The Sunday BBQ turns to Baked Clams, Ceviche and Monsters.

I needed a break from making the Sunday BBQ about serving up the gringo Burgers and Ribs in Baja- so we are making a switch for a few weeks to enjoy the fruits of our local fishing village - Popotla. It's only five minutes southm the house. The fishing pangas are used as much for smuggling people across to San Diego as they are for fishing. People pay $5000 each to get a white-knuckle boat ride. There is isn't anyone in my family you could pay $5000 to take that death trip, let alone pay for it. Popotla is just behind the huge water tank they used for the movie Titanic at the Fox Baja Studios. It's a locals place- the tourists go to the Lobster Village next to it called Puerto Nuevo.

My nephew Emilio and I headed over there early last Sunday to greet the fishing boats as they returned. I was sure we could get the fresh Talapia for the ceviche and a few dozen "chocolate" clams I could stuff

and bake like my Dad used to.

What I wasn't sure about was this talk about the "monstros" as they call them. When my nephew described them to me- al lI could think of was Crab. SCORE! Most people only see crab legs a bright red because they are always cooked and frozen right on board the crab boats. These were alive and blue in color and most Mexicans are scared to death of them. Lucky for us. This day they only had two small ones... $5 for both. You gotta wonder why people pay $25 for a deep fried lobster tail in Puerto Nuevo when you can eat King Crab for $5. We aren't going to tell anyone... We do need to go back and get some big ones these little guys are not even 'prince crabs". They only get a few of the big ones on each boat.

We made two ceviches- the one on the left is the traditional fish, the one of the left is called Agua Chiles (raw shrimp marinated in lime juice blender with Habenero peppers). You start with a Tostada, spread a little Mayo on top (yes mayo) of the tostada and then add the Ceviche or Shrimp Agua Chile, some diced avocado and a bottled hot sauce salsa.

Tomorrows BBQ is all about Oysters and Soft Shell crab. We have friends bringing six dozen oysters over and I have the soft shell crabs in the freezer. We'll do them New Orleans style fried as PorBoy sandwiches, make some Oysters Rockefeller and maybe do some grilled ones.

I have a tres leches cake in the oven (takes a day to absorb all the milks) and made some Chocolate and Pistaccio topped English Toffee. Yes, It's all about food and family. (Dana- we are enjoying your birthday cake here! Happy 30th!)