Becky Diamond, Author
  • About
  • Thousand Dollar Dinner
  • Mrs Goodfellow
  • Reviews/Events
  • Becky's Blog
  • Writing Clips
  • News/Articles
  • Food for Thought
  • Book Clubs
  • Excerpt - Thousand Dollar Dinner
  • Excerpt - Mrs. Goodfellow
  • Anna Maxwell's Recipes
  • Fun Food History Videos

Casual Dinner with Friends - Tacos!

8/13/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
Tacos are usually kid-friendly fare (my son who is a picky eater loves them), so when planning the dinner we hosted last night for our friends who also have two kids, I decided on "build-your-own tacos" for the dinner's theme. It worked out perfectly, with something for everyone. Along with the "traditional" type with ground meat (I used turkey), I found a great spread of taco recipes from last year's Aug/Sept issue of Fine Cooking magazine, which included Tex-Mex Grilled Shrimp (see photo), as well as Grilled Tamarind Chicken Tacos. Both were an interesting mix of just a few ingredients - pineapple juice, soy sauce, lime and garlic for the shrimp and a marinade of tamarind soda, soy sauce and garlic followed by a rub of coriander and chile powder for the chicken. Unfortunately I couldn't find tamarind soda in my local store so I had to substitute lemon-lime. Just as a little background - as per Wikipedia, "the tamarind is indigenous to tropical Africa, particularly Sudan. In the 16th century, it was heavily introduced to Mexico, and to a lesser degree to South America, by Spanish and Portuguese colonists, to the degree that it became a staple ingredient in the region's cuisine. The tamarind is best described as sweet and sour in taste, and is high in acid, sugar, B vitamins and, oddly for a fruit, calcium."  (Everyone loved the chicken with the sub, but I definitely want to try the recipe again with the tamarind soda - will have to look for it at Whole Foods).  
My husband grilled the chicken and shrimp as well as some red pepper, onion and squash. My friend made a delicious Mexican salad that included avocados, greens, pepper, corn and tomatoes, and I made a black bean and corn relish, and put out a variety of taco fixins, including lettuce, salsa, taco sauce, shredded jack cheese, queso fresco, green chiles and crushed pineapple.
We started out the evening sitting on our back patio enjoying chips, salsa and guacamole (I love this easy recipe from Emeril's There's a Chef in My Family cookbook- http://www.emerils.com/recipe/6592/), along with beer and mojitos I made with spiced rum which actually turned out pretty good - not as sweet. Perfect for a summer evening!

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    So much of our history can be learned through food!
    My second book, The Thousand Dollar Dinner, follows the unique story of a luxurious 17-course feast that helped launch the era of grand banquets in nineteenth century America. I am also the author of Mrs Goodfellow: The Story of America's First Cooking School.

    Archives

    December 2020
    May 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

PictureNIEA 10th Annual Award Winner, New Non Fiction
Author photo in website banner by Heather Raub of FrontRoom Images
Hair by Kelly McGrenehan, Innovations IV Hair Salon
Makeup by Gina Kozlowski
Site design by Braintree Publicity