Day Eight - Mexico

Buenos Dias! Last night's culinary tour stop brought us to Mexico. I have to be up front and say Mexican food is probably my favorite ethnic food to eat. We are fortunate here in Greensboro to have a wide variety of Mexican places to check out. From hipster taco joints like Crafted: The Art of the Taco, or authentic restaurants like El Camino Real, there's plenty of opportunities to find great Mexican food close to home.

Even though we have great options, I wanted to see if I could try my hand at making some of my own. But I wanted to do it a little more authentically than the taco kits you can get at your local grocery stores. So I found some recipes online and went to work.

Turkey Tacos

1 pound dark meat turkey, chopped and pulled

1 cup chicken broth

3 radishes, sliced

1 cup shredded cheese (Mexican style)

1 onion, chopped

1 yellow pepper, chopped

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon hot Mexican style chili powder

1 tablespoon chipotle powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 table spoon olive oil

1/2 cup sliced green onion

Corn tortillas ( I used the Harris Teeter brand)

Once again using turkey here, I first soaked the thawed leftovers in chicken broth to give the meat some more juice.  

I added the olive oil to a pan and set it to medium heat.  I next added the onions, yellow pepper, cumin, chili powder, and pepper to the pan and let the onions cook down.

Next, I added 1 cup of chicken broth to the pan and stirred, creating a sauce to re-cook the turkey in. I added the turkey to the pan and let it simmer on low for 20 minutes.

I heated the corn tortillas, and then added a scoop of filling mixture. I topped this with two slices of radish, some green onion and some cheese.

Grilled Avocados

2 avocados, sliced in half

Olive oil

Chipotle seasoning to taste

For this, I actually have to thank my dad for introducing me to fixing avocados this way.  He usually does his on the grill, but as it was cold and rainy out this evening, I settled on using the cast iron skillet.

First, I cut the avocados in half and removed the pit. Next, I drizzled a little olive oil over each of the halves. Then, I sprinkled the chipotle powder over the avocados so they were well seasoned.

Finally, I put the avocados faced down on the skillet, which had been sitting over medium heat. I let them sear for about 5 minutes.

Refried black beans

1 can black beans

1 clove of garlic

1 cup chopped onion

1 tablespoon olive oil

At most Mexican restaurants, this is the side I like the least. They look like a pile of goop, and they usually taste like it too.  So I was excited to try out this recipe in the hopes that I'd find a better alternative.

First, I sauteed the onion and garlic in the olive oil until they were browned.

Then, I added the can of black beans and heated them for about five minutes.  Next, I took a potato masher and mashed the black beans/onions/garlic mix until it had the right consistency.

To serve, I topped them with Mexican cheese and some of the sliced green onion.

Mexican Rice

1 cup uncooked rice

3 cups water

1 can diced tomatoes with chilies

1 tablespoon cumin

This one was a very simple recipe and really was just a way to spice up a normal pot of boiled rice.  I first boiled the rice until it was tender.  I then stirred in the cumin.  Finally, I stirred in the can of dice tomatoes and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

And here's how it all turned out (the margarita was Elizabeth's contribution to last night's tour stop):

It all came out really well.  The rice was maybe the one downside, but the avocados were great and the tacos had a kick to them.  However, I think Elizabeth and I had a similar favorite: the black beans. This was a fantastic way to do them, and a great twist on a pretty common Mexican side dish.  It had a tremendous flavor, and lacked the "goopiness" that steers me clear of them at so many restaurants. I'm going to make them this way from here on out, and swear off the canned version of re-fried beans entirely.

It's nice to know that when push comes to shove, I don't have to head out to a restaurant to get the kind of Mexican food that I like.  It was all very simple to make, but it was heads and shoulders above the pre-packaged stuff you normally associate with "taco night."  I'm willing to bet that we'll be repeating this night for years to come at the Farabee home.