game day, 10/13/08

Mike Waggaman and I have tradition of eating good grub and watching sporting events. I do the cooking and Mike hosts and takes care of the drinks. It's called "Game Day." In the past we've eaten wagyu burgers, roasted chicken, pan-fried fish, Portugese stew, and many other hearty dishes. This time around, we grubbed soft tacos with skirt steak, chipotle salsa, tomatillo-jalepeno salsa, refried beans, and Mexican rice. We washed it down with a cascade of Pacificos.




I generally drink Latin beers and, in this case, light, refreshing Pacifico is a perfect match for the carne asada tacos and spicy salas.








Broiling skirt steak. I love skirt steak because it has so much flavor. The steaks were marinated in minced onions and garlic plus ground cumin, coriander, paprika, cayenne for 24 hours. Grilling is the best, but we're in Chinatown and that's not an option. Besides, any direct heat technique that give some char works for skirt steak. Make sure to slice against grain!








Some serious grub.
To make the tomatillo salsa:
- Husk and wash 8 tomatillos
- Stem, wash, and split 4 jalapenos, lengthwise.
- Peel, slice 1/4 onion.
- Season tomatillos, jalepenos, and onion with salt and EVO.
- Wrap in aluminum foil and roast/steam in a 450 degree oven for 45 minutes.
- Puree the everything, plus a handful of washed cilantro, in a food processor

To make the chipole salsa:
- Wash 1 container of grape tomatoes. Season with salt and EVO and roast in a saute pan in a 450 degree oven for 45 minutes with on can of chipotle peppers.
- Puree in a food processor.

Taco garnish:
- chopped lettuce
- avocado
- lime





Grinding.






















Doing damage.









Jock is the new hipster.