More Tacos

This time, a pricier version. I should have known that Alex Stupak, the former pastry chef for Wylie Dufresne's iconic wd-50, wouldn't play soft ball. Stupak opened his west village taco joint, Empellon, a few weeks ago and the place is hip enough, with white brick walls and Klimt-esque artwork and antique light fixtures. The menu is medium-sized and full of interesting choices--ceviches, sopes, tacos, chicharrones, snacks. Our over-eager waitress upsold us on a fine guacamole with two stellar sauces on the side--one smoky and nearly sweet, the other fiery hot and made with pumpkin seeds. Still, I wish I had more time to check the menu before I agreed to the starter. I would have ordered the chicharrones with capers and olives instead.

Our two appetizers--a sope with fried egg and beans and a Staub cast iron filled with kale and melted cheese--arrived with warm tortillas, a nice touch. Each was delicious and satisfying, if not particularly inventive. Tacos come in trios and so we ordered a lamb barbacoa, which came with green olives and cheese, and a minute steak with onions emincer and fresh cilantro. The tacos were the way I like them--salty, smoky, texturally complex. But at $17 for three, I felt a little ripped off. No native Mexican could ever in good conscience pay such prices for elevated street food.

The pastry kitchen has always been Stupak's home and at Empellon, that tradition continues. Our chocolate flan (a misnomer, since it more closely resembled a mousse than a custard) was adorned with crunchy bits of one sort or another and a spicy cinnamon ice cream quenelle and warm honey. Aside from the truly inspired grapefruit margaritas, dessert was the best course.

*

Empellon

230 W. 4th Street

New York, NY 10014

212.367.0999

Cactus Isn't Only Decorative

It's edible. And delicious.

I learned this on a lunch time trip to Maya Mexican Restaurant in Prescott, the true definition of a local hole-in-the-wall. Tiny and locally owned and run, Maya makes "authentic" New York Mexican food seem like a Taco Bellian experience.

Tucked in a back booth, we ordered guacamole to accompany our complimentary chips and salsa. The guac was thick and full of fresh and ripe avocado. A horchata--rice milk on ice with sugar and nutmeg--washed down the spicy salsa.

One house specialty included an eggplant and cactus burrito, a foreign delicacy for this New Yorker. Ribbons of tangy cactus provided bite next to pureed eggplant, all of which arrived rolled in a flour tortilla, swimming in red enchilada sauce, and adjacent to a heaping portion of refried beans and yellow rice.

The bill for three was an incredible 30 dollars, despite our add-ons (horchata, guacamole, Mexican hot chocolate, an additional shredded beef taco), though we had to travel elsewhere to find the optimal afternoon dessert, a certified Mexican Coca-Cola. If you know where to look, you can find 12 ounce glass bottles of Coke, imported from Mexico. Mexican Coke contains no corn syrup, a hold out to sodas of the past. They use actual sugar, something we Americans see very little of in commercial drinks. But the sodas, like so much else of our meal, felt authentic and a tad hedonistic, especially for those of us who have sworn off white sugar and flour in favor of a healthier existence.

But never mind. You can't win them all.

*

Maya Mexican Restaurant
512 Montezuma Street
Prescott, AZ 86303
928.776.8903

Thanksgiving, Part II

Events beyond my control--Bud Light with an old friend, an unexpected encounter with a MENSA member, Hendrick's and Fresca, and a 3am trip to Dunkin' Donuts with an old flame for a French Vanilla--saw me home later than I had planned. Note to self: Do not eat kimchi-flavored ramen at 4 in the morning if you have any intention of feeling human the next day. All that aside, I still had to get up early for another day of chopping, peeling, and assorted holiday fun. Today was turkey brine day. Our baby's resting in a cooler in the 40-degree garage and has been all day. There were, of course, other courses to prep. See below:

*Pumpkin Trifle, Courtesy of the Internet*
Assembled using yesterday's gingerbread cake and vanilla pudding, along with the addition of a 30 ounce can of Libby's pumpkin puree. (Don't knock it until you've tried it.) Gingerbread on bottom, then vanilla/pumpkin pudding, then hand-whipped cream, more gingerbread, etc. You get the picture. On top, for fun, dried orange flowers and cranberries. The thing is gigantic and inhabiting the same space the turkey inhabited yesterday.

*Stilton Mixture and Caramelized Pears, Courtesy of Foodnetwork.com*
Pardon me for overinflating my caramel skills in yesterday's post. As it happens, I jumped too quickly into caramel part dos and, thusly, misread my recipe, which meant that my ratio was off (this was a butter caramel, as opposed to a water caramel and I missed a full tablespoon of sugar, which I had to add after the pears had already hit the pan). So the pears took forever to brown and never got as sweet as I would have liked, but they're still pretty tasty. The stilton is mixed with white wine vinegar (an improvisation--we ran out of red), salt, pepper, garlic, and extra virgin olive oil. This will go on pieces of endive, which will then be topped with pear and a toasted pecan.

*Stuffing, Courtesy of Old Family Recipe*
Thank god my mother cubed and toasted three full stuffing loaves because, otherwise, I would have freaked out. I sweat down 2.5 lbs of button mushrooms along with 3 white onions and a bunch of celery. Salt, pepper, Bell's Poultry seasoning, fresh thyme, a few handfuls of oatmeal to bind, and chicken stock to moisten and... voila. Stuffing. You have to mix this stuff by hand. Otherwise the bread begins to lose its shape and the moisture isn't well-distributed.

*Gucamole, Courtesy of Dean and Deluca Cookbook*
Hass avocados are not cheap. Ten cost me 20 bucks. I went food-processor with this recipe because I simply didn't feel like dealing with a hand-mashed guac. Also, I doctored it by adding garlic (2 cloves) and by subbing serrano peppers for the jalapenos (6 total). Also in the mix were 4 tomatillos, 3 limes, 1 red tomato, 1 red onion, and a handful of cilantro.

*Sea Scallop Ceviche, Courtesy of... I Forget*
If 12 limes seems excessive to you, try squeezing them by hand. It might be worth it in the end, though. The ceviche is looking and smelling faboo. Serrano peppers, cilantro, mango, and green onions top off a few pounds worth of sliced Atlantic seas.

Pretty much everything else today was mise-en-place. We'll see how it goes come execution time, especially given that tonight is THE GREATEST PARTY NIGHT OF THE YEAR (or so they tell me).

Next year, I'm only inviting ten people.