Thoughts about a tortilla...

I set up a Facebook group yesterday to let people know when I updated my blog and many of you have already joined and left kind messages and encouraging comments... except you Mary. Mary was bummed that I hyped up the taco's and did not actually give a recipe, so today this one is for you, Mary.

For me a good taco has to start with a good tortilla. My personal tortilla epiphany happened in the mountains of Guatemala in 1991. I was in the middle of nowhere on a missions trip and the local indigenous women made us fresh tortillas over the open fire. They passed us some little balls of dough and tried to teach us how to pat them out with our hands and then openly mocked us as the stupid gringos that we were. That day the scales fell off my eyes and my life changed forever because I tasted manna for the first time and I have been ruined for anything else labeled a "tortilla" ever since.

Nothing else has ever came close but the following recipe is the best that we can hope for (unless you are harbouring a secret harem of indigenous Latin women in your basement to do your evil tortilla bidding.)
Ingredients
1 cup white flour
3/4 cup masa mix (mexican corn flour, available at Latin markets)
1/4 cup brown flour
1 teaspoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter or shortening
3/4 cup hot water

Directions
Mix together dry ingredients. Add shortening and use fork or pastry knife or even the tips of your fingers to work the fat into the dry ingredients until small pea-sized balls form. Gradually add hot water and mix until a stiff ball forms. Gently knead for 3-5 minutes, shape into ball, place in bowl, cover and let rest for 1 hour.
Then pinch off golf ball-sized pieces and roll into balls. Dust with flour, cover and let rest for another hour. When you are ready to cook, roll out into tortilla shape on floured counter with a floured rolling pin. Cook individually on a preheated super-hot cast iron frying pan until bubbles start to show on surface then flip over. (10 - 30 seconds/side) Eat while hot. Have a shot of tequila. Repeat. Listen to Pixies "Surfer Rosa" and continue alternating between fresh tortillas and tequila.

Taco Adventures

Over New Year's we were in San Diego to attend a wedding. Being the culturally sensitive types that we are, we had to search out some amazing tacos. Our friends Craig and Kay Charlotte hooked us up at their favorite place, Taco El Gordo.

Eleanor rockin' the quesadilla

Sophia drunk on taco awesomeness

As you can see from the pictures, Eleanor and Sophia ate their faces off. I decided to walk on the wild side and promptly ordered one heart taco, one brain, and one tripe.
The heart taco was surprisingly plain and boring.
The brain taco was bland and mushy. If you have texture issues, you should definitely steer away from this one.
But the tripe taco was AWESOME. It was a little bit crispy, full of flavor, and every time I bit into it, my tongue did a Mexican Hat Dance. Ole!

So next time that you visit your local taqueria, why don't you grab some cahones, be a man, and chow down on the spicy intestine. Make me proud, y'all.