Friends are great aren't they? Rhetorically speaking, of course. The infamous Ed from Yuma is in town getting His San Diego food fix this week, and he was nice enough to pack us His very own Yuma care package. And man, was it some kind of care package!
In the filled ice chest were 4 packages of tortillas:
This is not the run of the mill stuff but the "good stuff" made in Mexico! I asked Ed what I was going to do with the leftover tortillas, and His reply, "well that's why they have tortilla chips!" Duh...... Ed also gave us a Tortillero, a tortilla warmer, to keep those tortillas warm and moist before eating. There was also 4 tubs of salsa, including an super-spicy salsa roja, though the Missus enjoyed the chunky salsa roja the best!
Also included was a couple of pounds of Pork Adobada:
And some marinated chicken:
Now we've had some major rain and thunderstorms, but with this sitting in front of me I had to take my chances, and got the charcoal started.
The pork cooked very quickly, and the scent of "chili" permeated the air. I must admit that the bright red color of the chicken kind of threw me in the beginning, but then again, I eat Char Siu don't I?
While I was grilling, the Missus was busy heating up the tortillas. The only problem with that was, She was eating a one tortilla for each one that made into the tortillero!
We did manage to beat the rain, and finally a made a "few" tacos, with some minced sweet onions and cilantro for garnish.
The Pollo (chicken) had more flavor, a nice chili-salty flavor.
The adobada was much milder, and the Missus stated that she could've used some lime. But the meat was very tender(I could strip them by hand), and went very well with the tangy Salsa Verde(green salsa made from tomatillo's):
Soooo delici-yoso!!! If anyone has questions, I'm sure that Ed can answer them! Thanks for indulging me, I'll be back with another restaurant tomorrow. Right now, I'm slowly sinking into a food induced coma........
Thanks again Ed!
Mmmm, looks very good Kirk! I'll have to get out and buy the right stuff so I can do all this at home.
Posted by: Scott | Wednesday, 05 April 2006 at 11:09 PM
Ahem. Why wasn't I invited? :)
Posted by: Kady | Thursday, 06 April 2006 at 12:26 AM
oh yea Kirk... That looks so totally divine! Surprisingly, we have a fairly decent supply of tortillas around here. I can't speak for the quality yet. Haven't really had time to indulge in anything but the most basic cooking. Soon, very soon. Did you meet Alicia when you brought Pepper? Our "Across the street" neighbor? She gave Mills & I a few precious recipes as a going away gift along with some dried chilies and spices that are patiently waiting for my attention. Soon... very soon...
Posted by: Jo | Thursday, 06 April 2006 at 07:11 AM
This looks soo good! Kirk, is there anyway you could get the recipe for the marinade and salsa from your friend?
Posted by: Jean | Thursday, 06 April 2006 at 08:06 AM
Hi Kirk! Mmm...looks so good! It's great to have good friends, especially those who bring good eats as gifts. =)
Posted by: Kristy | Thursday, 06 April 2006 at 09:10 AM
These look fantastic! I'd also love to see a recipe if you have it.
Posted by: howie | Thursday, 06 April 2006 at 10:59 AM
Adobada Rules!!
kirk, there aren't too many places that serve good Adobada round here..
if ever in north orange county, there is a takeout place that makes pretty good Adobada for the price. its called Anitas in Fullerton, i think off of Harbor Blvd.
elmo, its calling you... go check it out!!!
Posted by: dietchilicheesefries | Thursday, 06 April 2006 at 08:03 PM
Now why don't you make more of these tacos at home Kirk? Looks much better than the restaurant pictures!
Very cute about the Missus! At the rate that those tortillas are disappearing, you two won't need to make tortilla chips!
Posted by: Passionate Eater | Thursday, 06 April 2006 at 08:38 PM
Kirk, that's some mighty fine looking tacos...Ed from Yuma is like your authentic Mexican food drug dealer. "Hey Kirk, this here's the good stuff!" Bless Ed and his generosity!
DCCF, Anitas, eh? I'll have to look that place up.
Posted by: elmomonster | Friday, 07 April 2006 at 07:41 AM
Hi Scott - A friend of mine (thanks Gayla), who travels throughout Mexico has given me some ideas of where to find decent marinated meat in San Diego, so i'll be checking them out soon!
Hi Kady - Wellllll, I didn't know how it would taste, and didn't know if it was going to rain....;o)
Hi Jo - The Missus loves those tortillas......
Hi Jean - Actually Ed from Yuma got these from His favorite market in Yuma - but maybe he does have a recipe!
Hi Kristy - Hope you're feeling better! Yes, friends bearing (edible) gifts are great!
Hi Howie - Gotta ask the market!!!!
Hi DCCF - The pork was very tender - and it cooked really quickly.
Hi PE - Well, I can control lighting much better at home! I don't think we'll have to make much tortilla chips.
Hi Elmo - LOL! Yes, mucho thanks goes out to Ed and his thoughtfulness!
Posted by: Kirk | Friday, 07 April 2006 at 08:24 AM
Here's something for Mexican comfort food, fresh hot corn tortillas with a bowl of lard laden refried beans... Worse yet, I've been known to do mine southern style... refried with bacon grease. Want to talk artery pluggers?
Posted by: Jo | Friday, 07 April 2006 at 01:59 PM
Glad you enjoyed. Was that rice I saw under the meat?!? ;-)
Actually only two of the three brands of tortillas come from Mexico. The other brand is made in a grocery store in Yuma.
I like the molcajete verde with the pork also.
It's funny that soon after I moved to Yuma, I discovered that chicken and for years it was my favorite. But recently, I've been eating more and more of the pork. But yeh, for me what you had (sans rice) is basic comfort food - cheap, easy to cook, and tasty.
Glad you enjoyed.
Posted by: ed | Saturday, 08 April 2006 at 09:37 AM
Hi Ed - Rice?????!!! No it's finely diced sweet onion...I mean we're Asian, but you gotta be kidding, hehehe! Thanks again for everything, I'm still eating the leftovers, though the tortillas are almost gone, believe it or not!
Hi Jo - So what happened to the gravy? :o)
Posted by: Kirk | Saturday, 08 April 2006 at 09:07 PM
a tortia warmer....wonderful. I'll mention that I've mixed in (incorporated) tortia triangles into whatever dish is simmering in the pan on the home stove. The end result is something that you wouldn't have expected despite the general impression the notion elicits....nah, but no can, because not all soggy, then? I might add that it doesn't make a whole lot of difference whether you use toasted chips in place of fresh.
Posted by: RONW | Saturday, 08 April 2006 at 11:30 PM
Hi RONW - Sounds good, it's a pretty interesting texture-thing too....
Posted by: Kirk | Sunday, 09 April 2006 at 09:23 AM
=oP hehehe Hey, speaking of gravy, we located a restaurant that serves Hawaiian food! The folks that work there are from Hong Kong, learned to cook in Hawaii, then came here. Interestingly, at other "Asian" restaurants, if you ask where the cook is from or if they have any regional specialties, they look at you as though you were speaking Martian. VERY disconcerting. The Rainbow folks actually communicated with us! The food was VERY decent particularly the chicken Katsu. Gotta get some more of that real soon. The sauce was outstanding. THEN there was the Loco Moco. ::smiles sweetly:: Wanna know more?
Posted by: Jo | Monday, 17 April 2006 at 08:54 PM
Hi Jo - It's because they are all from one region...the only region, that is called What We Feed Americans. WWFA! So what kind of Katsu sauce?
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 17 April 2006 at 11:44 PM