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| Viva la Pupusa - El Salvador's national snack made at home - Photo by Wasabi Prime |
Showing posts with label Mexican. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mexican. Show all posts
Monday, May 5, 2014
OMG a Recipe: Celebrating True Southern Comfort
It's Cinco de Mayo, but this Americanized/commercialized holiday has become more like Cinco de Drinko, since it's more heavily associated with drinking as much lime-plugged Coronas and sickly-sweet margaritas as you can chug. I don't think that's what the Mexican army had in mind when they defeated the French at the Battle of Puebla. It's better to think of this holiday as a recognition of cultural pride for Mexican Americans. And rightly so. If food is a cultural ambassador, the influence of Mexico reaches across the nation -- tacos are as ubiquitous as hot dogs and hamburgers. While not specific to Mexico, salsa has long surpassed ketchup as a favorite condiment. It's not just Mexico -- the flavors and seasonings of Latin America as a whole have been embraced; their food has become part of our Comfort Food vocabulary, and I think a blended heritage is worth celebrating, every day.
Monday, August 26, 2013
FoodTrek: Rollin' Deep, Seattle-Style, with Celebrity Chefs
In the wacky turn of events that has celebritized the culinary world to rock-star levels, it's a welcome sight to see that there are truly skilled chefs who are deserving of this spotlight. The fame doesn't distract from what they've always loved, which is an appreciation for food, its preparation, and for someone like celebrated chef, restaurateur, and TV personality Rick Bayless, it's an opportunity to educate and invigorate one's love of cooking. I had the very fortunate opportunity to see him and Seattle superstar chefs Tom Douglas and Thierry Rautureau host and cook up a storm for a cooking demo and engage food enthusiasts on both a local and nation-wide level during a live Twitter chat on #FoodieChats.
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| Chef Rick Bayless with the Seattle Breakfast of Champions - Photo by Wasabi Prime |
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
FoodTrek/UnRecipe: Going Out and Staying In
It can be tricky to balance the Going Out vs Staying In argument when it comes to dining. We all want to be mindful of our pocketbook, but not only is it nice to not have to cook or clean up after a meal, it's important to be supportive of the restaurant industry that continues to inspire us in our own home kitchens. Often times, visiting a restaurant during their non-peak hours is the best way to experience their menu at a lower cost, as well as a lesser hassle of getting a table. Recently we revisited one of our favorite spots in the rare light of day, Bellevue's Barrio, to give their new brunch menu a try. I enjoyed one of their dishes so much that I made a simpler at-home version, so that even when I'm having a meal in, it can still feel like going out.
I have several friends who believe breakfast is truly the perfect meal, and I'm inclined to go with that sentiment. It's the one meal where you have the option to go sweet or savory, and the ingredients are fairly consistent, so it's never a surprise over what you'll get. Plus when it comes to brunch, who doesn't love an excuse to tie one on before noon with a mimosa or a bloody mary? Barrio's take on brunch is a nice change from the typical eggs, toast, and hash, offering Mexican influenced dishes that still work with what El Norte Americano expectations for breakfast would be. Their brunch menu isn't too different from their regular menu, offering things like enchiladas and an egg-topped version of their chilaquiles, but they also offer a Mexican style French toast, and a chorizo bacon and egg torta, a hearty panini-like sandwich. Even their more standard breakfast fare like steak and eggs or biscuits and gravy still have a South of the Border twist, adding chiles and spices.
The Barrio brunch experience was om-nom-nom-approved, combining savory, slow-cooked, rich flavors, anointed with the crown of fried eggy goodness. I was so pleased with the pork and chiliquiles experience of Barrio, that I knew I needed to capture this edible lightning in a bottle. ZAP!
I took a cue from a night when we made tacos -- let's face it, you always wind up with more tortillas than you need. Chilaquiles is the ideal dish for this situation. Traditionally they are cut into wedges, fried, and then tossed with a red enchilada sauce. They're served with some queso fresco and chopped meat, a great dish to incorporate the odd leftover bits hanging about. The tacos we had were pretty simple -- pork seasoned with adobo powder, seared and sliced thin, layered on a small corn tortilla with some sliced radish, fresh cilantro, and a dash of lime. The remaining ingredients from this meal worked perfectly for the at-home version of Barrio's chilaquiles inspiration dish.
This had UnRecipe written all over it -- extra stuff loitering in the fridge, no clear recipe to start from, and memories of a tasty brunch still lingering in my head. Well, it was either UnRecipe or Big Hot Mess, but I remained optimistic and just threw things together, hoping for the best. I'm not a fan of frying, what with the ozone layer of grease that inevitably gets left in the kitchen, so I chopped a dozen or so small corn tortillas up into little triangles, drizzled with canola oil, and baked them in the oven. Once they were browned and crispy, they were tossed and coated with a store-bought can of enchilada sauce. Certainly nowhere near the roasted richness of Barrio's sauce, I was just stricken with a wicked case of Instant Gratification.
Chopped bits of the adobo pork were mixed in, a sprinkling of sliced fresh radish and crumbled cheese were added, and a hefty showering of fresh cilantro. I made up a parody version of Beyonce's "Single Ladies" and kept mumbling, "If you liked it, then you shoulda put an egg on it," while I fried an egg and placed it atop the towering mountain of saucy tortillas. Is that too much crazy information about how my mind wanders when I cook? Maybe, but I thought it was a pretty funny song. I promise I wasn't dancing around the kitchen with any hot skillets.
Chilaquiles the Wasabi Way was a delicious, too-impatient-to-go-out dish that would easily work as a dinner option. The baked tortillas soaked up the sauce nicely, and the mix of fresh raw vegetables and herbs mixed with the cooked ingredients made for a satisfying mix of textures and flavors. This was a pleasant way of finding a balance between going out to eat and staying in, plus another resourceful way of using up everything in the refrigerator, since I'm such a weird freak about not letting anything go to waste.
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| Morning powered by COFFEE - photo by Wasabi Prime |
I have several friends who believe breakfast is truly the perfect meal, and I'm inclined to go with that sentiment. It's the one meal where you have the option to go sweet or savory, and the ingredients are fairly consistent, so it's never a surprise over what you'll get. Plus when it comes to brunch, who doesn't love an excuse to tie one on before noon with a mimosa or a bloody mary? Barrio's take on brunch is a nice change from the typical eggs, toast, and hash, offering Mexican influenced dishes that still work with what El Norte Americano expectations for breakfast would be. Their brunch menu isn't too different from their regular menu, offering things like enchiladas and an egg-topped version of their chilaquiles, but they also offer a Mexican style French toast, and a chorizo bacon and egg torta, a hearty panini-like sandwich. Even their more standard breakfast fare like steak and eggs or biscuits and gravy still have a South of the Border twist, adding chiles and spices.
 |
| Brunch at Barrio - the right way to start the day. Photos by Wasabi Prime |
The Barrio brunch experience was om-nom-nom-approved, combining savory, slow-cooked, rich flavors, anointed with the crown of fried eggy goodness. I was so pleased with the pork and chiliquiles experience of Barrio, that I knew I needed to capture this edible lightning in a bottle. ZAP!
I took a cue from a night when we made tacos -- let's face it, you always wind up with more tortillas than you need. Chilaquiles is the ideal dish for this situation. Traditionally they are cut into wedges, fried, and then tossed with a red enchilada sauce. They're served with some queso fresco and chopped meat, a great dish to incorporate the odd leftover bits hanging about. The tacos we had were pretty simple -- pork seasoned with adobo powder, seared and sliced thin, layered on a small corn tortilla with some sliced radish, fresh cilantro, and a dash of lime. The remaining ingredients from this meal worked perfectly for the at-home version of Barrio's chilaquiles inspiration dish.
 |
| Tacos are the first step towards chilaquiles - Photo by Wasabi Prime |
This had UnRecipe written all over it -- extra stuff loitering in the fridge, no clear recipe to start from, and memories of a tasty brunch still lingering in my head. Well, it was either UnRecipe or Big Hot Mess, but I remained optimistic and just threw things together, hoping for the best. I'm not a fan of frying, what with the ozone layer of grease that inevitably gets left in the kitchen, so I chopped a dozen or so small corn tortillas up into little triangles, drizzled with canola oil, and baked them in the oven. Once they were browned and crispy, they were tossed and coated with a store-bought can of enchilada sauce. Certainly nowhere near the roasted richness of Barrio's sauce, I was just stricken with a wicked case of Instant Gratification.
Chopped bits of the adobo pork were mixed in, a sprinkling of sliced fresh radish and crumbled cheese were added, and a hefty showering of fresh cilantro. I made up a parody version of Beyonce's "Single Ladies" and kept mumbling, "If you liked it, then you shoulda put an egg on it," while I fried an egg and placed it atop the towering mountain of saucy tortillas. Is that too much crazy information about how my mind wanders when I cook? Maybe, but I thought it was a pretty funny song. I promise I wasn't dancing around the kitchen with any hot skillets.
 |
| Chilaquiles speak the universal language of leftovers - Photos by Wasabi Prime |
Chilaquiles the Wasabi Way was a delicious, too-impatient-to-go-out dish that would easily work as a dinner option. The baked tortillas soaked up the sauce nicely, and the mix of fresh raw vegetables and herbs mixed with the cooked ingredients made for a satisfying mix of textures and flavors. This was a pleasant way of finding a balance between going out to eat and staying in, plus another resourceful way of using up everything in the refrigerator, since I'm such a weird freak about not letting anything go to waste.
Friday, August 28, 2009
FoodTrek: Viva la Taqueria Guadalajara
If you are familiar with the Eastside city of Bellevue in Washington State, you'll hear a lot of recent press about all the new high-end restaurants and bars coming into the downtown area, each one trying to beat out the other for being the coolest kid in school, but sometimes it's not about that intangible and somewhat irksome coolness factor. Sometimes it's just about delicious street food and following the lunchtime crowd to discover that it's quite hip to be square.
Right off the busy snarl of intersections on 148th Avenue, in the Union 76 gas station parking lot in the Overlake neighborhood, Taqueria Guadalajara has set up its truck to feed an ever-growing line of hungry lunchgoers. The crowds are a mix of young and old, white collar professionals and burly construction dudes. There is no particular type of customer, as they really are a food purveyor to the people. Truly everyone comes to this place. There should be a sign put up at the entrance of the parking lot: Abandon all Hunger, Ye Who Enter Here. A line of customers curve alongside the asphalt, doing their best to avoid getting mowed over by cars heading to the gas station. Despite the risk to life and limb, it's worth it, as this magic bus is delicioso.
The food is simple and familiar, having offerings including tacos, quesadillas, tortas and burritos. Pricing ranges from $1.25 per taco, to a whole $5 for the Guadalajara Torta, a hefty grilled sandwich overstuffed with the works. The meaty options range from the everyday chicken, to the more traditional lengua (tongue), for a few cents more. There's the typical array of sodas, but they also offer horchata, a milky, nutty-flavored beverage that's popular in both Mexico and Spain. Lunches are made to order, a mad flurry of activity within the confined taqueria truck, before a savory plate of wonderful is served up. One can eat on the narrow bar table attached to the truck, sitting below the order window, or do what a lot of people do, hover in groups and just eat while standing, enjoying the sun if it happens to be out for a lunchtime visit.
As much as I wanted to eat everything on the menu, I stuck with what my gut said and that afternoon, it was pleading, dos tacos, por favor. I picked two different animals for lunchtime, getting one taco al pastor (pork) and one con lengua, which was most likely beef tongue. I know it's a cut of meat that people don't immediately jump for excitement about, despite the fact that we all admit to eating hot dogs and a good portion of the rest of the animal. It can be a tough cut, but the lengua they served was chopped finely and cooked tender. The pork was especially naughty-good, as it was delectable little fatty chunks, fried crisp from a short waltz on the grill. The tortillas were hand-sized, doubled-up, and tasted of handmade white corn goodness. Probably lard, too, but that's OK. A generous sprinkle of fresh cilantro, sliced radish, a wedge of lime, and lunch was served. I ordered a tamarind flavored bottle of Jarritos, a Mexican soda that comes in a kaleidoscope of colors. I always see them lined up in the stores, thinking the syrupy sweetness wouldn't go with much, other than a severe case of diabetic shock, but the tart tamarind paired nicely with the savory, fresh tacos.
I got a chance to sample off friends' orders as well, and can say the quesadilla was something special and worth another visit. Far more appealing than the aunt from Napoleon Dynamite yelling to her dimwitted nephews: "Go and make yourself a que-sah-dillah!"
If you have a chance to make your way to Taqueria Guadalajara's mobile kitchen of heavenly delights, I highly recommend it, especially before the summer ends. Ignore the hype of hot opening restaurant-newness for just a little while and just enjoy something delicious and uncomplicated, appealing to both body and soul.
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| Magical Animal and a Slip of the Tongue - photo by Wasabi Prime |
Right off the busy snarl of intersections on 148th Avenue, in the Union 76 gas station parking lot in the Overlake neighborhood, Taqueria Guadalajara has set up its truck to feed an ever-growing line of hungry lunchgoers. The crowds are a mix of young and old, white collar professionals and burly construction dudes. There is no particular type of customer, as they really are a food purveyor to the people. Truly everyone comes to this place. There should be a sign put up at the entrance of the parking lot: Abandon all Hunger, Ye Who Enter Here. A line of customers curve alongside the asphalt, doing their best to avoid getting mowed over by cars heading to the gas station. Despite the risk to life and limb, it's worth it, as this magic bus is delicioso.
The food is simple and familiar, having offerings including tacos, quesadillas, tortas and burritos. Pricing ranges from $1.25 per taco, to a whole $5 for the Guadalajara Torta, a hefty grilled sandwich overstuffed with the works. The meaty options range from the everyday chicken, to the more traditional lengua (tongue), for a few cents more. There's the typical array of sodas, but they also offer horchata, a milky, nutty-flavored beverage that's popular in both Mexico and Spain. Lunches are made to order, a mad flurry of activity within the confined taqueria truck, before a savory plate of wonderful is served up. One can eat on the narrow bar table attached to the truck, sitting below the order window, or do what a lot of people do, hover in groups and just eat while standing, enjoying the sun if it happens to be out for a lunchtime visit.
 |
| Power to the Hungry People! - Photos by Wasabi Prime |
As much as I wanted to eat everything on the menu, I stuck with what my gut said and that afternoon, it was pleading, dos tacos, por favor. I picked two different animals for lunchtime, getting one taco al pastor (pork) and one con lengua, which was most likely beef tongue. I know it's a cut of meat that people don't immediately jump for excitement about, despite the fact that we all admit to eating hot dogs and a good portion of the rest of the animal. It can be a tough cut, but the lengua they served was chopped finely and cooked tender. The pork was especially naughty-good, as it was delectable little fatty chunks, fried crisp from a short waltz on the grill. The tortillas were hand-sized, doubled-up, and tasted of handmade white corn goodness. Probably lard, too, but that's OK. A generous sprinkle of fresh cilantro, sliced radish, a wedge of lime, and lunch was served. I ordered a tamarind flavored bottle of Jarritos, a Mexican soda that comes in a kaleidoscope of colors. I always see them lined up in the stores, thinking the syrupy sweetness wouldn't go with much, other than a severe case of diabetic shock, but the tart tamarind paired nicely with the savory, fresh tacos.
I got a chance to sample off friends' orders as well, and can say the quesadilla was something special and worth another visit. Far more appealing than the aunt from Napoleon Dynamite yelling to her dimwitted nephews: "Go and make yourself a que-sah-dillah!"
If you have a chance to make your way to Taqueria Guadalajara's mobile kitchen of heavenly delights, I highly recommend it, especially before the summer ends. Ignore the hype of hot opening restaurant-newness for just a little while and just enjoy something delicious and uncomplicated, appealing to both body and soul.
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