Beer Chicken Tacos

A taco is a traditional Mexican dish composed of a corn or wheat tortilla folded or rolled around a filling. A taco can be made with a variety of fillings, including beef, pork, chicken, seafood, vegetables and cheese, which allows for great versatility. A taco is generally eaten without utensils and is often accompanied by garnishes such as salsa, avocado or guacamole, cilantro, tomatoes, onions and lettuce.

According to the Real Academia Española, publisher of Diccionario de la Lengua Española, the word taco describes a typical Mexican dish of a maize tortilla folded around food. The original sense of the word is of a “plug” or “wad” used to fill a hole. The Online Etymological Dictionary defines taco as a “tortilla filled with spiced meat” and describes its etymology as derived from Mexican Spanish, “light lunch,” literally, “plug, wadding.” The original sense of the word “plug” may have taken place among Mexican silver miners, who used explosive charges in plug form consisting of a paper wrapper and gunpowder filling. Interestingly, the taco predates the arrival of Europeans in Mexico. There is anthropological evidence that the indigenous people living in the lake region of the Valley of Mexico traditionally ate tacos filled with small fish.

 Beer Chicken Tacos

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless Chicken breasts
• 3/4 cup Beer (I used Guinness Extra Stout)
• 1 tablespoon Chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon Smoked Paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon Garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoons Pepper
• 3/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese, plus extra for topping
• Taco shells or Tortillas
• your favorite toppings: greek yogurt, avocado, cilantro, salsa, chopped onion, black beans, shredded lettuce, etc.

Make taco seasoning: In a bowl, mix together chili powder, cumin, garlic, onion, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper. Whisk 1 1/2 tablespoons of the taco seasoning into the beer.

Place chicken in the crockpot and pour in beer mixture. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4 hours.

Remove the crockpot lid and shred the chicken.  Taste and season with additional taco seasoning if desired, then let sit in the crockpot for another 15 minutes or so. Turn the crockpot off and toss in cheddar cheese right before serving. Once combined, make your tacos.

French Dip Sandwiches

A French dip sandwich, also known as a beef dip, is a hot sandwich consisting of thinly sliced roast beef (or sometimes other meats) on a French roll or baguette. It is usually served au jus (“with juice”), that is, with beef juice from the cooking process. Although the sandwich is most commonly served with a cup of jus or broth on the side of the plate, into which the sandwich is dipped as it is eaten, this is not how the sandwich was served when it was invented.

Despite the name, this American specialty is almost completely unknown in France. The sandwich is not french at all. The name comes from the fact that it is made with a french roll – a medium sized white bread roll that resembles a baguette with a softer crust and makes good sandwiches in general – and it is dipped into beef juices as you eat it. Dipping does not make the bread soggy, much as dipping a cookie into a glass of milk does not make it soggy as long as you pick up the cookie and eat the milk-soaked bit immediately; prolonged soaking will cause sogginess, but that is why the sandwich is called a dip and not a soak.

Two Los Angeles restaurants have claimed to be the birthplace of the French dip sandwich: Cole’s Pacific Electric Buffet  and Philippe. The controversy over who originated the sandwich remains unresolved. Both restaurants were established in 1908. However, Cole’s claims to have originated the sandwich shortly after the restaurant opened in 1908, while Philippe’s claims that owner Philippe Mathieu invented it in 1918. Cole’s was the oldest restaurant or bar in Los Angeles to operate continuously since its opening at the same location. Its streak ended when it closed for remodeling in 2007.

If you’ve never had a French dip sandwich, you’re missing out. The sandwich starts out with beef that is roasted until extremely tender, which is then thinly sliced and put onto a not-too-crusty roll, either with or without cheese. The juice from cooking the meat is collected, seasoned and poured into a small dish. As you eat the sandwich, you dip each bite into the juices on the side, making the meat extra juicy and getting a huge boost of flavor.

French Dip Sandwich

Ingredients:

• 1 – 3 lb. Beef roast
• 2 tablespoons Olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 packages dry Onion soup mix
• 1 – 15 ounce can beef broth
• 6-8 Hoagie buns
• Provolone cheese

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a large dutch oven. Season the beef with salt and pepper to taste. Once the oil is almost to the smoking point, add the beef and sear on all sizes until nicely browned.

Place beef in crock pot. Sprinkle with dry onion soup. Pour beef broth over all. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 8-10 hours.

Remove meat from crockpot and shred.

To assemble sandwiches: Split the hoagie buns and top bottom half with shredded beef. Top with cheese. Place open-faced hoagies (top half too) on baking sheet and broil just until the bread is golden and the cheese has melted.

Ladle juices into small cups for dipping. Serve immediately.

German Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Cakes have a long and ancient history. The very first cakes were quite different than what we would eat today – more bread like and sweetened with honey. Nuts  and dried fruits were often added. The ancient Egyptians were the first culture to show evidence of advanced baking skills. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the English word “cake” dates back to the 13th century and is a derivation of ‘kaka”, an old Norse word.

According to the food historians, the precursors of modern round cakes (complete with icing) were first baked in Europe in the mid-17th century and was made possible by advances in technology which included more reliable ovens and ingredient availability. It was during this time that cake hoops (round molds for shaping cakes) became popular.

The first icings were usually a boiled composition of the finest available sugar, egg whites and flavorings. This was poured on the cake and the cake returned to the oven. When removed from the oven, the icing quickly cooled and formed a hard, glossy (ice-like) coating. It was not until the middle of the 19th century that cake, as we know it today, became popular.

Being of German descent, we eat quite a bit of authentic German food around here. I’m not quite certain this is an “authentic” German recipe but it is certainly delicious. And easy. The most difficult part is peeling the apples!

German Apple Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

• 3 Eggs
• 2 cups Sugar
• 1 cup Vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• 2 cups All Purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground Cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon Baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 4 cups tart Apples, peeled, cored and chopped
• 3/4 cup chopped Pecans

Icing:

• 1 – 8 ounce package Cream Cheese, softened
• 2 teaspoons Butter, softened
• 2 cups Confectioners sugar

In a large mixing bowl, beat  the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla.  Combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt and add to egg mixture.  Mix well.  Fold in apples and nuts and pour into a greased 13×9 baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  Cool completely.

In small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and butter together.  Add confectioners sugar, beating until smooth.  Spread over cake.

Refrigerate any leftovers.

Blueberry Buckle

A buckle is a dessert which combines fresh seasonal fruit, a rich cake batter, and a streusel topping. The result is a rich, dense cake with a moist crumb which is sometimes compared to coffee cake. Buckles make an excellent summer dessert and can be served hot or cold, plain or dressed with drizzles of sauce. Making a buckle at home is relatively easy and a great way to use fresh, seasonal fruit.

The origins of buckle are a bit mysterious. The dish has been in the United States for centuries, suggesting that it may have been developed by colonists. Buckles are extremely popular in New England, where it is often made with blueberries. While blueberry buckle is a classic version, the dessert can also be made with peaches, nectarines, raspberries or any other fresh fruit that you prefer and many cooks mix several types of fruit in their buckle.

The base of a buckle is a rich cake batter, which is sprinkled with fresh fruit. The fruit is topped with a streusel mixture. During the baking process, the cake batter rises up around the fruit, encasing it in batter and causing the streusel to “buckle”.

Blueberry Buckle

Ingredients:

For the cake

• ½ cup Butter, softened
• ¾ cup granulated Sugar
• 1 Egg
• 2 cups sifted Flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• ½ teaspoon Salt
• ½ cup Milk
• 2 cups fresh or partially thawed Blueberries

For the streusel:

• ¼ cup Butter, softened
• ½ cup granulated Sugar
• ⅓ cup all-purpose Flour
• ½ teaspoon Cinnamon

In mixing bowl, cream butter until light and fluffy. Gradually mix in sugar until thoroughly combined. Beat in egg until thoroughly combined.

In separate bowl, mix together the sifted flour, baking powder and salt.  Add to the butter mixture alternately with the milk, mixing to thoroughly incorporate between additions. Fold in blueberries.

Pour into a greased 9×9 inch pan. Set aside.

In small bowl, mix together the streusel ingredients until thoroughly combined. Sprinkle over top of the cake batter.

Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature. Garnish with sweetened whipped cream if desired.

Baked Herbed Shrimp

Scrumptious and incredibly versatile, shrimp make a delightful addition to so many dishes and make their way into all kinds of cuisine, from enticing appetizers to hearty pasta dishes. Because shrimp are bought and sold in large quantities, most of the shrimp available in U.S. supermarkets have been previously frozen. Shrimp freeze remarkably well. If the shrimp you purchase are frozen, place them in a sealed container in the refrigerator to thaw overnight. To speed up the thawing process, place the shrimp in a colander under cold running water for about 2 minutes. To retain their succulent texture, avoid thawing shrimp in warm water or at room temperature.

If you are planning to use fresh shrimp, be sure to store it properly before cooking. To store fresh shrimp, fill a large bowl about half-full with ice. Nestle the shrimp into the ice, making sure the shrimp are not too close to the bottom of the bowl where melted water will accumulate. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until ready to use, draining the water and adding more ice as needed.

When baking shrimp, be sure you monitor it closely. Depending on how thick each shrimp is, they could be done baking quite quickly. Small shrimp may be done in as little as 6-8 minutes, while larger shrimp may take 10-12.

Herbed Baked Shrimp

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup White Wine vinegar
• ¼ cup Olive oil
• ¾ teaspoon Chives
• ¾ teaspoon Tarragon
• ¾ teaspoon Thyme
• ¾ teaspoon Oregano
• ¾ teaspoon Marjoram
• ¾ teaspoon Basil
• 1 pound fresh or thawed Shrimp

Peel and devein shrimp under cool running water and place cleaned shrimp in a large bowl.

In small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil and herbs.

Pour marinade over shrimp and toss to thoroughly coat. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour, tossing shrimp to re-coat with marinade after 30 minutes.

Pour shrimp and marinade in baking dish and bake at 450 degrees for 6-12 minutes, depending on size of shrimp. Serve immediately.