sustenance

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final meal

i happened upon this site. http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/finalmeals.htm the site lists the final meal requests of texas death row inmates. the site doesn't indicate what meal was actually served. kinda depressing. what would you request for your last meal?

i've often said that if i knew i was going to die tomorrow, i would want my last meal to be a veggie chimichanga drowning in queso accompanied by rice and beans, chips and hot sauce, and a big margarita from sol's taco lounge in dallas, texas. sol's is my all-time favorite restaurant. it's a little ecclectic place with a rocking jukebox in deep ellum that's open until the wee hours of the morning. i've eaten at sol's countless times and everything i have ever had has been above average.  they are known for their sizzling, smoking fajitas, which the servers always walk from the kitchen, through the restaurant and out the front door, filling the place with the unforgetable smell of the tex-mex delight.  sol's is one of the things i miss most about not living in texas anymore.

posted by: artichoke72 at 00:51 | link | comments (2) |

saturday

last saturday was my husband's birthday. my gift to him was a day full of delicious food.

 i made migas (he requested them) and texas fried potatoes for breakfast. for the migas, i sauted finely chopped onion, green bell pepper, and serrano chile over medium heat in a little oil until tender. i added eggs mixed with a little water and salsa to the pan and scrambled them until the eggs were almost set. then, i added crumbled tortilla chips and continued cooking until eggs were ready. i mixed in shredded pepper jack cheese and took the pan off the burner. i served the migas in warm fresh corn tortillas with extra cheese and salsa. for the texas fried potatoes, i quartered the potatoes and sliced them. i cooked the potatoes in olive oil over medium high heat. i added a little onion, chopped jalapeno, salt, and pepper and cooked it all until golden brown. yummmmm.

later on that day i made a chocolate cream pie. simple and delicious. i served it with real whipped cream.

for dinner i made pork chops with raspberry chipotle sauce, southwestern vegetable medley (zucchini, hominy, corn, and spinach with garlic and cilantro) and orzo. the raspberry chipotle sauce turned out amazingly well. i can't wait to make it again. to make the sauce, i sauted chopped shallots and garlic in a little of the oil from cooking the pork chops. i added raspberries, and dry red wine (to deglaze the pan) and let that cook down some. i added a chopped chipotle and chicken stock and let it reduce by half. i then strained the sauce, seasoned with salt and pepper, drizzled over the pork chops, and served.  the meal was complimented with a bottle of cabernet sauvignon. the raspberry sauce was a perfect accompaniment to the pork.  this was truly one of the best meals i have ever cooked.

posted by: artichoke72 at 00:33 | link | comments |

quick fish tacos

a guy (jeff in idaho) on the cocina mexicana list i'm on posted a report on his recent trip to mexico. it was interesting because he reported on all the meals he ate while in mexico. he wrote, "I ate 'tacos de deditos de pescado' (literally 'fish finger tacos') they were made with small fish fillets, breaded like what we would buy frozen, AKA 'fish sticks'. Served with some shredded cabbage with a mild salsa, and of course fresh corn tortillas!"

this totally inspired me. last night i made 'tacos de deditos de pescado' using fish sticks. i'm not a big fish sticks fan, but i thought, what the heck, i'll try it. so, i baked the fish sticks, placed them on fresh corn tortillas, added shredded cabbage, radishes, chopped cilantro, and salsa. i served them with black beans and cilanto-lime rice (just white rice with fresh lime juice and chopped cilantro stirred in once it's cooked). i was surprised, the fish stick tacos were pretty dang good. very easy, very fast, filling, and cheap. plus, there were leftovers for my husband to eat for lunch. he's already requesting that i make them again soon. :)

posted by: artichoke72 at 22:17 | link | comments |