Skirt Steak Tacos

Roasting Tomatillos






Roasting garlic






Toasting dried chipotle chiles that will be rehydrated by soaking in water




Everything prepped and ready to be blended





into salsa

I will never tire of tacos. It is just not possible. A little something warm tucked into a tender corn tortilla, drizzled with salsa and I'm in heaven. These tacos though, are a more than just a little something. I’ve been making this dish for at least 10 years and we're always happy with it. There are a lot of steps to get it all together (as you’ll see in my photos.) But if you plan to spend the day at home, cooking, this one is worth your time. This is a Rick Bayless recipe for Seared Skirt Steak with Chipotle, Tomatillos and Garlic . There are so many levels of flavor involved in each bite that you accept why each step was necessary and you smile that you've made something so good and complex and you smile.

The recipe was originally written to be served just as a steak, smothered with onions, whole roasted garlic (see recipe) and a cooked salsa. But of course it does great sliced on a taco too. I think this is the kind of Mexican dish that American fajitas were originally based upon. Here's a picture of the meat simmering in the sauce. I should have taken a shot of the meat first being seared.





Seared Skirt Steak with Chipotle and Garlic
Arrachera con Chipotle y Ajo
From Rick Bayless’ Mexican Kitchen. Serves 4

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For About 1c essential roasted tomatillo-chipotle salsa

3-6 (1/4-1/2 oz stemmed, dried, chipotle chiles (or canned chipotles in adobo)
15 cloves garlic unpeeled
8oz (about 5 med) tomatillos, husked and rinsed
Salt, about 1/2t, plus some for sprinkling on steak
Sugar, about 1/4t.
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1T. olive or veg. oil
Four 5-6oz pieces of beef skirt steak, trimmed of exterior fat
1 med. white onion, thinly sliced
1/2t cumin, preferably freshly ground
1/2t black pepper, preferably freshly ground
2/3 c beef broth
Chopped cilantro, for garnish


1. Making the salsa. For dried chiles, toast them on an ungreased griddle or heavy skilled over med. heat, turning regularly and pressing flat with a spatula about 30 seconds. In a small bowl, cover the chiles with hot water and let rehydrate 30 minutes, stirring frequently to ensure even soaking. Drain and discard water. ( or if using canned, removed from canning sauce)

2. While the chiles are soaking, roast the unpeeled garlic on the griddle, turning occasionally, until soft (they will blacken in spots) about 15 minutes; cool and peel. Roast the tomatillos on a baking sheet 4 inches from very hot broiler until blackened, about 4-5 minutes, then flip and do the same on the other side.

3. Combine tomatillos (and their juices), rehydrated or canned chiles and 3 cloves of the garlic into food processor or blender, and process to a rather fine-textured puree. Taste and season with salt and sugar. Set aside.

4. Finishing the dish. Heat the oil in a large (12 inch) heavy skilled (preferably cast iron) over med. heat. When very hot, pat the steaks dry, sprinkle with salt, and lay in the pan in a single layer. Sear well on both sides until meat is rare to med. rare, 3-4 minutes. Remove to a rack set over a plate.

5. Add the onion to the skillet and cook, stirring regularly, until it begins to brown (but still stays crunchy) about 5 minutes. Add the salsa to the skillet along with cumin, pepper, and remaining 12 cloves of roasted garlic (yes, left whole) Stir as the salsa reduces for several minutes, sten stir in the broth and simmer for 5 minutes. Return the meat to the skillet and let it warm through, about 5 minutes or until meat is done to your liking. Taste the sauce and add a little more salt or sugar if necessary.

6. With a spatula or slotted spoon, transfer the steaks to a serving platter, then spoon the sauce, onions and garlic over and aroung them. Sprinkle with the cilantro and you’re ready.

Notes: The salsa can be prepared several days ahead. The green chiles in one of the above photos were for another recipe. They are not used in the tomatillo-chipotle salsa.

Variations: Steak can be replaced by other rather thin-cut steaks or thin-cut pork-chops. Whole garlic could be left out, reducing to only 3 cloves needed for the salsa.

Corn Pudding

This is a great recipe for Corn Pudding from Alton Brown. Since Easter is near I thought I'd post it here since it would sure go good with ham. This dish turns out best in a cast iron pan. But I needed to carry this pudding up a substantial flight of stairs so I made it in a baking dish.

Sweet Corn Bread Pudding
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

1/2 onion, diced fine
1 ounce unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon rosemary
1 (15-ounce) can creamed style sweet corn
1 cup heavy cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal, whole grain, stone ground
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Ground black pepper
2 cups cubed French bread

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sweat onions with butter and herbs in an oven safe skillet until translucent.
Combine corn, cream, eggs, baking powder, cornmeal, Parmesan, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl. Add cubed bread and fold to combine. Pour batter into skillet, right on top of the onion mixture. Bake 50 minutes, or until set. Cool slightly before serving.

Girly Fried Chicken

My fried chicken isn't the stuff of hearty men. Manly fried chicken is the bone-in kind: soaked in buttermilk, dusted with flour and fried in a cast iron skillet in all its swarthy greasiness. I adore that kind of chicken, but that's not MY fried chicken.

My fried chicken has a dainty side. I use boneless skinless breast halves and pound them to about 1/2 inch thick. Then I quarter those pieces, salt and coat them in flour/egg/breadcrumbs(homemade) I fry them in just about 1/2 inch of canola oil. They'll cook quickly because they're thin. But still you must be careful not to get the oil too hot or they'll brown too fast. Cook them to about 165*. After being thoroughly cooled, these chicken nuggets freeze well in a container with layers separated by wax paper.

They're great for kids but adults enjoy them too. I like them to serve them in girl-y ways: like with a dipping sauce or sliced on a salad. This salad below is made with pineapple, tomato, green onions and red pepper and is dressed with a lime cilantro vinaigrette. I added tortilla strips too, but after I took the photo. - A nod to a favorite Chili's salad.

Marinara Sauce

Talk turned to signature dishes over at CT this week. Defined as a dish that you've made repeatedly and have been asked by others to make, something you are proud of and that's been with you for a long time, I decided that my marinara sauce would have to be my signature dish. It's not difficult to make and there's no secret to making it. But I can make it with my eyes closed and it turns out good everytime. I see no reason to try another basic tomato sauce. I've given the "recipe" to people but the recipe is sort of just a vague description of what I do. It's really just an adaptation of my Mom's sauce. In my own hands, I reduced the onion, use fresh basil, and puree a bit with the stick blender for a smoother finish. Also, I upgraded on the tomatoes because I think Muir Glen Whole Tomatoes are especially good. I think I'll work on a concrete recipe and include it here soon. For now the picture above will have to do.

My marinara goes especially well with these fantastic ravioli from Perfect Pasta. This is a company from the Chicago area. I don't know if they're national or not. I find the pasta in the freezer section of the local Whole Foods. We like the big pillowy cheese ones, but there are quite a few varieties. All are made from rich egg pasta. You can really taste the ricotta inside. I think the quality is very good.

Not So Crunchy Parmesan Chicken

This recipe (from Fine Cooking 38) met mixed reviews in our house. My husband enjoyed it, but me, not so much. I have made the recipe before and remember liking it more. The chicken is rolled in melted butter, coated with a parmesan-flour-herb mix and baked in a hot oven (425*). The topping is flavored nicely with thyme and a little cayenne. The problem is that all that good flavor is on the skin which I end up taking off. Chicken skin has to be crackly crispy dry for me to like it. This chicken skin still retained a little flabbiness so I couldn't eat it. The kids ate it without the skin as well. I think I might try to modify it with bone-in skinless breasts perhaps using the pre-toasted breadcrumb method from a recent Fine Cooking issue.