with rice and beans or rice and fresh steamed green beans or just by itself!

Life is very good.

Chili Mac

Kmart Bob’s Peanut Brittle

Fritz’s Linguini with Clam Sauce

Coach’s Clam Fritters

Ken’s Menudo

Tammy’s Fish Tacos

Fish Vera Cruz

Seven Seas Soup

BBQ’ed Smoked Ribs

BBQ’ed Smoked Brisket

Ken’s Tortilla Soup

Peach Cobbler

Smoked Fish

Carne Asada

BBQ’ed Smoked Pork Chops

BBQ’ed Smoked Turkey

Tammy’s Egg Burritos

Guinness Float

This works for me! I remember Steinbeck writing about “Doc” trying one in, I believe, Cannery Row. In the novel, he was disappointed but I’m guessing he didn’t use Guinness and Coffee Ice cream; two of my favorites. In fact, ale and ice cream are food groups for me. This is a great on a great blog.