He aquí a la vida!
¿Cómo se dice?....
Yea, I totally can't speak Spanish. English is my only language and really, being a Southern California born and bred chick, that's kinda pathetic. Especially if you consider that my boyfriend in high school was Mexican and my best friend was Puerto Rican! No excuse. I got nothin'! Somehow, I still managed to spend my fair share of time in Mexico over the years without speaking the language!
This blog is dedicated to said ex boyfriend's Mom, the beautiful and forever young, Ramona Staryk.
A woman full of love, life and joy! An amazing Mother, Grandmother, Wife and Friend.
We lost touch for many years but thanks to the wonders of the interwebs, she's back in my life and I love and adore her! So.... ¡Salud! Mona! He aquí a la vida!
For those who don't speak Spanish and are too lazy to look it up, that means: Cheers Mona! Here's to life!
I may not have learned Spanish, but being from So Cal gave me a huge appreciation for Mexican food!
Really good Mexican food which is almost impossible to find in NYC, so it's best to make it yourself! Now, I don't claim to be a Mexican food aficionado as far as cooking is concerned (I definitely feel like I am as far as eating it is concerned!) but the carne asada tacos I made the other night did NOT suck!
Ok, let's get this party started!
Carne Asada Skirt Steak Tacos with Homemade Pico de Gallo and homemade Guacamole with Grilled Mexican Corn on the Cob
Carne Asada
Steak Marinade: Adjust measurements based on amount of steak you use.
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup lime juice
1/4 cup lemon juice
Whenever possible, I use fresh squeezed juices.
1 diced or minced fresh jalapeno. Remove ribs and seeds is you're skerred!
3-4 cloves of fresh garlic - minced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp hot Mexican chili powder
1tsp crushed red pepper
A few twists of freshly ground black pepper
A few twists of freshly ground sea salt
Handful of coursley chopped fresh cilantro
Combine all ingredients in a gallon sized freezer bag and drop steak in.
Marinade in the fridge for at least 8 hours. Every once in a while, take the bag out and massage the marinade into the steak. Remove steak from the fridge about 30 minutes prior to cooking to bring it to room temperature.
Ok, so being the novice that I am, I'm still learning about time management when it comes to cooking.
So, to avoid becoming a frazzled nutjob, I made the pico and guac earlier in the day!
Pico de Gallo - Again, adjust ingredients based on how much you wanna make. I'm only cooking for 2. (:"LKo,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,) Well, that's what Loki, my cat, has to say! He just walked across my keyboard and it looks like he was trying to spell his own name!
Ok, getting back to what I was saying before being so rudely interrupted!
4 Roma tomatoes - diced
1/2 small red or vidalia onion - diced
1 to 1 1/2 jalapenos minced
4-5 cloves garlic minced
Handful of coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix that shit! In a bowl. Simple.
Guacamole
2 ripe Hass avocados
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 handful cilantro leaves, lightly chopped
1/4 cup finely diced white onion
juice of 1 lime
salt
Again, totally adjust measurements to taste.
Mash all ingredients up with a fork.
Don't over mash. Good guac is gonna have chunks of avocado.
Method:
Drizzle a bit of olive oil in a grill pan and heat on medium/high heat
Once the pan is good and hot, throw your steak on it
approximately 4 minutes a side.
Remove steak from pan and let rest for about 7ish minutes
Cut steak in thin slice at an angle AGAINST the grain. Nobody like chewy, icky steak!
Throw everything on corn tortillas (Many ways you can heat them: In the oven, fried, directly on the stove top burner) and throw in some chopped purple cabbage for good measure.
Corn:
Soak corn with husks on in water for about 20 minutes before grilling
Pull back husks and remove silk
Rub cobs with olive oil and replace husks
Wrap cobs in foil
Grill for approximately 15 minutes rolling occasionally
Slather with butter (real Mexican corn calls for slathering with mayo, but mayo is nasty and it's not allowed in my house!) sprinkle with chili powder and freshly grated parmesan cheese. You can also sprinkle other tasty things like dried cilantro and I put pepper on everything.
Last and most certainly not least...pour some margaritas!
Ya can't have Mexican food without margaritas!
¡Salud! Dinero y amor!
