Entries Tagged as 'mexican'

Biggest Carrots I’ve Ever Seen

April 28th, 2011 · 1 Comment

Our taqueria, yes it is ours, serves chips, salsa and pickled veggies with every meal they serve. The last time we were there they had unusually large carrots. Like, seriously, HUGE.

I probably don’t talk about our taqueria enough, but we love it and frequent it often. Taqueria Moran. It’s very close to our house, I’ve never had a bad meal there, and it’s super cheap. I only wish they were open late night. Last time we were there Dallas got:

Adobado torta, hold the tomato, and two carnitas tacos. I got:

Enchiladas en mole.

And what’s with the possessiveness? I think that in certain neighborhoods in Chicago there are so many taquerias… everyone has their one that they call their own and frequent very regularly. Great food and cheap. We’ve got Taqueria Moran, Jess does El Cid, Alden goes to Arturo’s. It’s like New York where everyone has a bodega they call their own.

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Tortilla and Black Bean Pie

April 19th, 2011 · 3 Comments

I saw this recipe on Martha Stewart (dot com) and it stuck with me. I couldn’t shake it til I made it. Dallas helped me and we used a springform pan we got for a wedding gift. I thought it was fun to make and something unique. We added some chicken breast to the mix and we did not use as much cheese as was recommended. Yumyum!

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Tortilla and Black Bean Pie
From: Martha Stewart

Serve this brightly colored, layered tortilla pie with salsa and sour cream on the side. You can assemble the pie ahead of time, then bake it just before serving. Note: To trim tortillas, center the bottom of a springform pan on top of a tortilla. Trace around it with a paring knife. Remove excess. Serves 6.

4 flour tortillas (10 inches)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 large onion, diced
1 jalapeno chile, minced (remove seeds and ribs for less heat)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans drained and rinsed
12 ounces beer or 1 1/2 cups water
1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn
4 scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (2 1/2 cups)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. With a paring knife, trim tortillas to fit a 9-inch springform pan. Use the bottom of the pan as a guide. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, jalapeño, garlic, and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.

Add beans and beer, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until liquid has almost evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in corn and scallions, and remove from heat. Taste and adjust for seasoning.

Fit a trimmed tortilla in bottom of springform pan; layer with 1/4 of the beans and 1/2 cup of cheese. Repeat three times, using 1 cup cheese on top layer. Bake until cheese melts, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove side of pan; sprinkle pie with scallions. To serve, slice into wedges.

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Bon Voyage!

February 12th, 2011 · 3 Comments

Last night Anjum and Aimee (and Garrett and Eric for a while) took me out for some after work drinks to wish me bon voyage and best wishes on the wedding. We were going to get wine and cheese like we did when I got engaged, but the place we wanted to go to didn’t open early enough. So we ended up just going next door to Moe’s Cantina, which is just fine for after-work drinks, but I heard gets extra douchey later at night.

Most people were drinking red sangria, but since I’d just been to the dentist to get my teeth cleaned a few hours earlier, I stuck with the clear liquors and drank caipirinhas and margaritas. We also figured we needed to do a shot. I suggested SoCo and lime, which is my new favorite shot, since Josh got it for us last weekend.

Just a few days to go now. Lots of errands to run this weekend and a few loose ends to tidy up. Packing Monday/Tuesday and then we’re off!

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Moe’s Cantina

January 14th, 2011 · No Comments

Last night I finally made it out to one of our office happy hours, even if it was only for one beer. It’s been ages! We went to Moe’s Cantina, which could not be closer to our office and has become quite popular with my coworkers since it opened a couple months ago. It’s really pretty inside and HUGE. I only had one beer and nothing to eat, so I can’t really comment on the drinks or food. I was surprised, though, that they don’t serve Corona? Weird. I want to come back one day for lunch and try the food.

On a side note, about a year ago my coworker Aimee and I were in Jay Robert’s Antiques and the owner told us that he owned the whole building and that he was opening Moe’s next door. So, here it is. I assume the antiques owner still owns Moe’s.

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Caipirinha!

October 13th, 2010 · 1 Comment

In August I had a Groupon for Cafe 28 that was going to expire soon so Dallas and I met up with Paul Baker and Kate for dinner. Cafe 28 is a Cuban-Mexican restaurant on Irving Park Road that Dallas used to live near. We used to go for brunch and dinner sometimes and it was always good. Since Dallas doesn’t live near there any more, we haven’t been to dinner at Cafe 28 for probably years. I was excited to go back!

I arrived a bit earlier than everyone else so I sat at the bar. I ordered a caipirinha and chatted with the bartender a little bit. When my drink came, I took a sip and was like “Whoah! That is strong!” and the bartender was all “Well, it should be. It’s all liquor!” Oh. Ok. The bartender reminded me that the caipirinha is made from cachaca (like rum, but made from sugarcane) and a bit of lime and sugar. I love this drink though! It’s Brazil’s national cocktail. As far as I can remember, the first one I ever had was at Esperanto in New York 5 years ago. Love at first sip. I will always remember that as being the best one I had…. tons of muddles limes. Delicious.

As for Cafe 28. It was great, as always. And we hadn’t been out with Paul and Kate for ages, so it was good to catch up with them. Fun night!

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