black bean cakes

on the menu of this tiny little restaurant in the third ward, swig, is black bean cakes... heavenly delicious bean cakes. determined to recreate, i bring you these. holy cats, strap on your elastic banded pants; these are good. perfect for a superbowl app as i did or breakfast for god's sake. 


black bean cakes
2, 15 oz cans of black beans, drained
6 green onions, chopped (dark green parts removed)
1/4 c red onion, chopped
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbs adobo sauce (found in cans of chiles with adobo sauce)
1/4 c corn meal
4 tbs olive oil

chipotle lime sour cream
8 oz light sour cream
2 tbs adobo sauce (found in cans of chiles with adobo sauce)
1 tsp lime juice

1. heat 2 tbs olive oil in a saute pan. add onion and cook for 5 minutes or until soft. add cumin and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
2. place black beans, cooked onion and adobo sauce in food processor. pulse a few times until beans are mashed up a bit. (you do not want them pureed).
3. place mixture in a bowl. add cornmeal, salt & pepper and stir to combine.
4. form like small patties with bean mixture and lay on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. place in freezer for 20 minutes to firm up.
5. heat remaining olive oil in a saute pan. cook black bean patties in oil for an estimated 5-10 minutes on each side. (you want a golden crispy outside). repeat on other side. (you may have to add more oil as you go).
6. combine chipotle lime sour cream ingredients.
7. top cakes with sour cream and devour!

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fish tacos with chipotle sour cream

taco week day 5: fish tacos with chipotle sour cream
i have a secret to share. i can no longer go on having you think that i eat seafood. i don't. i hate it. it smells and it tastes funny. ugh, i know. okay, i feel so much better. this does not, however, mean i won't make it; especially since every other normal person loves it. i just have to suck up the smell every time i do. so i ate this but substituted the fish for black beans! regardless, the highlight of this dish is hands down the chipotle sour cream. you won't be disappointed.

fish tacos with chipotle sour cream
2 tilapia filets, cut into 1" cubes
6 flour tortillas
1 cup red cabbage, sliced thinly
1 tbs white wine vinegar

chipotle sour cream
8 oz light sour cream
2 tbs adobo sauce (found in cans of chipotle peppers... just use the sauce)

fish marinade
1/2 c olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
juice from one lime
2 green onions, chopped
2 tbs cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper

1. combine marinade ingredients and cubed fish. toss to combine and marinade at room temperature for 20 minutes. strain from olive oil.
2. toss cabbage with white wine vinegar and a generous amount of salt and pepper and set aside.
3. combine sour cream with adobo sauce and set aside.
4. heat saute pan until hot. add fish and cook for 5-7 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
5. pile fish on top of a warm tortilla, followed by cabbage and sour cream.

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pork tacos with red pepper pico de gallo

taco week day 4: pork tacos with red pepper pico de gallo
yay for crock pot meals! best thing ever to make in the crock pot is shredded pork. you can never go wrong.
the red pepper pico de gallo brings a freshness to the dish. a trick for getting more juice out of your lime- throw it in the microwave for 12 seconds before slicing.

pork tacos with red pepper pico de gallo
3 lb pork shoulder
corn tortillas
1/2 c queso fresco or queso blanco, crumbled (mexican cheese)

mexican pork rub
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

red pepper pico de gallo
2 plum tomatoes, diced
1/3 c white onion, diced
2 tbs jalapeno, minced
1/2 c red pepper, diced
3 tbs cilantro, chopped
juice of one lime

1. combine mexican spice rub ingredients in a small bowl. rub over pork shoulder.
2. cook in crock pot with a half of a cup of water for 4-6 hours. once cooled, shred and set aside.
3. combine red pepper pico de gallo ingredients in a bowl.
4. pile pork, pico de gallo and cheese on top of a warmed corn tortilla.

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the perfect margarita

taco week day 3: turkey tacos

i must pay homage to my husband's favorite meal. the turkey taco. i wish i could add some fancy ingredients to create the oooo/ahhhh factor, but truth be told my husband is the most traditional, conservative man you'll ever meet, therefore i wouldn't be telling the truth if i added any sorta pizzazz to this meal. that being said, there isn't a recipe. it's simply ground turkey with a packet of taco seasoning on a flour tortilla with chopped tomatoes, lettuce and cheese. viola.
while we are on the mexi train i find it absolutely necessary to share with you the recipe for a perfect margarita. brian was a bartender back in the day, and a good one at that. he is truly in his element with a shaker in one hand and a bottle of booze in the other. amen to that. beware. this contains pretty much all booze. i'm told the stuff in the bottle that you and i are probably used to isn't the "real deal".

the perfect margarita
3 oz tequila
1 1/2 oz grand marnier (or any other orange liqueur if you are cost conscious)
juice from 1 lime
margarita salt

1. salt rim of glass by dipping in bowl of water followed by dipping in margarita salt.
2. throw the booze & the juice of a lime in a shaker with ice. shake it up. (if you don't have a shaker use 2 pint glasses.)
3. pour into your salted glass.

chorizo, potato & avocado tacos

taco week day 2: chorizo, potato & avocado tacos.
you can buy chorizo a couple of different ways; there's the smoked spanish chorizo sausage often found chopped and mexican chorizo which is more of a ground sausage. so, since it's brian's week of taco madness, i let him choose and he picked the mexican stuff. you could use either for this recipe. if you grab the smoked stuff (or the better stuff in my opinion), simply slice it as you would andouille sausage, heat in a saute pan and add as i do below with the ground stuff.

chorizo, potato & avocado tacos
1 1/2 lbs chorizo
2 small potatoes, sliced thinly with skins on
3 tbs olive oil
1 avocado, sliced
1/2 c queso fresco or queso blanco, crumbled (mexican cheese)
8 corn tortillas
salt & pepper

1. heat olive oil over saute pan. once hot, add sliced potatoes and a generous amount of salt and pepper. cook stirring occasionally for 25-30 minutes or until brown. set aside.
2. heat chorizo in saute pan breaking up with a wooden spoon. cook for 10 minutes. drain grease.
3. heat up corn tortillas in microwave for 20-30 seconds until soft.
4. assemble tacos with chorizo followed by potatoes, cheese and avocado.

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taco salad with rotisserie chicken and ranch salsa dressing

taco week day 1: here we go. 5 days of tacos. we're starting out with a simple salad using the good 'ol taco ingredients.
brian's reaction: "not bad for day 1 of taco week. i had my doubts since there wasn't a taco shell."10 minutes later. "i'm still hungry, but i ate all of the good parts." of course i ask "what are the good parts?" "the crunchy things and the cheese". great.

taco salad with rotisserie chicken and ranch salsa dressing
white meat of a rotisserie chicken, shredded
1/2 packet of fajita seasoning packet
3 tbl olive oil
romaine lettuce, chopped
black beans, drained & rinsed
corn
avocado, sliced
shredded cheddar cheese

"crunchy things"
4 corn tortillas
2 tbl olive oil

ranch salsa
1/2 c ranch dressing
1/2 c salsa

1. preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. heat olive oil over a saute pan. once hot, add shredded rotisserie chicken and add fajita seasoning. stir until combined and heated through.
3. place corn tortillas on a baking sheet. brush with olive oil and slice into 1' strips using a pizza cutter. spread out on baking sheet and bake in oven for 10 min or until golden brown and crunchy.
4. combine salsa and ranch dressing.
5. place all ingredients on a serving dish so your guests or your complicated hubby can create their own salad masterpiece.

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chicken enchiladas

i've been making this recipe for years. these enchiladas remind me of el azteca in good 'ol menasha, wisco. they always used green peppers and onions. i profusely begged them to open one in milwaukee... not sure they even understood what i was asking. of course these buggers aren't going to come close to an authentic mexican restaurant; for god's sakes there's cream of chicken soup in there! but, here's to tryin...

chicken enchiladas

12 corn tortillas
1 1/2 lb shredded chicken (i bake 2-3 bone-in chicken breasts at 375 degrees for 45 minutes and shred)
1 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 can chopped green chili peppers
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 c chicken stock
1 can enchilada sauce
1 cup cheddar cheese

1. combine cream of chicken soup, chili peppers and chicken stock.
2. saute green pepper and onions in 1 tbl olive oil until soft. add 1/2 c of combined sauce mixture above and shredded chicken. cook for 5 minutes.
3. add enchilada sauce to remaining sauce mixture.
4. spoon chicken mixture into corn tortillas fold each side over and place seam side down in 9 x 11 pan. continue this process with remaining tortillas and chicken mixture.
5. pour enchilada sauce over the top of the tortillas and top with cheese.
6. bake, uncovered at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until bubbling.