Antojitos Mexicanos

Best translated as "Mexican Snacks," the Spanish word "Antojitos" literally means "little cravings." When I lived in Mexico, I used to eat antojitos every Sunday night. I'd enjoy them with a cold tequila or Tecate Rojo beer, and the experience was always very comforting to me and got me ready for the work week.

I guess in my mind, antojitos are sort of like tapas (but think more fried, and less healthy) in that they come in any number of varieties and differ greatly by region.

Pedro made these antojitos as an appetizer, but they were so yummy that we just kept eating and skipped dinner.

Here's what you do for this particular antojito. Buy instant corn masa from your local Mexican grocer. The great thing about this flour is that all you have to do is add water until you achieve the desired consistency. Add salt to taste. Then form small golf-ball sized pieces and press them with a tortilla press to make a corn tortilla.

Trick: use ziplock bags for the perfect nonstick surface.

Stuff the tortilla with sharp white cheddar, bacon pieces and mozzarella. Fold the tortilla on itself like an empanada or pot sticker. Pan fry in olive oil until golden brown on both sides.

Enjoy plain or with your favorite salsa, and tell me that salty warm crunch isn't addictive.

2014 Wine Season

Pedro and I look forward to wine season every year. We typically wake up extra early on a Saturday and head down to Consumer's Produce in Pittsburgh's Strip district. 

Ron Castletano is Consumer Produce's Italian wine guy. He's notoriously difficult to get ahold of, but always friendly once you find him. On Saturday, Sept. 27, Pedro and I ventured downtown for our grapes. The California harvest was a little late this year. We bought ~110 lbs of Sangiovese (red Italian variety) from Lanza Musto vineyards on California's North Coast. We bought this grape in honor of our recent trip to Italy where we learned about the Chianti wine-making process (must contain at least 80% Sangiovese). We also bought two buckets of Chardonay juice.

In the Consumer's Produce warehouse, bees hum around the sweet grapes, Ron takes customer orders from atop a wine barrel, old Italian men discuss wine-making secrets passed to them from their fathers, and free home made Italian sausages, cured meats and cheeses are available to those who rise early enough to beat the crowds.

This year, Pedro built and ingenious destemmer with a perforated metal sheet, cutting the grape prep time down to one hour exactly including destemming and crushing. Last year destemming alone took about three hours. Quite an improvement in process efficiency!

While we finished up the crushing, Pedro opened a bottle of 2013 Cabernet (we think! - lots of bottles got shifted around during my move in and so we're not entirely sure which vintage is which in some bottles now). That wine tastes VERY promising.

After killing the natural yeasts in the grapes on Saturday Pedro added the red wine yeast to the three buckets last night. I will be in charge of punching the caps this week while Pedro is in Chicago.

Hope this year's vintage is a good one! It was made with lots of love (and a little quality control from Taco Garcia since we were dog-sitting him for the weekend).

Grilled Baby Portobello Sandwich

An early fall treat for your taste buds. Remove the mushroom caps and marinate them in a cup of red wine with 3 tbsp of soy sauce, 5 tbsp of red or cider vinegars, pepper flakes, 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, crushed thai basil and olive oil.

Grill the caps for 3 minutes per side. Place approx 3 caps on a toasted bun with light smear of Dijon mustard, lettuce, tomato and a thin slice of sharp, hard cheddar.

Enjoy this earthy, vegetarian friendly masterpiece.