Lone Star Taqueria Fish Tacos with Jalapeño Mayo

One of my favorite places to eat in Salt Lake is Lone Star Taqueria.  It's a funky little place on Fort Union Blvd. We've been going there for years to eat the best fish tacos around.   Jalapeño mayo gives the tacos a perfect dressing that doesn't overpower the fish.  My standard order: Two tacos, rice, beans (yay! made without lard), a side of guac and chips and I'm a happy (full) girl. Oh, The Carnitas tacos are also my favorite and absolutely delicious. As in lick your plate delicious.

I was ecstatic to see Chef Manuel Valdez's recipe for Lone Star Taqueria's fish tacos published in Sunset Magazine years ago. Sometimes, the recipe (even when it comes straight from the restaurant) doesn't translate well at home. I'm happy to report that this recipe tastes just like the restaurant version.  It's seriously simple and fresh, relatively healthy and I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't love this dish. 

Perfect summer dinner. 

Lone Star Taqueria Fish Tacos with Jalapeno Mayo
Lone Star Taqueria, Salt Lake City, Utah

6 tablespoons ground dried New Mexico or California chilies (or chili powder)
3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1/2 teaspoon  ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (or less if you want fish to be less spicy)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 whole cloves
1 dried bay leaf, broken into pieces
1 pound boned, skinned firm-flesh fish such as halibut, mahi-mahi, or rock fish
Shredded cabbage, about 4 cups
3-4 limes

In a large bowl, mix ground dried chilies, oil, pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, garlic powder, cayenne, cumin, cloves and bay leaf.
Rinse fish and pat dry. Add to bowl and turn to coat with marinade; cover and chill at least 1 hour or up to1 day, mixing several times.
Lift fish from marinade and arrange pieces in a single layer in a 9-X-13-inch pan. Discard marinade.
Broil fish 4 to 5 inches from heat until opaque but still moist-looking in center of thick part of fish (cut to test), about 5 minutes for 1/2-inch-thick pieces. With a slotted spatula, transfer fish to paper towels to blot oil, then set on a platter. Cut fish along the grain into 1/2-inch slices, season to taste with salt. Serve wrapped in flour tortilla with shredded cabbage, Lone Star Pico de Gallo and Lone Star Cilantro Jalapeño Mayonnaise and a squeeze of lime juice. Enough for 6 tacos.

Jalapeño Mayo
1 3/4 cups mayonnaise
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 rinsed and stemmed fresh jalapeño with seeds removed
1 peeled garlic clove
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients except salt; whirl until smooth. Add salt to taste. Makes about 2 1/4 cups.

Pico de Gallo
2 cups diced tomatoes
1/2 cup finely diced onion
2 tablespoons minced jalapeños
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt to taste

In a bowl combine all except salt. Add salt to taste. Makes about 2 cups.

Tips:

-I often make these tacos without the Pico, but never without the Cilantro Jalapeño Mayo. 

-I don't blot the fish after cooking. 

-Lightly grill the corn tortillas before serving. Grill oven medium heat in a pan or on a griddle for about 30 seconds to one minute on each side, just until tortilla is warmed and starts to soften a bit. 

-Always use food handlers gloves or a plastic sack when seeding a jalapeño. Trust me. 

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Honey Lime Pork Tacos with Sweet Green Chili Sauce

What are you doing May 5?  Instead of heading to your favorite Mexican restaurant to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, why not create a tradition of celebrating in your home? The folks at Snake River Farms sent me a couple of  Kurobota Pork Roasts which I used in this recipe for Honey Lime Pork Tacos with Sweet Green Chili Sauce.
The incredibly tasty roast, combined with the lime, honey, jalapeño and green chiles made for a memorable meal. One of those meals you hope will be lunch the next day as well. The roast is one I haven't heard of or cooked previously. It was a collar roast. I've cooked Pork Shoulder, and Butt and Brisket, but never Pork Collar Roast. All I have to say is the flavor was incredible. There was a bit of marbling in the meat, which tends to disappear if you slow cook the roast and then shred, but is more visible when roasting over the grill or in the oven and then slicing.

I cooked two 4.5 lb roasts, two different ways: the first roast was slow cooked in the oven with a honey lime marinade, which I let sit overnight before cooking. The second roast was cooked over low  (about 300) heat on my gas grill for about 1 hour and 20 minutes. I checked the meat about every 10-15 minutes on the grill and flipped it  each time I checked the temperature. When the internal temperature reached 185 degrees I removed it from the grill and let sit for about 10 minutes before slicing.  I liked both methods. Slow cooking in the oven or crock pot is definitely the most simple way to cook a roast. Just marinate, brown, place in oven, cover tightly and let cook until the meat falls apart. The roasting method takes a bit more care, but I believe yielded a better tasting finished product. Either way, you're going to love this dish.
Happy 5th of May!

Honey Lime Pork Tacos with Sweet Green Chili Sauce
A Bountiful Kitchen

Honey Lime Marinade:
1/4 cup honey
2 limes, or 1/4 cup fresh juice
1 tablespoon smoke (liquid) flavoring
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 jalapeño, most of the seeds removed, chopped
1 4-5 lb pork collar or shoulder or Boston Butt Roast

Green Chile Lime Sauce:
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup apple juice
1/2 - 1  jalapeño, chopped
7 oz can green chiles

for tacos:
Corn tortillas
green and purple cabbage, sliced thin
green onions, chopped
chopped cilantro
thin sliced radish

Make marinade:
Mix marinade ingredients in a ziplock bag.
Score the meat lightly, by taking a sharp knife and going across the meat in long strips (about 1-2 inches apart). Then cross the slits in a diamond pattern going back across the meat diagonally.
Place the meat in the refrigerator from 2-24 hours.

Cook meat:
When ready to cook, remove the meat from the marinade. Let excess juice drip off into bag, discard marinade and bag. Place meat on a plate.
Heat a small amount of olive oil in a dutch oven. Sear the meat on all sides, just until browned. Remove the pan from heat. Pour about 2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth into the pan.  Sprinkle meat generously with salt and pepper. Cover tightly (see tips below). Place in oven and cook for about 6-8 hours at 250 degrees. Mine was done close to the 6 hour mark.
When meat is done, place on cutting board. Let sit for about 5 minutes, then shred or slice thin across the grain. Or shred in pan, and then remove meat from pan. Remove any excess fat before serving.
If roasting over bbq grill or in oven, see directions above in post.

Assemble:
Cook corn tortillas on a lightly greased pan over medium high heat just until soft on each side, or heat a small amount of canola oil in a fry pan and cook tortillas, flipping once. After the tortilla is cooked on one side, flip and fold in half. Drain on a paper towel after cooking.
Place some of the sliced meat on the tortilla, top with green chili lime sauce, top with additional desired toppings. Serve immediately.
Yield about 8-10 servings
(3-4 tacos per person)

Tips:

-Make sure the seal is tight on the pan when slow cooking. You can do this by placing plastic wrap, (yes plastic wrap) over the top of the pan before placing the lid on. Press the lid down to form a tight seal on top of the wrap.  Doing this will create a seal so the liquid does not escape. It will not melt on the pan at a low temperature. This is only necessary if the lid on the pan does not form a tight seal.

This post was sponsored by Snake River Farms.

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ABK's Ultimate Chunky Guac

When we traveled to Mexico a few weeks ago I was in heaven. Guac heaven. Guacamole is one of those items I can eat morning, noon and night. By the end of the week, the boys were saying NO MORE GUAC! But the girls, Grant and I were happy to slather it all over our morning eggs and breakfast quesadillas on our way out of town and back to the good old USA.
I usually just mash the avocado, add some lime juice, salt and garlic. It's one of my favorite lunches. When I have a few more minutes, I love this dressed up version. It includes so many flavors I love- all in one wonderful bite.

This recipe is perfect for watching games, family gatherings and all types of parties.
The ultimate guac?
This is it.




ABK's Ultimate Chunky Guac
A Bountiful Kitchen
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4 ripe avocados
one juicy lime
1 large firm Roma tomato, chopped (if juicy, seed the tomato)
1/2 red pepper, chopped
1/2 of a medium white or sweet onion, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped coarse
1/2 jalapeño, seeded and minced (more or less, depending on heat level desired)
1 large clove garlic, minced
coarse sea salt
fresh ground pepper

Scoop the avocado out of the skin into a medium size bowl and discard the pit.  Squeeze the juice of the lime over the avocado. Mash the avocado with a fork into large chunks. Place the chopped red pepper, onion, cilantro, jalapeño and garlic into the bowl. Mix gently. Season to taste with sea salt and fresh ground pepper.
Serve immediately, or to keep from browning, spread the mixture evenly in a small bowl using a spatula or the back of a spoon. Press a piece of plastic wrap firmly against the surface of the guac, leaving no room for air to collect. Place in refrigerator until ready to eat. when ready to eat, remove about 15-30 minutes before serving and let sit on counter. Remove plastic wrap , scoop into serving bowl and serve.

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Chiles Rellenos Chowder with Fried Tortillas Con Huevos

Just after Christmas, we headed to one of our favorite places on earth, Mexico. Or as my friend Mel calls it "my Mexico".  It was 7 days of post-holiday bliss. Our days went like this:

sleep in
huevos for breakfast with guac
pool
beach
quesadillas for lunch with guac
nap
beach
pool
walk on beach
dinner made by our favorite new friend, Beto.  delivered to our beach house. always with guac.
another nap.
games. yes. amazingly, our non-game playing family unplugged and played games, talked, read and watched bowl games.
good times.

The taco meal- Tacos Al Pastor, Carnitas and beef.
Served with Chorizo, condiments and of course, pico and guac. 

pool time with Aunt Brookie

Ani is not so sure about catching a wave. Yet.

fun with Ani in the pool

Grandpa, getting ready for a beach run

The boys, waiting for some waves

the obligatory family vacay photo :)

view from the living room

best cook and new found friend, Beto

We stayed just outside of Puerto Morelos in the Secret Beach Villas  which offered as many or as few meals cooked to order, and either served outdoors on a patio area (complete with a pet alligator in the pond a few feet away) or delivered and set up in your kitchen.  One of our favorite meals was the Conchinita Pibil served with Chiles Rellenos. The pork dish was wrapped in banana leaves and roasted in a sour orange juice, the Chile Rellenos were stuffed with cheese, battered and fried. A true cheese lovers dream!

the Chiles Rellenos that inspired today's recipe

I thought it would be fun to recreate the flavors in the Chiles Relleno in a soup.  Perfect for a January dinner. The best and most fresh ingredients in my neighborhood are always found at Harmons Grocery.
Get out the guac.
You're going to love this.

Chiles Rellenos Chowder with Fried Tortillas Con Huevos
A Bountiful Kitchen
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2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons butter
2 Hatch or Anaheim Chilies, seeded and chopped (about 1 cup)
1 medium white onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
1 large clove garlic, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
1 lb frozen corn (about 2-3 cups)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano (optional, but highly recommended)
1-2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese (regular or Pepper Jack)
4 tablespoons butter
l/3 cup flour
3 cups milk, lowfat or whole

4 cups white potato, chopped, skins left on
32 oz chicken broth

Tortillas Con Huevos
10-12 small, thin corn tortillas
2 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons milk
1 cup vegetable oil
grated Monterey Jack cheese (regular or Pepper Jack)

Place oil and 2 tablespoons butter in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add chopped green chilies and onion.  Saute for about 5 minutes, or until softened. Add clove of garlic, cook for one additional minute or until fragrant. Add corn, salt, pepper and oregano. Turn off heat, set aside.
Place potatoes in a large pot. Pour chicken broth over the potatoes in the pan. Cover with a lid and set heat to high. After the broth comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium high and cook for five minutes. Turn heat off.  Add the vegetable mixture to the cooked potatoes.
Using the pan that previously held the cooked vegetables, melt 3 tablespoons butter. Add 1/3 cup of flour, whisking with wire whisk. Cook for about 1 minute over medium heat. Slowly add milk about 1/2 cup at a time, whisking while adding milk. Cook for about 5 minutes or until thickened.
Add the milk mixture to the vegetable/chicken broth mixture.  Continue to cook over medium heat until heated through. Add grated cheese. Keep warm until ready to serve.
Prepare the tortillas:
Beat 2 eggs and milk in a pie plate. Set aside.
Heat oil in a fry pan over medium high heat.
Dip corn tortillas, one at a time in egg mixture. Let the excess egg drip off the tortilla back into the pie plate and fry tortilla on both sides. You may need to flip the tortilla more than once to get the middle of the tortilla to crisp up a little. It is not necessary to completely cook the tortilla until crispy. The idea is to fry the tortilla until the edges are a bit golden, and the middle sets up a bit. Remove and drain on paper towel. Top with grated cheese. Cut into wedges if desired and serve with chowder.

Tips:
-Mexican Oregano is found in the spice aisle in the grocery or packets are often sold near the Mexican foods (hanging on the wall). They are usually less expensive in the Mexican foods section.

:)

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Slow-Cooked Beef Enchiladas with Red Chili Sauce

Where did summer go? For us it was one long baseball trip (FL, CA 3 times, AZ, WA) , a pioneer trek to Wyoming and a week in Oregon to top it all off. Along the way we ate the good, the bad and the undeniably ugly. Here are a few photos of meals from our summer travels.

Dinner with daughters. OR Coast trip. More on this in another post...

Pok Pok in Portland. One of the best meals of the summer. Waited 1hr 45 mins for dinner.
Took a nap on the front lawn of the house next door to the restaurant while waiting...
Tip- go there in the middle of the day. No wait.

Blue Star Donuts. Portland, OR  
So. Darn. Good.

The aftermath.
Consensus- after trying half a dozen different flavors, the
Vahlrona Chocolate Crunch donut won the best overall award.

One of those "should we, or shouldn't we"  try places.
Glad we stopped. Had the pastrami sandwich with fries and gravy. Guy food paradise.
The Hat in Glendora, CA. 

Calamari, Jake is not a fan. 

Mayfield Bakery and Cafe. Tried many of their cookies and pastries, quiche and breads. All excellent.
The breakfast served in their restaurant next door was one of my favorite meals of the summer.

Lunch from the Asian Box restaurant near Stanford. Highly recommend this place.
Loved the caramel egg! 

Salt and Straw.
Strawberry Honey Balsamic Vinegar Ice Cream.
Portland, OR. Worth the wait.

Pastries from Ellies Table in San Clemente.
Oh. My. 

Kara's Cupcakes in Palo Alto.
Loved the Chocolate Velvet and the Key Lime cupcake. Still experimenting with
a recipe for the key lime cake. Watch for it on ABK soon...

Obviously, I'm a sucker for cupcakes!  Cupcake Royale in Seattle.
Got a little carried away with their ice cream "sampler"

Dahlia Bakery in Seattle. One of Tom Douglas' restaurants. This little
cake made with apricot filling and marscapone frosting was melt-in-your-mouth delicious.
If you are a coconut lover, the coconut cream pie is heaven.
We also tried his Asian restaurant Tanakasan. If you go, order the Osaka Pancake.

Pecos Pit BBQ 1st Ave in Seattle. One of our favorite places waaaay back in the early 90's .
Still there. Still amazing.

What's a visit to Seattle without a stop at Ivars on the pier?

Jake, feeding baby Anabelle, who is  following in her Grandmother's footsteps.

My boys in Naples, Florida-  Cracklin' Jack's. Awesome  BBQ.
Loved everything we ate. Frog legs and hushpuppies,  anyone?

And last, but not least. The two dishes that inspired me to come up with a recipe
for my new all time favorite dinner... slow-cooked beef and chili enchiladas with red sauce. 

The Slow Cooked Chili Beef dish from Sabroso! Mexican Grill above,  and the dish below, from Cha-Cha-Cha in Portland were my inspiration for today's recipe.  Both of the dishes were made from slow cooked beef in chili powder and spices.
The dish below from Cha Cha Cha was made with beef and little red potatoes cut up and then rolled into tortillas. I ordered my enchiladas with green sauce, but it would have been much better with red. I knew when I arrived back home, I had to come up with my own version of the red chili and slow cooked beef filling.

Have you ever tried small red potatoes in a Mexican dish? you're going to love this. 

Kind of a "South of the Border" pot roast. In a tortilla.  

After slow cooking the beef with chilies, 

I removed it from the pan and browned the onions and garlic. 

Threw in a little fresh cilantro.

Made the sauce. 

Here's the meat mixture, ready to go in the tortillas.

Throw some sauce on the meat. 

Words cannot express how much I love this dish. 

This recipe looks long and complicated, but it may be broken into three simple steps:

1. Prepare the meat and let sit in refrigerator overnight. (optional, but highly recommended)

2. Slow cook the meat. Add the chopped vegetables and prepare meat for enchilada filling. 

3. Make the sauce, assemble the enchiladas, bake.

Slow-Cooked Beef  Enchiladas with Red Chili Sauce
A Bountiful Kitchen
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6 large fresh Pasilla chilies* or

1 package dried Pasilla chilies (1 1/2 oz package*) or a mixture of dried and fresh

1- 3 lb beef cross rib roast or chuck roast*

2 cups water

1/4 cup chili powder

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon pepper

3/4 lbs tiny red potatoes, scrubbed

2 cups white onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, crushed or minced

1 bunch cilantro chopped coarse, divided in half (reserve some for garnish)

2 tablespoon chili powder

Monterey Jack or Colby cheese for filling and topping enchiladas

tortillas for enchiladas (about 16 regular size) corn or flour

Sauce for enchiladas (recipe below)

Using tongs over flame on bbq grill or indoor gas burner on stove, roast the fresh chilies until blackened and blistered. Set aside. After cooled, peel off the blackened skin and discard. Split chilies down the middle and remove any seeds inside. Set aside the peeled, seeded, roasted chilies. 

Spray the bottom and sides of a large roasting pan or dutch oven with a bit of cooking oil. 

Rub the meat with 1/4 cup chili powder salt and pepper. Turn the meat so both sides are coated. Place the prepared meat in the pan. Lay the roasted chili pieces on top of the meat. Place the packaged dried chilies around the edges of the meat and pour in 2 cups of cold water around the sides of meat in pan. Set aside in refrigerator over night (or up to two nights ahead), not necessary, but recommended.

When ready to cook, remove pan from oven, let sit on counter for one hour and then follow baking directions. 

Bake, covered tightly for about 3 hours at 275 degrees.  After 3 hours, remove lid and toss in the 3/4 lbs small red potatoes. Replace the lid and roast for another hour, until the potatoes are tender.
After the meat is cooked, remove to a cutting board and shred or chop meat. Discard fat from meat.  Dice the cooked potatoes, leaving skins on.  Place meat and potatoes in a pan. Pour any extra juice left in pan on top of meat. Set aside.  Remove the dried chilies (if using) and discard. Chop the fresh chilies and toss in with the beef mixture. 

Using the same pan, sauté the onions over medium heat until softened and browned a bit.  Add the garlic and cook for about 2 more minutes, or until fragrant. Toss in the chopped cilantro and chopped meat and potato mixture. 

Sprinkle with an additional 2 tablespoons chili powder, if desired.  Set aside until ready to fill enchiladas. This mixture can be refrigerated for 3-4 days before using. 

Red Enchilada Sauce:

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons flour

4 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon chili powder

10 oz tomato paste

1 teaspoon oregano

2 teaspoons salt or to taste

Saute the oil in saucepan with flour over medium high heat, mix with whisk until smooth and a bit bubbly. Reduce heat to medium. Add chicken broth, 1/4 cup chili powder, tomato paste, dried oregano and salt to taste. Continue to cook for about 5-10 minutes until thickened a bit. Remove from heat and spoon about 1/2 cup of the sauce over the meat mixture. Gently fold into meat mixture. 

When ready to assemble enchiladas:

Lightly grease two 9x13 pans with cooking spray. Spoon about 1/3 cup of sauce to cover bottom of each pan.  Fill the enchiladas with the meat and chopped potato mixture. Sprinkle with a bit of grated cheese. Roll and place in pan seam side down. 

Continue rolling until all of the tortillas are filled.  You should have a little left over meat. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas, sprinkle with more grated cheese and top with any leftover meat. 

Bake covered at 350 for about 45 minutes or until the enchiladas are heated through and the cheese is melted and golden. 

Let sit for about 10 minutes before serving.
Yield about 16 enchiladas, depending on size of tortillas used.

Tips:
-Cross Rib Roast  is my favorite for this dish because it shreds well and down not have a large amount of fat that needs to be discarded.
-I like a mixture of dried and fresh chilies for this dish.
-In the U.S. the chili powder we are accustomed to purchasing is a mixture of spices and chili power. Read your labels. If the ingredients are cumin, oregano, garlic powder and salt, then use the amounts I specify in this recipe. If the ingredients read ground chilies, then use about 1/3 of the amount I suggest. or you will end up with very spicy enchiladas and sauce!
-This dish will keep well in the fridge for about 3 days before baking. It also freezes well.
-If you make a little extra sauce, and want and easy side dish, cook some white rice and mix with a few tablespoons of red enchilada sauce after cooking. Also add a can of black or red beans and some chopped green onion. Serve with some shredded lettuce and guacamole for a complete meal!
-If you happen to have extra sauce, freeze it and use on days when you have some leftover meat and tortillas. Heat up the tortilla, fill with chicken, pork or beef, top with cheese and pour sauce over the top for a 5 minute meal. 

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