Habanero Cauliflower Puree and Adobo-Marinated Flank Steak

I bought some pretty orange cauliflower at the Union Square market and still had some adobo sauce leftover so thought I'd make something Mexican. I bought a habenero and some flank steak, too, and decided to make a spicy cauliflower puree to go with it. It was delicious and all the flavors really go well together, especially with some good spicy salsa. 

Adobo Fish Tacos

I already teased the picture here in my tortilla post, but these tacos were fabulous. (And gave me a chance to use my lovely bass.) The adobo sauce is pretty simple - you just need the peppers - but it gives the fish a really nice flavor. It's healthy and tasty, especially served with some chopped jalapenos, pineapple salsa, radishes, and chipotle salsa. 

Ingredients:

2 dried ancho chilis

3/4 cup water, for blending

2 tbsp white vinegar

1 garlic clove, peeled

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp oregano

pinch cumin

1 tbsp oil

2 pieces of firm fish such as striped bass

juice of 1/2 a lime

Braised Short Ribs in Adobo for two

Yum! These short ribs are easy and great, and perfect for some extra special tacos. The recipe is from Truly Mexican (the wonderful Mexican cookbook that Jamie got me for Christmas last year). You don't have to brown the short ribs, so it's basically tossing all of the ingredients in a pot and sticking it in the oven for 2.5 hours. The resulting sauce is rich and has a deep heat, but isn't too spicy, and the meat is tender and falling apart. I shredded it up with the adobo and put it on a soft taco with minced red onion and jalapeno with a little crema on top. We had no leftovers.

And I got to use my adorable heart pot! Thanks, Kara!! It's so perfect for making dinner for two, and makes whatever you're making seem a little special and romantic.

Serves 2 (I reduced it)
Ingredients:
1 dried guajillo chile, wiped clean, stemmed, slit open, seeded, and deveined
1-2 lb bone-in beef short ribs

Mexican Feast from Truly Mexican by Roberto Santibanez

Jamie got me an amazing Mexican cookbook for Christmas - Truly Mexican by Roberto Santibanez. We decided to try it out this weekend and have a few friends over for a Mexican feast. It was great! And in the process, I found the coolest spot to source all of the harder-to-find Mexican ingredients (dried peppers, corn flours, big, ripe tomatillos...) It's a stall in Essex Street Market called Viva Fruits and Vegetables. I went a little overboard and bought a bunch of things, including masa tamale flour and lard, so there may be tamales featured on here in the not so distant future.

We had chilaquiles to start along with freshly made tortilla chips and three great salsas - roasted tomatillo with toasted chipotle powder salsa, roasted cherry tomato salsa, and spicy pineapple salsa. For the main course, we had an adobo braised lamb, shredded up perfectly for tacos. It was delicious.