#yyc bbq and #yeg dnr

Though the last few weeks have been filled with food and I haven't found myself in my kitchen as much as I would like, I wouldn't change a moment of it. There have been many great meals with many great people. I think this post is as much a homage to those great people as it is about some wonderful meals.
  

Recado Taco

I am going through withdrawal from the awesome tacos that I ate every single day that I was in Mexico. We frequented two places for the majority of our taco-quests - Javvo, just next to the Bahia Condos, and Gardenias, a few blocks away.

Javvo definitely had sophisticated spice blends/marinades and only had one or two taco options a day. Their chicharron was fantastic.

Gardenias was a favourite though. Much more option in terms of tacos - fish, shrimp, chicken, pork, chicharron, beef, etc. But my favourite part had to be the array of condiments that they served with the tacos. Using those serving units that we see at steak joints with the sour cream, chives and bacon bits destined for slathering on your mashed potato, they filled two units with pickled onion (likely softened in lime juice), charred chili peppers (whole), key limes, shredded lettuce, salsa (the pico de gallo variety), a more pureed salsa/chili blend, and an indescribable seemingly whipped avocado sauce that I loved on the fish taco. There were a few others but these were the highlights.

Obviously I've been thinking about these tacos... :) So, with the bastardized recado, I decided to make tacos. No recipe here... but it was a great second day dish. I warmed the meat in the sauce and topped with avocado slices, sour cream and hot sauce... with some beans and mixed veg, I was happy.

Bastardized Tamarind Recado

Now... to say that this is a bastardized recado is probably putting it quite kindly. Honestly, this probably only merely resembles a recado if you were to tilt your head and squint at it. However, you can't fault where you find your ideas and I found this after becoming newly fascinated with tamarind but not quite sure what to do with it.

As such, into Epicurious, I typed "tamarind," hit enter and hoped for inspiration. It yielded this.

I should probably further qualify this recipe in that I just returned from a week in Mexico, followed by a flight delay in San Fran, an unexpected overnight stay, a reroute through Denver and a happy return home about 16 hours later than anticipated. Consequently, I had no groceries. At least nothing fresh (as sourly evidenced by the bit of buttermilk that I forgot about but was promptly reminded of when I opened the fridge to assess the situation). I also had no energy for a trip to the store but had *brilliantly* invited my Mom for dinner. All that aside, I do have a reasonably stocked pantry and a too full freezer... out comes a pork tenderloin and a can of crushed tomatoes.