Pulled Chicken Tacos

I made some pizzas last week and had some left over pulled chicken from Trader Joes.  Usually I would make my own pulled chicken and my own BBQ sauce but I was tired and exhausted from a long week and figured I'd give this BBQ Pulled Chicken a shot.  I was really happy I did, it was tasty, spicy, smokey but not too sweet.  Perfect!  Like I said, I made pizzas last week and they turned out really well, post on that later but for now I used leftovers to make these tacos and it was truly a magical moment.

Pulled Chicken Tacos:

Leftover Pulled Chicken in BBQ Sauce from Trader Joes

shredded cheese - I used smoked Gouda

thinly sliced red onion or shallots

cilantro

pea shoots (left over but you can use cabbage or any other green you want)

lime zest and juice

corn tortillas

Spoon pulled chicken mixture onto a few corn tortillas, top with some cheese, put in the microwave for 45 seconds or so.  Top with the onion, cilantro lime zest, any greens you desire.  Roll into taco form and chomp down on, chew, swallow, repeat.  Nom, nom, nom.

I loved them so much I ate 3 tacos.  Usually I cap it at two, but I couldn't resist one more.

Baked Beans

I am not from the South, nor did I ever really grow up on Southern Comfort Food.  However, living in San Francisco, your repitoire gets drastically expanded with every new restaurant or food truck opening.   This whole Southern kick started awhile back when I made my Pulled Pork Sliders, an equally delicious and laborious dish.  I have been thinking I should make it again but didn't want to put in the whole effort on a weeknight.  I calculated how long it would take to make BBQ ribs with all the fixings on the side and decided that would be put on hold for a warm Saturday afternoon with friend.  I did realize however, that I could make some of the "fixins" on the side and to hold off my BBQ fix for a bit.  Baked Beans and Coleslaw seemed like the perfect easy weeknight meal I could tackle in 30 minutes after I got home at 8pm from working out.

So here goes, I will be the first to admit that my recipe is not a standard recipe, it has out of all things Pancetta in it (to be fair I wanted to use bacon but TJ's was out of it).  The beans are actually Baked Beans from Trader Joes in which I doctored up, very unprofessional Amy.

Baked Beans:
tiny splash of peanut oil
2 ounces of cubed pancetta (half the box that TJ's had)
1/2 sweet onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 jalapeno, minced
1 can of Trader Joes Organic Baked Beans
1 heaping tsp chipotle sauce or 1 chipotle minced
splash of water
salt and pepper
2 scallions, chopped

In a sauce pan, heat the little amount of oil and add the pancetta, brown to render the fat.  Remove with a slotted spoon.

Add the onion, garlic and jalapeno and sweat on medium heat.  Season with a bit of salt and pepper. 

Add the beans into the pan with all the sauce, add the chipotle and a splash of water.  Add back in the pancetta and let reduce on low to medium low heat for 7-10 minutes and taste for seasoning.  Garnish with the scallions and cilantro if you have it.

Lamb Tacos

This weekend my parents came up to the City for a BBQ. We made enough food for 17 families but devoured a ton of it ourselves. We made a boneless lamb leg, butterflied and marinated in garlic, rosemary, orange and lemon zest, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and a ton of olive oil. It was delicious and I snagged myself some for leftovers. I decided I wanted to make a taco/fajita with the lamb for dinner tonight, it was really tasty. I pickled some onions and added a few condiments and it actually was one really delicious meal.

Lamb "Tacos"

slices of warm lamb

pickled red onion - see below

cucumber slices

sun dried tomatoes

shredded cabbage

crumbled feta cheese

Tzatziki sauce - see below

corn tortillas

Tzatziki Sauce - My Way:
1 small package of Nonfat Fage Greek Yogurt
1/2 tsp salt and pepper
2 cloves of garlic, minced
juice of 1/2 large lemon, maybe more depending on how thick you want your sauce
splash of orange juice or a touch of orange zest
8 mint leaves, minced
3 chives, minced
1/2 tsp garlic powder

Combine all in a bowl and drizzle over tacos at the end. Top with Feta Cheese. This can also be used as a dressing for cucumber slices.

Pickled Red Onion:

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup vinegar (I also added a splash of red wine vinegar)
3 tbsp white sugar
2 bay leaves
5 whole peppercorns
5 allspice berries
5 whole cloves
1 tsp salt
1 tsp coriander
6 celery seeds
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes or 1 dried chili
1 garlic clove, smashed

In a sauce pan, bring everything but the onion to a boil and make sure the sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat to low and add the sliced onion. Cook for 20-30 minutes, depending on how crunchy you want your onions. Let cool and serve with the lamb tacos. Store in a metal jar, with the pickling juice, in the fridge and it can last for months.

Curry Marinated Shrimp

I had a BBQ last week with some friends and neighbors. We had a fantastic combination of young and old, neighbors and out of towners, new friends and new boyfriends, it was a great time, ICE included. I made sliders and this amazing marinated Shrimp with Coconut Milk and Curry Paste (I used Red Curry Paste but have tried it with Green as well and it tastes just as good). If you're ok with pealing the shrimp after it cooks with messy fingers I recommend you cook the shrimp with the peals on, the flavor is much stronger, but messier.

Coconut Curry Marinated Shrimp:
1 pound of large shrimp
1 can of light coconut milk (TJ's has a great one)
1/2 stick of lemongrass (optional)
1/2 jalapeno, chopped
1 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
1 handful of cilantro
1 scallion, chopped
zest AND juice of 2 limes
2 tbsp red curry paste
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp coriander
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp fish sauce (found in any Asian grocery store)
1 tbsp canola oil

Combine all ingredients in a zip lock bag and let marinate for 30 minutes to an hour (don't let sit longer than an hour or the shrimp will start to cook from the acid in the lime).

Place shrimp on a hot grill for a few minutes on each side, they will start to curl up when they are done cooking. Serve immediately with chopped cilantro and scallions.

Birthday Fajitas

So my boyfriends birthday was awhile ago, but I promised him that I'd make him dinner and his favorite dessert, Carrot Cake. When it finally came time to pay out my birthday labor, he craved Fajitas. I created this marinade from many a trials but it has a nice combination of sweet, spicy and savory. I use flank steak because it cooks/grills up very quickly and maintains it's flavor and moisture extremely easily. Marinate the meat for at least an hour to really infuse the beef with the spices if you can.

Fajita Marinade:
1 flank steak
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 an onion, chopped
1/2 jalapeno, chopped
1 handful of cilantro
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp ancho chili powder (found in random stores/Mexican food specialty stores)
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp coriander
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp soy sauce
juice of 1 orange
juice of 1 - 2 limes
2 tbsp tequila
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp canola oil

Combing all ingredients in a zip lock bag and massage meat. Let marinate for at least an hour, if you can hold off...wait a day, the flavor develops greatly.

Preheat a grill to high, sear on one side for 7 minutes, then flip and cook on the other side for 5-10 minutes, till medium rare. Let meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing in thin pieces against the grain. Serve with sauteed peppers and onions, cheese, avocado, cilantro, scallions and salsa on a whole wheat tortilla.