Food

Now now, just because you like yuppie food doesn't (necessarily) mean you are a yuppie...lol.

I admit that, growing up, I really did think those were what tacos were. I'll even admit that I do get a craving for Taco Bell every once in awhile, though I don't equate that with Mexican food.

I just looked at the gatefold of ZZ Top's album Tres Hombres and now I have a real craving for good Mexican food. My problem is I'm sitting in New Hampshire right now.

I travel a lot. Funny thing is I've never gotten Mexican food in New Mexico. Funnier still, there is a great Indian place in San Jon I try and stop at when I can. That truck stop is a total dump but the food is amazing.
 
San Jon is a village rarely mentioned in my neck of the woods, and to be honest, I don't remember having heard of the place. But I see on the map that it's way over there to the far Eastern border. Wikipedia says of San Jon that "The population was 306 at the 2000 census." No wonder I've never heard of it, even though I may have driven through it once. A great Indian place there, 'eh? Would that be Indian as in curry sauces or Indian as in fry bread"?

I almost used the old "dot or feather" way of asking, but it turns out that the internet says that's "racist". I never knew. Is it racist to invoke fry bread? How about hamburgers? I'm mostly Caucasian -- enough to pass as a white guy (with some Indian of the feather and fry bread variety stirred in). So I suppose I should get upset if someone calls us hamburger eaters? Sigh.

ZZ Top fan recreates the ‘Tres Hombres’ gatefold meal and then eats it
https://dangerousminds.net/comments...e_tres_hombres_gatefold_meal_and_then_eats_it


A Region-by-Region Guide to the Best Tacos in Mexico
https://theculturetrip.com/north-am...-by-region-guide-to-the-best-tacos-in-mexico/
 
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Speaking (again!) of tacos ...

Speaking (again!) of tacos ...

I had these totally amazing restaurant breakfast tacos here in Santa Fe recently. Being breakfast tacos, they had scrambled eggs as their main ingredient ... with cheese and sausage and a little smidgen of this and that along with, get this! -- a hint of dill pickle bits. I was told that the pickles made all of the difference, but was skeptical about this notion. Well, it did! They were very wow.

If you find yourself visiting Santa Fe you can get them at Palacio Café -- the one at
209 East Palace Ave, Santa Fe NM. There's another sister Palacio Cafe on Palace Ave, but I don't think they have these.

Mmmmm!

Edit:

Oh, here's the menu description:

Rocky's Breakfast Tacos
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
$9
Two yellow corn tortillas filled with eggs, hash browns, cheddar cheese, bacon and sausage, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, onions and pickles. Choice of red or green chile on the side.

https://www.palaciocafe2.com/menus
 
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Food questions

1. When snacking, do you generally go for sweet or savory?

2. What are some favorite snacks of yours?
 
Curry. I refer to Native Americans thusly, or by tribe name. What doesn't offend someone today will probably offend them tomorrow.

9 bucks for two tacos?
 
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Speaking (again!) of tacos ...

I had these totally amazing restaurant breakfast tacos here in Santa Fe recently. Being breakfast tacos, they had scrambled eggs as their main ingredient ... with cheese and sausage and a little smidgen of this and that along with, get this! -- a hint of dill pickle bits. I was told that the pickles made all of the difference, but was skeptical about this notion. Well, it did! They were very wow.

If you find yourself visiting Santa Fe you can get them at Palacio Café -- the one at
209 East Palace Ave, Santa Fe NM. There's another sister Palacio Cafe on Palace Ave, but I don't think they have these.

Mmmmm!

Edit:

Oh, here's the menu description:

Rocky's Breakfast Tacos
.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
$9
Two yellow corn tortillas filled with eggs, hash browns, cheddar cheese, bacon and sausage, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, onions and pickles. Choice of red or green chile on the side.

https://www.palaciocafe2.com/menus


Not surprised the pickles made it awesome - one of my favorite "dinners when i don't feel like cooking" is huevos con chorizo - eggs scrambled with Mexican pork sausage, a style with lots of cumin and vinegar - wrapped up in tortillas. i usually have cotija cheese - ok or at least cheddar - and pickled onions in the fridge to go on them. (I make my own pickled onions with jalapeños in the brine, once you slice the onions and put them in the brine they last forever and ever).
 
Not surprised the pickles made it awesome - one of my favorite "dinners when i don't feel like cooking" is huevos con chorizo - eggs scrambled with Mexican pork sausage, a style with lots of cumin and vinegar - wrapped up in tortillas. i usually have cotija cheese - ok or at least cheddar - and pickled onions in the fridge to go on them. (I make my own pickled onions with jalapeños in the brine, once you slice the onions and put them in the brine they last forever and ever).

Hmm. Would you believe I've never made pickled onions? I'm going to have to try that.

What kind of tortillas do you use with your huevos con chorizo -- corn, wheat, a blend? Lately, I'm finding the white corn and wheat blended tortillas useful -- though they are of course not "authentic" -- or traditional.
 
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Here's the onion recipe - as you see, it's ridiculously simple: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/05/pickled-red-onions.html

As for tortillas, I haven't seen the mixed corn/wheat ones. Will have to look. We eat a _lot_ of straight up flour ones, that's the usual "easy" answer, but every so often I'll get a wild hair and make homemade corn ones. Not fresh masa - Maseca (although there's supposed to be a place to buy fresh masa opening soon and I'm going to have to try that) - but they're still REALLY much yummier than out of a package.

The other thing that is good if one already has Maseca mix is Sopes - something along these lines although you can top them with anything, vegan or not (and if you have lard, fry them in that, yum!) - https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/02/vegan-sopes-with-refried-beans-salsa-verde-recipe.html

Clearly I'm too much of a serious eats fangirl...
 
Here's the onion recipe - as you see, it's ridiculously simple: https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/05/pickled-red-onions.html

Thanks!

As for tortillas, I haven't seen the mixed corn/wheat ones. Will have to look. We eat a _lot_ of straight up flour ones, that's the usual "easy" answer, but every so often I'll get a wild hair and make homemade corn ones. Not fresh masa - Maseca (although there's supposed to be a place to buy fresh masa opening soon and I'm going to have to try that) - but they're still REALLY much yummier than out of a package.

It's almost embarrassing to acknowledge the many things I've never made by scratch, myself. Tortillas is one of these little embarrassments. Tamales is another. Heck, I've never even made pasta from scratch! Path-et-ic! My excuse regards tortillas is ...
Alicia’s Tortilleria, which is not too far from where I live and which makes world class, super fresh white corn tortillas at a ridiculously low price. [Edit: actually, that link about white versus yellow corn was lousy. This one is much more informative.: https://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-white-and-yellow-corn-tortillas-230144 ] They actually have a kind of amazing melt-in-your mouth freshness to 'em, and you get more than you can use at a really low price. They are always still warm, if not hot, when I pick them up. It's crazy! There is no comparison to even the good bagged store tortillas. Speaking of those -- man, most of 'em are in texture and flavor much to close to cardboard for my taste. Ick!


The other thing that is good if one already has Maseca mix is Sopes - something along these lines although you can top them with anything, vegan or not (and if you have lard, fry them in that, yum!) - https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/02/vegan-sopes-with-refried-beans-salsa-verde-recipe.html
.

Hmm. Would you believe I've never eaten sopes? Heck, I've not even heard of them until today, unless I heard and forgot (which happens more often as I get older, damn it). Tell me about them? Are they yummy?


Edit:

About that onion recipe.... I'd not do this:

"Press onions down with a spoon until submerged. Place a double layer of paper towels on top of onions and press down until completely saturated in liquid to keep onions submerged."

I'd not use paper towels in such a way that they could swap whatever chemical stuff they got in 'em with food or drink. Why? They are not made to be added to food in any respect. They may have unwanted chemical residues in 'em which are there because they are not intended to be used in this sort of way. If it can be avoided, an alternative method should be employed. Perhaps a piece of washed cotton cloth...?
 
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Sadly I am quite sensitive to nightshade plants and have been for 20 years. Though it took a while to figure it out, especially before the internet. I can eat potatoes or tomatoes maybe twice a week, peppers never. I avoid eggplant too, but that's no great loss.

So no chilis, jalapenos, paprika, green peppers, salsa, spicy curries for me.

Therefore my fallback is non peppered Asian, such as pho, ginger, sushi, miso, wasabi, shiitake, rice (usually brown), fish. Bok choy, soba, udon. Tofu. Lemon and lime. I do make an English style mulligatawny (soup) with lentils, chicken broth, chicken thighs, a little applesauce, coconut milk, a bit of tomato sauce, onions, celery, carrots, and my own curry mixture with no hot pepper in it. I also make Greek chicken lemon soup with orzo.

I make lasagna sometimes, either white or red. With spinach, mushrooms, zucchini, whatever, in it.

I do make great American foods: meatloaf with Italian spices, fish of all kinds, fried or baked, roasted chicken with garlic, chicken parts topped with panko crumbs and garlic and s and p, potatoes in many ways, green salads, steamed broiled or roasted veggies, quinoa salads, soups with noodles, tuna salad, mac and cheese, steak salad.

I make a great beef stew with one can of cranberry sauce, and a half a jar of
horseradish in the slow cooker. 2 lbs of cheap chuck meat. Add a little flour mixed with water at the end. Heavenly. So easy. Serve over extra broad egg noodles.

I am a huge fan of eggs. I make deviled eggs often, with mayo, dry mustard and black or white pepper added, hold the paprika. I make quiches, frittatas.

I make chocolate chip pancakes and French toast, served with maple syrup or local honey.

I love to bake. Banana bread, brownies, cakes of all kinds. I buy rhubarb when it's in season, chop it up and freeze it in quart bags. Then I put it in pie with strawberries or apples. I buy the rolled up crusts in the dairy section.

Pixi and my son love to barbeque, so 3 seasons a year we do burgers, steaks, brisket outdoors a couple times a month.

I am a pretty good smoothie maker. Frozen cranberries, frozen overripe bananas, frozen peaches, mangoes, blueberries, raspberries, coconut or plain yogurt, orange and/or lime juice.
 
Honestly I've never bothered with the paper towels anyway, though I'm not terribly worried about the chemical thing - perhaps I'm being a bit of an ostrich in the sand but there are enough big exposures to chemicals in the world I can't control that I don't always worry about the tiny ones like paper towels. A bit of a nihilistic/fatalistic streak, I suppose.

Sopes are great - you mention tamales, imagine the flavor/texture of tamale filling except instead of being soft all the way through, it has a crispy surface / edges like a tostada. What's not to love?
 
Sadly I am quite sensitive to nightshade plants and have been for 20 years. Though it took a while to figure it out, especially before the internet. I can eat potatoes or tomatoes maybe twice a week, peppers never. I avoid eggplant too, but that's no great loss.

So no chilis, jalapenos, paprika, green peppers, salsa, spicy curries for me.

Mmmm. A lovely list indeed! You seem to do pretty well without the nightshades.

As I said, I'm a chili fiend. Like, seriously. So I'm glad I don't have the issues with chilis and such which you do. I'd be a different person. That's how seriously addicted I am. It's my only addiction of which I am proud and celebratory. It's probably the one I'd have the hardest tie kicking, too.

Oh, and it seems not to harm me or others. So I guess it's not quite an addiction. It's merely a compulsion. LOL.
 
Honestly I've never bothered with the paper towels anyway, though I'm not terribly worried about the chemical thing - perhaps I'm being a bit of an ostrich in the sand but there are enough big exposures to chemicals in the world I can't control that I don't always worry about the tiny ones like paper towels. A bit of a nihilistic/fatalistic streak, I suppose.

I understand. I expose myself to all kinds of crap I'd rather I didn't. And it gets imposed on me, too, as it does upon you. There's no avoiding unwanted toxins, sadly. However, I have a risk to reward ratio calculator in my mind, to which are added other factors like effort, etc. If the risk level is unknown (as with the paper towels) but the effort of avoiding that risk is super damn easy, I'll simply choose the easy, known-to-be-safe approach.

Keep in mind that paper has long been bleached in such a way as to result in dioxin, one of the most toxic chemicals known. Since paper towels are not explicitly meant to added to food (as one would be doing in the recipe in question -- even if the towels are removed at some point [liquid residue left behind]), no effort whatsoever goes into making these towels food safe.

Anyway, my rule of thumb is if something is not meant to be used in food it should probably not be, unless one knows it is absolutely safe. This, provided that avoiding it is easy and handy. (It almost always is.)

And then there is another factor involved, not yet mentioned. Taste! Have you ever soaked a paper towel in water for a while and then drunk the resulting liquid? I bet it would taste simply awful! (I don't intend to try it. But I dare you to. Just don't swallow, and be sure to rinse your mouth thoroughly afterwards.)

Speaking of unwanted taste residues ... You know those little wooden sticks some coffee shops provide for stirring coffee and tea and such? First of all, you need two or three of them to vaguely approximate the stirring effectiveness of a very small spoon. (Perhaps eight or ten of 'em, really) And they leave an icky wooden taste / smell in coffee and tea. I was surprised I could even distinguish the taste they leave in coffee, since good coffee is quite strong tasting, but there it was, all icky and stuff. Viva la spoons!


Sopes are great - you mention tamales, imagine the flavor/texture of tamale filling except instead of being soft all the way through, it has a crispy surface / edges like a tostada. What's not to love?

I'm on a mission to find these in a restaurant in my town now. I usually try things before making them myself....
 
More on white versus yellow corn tortillas:

https://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-between-white-and-yellow-corn-tortillas-230144

The earlier link on that topic which I provided was crap. This link is to a much more useful and informative piece on the topic.




Okay, a question for you taco lovers (I know, we're beating tacos to death around here!)... Do you heat your tortillas in oil while making tacos, or do you steam them... or how do you handle them just before filling and serving?
 
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And now for an update on the great pickles in tacos controversy

Should pickles ever be put in tacos? It's a question raised in an earlier post in this thread.

Is it traditional -- ever?

Is it authentic?

(Honestly, I've never even been to Mexico, though I live right next to it in a place called New Mexico. Does this count?)

((Yes, I've had bits of cut up pickles in breakfast tacos once. They were totally awesome!))

(((There were not many pieces and all of the pieces were quite small.)))

((((I genuinely want to know if it's ever done like this in Mexico.))))

Here's what these "experts" say on the topic:

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=1006041224998

*** Check back in this post later to see if I've found other fascinating news about pickles in tacos. ***


Okay, I also found this:
When my son-in-law and daughter came to visit and said they would make us the best chicken tacos we have ever tasted, hands down, I was certainly excited to try them. But when they started cutting up dill pickles, I was very skeptical to say the least! Pickles? They belong on the all American cheeseburger but certainly not chicken tacos. All I can say is, that first bite was out of this world! Something about the crunch and tang of the dill pickle with the lemon-garlic-sriracha aioli sauce, avocado, and seasoned chicken with grilled onions, made it absolutely the best taco I have ever had, hands down.

Quoted from: https://www.glutenfreeyummy.com/best-chicken-taco-recipe-hands-down/

Now, clearly these are not "authentic" (traditional) Mexican tacos. Lemon-garlic-sriracha aioli sauce may be delicious, and it may rhyme with things Mexican, but it's not traditional Mexican.

But the question remains, can you find pickles in tacos in Old Mexico? Can you find 'em there often, or frequently? Just how long has it been going on?
 
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Got leftovers? Make a frittata.

I've honestly never much thought about what a "traditional" frittata ought to be like. I should look into that question! Meanwhile, a confession. Since the first time I made a frittata by following an actual recipe, I've never followed a recipe again. What I've done, instead, is riff freely on the theme, often using more or less whatever as ingredients. Sure, they have to make some kind of culinary sense, but you can put almost anything in a frittata -- or so it seems to me. First, if you've never made a "traditional" frittata, do that and use a recipe and follow it carefully. Then you can do whatever you want. That's my idea, anyway.

It has to work in some technical way, and you learn what it means for it to "work" by making one by instructions. Then you can pretty much wing it after that.

One nice thing about frittatas is that you can have them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, brunch ... or midnight snack. Unless you're in Italy, in which case you can eat them whenever you want.

Yes, leftover pasta. It happens. What are you going to do?

https://www.thekitchn.com/leftover-pasta-make-a-frittata-179181

So, in a generic sort of sense, what is a frittata?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frittata


How to, frittata making with video
https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-a-frittata-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-170717
 
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There are a lot of Central and South Americans in my part of the Northeast. I don't know about pickled cucumbers being traditional. But we can get pickled cactus in the international section of my grocery store. They taste more like peppers than dill pickles. Kind of look like peppers too, green in thin strips. Good for me since I can't have peppers! The jar calls them "tender cactus, nopalitos." They are in brine.

I'd imagine if there are any areas in Mexico where it's cool enough, like around Mexico City, say, they grow cucumbers and pickle them. But traditional? Probably not, since cukes are native to South Asia.
 
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