Entries Tagged as 'tamale'

Mesa Grill at Caesar’s Palace

December 1st, 2009 · 5 Comments

When I lived in New York I always wanted to go to one of Bobby Flay‘s restaurants, but at the time they were way out of my budget. I’d thought about going when I went back and visited, but never did. So, when Cory and Chris asked if we’d like to join them for Thanksgiving lunch at Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill in Caesar’s Palace, we said “for sure!”

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Mesa Grill, Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas

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Mesa Grill, Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas

Mesa Grill was featuring a Thanksgiving menu, but we decided not to order from it. It would have been nice to actually have turkey on Thanksgiving, but we came to try the food that Flay is known for, and so we ordered from the regular menu. This is what we had:

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Tiger Shrimp + Roasted Garlic Corn Tamale: Corn-Cilantro Sauce

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Goat Cheese “Queso Fundido”: Rajas + Blue Corn Tortilla Strips

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Oyster Special: Can’t remember exactly what was in these, but they were cooked oysters put back in the shell with some sauce

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New Mexican Spice Rubbed Pork Tenderloin: Bourbon-Ancho Chile Sauce, Sweet Potato Tamale + Crushed Pecan Butter

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Southwestern Spiced Duck Breast: Carrot-Habanero Sauce, Chorizo-Goat Cheese Tamale + Thyme Butter

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Grilled Lamb Porterhouse Chops: Tangerine-Roasted Jalapeno-Mint Sauce + Plantain Tamale with Molasses Butter

I really liked the cheese appetizer, of course. Unlike other fundido I’ve had, the addition of goat cheese added a nice tanginess to the appetizer. I also really liked the tamale. For the entrees, I had the duck, Cory had the pork and Chris and Dallas both got the lamb. We all tasted each other’s food and everyone agreed that the pork was the tastiest. We all enjoyed the duck as well. It was agreed that the lamb was a disappointment. It didn’t taste bad, but it wasn’t flavorful at all. Overall, I was glad to try Flay’s food, but I wasn’t head over heels.

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Mesa Grill, Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas

After lunch, Cory and Chris were off to meet up with some others in the family. Dallas and I hung around Caesars and then headed back to Planet Hollywood, where we were staying. We needed to rest off our food coma because in a few hours we were due to go to a buffet!

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Fuego Mexican Grill

August 22nd, 2009 · No Comments

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Chips and Salsa, Fuego Mexican Grill, Logan Square, Chicago

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Tamalitos Suridos, Fuego Mexican Grill, Logan Square, Chicago

I’d heard a lot about Fuego Mexican Grill opening in Logan Square and wanted to try it out. One day I was riding bike around town and it was lunch time, so I stopped in on a whim. I tried the Tamalitos Surtidos, a pairing of chicken and wild mushroom tamales covered with their signature mole poblano and mole amarillo. I’d heard the moles at Fuego were good and wanted to give them a try. I’m happy to report my meal was delicious, but there were a few things I didn’t like about my experience.

1. There’s no lunch menu. I was by myself and didn’t want a large, heavy meal or to spend $20+, so I had to go with an appetizer for lunch.

2. The place is huge and was absolutely empty aside from one other table that left while I was there.

3. As you can see from the description of the tamales above, there were two different kinds and two different moles. When the waitress brought my food out I asked her to tell me which was which and she didn’t even know anything about what she was serving, that there even were two different things on the plate or anything.

4. I opted to sit outside since it was nice out. This was kind of weird and uncomfortable because the restaurant is still on a stretch of Milwaukee Avenue that is a bit seedy. A homeless lady hung around my table and asked me for money while I was eating. The valet and everyone else just sat around.. I don’t know if they could have done anything, but it’s really awkward for someone to beg you for money to buy a meal while you’re eating a meal.

Despite of these things, I think I’d go back, but probably at night and probably with more people… and not sit outside.

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How to Make Tamales, Part II

March 8th, 2005 · 5 Comments

Riques

Continuing on from the last post, the next step in making tamales is to put the filling into the corn husk. Above Rique is demonstrating the technique.

What you want to do is smear a thin coating of the tamale dough over the broadest part of the leaf and about 3 inches at the pointed top. Then you spread the filling down the middle of the dough. Here you can see 2 of the 3 flavors we made. On the left is poblano peppers and chihuahua cheese. On the right is tinga, which is shredded chicken cooked with oregano and onions in a chile chipotle-tomato sauce. We also used pork for a filling.

Fillings

Next, overlap the sides of the husk loosely so that the dough can expand and turn up the pointed end of the leaf. Oh, and don’t throw the smaller tortillas away. These should be pulled into strips for tying the tortilla shut.

Ties

Finished Tamale

Next the tamales go into the steamer. We used a big, heavy duty steamer and filled the bottom with water and one penny. Then you put the tray in and stack the tamales bonfire-style on top of it–so, upright with the tie-down flaps upwards. Tamales should be packed firmly, but not too tight because you want to leave room for the dough to expand. After all the tamales are in, cover them with more corn husks. A secret that Enrique showed us was to then put 2 cheap, plastic, shopping bags on the top of that. Then put the lid on tightly and put them on a hot burner. When you hear the penny making noise and jumping around, you know that the water is boiling. At that point turn the burner down and let the pot simmer. Total cooking time is 45 minutes.

This is when we all took a break and ate beans, rice, chips, guacamole, pico de gallo, tinga, and corn tortillas for lunch.

lunch

To test the tamales to see if they’re done, take one out from the center and one from the side. When you open the husks the dough will smooth and spongy and will come away easily from the husk.

Done

That’s it. So, next time you have 3 – 4 hours to spare you can whip up a batch of tamales for your family and friends. Everyone in the class took home tamales and Rique served the tinga tamale leftovers in the restaurant.

Here are the members of the alumni group – Tess, Amy, Laverne, and Carrie. There were about 4 other people who were friends of the alumni members who also attended the class.

Alumni

And here I was waiting for the bus on Sheridan/Argyle when some girls ran by jumping rope. You can see Rique’s in the background. Overall the day was fun, the class was inexpensive so I’d recommend it to anyone, and Rique’s food is great, authentic Mexican. If you’re ever in the neighborhood you should stop by. Or make a special trip, it’s worth it!

Waiting at the bus stop

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How to Make Tamales, Part I

March 7th, 2005 · 2 Comments

Riques

Amy invited me to go with her alumni group to learn how to make tamales on Sunday. It’s a long process and I doubt I’d ever do it at home, but it was definately a fun time. We learned from the chef and owner of Rique’s Regional Mexican Food in Uptown, Enrique Cortes. He’s so cute and funny and laid back. He taught us not only how to make tamales but also about food from different regions of Mexico, the importance of fresh, quality ingredients and preparing food as it’s ordered, and how to make friends with lard. That’s right, LARD! Today I’ll post the first of the photos. Tune in tomorrow for the remaining batch!

The first thing you need to make some tamales is some good masa, or dough. Rique recommends the El Milagro brand of masa. It tastes good and you don’t have to make it from scratch. El Milagro is made locally in Chicago, goes for $5/bucket, and will make about 30 tamales/bucket. Also, it can be frozen and used later. . so it’s very inexpensive and versatile, as well as tasting good.

Masa

Dump the dough out of the container and play with it for a while. Just keep kneading it. Rique added a little bit of oil to ours. And we just kept working with the masa.

Play with the Masa

You’re working air into the masa. The dough is ready when you take a small piece of it and drop it into a glass of water and it floats. If it sinks you have to keep working on it more.

Masa Floats

While some of us worked with the masa, others started soaking corn husks. There isn’t any sort of husk that Rique recommends, just whatever is available at the market. Most husks that are sold in The US are already trimmed, flattened and ready for use. The husks should be soaked for about 20 – 30 minutes. Then they should be removed from the water and patted dry with a napkin.

Soak Husks

While all this is going on, Rique gave us a short lecture about how we should dispel any negative notions we have about lard and we should embrace it. It’s not the most healthy thing, but it’s better than butter and it makes things taste good. Later on during lunch we all admit that we still are weary of lard and one person even admits that she once broke up with a guy because his family cooked with it!

Rique's Lard Lesson

All the while we were working we had snacks. Fresh tortillas with guacamole, black beans, and ceviche made with shrimp, fish, and octopus.

snacks

Come back tomorrow for the exciting conclusion on how to make tamales!

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Homemade Tamales

February 2nd, 2005 · 11 Comments

Homemade Tamales

When I lived in San Diego there was a Mexican woman who would come around our office complex selling all different kinds of tamales. Everyone would freak out and buy them up and eat them for lunch for the next several days. We called her The Tamale Lady. When someone saw her in the hallway or the courtyard they’d run around yelling “The Tamale Lady, The Tamale Lady” and everyone would get their money out and wait for her to come into our suite. That was 2000 – 2001 and probably the last time I had a really good tamale. Until tonight.

Carolina took orders from our department last week and over the weekend she went and fetched a bunch of tamales for us. I don’t know where she got them, she said they were from her Tamale Lady. I got 6 chicken and 6 beef and tonight we stuffed ourselves.

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