Grilled Skirt Steak Tacos with Roasted Red Peppers and Carmelized Onions

The first recipe that I've decided to take on from Rick Bayless's 'Mexico One Plate At A Time' was chosen because I picked up a 3 lb organic skirt steak from Saslove's Meat Market in the neighbourhood of Hintonburg in Ottawa, Ontario. I know that skirt steak is the prime cut for anything fajita, and I've even had it as a delicate and flavourful course at Joel Robuchon's L'Atelier so I know it is the meat to beat.

I found a recipe thanks to this blog....(add referen

ce).... and noticed that it was altered to suit the blogger-chef's needs so I thought that I could do the same since recipes are pretty much like open-source software

The recipe calls for poblanos, but in Ottawa, I didn't really have a source so I just went with a red pepper. They're flavourful when they're roasted anyway. I could already smell it in my head if that makes any sense. I also have lime juice on hand thanks to the day I juiced 20 limes, froze the juice in ice-cube trays and then vacuum sealed the cubes using a foodsaver.

Ingredients

Marinade

lime juice

cumin

garlic

onion

salt, pepper

Rajas (topping)

roasted red pepper

onion

cilantro

salt, pepper

Filling

skirt steak

marinade (above)

Vessel

corn tortillas

Condiments

sour cream

sharp cheddar

rajas (above)

Method

Marinate the meat. Combine oni

ons garlic, lime juice, cumin and 1/2 tsp s

alt in the food processor to puree. Add marinade to meat in a ziplock bag or plastic sealable container. Marinate it for no longer than 8 hours. I gave it a good 5 and it was full of flavour and the perfect texture.

Creating the pepper and onion mixture or, according to Rick, rajas. Though he would have Poblano chilis. Those don't seem to be around Gatineau in December. Any pepper other than a green pepper will add tons of flav

our. Make sure it's not a green pepper. You're not making pizza here. Heat up a grill or put your oven on broil and place the pepper(s) a few inch

es away from the heat. Monitor it and turn it as the skin chars black. About 4-5 minutes each turn. Once the entire pepper has been charred, remove it, place it in a bowl and cover with plas

tic wrap to steam. 15 minutes later, remove all of the skin, the

stem, and seeds. Dice up the roasted pepper and place it into a bowl.

Slice up the onions and caramelize them. Use a cast iron skillet if you have one. If you don't, go frigging buy one as they are indispensable and will stay with you for LIFE! Lightly grease the pan, set it to med-low and add the onions when heated. Stir them until you see that they've softened and acquired a beautiful rich brown colour. If I had done this for 45 minutes, they would have been fit for pierogis.

Mix t

he onions with the roasted peppers, add some chopped cilantro, season with salt and pepper and you are ready to grill the meat!

Grilling the meat can be done either on a gas grill, a skillet or via oven broiling. I used a cast iron skillet with a grilled surface. I love the staggered charring effect. Remove the meat from the marinade and shake off whatever will drip off. Oil the meat or grill. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Place the meat over high heat. Turn it once after about 2 minutes or so. It depends on the thickness of your cut. Mine was pretty thick so I needed about 4 minutes a side. I was going for rare, as everyone should with a skirt steak. If you want to eat fully cooked red meat, have short ribs or a burger instead.

To serve the tacos, I used store bought corn tortillas for convenience, but if you want to take this further, make the corn tortillas yourself. I'll do that another time and blog it. For now, get some soft corn tortillas and heat them by either placing them in a dishcloth and steaming them, or put them in some foil in the oven at 350 for about 5-10 minutes. Slice the meat against the grain and then mix it in with the pepper-onion mixture. Place a portion in the warmed taco and add whatever condiments you'd like. We used a top-quality sour cream, sharp chedder, cilantro and some home made pickled jalepenos.

Bon appetit, or should I say, Buen apetito!

Cooking through Rick Bayless's 'Mexico: One Plate at a Time'

I've been a fan of mexican cuisine ever since my first taco night way back in early eighties. I discovered tacos at a friend's house when we used to have many eat-overs between the neighbourhood kids. I remember coming home excited to tell my mother that we have to make tacos! Considering that this was in Kingston, Ontario, tacos were really a product by Betty Crocker branded as Old El Paso.

On trips across the border to a town called Watertown, NY, I then discovered the more authentic mexican food of Taco Bell. I'm not lying when I say that I made specific trips to Watertown with some friends to specifically eat at Taco Bell. There was nothing like the Big Beef Burrito Supreme in our part of Canada.

Fast forward to today where I've been playing with mexican flavours for the last 10 years in the kitchen and every time I have learned something new. From enchiladas sauces to roasting my own cumin, I've given up on Old El Paso and I make my own taco season on-demand. My own chorizo, and I'm about to tackle the ultimate, my own Mole!

Anyone who's a fan of Top Chef would have definitely watched Top Chef Masters where actual top chef's battled in the kitchen to become THE Top Chef. I was amazed every time that I saw Rick Bayless on screen, talking with passion about food, flavours and his philosophies. I was inspired by him. He blew the judges away, along with his competitors with one dish, a Oaxacan mole. I realized that I had to learn this.

I became a follower of Rick Bayless on Twitter recently when I found a post of his on another blog. I sent him a tweet asking which of his books I should jump into to learn THE mole. He pointed me to 'Mexico One Plate At A Time' which I promptly ordered from Amazon and decided to crack it open over the christmas holidays, where I have the luxury of time to experiment and explore the flavours that Rick has documented within.

So I'm going to start sharing my adventures in this book on this blog since it sorely needs some content. If anyone would like to contribute with their versions of recipes from the book, Mexico: One Plate at a Time, please send me a message.

Joël Robuchon - MGM Grand, Las Vegas

While enjoying Joel Robuchon's more casual L'Atalier restaurant at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas only yesterday, we were invited to experience the flagship and 3 Michelin star property, self titled, Joel Robuchon.

We were treated to a corner booth table and thankfully so, not only could we see the action but also, we were seated for a 5 and a half hour culinary journey so the comfy velvet sofa was extremely appropriate.

Entering the restaurant, we were greeted by name. All the staff we encountered knew who we were and where we came from. What a nice touch, since there's no real reason they should know us from anyone else. You quickly come to realize that this was the start of many fine details that are carefully attended to. Love is in the details and Joel Robichon and his staff overlook nothing. Mike placed his napkin on the sofa while using the rest room and it was quickly replaced. The table was pulled out each and every time we needed to get up or return to the table. This was hand's down the most attentive staff I have ever experienced.

The ambiance is decadent. Deep purples, black, white and pops of orange. Gorgeous chandeliers, art, flooring, wall coverings and decor. Beautiful piano tunes played throughout the night and it was a nice reprieve from the dings and rings of the Vegas casino floors.

Onto the meal.

We were first presented with a bread cart with about 15 different kinds of bread offerings. We selected a brioche, an olive baguette and a bacon bread. The waiter then proceeded to carve off ribbons of fresh butter from a large block and sprinkled it with fluer de sel.




The Amuse Bouche was called Osetra Caviar on a coral gelée.

This was presented as though it were simply a jar of fine caviar, but digging into it revealed a layer of gelee and a luscious crab and creme freche layer. Of the many, many..... MANY courses to come, this one still remains one of my favorite of the night.

Course two was a moan-inducing carppaccio-style potato/frois gras/white truffle dish with what I deduced was a truffle vinaigrette. Finely julienned radishes garnished this beautiful plate.

Third course was actually three courses in one, a trio of mushrooms. Truffles and mushrooms on a thin crispy bread that absolutely tasted like perfection to me. My meal could have ended then and there and I'd have felt treated to a special experience. There was a bright green puree that I can't recall, but it was over a frois gras puree and topped with sliced mushrooms. Absolute heaven. The third version was a ginger tea with gold leaf and mushrooms that could be consumed as either tea or soup and the taste was right in between both. Very interesting and unique.

Fourth course (sorry no picture) was frogs legs served over a paella. Succulent pieces of scallop, shrimp and squid within perfectly al dente rice. Although this dish was amazing, we were quickly realizing that this meal is a marathon, not a sprint. That in order to complete the full service we needed to take a break. We requested 15 minutes between the 5th and 6th courses lest we explode.

Fifth course was again, three courses in one. This time showcasing shellfish. Rubichon's signature languastine ravioli with black truffle with a side of savoy cabbage and creme fresh was the stuff of genious. Absolutely wonderful. Second was lobster served on a lemongrass skewer on top of a green curry with what I think was fried finely sliced lemon grass. This Asian influence was a nice surprise, that would repeat itself later in the meal. The third offering on this plate was hands down, the bite of my evening, sea urchin over potato puree topped with foam and coffee. Had I been standing I may have fallen, it made me knees weak and I had to turn to the wall so no one in the restaurant could see my pleasure face.

Fifth course was a welcome reprieve, a nice light course of chestnut and frois grois velute finished with bacon foam. The break and the airiness of this dish set us straight and gave us the confidence to continue.Sixth course was pan fried sea bass with a lemon grass foam and stewed baby leeks. Beautifully presented and portioned with a zesty and refreshing flavour. Sorry about the photo of a half-eaten plate.

Seventh course was a melt-in-your-mouth sauteed veal chop accompanied by an intense herb gel that complimented the veal in such a surprising way. On the side was zucchini ribbons wrapped around whole pistashios topped with fried zucchini flower pedals. So simple but so exquisite.

Eighth course absolutely delighted me. The absolute genius of it made me giggle as I ate it. It was presented as a risotto, but a bite of it revealed that it wasn't made with arborio rice, but rather with bean sprouts, chopped to the size of rice and cooked to simulate the al dente tooth feel of a risotto. The creamy, mushroom sauce felt very risotto-like, but was beautifully light and refreshing in a way that traditional risotto isn't.

We were thrilled to have made it through the entire savoury portion of the meal and were anxious to move onto dessert.

Little did we realize that even dessert would be several courses!

Ninth course was a refreshingly sweet and beautifully presented. Cool mango, kiwi and other fruit topped with sorbet and gold leaf. Just what the full belly doctor ordered.The next dessert course (10th course) was a caramelized apple confit with vanilla creme freche and crispy morsels of pastry, crunchy goodness. It was like a deconstructed apple crisp. Wonderful.11th course was another cart presenting ice cream. Mike chose an unbelievably creamy vanilla ice cream and I chose a raspberry sorbet. (Sorry no picture). As we gladly gobbled down the ice cream, the 12th course arrived. A dessert cart from Heaven. Hand-made delectable treasures, the likes I couldn't even dream of. I requested the waitresses choice as long as it included some chocolate. She didn't disappoint. A variety of truffles and gelles were plated for us and we savoured them over an espresso and cappuccino.
As we were finishing up our 5.5 hour meal, I was presented with a Joel Rubichon colour photo book and a box of treats. See? Love is in the details. How nice!There is absolutely no restaurant that can compare to this. The food is of course genius, the ambiance is decadent, the service staff is attentive, professional and went above and beyond in every way. And if you're lucky enough to be there while Mr. Robochon is there, he'll make you feel the the most important guest he's had. Hospitality runs through his veins the way that truffles and frois gras run through his kitchen.

Here's hoping you get to have this experience in your life as well. Definitely add it to the "To-Do-Before-You-Die List."

Duck Tartare

300 g duck breast
3 Tbsn Unripened goat cheese
1 Tbsn minced shallot
1 Tbsn minced scallion
1 Tbsn soy sauce
1 Tbsn canola oil
1 tsp truffle oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper

1. Using a sharp knife, remove all the connective tissue and excess fat from the duck breast. Cut into very small cubes and reserve.

2. Add the remianing ingredients to a medium bowl and mix well.

3. Add the duck to the marinade and combine.

4. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 hour.

Serve with crustini and salad.

Scallop Ceviche

12 large sea scallops
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Zest of one lime
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsn minced cilantro root
2 shallots, sliced thinly
1 birds eye chili pepper (halved and seeded)
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp kosher salt

1. Rinse scallops in cold water and dry thoroughly. Remove the abductor muscle from each scallop and discard. Slice the scallops horizontally into 3-4 pieces.

2. In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Mix well.

3. Add the scallops to the bowl and gently mix so that the scallops are evenly coated by the lime marinade.

Cover and refridgerate between 1-3 hours. Remove from marinade and serve.

Black Sesame Soy Vinagrette

Another of Chef Scott Adams' great dressings.

1 cup canola oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp honey
1/2 tsp minced ginger
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp black sesame seeds

Place all ingredients in a mason jar and shake to combine.

Truffle Vinaigrette

This recipe is by Chef Scott Adams of Benny's Bistro. Taught to us at a raw cooking class at Urban Element, Ottawa.

1 cup canola oil
1/4 cup white balsamic
1 Tbsp minced shallot
1 Tbsp dijon Mustard
1 Tbsp Truffle oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Place ingredients in a mason jars, shake well to combine.