Tacos ver. 1.4

My friend was asking me the other day about my camera lenses, specifically the one I use to shoot most of the pictures you see.  It's a 50mm f/1.4, but I seldom shoot it at that aperture. I've usually got it parked at f/2.8 to get a little more depth of field in the photos.  But this week I figured hey, let's open it wide up; everything you see is shot at f/1.4.  So dial that aperture ring all the way down, and make the jump for tacos ver. 1.4!

Ersatz Taco Soup

Ever have an idea that was funnier in your head? I thought some black and white dithering would be funny.  Oh well. Too late now! Getting Friday Night Mexican back to its roots as an easy to prepare meal on a Friday is something that we've obviously struggled with.

It can be done however.  You just need to be prepared to sacrifice words like 'authentic', 'fresh', 'honest', and 'Mexican'.  Those words are all overrated anyway.  So if you've got limited time and energy and you want to phone it in like I'm obviously doing, print off the recipe and get to work on Taco Soup!

Tamales 2: Squashment Day

You know what I like about tamales? They come pre-packaged, so you can put them in your pocket or backpack.  And when you're done eating them in as few bites as possible, you can toss the wrapper into the green bin or onto your neighbours lawn in name of composting.

I've put mole attempt number two on the back burner as we're still eating the original batch.  In the mean time, there is more Mexican food to be eaten.  This week's guests drove down from Ottawa to visit so we gave them the full on Toronto experience.  And when people think 'Toronto' they think 'Tamales' so make sure you've tied a square knot, and make the jump for Butternut Tamales with Chipotle Chicken!

You can't spell Mole without...

And that's how it goes sometimes.  You make a plan, and you think you've got it all under control.  You've already gone to get your ingredients first thing in the morning and you're about to tackle the big one.  That ambitious project.  

But something isn't right.  You start down the path and something doesn't feel bang on.  You didn't have your daily cup of coffee. You're wearing mismatched socks.  The ghost of Rick Bayless is trying to pull a fast one on you.  And before long, your Easy Slow Cooker Mole is making you think about hanging up your tortilla press for good.  So make the jump and check out the post-mortem.  

Pollo Pulquero is a dish best served in the dark

Look at those beans!  They're sitting there because Pollo Pulquero is ugliest tasty dish you've ever seen.  Rick doesn't even put a picture of it in the book!  It's sort of symptomatic of being cooked in a slow cooker for six hours, so what can you do.

The prep on this one is silly easy.  You put things in a slow cooker, and then you come back.  So I'll be economical with my words.  Write a to do list, get some groceries and make the jump.

Summer Champurrado

The short story is that it's Mexican hot chocolate.  The long story is that it's much more than that.  One of the defining characteristics of champurrado that I've heard is that you should be able to stand a churro up in it.  Let's see you do that with hot chocolate made above the Mason-Dixon line. Not happening.

This recipe came out of my Better Homes and Gardens Ultimate Mexican recipe guide, and if I wasn't so lazy, I probably would've made the churro recipe too. There will always be another Friday.  Turn on the kettle, and make the jump!
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Pickled Chicken Comes Full Circle

800 million years ago when we started this blog, we posted about cajeta and the dessert we made with it.  As a footnote we mentioned that we made "Pickled Chicken" with little more than a blurry photo.  Now that the blog has fallen into a routine of witty comments and slightly better photography, it's time to revisit that dish.

It still lives on page 204 in Fiesta at Ricks, and that page is amazingly still attached to the rest of the book.  I also banged out some roasted tomato salsa, home made black turtle beans, and fresh corn tortillas.  Attach the drool guard to your keyboard and make the jump!

Mexican Submarines: hecho en Canadá

Apparently Mexican submarine sandwiches are called 'Tortas'.  I'm not sure this would be considered traditional fare, as the 'submarine' is an American invention of a largely Italian influence, so I gather.  I guess that begs the question of what you consider Mexican cuisine to be: traditional Mexican faire, or a Mexican take on someone else's dish.  In this case, it's a Canadian's take on an American's take, on the Mexican take on an Italian-American sandwich, made in Canada.  Do the math on that.

Let's have a look at Rick Bayless' Crusty Black Bean and Chorizo Subs after the jump!

A positive spinach on soft tacos

Friday night Mexican made a triumphant return to its roots as this week's dish was done with ingredients that we had on hand and all in about 45 minutes.  Single-handedly!


So here is Spinach Tacos with Caramelized Onion, Fresh Cheese and Red Chile from Mexican Everyday along with Smokey-chipotle salsa with pan-roasted tomatillos.  This dish doesn't look like much at all, but it is super tasty.  Promise.  Let's get down to business.

Yucatecan salad gone awry

It's been pretty steamy in Toronto recently so we went with a cold dinner this week.  Back to Fiesta at Rick's for Yucatecan Shredded Steak Salad with Habanero and Cilantro (p. 139) along with guacamole and roasted tomatillo salsa.  But we're starting with dessert, Caramelized Mango Tart with Mexican Chocolate and Pepitas.  Mad props to Mark, one of my oldest and dearest friends, and his wife Niveen for bringing not only a fine French wine, but legitimately bringing it from France.

Vegetative State - Black Bean Burgers

So I'm totally over compensating for last post's lack of photo-punch.  So if you're into reading and not into pictures, you'll have to suck it up for a week. Ha!

Here are three vegetarian recipes that with a little work could even become vegan.  And since we spend our Monday to Friday schedule being vegetarians and part time vegans, we figured we'd see if we could craft a few Mexican dishes in that spirit.  So we grabbed Rick Bayless' Sweet Potato Salad with Caramelized Onions, Watercress and Guajillo Chile Dressing from Mexican Everyday.  And then from The Complete Vegan Kitchen we made Mango Salsa, and a modified version of the Black Bean Burgers.

Soup N' Salad 2: Forget Old Mexico

Because this week we're taking our recipes from New Mexico; Santa Fe to be more specific.  They still have the same feel and vibrancy as our other dishes and nothing came out of an Old El Paso box, so I figure we're still in the clear.

On the agenda we've got Corn Soup with Poblano Chiles, followed by Santa Fe Slaw with Caramelized Pecans.  These recipes come from Seasonal Southwest Cooking by Barbara Pool Fenzl which is an absolutely beautiful cookbook to look through.  It also contains some great contextual information about the recipes which I find really makes or breaks a cookbook.  Be warned: there are pictures missing this week, so you'll have to use your imaginations for some of this.

Mexican Shawarma

Well, it's not exactly Mexican Shawarma, but apparently that's where it comes from.  And some guy named Al Pastor.  This week's recipes came from a special Ultimate Mexican issue of Better Homes and Gardens which is a pretty comprehensive chunk of information.  It's also got full page pictures of everything which is important for those of us who eat with our eyes first.  Let's face it, recipe books of all text don't exactly inspire you to cook.

So make sure your machines are well oiled and see what happens as we check out Tacos al pastor and Chayote salad.

Soup N' Salad

That photo makes me want to lick my screen!

Every week here at FNM we're pushing boundaries and trying new things.  This week it's Tortilla Soup and Ceviche Salad (Mexican Everyday).  The last time we did fish it turned out quite well and this week's guest is responsible for turning me on to all of the AYCE sushi restaurants in Ottawa, so ceviche seemed more than fitting.

But man cannot live on fish alone, so I made sure that the tortilla soup had lots of chicken in it.  So tighten the straps on your straight jackets and let's see what happens!

My eggs have style, Oaxacan style.

What happens when you keep pushing off Friday Night Mexican? You get Saturday Morning Mexican.  And if you push it off some more, you get Sunday Morning Mexican.  And if you push it off more than that, your reader gets angry. Yes, reader.  So these eggs are done Oaxacan style.  What makes them Oaxacan style? I'm not really sure.  Is it the cutting into ribbons? Is it the use of tomatoes?

This recipe came from "Everyday Mexican", which is not to be confused with Rick Bayless' "Mexican Everyday".  Seriously it's two different books.  One of the only things that this book has going for it is that it fits in your jacket pocket.  It has teeny tiny little print, no back story for the recipes, and completely lacks an author.  This is one of those books that companies crank out when they want to publish a book on topic X.  Regardless, it's where we got this week's recipe.  So strap in; it's over before you know it.

Shrimp Free Chipotle Shrimp

What happens when you take the shrimp out of chipotle shrimp? You get this tasty vegetarian dinner, that's what.  Next week we're going to try taking the chipotle out too, just to see what happens.   So this is Chipotle Shrimp from Mexican Everyday made with the Tofu instructions.

Beware, here be zucchini.

Check out the grill on that fish

Hot off the tasty success of last week's achiote experiment, we decided to go for round two with a completely different cast: Fish and Chicken.  We were also heading up to the cottage for this one so we knew we could get some real grilling done.  No more faking it under the broiler!

So fill your propane tanks and stock your cupboards with achiote as we dive into Grilled Fish (and Chicken) in Tangy Yucatecan Achiote with Green Beans (plus Chayote and Asparagus) and Rustic Roasted Tomato Salsa.

When life hands you limes, make Cochinita Pibil

I wouldn't have thought of this as being roasted suckling pig, as per the translation of cochinita pibil.  Rick says that this is only an approximation anyway.  We didn't roast anything, it was slow cooked; it wasn't a whole pig, just a shoulder; and it wasn't between 2 and 6 weeks old, I didn't check its birth certificate but I know that it spent 6 weeks at least in the freezer.

The complicated recipe is here while the easy recipe can be found in Mexican Everyday.  Break out your favourite citrus juicer and don't get any pulp in your eye.

Soft Tacos: Pull up your skirt steak / Let's have some queso fundido

I'm of the firm belief that "Knob Onions" are just something that Rick Bayless made up so that he could sit back and laugh at the thought of people asking for them in markets and grocery stores.  That's the purpose of this blog though, I pound the pavement and ask the hard hitting questions so you'll have an easier time bringing Mexican food into your home.

So sit back and strap yourself in for Friday Night Mexican as we make Grilled Skirt Steak Tacos with Knob Onions and Cactus and the recommended Roasted Tomatillo Salsa (p. 208 in Fiesta at Rick's) as well as Wild Mushroom Queso Fundido.

Tamales

None of what you're about to see was performed by a stunt double.  After two weeks of enchiladas and one day of eating Mexican food that came out of a box, it was time to blow the roof off of this thing. FNM has achieved legendary status with one of my better half's coworkers and he was on the ticket for tonight's meal; we had to raise the bar again.

If I had to level a complaint at Fiesta at Rick's, it's that the pages keep falling out.  We've already taped several back in and Pork Picadillo Sweet Corn Tamales has now joined that list.  As an appetizer, we also cranked out Plantain-Stuffed Chipotle Chiles in Escabeche, although its page remains embedded in the book.  Read on!

Cinco de Mayo Special!

Make sure you get your Cinco de Mayo cooking off on the right foot, because tonight, we're making Burritos!

Enchiladas: Reloaded

Due to the long weekend we took Friday Night Mexican on the road.

Playing the game from the visitor dugout has its challenges, but nothing that we couldn't overcome. We did bring the cast iron and the tortilla press along. Everything else was completely foreign.  Except for the meal. We revisited enchiladas this week but through the pages of Rick's Mexican Everyday:  Tomatillo-Sauced Enchiladas with Spinach and Mushrooms. The link here goes to the recipe hosted at Martha Stewart's site and even has a video of her and Rick knocking out the first half of the instructions.

Enchiladas - No assembly required

For some reason I felt like enchiladas this week.  Since we've been making our own tortillas, everything that we've eaten has been a vertical build on a horizontal substrate. Sometimes it's just easier to eat something if it's in a nice little parcel.  It also means that our guests don't have to go through the trouble of assembling their own dinner.

And so we dive headlong into Enchiladas Verdes!

Almost "Almost Oaxacan"

Look at all that fresh produce! It sure looks better in the shopping cart than a bunch of neon packaged whats-it that claims to be food.  I'll skip the self-righteous editorializing and recommend that you read Michael Pollan's In Defence of Food.  It's pretty much required reading for anyone who eats.

This week's recipe is another out of Fiesta at Rick's, "Almost Oaxacan" Grilled Tostadas with Chorizo, Tangy Guacamole, and Fresh Cheese.  In addition we also made Chunky Fresh Tomato Salsa (p. 144), Smoky Chipotle Salsa with Pan-Roasted Tomatillos (p. 149) and Pineapple (or Other Fruit) Skillet Upside-Down Cake (p. 301) from Mexican Everyday.

Flanking Maneuver

So thanks to this blog, the details of our weekly Mexican adventures have become legendary in our local circle of friends and family.  The statistics page on Blogspot tells me that we've also received visitors from Germany, the UK, and Singapore.  So welcome to all of our new readers! Make sure you subscribe, follow the RSS feed, leave a comment or at the very least, pass us along to a friend.

All of the attention means we can't stay stagnant; we've got to keep upping our game.  So we went back to Fiesta at Rick's for this week's Crispy Flank Steak Shreds with Golden Onions and Red Chile Salsa.

Mole Amarillo Explosion!

Enough stupid substitutions! It was time to make something properly for once, even if it meant trekking all the way across town to get one ingredient.  And there you have them: Guajillo Chiles.  Because we were looking for dried ones, there was some hope that they would be found in the international aisle of our local grocery store.  The only thing we found were more varieties of Herdez salsa.  Although one particular specialty store has Guajillos advertised on their website, they had none.  However, a tiny store right across the street has a virtually unlimited supply.  May we present: Good Price Grocery Store!

Friday Night Mexican, Slowly

This week it's a mash up between two of our favourites: Mexican and slow cookers.  One year, instead of spending my grandmother's Christmas gift on the usual rent and food I finally put it to good use and bought myself a bona fide Crock-Pot.  I realized that with minimal effort and no attention, these magical devices would do all of the cooking for you.  Since then, a wealth of soups, stews and pulled pork have spilled forth from its ceramic vessel at the blistering speed of 0.125 meal/hr.

Minty Meat Marbles

This week we took a little break from Fiesta at Rick's; we were finding that some of the recipes in there require a major time commitment.  Luckily, Senor Bayless figured that out and wrote Mexican Everyday which covers Mexican cooking for those of us who don't have the luxury of being Mexican cooks.  We pulled a recipe from the book based on how tasty the picture looked and ended up with Chipotle Meatballs.  Along side we cooked up Classic Mexican Red Rice, and Fried Beans.

Huaraches! Gesundheit.

Back to Rick's this week for "Sandal-Shaped Corn Masa Cakes with Black Beans, Salsa and Aged Cheese" - or I guess as they're known in less verbose regions, 'Huaraches'.  We ended up making a few substitutions in this one as some of Rick's recipes are a little difficult to make north of the Mason-Dixon line, let alone, in Ontario.  I mean, you could probably come up with most of the ingredients given enough lead time and searching effort, but this is "Friday Night" Mexican, not "I spent a month on it" Mexican.   Enough editorializing, onto dinner!

I'm not a rancher but here is breakfast

So there is a little second hand store across the road whose interior looks like an episode of hoarders.  If you have a clear idea of what you want, you can probably find it in there somewhere, as long as you're persistent. That's where we got Norma MacMillan's Tex Mex Cooking. Which is a 24 year old cookbook written (according to the book jacket) by a woman from the mid-west who has spent 18 years living in England.

Credibility not withstanding, what this book does have is beautiful pictures, simple recipes, and a lot of those basic things that trendier cook books wouldn't bother covering.  You can find recipes for refried beans, corn and flour tortillas, and today's recipe for Huevos Rancheros.

In search of Cajeta

So we've been getting a lot of mileage out of Rick Bayless' Fiesta at Rick's cookbook but occasionally we get stumped by one or several of the ingredients. The one that's been causing the most public humiliation is Cajeta which Rick describes as "goat milk caramel". Try explaining that to every grocery store clerk you can find in Toronto; you get some weird looks.