RECIPE: Taco Shop Guacamole / Guacamole Taquero

Avocados are expensive and traditional guacamole might be an appetizer I forgo at a dinner party if I’d rather spend the money elsewhere. According to this Business Insider article, “avocado prices have rocketed in recent years by up to 129%, with the average national price of a single Hass avocado reaching $2.10 in 2019, almost doubling in just one year.” This is all bad news - until one figures out how to stretch the creamy avocado goodness.

This recipe is how taquerias stretch their guacamole taste on a tomatillo budget. It’s easy, fun and a sure way to impress your dinner guests. If you prefer something a bit spicier, add serrano chiles or more jalapenos. Want the sauce a little thinner? Great - add a dash of water to the blender. Note on the cilantro: Mexican cooks keep the stems when cooking with cilantro. It adds an interesting texture.

Ingredients:

• 1 avocado, pit removed, cubed

• 4-6 medium tomatillos, quartered

• 1 jalapeno, stem removed, halved

• 1/4 white onion

• 1 clove of garlic, peeled

• juice of 1/2 a lime

• salt to taste

• 10 sprigs of cilantro

Method:

1. Put all the ingredients in the blender. Blend until smooth, thinning and stirring as necessary.

2. Serve with cooked tacos, totopos, or fresh veggies.

RECIPE: Rosemary, Apple Cider Margarita

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Rosemary, Apple Cider Margarita

This cocktail screams winter. It has the hearty rosemary, herbaceous notes carried by the sweetness in the apple, and finally balanced by the smokey, sexiness of Mezcal Amarás. You can make this in large batches, like a large batch of punch for a party, or make as single serve cocktails. ¡ Salud !

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces Mezcal Amarás

• 4 ounces unfiltered apple cider

• 1/2 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice

• 1/4 ounce simple syrup

• Dash of bitters, (Peychaud’s)

• 1 sprig fresh rosemary, charred on the comal

Method:

1. In a cocktail stirring glass combine all the liquid ingredients with ice.

2. On a preheated comal, toast the rosemary sprig until it smokes and becomes fragrant. Place it immediately in the cocktail stirring glass.

3. Stir the mixture and pour into a cocktail glass. Use the sprig as a garnish and stir stick.

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RECIPE: Watermelon Margarita

Happy Pride! This year we celebrate 50 years since our forefathers took a stand at Stonewall. I am a proud gay man, a proud Mexican-American and thankful that we have come this far. Let’s celebrate, realize how far we have come, and look at what else we need to fight for! This cocktail tastes like summer - ¡ vamos fiestar !

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces mezcal or tequila

• 1.5 ounces lime juice

• 2 ounces blended watermelon

• 1 teaspoon agave nectar

• Salt for the rim

Method:

1. In a shaker pour the mezcal or tequila, lime juice over ice.

2. In a blender, puree watermelon, strain and reserve.

3. Pour the watermelon puree and agave nectar into the shaker.

4. Salt the glasses.

5. Shake the cocktail until well frothed and pour into the salted glasses.

RECIPE: Costillas de Puerco al Chipotle (Pork Ribs in Chipotle Adobo)

At work, one of my colleagues asked me to develop a recipe using Xilli Chipotles Adobados. The resident Mexican at Food52, I knew exactly what to do. This recipe incorporates three chiles, all very distinct in flavor. You can sub in a wide variety of meats, like beef, pork butt, and lamb. Serve this with fresh tortillas and avocado slices.

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Ingredients:

• 3 Xilli Chipotles Adobados

• 3 allspice berries

• 2 cloves

• 1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

• 1 teaspoon sugar

• 3 Guajillo chiles, seeds and stem removed

• 3 Cascabel chiles, seeds and stem removed

• 2 garlic cloves, skin on

• 1 tablespoon oil

• 2 1/2 pounds Pork Short Ribs, cut into pieces that fit the width of your Dutch oven

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Remove the stem from the Xilli Chipotles Adobados and place them in a blender with the next six ingredients.

3. Over a clay comal , toast the dried guajillo and cascabel chiles until fragrant (roughly 1 minute, depending on the dryness of the chiles). Take care not to burn them, or the sauce will be bitter. Once toasted, soak the chiles in water for 15 minutes.

4. Roast the garlic, skin on, until dark spots appear. Peel the cloves and add to the blender.

5. Blend everything together until smooth, adding water if necessary.

6. In a large Dutch oven, sear the ribs until browned over med-high heat.

7. Strain the blended sauce through a mesh sieve (optional) and over the ribs being sure to scrape the bottom of the dutch oven with a spatula. Pour water into the dutch oven until the meat is submerged.

8. Cook with lid on, for 2 to 4 hours, depending on how tender you want the meat.

9. Once done, remove ribs and slice. Serve with fresh tortillas and plenty of sauce over the top.

RECIPE: Margarita de Jamaica / Hibiscus Margarita

Agua de Jamaica is the lemonade of Mexico. The pitcher is prepared daily and is a tangy thirst quencher that graces kitchen counters across the country. The tea is made from dried Hibiscus flowers and sugar to taste.

Now, let’s elevate this a couple notches with booze.

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This version is your classic Margarita but with the addition of Jamaica syrup instead of agave nectar, which adds a tangy, floral, richness. Rimmed with Poctli’s comal roasted, Sal de Jamaica, this cocktail is an elegant pre-dinner surprise that will have your guests obsessing over the color and unique texture of the jamaica.

Ingredients:

• 2 ounces Mezcal or Tequila

• 1.5 ounces Hibiscus syrup (see below)

• 1 ounce lime juice

• Salt for the rim

• Lime slice garnish

• Seltzer water

Method:

1. Make the Hibiscus syrup by boiling 1/4 cup of dried jamaica blossoms in 1 cup of water with 1/4 cup of sugar. Simmer on medium-low heat until reduced to a thin syrup, roughly 10-15 minutes. Strain out the blossoms and cool to room temperature.

2. Combine mezcal, jamaica, lime juice in a shaker with ice. Shake until a thick foam appears on the top of the surface.

3. Dip the glasses into lime juice and then into the salt.

4. Pour the mixture into a glass with crushed ice and top with a splash of seltzer water. Garish and enjoy!
   

RECIPE: Aguayón Estilo Oaxaqueño (Oaxacan Roast Beef)

This dish is simple yet elegant in its presentation and flavor profile. I compare it to the great braises of European cooking (i.e. Beef Bourguignon, Ragu) and but with the strong fruity profile of the Pasilla chile in the sauce that makes it truly Mexican. This recipe is loosely based on Diana Kennedy’s Aguayón Estilo Leonor from “The Essential Cuisines of Mexico.”

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I plate this with blanched green beans and boiled turned potatoes. On the side serve with fresh corn tortillas, a salsa de chile de arbol, and a full bodied red wine (Bordeaux, Pinot Noir, Cabernet, Merlot.)

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 2lbs beef roast (rump roast preferred)

• Salt

• Pepper

• 2 tablespoons Olive oil

• 3 pasilla chiles

• 1 chile de arbol (optional, see note in Method)

• 2 cups chopped tomatoes

• 1/2 cup sesame seeds, toasted

• 1/2 inch slice of bread (kaiser roll preferred)

• 2 garlic cloves

Method:

1. Salt and pepper every side of the pot roast before placing it in a dutch oven with hot olive oil. Brown on all sides and remove from heat leaving the juices and browned bits in the dutch oven.

2. Open the chiles and remove the stem, seeds and veins. Toast the chiles over a comal until brown and blistered but not burnt. If you burn them, the sauce will become too bitter. If you want the sauce to be spicier, then use the chile de arbol as well, keeping the seeds intact but removing the stem. Soak the chiles for 10 minutes in water until ready to blend.

3. Add the soaked chiles, tomatoes, toasted sesame seeds, slice of bread and garlic to a blender with 1.5 cups of water. Blend on varying speeds until smooth.

4. Add this mixture to the dutch oven and cook for five minutes, adding more water as necessary. The sauce will splutter. Add the pot roast to the pan and fill the pot with water so that the beef is 3/4 submerged. Cover and simmer for 4 hours until tender on low heat.

5. Remove the beef from the pan and allow to rest while the sauce reduces uncovered until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

6. Arrange the beef with the green beans and boiled potatoes. Serve with warm tortillas and salsa.