August 2010 – Page 2

QingDao: Beer in a Bag

August 15, 2010 mmm-yoso China, QingDao, Travel

After a wonderful dinner on our last evening in Qingdao, we caught the bus back to our hotel room. Entering the bus, both the Missus and I took a whiff while walking past the bus driver. Our driver on our last ride on this route smelled strangely of Qingdao's most famous export, if you know what I mean. He was also driving in flip-flops, which made the entire ride surreal. Heading back to our room, the Missus wanted me to get my "beer in a bag", but we really didn't know where to start. There are literally hundreds of tiny restaurants with stacks of kegs upfront, perhaps they are all pretty much the same; but which one to choose?

The Missus decided to ask a gentleman walking past us down the street. The Missus quickly picked up his QingDao accent, thus making him local, and with that comes some "cred". He told the Missus to follow him, he'd show us where he gets his Tsingtao in a bag every night on the way home from work. He was on his way there anyway……

Which is how Iwe finally got Tsingtao in a bag. The Missus asked for just enough for two cups.

If I recall this was about 50 cents US, and it wasn't like Bia Hoi, but really Tsingtao. This tasted much lighter, more effervescent, and I guess the word would be "fresher" than the bottled stuff. There was almost a faint sweetness to it. Finally, beer in a bag……. now things felt complete.

On our way back to our room, we spied the gentleman who guided us to our Vacation 2010 01 1485 beer in a bag. He was sitting at a table, beer bag hanging from a nail pounded into its side. He was also waving us to him…… Curious we walked toward him. As we approached, he started clearing his table….. it turns out he wanted us to join him for dinner! Qingdao sure had grown on me…… I was really going to miss this city.

I do have one more QingDao post, I hope to have it done this week. Thanks for reading!

The Farmers’ Market Bag from Specialty Produce..and the first meals.

August 13, 2010 Cathy Cooking, Farmer's Markets/Night Market, What Cathy Eats!

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. Today's episode is written by Cathy. Kirk and ed(from Yuma) are researching future posts.

Hi. This is an unplanned cooking episode/$5 Friday of our blog. Let me explain. Here is a link to the website: SpecialtyProduce.com It's in an obscure part of town, close to the airport. Once you find it, park on the street and walk down near the railroad tracks to the side of the building and up some stairs and go inside the warehouse loading dock (there are footprints painted on the floor). There are racks of kind of fancy and bulk fancy groceries (salts, oils, noodles) and a desk where you check in (and sign a waiver if it is your first time visiting) and then you can walk into the refrigerators and see many many other products. Some are sold by the case and some by the package. There are microgreens and wraps and eggs and Dulcinia cantaloupes and watermelons and stuff that normally restaurants use (cases of squash blossoms, 5 lb bags of mixed lettuces, gallons of heavy/whipping cream). There are no prices marked, but you can ask and compared to other places, the prices are really good for the quality. The cash drawer closes at 4 but the building is open until 6 p.m. daily, when I have seen restaurant owners and chefs coming in to buy stuff for their kitchen.

You can also do what I have started doing, ordering the Farmers' Market Bag (look at the top left corner on the site). You place an order for a bag by Sunday at Midnight and then pick up the bag on Thursday or Friday. You don't know what is in the bag until you pick it up (or see a video of it, posted online about 6 p.m. Wednesday Here is a link to the SP videos of prior Farmers' Market Bags ) (Or click onto the 'Past Boxes' link). The bag is $20, different each week and includes fruits and vegetables from about 12 farms in Southern California. I believe in buying and consuming fresh/local/California products when I can, without having the obligation of joining a CSA , which has waiting lists, membership fees and sometimes gives you pounds and pounds of vegetables you get tired of eating and are basically inflexible with ordering weekly (i.e., you can't skip a box). Plus there are a few variables to the SP bag which you can order (like 2 lbs of fresh seafood from Catalina Offshore for $12, again,not knowing what you will get or a special bread or baguette from Bread on Market, chocolates from Chuao Chocolatier, Jackie's Jams, Peerless Coffee or some California cheese). So, anyhow, this week's bag:
From the top left- two ears of white corn from Gloria Tamai Farms; four Lipstick peppers from Beylik Farms; five Heirloom tomatoes from Coastal Organics; Freckles lettuce form Coleman Farms; sage, rosemary and thyme from Rutiz Farms; a pound of mixed Pee Wee fingerling potatoes from Weiser Farms…but, there is more
From the top left: another pound of all white fingerlings (a bit larger than the Pee Wees) from Weiser Farms; the optional seafood- this week two pounds of skinless ocean whitefish fillets from Catalina Offshore , one of a handful of places I buy seafood anymore; two New Jersey Apples from Windrose Farms; two Goldmine nectarines and a White peach from Fitzgerald Farms; about a pound of Summer Muscat grapes from Murray family Farms and six Cippolini onions from McGrath Farms. So, $32. (The bag is $20 and the optional seafood is $12)and I am going to make three preparations of the fish (one fish fillet per prep, but some will turn into two meals).
Right now it is very hot out. I am going to make "packets" in foil to cook on the grill. For my lunch.
I took the largest fingerlings, tossed in olive oil and tore the leaves off of one of the sprigs of rosemary. I sealed the packet and put it on the grill to begin cooking while I prepared the fish. Pretty much steam from the oil will do the cooking.
The Whitefish is so very fresh that I just want to taste it and not other flavors, so I coated it with olive oil and some dry slightly seasoned breadcrumbs. (I dry leftover pieces of bread and put some Herbes de Provence in the container once I crush the dry bread). Fold the foil tight- again, steam will cook the fish.
Here are both packets on the center grill. The potatoes were on about 8 minutes before I put the fish packet in the center. I turned the heat on high on the two sides of the grill; there is no direct heat under the packets. It is kind of just an oven, without turning on the one inside my non-air conditioned home.
The potatoes are done when you can easily poke a fork.
The fish is done when just translucent. That bottom left end of the photo above shows the fish needing less than a minute more of heat/steam; I re-sealed the foil so the steam cooked it the rest of the way. The fish was on the grill for about 6 minutes; so the potatoes went for about 14 minutes.
I made a salad with about half the head of the Freckles lettuce, a Lipstick pepper and one heirloom tomato, topped with olive oil and balsamic. The tomatoes are so very sweet, the red pepper is pretty much a red pepper and the lettuce has the texture of Romaine but is more delicate tasting, like a red leaf lettuce.
The potatoes still got cooked to a lovely brown crispiness on the bottom, taste so perfectly sweet and the fish just needed the six minutes on the grill. The fish was so perfectly sweet in flavor. I hope the rest of the fillet will be there for The Mister's dinner…
I chopped one of the New Jersey apples -grown in Paso Robles, but never seen anywhere but from Specialty Produce- and put it in a bowl with some grapes and had some coffee for dessert. The apples have the most wonderful strawberry undertone scent and in the flavor…they are different and tart and I like tart apples. They are also a bit softer in texture than a MacIntosh, my favorite. The Summer Muscat grapes are sweet, with a softness in texture. A pleasant grape. The two fruits did not really compliment each other and each could have stood on its own, but I don't want to finish anything without The Mister tasting it.
The Mister got home late Thursday night and everything needed to be reheated, so I took the already cooked fish, topped it with sliced Heirloom tomatoes and some Parmesan and put it under the broiler, just to get the cheese melted, sliced and sauteed the leftover potatoes with some of the red pepper and made a half assed omelete(i.e., an egg pancake instead of the proper fluffy goodness with crispy crust that is an omelette) and filled it with some fresh Mozzarella and sauteed Swiss chard bought on sale, from Henry's, this week. A fresh, filling and tasty dinner.

Specialty Produce is open 7 days a week, so you can drop by on the weekend to see what they have and just enjoy what they have to sell and sign up for a Farmers' Market Bag online by Sunday night. It is always an adventure. A very fresh adventure.

Specialty Produce 1929 Hancock Street San Diego 92110 (easiest way to get there is to be on San Diego Avenue, which goes through Old Town all the way to Washington and then go under the I-5 on Noelle Street. Then right on Hancock. It's on the left (West) side of the street.) 619-295-3172 Open 7 days. 8 a.m.-6 p.m.

Spicy House a first look

August 12, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese Restaurants

*** Another post on Spicy House can be found here.

I mentioned that Shanghai City was gone in this post. A few days later the sign went up announcing "Spicy House". Of course being the good Chinese Restaurant they were schedule to open on 08/08. I was told by several sources that this place was run by the group that owns Spicy City. For some reason, I've never been enamored with Spicy City, but thought we should give this place a try.

The interior has been freshened up slightly…….

And like most of these types of restaurants, there's a selection of cold dishes on display. The interesting thing, was there was one item that gave signal that there was something more then the signature Sichuan-Yunnan Spicy City thing going on here.

And one look at the menu verified what we thought.

We had spied what looked like Hunan Suan Dou (pickled green beans) as one of the cold dishes.

After a brief discussion with the Server, the Missus found out that they have three chefs working here. They've retained the original Shanghainese Chef, which is why I saw several of the old Shanghai City menus, and have brought on a Sichuan Chef, and a Hunan Chef. Now this sounded interesting, but I was still not sold……. and especially after having a selection of the cold dishes.

The Fuqi Feipian was too tough, and lacked Sichuan Peppercorn. The pig's ear was also lacking in flavor. The Kaufu, wheat gluten was too chewy, not melt in the mouth soft as, say what they serve at Tianjin Bistro.

The pickled long beans were also disappointing; salty, but lacking that true pickled flavor. Earlier in the week, I tried to explain the difference between salty and briney to someone…. and these were a pretty good example.

We were ready to be underwhelmed when our Dried String Beans with Duck($10.99) arrived.

Man, this smelled good! It was a sort of hybrid Sichuan/Hunan dish. The dried green beans, sliced into tiny pieces, almost like a brunoise, were nice savory surprises. Three different types of chilies were used, and the orange/red peppers we enjoy with many Hunan dishes added a nice, fruity sweetness. The addition of minced ginger, slices of garlic, and peanuts, meant that every bite would have a different flavor. The duck was typical of Hunan/Sichuan dishes; it was less meaty, more chewy, with a mild gamey flavor. Not too many seeds as is typical with Hunan dishes, but there were a few there. Not quite Hunan Chilli King, but not bad.

There were a couple of things that surprised us about the Crisp Fish with Pepper ($10.99):

First was the portion size, it was huge. This was all fish, there wasn't anything in the middle or bottom to "prop up" the food. Second, we noticed this was eel! We found out later that it was supposed to be Crispy Fried Eel with Chilies on the menu, but there was some mix-up. Third was the distinct smell of one of my favorite seasonings hitting me when the dish arrived….. the smell of cumin. And yet, the flavor of cumin was in the background…. I think it was added to the batter. Though the middle pieces were on the greasier side, the pieces of fish on the outside were nice and crisp. I'd say this was a pseudo-Sichuan dish, as there were Sichuan Peppercorns present, though not in large quantities. An interesting note was, even though this dish looks aggressively flavored, you could still make out the taste of the sesame seeds that topped the dish. The Missus, who loves Chinese Eel dishes, thought this was good. Strangely, I thought the dish could have used more salt!

The dishes we had shows enough promise…. i think we'll be back to try more in the future. The service was adequate…. though on a very hot day, they seemed to not want to turn on the A/C which made me do a "double sweat"…. one from the chilies, the other from the heat! The portion sizes were generous, and the prices pretty good. We were sad to see Shanghai City go, but this place shows some promise.

Spicy House
3860 Convoy Street #105
San Diego, CA 92111

Dinner with Friends – Sushi Yaro

August 11, 2010 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Sushi and Sashimi, What Howie Eats - Where the Foodie from Foodieview Eats

**** Sushi Yaro has closed

Since Sushi Yaro officially opened on July 1st, I've been visiting at least once a week. I kinda hesitated in doing a post, since I've now known Sam for almost ten years. I really didn't want to seem to be "shill"…. but Sam has served up some great meals over the years, not only to me, but to other FOYs as well. But much like your favorite watering hole, the relationship between a regular customer, and his Itamae is a very close one. Sam seems to have settled into Sushi Yaro, and the place is starting to have that neighborhood feel Sammy Sushi had. It does seem like the customers are focused on the "world of rolls", but Sam always seems to have something for me……

And once he got his kitchen guy back from a stint at Sakura, the kitchen food started getting better as well.

No, it isn't Ota or Kaito….. but I can't really afford to eat there three times a week. At Yaro, on a weeknight I can relax, have some sushi or sashimi, and maybe some Kubota Manju or Otokoyama, and the world becomes a better place.

This is one of my favorite cooked dishes at Sushi Yaro:

Shishamo is really great stuff grilled…. but it is the female smelt, especially those laden with eggs that we're after. So what to do with the guys??? I guess Sam decided to batter them, and serve them tempura style. I was a bit surprised at the flavor, there's almost a savory sweetness to this. I had thought that Shishamo was a bit too high in oil to be used for tempura.

And sometimes Sam will have something that surprise me, like the night he broke out some Razor Clams. The kitchen hadn't done a particularly great job with these…. but it was very thoughtful.

So obviously, it was just a matter of time before our "eating club" descended upon Sushi Yaro for dinner. What follows is mostly photos… many of which "my favorite Librarian", Jenne took.

I can't remember the last time I had oyster jun…..

As always, I had a wonderful time with Candice, Howie, and Jenne…. I can't wait until next month!

Sushi Yaro
7905 Engineer Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Geez you can even find them on Twitter.

I hope everyone is having a great week!

Weeknight Grilling: Chao Shao Kao Ji – the Ugly Barbecue (Grilled) Chicken experiment

August 9, 2010 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

On our visit to Beijing, we encountered a dish that we loved. It was called "ugly fish"……. a day later we went to a restaurant that served something very similar, the specialty was called "Wushan Fish"….. it is the stuff of later posts, but I'll give you a preview of the "Ugly Fish":

It is kinda ugly, eh??? But this was among the five best dishes we had during our visit to China, which we'll cover in a future post. My thing was to make this on a weeknight…. and I chose boneless chicken legs as my subject. So this is my first attempt at "Ugly Chicken".

I'll admit that I didn't reach the pinnacle of ugliness….. but even grilling with charcoal, I finished everything within an hour which is what I think weeknight grilling is all about.

So in sequence, this is the blow by blow……I marinated some boneless (but still with skin) chicken legs with a tablespoon of sweet bean paste, some shaosing wine, and two tablespoons of premium soy sauce. I went and got some hardwood charcoal started in my chimney starter…..

And when things got hot enough, I mixed a blend of sea salt, a tablespoon of white sugar, cumin powder, I ground some Sichuan Peppercorn from Sichuan (roasted from from my "stash"), and ground chili, and set out to make the ugliest chicken I could find…….

What came out was some major "Ma – La" (numbing hot) stuff……

Those toasted Sichuan Peppercorns from Chengdu numbed me from my nasion to my chin! Man those peppercorns are really top-notch!

It tasted fantastic with rice……

It was pretty darn good……. which reinforces my belief that you can grill up some pretty good stuff on weeknights…….

Eating on the Hood of Your Car: La Princesita returns to Linda Vista

August 8, 2010 mmm-yoso Food Trucks, Mexican Restaurants, Taco Shops

Last time I checked, the La Princestia Taco truck, a long time staple in the parking lot of Joe's 99 Cent store had lost his "lease" as it were, and had moved on to greener pastures. I read Dennis's post from back in March letting us know that La Princesita was now found out on ECB, in front of one of the Panaderias, and had spotted it myself a couple of days after. That's why I was kinda surprised to see what looked like said taco truck (or perhaps trailer is more appropriate) in the parking lot of 96¢ (ever wonder how to create the "cents" symbol on a keyboard - hold the ALT key, and type in 0162, then release the ALT key) & Up Store on Linda Vista. Fairly excited, I drove by the next evening, and nada…… the following Thursday, it was back…. the next evening, "zip". After that, I just put finding the truck on the back-burner, moving on to other things. Until…. a Friday two weeks ago. I received an email from FOY (Friend of Yoso) "Gustavo", who wrote letting me know the truck was back for good……

I wrote Gustavo back letting him know that I'd check it out the following weekend…… and last night seemed the perfect time. It was kinda strange, the store was closed, so the parking lot looked completely empty except for two vehicles, and of course, true to Gustavo's word, La Princesita!

Being pretty hungry, I went for four tacos ($1.50 each).

From left to right, carne asada, cabeza, lengua, and pescado.

I'd never had the fish taco from La Princesita, and my better judgment told me stick with the "carnes", but I decided to just try it out.

And in all honesty, I've had worse fish tacos…. it was a bit "crema" heavy, and the piece of fish was fairly small, and lost in all the shredded cabbage. But what fish there was tasted decent, but nothing I'd have again.

In my original post on La Princesita I mentioned that the Lengua was my favorite. And it was true on this occasion as well.

Well portioned, the lengua was very tender with a mild gamey beefiness unique to tongue. The texture is fairly slippery, and almost slightly creamy-gelatinous, without creeping into the waxiness of poorly prepared lengua. To be honest, the salsa roja is not really needed, I'm fine with just a touch of cilantro and onions.

The cabeza was just ok.

I like the texture, though I think it could use a bit more "ooomph", in the form of the condensed beefiness of good cabeza. Also, a bit more gelatinous bits are always welcomed. Still, this was not bad.

Of course I had to try the Carne Asada.

There was a time when the carne asada from La Princesita was highly thought of. Somehow, it seems to have fallen on hard times. The meat was tougher than I recalled, and lacked the salty-citrus flavor that I enjoyed in my first couple carne asada tacos from La Princesita. Perhaps this was just a fluke.

I hope it is……

As a whole, the tacos from La Princesita are served on moist double corn tortillas, and the portions are quite generous. It was kinda like seeing an old friend. Both Gustavo, and the gentleman running the trailer told me there were here to stay…. but as Paul McCartney said so well, "in this ever changing world in which we live in….." who knows. I hope they do stick it out at this location.

One thing though….. the sign on the sidewalk says 99¢ Tacos…… all of my tacos cost a $1.50, which in my opinion is a pretty reasonable price. So maybe they should saw off the 99¢ part unless they actually have 99 cent tacos???

La Princesita Taco Truck/Trailer

In the parking lot of the 96¢ and Up Store on Linda Vista Road.

Ryan’s Cafe- breakfast

August 7, 2010 Cathy Breakfast/Brunch, Diner, What Cathy Eats!

Ryan's has closed.

This is mmm-yoso!!!, the blog o' food. Kirk, ed (from Yuma) and Cathy like towrite about their eating adventures here. You like to read about said adventures. Here is a small adventure from Cathy.

Hello. There is this hole in the wall place, Ryan's Cafe, which is frequented by USD students and anyone who notices it. It is on Linda Vista Road, one block east of the Starbucks which is at Morena Boulevard. In the same mall with a taco shop and donut place…We have a soft spot in our hearts for small restaurants near colleges, because those are where The Mister and I went on all of our dates when we were at University, before we married.
The banners advertising the specials get you in, then there are more selections on the board behind the register…
We decided to try one of the breakfast specials:
Bacon, eggs and pancakes, $4.50. Two slices of thin crispy yet flavorful bacon, two fluffy fresh scrambled eggs, excellent pancakes, fluffy and with crispy edges and with a sweetness that did not need syrup.
I was in a no-meat mode and chose the breakfast pita ($5.45). I like the flatbread here- very fresh and thick. The 'pita' bread is topped with a good amount of Provolone cheese, which really gives it flavor, especially when melted (not unlike when you get Provolone on a pizza…another post). The egg is topped with sauteed onions and green peppers and this combination of flavors is just perfect for me.

If you are in the neighborhood, do stop in- breakfast is served all day. So are fresh fruit yogurt smoothies. A good portion of the food is Middle Eastern (Gyros, schawarma, hummus and yogurt based sauces) and there are lots of vegetarian selections and any of the items served on a pita will be a good choice. Students at USD know that Ryan's delivers.

Ryan's Cafe 5201 Linda Vista Road (between Metro and Napa) San Diego 92110 (619) 294-5755

Open 7 a.m. M-F and 8:30 a.m. Sat and Sun Website

Apollonia Greek Bistro- UTC

August 5, 2010 Cathy Blog

Hi this is the mmm-yoso!!! food blog. Postings here are about food consumed by the Posters: Kirk, ed(from Yuma), Cathy and a few others. Today is Cathy's turn in the rotation.

The other day I didn't feel like cooking, yet did feel like eating. I drove West to the La Jolla area, stopped in at Bristol Farms and decided to finally try Apollonia Greek Bistro, a few doors North. I had had some food prepared by Apollonia at a catered event in 2008. The mental note suddenly had appeared.

We decided to try the Mezedakia ($14.49) A two part appetizer platter…
Part one of the appetizer platter, consisting of (the hot) Spanikopita and Bourekia. Both made with fresh herbs, Served warm with crispy not in the slightest soggy dough. Fresh spinach. Fresh ground lamb with onion and seasonings. Really nice.
The cold portion of this appetizer (starting at the top and moving clockwise): Sliced cucumber and sliced pieces of an excellent Feta cheese (not salty), taramosalata (fish row mixed with lemon juice, olivie oil, some vinegar and I think mashed potato), yalandji (grape leaves stuffed with rice, tomato, red pepper, mint, onion and pomegranate molasses)(really good) , olives, fresh hummus (not too garlicy), marinated artichoke hearts and Tzatziki (cucumber yogurt dip). Every item was very fresh and of excellent quality.
Of course this was served with fresh, hot flat bread.
We also shared a bowl of avgolemono ($5.49) and a large Greek salad. ($ 8.59) topped with a side of Gyros meat ($3.39). The traditional egg-lemon-chicken broth soup had both rice and orzo in it and was excellent. The salad parts were very fresh (lettuces, tomato, onion, Feta cheese, o;ives, pepperocini) The dressing was based with a wonderful olive oil and fresh chopped herbs and the side of gyros was substantial and had a wonderful lamb-beef flavor, with a few crisp cooked edges which I liked.

Excellent quality. Really nice. Really good.

Apollonia Greek Bistro 8650 Genessee Avenue, Suite 106 (closer to Bristol Farms in that mall) San Diego 92122 (858) 455-4535 Website [Open Sun-Thurs 11 a.m.-9. p.m. and until 10 p.m. Fri and Sat]

QingDao: Dinner at the Original Family Home

August 3, 2010 mmm-yoso China, Memorable Meals, QingDao, Travel

After picking up our chicken, we headed up the street to the original family home for dinner. This was to be our last evening in QingDao, so having dinner here felt right. This last dinner was to be bittersweet for the Missus…. the home is scheduled to be razed in the near future. It would be the last time She'd be walking up these well worn stairs, up to the flat where She was raised.

Entering the unit, we could hear laughter coming from one of the rooms…. the Missus's Aunts were making Jiaozi.

From the left, it's the Missus's Fifth Aunt, Second Aunt, Sixth Aunt, and Third Aunt.

Meanwhile, Fourth Aunt was busy at work in the kitchen.

Making Jiaozi is a family tradition. When the Missus's Grandmother was alive, every Saturday would be Jiaozi day. The Missus has some wonderful memories of those Saturdays; there was only a half day of school, and in the afternoon, whatever family was in town would get together and make Jiaozi. The Missus told me that Fifth Uncle would always bring a book to these gatherings, but he would never open nor read it…. She could never figure out why. Things changed after Her Grandmother passed on, so this dinner was a special one.

And of course there are snacks……..

The Missus told me that Her job on those Saturdays was to peel and pound garlic in the mortar, a job She hated with a passion. So I thought it was really funny when I slipped out of the room to see what was going on in the kitchen, and I found the Missus doing this.

Old habits die hard, don't they?

I managed a peek at some of the items that were being prepared for dinner.

And I got a preview sample of the Jiaozi……..

When I had heard we'd be having Fish Dumplings, I had a some reservations. I'm not a big fan of fish dumplings… whenever I'd had them here in the states they were mushy, and most times, had an off taste. The fillings in these however were moist, smooth, and tender. I was told that Fifth Aunt had mixed pork into the filling. The wrappers were tender and pillowy, the Missus told me that Fifth Aunt had procured some special flour from friends who plant, harvest, and mill their own wheat.

Here's dinner…..

And I had two whole bowls of Jiaozi…. sooooo good!

My MIL brought over some plates that her mother and father got when they got married all those years ago…..

There a lot of history in this home……..

I sat in the room where the Jiaozi had been made after things had been cleared and cleaned…..

And a feeling of warmth wrapped around me, I could catch a whisper of laughter…. it was as if the room had absorbed so much over the years it had attained a life of its own…….

Weeknight Grilling: Charcoal Grilled Skirt Steak

August 2, 2010 mmm-yoso Cooking, Recipes

This past weekend, we had the pleasure of celebrating a wonderful housewarming party given by two of my favorite folks! Congrats MrC and TammyC, we had a great time. While doing some serious munching TammyC asked me, "how come it seems like you don't cook much anymore?" I had to laugh, and I explained that I've just been doing a lot of the same stir fry, and have made a few dishes that we had in China, but am waiting until after I do my post on China before publishing them. Anyway, I thought I'd do a post on what we had for dinner tonight. The Missus wanted skirt steak, AKA "harami" or "arrachera". You'd be hard pressed to beat the wonderful flavor of grilled skirt steak. You really don't need to do much to it……. and it's pretty quick. Even grilling on charcoal (a combo of hardwood & mesquite), along with a couple of ears of corn, some eggplant, zucchini,sliced onions and green bell peppers, and making a chipotle-tomatillo salsa took only a shade more than an hour total.

This is not a recipe…. I mean, can I call meat plus four ingredients a recipe????

Anyhow, I used Rick Bayless's recipe from his book Authentic Mexican as my source, only adding some Mexican Oregano.

There are just a couple of key points. After grilling, remember to let the meat rest a few minutes to let the juices redistribute. Shirt steak will be a tough cut, unless you slice it across the grain in 1/4" to 1/3" slices. Don't do that, and you might as well eat shoe leather. Skirt steaks are pretty thin so it's over direct heat all the way…..

So what's the recipe???

Not much really. 1 1/2 lb shirt steak, seasoned with sea salt, pepper, and a pinch of crumbled Mexican Oregano. Grilled 'til medium rare.

Really…… that's it!

I'm figuring this'll be good in tortillas, maybe as fajitas, in a sandwich perhaps….. or on top of rice.

And now it gives me no excuse for not grilling on a weeknight. Heck, if I had a gas grill, it would be even quicker…..