Saturday, April 17 - Mexican Night!

We made the quarterly journey to Home Depot's gardening department to begin our spring garden. We got some beautiful herbs, a dwarf lemon tree, 2 tomato plants (We are going to have a tomato growing contest), and lots of flowers.

It's time to break out your favorite Latin CD in honor of Laura finally sharing her perfect margarita recipe with the world.

Our cat Blue, who loves to eat as much as we do, is thrilled that it's dinner time!

We start with homemade guacamole and store bought tortilla chips (today's are Mission). Fresh cilantro from our herb garden makes all the difference in this dish. All recipes are perfected for 2 people.

GUAC

1 ripe avocado
1/4 cup minced onion
1 serrano chile, minced
1 roma tomato, seeded & chopped finely
1 tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp. sea salt
dash of black pepper
dash of crushed red pepper (if you like some extra heat)

Mash the avocado with a fork. Keep it chunky.

Add the onion, chiles, cilantro, lime juice, salt & pepper. Mix. Add tomatoes before serving.









Some thoughts on tequila....

People, stop drinking vile and substandard tequila. It tastes terrible and makes you feel terrible. Quality tequila is a little more expensive, but it's so smooth, it doesn't taste like the battery acid that, say, Jose Cuervo does.

Our favorite is a lesser known tequila called Muchote.

It's not as easily found as some of the better known tequilas, but some larger liquor stores will sell it. In the LA area, the Beverage Warehouse in Marina del Rey sells it for $25.

If you've never been to Beverage Warehouse off Culver Blvd, you're missing out. It's in an industrial complex, but they have a large selection & very competitive prices.

Unfortunately, we're all out of Muchote today, so we're going to break into the Patron gift pack that Mike bought at Costco at Christmastime for about $100. The pack includes 4 various bottles of Patron:

Patron Silver
Patron Anejo
Patron Reposado
Patron Citronage (an orange liquer similar to Triple Sec, but better)

In the spirit of full disclosure, we always start with a chilled shot of the Patron Silver. It's incredibly smooth. We do the traditional salt on the hand and lime wedge chaser. We bought some Mexican hand blown shot glasses off eBay for the full experience.

Now that we have a little buzz going, it's time to mix the margaritas. Laura has experimented with the ingredient combinations, and has achieved the perfect proportions. Using a shot glass, it's 3 shots tequila, to 2 shots lime juice, to 1 shot of simple syrup and 1 shot of orange liqeuer.... Hence, the name 3-2-1 Margaritas, which makes the proportions easy to remember. Simple syrup is just sugar syrup. You can make it on the stovetop with sugar & water, or you can buy it in a bottle at Trader Joe's for $2.49, which is less messy and lasts longer. If you've never been to a Trader Joe's, you must find the one nearest to you and go immediately, as it is a total revelation, and you will begin buying all your staples there.

Regarding the orange liquer, that is really up to your taste buds, but we go with the Patron Citronage (about $15 a bottle), as Laura hates the taste of Grand Marnier or Triple Sec. But any orange liquer will do.

We also drink these in martini glasses instead of margarita glasses.

3-2-1 MARGARITAS

3 shots of your favorite tequila
2 shots of fresh squeezed lime juice (about 6 limes & Laura strains it because she doesn't like pulp)
1 shot of simple syrup
1 shot of orange liquer
sugar & sea salt

Mix with ice in a cocktail shaker. Take a lime wedge and swipe around the edge of 2 martini glasses. Dip the rim of each glass in a mixture of sea salt & sugar. Pour the mixture evenly into each glass.

So good that even our other kitty Sabrina wants in on the action! If this isn't the best margarita you have ever had in your life, Laura will buy you a tequila shot next time she sees you. Laura can't even drink margaritas is bars or Mexican restaurants anymore, unless it's made with fresh lime juice, as the mixes most places use are revolting.

A note of caution...you will want to make a second batch, as the first batch goes down quickly and smoothly. Do not, unless you have a high alcohol tolerance, or are willing to nurse a hangover tomorrow morning!

Now we're ready for the main course!  We love a good fajita.  And, as we'll say repeatedly, we love spicy!  Some of the keys to our steak fajita recipe are to use a good cut of meat (NY Stip or ribeye work nicely) and to make your own fajita seasoning. 

STEAK FAJITAS

Step one: Spicy Fajita Seasoning
Mix one teaspoon of each of these together and ... voila ... the perfect fajita seasoning.
Cornstarch
Chili powder
Salt
Paprika
Garlic powder
Cayenne pepper (adjust as needed - 1 full tsp makes this HOT!)
Crushed red pepper
Cumin

Step two: Fajita filling
One steak (about 12 oz.)
One red bell pepper
One medium onion
Olive oil
 
Freeze steak for about an hour.  Remove from freezer, slice thinly, drizzle with olive oil and toss with half of the seasoning.  Thinly slice the bell pepper and onions into strips, drizzle with olive oil and toss with other half of the seasoning.  
 
Pan-fry the onions and pepper in a large skillet on high heat until vegetables are tender.  Try to get a little char on them.  Remove from the pan and plate.  Pan-fry the steak on high heat until cooked.  This will take only a couple of minutes.  Pour the steak over the plated vegetables.  Serve immediately accompanied by warm flour tortillas.