Category Archives: texmex

Chipotle Steak Tacos

Posted by Dave in meat, texmex and tagged with , , ,

Chipotle Steak Tacos

Tonight’s late-night dinner was these awesome tacos!

I started with choice Black Angus stew meat (1.25 pounds for $5), sliced against the grain and trimmed of fat and sinew.  I marinated the slices for 8 hours in a mix of olive oil, cumin powder, garlic powder, crushed mexican oregano (with buds), thyme, coarse black pepper, salt, and Worcestershire sauce.

Blackened Jalapenos

Next, I blackened/smoked some fresh jalapeno peppers (that were a little past their prime, but I didn’t want to discard) over the burner on a gas stove.

While sautéing the marinated beef slices (in the marinade) with a mexican hot sauce (Valentina brand Salsa Picante) added, I warmed some corn tortillas in a pan.

The tacos were assembled on the tortillas and topped with fire-roasted tomato (Hunt’s, canned), sour cream, shredded sharp cheddar cheese, black beans, and slices of the jalapeno peppers.

Delicious!

Chicken Fajita Salad

Posted by Dave in meat, salad, texmex and tagged with , , ,

Chicken Fajita Salad

Marinate chicken breasts (one per serving) in lime juice, minced garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, ground cumin, and crushed whole dry mexican oregano (i.e., oregano with buds).
I suggest marinating them for 8-48 hours.

Prepare pico de gallo: diced tomato (cored), finely diced jalapeno, minced garlic, minced onion (white), chopped cilantro, lime juice, salt.
Optionally add diced ripe (but not too ripe) avocado.

Prepare a creamy cilantro-lime sauce of: sour cream, heavy cream and/or milk, fresh cilantro leaves, fresh lime juice, minced garlic, balsamic vinegar, cumin powder, fresh ground pepper, and salt.
Purée this in a food processor or blender.

Pan fry strips of corn tortillas in olive oil until crisp.

Grill or pan fry the whole marinated chicken breasts in oil and marinade; blacken and sauté red pepper strips. Slice the chicken breasts (across the grain) and serve with the sautéd red pepper strips atop chopped Romaine lettuce. Top with cilantro-lime sauce, pico de gallo, crisp tortilla strips, and garnish with slices of lime, ripe avocado, and cilantro leaves.

I consulted these recipes for ingredient ideas:

“Creamy Cilantro-Lime Sauce”
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/creamy-cilantro-lime-sauce-10000000221985/

“Chicken Fajita Salad”
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-fajita-salad/

Enchilada with Chard, Olives, and Chickpeas

Posted by Dave in texmex, vegetarian and tagged with , , ,

Enchilada with Chard, Olives, and Chickpeas

This large enchilada, prepared with a burrito-sized flour tortilla rather than the traditional corn, is a modification of my earlier recipe for Olive and Chard Enchiladas.

I added chickpeas (for protein), a bit of feta cheese, and ground whole, dried oregano to the filling and added chopped stewed tomoato to the cheddar cream sauce. Otherwise it’s as described there.

This is a really tasty combination of ingredients, and I think it could be done with a tomato-based sauce as well.

Thanks to a local pub for the idea to make one ginormous serving-sized enchilada rather than so many smaller ones!

A tip: unfortunately with sauces made of cream and cheese, the oil tends to seperate when reheating. I experimented with reheating both slowly in an oven and quickly in the microwave and didn’t see a substantial difference; in both cases the sauce separated. To rememedy this, I suggest microwaving, and then mix in a bit of milk with the sauce afterward, and blend the sauce with a whisk or fork.

A Tale of Two Enchiladas

Posted by Dave in meat, texmex, vegetarian and tagged with , , , ,

A Tale of Two Enchiladas: Olive and Chard Enchiladas, Chicken Enchiladas

Rick Bayless’ website says: “The word `enchilada’ simply means `in chile’ and in Mexico, the most beloved version is actually a street snack: a corn tortilla dipped in chile sauce that’s a far cry from the limp, stuffed tortillas swimming in a sea of red sauce and molten cheese that we’re familiar with in the U.S.”

This is the first time I’ve made enchiladas, so I made the familiar latter, molten, swimming variety. :-)

The vegetarian Olive and Chard Enchilada (center of plate) is a corn tortilla wrapped around a filling of sautéed chopped red swiss chard, sliced jalapeno-stuffed olives, finely diced fresh jalapeno (seeded), sliced scallion, minced garlic, cumin powder, and a pinch of salt. The sauce is a cheddar cream sauce made with whipping cream, sharp cheddar cheese, garlic powder, and a touch of cayenne powder.

For the Chicken Enchiladas, chicken breasts were boiled in strained tomatoes (a purée/juice in a box; V-8 juice would be a reasonable alternative) seasoned with salt and pepper, then cooled and shredded. Corn tortillas wrap a filling consisting of the shredded chicken combined with black beans, grated cheddar cheese, and a sautéed mix of finely diced white onion, diced fresh jalapeno and serrano (with seeds), minced garlic, seasoned with minced fresh cilantro leaves, crushed whole oregano, and cumin powder. The sauce is a smoky tomato sauce, based on the strained tomatoes used to boil the chicken, seasoned with smoked spanish paprika, salt, and a touch of cayenne powder.

Some enchiladas were topped with both sauces. The enchiladas were placed in a baking dish (sauce also in bottom), sprinkled with grated cheddar cheese and sliced scallion greens, then baked at 350°, first covered for 30 minutes, then uncovered for 10 minutes to slightly brown the top.

Served with sliced avocado, sour cream, and salsa.

Whew, that’s enough of cooking for today.

This recipe was inspired by some enchilada recipes on Epicurious using either green olives or chard, and these video recipes:

“Beef Enchiladas”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrGLSbFComI

“Chicken Chimichanga”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwlSZzdUFmc

Chicken Skin Tacos

Posted by Dave in meat, texmex and tagged with , , ,

Chicken Skin Tacos

Today I made these tacos for friends, inspired by this recipe:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/28/dining/chicken-skin-tacos-recipe.html
and two salsas. The crispy chicken skin strips add a nice texture, somewhat reminiscent of deep fried wonton strips or bacon.

For the tacos, I baked thigh/leg quarters rather than breasts, and spiced them as in the aforementioned recipe put also added smoked paprika. As shown here, this taco was built with the shredded chicken, then finely diced red onion, romaine lettuce, two salsas, a bit of grated cheese, and topped with crispy fried chicken skin.

The first salsa was a four pepper salsa including diced peppers: sweet red pepper, seeded jalapeno, chocolate bell pepper, a hot thai (?) pepper, some diced heirloom and yellow tomatoes, diced avocado, garlic, lime juice, crushed whole oregano, and salt.

A tip: To keep diced avocado from messing up the appearance of your salsa, they must be somewhat firm (but still ripe); so, save the softest ones for a blended salsa, such as the following.

The second salsa was a classic mexican tomatillo-avocado salsa, e.g.,http://iamahoneybee.com/2009/09/24/tomatillo-avocado-salsa/: dry roasted tomatillos, an avocado, a couple jalapenos (with seeds), cilantro, lime juice, and salt – puréed in a blender.

Assemble tacos in warmed corn tortillas accompanied by tortilla chips and jalapeno red beans and rice, and a bunch of awesome beers and treats that friends brought for the NFL game. :-)

Grilled Sirloin Steak with Corn Salsa

Posted by Dave in meat, texmex and tagged with , , , ,

Grilled Sirloin Steak with Corn Salsa

This is a dish with some great fresh and crisp textures.

Prepare a salsa, e.g., Fire Roasted Sweet Corn and Avocado Salsa.

Marinate the steak for 8+ hours in a marinade of Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, cumin powder, red pepper flakes, and black pepper.
Grill steak to medium rare or medium, let stand 5 to 10 minutes, and thinly slice.
Prepare crispy torilla strips by cutting corn tortillas into short strips and pan frying in oil.
Serve sliced steak topped with corn salsa, perhaps a hot sauce (I used Valentina Salsa Picante), and tortilla strips.

Fish Tacos

Posted by Dave in fish, texmex and tagged with , , , ,

Fish Tacos

Fish Tacos are one of my favorite dishes at restaurants, so lately I’ve been preparing them myself!

Red Cabbage Slaw: Toss finely sliced red cabbage with a citrus onion vinegrette dressing. Prepare dressing, in a blender, by pureeing ingredients: sweet onion pieces, apple cider vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, brown sugar, garlic, salt, pepper, celery seed. (Alternatively use orange juice rather than lemon and reduce amount of sugar.)

Pico de Gallo: Mix diced tomato, finely diced sweet onion, diced ripe avocado, finely diced jalapeno or serrano pepper (seeds removed), lime juice, mexican oregano, salt.

Fish: Here I used catfish chunks; tilapia, salmon, or shrimp are also good choices. Dip either strips of fillet or slightly larger-than-bite-sized fish pieces in an egg wash and coat with a spiced flour mixture, e.g. spiced with: salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, perhaps a touch of cayenne. (I like to use Morton brand “Nature’s Seasons” which is a salt blend including onion, celery, and parsley as well. This time I also used a touch of a spice blend called Vulcan’s Fire Salt: http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/Vulcans-Fire-Salt Be sure to limit additional salt if you use salt-based blends.)
Alternatively, you can use a cajun blackening spice rub rather than an egg/flour batter.
Pan fry and place on paper towels to draw oil.

Assemble tacos in warmed corn tortillas at the table to your liking.
Here I also added sour cream; you may like cheese instead.