Carne Asada Tacos or Salad

A break from the Ad Hoc at Home recipe binge!! This time Derek went back to his "roots" and opted for a Bobby Fly recipe instead. This post is following suite with several of my recent posts that are void of the true recipe that was followed to make the final product. Why? Because I had very little to do with it.

Derek wanted to make tacos and I opted for a salad using similar base ingredients:

Carne Asada Tacos (or Salad)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/tacos-carne-asada-recipe/index.html

Ingredients

1 pound flank steak, trimmed of excess fat, cubed
1 recipe Mojo, recipe follows
Olive oil, for coating the grill
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
"Red Sauce"

Directions
(steak portion mainly Bobby Flay's Recipe) Lay the flank steak in a large baking dish and pour the mojo over it. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour or up to 8 hours, so the flavors can sink into the meat. Don't marinate the steak for more than 8 hours though, or the fibers break down too much and the meat gets mushy.

When ready to cook, heat a little olive oil in a pan and saute the beef until cooked medium to medium well (your call). Add salt and pepper if desired. Stir in enough red sauce to coat the meat - heat for about a minute.

Mojo:
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 jalapeno, minced
1 handful fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 lime, juiced
1/2 orange, juiced
1 tablespoons white vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

Place all ingredients except the olive oil in a blender and blend until a paste is formed. Slowly stream in the olive oil while continuing to blend the mixture.


Pico De Gallo:
2 vine-ripe tomatoes, chopped
1/4 medium red onion, chopped
1 green onion, white and green parts, sliced
1/2 Serrano chile, minced
1 small handful fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 lime, juiced
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt

In a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients together. Toss thoroughly. Let it sit for 15 minutes to an hour to allow the flavors to marry.


"Red Sauce"

In addition to Bobby Flay's recipe, Derek made a red sauce - I do not know of any other term to classify it - but it was incredible. After cooking the steak, which he cut into cubes, he tossed the beef with the just enough of the red sauce (maybe 2-3 Tbsp.) in the pan to coat the steak and warm the sauce. The rest of the sauce was reserved for topping the tacos or salad, or eating with a spoon as I couldn't help but do...

2 large tomatoes, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
1 white onion, quartered
4 cloves garlic, peeled
4 dried New Mexico chile pods
1 pinch salt and pepper to taste
about 1/4 tsp. each of cumin, cayenne, ancho chili powder, onion powder
2 Tbsp. EVOO

Place the tomatoes, 1 onion, jalapenos, and 4 cloves of garlic onto a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes, until toasted but not burnt. Place the roasted vegetables, soaked chile pods, and spices into a blender or food processor, along with salt and pepper. Puree until smooth. Stream in the EVOO and blend.


For Tacos:
Homemade corn tortillas (used a recipe off of the masa flour bag)
Carne Asada
1/2 cup Pico de Gallo, recipe follows
2 limes, cut in wedges for serving
sour cream
avocado slices
"red sauce"

For Salad:
Torn butter lettuce, washed and dried
Corn Salsa (corn, lime juice, minced red onion, chopped cilantro, salt)
Pico de Gallo
avocado slices
Carne Asada
red sauce
jicama matchsticks
orange vinaigrette

That red sauce was to die for - it was certainly my surprise favorite of the meal. There's not much else to comment on - fairly standard meal components that went together beautifully.