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!
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!
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