Let's Dish - June 2024 🌮

If you've talked to me in the library, you know that I am a huge fan of movies and TV. Something else I'm very passionate about (and need to make an excuse to do more) is cooking & baking. I love trying new foods and recipes and sharing that with loved ones. With this blog series, you get to come along for the ride. So, let's dish!

With how busy summer gets, this month, I only made one recipe instead of multiple. And with that I decided to go a little easier and a little more difficult. I'll explain:

A few months ago, my coworker Susan gifted me with a tortilla press and pan that she wanted to get rid of. Taking them on seemed like a no-brainer. I love thrifted things and cooking. For this month, I picked the book "Chicano Eats" by Esteban Castillo. There isn't a recipe in the book for tortillas (unfortunately), but there are definitely recipes using them.

To start with my tortillas quick: they can use some work. They weren't bad for my first try. Just a little thick for a tortilla. Thickness wise, it was closer to a flatbread like naan or pita. I'm going to have to experiment some as I'm not sure if this was the recipe I used or if it was user error. I made sure to really press each tortilla out on the press and even left them in the press while cooking another tortilla. It could've been leaving it to rest longer than the recommended 10 minutes. For me, this is just part of the cooking process, learning by trial and error. Again, the tortillas weren't bad. They tasted great, but I did struggle with keeping them wrapped around the filling while frying.

The book starts out with a little bit about Esteban. How he grew up in the earlier years of his life between Mexico and the United States, memories of the kitchen before he learned to cook, his trip back to Mexico to visit his grandpa, wanting to learn to cook his favorite childhood meals to impress his partner, and how his blog that inspired the book started. The blog was meant to be a way to document recipes along with sharing his personal perspective of the world as a queer Chicano (Mexican-American man).

Like many cookbooks that showcase a particular cuisine, it starts with basics needed in the kitchen. There are pages for quesos, chiles, tortillas, herbs and spices, and tools and resources. The first section of recipes feature salsas and other essentials to build meals and recipes from. Other sections include Snacks and Appetizers (Botanas), Tacos and Sandwiches (Tacos y Tortas), Main Dishes (Platillos Fuertes), Desserts (Postres), and Drinks (Bebidas).

With my homemade tortillas, I decided to make the Flautas de Rajas con Queso (cheese and poblano pepper flautas). I love poblanos and cheese, plus it seemed quick and easy to make. One thing I changed up was leaving out the mushrooms since I'm not a fan. To add back into the filling a bit, I used a whole onion instead of half and didn't use onion as a topping. I also left off serrano from the toppings and bought a guacamole salsa instead of making my own. But, as I anticipated, they were incredibly easy to make (and would've been more so with proper tortillas). Essentially, you quickly cook the poblano and onion (plus mushroom if used). Once cooked, remove from heat and set aside. Assemble the flautas with the filling and panela cheese then shallow fry. Mine ended up with more of the consistency of a chalupa but were still very tasty. I can see myself making these again in the future when I don't want to deal with much cooking.

Other recipes I'd like to try in the future are: Carnitas Poutine, Mezcal BBQ Sliders with Jicama Slaw, Mi Abuelita's Tacos de Papa, Tacos de Carnitas, and Sopes. I really loved the bright, fun photography that showed off the delicious food throughout. Most recipes didn't look too intimidating, and everything seemed like a nice blend of traditional Mexican switched up just a little bit. I can see other fans of Mexican food loving this book as well.