Steak tacos @ home

Having grown up like most Americans, "taco night" usually consisted of hard shell store bought tacos, sloppy joe like taco meat and jarred salsa. Oh, and cheese. I discovered a far more authentic version when I moved to NYC many years ago. The true Mexican taco that can be found at the taco trucks in Jackson Heights, Queens. Small corn tortillas that can be stuffed with pork, beef, tounge, goat, chorizo, etc. No cheese here. The toppings are usually tomato, cilantro, radish, onion, hot peppers, hot red or green chili sauce with a squeeze of lime. After enjoying these tacos off and on again throughout the years, I have never wanted to go back to store bought ingredients. So here is my version of "taco night" at home.

Fresh, locally made corn tortillas, grilled steak that was rubbed with salt, pepper, cumin and red pepper flakes, tomato, onion, cilantro and lime. I used Sricracha hot sauce, which together with the lime had a fresh, spicy tangy bite. They came out pretty good, and I want to make them again trying out different meats, especially chorizo, which is pork from the gods. Here's to experimenting!

Caesar Salad

Who doesn't love a good Caesar Salad? I do, and it's better when you come across the "true" version. No processed dressing here, I decided to make it myself . I mashed together garlic and anchovies, Coleman's mustard, lemon juice, worcestershire sauce, raw egg yolk and whisked in olive oil. Chopped romaine lettuce and croutons were put in dressing bowl and tossed. Salty, tangy deliciousness made the perfect salad, if I do say so myself.

Pickles!

Summer is the perfect time to experiment and I want to try some pickles. I found a "refrigerator" pickle recipe, no boiling or steaming, all that jazz. Hot ingredients and glass containers make me super nervous. Just all the vinegars and spices to the jarred cut cucumber and pop in the fridge. The recipe I found called for a lot of brown sugar, so after a day in the fridge I added more vinegar. It's all an experiment. I had enough for four jars, so two were dill, one garlic and one habanero.

So far they have absorbed all the spices, vinegars and are crunchy and tasty. I figure they can sit and stew for a while to develop full flavor, but the habanero pickles are SUPER HOT!!! Awesome! I love experiments and so far, so good. A great summer so far!

The Puttanesca Project

It's been aaaagggesssss since I had posted anything. No direction here. Do I write about books? Sightseeing? Things I hate? I will get my shit together and post goodies about what I have been doing lately, which is reading and cooking. Maybe this will work.

Up early this morning on a walk to get coffee I was already thinking of what to make for dinner. Puttanesca immediately popped into my head. It really is a dish I love. The saltiness, earthiness and spice is wonderful. I've had it with spaghetti or penne, but really like it with angel hair pasta.

I sauteed onions and garlic in olive oil, then added capers (rinsed and whole), different types of olive (nicoise, kalamata, empeltre), four to five thick anchovies, and diced tomatoes in their juice. A lot of crushed red pepper flakes, dashes of basil and oregano. A nice long simmer, then the pasta was added and sauced up.

It really came together nicely and was delicious. I just might be getting the hang of it!

hot dogs!!!

it's a rainy sunday and i am recovering from a bout with icky food poisioning. from old chinese food, nonetheless. never was a fan, don't know what led me to it! that being said, am getting back to normal. the one food item that always whets my whistle is the good old american hot dog. does it really exist anywhere else? well, guess food poisioning tales and mention of food might not whet anyone else's whistle, but when i get back into full mode i will be sooo hungry for one of these...here are some favorites. top is me at nyc rooftop bbq with a yummy hotdog made by doggybloggy. then, gene and jude's in chicagoland. totally a fan!!! next but certainly not least, grey's papya here in good old nyc. can't beat that!

are you being served?? rip mollie sudgen!

it seems that mollie sudgen, or mrs slocombe to you, missus, has passed away. i absolutely love her in are you being served? one of the best of british telly! i wonder who will care for her "pussy" now? that's pussycat, kittens. in these days of celebrities dropping like flies, i am sad to see mollie go

summer reading

I love to read. I was born to read. I read constantly, on the subway, standing at the counter while cooking, in the tub, as I fall asleep (not in the tub). You get the idea. Here are a few of the books I am currently reading this summer, I have the good/bad habit of reading several books at the same time. It just depends on my mood at the moment, but I get the book finished. So here are the books I have begun my summer with.