Recipes Information

Cinco de Mayo Recipe


My ex reminded me last week that the holiday that "my people" celebrate was coming up.

My people. He was, of course, being facetious, but I smacked him anyway. Well, he's a thousand miles away, so I virtually smacked him. Same effect.

My people. Like I even speak Spanish. My father wouldn't teach us when we were growing up because he didn't want us to be stigmatized. Only the last name gave us away as it was.

Still, I do like to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. The Fifth of Mayonnaise. I love mayonnaise.

For this Cinco de Condiment, my love wanted to make turkey taquitos for his office party. So I am, even now, roasting turkey parts for said taquitos. Have you ever had turkey taquitos? Around here we have them after major holidays. Christmas, Thanksgiving . . . because that's usually when there's leftover turkey. Turkey is a primary ingredient in turkey taquitos, as you may, or may not, have gathered from the name. I dunno. Some of you are probably quicker than others about these things.

There is no mayonnaise in turkey taquitos. A recipe featuring mayonnaise will be arriving shortly, but this isn't it.

This is a recipe for turkey taquitos. Keep in mind that I can barely read directions, much less give them, so this may be a bit haphazard.

First step: Go to the store. Any store. Well, not just any store. A store that sells what you need. We went to Central Market because I wanted to show Bruno (my boyfriend's alias) what a fun place it is. He stuck his finger in one of the crab tanks and irritated a crab, who tried to grab his finger and run off with it. The crab, fortunately, was unsuccessful in this endeavor. Whew. Close call. Anyway, Central Market has lots of cool stuff. Live food. Dead food. The mess of octopus on ice was something I could have done without. Organic food. Free range chicken. Bulk herbs. Skullsplitter ale, which I wanted just because of the name. A deli section where one could just do all their shopping, thereby making the rest of the store redundant.

Anyway. Go to the store. We looked at turkeys. Then we looked at the turkey breasts next to the turkey. And we went for the turkey breasts. Three of 'em. Saves me the trouble of wrestling with a turkey. I am nothing if not lazy. Also buy tortillas, and bend them to make sure they're fresh and pliable. And either fresh salsa, or make your own. And vegetable oil. And toothpicks. Some dark sweet beverage, if you're feeling like it.

Method of cooking turkey: See, this all depends on what one plans on doing with the turkey. For enchiladas, stewed chicken works best. For taquitos, roasted turkey works best. Something about the dryness or lack thereof of the meat. I roast my turkey in a turkey roaster, but I suppose you could also use an oven. The recipe for how to roast a turkey will be out later this year, when it's time to take those things seriously. For now, I'm sure you can stumble through it.

Roast the turkey.

Chop the turkey into chunks and shreds. Add the fresh salsa or the salsa you made yourself using the fresh ingredients. We don't want the mixture to be too wet.

Too wet. I just made that term up.

Get out two frying pans. Get them out of where? That's rather up to you. Depends on where you keep yours. Put a nice half inch layer or so of oil in one, and just heat the other. (Almost had a typo there. Almost said eat the other, which would be wrong. That is no way to get more iron in your diet.) Heat the oil now or later, depending on if you're going to cook them now or later. I usually fry them as I go.

Heat the tortillas one at a time in the hot skillet. When hot and pliable, and therefore easily bendable, take out of the pan, put a good heaping tablespoon of turkey mixture on the tortilla, and roll it tightly. Secure with a toothpick. (Did you think we bought the toothpicks just for fun?) Sometimes tortillas aren't as bendable as we might wish. This is too bad. Heat them longer.

Put the secured taquito in the hot oil. Let it sit there and brown. Of course, while it's doing this, roll up another one and stick that in there too. Watch taquitos carefully. We want them crispy but not lethal. Turn them over while they cook. We're not deep frying them after all, it just seems that way. The oil should not cover the taquitos fully, only about halfway. That's why you turn them over.

When the first taquito is crispy but not overdone (and this is rather subjective - mine are at times a bit chewy just because I like 'em that way), remove it gently and put it on a plate with a paper towel to soak up the oil. Do not use your fingers for this procedure, except to handle the tongs. This is hot oil, after all. Repeat this procedure for the several dozen taquitos to follow. You can make a whole buncha taquitos before you know it.

Growing up, I was often the victim of burnt fingers because my stepmother would make me stand over the stove for hours heating tortillas to her specifications. For years I suffered from post-taquito stress syndrome. Just the thought of making taquitos was enough to make my fingertips itch. Do not overdo it. You can cook them in batches. You can cook some now and some later. This is not a marathon to see how much damage one can do to oneself. Once, when my hand was sprained, she made me take off the wrap that was holding it together so I could bake cookies for her, the kind you had to roll in your hand. She was mean. Besides, she always overcooked hers. Both taquitos and cookies.

Serve the taquitos with guacamole and sour cream. Okay, some of you don't like sour cream. That's why I only bought a small sour cream - I can eat the stuff straight, but other people have a problem with it. I don't know why.

These can be eaten either hot or cold. Technically, everyone thinks they're supposed to be hot, but it ain't so. If made properly, and drained properly, they're quite good any time at all.

Enjoy the holiday. I hear it won't come around again until next year.

Monique Young is adept at certain things, but cooking is not one of them. She can be reached at monique@moniquewrites.com most days of the week.


MORE RESOURCES:

SheKnows.com

9 Chicken Wing Recipes For The Super Bowl
Huffington Post
If you're feeling like a little bit of sweet, you'll probably want a wing with a touch of honey or mango. From maple-chipotle hot wings to soy-garlic chicken wings to classic Buffalo, we've a wing recipe for everyone. What is your favorite chicken wing ...
Super Bowl Recipes: A Guide To The Perfect Game Day MenuSB Nation
Super Bowl recipes: A chicken wing smorgasbordWashington Post (blog)
Buffalo chicken lettuce wraps and more Super Bowl recipesSheKnows.com
The State Journal-Register -Guyism -Tulsa World
all 349 news articles »


These Super Bowl Recipes From A Local Chef Are Champs
Patch.com
You may not associate the delicacies of culinary school with the rough and tumble of the gridiron, but Chef Tony Hedeger has four winning recipes for your Super Bowl party. By Holly Edgell Super Bowl XLVI kicks off Sunday, Feb. 5 at 5:30 CST.
5-Star Super Bowl RecipesNBC Los Angeles

all 8 news articles »


Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Hunting for recipes in 'The Hunger Games' trilogy
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Still, Baines's hunt for ingredients for the recipes in “The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook” was not without its pitfalls. One order for squirrel meat netted Baines a cardboard box with a dead squirrel in it. “I'd rather my meat come to me already ...

and more »


Deseret News

These recipes will score points at Super Bowl spreads
Deseret News
Green Chile Pork Tamales from Barbara Bakes: Barbara from Barbara Bakes always has such great recipes, and this one for Green Chile Pork Tamales sounds wonderful. There's just something about Mexican food that always seems comforting, isn't there?
17 Super Easy Super Bowl Recipes Courtesy Of PinterestOlogy
Lauren's Super Bowl Party RecipesPatch.com

all 18 news articles »


MassLive.com

Super Bowl Parties, Recipes, Fashion, Advertisements and More
Design Crave
Green lifestyle advocate Inhabitat has Six Yummy Organic Recipes For Your Super Bowl Party. The list includes how to make your own tortilla chips, Mediterranean salsa, eggplant sliders and more. Everyone knows if the game is lame (which fingers crossed ...
Super Bowl Sunday recipesGaston Gazette
Share your best Super Bowl recipesMassLive.com
Submit Your Recipes: Super Bowl SnacksPatch.com
tuaw.com -NorthJersey.com
all 17,060 news articles »


Fox News

Dip Off 2012 Recipes
Valley News Live
Here are the recipes. Cook the ground beef in a pan over medium heat, set it aside and drain the grease from the pan. Cook the bacon in the pan until crispy, about 6-10 minutes, set aside and drain all but a tablespoon of the grease.
Super Bowl Recipe Challenge: Martha Stewart Sweet Onion Dip vs. Williams ...Huffington Post (blog)

all 246 news articles »


The Guardian

Allspice recipes | Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
The Guardian
Rarely is allspice part of the blend, perhaps because of its intense pepperiness, yet that heat can be very welcome in a sweet batter or dough, just as ginger can (see the sumptuous cake recipe). I love the look and feel of allspice's fat, round, ...

and more »


Asia Food Recipe Hits One Recipe Uploaded Every 15 Minutes and Becomes Fastest ...
Houston Chronicle
With more than 30000 recipes focusing on Asian cuisines, Asia Food Recipe has become Asia's largest Asian food recipe website. Asia Food Recipe today announced that it has hit a new milestone of one recipe uploaded every 15 minutes.

and more »


This Dish Is Veg

Touchdown! Ten Delicious Vegetarian Super Bowl Recipes
Global Animal
So why not try one of these yummy vegetarian recipes as you root for your favorite team. Read on for ten delicious meat free recipes! — Global Animal Try some new vegetarian recipes this Super Bowl Weekend! Photo Credit: Shuttershock.com While we'd ...
Vegan food for Super Bowl SundayThis Dish Is Veg

all 3 news articles »


The Daily Star

Lebanese winter recipes look to the past
The Daily Star
We spoke to those in the know about the most nourishing and healthy of recipes to keep you warm this winter. Opened in late 2009, Tawlet in Mar Mikhael has fast become a favorite Beirut spot for those missing mama's home cooking.


Google News

Mommy Home Jobs | Mommy Matters | index | site map
Copyright MommyHomeJobs.com