Beer Braised Carnitas

I got a little super nerd excited when I noticed that this post was number 144.  Why?  Because that is 12 squared.  Not that 12 has any real meaning for my either, I just think 144 is a pretty cool number.  Yeah, I am a dork.  One of my favorite books is Fermat's Enigma.  The college essay I wrote that got me into Notre Dame?  Completely 100% based on my love of math.  I am still absolutely certain that that is the reason I got accepted.  I just really like math.  Hopefully that wasn't too much of a weird insight into how my somewhat nerdy brain is wired, that's just what popped into my head as I opened up this post, so I decided to share... Anyways, on to why you are really here, the carnitas!

There are occasionally times when I feel like I let my last name down.  I am Mexican.  Alright, I am a quarter Mexican.  But even so, I always feel a twinge of guilt when I reach for a jar of salsa, especially when I have my great-grandma Tilly's recipe sitting in the homemade cookbook on the counter.  Which is, I will admit (oh, the guilt!), ridiculously easy to make.  When I am feeling particularly shameful about my cultural negligence  I usually make Ben take me to the local taquerio where I can find a little solace in ordering a proper Mexican taco (corn tortillas, none of this cheese, sour cream, lettuce nonsense, simply topped as it should be with diced white onion, cilantro and a hearty squeeze of lime).

Other days, things are little more drastic, and I can go no longer with besmerching my good Mexican last name.  Call me a drama queen if you will, but good things usually come from these drastic measures.  Good things like corn tortillas.  And, most recently, these carnitas.  These heaven sent, lightly spicy, fall apart melt away goodness, carnitas.  Now, this is something my one quarter Mexican self can be proud of, just please ignore the fact that I did use store bought corn tortillas...

Beer Braised Carnitas
Adapted, in words only from Feb. 2013's Bon Appetit

There are 2 things you should take away from this recipe.  One is that carnitas, of any type, are usually  straight forward and easy.  There are only 5 ingredients!  Here's the gist: you take some pork, cut it up and boil it all day long until it melts apart.  Then you brown it in the very same pot after all the liquid evaporates.  For 20 minutes of prep work and a few hours on the stove, you get a pot of gorgeous, red, flavorful meat.  Two?  This is jaw-droppingly delicious.  Big Green Cookbook approved.

2 dried New Mexico chiles
4 lbs. skinless, boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2 inch hunks
12 oz lager (I used Modelo Especial)
4 garlic cloves, crushed
4 tsp. kosher salt

In large dutch oven, over medium heat, toast the chilies on both sides, until they have puffed up and darkened, about 2 minutes.  Remove from pot and let cool.  Once chilies are cool enough to handle, cut in half long ways and discard the stem and seeds (the more seeds you leave in, the more spice you'll find your dish has).  Return to dutch oven and add all the remaining ingredients, plus 1 cup of water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.  Cover the pot and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until pork falls apart at the touch of a fork.  This took me about an hour and a half.

Once the pork is fork tender, remove the lid of the pot and raise the heat slightly, bringing the liquid to a slow boil.  Stirring occasionally, continue to boil until the liquid evaporates completely, about 25 minutes.  Using a wooden spoon, continue to allow pork to brown (it will naturally start shredding apart).  Stir continuously and scrape up the browned bits of goodness from the bottom for another 10-15 minutes.

Finally, add about 1 cup of water to the dutch oven.  Bring to a boil and scrape up any remaining browned bits of goodness from the bottom.  Serve with corn tortillas and a smile!

For instructions on making ahead of time (up to 3 days!), see BA's website.

Ancho Chicken Tacos

When I was in school, I used to have these great fantasies about all the extra time I was going to have once I was in the real world.  There would be no more homework, no more study groups, no more intermural flag football practices and games.  Instead of managing a schedule of two different and distinct tutoring jobs with a full class load, I would only have work.  Oh, the things I would get done!  Cooking every night, delicious paper bag lunches every day.  I'd buy a sewing machine and I would use it.  Maybe I would actually get serious about learning German and take a class or two.  And, oh yeah, start a little thing called a blog and blog at least once a week!  Sigh... life was going to be some much more blissful once I was in the real world.

We all know where this is going.  Somehow, even with having only 1 job to be responsible to I still end up feeling as if there will never be enough time for accomplishing both enough sleep and my ever growing pile of laundry.  Yes, maybe intermural flag football was replaced with co-rec work softball.  And study groups replaced with volunteering for SWE.  And, having a larger living space does in fact mean that cleaning it takes exponentially longer to clean than previous living quarters.  And the blog thing, well, that actually happened, and who would have thought, it actually takes some time.  All those fantasies of me having nothing but buckets of free time have vaporized.  It is shocking, although I probably really shouldn't say surprising.  And let's face it, it's also probably a good thing.  I've never really been good with free time, I usually just use it to get caught up on Everybody Loves Raymond reruns.  

This has nothing to do with ancho chicken tacos, which by the way, were delicious.  Instead, it has everything to do with the fact that I have a public forum in which I am allowed to lightly complain occasionally... even if my mother and college roommate are the only people that ever read it.

Ancho Chicken Tacos
Adapted from BA's June 2012 Issue

The fact of the matter is, you can't go wrong with cumin + ancho + tacos.  I would imagine this would taste equally amazing whether chicken thighs, chicken breasts, shrimp or tilapia were used as the taco filling vehicle.  This one is a keeper, a BGCB-er.  A you-should-make-this-for-dinner-tomorrow-er.  Ok, that was a stretch.  But still completely true.

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chx. thighs (~6)
3 Tbsp. ancho chile powder
3 Tbsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. kosher salt
Canola oil, for frying
Corn tortillas, for tacos

Place chicken thighs in large bowl with lid.  In small bowl, mix together ancho chile powder, cumin and salt.  Sprinkle over chicken thighs, toss to thoroughly coat and pat in.  Cover bowl and refrigerate, letting marinade for at least 2 hours.

Pour enough oil into large cast iron skillet to completely cover bottom by at least a quarter inch.  Begin to heat over medium high heat.  Once oil is hot, lay chicken thighs in skillet in a single layer, being careful not to overcrowd.  If necessary, cook chicken in batches.  Let chicken cook 6-7 minutes undisturbed so crust forms.  Flip chicken and let cook an additional 5 or so minutes, until chicken thighs are cooked through.  Remove from pan and let rest on paper towels, to drain oil, about 5-10 minutes.  Shred chicken.

Load shredded chicken up in corn tortillas.  Top with any combination of the following, or your favorite taco topping: queso fresco, onions, cilantro, radishes, etc.  Enjoy!

Homemade Corn Tortillas

Psshhh... Check this out. I made corn tortillas. Homemade - like from scratch. The quarter Mexican in me is gloating whilst salsa dancing. You'll have to forgive her a little, she's quite the horn-tutting multitasker. You also have to admit, that's kind of cool. And delicious.

Yes, it only has 3 ingredients. But it requires the use of a specialty gadget called a tortilla press. Or, if you're an ameteur kitchen MacGyver like me (read--cheap), two sheets of plastic wrap and a glass pyrex pie plate. Which also means, this was a little time consuming. There is an hour built in wait, which is no bigger, the dough is just chilling out and you're free to chill out too, but the ball rolling, squashing, pressing, pan frying deal? It's going to be a little bit of a time commitment.

I read everywhere that once you've gone homemade, you won't go back. I kinda see myself able to go back.  About half way through all the ball rolling, squashing, pressing, pan frying assembly line I had set up for my self, I found myself wondering, is it really worth it?  I can get a dozen of corn tortillas at my local market of 39 cents.  That is less than 4 pennies per tortilla.  These are delicious, yes, and you get to parade around the whole evening boasting your accomplishment ("I made corn tortillas!"!), but you can get a dozen for less than two shiny quarters. I know myself, and when I want a lazy Taco Tuesday night, this isn't the way to go. I'm going to be reaching for a 39 cent bag.

This is absolutely a BGCB recipe.  I homemade corn tortillas for crying out loud!  And they were damn tasty. You should try it yourself too. So that your inner Mexican can salsa-around with accomplishment. They just aren't Taco Tuesday ready yet. I'm going to do a little researching, if these are pre-pan frying freezable maybe we might just have to revisit this conversation. I'll let you know!

Homemade Corn Tortillas
Adapted from Bob's Red Mill

2 c. Masa Harina (aka Corn Flour)
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 1/2 - 2 c. hot water
Canola Oil

In large bowl, whisk together masa harina and salt. Slowly drizzle in hot water and mix. Give up with the spoon and start kneading with your hands. You are looking for a consistency that is "firm and springy when touched, not dry or sticky". Think Play-Dough. Cover with a clean towel and let rest about an hour.

Heat up a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Using a brush, lightly coat with canola oil. If you have a tortilla press, bust it out. If you have a tortilla press, you probably don't really need much instruction...

For those without: roll dough into about a 1-2 inch ball. flatten into a disk shape in your palm. Place between two sheets of plastic wrap. Using a flat bottomed pan or pie tin (I used a glass pie plate. It was nice to see through to the tortilla underneath), press dough ball until very thin and flat. Carefully remove from plastic and put in hot cast iron. Cook 1-2 minutes (bubbles will start to rise inside) before flipping. Flip once, cooking 3-4 minutes total. Brush cast iron with canola oil as needed.

To keep warm, keep under foil tent.

Bob says this makes 12 6-inch tortillas. Mine were a little smaller and I got 20.

I made these two Thursday night's ago. A week later, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, they were still good in my fridge.

Cumin Spiced Fish Tacos & Mango Avocado Salsa

Happy Memorial Day!  Happy Unofficial, but every knows real deal, start of Summer!  (The technical first day of summer, for all you PC-lovers out there is June 20th).  But let's be honest here.  Summer and everything that embodies it - BBQ's, outside drinking games, picnics, lakes, tans - Summer.  Officially.  Starts.  Today.  I am quite literally humming with excitement.

Actually, singing.  Cause that is what I do.  In the summertime, I sing oldies.  Because summer belongs to the golden oldies.  Trust me on this one.  Just this morning, it was a verse of In the Summertime, which went into the whistling from Dock of the Bay, and ended in a little ditty about Jack and Diane.  It was wonderful.  I am so ready for some sunshine, some water, a lazy round of beersbee, and, oh yeah, fish tacos.  Ready or not, Summer, here we come.

In the summertime, when the weather is hot

you can reach right up and touch the sky

When the weather's fine, you got women

you got women on your mind. 

Have a drink, have a drive,

Go out and see what you can find.

P.S. - This was so me on Friday.  And quite literally I checked it at 3:12 PM Friday afternoon.  It feels nice to feel so connected to someone feeling the Exact. Same. Way.  Camaraderie.  I love the internet.  Well, sometimes.  I love three day start of summer weekends all the time though.  Hope yours was fantastic!

Cumin Spiced Fish Tacos & Mango Avocado Salsa

Adapted, hardly, from Cooking Light's.... 

YUM!  These guys right here is how you want to start your summer.  They take less than 30 minutes to throw together, they are cool and spicy,  and you can eat them with your hands.  Plus, they taste especially great washed down with a cold beer.  And the mango salsa?!?  FANTASTIC.  Make extra.  And then eat like you would any salsa, on tortilla chips.  And it will totally disappear before nightfall.  The tart mango with the smooth avocado?  I don't even like avocado that much and I'm telling you.  YES.  Make these.  Tonight.  Have a cerveza.  Toast Summer.

(These guys, in case you were wondering, are totally 100% BGCB material)

Mango Avocado Salsa:
1 medium mango, peeled and cubed
1 medium mango, pitted and cubed
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 small jalapeno, diced
5-10 sprigs of cilantro, chopped, no stems
1 1/2 limes (for juice)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Juice limes over avocado (this will help with keeping the avocado green and not brown).  Toss all ingredients together.  Let sit 10 minutes so flavors marry.

Cumin Spiced Fish Tacos:
1 Tbsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 lb. tilapia fillets
1 Tbsp. canola oil

In large skillet over medium heat, toast cumin seeds for 2 minutes until fragrant.  Shake pan often to keep from burning.  In spice grinder, grind cumin with salt and peppers until finely ground.  (Leave a comment if you want a tip on how to clean out the spice/coffee grinder afterwards!)  Add cumin mixture to garlic and use as dry rub on tilapia fillets. Let sit 5-10 minutes.

Return skillet to burner and heat oil over a medium high flame.  Add tilapia and pan fry for 2 minutes.  Flip and cook for 2 minutes more, or until fish is cooked throuogh.  Remove and flake into large bite sized pieces.

Warm corn tortillas.  Lay a few chunks of fish and cover with mango avocado salsa.  Eat, drink, repeat!

Garlicky, Smoky London Broil with Chipotle Chiles

Last weekend was one of those that makes me happy to count myself among the hallowed ranks of food bloggers.  Starting Friday afternoon and finishing with Saturday's lunch, not only had I tried out three brand new recipes, I really liked all three of them too.  There was the delicious, buttery shortbread cookies, the easy and soon to be even further adapted homemade granola, and finally there was what I consider the best meal I have had all month (and that includes a dinner at me and Ben's favorite Chi-town suburb restaurant): This spiced London broil recipe that we sliced and served up taco style for Saturday afternoon late lunch.  This was the perfect lazy Saturday late afternoon lunch, it wasn't too much stress to put together and it was soul satisfying.  This beef, served on a tortilla-vehicle or not, is delicious. 

When I was back on campus last week for the career fair, I snuck into one of the dining halls and grabbed a copy of that Wednesday's New York Times.  Notre Dame was great about always having, not only our school newspaper, the Observer, readily available, but also current New York Times, USA Todays and Chicago Tribunes.  It was an easy way to make sure we weren't completely enveloped in the ND bubble, and for me it meant two things:  NYT Crossword puzzles daily and the Wednesday dining section.  Wednesday's was my favorite newspaper all week, not only was there a whole section devoted to food, complete with recipes and everything, Wednesday meant the crossword puzzle wouldn't be too easy that it wasn't challenging, or too hard that I only got a few boxes filled in.  Yes, it was just right.

I remember once sitting on the bed in Ben's tiny dorm room looking at the dining section while he was busy on his computer.  Lacking scissors and seeing a recipe that I just had to add to my ever growing pile, I started to rip it out by hand, apparently with enough fervor that Ben told me he was concerned I was going all "Beautiful Mind" on him.  That might have been the first time I've admitted to my recipe hoarding problem...

Anyways, back in the present, this recipe came from the New York Times I swiped two weeks ago.  And, as I preached above, it is damn tasty.  The recipe is to simply grill the thing and serve, a method I would not for a second scoff at.  But if you have the time and desire to take it on step further, I'm telling you, think tacos.  I wouldn't have thought about had someone not randomly told me he was craving tacos and I had already decided that I was making this.  I simply whipped up a quick salsa (if you can call it that) with cilantro, onion (red and white, cause that's what I had) and a small jalapeno, thinly sliced the pan-seared beef, and piled it all onto warm corn tortillas.  Tada, tacos.  Add a lime wedge on the side and you are good to go.  And please don't think I am bluffing here, but they were, without a doubt, easily the most tantalizing tacos I have had in a very long time. 

Can anyone say 3 for 3?  Booyah. 

Garlicky, Smoky London Broil with Chipotle Chiles
from NYT 9/2/11 Dining Section

For Steak:
4 Tbsp. pureed chipotle chiles in adobo
2 Tbsp. honey
6 garlic cloves, minced
4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
2-2.5 lbs. London broil
2 tsp. kosher salt

For Salsa:

1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 c. cilantro, chopped
1 small jalapeno, diced
Juice of half a lime

In large bowl, whisk together chipotle chiles, honey and garlic.  Stream in olive oil, whisking to combine.

Season steak liberally on both sides with salt.  Place in bowl with marinade and rub both sides with marinade.  Cover and let marinade for 30 minutes to 24 hours.  If leaving to marinade longer than 30 minutes, refrigerate.

Let meat come to room temperature (if refrigerated).  Heat large skillet on medium high heat.  Add small swirl of canola oil and let warm.  Add steak to pan and cook 4-5 minutes on each side, for medium rare.  Remove steak from heat and let rest 10 minutes.

For Tacos:
While meat is marinading, cooking or resting, make salsa.  Combine all ingredients in small bowl and mix well with lime juice.  Warm tortillas in skillet over medium heat.  Once meat is rested, cut in thin slices.  Pile high on corn tortilla meat and salsa and top with a squirt of lime.  Enjoy!

Note:  The original recipe called for the steak to be grilled.  The next go around for me, I will more than likely broil it.  Either way, I'm sure it'll be just as freaking delicious!