Our Beautiful Disaster - Tacos!

Happy New Year, everyone! Wow, time sure flies when you're having fun, but six whole months? I suppose "fun" might be stretching it a bit considering all that has transpired in our lives since my last post on July 4th. The summer was long and lazy. It came and went without a hitch, but as fall approached, so did numerous domestic necessities and challenges. There was the refinishing the stairs project; the giant hole in our living room wall I needed to mend because of a cracked pipe (not to be confused with a “crack pipe”!); a total exterior renovation of our home; and then the holidays.

The good thing is that these liaisons with fate haven’t stopped us. We’ve continued to remain hard at work here in the Kitchen, perfecting and destroying all kinds of dishes, documenting the good and touching up the bad. Despite all that has been going on, we’ve continued to keep things cooking, remembering always that the most important ingredient is fun.

We’ve decided to mix things up a bit here in the Kitchen for 2011. For one, I will be introducing meals that give more bang-for-the-buck. Everyone knows what it’s like to want to stay within a budget. Most of the meals we create can be made for little money and will easily feed a family of 4 to 6.

Next, my wife Carolyn will be doing a lot more writing. Trust me, you will appreciate that. Considering she reads more books in one week than I have read in the past several years, I'm sure you will find her literary prowess enjoyable. Besides, my superiority lies behind the camera and in front of the stove.

So without further ado, I now introduce you to my lovely wife, Carolyn!

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My life is pretty good. I have an adoring husband who makes me dinner every night. I’m not entirely sure how it worked out that way, since it isn’t as if I hate to cook. Sometimes I think it’s because he’s a somewhat picky eater and can be stubborn. And sometimes I get sentimental and remember that in the very early days of our relationship, he wooed me by coming to my apartment laden with shopping bags, taking over my tiny kitchen, and whipping up an impressive dinner for two, so maybe it was just meant to be. This is not to say, however, that the kitchen is entirely his domain. It may be “Mario’s Kitchen,” but even Mario can use the help of a prep chef and dishwasher!

Here in the Kitchen, we try to make an effort to cook seasonally-appropriate food. This means a lot of outdoor grilling in the summer; chicken soup when someone is sick; and hearty, warming, comfort foods when the New England winter starts to set in. So, as we wandered the aisles of our local supermarket one day in late fall, wondering what to make for dinner, I mentioned that it was getting to be chili time again.

It should have been easy. We’ve made many, many pots of chili before. It was almost foolproof. But then, the unthinkable. Mario got distracted - took a phone call, went upstairs, or just walked away from the stove for a minute - and burned the chili. But with a full pot of the stuff, we didn’t want to just toss it. Knowing that chili is usually better the day after it’s cooked anyway, and saved by the fact that only the bottom had burned and hadn’t been loosened up and stirred back into the pot, we carefully put it away and hoped it would be palatable the next day. But as Mario walked somewhat sadly out of the kitchen that night, inspiration struck. “I think this would make much better tacos,” he said. And he was right.

3 lbs. ground beef
1 onion
kosher salt
black pepper, freshly ground
2 Tbsp butter
1 can Pastene or Goya black beans
1 can Pastene or Goya kidney beans
1 can Pastene Kitchen-Ready canned tomatoes
1 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp chili powder

Start by melting 2 Tbsp butter over medium-high heat. Saute onions until translucent (5-7 minutes) being very careful not to burn them. Add ground beef and mix in 1 tsp kosher salt and 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper. Brown the beef completely (9-12 minutes). Add canned tomatoes, beans and spices. Bring to a gentle boil for about a minute, then bring down to simmer on low for about an hour, stirring occasionally to make sure that nothing sticks to the bottom. If you can, let it sit for a day. It’ll be even tastier.



Serve on your choice of hard taco shells or soft tortillas with diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole!