Nothing like the weekend to break out the new Christmas gadgetry. Today we made beef tacos with homemade tortillas on the new cast iron griddle with refried beans and
rice. For dessert I made banana ice cream. I love tacos and there is something so good about making the tortillas from scratch. We use Robert Rodriguez’s recipe from the Sin City DVD. I’m not a huge fan of the industrialized trash that is sold in the stores, so the work involved in making tortillas is definitely worth it. The filling is organic ground beef, cumin, chipotle chili powder, garlic, onion, sea salt, pepper, a bit of mole, and a little Roja sauce – something I had in the pantry. The refried beans recipe can be found over at Simply Recipes. I used lard (for the beans and the tortillas). I think lard lends a richness that is lost when other fats or fat substitutes are used. Aside from the 2 1/2 hour cooking time, refried beans are a simple dish to make – no reason to buy the canned stuff any more.
The banana ice cream was my first frozen treat experiment. I used an Alton Brown recipe since I tend to think his recipes are usually right on the money. This particular one, though, called for corn syrup, which I thought was suspect. It turned out fine, but was too airy and syrupy. Next time I think I’ll use a more traditional recipe with egg yolks to see if I can get better density.
Tonight’s beer was an Italian Belgian pale ale called Super Baladin. Super, indeed – this beer is easily the best Italian beer I’ve had and is quite good as a Belgian pale ale. Sweet, fruity, spicy – all things a Belgian should be. I received a bottle for Christmas and hope to find more somewhere. There is also a Super Baladin Sour edition. I enjoy sours, so finding the sour edition would be nice. I have a bottle of Rodenbach Grand Cru in the fridge for New Years. I can’t wait to crack that baby open.
