Let’s get started.

Serves 4

Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 1 1/2 cup of masa harina
• 1 1/2 cup of warm water
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp canola oil
• 1/2 cup of Deli ham, thinly sliced and chopped, per arepa
• 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, per arepa
• Your favorite hot sauce

Begin by adding the masa harina and salt to a small mixing bowl, and mix it around with your fingers. Next add the water, and begin mixing, and kneading until the dough comes together. Continue kneading the dough until it forms a smooth dough, and no longer is sticky. At this point in time you can add a bit more masa harina if it is too sticky, or a bit more water if it is too dry. You basically want to form a medium sized ball that you can flatten down a bit, about a 1/2 inch thick by the width of your palm, approximately 3 inches.

Continue this process until you have formed all of the arepas.

Next, heat a large cast iron skillet on medium heat. The goal is to use a heavy skillet that can retain really good heat. Add the oil and swirl it in the pan. Add the arepas to the heated oil and let them cook for 4 minutes on each side. You want a golden exterior on both sides.

During this time, preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

When the arepas as golden on each side, add them to a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, remove the baking sheet from the oven.

With a sharp knife, make an incision in the side of the arepa, cutting through the arepa, making an opening. The goal is to not slice this all of the way through, just a nice incision that will allow you to stuff them with the ham and cheese.

If you notice the knife is doughy, much like you would see when you pull a knife from cooking a cake or bread, place them back into the oven for another 5 minutes or so.

Next, stuff a bit of the cheese inside of the arepa, then some ham, then more cheese on the top of the ham. Place them back into the oven for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is nice and melted.

When you are ready to serve, plate them, and serve with a simple salad and a nice drizzle of hot sauce.

The end result is nothing but awesomeness. You have a crunchy exterior with a soft interior, the fresh aroma from the masa, and with the melted cheese and ham, well, you know where I’m going.  Give them a shot, and I hope you enjoy.

Note: I also served these with roasted chicken, cheese, and guacamole, but once again the creations are endless as to what you put inside of them.

I took a poll with my Facebook friends and it was determined that I had to make both a Cuban sandwich and some Cuban style tacos.

I have always love taking classics and putting a spin on them, and this idea was no exception to that idea. I wanted those simple, but complex flavors that you would find in taco like carnitas, or pastor, but put a surprise on the plate for my wife. I think I won there as well.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients for Cuban Pork:

• 3 lbs of pork shoulder
• 1 head of garlic, skins removed, smashed
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1 cup of orange juice
• 1 lime, juiced
• 2 tbsp salt
• 1/2 tsp Mexican oregano
• 1 tbsp olive oil

For the pork, mix all of the ingredients, excluding the pork, in a bowl. Take a knife, and create large slits into the pork. Add the pork to a large, sealable plastic bag and dump the marinade into the bag. Massage the pork, seal, and let it marinate for at least four hours. When you are ready to cook, you can throw the pork, and marinade into a slow cooker, or roast in the oven until cooked. Shred with a couple of forks, or bear claws, if you have them.

Ingredients for Cuban Tacos:

• 1 corn tortilla, per taco
• Sliced ham (I used Wisconsin’s finest Sunday boiled ham, thinly sliced)
• Slow roasted pork cooked in mojo (see above)
• Dill pickle slices
• 1 slices of Baby Swiss Cheese, per taco
• Mustard (optional)

Begin by warming the corn tortillas on a preheated skillet, corking for about a minute per side. The goal is to not only bring out that great corn flavor, but you also want to make it nice an pliable.

If you are using mustard, spread about 1/2 tablespoon on the bottom of the tortilla. Top with a few pickles, top with the cooked, shredded Cuban pork, a thin slice of ham, then top with the cheese. Repeat, depending on the amount of tacos.

The result is nothing but spectacular in my opinion, and well, probably the opinion of my wife. It was a Cuban sandwich wrapped up in a familiar corn tortilla! The tortilla added that great flavor to the Cuban taco, and each bite was really very exciting. Unexpected items such as the pickle, made this one a fun taco to eat. I hope you enjoy.

I was excited to say the least. It was if I had found something I had been looking for, for so long. I was even excited for my family as they were going to experience a whole new meal. A whole new take on one of their favorite meals; tacos.

So as I often do when I do not have a busy weekend schedule, I prepare my smoker and prepare some meat to be smoked. Typically a pork shoulder, pork belly, ribs, steaks, sausage, or fish, this one weekend, it was simply a pork shoulder. See I get this idea that when I am done smoking a shoulder that we will eat it over the course of the following few days, and we typically do. So after injecting my four pound pork shoulder that was generously seasoned with salt and pepper, I placed it on my smoker, cracked a beer, and enjoyed the next 30 minutes or so before I placed a few large chunks of soaked cherry wood onto the coals. About 30 minutes later, my smoking drum was being overwhelmed with the the smoke from the cherry wood. The result I was looking for. Roughly 5 hours later, I fed some more hot coals into the smoker, wrapped by shoulder in foil, and proceeded to cook it another 4 hours. When I pulled the shoulder off of the smoker, I let it come to room temperature, then placed in the refrigerator.

I know, I know, you’re probably thinking, ‘What? You did not serve it that day?!’. Nope, I did not. We were going to feast it the following day, after I placed in the slow cooker for another four hours!  I have been doing this now for some time. Smoke large pieces of meat, like shoulders, all day, then the following day placing it in a slow cooker. The result is something extraordinary. The end result is a pork should that has great smoke rings throughout the meat, not overdone by the smoke, and fall apart tender, this one is hard to beat.

Lets get started as we already have the main ingredient done, but the surprise still to come!

Ingredients:

• 4lb pork shoulder, smoked and pulled
• 2 cups of green cabbage, thinly sliced
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1/4 cup of onion, minced
• 1/2 cup of mayonnaise
• splash of cider vinegar
• pinch of sugar
• salt and pepper to taste
• Your favorite barbecue sauce
• Taiwanese Gwa Pao, steamed

Make your simple slaw. If you want to buy store bought, go ahead, but making your own is just too simple. Place your cabbage, carrot, salt and pepper, and mayonnaise into a bowl. Add the vinegar and sugar. Mix well and set aside.

The next step is to take your frozen gwa pao out from the freezer and steam them according to the package. This give you an opportunity to use your steamer as well. If you do not have one, I recommend a bamboo steamer from an oriental grocery store. You have three tiers of steaming, and it is great for making dim sum, plus they are really affordable.!

While the buns are steaming, I take a couple of handfuls of the succulent pulled pork, and add it to a preheated skillet with a bit of oil. I like to lightly crisp up some of the pulled pork, plus my family goes nuts over it. Take your steamed buns out of the steamer and place in a covered vessel, like a tortilla warmer. The goal is to keep them warm.

When we all sat down at the table, the kids did not know what was going on. They asked what was for dinner, and I said tacos. Tacos? They did not see any tortillas, nor cheese, or sliced avocado, cilantro, or onion for that matter. You could see their confusion.

After explaining my idea of a new taco, they were curious, and began piling the pulled pork into the lovely steamed bun. Coleslaw and barbecue sauce were there for the taking, but my kids kept it simple, as they do their tacos. Meat and bun. They loved them! My wife was excited about them as well and gobbled them up, as I did. I made mine with the works, using coleslaw and a beer barbecue sauce.

The result was an experience like no other. It was like we were eating dim sum, and these great tacos were on the menu that the non-asian cook in the back of the kitchen decided to whip up. They were amazing and I still think of them a lot. So go ahead and visit a local oriental grocery store, and take your time to browse around, because it is when you encounter something like the gwa pao, that will allow you to ultimately create something wonderful. Enjoy!

There is just something to be said with that questioning. You know something is just that darn delicious when you almost feel guilty trying to answer it. My quest in making tacos is also creating really vibrant toppings to go with them, and recently I have been fine tuning my red and green salsa, experimenting with a new kind of salsa, and working with other toppings besides my favorite cilantro and diced onion. It was not too long ago, and I often enjoy the fact that people tell me they make my recipes for their parties, that I made a Mexican tinga with pickled red onions. As great as the tinga was, it was the accompaniment of the pickled onions, that in my opinion, made theses tacos shine.

It was the same when I made this Mexican radish salad to go with my shredded mixture of beef and pork tacos.

Ingredients:

• 12 whole radishes, washed and trimmed, thinly sliced
• 1 whole cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup of cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 lime, juiced
• pinch of salt
• pinch of cracked black pepper

Begin by slicing the radishes and cucumbers as thin as possible. I recently purchased, and highly recommend, a mandoline slicer, which allowed me to slice as thin as I wanted. If not, take your time, use your knife skills, and slice the radishes and cucumbers the same. Add these to a mixing bowl, along with the remaining ingredients. Toss well, transfer to a sealable bowl, and place in the refrigerator for at least two hours.

The array of texture and flavor really make these tacos awesome. You get the warmth and great smell of the corn tortillas, the softness and flavor from the shredded meats, and the nice crunch and mild flavors from the radish salad. A salad that is phenomenal on the taco, but can also be enjoyed as a small side salad, much like my mother-n-law enjoyed on a relaxing Saturday afternoon.

However you do your tacos, give this one a try, and I bet you will get plenty of questions from your friends, and more importantly some real satisfaction from them.

I lived in East Dallas for the most part of my stay in Texas, and I am glad I did. It was surrounded by diversity, arts, and everything in between. My friend Adam and I lived in an apartment complex for some time, and it was embedded in a fairly large Hispanic district. We were somewhat on the edge of the troubled area of town, but after all, we were probably all troubled at the time, trying to figure out where we belonged in life, and if we were on the right track in our career.

With that said, there was a restaurant that was across the street, and a true Mexican restaurant. I say that only because the wait staff spoke no English, and the menu was something out of this world. I do not recall a salsa on the table, like you would expect in most Americanized-Mexican restaurants (of which I can no longer tolerate), but I do remember a killer carrot, jalapeno, and cauliflower salad served at the table. At first I was hesitant to even try the stuff. I mean, come on, I expect baskets of chips and salsa when I go to a “Mexican” restaurant. So this was a surprise, and a great one at that, so much that I would go there by myself, make attempts at speaking their language (took nine years of Spanish), and loving this small bowl of pickled vegetables.

Ingredients:

• 6 carrots, skin removed, sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 6 cloves of garlic, rough chop
• 4 fresh jalapeno peppers, stem removed, sliced 1/2 thick
• 1/2 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 3/4 cup white vinegar
• 1 3/4 cup of water
• 7 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp canola oil

Begin by preparing all of your ingredients as this goes fairly quickly. Heat a large skillet on medium, to high heat. Toss in the carrots, jalapenos, garlic, and cauliflower. Stir and cook for about 6 minutes. Add in the salt, pepper, vinegar, and water, and continue to cook, reducing the heat just a bit, for about 15 minutes.

Remove from the heat, add in the bay leaves, mix, and let cool.

Add everything into a bowl, or Tupperware dish, and let this sit overnight, or up to several weeks. When you are ready to serve, spoon out the mixture, removing the bay leaves, and add as a side. Fork the vegetables and eat them. Add a piece or two to a chip. Mix in your rice. You figure it out, because instead of asking for a second basket of chips, you might ask for a refreshing and delicious bowl of veggies.  The coolness, and the pickling of the vegetables will really surprise folks at the table, and let them know that there is more to be served than the regular chips and salsa.

This past week yielded plenty of family get togethers, and I was able to host one of the dinners. As I wanted to do a bit of a theme, and requests came in for Thai food, I had to immediately put a halt on that, and decided to go with Mexican. After all, it was a perfect day for margaritas after a long week at work! So I planned the menu which started with pico de gallo, arroz con gandules, and chimichangas. A masterpiece and a fun one at that.

Instead of going with a standard pico de gallo, I wanted to update it a bit, and this was a perfect time to take advantage of that opportunity. Let’s get started on this fresh, and delicious recipe.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 6 large roma tomatoes, or beefsteak, cut into cubes
• 3 serrano chilies, seeds and ribs removed, chopped
• 6 radishes, thinly sliced then chopped
• 1 cup of fresh corn kernels, lightly steamed
• 1 cup of yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 cup of fresh cilantro, chopped
• juice of one lime, approximately 2 tbsp
• salt and pepper to taste
• Your favorite tortilla chips

To a large bowl, toss in all of the ingredients and mix well. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Place the mixture in your serving dish and serve with your favorite tortilla chips.

You get super fresh ingredients for a really healthy appetizer. This can also be used on tacos, served with crackers, or heck, eaten by the spoonful. Enjoy.

Simple ingredients yielding huge flavors. I have been putting it in everything this week, and I will tell you that if you are warming it up on some of your rice for a quick lunch, or some beans, that your coworkers will turn their heads and say “Wow, that smells good”. It does. Sofrito should become the new condiment. It is that good, and simple to make.

Ingredients:

• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 head of garlic, peeled
• handful of flat leaf parsley
• handful of cilantro
• 2 onions, chopped

Toss everything into a food processor and chop down into a nice sauce. You can use sofrito in most anything, trust me, this is a real winner!

It is often referred to as kalua pig. A pig which is cooked in an underground oven known as an imu, and often covered with hot rocks, and covered in burlap and leaves, along with very hot rocks, and cooked underground. It is something rather amazing.

But lets be honest, we cannot achieve this at home, but what we can do, is achieve a nice smoked flavored pork shoulder that will always bring back memories of your favorite Hawaiian island.  Typically this dish is cooked with ti leaves, however, I preferred not to go this route and simply slow cook the pork, which was rubbed with salt and some liquid smoke.

Ingredients:

• Roughly 4 lbs of pork shoulder, fat trimmed
• 2 1/2 tbsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp liquid smoke
• 1/2 cup of water

Begin by either forking your pork shoulder, making marks throughout the entire pork shoulder, or use a knife and score the shoulder. Rub the entire pork with the kosher salt and liquid smoke.

Place in your slow cooker, add the water, and either on low for eight hours, or on a higher setting for nearly four to five hours. Use two forks, and begin to flake away the pork, as it should be very tender and simply fall apart, or be really easy to shred.

Eat alone, place in a burrito, taco, or serve with your favorite sides.

Simple, easy, and delicious, this is sure to please. Enjoy.

If you have never had frybread, it is a must. Eaten in moderation, this bread is, well, pretty darn amazing. A simple dough, quickly kneaded, and lightly fried turns tacos into a whole new experience. The texture of these tacos reminded me very much of puffy tacos, but with a slightly different texture.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of all purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup of hot water
• Canola oil for frying
• Your favorite taco toppings

Begin by mixing the dry ingredients. Add in your hot water and begin to work the dough. It will come together quickly. Once the dough forms, work it on a lightly floured surface, kneading it for about ten minutes. This is your workout for the day. After kneading the dough for about ten minutes, place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let it sit at room temperature for approximately 15 minutes or so.

Pull of the dough into 2 inch balls, then roll them out with a rolling pin until they are about 1/4 inch thick, Shaped into rustic pizza shapes if you will.

Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium to high heat, approximately 1-2 inches thick, then add one bread at a time. It should immediately puff up on you. Let it cook on one side for about 30 seconds, flip over, and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove and place on a sheet of paper towel to let any access oil drain. Repeat with the remaining breads. This yields approximately ten frybreads.

When you are ready, top each one with your favorite taco toppings. Mine included refried black beans, shredded lettuce, tomatoes, shredded Mexican cheeses, lime, and fresh cilantro.

You can even turn these into a dessert by simply adding cinnamon and sugar to the top. A dessert that would remind me of eating huge elephant ears as a child at Indiana Beach.

The wonderful thing about making sopes, is that they can be a variety of shapes and sizes. After a couple of attempts, I have made mine into thick, circular shapes with a medium indention in the middle to help hold all of the ingredients.

This most recent sope yielded a batch of leftovers, and wow, it was pretty darn amazing.

Lets get started.

Ingredients:

• Sope Ingredients
• Margarita Shrimp
• Homemade Refried Beans
• Chopped Lettuce
• Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded

Once your sopes are fried and cooked, top with the refried beans, lettuce, shrimp, and cheese. That’s it. Dig in, and repeat.