Tacos de Lengua

I love Mexican cuisine! I don't know if it is the spicy flavors, the fresh ingredients or the fact you can roll it up in a tortilla and eat it easily. I went to a Mexican restaurant near my house a few months back and tried their Tacos de Lengua. After that, I wanted to try and make it myself. I had never cooked tongue, however, I have eaten it on a couple occasions. I started researching the proper ways to cook tongue. Being that it is a large muscle, braising is the way to go.

 I went to Compare Foods to get my beef tongue (you want one under 3 lbs).

To start this dish, you want to scrub the tongue down and then soak it in cold water. I did this for about an hour, changing the water 3 times. After the soak, clean out the pot, add cold water and transfer to the stove. For my application, I added white onion, celery, chipotle peppers, black pepper corns and a few bay leaves to the stock pot. I turned the burner on, added the cleaned tongue and started the braise. I cooked mine for 3 hours. After cooking, remove the tongue and shock it (add it to cold water) for about 20-30 seconds. This cools it down enough for you to handle then tongue without burning your hands. Do not cool the tongue completely as this will make it harder to remove the skin.

The next step is peeling the tongue. There is a leathery like outer coating that peels right off. After removing the outer skin, you are left with the edible meat. On the underside of the tongue, there is some fatty tissue that needs to be removed. After removing this, slice the tongue across the grain and then dice.

After dicing the tongue, add it to a smoking hot pan for a quick saute. This caramelizes the outside to give it a little more texture. Season the meat with a little salt and pepper while sauteing. I topped my with a little chimichurri. I made it with cilantro, lemon juice, olive oil, cumin, wine vinegar, salt and pepper. I also added diced tomatoes and white onions to my taco.

Red Snapper, Fingerling Potato and Artichoke Ragu, Sauce Vierge

Well, I finally upgraded to the smart phone world and purchased the Iphone 5. Now that it will be quick and easy to snap pictures with my phone, hopefully I will be posting on here more often.

The dish is seared red snapper with a fingerling potato and artichoke ragu and sauce vierge. It came out really nice and tasted great!

Southern Sushi

     Over the past month, I have been experimenting with an idea I have had. Being from the south, I grew up around collard greens, sweet potatoes and bar-b-que. With the sushi craze, I wanted to see if I could combine sushi with southern flavors. This is what I came up with after much trial and error.

Taking traditional ingredients and transforming them is one of my favorite culinary ventures. It is amazing to take a bite of something and taste all the layers and flavors. Collards are a southern staple. In my application, I cooked them the 'southern way." This method uses a long cooking time in addition to some type of smoked meat product. However, I did one thing different in my process. Typically, collards are stemmed and cut into pieces, I left mine whole but cut the back of the stem out.
In this process, you want to take most the stem out but you don't want to cut all the way through the leaf.

After the collards cook, carefully remove them from the water, making sure not to rip the leaves. Place the leaves into a dehydrator and dehydrate for 6-8 hours until completely dried.

Collards being loaded in the dehydrator

Dehydrated Collard Green

The next step in the process is making the "sweet potato rice." This is a quick and easy process. Cut the sweet potato on a mandoline, then take the strips and cut them into 1/4 inch sections to make the "rice." After some spices and a quick saute, you have the "rice" for your sushi.

The coleslaw is very simple to make and ready in minutes. I used red cabbage to give the sushi more color. The cabbage adds a crunch and the acidity helps round the flavors.

The last ingredient is the bar-b-que. This ingredient can be purchased if you don't have a smoker at your disposal. If you have a smoker, get a pork shoulder or boston butt and baste it throughout the smoking process. I used a spicy apple cider vinegar sauce to baste the pork. I also smoked over hickory and apple wood chips.

The last step is rolling the sushi. Just like regular sushi, I used a bamboo mat to help roll the collards. I laid out the sweet potato "rice" and then added the coleslaw and pork. I rolled it and sealed it with a little bit of honey.

Recipes are as follows:


Collard Greens

1 bunch Collard Greens, cleaned and veined
1 large yellow onion, medium dice
1 ham hock
3 quarts water or stock
3 tbsp salt
2 tbsp fresh cracker black pepper
2 tbsp sugar

1) Add all the ingredients together in a stock pot, bring to a boil and simmer until collards are tender. About 1.5-2 hours.

Sweet Potato Rice

1 sweet potato, julienned and cut into 1/4 in sections
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch cayenne
2 tbsp corn starch
2 tbsp cold water

1) Combine the slurry (cornstarch and water) in a bowl and set aside.
2) Saute the sweet potato in the olive oil over medium-high heat until soft but still firm in the middle.
3) Add spices and sugar and stir until combined
4) While stirring, add slurry. The mixture will pull together to form the rice.


Red Cabbage Coleslaw

1 medium sized head of red cabbage, cored and julienned
1 yellow onion, julienned
1 carrot, peeled and julienned
1/2 cup cider vinegar
4 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

1) Mix the vegetables in a bowl.
2) In a separate bowl mix vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper until sugar dissolves.
3) Pour vinegar mixture over vegetables and toss. Let sit to marinate, occasionally tossing to coat vegetables.

Seared Lamb, Sauteed Spinach and Roasted Red Pepper with Rosemary Potato Cake

On my days off, I enjoy cooking and trying out some of my own ideas. I also have a small herb garden that I am trying to use more. One thing culinary school taught me was total utilization. I enjoy going through my pantry and refrigerator to see what I have and what I can use. Not only is this important in the restaurant to save money but you can save money at home too. I searched through the refrigerator and realized I had some lamb. I also bought a large bag of potatoes that needed to get utilized. I decided to make potato cakes with some fresh rosemary. I sauteed some spinach and roasted red peppers with some chicken stock and a little balsamic vinegar. The lamb was seared and finished in the oven. The dish was finished with a chiffonade of spinach, crumbled feta and natural jus.

Seared Tuna with Asian Black Rice and Pickled Vegetables

I took a trip to the Asian market in Charlotte this past weekend. I wanted to pick up some black rice, but I was just browsing thought the aisles and found black rice noodles as well. I actually cooked with both. I seared the tuna in an oil blend with some toasted sesame oil to add some flavor. I pickled some peppers and onions to top the tuna. I actually made an avocado aioli to accompany the dish but since I didn't have come of my tools, I wasn't able to reach the consistency I wanted.  You can see in the pictures the pasta and the rice. I liked the flavor, it was somewhat earthy.

Chicken Tamales with a Black Bean Cake and Ancho Cream Sauce

Today, I put together something that I have wanted to make for a while. I absolutely love tamales and I was trying to decide on a base that would go well with the tamale. I decided to go with a black bean cake. I have never made a black bean cake so I did a little research. Unfortunately, all the recipes I found online were terrible. So I winged it and it came out spectacular. The tamales I made didn't come out the way I had hoped but they tasted great. So, here is what I came up with and I hope you enjoy.

Shrimp and Grits!

Today, I was inspired by a traditional Southern dish, Shrimp and Grits. I wanted to take this dish but make it in a way that could be nicely presented. Parmesan polenta was my base. I made the polenta and sauteed it before I served it. I sweated shallots and garlic in bacon fat and then added cremini mushrooms. This mixture topped the shrimp. The shrimp themselves were seasoned and baked so that the shrimp meat would bake together and form one piece. For the sauce, I made a Parmesan and sharp cheddar cheese sauce. This was made by sweating shallots and garlic in butter and adding some cream then thickened with a roux. Lastly, it was garnished with a bruniose of tomato and a julienne of green onion. This dish came out very nice however, I believe next time, the shrimp need to be a size larger.