Mexican Stuffed Shells

A new restaurant opened up in town last year called MexItalian – serving Latin-Mediterranean fusion cuisine. One of my favorite entrées there is a Parmigiana Mexicana, breaded eggplant that’s lightly fried, and layered with Parmesan cheese and salsa picante and then roasted. As I was perusing the many enticing recipes on Jenna’s Cooking Journey, my blog assignment for this “Blogger’s Choice” recipe swap, I came across a recipe for Mexican Stuffed Shells, and immediately thought of that Mexican-style Eggplant Parmigiana. I love fusion recipes, but for some reason tend to gravitate more towards Asian fusion ones (no surprise, I guess, considering the name and story behind this food blog). Well, this recipe broadened my horizons a bit. And when rain graced the central coast’s presence last week,  I was looking for a nice comforting recipe that would require turning on the oven. This one fit the bill.

Jumbo pasta shells are stuffed with ground turkey (or you could use ground beef) that’s seasoned with taco seasoning and made creamy with a little cream cheese. Then you lay the stuffed shells in a baking dish on top of a layer of salsa and cover them liberally with taco sauce. After a good half hour in the oven, you cover them with grated jack cheese and return them to the oven until golden and bubbly. A scattering of green onions and a couple dollops of sour cream finish off this Mexican-Italian fusion dish.

This is one of those recipes that we’d love to try again with some different ingredients just to change it up a bit. While we liked the combination of fresh salsa (we used a locally-made one that we love) and taco sauce from a bottle, I think it would be even more delicious with a home-made enchilada sauce, something with a nice smoky/spicy depth of flavor – one that can only come from your own kitchen, opposed to something from a bottle.

But overall, this is a crowd-pleasing dish, a great twist on your usual stuffed shells, and makes excellent leftovers.Thanks, Jenna!

Click on the icon at the bottom of this post to view all of the blogs that participated in this recipe swap! It’s sure to be a great round-up of recipes.

(Slightly adapted from Jenna’s Cooking Journey, as seen on The Way to His Heart, from which I then traced back through 5 more blogs until I got to blogchef.net. This recipe has sure gotten around the food blog world, which is a good sign!)

1 lb. ground turkey
1 package low-sodium taco seasoning (or use your own, which I should have done, but was feeling lazy :))
4 oz. cream cheese (I used more like 2-3 oz.)
1/2 a box of jumbo pasta shells (recipe specified 14-16 but I didn’t count – was probably over 20 shells)
1 1/2 to 2 cups salsa (I used a fresh salsa that’s made locally – Roberto’s)
1 cup taco sauce (such as La Victoria brand – I didn’t measure, but used almost an entire 8 oz. bottle)
2 cups grated Monterey jack cheese
3 green onions, sliced
Sour cream

• Preheat oven to 350°.

• In a frying pan, brown the turkey, using a wooden spoon to break up the pieces as it cooks. Drain, if needed (our turkey was pretty lean). Add taco seasoning and prepare according to the package directions. In our case, add the seasoning packet, 2/3 cup water, bring to a boil, then turn heat down to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add cream cheese, cover and simmer until cheese is melted. Blend well. Turn off heat, set aside, and allow to cool.

• Meanwhile, cook the pasta shells according to directions, 8-9 minutes in our case; drain. Set shells out individually on cutting board/baking sheet so that they don’t stick together. Allow to cool before handling.

• Pour salsa into the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish.  Using a spoon, gently fill each shell with the meat mixture and place it in the dish on top of the salsa, open-side up. Cover shells with taco sauce (we drizzled a little over each one – we also spooned a little more salsa on top of each shell). Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

• After 30 minutes, add grated cheese and bake for 10-15 minutes more, uncovered.  Top with green onions and serve with sour cream on the side.

Mexican-Style Baked Potatoes

After pouring my heart and soul into the last post, this one is going to be quick and to the point. Baked potatoes. I’ve never met a baked potato I didn’t like. When we go to the Santa Cruz County Fair every September, and we’re famished after watching cows, goats, pigs, and visiting the poultry barn, the baked potato stand is one of the best dinner options and fuels us for the next leg (the tractor display, followed by the harvest barn and the art exhibits – yes, we have a routine. We’ve been doing this for a while). While a baked potato might not compete with a deep-fried Twinkie or Oreo, it’s loaded with flavor from  the cheese, bacon bits, sour cream, and chives. It’s a challenge to eat with a flimsy plastic fork while sitting on a hay bail, but it hits the spot. The baked potato stand also just so happens to be located across from the beer tasting tent, which features a different brewery every night of the fair. Coincidence? If you know us, you know we love beer and a loaded baked potato is a good match for a micro-brew.

As much as we love the traditional toppings for a baked potato (especially the butter), we wanted to go a different route, topping them with crumbled chorizo, cheddar cheese, green onions, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, and cilantro. Don’t forget about the skin, an often neglected part of the potato that’s good for you. We rubbed our potatoes with olive oil and kosher salt before baking, making the skin crisp, flavorful, and irresistible. A simple salad of red leaf lettuce, thinly sliced radishes, and cilantro was a refreshing counterpoint to our loaded Mexican-style baked potatoes, which we enjoyed with a crisp lager. We hope you’ll enjoy these on a weeknight as we did. Load ’em up! They’re much easier to eat at your dining room table than on a hay bail.

Some day you just might be able to enjoy  a baked potato with a sample of our beer at the fair. Crazier things have happened. Have you heard that my parents, my brother, Dustin and myself are opening a brewery this summer? Crazy, huh. Discretion Brewing. We’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, you really must make these potatoes.

4 russet potatoes
olive oil
Kosher salt
1/3 lb. Mexian chorizo
cheddar cheese, grated
guacamole
salsa (we used Roberto’s tomatillo salsa, a local company)
green onions, diced
sour cream
fresh cilantro

• Rub the potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt. Poke several holes in them with a fork. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 1 hour or until you can easily pierce them with a fork.

• Meanwhile, add a little drizzle of olive oil to a skillet over medium high heat. Add the chorizo and cook until cooked through and lightly browned, using a wooden spoon to break it apart.

• Cut a slit on the top of each baked potato and split apart. Fill with the cooked, crumbled chorizo, cheddar cheese, guacamole, salsa, green onions, cilantro, sour cream, and cilantro.

• Dig in. Make you sure you eat the potato skin too. It’s good for you 🙂 And wash it down with your favorite local beer.

Flank Steak Tacos with Chipotle Sour Cream

It’s no coincidence that the last five post titles have the word grilled in them. We’ve been embracing warm evenings and hot coals while we can! A quick rub of cumin, paprika, and hot sauce gives this economical cut of steak lots of flavor. Then you slice it thinly and pile it on top of flour tortillas that have been heated up on the grill. A dollop of chipotle sour cream adds a cooling component with a little heat that sneaks up on you. Other taco toppings are optional, but we thought that guacamole, chopped red onion, and a little crumble of queso fresco were good additions. A pitcher of your favorite sangria wouldn’t hurt either.

While the man in your life ‘mans’ the grill (at least that’s how we roll around here), try this easy cilantro-lime rice to accompany your tacos. Combine 1 cup long grain rice with 1 3/4 cup chicken broth in a sauce pan with a lid. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the pot sit (don’t uncover it!) for 10 more minutes. After those 10 minutes are up, stir in a generous handful of chopped cilantro and the juice of 1 small lime. Taste and season with salt. For a little hint of creaminess, try mixing in a spoonful or two of plain sour cream into the rice. Voilà!

1 1/2 lbs. flank steak
Cumin
Paprika
Cholula (or other favorite hot sauce)
Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper
1 chipotle pepper (from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo) + 1 tsp. of the adobo sauce
1 cup sour cream
flour tortillas
Guacamole
Chopped red onion
Queso fresco, crumbled

• Prepare a charcoal grill for medium-high heat.

• Season both sides of the flank steak with cumin, paprika, Cholula, salt & pepper (you don’t really need to measure anything – just don’t go overboard on the salt because the Cholula contains salt as well).

• Finely chop the chipotle pepper and add it to a small bowl with the sour cream. Add the adobo sauce and stir to combine. Season with salt to taste. If it’s too spicy for your taste, add more sour cream until it’s perfect. Set aside.

• Grill the flank steak until a nice medium rare, about 6-8 minutes per side. Let rest for a few minutes, then slice thinly against the grain. Transfer slices to a serving bowl.

• Right before eating, put the tortillas on the grill to warm them, just 1 minute or less per side. Transfer tortillas to your plates and pile on the sliced flank steak, a spoonful of the chipotle sour cream, guacamole, chopped red onion, and some queso fresco. Enjoy with cilantro-lime rice!

Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Jalapeño-Ranch Sauce

It’s recipe swap time again! This week’s theme was Mexican. Both of us have been fortunate enough to grow up in California where we have eaten some of the best Mexican food outside of Mexico, something we missed greatly while we were in Japan, where there wasn’t an enchilada or a torta in sight (nor was there knowledge of either of those things). This recipe was a little different, so I can’t compare it to the tacos I ate at a little stand down in San Diego or Ensenada, but if you put it in a different category, perhaps Tex-Mex or American-Mexican, it’s a meal that definitely delivers on flavor, from the charcoal flavor of the grilled shrimp to the kick of Jalapeño in the zesty ranch sauce.

Ranch isn’t usually a staple in our house, so I was actually excited to have an excuse to buy the seasoning mix from the store and mix it into sour cream. When I added the grilled jalapeño and whirled everything up in a food processor, I decided this would be the perfect dip for potato chips (I may or may not have tried this while Dustin was grilling the shrimp). Next time, I would up the seasoning in the shrimp marinade – definitely more salt and more chili powder/cayenne, and maybe even add something sweet like honey or agave nectar to balance the flavors, but over all, this is a great meal to enjoy in your backyard on a warm evening with a glass of dry white wine. And I’m telling you, that Jalapeño-Ranch sauce just calls out for potato chips!

(From Sarah of A Taste of Home Cooking)

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined (we used small prawns)
Olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
Chopped garlic
Chili powder or cayenne pepper (or both! We also recommend adding salt & pepper to the marinade)
1 jalapeno
1 packet ranch dressing mix (we used what was labeled “ranch dip seasoning”)
1 cup sour cream
Flour tortillas
Shredded lettuce
Diced tomatoes
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese 
Your favorite hot sauce (we used Cholula)

• Prepare a charcoal grill.

• Combine shrimp, olive oil, lime juice, garlic and chili/cayenne in a bowl. Marinate shrimp for up to 30 minutes. Lightly oil the jalapeno and grill until nice and charred on the outside, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly, then discard the stem and cut in half lengthwise. Discard the seeds.

• Meanwhile, combine the seeded jalapeno with the ranch mix and the sour cream in a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer sauce to a small bowl and refrigerate until use. Cook the shrimp on the grill until they are done, and have nice grill marks. Warm up the tortillas on the grill.

• To assemble the tacos: spoon some Jalapeño-Ranch sauce on a tortilla, then top with shrimp (after removing the tails!), shredded lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. Drizzle with extra sauce and a few drops of hot sauce.

Camarones a la Diabla

Among many things, my friend Miriam and I share an affinity for making lists, browsing the store Anthropologie, and putting Sriracha on everything (except popcorn; we tried that; too soggy). We also love the same dish at Los Pericos, a taqueria in downtown Santa Cruz – Camarones a la Diabla, shrimp in a spicy, smokey chilie-tomato sauce. It’s the kind of dish that is painful to eat, but so enjoyable that you just keep going. A cold beer helps. Los Pericos serves their fiery shrimp next to cooling guacamole and sour cream (thank goodness), as well as rice, refried beans, corn tortillas, shredded iceburg lettuce, and a slice of (unfortunately pale, flavorless) tomato. But that’s ok because the rest of the dish is zesty and flavorful to make up for this unfortunate garnish. The entrée is a big commitment because of its size, but we usually do pretty well. So, if Los Pericos already makes our perfect spicy meal, why make the dish at home?  Well, because there’s a recipe for Camarones a la Diabla in The Sriracha Cookbook! After our successful Ultimate Sriracha Burgers, we decided to tackle a second recipe from the book together (with the help of our significant others).

What makes Camarones a la Diabla special is the addition of dried chilies in the sauce, three varieties, in fact. They are worth seeking out because their flavor is so unique – smokey, earthy, subtly spicy, and they are really what makes Camarones a la Diabla Camarones a la Diabla. Of course, this recipe includes Sriracha as well, which adds another dimension of flavor, that familiar combination of spicy, sweet, and tangy. We were surprised, though, that the Sriracha flavor wasn’t as prominent in the final dish. Setting the bottle on the table for people to add to taste was a good way to remedy this. We served our version with cilantro-lime brown rice, refried black beans, and a big salad. It was different from Los Pericos’ version; a little sweeter and more tomato-y, and didn’t quite pack as much punch as the recipe promised, but it was still “devilish” enough to keep us coming back for more.

(From The Sriracha Cookbook)

6 dried guajillo chilies
4 dried arbol chilies
2 dried ancho chilies
1/3 cup Sriracha
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 (28-ounce) can tomato puree
3 tablespoons butter
1 large red onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 pounds tail-on shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (we used cilantro instead; it is a Mexican dish!)
warmed corn tortillas, for serving

• Toast the chilies in a dry skillet over medium heat, 3 minutes per side. They will get really fragrant and their skin slightly charred. While the chilies are toasting, bring a large pot of water to a boil.

• When the chilies are toasted and the water is boiling, drop the chilies in the boiling water, cover, remove from heat, and let steep for 20 minutes.

• Drain the chilies, reserving 1/4 cup of the liquid. Discard the seeds and the skins as best you can (I was impatient and tried to do this while they were still kind of hot, which made it difficult). Throw the seeded, skinned chilies into a food processor, along with the reserved liquid, the Sriracha, and 2 TBS. of  the vegetable oil. Puree until smooth, using a spatula to wipe down the sides in between pulses.

• Place a large pot with a lid on the stove and set a mesh strainer on top (or someone can hold it over the pot for you). Spoon the pureed chile mixture into the strainer and use a wooden spoon to force it through. At first it will seem like there’s not much to push through, but be persistent with the spoon, using a stirring motion, and eventually you’ll end up with a smooth puree at the bottom of the pot.

• Add the can of tomato puree to the pot. Simmer the tomato/chili mixture over medium heat, 12-15 minutes or until thickened. I found the mixture to already be pretty thick and it started splattering everywhere like crazy (which is why the lid is helpful), so I didn’t simmer it for the full time – maybe only 10 minutes.

• Heat the butter and the remaining Tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 6-7 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the shrimp and cook for another minute, stirring, until they get some nice color on them. Add the tomato/chile mixture to the pan with the shrimp, onions, and garlic. Stir to combine and continue cooking until shrimp are cooked through. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve over (or next to) rice and refried beans, and warmed corn tortillas. Makes 6-8 servings.

Taco Night!

Sometimes I wonder what dinners Levi will get excited about when he’s older. I used to (hey, still do!) love pigs-in-a-blanket. My mom would wrap hot dogs in a homemade biscuit dough that had grated cheddar cheese in it. Whenever we make tacos, I think that maybe “Taco night” will be one of those meals that Levi anticipates when he’s old enough to care. In Japan we would stock up on Lawry’s taco seasoning at the import store and treat ourselves to a weekly taco night, but then we discovered we could make our own seasoning blend at home with cumin, chili powder, garlic, and onion powder that was just as good. What makes taco night at our house special is Dustin’s crispy corn shells. I don’t have the patience for frying them, but he does a great job of doing whatever he does with corn tortillas, two forks, and a small frying pan of hot vegetable oil, resulting in the perfect crunchy vessels for seasoned ground meat, guacamole, shredded cheese, and spicy, pickled radishes. Everyone has their version of tacos, but I thought it was time to share ours!

For the Pickled Radishes:

1 small bunch of radishes, thinly sliced
1 small jalapeño, seeded and diced (use 1/2 for less heat, obviously)
1 small lime
agave nectar to taste
salt & pepper to taste

For the Taco Meat:

1 pound ground grass-fed beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
cumin
chili powder
onion powder
salt & pepper
a couple splashes of good, medium bodied beer (or water)

For the Crispy Taco Shells:

corn tortillas
vegetable or canola oil

Other Toppings:

grated cheese
guacamole
chopped green onion

• In a small, non-reactive bowl, combine the sliced radishes, jalapeño, lime juice, agave nectar, salt & pepper. Stir together and place in the refrigerator while you prepare the rest of the meal.

• In a large skillet over medium high heat, brown the meat, stirring to break it apart with a wooden spoon. Drain fat, if necessary (our ground beef was pretty lean). Add the minced garlic and stir to combine.  Add cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and salt & pepper to taste. Add a couple 2-second pours of beer (or water), and cook, stirring occasionally, for at least 10 minutes, until liquid cooks off and spices are well-incorporated. Taste meat and add more seasonings as necessary.

• In a small frying pan (wide enough to fit a corn tortilla), add enough vegetable oil so it reaches a depth of about 1/2 an inch. Heat over medium heat. Working with one tortilla at a time, place it down in the pan and use two forks to keep it submerged under the oil for a couple seconds. Then use the forks to flip one side of the tortilla over, forming a shell. Hold it there in the oil until it stays. Flip and fry the other side of the shell. Repeat with as many tortillas as you have. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels.

• Fill your shells w/ the seasoned meat, a couple spoonfuls of your favorite homemade guacamole, some grated cheese, a few spoonfuls of spicy, pickled radishes, and some chopped green onion.

Black Bean Tostadas

First order of business: I need to share these pictures of Levi in the snow. Last month we went to Utah for a weekend to celebrate Dustin’s Great-Aunt’s 90th birthday. It was a quick trip, but we still had time to visit several micro-breweries, (the highlights were the Elephino Double IPA from Red Rock Brewing in Salt Lake City, and the Winterfest from Wasatch Brewery in Park City), as well as stick Levi in his snowsuit and plop him down in the snow to see his reaction. It was a mixture of confusion and delight. Then he tasted it 🙂

You know, traveling to other places, whether it’s a few states over or all the way to Japan, really makes us appreciate the abundance of Mexican food that we have here in California. Especially Japan. I think that’s why we used to make quesadillas every day for lunch (with our extremely expensive imported cheese and tortillas), in an attempt to fill that Mexican food void. Now that we’re back at home, any Mexican-inspired dinner feels like comfort food to us. This meal was both comforting and light (aka it didn’t give us that “OMG I just ate 3 chili rellenos and a side of rice & beans; I’m going to die” feeling). Our version of a tostada is a crispy corn tortilla, a thin layer of beans, a thin layer of guacamole, some shredded cheese (next time we’ll use queso fresco, but we didn’t have that on hand this time), and a lightly dressed salad of mixed greens, cilantro, and carrot.

(Makes 4 tostadas)

1 TBS. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced (divided)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
a couple splashes of medium-bodied beer (no Coors here, people)
Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
ground cumin
1 lime, zested + the juice (divided)
1 avocado
a spoonful of your favorite spicy salsa (here is ours)
2 small handfuls of grated cheese (we used colby jack)
2 handfuls of mixed greens
1 handful of grated carrot
1 handful fresh cilantro
your favorite vinaigrette (we just used olive oil, red wine vinegar, a little agave nectar for sweetness, and salt & pepper)
4 corn tortillas
canola oil for frying

• Begin by making preparing your “refried” black beans. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Add 1/2 the garlic and cook over the low heat so that it can really infuse the oil with flavor, rather than browning too quickly, about 4 minutes. When it starts turning golden, add the black beans and stir to combine. Turn up heat to medium and add a few splashes of whatever (good) beer you’re enjoying while you cook (come on, I’m not the only one who does that), and season with salt, pepper, and cumin to taste. Allow beans to cook for 5-10 minutes. Add the lime zest and stir to combine. Start to mash the beans with a wooden spoon (a “rustic mash” – some of the beans will remain whole-ish, but that’s ok) and continue stirring. Add a little more beer if the skillet becomes dry. When the beans are mashed the way you like them and are seasoned to your liking, turn off the heat and stir in the juice of 1/2 the lime (reserve the other 1/2 for your guacamole). Set aside.

• Prepare your guacamole. In a small bowl, mash the avocado together with the remaining minced garlic and a spoonful of salsa. Season with salt & pepper. Nice and simple. Set aside.

• Now, prepare the salad: Combine the mixed greens, grated carrot, and cilantro. Lightly dress with olive oil, red wine vinegar, a little agave nectar (or honey), salt & pepper. Set aside.

• Heat enough canola oil in a small frying pan so that it reaches a depth of a 1/4 inch. When hot, fry the corn tortillas one at a time, using 2 forks to hold then below the surface of the oil. After a couple minutes, carefully flip the tortilla and continue frying for 1-2 more minutes or until crispy. Let drain on paper towels.

• Assemble your tostadas: Place a crispy tortilla on your plate, spread a thin layer of black beans, followed by guacamole, a little handful of shredded cheese, and a handful of the salad. Sprinkle with a little more salsa on top of the whole thing if you want a little more heat.

And here was Levi’s version. He had some of the black beans, some guacamole (before I put the salsa in) some corn tortillas (not fried, just heated on the burner), and some carrots that I simmered in a little water with cumin and black pepper until soft. Bon Appetit, little boy!

Some sliced oranges were the perfect accompaniment for our tostadas.

Potato-Chorizo Tacos

Potatoes and spicy chorizo fried up all crispy in a pan … Sounds like the perfect breakfast, right? mmm, especially next to some scrambled eggs and toast and a hot cup of strong coffee. But place it in a corn tortilla with some chopped onion, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime and you have a delicious dinner that gives Lawry’s taco seasoning a break (although I’m the first to admit I love that kind of taco meat in my tacos!)

When I read that these tacos are served at Tacolicious‘ food stand at the Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market in San Francisco (if you visit the city, you must stop at the Ferry Building – for the farmer’s market outside and the many shops inside – It’s heaven for foodies), it further justified that we needed to make them for dinner! The original recipe calls for making your own fresh chorizo from ground pork, spices, and chipotle peppers in adobo, which we would have done if we had more time (time? what’s time?). Instead we just bought Mexican chorizo from our butcher without the slightest guilt, because we’re busy enjoying our little guy, who’s full of laughs and smiles lately!

Try these tacos tonight for a quick dinner. And go ahead, eat the leftovers for breakfast! The recipe below made about 9 tacos, but it depends on your preferred tortilla to filling ratio 🙂

(Adapted from the May 2010 issue of Food & Wine)

1 lb. yukon gold potatoes
3/4 lb. mexican chorizo (the kind in bulk; not the links)
2 TBS. vegetable oil
corn tortillas
white onion, diced
cilantro
lime wedges
salsa

• In a large saucepan, cover the potatoes with a few inches of cold water and bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes, until tender. Drain and let cool slightly. Peel the potatoes and coarsely mash them in the saucepan. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.

• Add the chorizo to the bowl with the potatoes and gently knead together, leaving some chunks of potato.

• In a large skillet (cast iron is best), heat the oil until shimmering.

• Add the chorizo-potato mixture to the skillet and press into an even layer. Cook over moderately high heat undisturbed until a crust forms on the bottom, about 5 minutes. Turn the mixture in sections and cook until browned and crusty on the bottom, about 5 minutes longer.

• Transfer the chorizo-potato mixture to a bowl and serve with the warmed tortillas, salsa, onion, cilantro and lime wedges. We had an avocado too so decided to add that as well!

Rosé Sangria with Guava & Pineapple

We were tickled pink by the rosy hue and tropical taste of this sangria. It was refreshing and not too sweet; the perfect thing to sip in the backyard at our Mexican themed BBQ. Adding some light rum may kick the party up a notch or two, but goes nicely with the pineapple and guava flavors. Make sure you have a large enough pitcher in which to mix everything. I thought ours was big enough, but ended up having to sacrifice about 1/2 a cup of guava juice and some of the orange slices in order to fit everything! Oops. This recipe is from the June 2009 issue of Bon Appetit. Cheers, everyone!

1 750-ml bottle rosé wine
4 6-ounce cans pineapple juice
2 11 1/2-ounce cans guava nectar
4 cinnamon sticks
2 cups 3/4-inch cubes fresh pineapple
2 oranges, halved through stem end, thinly sliced crosswise
Ice cubes

• In a large pitcher, combine the first 5 ingredients. Mix well.

• Set 12 orange slices aside for garnish; add remaining orange slices to pitcher.

• Cover and chill at least 6 hours or overnight.

• Fill glasses with ice. Add rum (if using). Pour sangria over the top and mix. Garnish with remaining orange slices and serve. Makes 12 servings.

El Sitio – Best Mexican in Santa Barbara

When we return to Santa Barbara, there are certain things that we always have to do: reminisce about our first date at the Starbucks on Coast Village Road, walk down State Street, drive by the zoo and try to spot the famous giraffe with the crooked neck, and eat at a number of restaurants that hold significance to us; Pacific Crepes (the best french onion soup), Your Place (best Thai), The Habit (best tri-tip sandwich with onion rings), and El Sitio (best Mexican). El Sitio is tucked away in a neighborhood that you probably wouldn’t find if you were just visiting Santa Barbara. Luckily, our apartments during our Junior and Senior years of college were just down the street, so we spotted El Sitio right away and ate there almost every weekend on their little patio with plastic green chairs.

Photo Credit from SantaBarbara.com dining review

$6.75 will get you the best adobado plate on the planet – “Adobado Mixto.” Tender, bite-sized pieces of pork, sliced mushrooms, and green chilis are cooked together with a spicy red adobo sauce and topped with melted white cheese. Hot corn tortillas wrapped in foil are served on the side. I’ve never ordered anything different because it is just that good, and tastes so authentic. The serving size is huge, so it’s perfect for two meals (which was a bonus as a college student).

Dustin swears by the carnitas burrito, packed with tender, flavorful meat, beans, and rice, and served on a bed of fresh tortilla chips. He always goes to the salsa bar and fills up a small cup of all three offerings – red, green, and salsa fresca. And even though they’re painful, he can’t resist the whole grilled Serrano chilies, which he eats in between bites of his burrito. Some cold horchata is the perfect match. Find El Sitio the next time you’re lunching in Santa Barbara. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.

El Sitio
138 S. Salinas St.
Santa Barbara, CA
(805) 963-0171

Roasted Rocoto Pepper and Tomato Salsa

My Dad has been growing these little peppers in our backyard for a while now. Rocoto peppers look like miniature bell peppers, but they’re actually quite hot. They originate in Peru and Bolivia. There are so many of them, we wanted to put some to use. They worked perfectly in this roasted salsa. Add another pepper if you want it to be even more ass-kickin’.

2 Rocoto peppers
3 vine ripened tomatoes, halved
5 small cloves of garlic, unpeeled
Olive oil, a few tablespoons
1/2 a white onion, diced
a large handful of cilantro
1 small lime
cumin, to taste
salt & pepper, to taste

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. On a baking sheet, arrange the tomato halves, garlic cloves, and rocoto peppers. Drizzle with olive oil. Roast for about 50 minutes. Remove the garlic cloves and peppers and continue roasting the tomatoes for another 10-15 minutes.

• When cool, peel the garlic cloves and remove the stems from the rocoto peppers. Place in a food processor.

• Gently peel the skin off the roasted tomatoes and add to the food processor with the garlic and peppers. Process for about 5 seconds.

• Add the onion, cilantro, lime juice, cumin, salt and pepper. Process until consistency is smooth.

• Eat immediately with chips or as a taco sauce, or cover and refrigerate for later.

Me-ki-shi-kan Tamago

That title means “Mexican Eggs.” If we were Japanese this is probably what we’d call this dish, because it’s inspired by everyone’s favorite Mexican breakfast Huevos Rancheros, and it involves eggs (tamago). But anyway, it only takes a few simple ingredients to create a healthy dinner or breakfast.

If using dry black beans: Soak 8 oz of beans overnight. Place beans in a dutch oven or large pot and add 3 cups water or broth — enough to cover the beans — and simmer for about an hour. When tender, season with salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, and cumin to taste. Refrigerate for later or proceed below!

2 cups cooked black beans, seasoned
1 TBS. olive oil
1 bunch of spinach, washed and roughly chopped
salt & pepper to taste
chili powder to taste
1 tsp. fresh lime juice
vegetable oil for frying
2 corn tortillas
2 eggs
Habanero Salsa to taste

• Add a swig of olive oil to a frying pan over medium heat. Add the spinach and cook until wilted. Season with salt, pepper, chili powder, and a squeeze of lime juice. Divide the spinach between two plates.

• In a different pan, add vegetable oil to a depth of a 1/4 inch. Heat over medium high heat. When hot, fry the tortillas on both sides until crispy, turning once. Drain on paper towels.

• Bring the pan that had spinach in it to medium high heat. Add a little more oil if necessary. Crack two eggs into the pan and season the tops with salt and pepper. Cook to your liking. It’s best if the yolk is a little runny.

• Place a fried corn tortilla on each plate next to the pile of spinach. Top with a few spoonfuls of black beans, followed by the egg, and a sprinkling of your favorite salsa. Enjoy!

Beer-Battered Salmon Tacos with Zesty White Sauce, Guacamole, and Shredded Cabbage

Friday night fish tacos was Dustin’s brilliant idea. Our supermarket was out of cod by the time we finished class at 7pm, but they had salmon so our recipe was quickly adapted! These reminded me of some fish tacos I ate from a little stand in Ensenada, Mexico about 8 years ago. As the Japanese say, natsukashi! (“how nostalgic!”) You can find the original recipe here. Serves about 4.

For the White Sauce:

1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup mayo
1 lime, juiced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
freshly ground black pepper

For the Beer-Batter:

1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup beer

Beautifully battered salmon pieces

Making the Tacos:

3 salmon fillets, skinned and cut into your desired size pieces
6 corn or flour tortillas
1/4 head of cabbage, shredded
Vegetable oil for frying
Prepared guacamole
Lime

• In a medium bowl, mix together yogurt and mayonnaise. Gradually stir in fresh lime juice until consistency thins. Season with oregano, cumin, chilli powder, and black pepper. Set aside.

• In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In another small bowl blend egg and beer, then quickly stir into the flour mixture (it’s okay if it’s a little lumpy).

• Heat oil in deep frying pan until hot.

• Dust salmon pieces lightly with flour. Dip into beer batter, and fry until crisp and golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

• Heat tortillas on both sides over a burner. Place a mound of shredded cabbage on top of the tortillas, and top with a few dollops of guacamole. Place 1 or 2 pieces of fried salmon on top. Finish with a squeeze of lime and a drizzle of white sauce.

Chipotle Tomato Rice

Looking for the perfect side dish for tacos or other Mexican fare? So was I. So I found this recipe for Mexican Red Beans & Rice, but omitted the beans because I didn’t have them. I also added some more chipotle pepper than called for to make it extra smokin.’ Adapted from the 12 Best Foods Cookbook.

1 cup cooked rice
1 TBS. canola oil
half a white onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (or 1/2 tsp. chipotle powder)
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
half of a 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes, with liquid
salt & pepper to taste
chopped cilantro, for garnish

• Prepare the rice by combining 1/3 cup uncooked rice with 1 cup of water in a rice cooker or in a sauce pan (adjust ratio according to type of rice and/or directions for rice cooker). When done, set aside.

• In a frying pan, heat the canola oil over medium high heat. Cook the onion until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.

• Stir in the chipotle and oregano.

• Add the canned tomatoes with liquid, reduce heat, and simmer until some of the liquid has evaporated, about 8 minutes.

• Add the cooked rice, and stir until combined and heated through. Season to taste with salt & pepper and serve. Garnish with some fresh chopped cilantro if you have some (In Japan I didn’t, but now I do! Hurray!)

Feliz Navidad: Mexican Pizzas and Christmas Tree Decorating

There’s nothing tricky about making these. Eating something far different from stuffing and mashed potatoes was the goal here. At home my Mom makes turkey enchiladas the day after Thanksgiving, and we eat them in the same room as our decorated Christmas tree that we’d cut down earlier that day. Since we couldn’t find a Thanksgiving turkey in Japan, I thought we should still eat something “Mexican,” so as not to completely break tradition. This recipe makes two Mexican pizzas, and they’re way better than the ones you get at Taco Bell (not to damn them with faint praise).

The sauce we made for our Mexican pizzas was similar to our enchilada sauce recipe, but without the tomatoes.

Mexican Pizzas

Vegetable oil (2 TBS. + more for frying the tortillas)
Flour
Chili powder
Cumin
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
a couple splashes of chicken broth (or water)
4 corn or flour tortillas
1 lb. ground beef (or turkey)
1 package taco seasoning (or your favorite seasoning blend)
1 14-oz. can refried beans
Toppings: Shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, diced onions, chopped lettuce,  sour cream

• Heat about 2 TBS. of vegetable oil in a pan. Then add 1 TBS. of flour and a bunch of spices — lots of chili powder (add to taste), a few shakes of cumin, garlic powder, dried onion, salt and pepper — and whisk everything together until the sauce thickens and is fragrant. Add a little chicken broth (or you could use water) to lighten it up. Taste and adjust seasonings until it’s perfect for you. Set aside. (You can also use your favorite store-bought enchilada sauce if prefer to make this meal even easier!)

• Preheat your broiler.

• Fry corn or flour tortillas in vegetable oil on both sides until crispy. Drain on paper towels and place two of them on a baking sheet in a single layer.

• Brown 1 lb. of ground beef in a pan and add water and taco seasoning (or your own blend) according to package directions. While it’s simmering, heat up a can of refried beans.

• Spread a thin layer of beans on top of each tortilla on your baking sheet. Top with some taco meat (you won’t need all of it – save for another use). Cover with your remaining 2 tortillas and liberally spoon the enchilada sauce on top of the two Mexican pizzas. Sprinkle with lots of shredded cheese, fresh tomatoes and chopped onions.

• Broil for a few minutes, until the cheese is melted and lovely. Slice your Mexican pizzas into quarters. Before serving, scatter some chopped lettuce on top, and a dollop of sour cream (if desired).

Arius enjoyed the process of stringing lights on the tree.

And here’s the finished product. Not too bad for a fake tree, huh?

Cheese Enchiladas

We purchased our $7.00 imported block of cheddar with no problem (familiar foods in a land of foreign labels are worth every penny!), but the import food store was out of enchilada sauce seasoning, so we saw this as the perfect opportunity to make it ourselves. Two and a half jars of chili powder later, we were very happy with the results! Serves 2.

6 corn tortillas
canola oil for frying
grated cheese
diced onions and jalapeños
enchilada sauce (recipe below) — we more-than-doubled the amount of seasonings that this recipe calls for (changes reflected below), added some fresh garlic, and substituted chicken broth for the water to make a more flavorful sauce

10 Minute Enchilada Sauce

(adapted from Allrecipes.com)

1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 TBS flour
1/4 cup chili powder
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cups chicken (or veggie) broth
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried onion
1 small clove of garlic, chopped
salt to taste

• Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in flour, fresh garlic, and chili powder, reduce heat to medium, and cook for a few minutes until fragrant, stirring constantly to prevent burning flour.

• Gradually stir in tomatoes, chicken broth, cumin, garlic powder, and dried onion into the flour and chili powder until smooth, and continue cooking over medium heat approximately 10 minutes, or until thickened slightly. Season to taste with salt.

Assembling the Enchiladas:

• Briefly fry the tortillas on both sides in oil (to prevent soggy enchiladas). Drain on paper towels.

• Spoon some enchilada sauce into the bottom of a baking pan. Fill each tortilla with as much cheese as you like, some chopped onion, and jalapeño and roll. Place the rolled tortillas in a single layer on top of the sauce. Cover with more sauce, and top with grated cheese.

• Bake in a hot oven (400 will do) until cheese is melty and bubbly, about 6 minutes. Serve with a green salad.