Mexican Street Tacos

Because Ive been dreaming of the street tacos I had while in Mexico, I decided to put that bag of masa Ive had in my cupboard since the last time we attempted making our own tortillas to good use. Its been a while because lets face it  San Diego is a hop-skip-and-a-jump from the border and there are plenty of places to get authentic tacos here. I just never order them. Im more of a carnitas person so cant tell you much about how good the tacos are at our favorite Los Dos across from Albertsons on Turquoise in Pacific Beach. Its on my agenda to find out, though. In the meantime, I treated myself to a tortilla press to the tune of $17. It makes me smile about this cooking hobby I have, because that sum could purchase quite a few packages of perfectly fresh corn tortillas if you know when the delivery guys stock the best ones at the market. But the woman in Puerto Vallarta made it look so easy: Make a ball, put it on the lower plastic covered plate, press, and peel. Voila! Yes, well, lets just say that after watching me try a few with less than completely desirable results, my husband was gnashing at the bit to step in and finish the rest with no trouble at all. Go figure. Perhaps its a math thing. And the taste? Would they compare favorably with the El Cisne taco cart in Puerto Vallarta? I say definitely. Mexican Street Tacos My Way For the tortillas& 2 c. masa de harina 1-1/3 c. water 1 big pinch kosher salt In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients until a soft dough begins to clump and you can make a ball that is smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for at least 30 minutes at room temperature. While the dough is resting, prepare the filling ingredients. To prepare the tortillas, make a ball a bit smaller than a golf ball. Place between sheets of plastic wrap on the press and mash. Peel from the plastic and place on a medium hot griddle or cast iron skillet about one minute per side. They dont need to brown. Remove to serve as you make them, or stack on a warm plate and keep covered. Makes 18-20 tortillas. For the filling& 2 c. shredded chicken 1 c. shredded cabbage sliced radishes sliced cucumbers chopped green onions chopped cilantro quartered limes salsa verde 1 avocado, mashed with the juice of 1/2 lemon, salt, and pepper Optional: fresh roasted corn Mix and match the fillings to your preference. Bare bones is meat, a sprinkle of beans (which I forgot!) and cabbage. Notes: Masa de harina is corn flower or powdered corn meal. La Pina is a popular brand sold in the baking section of your market, but its also available in bulk in specialty stores. I used left over chicken we ate the night before. To do your own, roast a young chicken at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. Fill the cavity with quartered lemons, whole cloves of garlic, and sprigs of thyme. Rub the exterior with olive oil and sprinkle with a Southwest or Mexican spice blend of your choice. Mine has salt, garlic, chili powder, and cumin in it. Cabbage? Absolutely. Its crunchy and flavorful  much more flavorful than iceberg lettuce which youd never see in one of these tacos. The salsa verde we like is made by Embasa and comes in small cans. Its a tomatillo based salsa. You can make your own as I have often in the past  and it doesnt take more than 20 minutes  but this is supposed to be easy, right? I squeeze 1/2 lemon over the radishes and cucumbers and sprinkle on some salt. The extra flavor is nice. If you dont want to put this in the tacos, then its a garnish thats great for cooling down the heat if you use spicy salsa. Guacamole isnt what I was going for here. In fact, the sauce used at El Cisne was much more thin, most likely mixed with Mexican table cream. Its pourable. But I love a nice avocado with a squirt of lemon eaten right out of the shell, so why mess with it? The corn isnt something Ive seen on tacos, but were addicted to it right now. Its perfect for a meal like this whether you put it in the tacos, or eat it as a side. The flavor is amazing. Scrape it off a fresh cob into a clean medium hot cast iron skillet. Allow it to caramelize a bit by letting it sit. It will stick, but not much. Salt and a squirt of fresh lime juice if you want makes it perfect. Other bits and pieces& Zoe of Zoe Bakes, the awesomely talented chef and co-author of Artisan Bread in 5-Minutes a Day tagged me some time ago for Dancing Deer Baking Companys Sweet Home Initiative and Ive been waiting for the perfect opportunity to pass it along. If you havent heard, theres a give away connected to it from Le Creuset! Dancing Deer Baking Company’s “Sweet Home” initiative: Dancing Deer’s Sweet Home Initiative raises money for scholarships to help educate homeless women and end family homelessness. As a part of this initiative, our CEO, Trish Karter, will be riding her bike 1,500 miles from Atlanta to Boston, visiting family shelters in each city to raise awareness about this issue. She’ll also be recording stories from the women she meets along the way, asking them about their experiences. One question she’ll ask them are what foods remind them of home. (See more here.) Tacos remind me of home just like so many of the other recipes Ive written about from my childhood. It was one of those treat meals we didnt have as often as others but always looked forward to. Weve always fried our store-bought tortillas in oil first, but not until crispy. No, ours were soft and filled with ground beef, shredded cheddar, chopped tomatoes, and yes, iceberg lettuce. To this day, thats pretty much how we make them, although my husband tried to get me to use a taco seasoning mix in the beef for years and finally gave up. Ive added avocado, vary the cheese from time to time, have to include cilantro and salsa now. Finding out my mother was making tacos for dinner was even better than looking forward to pizza. Maybe it was the informality of spooning whatever we wanted into the tortillas, or trying to see who could eat the most. We were all skinny waifs with seemingly bottomless pits for stomachs, so my brother and I could eat six. I wince thinking of it. Ive probably left you little or no time, but Im passing this tag on to Judy of No Fear Entertaining, Haley of Appoggiatura, and Ben of Whats Cooking? What droolworthy recipes remind you of home? Thanks to Kristin of Dine & Dish, I have recently matched with a new blogger, Maia of Dessert-o-licious in the Adopt a Blogger event. And just for the sake of comparison, dont my tacos look just as yummy as theirs? Well? Okay, so my plates a bit messy, but still. And sure, theirs are carne asada. Ill work on it, okay? 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