Tacos... again (July 2009)

[ts]
Julio Latino ("Latin July") is still alive and well at [eatingclub] vancouver!

It seems to have been a while since we last made tacos at home. Or at least, it feels like it has been a while. Mama has even made several requests for a taco night in the past few weeks. It's a request that we are more than happy to fulfill!

We made three different taco fillings. Of course, we had to have the ever-popular carnitas, but JS also came up with two new fillings for this taco night.

Carnitas

taco w/ carnitas filling, pico de gallo

[js]
We've cooked carnitas a couple of different ways now. It seems that each time we make carnitas, I've used a different method. This time was no different.

Beer-braised Carnitas post

As expected, the carnitas filling was very, very popular with the crowd.

Tacos Al Pastor

taco al pastor w/ onions & cilantro, chipotle peanut salsa

[js]
I wanted to do al pastor for the longest time but it always seemed to entail more work than carnitas, which was why it kept getting pushed back down the queue.



[js]
In any case, today was the day we were going to do it. I even forced myself to do it by telling myself NOT to do carnitas. To no avail, though, as you can see now, but the edict worked because I did the al pastor first before deciding to supplement our taco filling offerings with the carnitas above.

Tacos al Pastor recipe

Shredded Beef and Tripe Filling

taco w/ shredded beef and tripe filling, salsa verde

[js]
I had been craving some sort of offal or "variety meat" lately, so I made this "wet" beef filling with tripe, oxtails, and veal breast.


tripe-y goodness!

[ts]
This filling was very flavorful without being too heavy. It was melt-in-your-mouth.

Shredded Beef and Tripe Filling recipe

The Tortilla


[ts]
We wanted to have authentic taco shells for this summer's taco night. We first bought some white stone-ground corn tortillas from Que Pasa, but they were a little large and a tad too thick. What we wanted were those tiny, thinner taco shells.

So, we drove on over to Doña Cata and purchased ourselves some of the taco shells they use. On the bag, they are actually called "Lonchera", and they are only 4 inches in diameter. (You can see the considerably larger Que Pasa tortilla under it.)

Que Pasa Mexican Foods (Richmond, BC)
Doña Cata Mexican Restaurant & Taqueria (Vancouver, BC)

Salsas & Condiments


[ts]
Of course, there had to be several salsas on offer. In the photo above, you see we had a big bowl of pico de gallo, and beside it, a bowl of strawberry cilantro salsa (which was another Mama request).

Besides the strawberry cilantro salsa, another new addition to the condiments table was this Chipotle Peanut Salsa, a JS creation.

Chipotle Peanut Salsa recipe

We also had (clockwise from top left) some diced onions, a standard salsa verde made with tomatillos, the chipotle peanut salsa, lime wedges, chopped cilantro, and chopped jalapeños.

We and the guests certainly had a great time mixing-and-matching the different taco fillings and salsas to create their own unique tacos.

Other Items

left: Philippine-style Chicken "BBQ" w/ its peanut sauce
right: Corn "al Pastor"

[ts]
To round out the menu, in case some people didn't like tacos (heaven forbid!), we also had Philippine-style Chicken "BBQ" and what I like to call Corn "al Pastor."

That's corn niblets that we cooked with some of the marinade reserved from making tacos al pastor, a blend of ancho and guajillo peppers, and a touch of pineapple.



[ts]
Once again, taco night was a delicious, fun-filled night!

[eatingclub] vancouver Tacos
Tacos... then
Tacos... now
Tacos of Carnitas with Pineapple, with Roasted Salsa and Sweet Potato
Tacos... again (July 2009)
Tacos al Pastor with Chipotle Peanut Salsa
Tacos with Beer-braised Carnitas Filling
Shredded Beef and Tripe Tacos

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[eatingclub] vancouver Mexican
Tacos... then
Tacos... now
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Semi-Lime-cooked, Semi-Yucatecan Shrimp with Garlic Chips
Chicken, Broccoli and Cheese with Pipían Verde
Quickie Turkey Tortilla Soup
Tacos of Carnitas with Pineapple, with Roasted Salsa and Sweet Potato
Shrimp a la Mexicana (Camarones a la Plancha)
Enchiladas Verdes
Cilantro Horchata
Strawberry Cilantro Salsa, on Grilled Flank Steak
Mexican Ancho Guajillo Chicken
Chipotle Ground Turkey on Flour Tortilla
Tacos... again (July 2009)
Tacos al Pastor with Chipotle Peanut Salsa
Tacos with Beer-braised Carnitas Filling
Shredded Beef and Tripe Tacos
Duck Enchiladas with Chipotle Peanut Salsa
Blueberry Tres Leches Cake
Crab Tostada
Homemade Mexican Chorizo Sausage
Torta (Mexican Sandwich)