Friday, February 13, 2009

Ay! Que Pica!!!

The other evening we got together with another couple for a homemade Mexican dinner.  

I was super-excited as I have have not had good, authentic Mexican tacos since we moved to Pittsburgh from Atlanta!  I have had fish tacos a few times, and I never was a big fan, but these were fantastic.  Chuy told us that is was all in the combination of salsas--he is so right!

First, we had salmon tacos:

Small, corn tortillas were heated up and folded in half with soft cheese.  They used mozzarella, but any "queso blanco" will do.  

The salmon was cut into bite-sized pieces and fried in a little bit of olive oil, then stuffed in the taco.

Finally, it was topped with a sweet salsa called "Chipotle con Miel".  ricisimo!


Next, we tried the ceviche tacos:

I have always been intimidated by ceviche, and only order it in restaurants.  However, it was fantastic and seems pretty simple to make.

You take a mild, white fish (they used tilapia) and cut it into small, bite sized pieces.  Put the pieces into a raised dish and cover the pieces with lemon juice.  Leave it in the fridge overnight.

The next morning, add chopped onion, garlic, and spices like freshly chopped cilantro.

Again, the trick was in how you put together the taco.

Here, we used a crispy round taco, topped with guacamole, then the ceviche, and finally a salsa cruda like pico del gallo.  mmmmmm!

After dinner, all was calm:  the adults were talking (the men sipping "Caballo de La Hacienda" tequila), the babies were sleeping and Victor was playing with their daughter Vale....or so we thought!

We looked up and Victor had somehow reached up to the table, grabbed the bowl of salsa picante and a spoon and was now downing it like a soup!  We noticed just as the jalepenos were taking affect....and the screaming began.  Poor little guy--he didn't want to be left out of the feast!  I just hope that his Mexican food experience will be better next time!

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