Braised Short Rib Tacos

Even though I'm Italian, I've developed a serious taste for Latin and Mexican food. My family hails from Calabria, and the proximity to Sicily must play some sort of role in my affinity for spice. Regardless, a recent hankering for something spicy and unique compelled me to try something new and an opportunity from Marx Foods all but sealed the deal.

Marx Foods is an online fine foods supplier and I found out through this whole blog scene that they would send me free product to try out. Needless to say, I signed myself up. A few weeks ago I received a nice selection of dried, mild chilies. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but I do know that I really like to braise, and I really like to make serious tacos. After a few moments of thought I decided I was going to reconstitute the chilies and incorporate them into a braising liquid. All I needed to do was pour some boiling water over the chilies, fully submerge and wait 20 minutes for them to rehydrate.

I took the reconstituted chillies, sliced them up, and put them in a blender with three peeled heirloom tomatoes, a bit of the chili water and some fresh lime juice. Blend until relatively smooth and you've got some serious pizazz for your braising liquid.

I dusted the ribs with cumin, ancho chili powder, Mexican oregano and browned them in oil. I removed them after a few minutes on each side over medium heat, and added in a chopped onion and some minced garlic to the pot. Once the onion was soft I added in 2 cups of chicken stock to deglaze the pan and added the tomato-chili concoction as I scraped up the browned bits. Within seconds my kitchen smelled like it meant business. The aroma of the chilies along with the "Mexican herb dust" I coated the short ribs in was amazing. Once everything was boiling I put the ribs back in the pot, covered it and put it in a 350 degree oven for an hour and a half. Another 25 minutes uncovered on the stove top over medium heat was all I needed to yield some tender shredded beef and a thick and robust sauce.

The Guajillo and Aji Panca chiles that I added to the liquid created a depth of flavor that had really nice earth tones and a smooth heat that peaked right before the brink of being overtly spicy. I picked up a little bit of chocolate, plum and all spice in the sauce and I can easily say that these were the best tacos I've ever made. The beauty of it all was that despite the serious flavor, I still managed to pick up the flavorful beef as well. In addition to some good shredded beef, it's tough to beat authentic corn tortillas, fresh Pico de Gallo, cilantro and some sliced avocado to round everything out.

If you're looking for a solid gourmet retailer that can find some rare ingredients I recommend you check out Marx Foods as I'll definitely continue to explore their assortment of rare and exceptional goodies.

Happy Eating,

-Teddy

The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper

You know you're a food enthusiast when at the age of 26, you hope to get cookbooks, a table top griddle and a mandolin for Christmas. Although I've enjoyed all those gifts, I may have put one of them to use more then the others in the last few weeks.

Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift converged to create an awesome book titled "How to Eat Supper," and I really recommend that you check it out, regardless of whether or not you are an advanced cook or even if you cook all that often. The book does a nice job of dissecting dinner and all it's courses including salads, soups, eggs and small plates, vegetable main events, pasta, main dishes, sides and sweets. The book is full of tremendous recipes (The Cuban Black Bean Stew is perfection) and cooking tips, but I really like all the additional little extras they've baked in.

There are all sorts of little goodies sprinkled throughout on a variety of subjects including how to pick out the perfect kitchenware arsenal, and how to build dressing and soup bases to be expanded upon in a number of variations. They even get as detailed as to instruct you upon which tomatoes are the best for what application, which greens make the best pairings for salads and what to do with leftover or rapidly aging bread. This book is part frugal, and all, simple and flavorful gourmet. I highly recommend checking it out! Let me know if you've picked up any good books recently as I am rapidly building my library.

Happy Eating,

-Teddy

If You Look Close, You Can See It!

That's right. If you look close, you can see the very beginning of my first pepper. You will recall from an earlier post that I am making more of an effort to produce my own food to append to my current drive to eat more local and sustainable foods. Any normal person may just see what appears to be the very infancy of a pepper's life, but I already have big plans to stuff this little bugger with a rich mixture of beef, garlic, home-made bread crumbs, fresh herbs from my garden and some artisan cheese from the co-op near my cabin - My Nana would be very proud, indeed. OK, I'm definitely getting ahead of myself, but just you wait! I hope to have a follow up post to show you the meal I'll make out of this little guy - when he is finally done germinating.



I've really latched onto this slowfood movement, and I'm excited to start reaping the results. I just wish this pepper would hurry up and mature! Seriously though, check out the link and read up on how you can support slowfood even when dining out.

Happy Eating,

Teddy

The Cash Diet

With the recent floods in the Midwest and gas prices through the roof, you are going to see your food prices creep up. The floods have swelled the cost of corn to an all time high and it's going to effect the price of meat and all other mass produced products that contain corn or corn additives (try and find more than 3 things in your cupboard that don't have a corn product in them such as Corn syrup etc. - if you can do it, then you are a better eater, then I). 

So why am I going off on something you likely already realize? Well, to try and offer a few solutions. Since I really only need to feed myself, which is just about the most inefficient way to purchase food,  I try and use a few tricks:

1. Hit the Farmer's Market or get on board with a CSA. You typically get fresh, healthy food here that hasn't been treated with all sorts of chemicals etc. You miss the retail mark ups and everything is grown local so your shipping costs are wiped out. Plus, you'll get to try new things. I think I'll hit the Melon Vine Farm in Grantsburg on the way to the cabin this weekend, and maybe hit the dairy co-op for my dairy needs - The Burnett County Co-op has incredible cheese -http://www.burnettdairy.com/

2.) Tear up your back yard. That's right, use a little bit of good old fashioned elbow grease and plant and herb or salad garden in the corner of your yard - or just purchase some large terra cotta planters. I'm going with a hybrid this year. I' should have all my herbs (Basil, thyme, oregano and parsley) in the ground yet this week. I'm hoping to get tomatoes and peppers in the ground soon too. It's a fun hobby, rewarding and super cheap.

3.) Change up the routine. Americans love them some red meat. With the cost of corn sky rocketing, you can plan on seeing an increase in the price of beef. To avoid the pinch try ordering in bulk direct from the producer, or reduce read meat from your diet. Try looking for new recipes that are packed with non-animal based proteins. If you've got a huge hankering for some beef then purchase it in bulk when it is on sale and freeze it for later use. I just loaded up on Thousand Hills grass-fed ground beef at the Linden Hills co-op when it was on sale the other day. Saved a buck a pound and will have enough to get me through the next few weeks no problem. Burgers, tacos and pasta with e sweet smell of savings and none of the additives.

Just because food prices are increasing doesn't mean you need to buy the lowest common denominator. Try finding new and innovative ways to cook with your local bounty. Rely on yourself to grow more sustainable and healthy foods, and look for new ways to freshen up your diet, especially with all the fun summer produce that is popping up.

Happy Eating,

-Teddy

CSA Time

Wanted everyone to know there is no better time to look into a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) crop share then right now. I'm trying to figure out the best way for me to get into one right now, as I am just one mouth to feed. Hopefully the roommates will realize the benefits of eating outside of the realm of Chipotle and microwavable cuisine. My parents have done this the past few years and you get some great stuff out of it. And of course it supports the local Ag communities around the city. It's fresh produce, grown with sustainable practices, and since you don;'t know what you are getting until it shows up, it can be down right exciting. Wow, I am obsessed with food. Take a look at the following link to learn more about local CSAs .

http://www.mda.state.mn.us/food/minnesotagrown/qlist-csa.htm

Happy Eating,

-Teddy

A Sauce for All You Easter Lamb Lovers

I know many of you will likely be serving lamb for the upcoming Easter feast and wanted to give you a nice quick sauce with a Greek influence that could spice up the normal holiday meal. I would recommend this if you are grilling, roiling or roasting. Although braised lamb is delicious, the braising liquid should serve as a substantial enough sauce.

This cool garlicky sauce helps to balance out the big flavors of lamb and really compliments a number of lamb dishes. It would be great on homemade Gyros.

Here it is and it's so simple:

Serves 6 to 8

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt . Dannon or any other plain variety would work too.

The juice of half a lemon

1/2 tsp spoon of minced garlic

Salt & pepper to taste.

Simply mix all of the ingredients well. Use a juicing device to juice the lemon, or juice over a spoon to catch any of the seeds. A quick whisk will make the sauce nice and smooth. I divided my original recipe by two for this post because the full version makes almost an entire bowl, which is a lot.

Happy Eating,

- Teddy

Linden Hills Co-op

I love this place. I had to write something about it because I feel like not a lot of people know about it. First of all the produce is amazing. You'll see colors there that could make a Little Richard jump suit look pale and dull. I've found a variety of Mexican peppers and greens that you can't find easily in other metro area grocery stores. Everything from fresh watercress to Poblanos, exotic radishes to rare and exotic fruits and veggies. I usually have to check myself before I fill my cart up, because someone works in advertising and can't go to overboard on the food budget.

The one place I will really splurge at LH Co-op is in the meat case. I Love the thousand Hills grass fed beef http://www.thousandhillscattleco.com/ The flavor is very different then what you get out of your normal lot fed beef that has been pumped with antibiotics, slaughterhouse leavings and corn. It's strong and tastes like what well prepared beef should taste like. You need to try it for yourself. I always buy 3 small sirloins when I go there. They cut the steaks to the perfect size for one serving and they come vacuum packed so they freeze easily and stay fresh longer. I love the ground beef in chili and tacos.

The produce and the Grass-fed beef are the highlights but you'll find just about everything you need there. I highly encourage you to go. If you are looking to update your diet you find plenty of tasty and healthy options. Plus it's community supported business, so what's not to love. If you're apprehensive, just check out the website. There are plenty of awesome resources and they also have conservation and sustainable food seminars periodically. http://www.lindenhillscoop.com/

Happy Eating,

Teddy