Slow Cooker Carnitas

Here is a recipe for a healthier version of carnitas than one where the meat is deep fried in lard.  This one was very easy to make and came out pretty good.  I must admit though, carnitas made with lard is much tastier.  DUH!  Anyways here is how I made this version:

First I browned the 3.5 pound pork shoulder roast which was seasoned with salt and pepper, and placed it in the slow cooker.

Then in the same pot that I browned the roast, I added a chopped onion and 2 minced garlic cloves, and sauteed those until they started to soften. Then I poured in a Corona (you can use any Mexican lager) to deglaze the pan and scrape up the brown bits in the pot.

Then I poured the beer mixture over the pork roast in the slow cooker. I zested a large orange and a lime, and added the it all along with the juice of both. And finally I added in a tablespoon of oregano.

The whole thing cooked in the slow cooker for 5 hours. After that I shredded the meat and made tacos topped with homemade guacamole, chopped onions, cilantro and a squeeze of lime! 

Fish Tacos!

In keeping with the steady stream of Mexican-flavored posts we've had lately, I thought I would tell you about some fish tacos I've made recently. I love fish tacos. They are right in my wheelhouse in terms of flavor, and they are just so easy to make and there are so many ways to make them. A while ago we had Heather and Luke over and I made swordfish tacos with achiote and orange, which is a typical Yucatán way to marinate fish.

The marinade was orange juice, lime juice, oregano, garlic, habanero chile, achiote paste, allspice, lemon-infused olive oil, cilantro, fresno chile, sugar, salt and pepper. The cubed fish marinates in the fridge for 3 hours. I served it with shredded lettuce, lime wedges, warm corn tortillas, a really nice roasted pineapple-habanero salsa and last but not least, a refreshing michelada (if you're not sure what that is don't worry I'm sure there will be a separate post about those soon). Very tasty.

More recently, Jimmy and I made a really awesome grilled mahi-mahi taco. Mahi is one of my favorite fishes to make tacos with, even when it's not summer grilling time, you can just cook the fish in a skillet and serve with a selection of whatever yummy garnishes you have on hand: shredded cabbage, sliced radishes, sour cream, cilantro, lime wedges, avocado, red onion, scallions, tomatos, pickled jalapeños, etc.

This time I did a dry-rub of paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, thyme, cayenne pepper, salt & pepper. We grilled the fish for about 5 minutes per side then coarsely shredded it and some cabbage for serving. I made a fresh pico de gallo - tomatoes, onions, scallions, cilantro, lemon juice, jalapeño, salt & pepper; and crema: sour cream with a little heavy cream, s&p and a little Tabasco sauce. It was SO good!!!!!

Rosarito!

Over the 4th of July weekend,  I went to Rosarito Beach for a short getaway...and to eat lobster!  Aaaaaah the food in any part of Mexico is so good!  Here is a little taste of what we had while in Rosarito...

This is what we ate when we arrived.  It's a little permanent taco stand called Tacos El Yaqui.  They start by melting cheese inside the tortilla, then follow it up with pinto beans, carne asada, guacamole, onions and cilantro.  They only have one kind of taco, but after you eat it you don't need anything else...except maybe a REAL coke.

We stayed at Rosarito Beach Hotel and each morning we had the breakfast buffet.  I usually stay away from buffets but I had to try it the first day, and let me tell you, it was awesome!  Red and Green Chilaquiles, scrambled eggs with chorizo, beans, rice, tortillas made right in front of you, fresh squeezed OJ, coffee, tons of actually RIPE fruit (the mango and papaya were heavenly!), yogurt...and that's just to name a few.  And did I mention it was a buffet??  You could go back as many times as you wanted!

Then there was the lobster...always served with fresh tortillas, beans, rice, guacamole, salsa and of course clarified butter.  And I think the most we spent for all that was $30.

Oh, and there was usually a margarita involved with these lobster dinners as well.  In case you ever make a trip to Rosarito, the best lobster meal we had was at Puerto Nuevo Restaurant #1.  Yes, there are 2 - #1 and #2 - right next door to each other, and apparently it is the same family that owns them.  But #1 is a little more hole-in-the-wall-esque and #2 is a bit fancier.  #1 was way tastier, cheaper and the margaritas were HUGE and so good!  And don't worry, you will know which one is which when you see the line out the door of Puerto Nuevo #1...and it will be well worth the wait, I promise!
We will definitely be back down there soon, even if it's only for a day to eat lobster! :)

Buon compleanno Cheemee

It was Jimmy's Birthday Wednesday, and since we both had to work and have an early night, I just made a simple pasta, namely Tagliatelle with prosciutto and orange. It was super easy and really yummy! (The recipe was in Bon Appétit's "The Italy Issue" - you can find it here. A quick tomato sauce with some orange juice squeezed in is also very good, fyi. :) We followed it all up with one of his faves, cupcakes from Billy's. (In case you're not aware, Billy's is a very wonderful cupcake shop in NYC). We tried a new flavor: the lemon cupcake. mmm!

Pasta Dinner

I love cooking simple pastas. Tonight I made spaghetti with cherry tomatoes, basil, garlic, red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese. The recipe I used {can be found here} is technically with sun gold tomatoes, but you can use cherry as well which is what i did - also I didn't use the breadcrumbs. We followed it up with a salad of boston and arugula lettuces, red peppers, radishes, and strawberries. yum!