Baja Fish

Let me start out by saying my first time cooking these was a disaster. Like Twister, Towering Inferno, Poseidon Adventure and From Justin to Kelly all rolled into one. It was mostly not my fault - I just forgot that I'd cooked potatoes in my pot and neglected to wash it. So when I tried to heat the oil for deep frying the fish, the pot was not pleased. Nor was my nose, after smelling burnt starch (hint: it's the worst thing ever). After destroying my pot, I had to improvise. I used a frying pan with about 1/2 inch of oil, making sure to turn the fish after about 1.5 minutes. It worked out so well, I think I'll stick with this method. And avoid burning starch PTSD.

But back to the fish. This is a very simple recipe for a beer battered white fish. You can serve it with anything fresh and crispy - think cabbage, apple, white sauce. I did add a little Sriracha because I was missing the mouth destroying heat of my usual tacos. I think it worked out pretty well.

Nomad Gourmet

I'm interrupting my regularly scheduled recipe posts/insights into my madness with a special bulletin: someone else in Halifax finally made some honest to goodness tacos. At mid-day on Tuesday I got a frantic text from Katie Tower, followed by a phone call 2 seconds later. The local food truck, that regularly offers delicious sandwich options, was serving up tacos instead. I hung a sign on my office door that said "Gone Taco-ing" and booted it downstairs to visit Nomad Gourmet. So how did they do? 

Chorizo

Fun fact (which is substantially less fun for people actually familiar with Mexican cooking): the red, cured Chorizo you've seen in your local deli is actually Spanish Chorizo. Mexican Chorizo is a much softer sausage that can be served out of the casing - essentially a spicy ground pork. Both are delicious, but let's stick with the blog theme here and learn how to make Mexican Chorizo into the perfect taco filling. Now traditionally this calls for grinding your own pork, but after attending a recent showing of Sweeney Todd it's really hard to think about meat grinding the same way ever again. So let's use ground pork and try to scrub away some terrible mental images.

Slow Cooked Pork Carnitas

I'm going to catch mucho flack for this recipe, because Pork Carnitas absolutely should not be made in a slow cooker. The one true way to make this dish is to go easy on the seasoning and cook it in lard. Unfortunately, I don't yet have the confidence to proudly carry a bucket of lard home from the grocery store. Plus, this blog is all about being inauthentic but tasty! I promise I'll do another post one day featuring authentic Pork Carnitas, but until then enjoy this easy, deliciously blasphemous alternative.

Salsa Verde

Photo creds to Katie Tower

Watch out for the Salsa Verde - it may look innocent with its unassuming green colour and smooth texture, but it will slap you so hard in the mouth you'll grow a beard. Especially the way I make it. While most recipes call for serrano or jalapeño peppers, I like to go full crazy and make this with a habanero pepper. You can substitute in a less intense choice if you'd prefer, but know that I will be judging you. Hard.

Slow Cooked Cochinita Pibil

Alright, it's confession time: I'm a working girl, complete with shoulder pads, massive hair and the desire to make sweet love to Harrison Ford. I'm out of the house all day, so I've come to rely pretty heavily on my slow cooker. You can make some pretty great taco fillings this way - like Cochinita Pibil. Traditionally this pork dish is made by wrapping the meat in a banana leaf and baking it, but this is a pretty delicious alternative. So give it a shot or go watch Working Girl. Those are your options.

Corn Tortillas

Corn tortillas are the Ringo of the taco world. They're not showy, but if they're not in the mix the meal just doesn't seem quite right (they also do a pretty mean rendition of "Octopus's Garden"). So to get the right base for your tacos, you're going to need to either buy or make some corn tortillas.

If you buy them pre-made, make sure to throw them on a non-stick skillet for about a minute per side to warm them. But to tell you the truth, I'm not a huge fan of this option. Making corn tortillas is so simple and much more delicious.