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If there is one restaurant you will never find in Mexico, it is Taco Bell. There have been two attempts to open franchises in Mexico, and both attempts have failed. The reason for this is that nothing in Taco Bell’s menu resembles Mexican Food. Even though you will see that a Taco Bell has menu many choices, it is usually the same prepared ground meat as the main ingredient. The difference in the menu items is the meat enclosure that can be a hard corn shell, a soft flour tortilla, or a corn basket.

Taco Bell Tostadas

The first time I took my family to Taco Bell I told them not to think about tacos, but to think about deluxe prepared nachos. With that introduction they knew what to expect and surprisingly they enjoyed the meal. I personally like the prepared ground beef that is the basis for most of Taco Bell’s menu.  Even though I know it is a badly Americanized version of a Mexican dish, the same could be said about fast-food Pizza. If you remember the old chihuahua commercials, you know that “Yo quiero Taco Bell.”  After several experiments to find a decent substitute recipe for the ground beef I came with the following. Notice that in the picture I used tostadas which are the same thing as taco shells but flat.

For the Prepared Ground Beef

1 Lb Ground Beef
1/4 Cup Flour
1/2 Tablespoon Chili Powder
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
1 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon of Onion Powder
1/4 teaspoon of Garlic Powder
1/2 Cup of water.

Mix the ground beef, flour, chili powder, paprika, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder in a bowl. Let the mixture rest for 5 minutes. In a large frying pan, add the meat and the water. Cook over medium heat until the ground beef is cooked throughly and browned.

For the Fillings and Shells

1/2 Cup Diced Tomatoes
1/2 Cup Diced Onions
1/2 Cup Red Bell Peppers
1 Cup of Lettuce
1 Cup  Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Can of Baked Beans
Sour Cream
Salsa

12 Tostadas or Taco Shells or Soft Tortillas

Scoop the meat into the Taco Shells. Add Tomatoes, Onions, Lettuce, Red Bell Peppers, Beans and Cheddar Cheese according to personal preference. Add a dollop of cream on top. If you want to spice it up add a spoonful of Salsa. You can use tostadas, or soft flour tortillas to make different types of tacos. If you are throwing a party, you can even use nachos chips and make Deluxe Prepared Nachos with the same ingredients.

If you lookup comfort food in the dictionary you will probably see a picture of macaroni and cheese. I have never met a kid that does not like macaroni and cheese. It was a favorite dish of mine when I was young, and it is now a favorite dish of my family. Macaroni and cheese recipes are known to come from Italy since medieval times.  Ever since, they have been a common recipe in most households.

Macaroni and Cheese

Instant macaroni and cheese dishes never tastes as good as a home-made one. Even the ones that come with a ready made cheese sauce instead of cheese powder are really not that good. After searching for a better alternative, I came up with the following recipe.

For macaroni and cheese

8 Cups of Water
1 1/2 Cups Elbow Macaroni
2 Tablespoons of Butter
3/4 Cups Evaporated Milk
1 1/4 Cups Cheddar Cheese
2 Eggs
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper

Add 8 Cups of water and 1 Tablespoon of salt to a medium boiling pot. Once the water reaches a boil, add the elbow macaroni to cook for 7 to 10 minutes according to your desired tenderness. Drain in a heat resistant colander. Rinse the pasta with cold water to stop it from cooking. Keep the pasta in the colander. Melt the butter under low heat in the empty boiling pot. Return the pasta to the pot. Coat pasta with the melted butter. In an mixing bowl, add the eggs, milk, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of pepper. Whisk it throughly. Add it to the pasta mixture. Continue cooking under low heat and gradually add the cheese while stirring. Turn off the heat once you have a creamy sauce. Optional — You can add bits of ham, hotdog sausage, bacon bits to give it a different flavor.

Well it is Sushi Friday again, and we kept with the tradition. As an appetizer we had some miso-shiru soup. We had avocado covered unagi (eel) rolls, spicy tuna roll, and ebi (shrimp) cucumber roll, and sake (salmon) cheese and capers roll. It was very fresh, and it all tasted great.

Unagi Avocado Roll

As some of you want the recipes, it is very hard to explain sushi making in one sitting, so today I will show you how to make Sushi Rice. I hope you come again for another Sushi Friday were I will continue with the Sushi recipes.

Rice is one of the most important ingredients in the world. It is the basic food staple for many countries. In Japan rice is not only a main dish, but it is also used to make rice vinegar, mirin, and sake. The Japanese have several words for rice. It is called okome when it is not cooked. Meshi, or Gohan is the name for rice when it is cooked or when it indicates that rice is the main ingredient of the dish. You can not have an authentic Japanese meal without rice, but most importantly you need rice in order to make Sushi Rolls for Sushi Friday.

Sushi Rice

There is a special preparation that is required to get perfect Sushi Rice. The rice has to have a special texture and consistency so that it holds its shape when it is formed into Sushi rolls. You need to use Short Grain Rice, which is package as Sushi Rice in the supermarket. The package can say Calrose, Blue Rose, or Kokuho Rose which is a sushi rice variety from Northern California. Kokuho Rose is my favorite type of short grain rice, and the only one I use for Sushi.

For Sushi Rice
2 cups of Sushi Rice
2 1/4 cups of water
Sushi Rice seasoning

First of all place the rice in a large bowl. Rinse and scrub the rice with cold water until the water that runs off is crystal clear. It will take four to five washings to remove the cloudy water. This removes the powdered bran and talc that sushi rice is shipped with. Rinse all the water completely. Add the measured amount of 2 1/4 cups of water. Let the rice stand in the water for at least 30 minutes. After the water and sushi have rested, put the ingredients into a steel pot with a tight fitting lid preferably made of glass so you can see through. Turn on the heat to high until the water in the pot is boiling. When you see the bubbles forming in the water reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat. Let the rice stand for an additional 15 minutes. Place the rice on a wooden or glass container. Season with the Sushi Rice Seasoning. Be careful no to add too much seasoning or your rice will turn out gooey and very wet. Fan the rice to dry it out. Cover with a damp cloth.

For the Sushi Rice seasoning
1/2 cup Rice Vinegar
2 1/2 Tablespoons Mirin
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon Dashinomoto

Combine all ingredients in a pan. Place it on low heat till all the ingredients are dissolved. Let it cool. Store in a container in the refrigerator. This recipe will work for several sushi rice preparations. Use 4 Tablespoons of sugar to substitute for Mirin. You can also buy ready made Sushi Rice seasoning.

This salad is a recent invention of mine that combines ingredients of several other salads that I like. It draws its main inspiration from the famous Waldrof Salad. I use three different lettuces to give it variety of color and texture. The romaine lettuce to add to the salad’s crispiness which is further magnified by the apples and the walnuts. Red and green loose-leaf lettuce give the salad some contrast in color, and make it a sweeter, softer flavor that blends perfectly with the honey and the ash covered goat cheese.

Apple Pecan Salad with Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Instead of using grapes, like in the traditional Waldrof salad , I preffer raisins. I also omit the mayonnaise dressing in favor of a Honey Mustard Vinaigrette. To top it all up I sprinkle some chopped walnuts, and ash covered goat cheese to give it some tang. Overall I could say that this salad is a very fresh take on contrasting flavors and textures. It is crisp,soft, tangy and sweet all at once. If there is an ingredient that brings the whole salad together it is the pecans. The pecans server as an earthly flavoring that stands in middle ground to balance the crisp from the soft, and the tangy from the sweet. It is crisp,soft, tangy and sweet all at once.

Per request of my readers, I will post the recipe. If you enjoy it please leave me a comment in the bottom of this post.

For the salad
2 cups of Romain Lettuce
2 cups of Red Loose-Leaf Lettuce
2 cups of Green Loose-Leaf Lettuce
1/3 cup of Raisins
1/4 cup of Pecans
3 Apples
3 0z Soft Goat Cheese (ash covered optional)

Wash and disinfect the three types of lettuce. A good tip is to wash the lettuce in ice cold water to give the salad more crispiness. Rinse off the water. Hand shred the lettuce to bite size pieces and add to a big bowl. Peel and core the apples, and cut them up into 3/4 of an inch pieces. Add the apples to the bowl. Chop the pecans in half or into quarters depending on your preference and add to the bowl. Finally add the raisins to the bowl and toss the salad to mix all the ingredients. Serve into plates. Make sure to have good portions of all the ingredients. Add the goat cheese in small slices to the served plates and drizzle with the honey mustard vinaigrette according to your own taste.

For the Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
1/4 cup of Honey
3 Tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar  (Cider or Red Wine Vinegar can substitute)
1 clove of garlic (optional to taste)
1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
3 Tablespoons of Virgin Olive Oil
1 pinch Kosher Salt
Coarsely ground black pepper (to taste)

Add the honey to a medium size mixing bowl. Add the vinegar and the mustard and whisk until fully integrated. Finely mince the clove of garlic. I would say that the garlic is optional because some people do not enjoy it.  Add the kosher salt and grind some black pepper to the mixture. Whisk it once more. Continue whisking and slowly add the olive oil. You can vary the amount according to the thickness you want for the salad dressing. If you add more oil it will become thinner. If you prefer a thick dressing add less. Same goes for the honey. If you prefer it sweeter add more honey. The final result should be an emulsion that does not separate.

This meat pie  is a variation on a dish my grandmother used to make. It is one loved by all my family. We call it “empanadas árabes.” The variation is that empanadas are usually a single serving small meat pie. I prefer to make a large meat pie which tastes the same and it is easier to serve.

Meat Pie

The filling consists on ground beef being sautéd to golden brown to intensify the flavor, and then cooked over tomatoes, caramelized onions, and white wine. It is the white wine that gives this dish its special taste and aroma. It all goes inside a flaky dough crust and sent in to the oven to bake. Even though it is very hot in the summer to do this kind of baking, the taste of the dish is worth it.

Dedicated to the loving memory of my Grandmother Salma.

There are no other more classical ingredients than those of cheese, bread, and wine.

Emmental Cheese, French Bread, White Wine

All ingredients date back to at least 6000 to 9000 years before christ. Separate them three and they can be a dish on their own right. Combine them and they become the most wonderful fondue. Credit for the creation of the dish is given to the Swiss. It was invented in the 18th century which is almost ten thousand years after we had the main ingredients. Who would have thought it would have taken so many years to combine the main ingredients together.

Swiss Fondue

The silky consistency of the cheese requires a special trick. The mixture of Kirch and Cornstarch must be added in the last stage of cooking in order to prevent separation of the cheese and wine. Failure to do this will result in a lumpy cheese mess. It is traditionally enjoyed by dipping bread in the cheese, but some will dip vegetables, meats, or even fruits. There is a certain etiquette to be followed which requires no double dipping, and no licking of the fondue fork with the tongue or lips.

Fondue on a Stick

I enjoyed this dish with my family today, and it was delicious to say the least. The preparation is very simple and quick. It a great way to give a fancy feast to three of the most common household ingredients on a Sunday afternoon.