Cinco de Mayo

Cumin, cilantro, jicama, and lime....All of these ingredients MUST be present for me to throw a good Tex-Mex party! The piquant smokey cumin combined with the fragrant tang added by cilantro and can transport you to the most tropical of locations. Now add the sweetness of jicama and the tart lime and you have a complex and balanced dish. Seth wanted to have a dinner for his crew, so I planned a mini fiesta last weekend. After reading an inspiring recipe about grilled pineapple and onions in Food and Wine Magazine, I sought to create a pork taco utilizing all of my favorite ingredients. If you're looking for an added flavor, soak the onion slices in vermouth for a couple of hours before grilling; it adds a nice complexity. Overall, people brought some fabulous food and one guy even handmade a plane pinata. It was one fun evening!

Pork Tacos and Fixins'Pork:

5lbs boneless pork shoulder

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup orange juice

Juice from 1 lime

2 to 3 squirts of Sriracha, or chili sauce

1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 Tbsp garlic powder

2 Tbsp oregano

1 Tbsp cumin

1 cup chopped cilantro

24 white corn tortillas

2 red onions, cut into 1 inch rings

4 cups pineapple, cut into 1 inch rings

1.) 24 hours in advance, combine the meat, juices and spices in a plastic bag and marinate in the refrigerator.

2.) Heat up a grill and cook the pork for approx 45min to 1 hour. Each grill cooks differently so cook until the internal temperature of the pork registers 156 degrees. Let meat rest for 10 minutes, while grilling the onions and pineapple. Slice the pork and serve with tortillas.

Jicama and Tomatillo Slaw:

5 tomatillos, paper outer layer removed

1 onion, cut in half

Juice and zest of 1 lime

1 softball sized jicama, cut into 1 inch slivers

1 small head of green cabbage, shredded

1.) In a 350 degree oven, roast the tomatillos and onion for 1 hour. In a food processor, blend the roasted vegetables with the lime juice. Pour over the zest, jicama and cabbage. Serve with the tacos.

Note: Instead of roasting your own tomatillos or onion, you can use salsa verde or another green salsa.

Cumin Sour Cream:

1lb (16oz) container of sour cream

zest of 2 limes

1 T cumin

1/4 tsp Kosher salt

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1.) Combine all ingredients in a bowl and refrigerate for an hour (or more) before serving.

Oh yes and what to drink with these tacos.... We did make margaritas, but my favorite drink of the evening was my Lime and Cucumber Spritzer. Rick Bayless' recipe calls for tequila, but I wanted to tweak the recipe and make it non-alcoholic. Mint isn't exactly a classic Latino flavor, but I had to add a tiny bit to bump up the refreshing factor. Enjoy!

Cucumber and Lime Spritzer:

1 6inch English cucumber, peeled and chopped

1 cup lime juice

1 cup mint simple syrup, mint leaves strained out

3 cups sparkling water

1.) Puree the cucumber, lime juice and syrup until thick. Pour into serving pitcher and add sparkling water.

Mint Simple Syrup:

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1/2 cup mint leaves

1.) Boil the sugar and water until dissolved. Add mint leaves and cool.

Chicken Paillards

Hello again! My sister scolded me for my absence from the blog world. Like most everyone, my life has been busy busy busy. The to-do list is out of control and a pile of unread magazines continues to grow. When I finally had the chance, I picked up a few magazines and proceeded to weed them out. Sometimes I flip through a magazine and a recipe just jumps off the page. This article from Martha Stewart Living was one of those articles, and I have no real reason why. It’s not flashy, but it appeals to a rich homey feeling that I must have been craving. I didn’t exactly follow the recipe, but I didn’t want to mess with Martha too much. We cooked bacon that morning and saved some of the drippings for the sauce. Not the healthiest of options, but it added a pleasant smoky flavor. To make the paillards, I used the website's directions. This dish would be well complimented by a serving of wild rice and sauteed leafy greens, mmmmm!

Chicken Paillards
2 Tbsp bacon drippings (or butter)
4 chicken paillards
1 small shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
½ cup dry white wine
Juice from 1 lemon
1 Tbsp chopped thyme
1/2 cup chicken stock
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste

-Heat the bacon drippings (or butter) in a large skillet. Add chicken to the skillet and sauté for 3 minutes or until browned. Flip and sauté another 3 minutes or until cooked through. Set chicken aside.
-Add shallot and garlic to pan and cook until soft (may need to add more butter) and deglaze with white wine. Add juice, thyme, and stock and simmer another 5 minutes, until thickened. Serve chicken drizzled with sauce.