So candidly this original recipe called for short ribs... but I'm on a budget. Short ribs feel like an expensive cut of meat. Now, I'll be honest if I was having a special guest over for dinner I might pull the trigger on a trip to Whole Foods for short ribs - but I'm less likely to buy them (or find them for that matter) from my local grocery store. While I was in the grocery store I did a quick google for substitute options and came up with beef chuck. I selected a cut style that wouldn't feel like beef stew and feel pretty great about it. For a recipe like this, they can often all blend together. Like how can you always put celery, tomato and onion in a pot and it not taste the same? The answer in this case is tequila, chili powder, and beer. The end result of this definitely has a spicier kick to it. I'm a pretty gentle soul when it comes to spicy / hot seasoning but I could handle this. It feels very on brand for a Cinco de Mayo meal. I served my meal over cau...
To continue on the Cinco de Mayo party.... I also made a margarita macaron. I figured if I was buying tequila, I might as well use it for two things instead of just one. As a result, we have these beautiful babes on a plate.  It's been awhile since I made macarons. It always feels so arduous and rife with concern about the precision that is required. Macarons can so easily go wrong seemingly. You look like a lunatic examining the almond flour after sifting it. Turning the egg whites upside down to see if they are stiff enough. Whacking the pan on the counter so the cookies develop "feet". But it is all worth it when you take that first bite of a macaron. A few notes: - coconut v almond extract. I intended to do coconut but grabbed the wrong bottle from the cabinet. I truly think either is fine but the coconut will give you a much more distinct flavor. I wouldn't use vanilla, that's the only thing. - filling. In the past I've done a couple varieties but I belie...
Yikes, it's been a small lifetime since I last popped in here. I thought I had been cooking, but I guess I've just been eating a lot of basic things. Basic isn't bad but it's always nice to get a little adventurous. I'm always prone to be adventurous on a theme day. When I realized that Cinco de Mayo was sneaking up on me last week, I found a few things that would be fun to try. Initially I was just googling "tequila" on my favorite recipe sites. I found one of my all-time favorite meals tequila fish. That was a good one. In the end, I landed on these pork tacos  from Food52. They won me over with their leftovers appeal ... and the fact it was only going to take about 20 minutes of cooking. Not everything calls for a marathon chopping and stirring session. These tacos could not have come together more easily. I was really intrigued by the different use of coconut milk as well. I'll have to keep that in mind going forward. The recipe overview indicated ...