Relay For Life Salsa

Salsa verde and Salsa Rojo

For the last couple of years I have donated my time and food to the Relay For Life cancer walk in Whitley County, Indiana. My cousin Tammy is a cancer survivor and is a big contributor and driving force behind the fundraiser. Last year, I made 25 lbs of pulled pork for the Relay's survivor dinner. It always feels great to contribute to such a good cause.

This year, when Tammy ask me if I wanted to pitch in, she told me they were making a taco bar. I knew instantly what I wanted to contribute – authentic Mexican style taco sauce! I decided to make a salsa verde as well as a salsa roja and I wanted to charcoal grill the vegetables to add further depth to what I think is mandatory for a great taco - GREAT TACO SAUCE!

The night before, I bought the fresh vegetables and took them to the family campground where I crashed for the night. In the morning I woke up, brewed some coffee and fired up the charcoal. I grilled the vegetables and blended everything down in two batches making a quart of each type of salsa - plus a little extra for my own tacos later that night.

Fresh off the grill

I decided to go mild with these batches. I love hot salsa, but I have found the majority of people at large dinner events prefer mild to no spice. It almost disappoints me that so many people are afraid of the heat, but I accept it and make the adjustment when cooking for crowds.

I was really happy with how this salsa turned out, the smoky grill added an extra element of flavor to the salsas and the final product had a smooth and silky consistency. One thing I have been doing the last few times I have made taco sauce is letting it liquify in the blender for a good amount of time. I pulse it at first, then turn it to high and let it go for 5 or 6 minutes, I also add a little water to thin it out, which really makes it nice and easy to spoon onto the tacos!

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPES
Salsa roja
4 medium Tomatoes, quartered
4 medium Onion, quatered
6 cloves Garlic
2 Jalapenos, stemmed and seeded
4 Ancho chilis, toasted
1/2 C Cilantro
2 Limes, zest and juice
2 Tbs honey
Water as needed

Salsa verde
10 tomatillos halved
4 medium Onion, quartered
6 cloves Garlic
2 Jalapenos, stemmed and seeded
1/2 C Cilantro
2 Limes, zest and juice
2 Tbs honey
Water as needed

Toss vegetables in a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper to taste. Grill until wilted and cooked soft. 8 to 10 minutes, rotating and moving around as needed. Put grilled vegetables in blender along with all other ingredients and blend until liquified, 5 to 6 minutes. Adjust seasoning if needed.

Habanero Tomato Salsa

Printable version

My favorite thing to eat is tacos. I specialize in them. So much so, that people sometimes pay me to create a taco bar for their event or occasion. The secret to a great taco is not the meat, tortillas or toppings. The secret is in the sauce, where heat from a hot pepper, tartness of a lime, or a limitless number of ingredients can be used to create a flavor explosion that defines the taste of the taco.

When putting out sauces for a taco bar I always include a couple of the mild variety, for the none heat-loving people, and a couple of spicy offerings for those who can handle the fire.

For this recipe, I make a habanero hot sauce for heat lovers. I’ve been working on it for sometime, because it’s easy when using habanero peppers to make sauce so hot that it literally creates pain and misery. Here I use the acid of tomato, the citrus of lime and the sweetness of honey to balance the habanero inferno. The sauce is hot, but hot in an addictive way, that’s sure to create future cravings.

BEHIND THIS BITE

Habanero Tomato Salsa

I made tacos for a gathering at the church recently and put out a sauce that I thought was really hot. Earlier in the day when I made and sampled it out of the blender, it was lip numbing and set my mouth on fire. In the 4 hours between that taste and actually serving it, the lime and sugar really went to work on the heat and as the flavors melded together, completely neutralized it. I was telling people to watch out because it was hot. After a while a friend of mine came over and said “I thought this sauce was supposed to be hot?”

I then went and sampled it.

I was astonished that the heat had disappeared, and a little embarrassed because I was really talking the sauce up. Since then, everyone who tried the sauce has given me a hard time about it. That’s the inspiration behind this sauce. I could make a hot sauce so hot it would be inedible, but I wanted to make something that packs a whollop but can be eaten on two or three tacos at dinner, so there needed to be some restraint to the fire. This sauce does that.

I recommend using only one habanero the first time if a person is just experimenting, but for a hot sauce lover two habanero is the way to go. Make sure you have tissue around when you try this – it will make your nose run!

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE

Habanero Tomato Salsa

Makes 1 quart; 40 minutes
3 medium Tomatoes quartered
1 large Red onion quartered
4 cloves Garlic
2 Habanero peppers
1 Jalapeño pepper
1/2 C Cilantro chopped
2 Tbs Honey
1 Lime zest and juice
Water to create desired consistency of sauce

Roast vegetables
Preheat oven to 425°
Season onion, tomatoes, garlic, jalapeno and habanero with salt and pepper to taste, toss in olive oil. Place in a roasting dish and cook until tomatoes wilt and black bits appear on edges of onions and peppers, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven.

Blend
In a blender add roasted vegetables, cilantro, zest and juice of lime, honey and a little water if necessary. Blend mixture until smooth, 5 to 6 minutes. Pulse and stir occasionally to break up any chunks.

Rest, test and serve
Let salsa rest for at least one hour for flavors to meld. Taste, if to hot add more honey if necessary. Serve on tacos, or eat with tortilla chips.

Tacos For 125: Meal Overview

I was completely excited about making the food for this party as soon as I was asked to do it and was told "do whatever you think will work for 100 to 150 people."

Tacos, Mexican fiesta, sauces, nachos, chili - That was my first thought and the party hosts were totally cool with it.

Game on.

Close family friend, Joannie Schnellbach asked me to make the food for a party in honor of her daughter's recent marriage. The bride, Brittany and love of her life, Kevin Bewely tied the knot a few weeks before in a small private ceremony. They wanted to throw a big party for all the friends and family that would have attended a more public and larger wedding celebration. The shindig was going to be held at our family camp ground, so it was home turf to me.

A taco bar is a simple way to feed a lot of people, all of the ingredients can be mixed and matched. A simple taco or a hardy plate of nachos can be made from all the different ingredients. To take the taco bar concept into the gourmet realm I made a series of hot and mild sauces, a ranch-buttermilk based finishing sauce and the meats featured a special marinade and seasoning. For the kids, it was decided to have a small hot dog bar off to the side of the Taco fiesta.

When planning for a meal in general, a good ball park figure is 4 oz portions of meat per person. That is a lot of meat for a soft taco to hold, so I figured that for each person to get 4 oz of meat they would probably need at least two tacos. There were roughly 125 rsvps, Joannie told me to plan for 150, just to be on the safe side. Roughly 40 pounds of meat would be needed to make an estimated 300 tacos.

We decided to only put out small plates and little ballpark-style boats for nachos. This forced people to eat one or two tacos or a modest plate of nachos at a time. It was a little cruel to do it that way but if you give people a big plate, they will fill it – normal people in front of a giant spreads of food will pile food on plates as if they were Spartans prepping for battle. In my experience catering dinners and receptions I have become disgusted by what people do when an unlimited amount of food is set before them. Some people really just eat like hogs when given the chance. Others just pile it on a plate and throw half of it away.

If they were gonna eat like heathens at our fiesta, they were gonna have to do it with multiple trips.

The plan worked. People ate their fill, but there were no plates half full of food tossed in the dumpster.

The tomatoes for the sauces and taco garnishes were fresh from the garden. The party was Sept. 28, right in time for everyone to be bringing in their final harvests before tilling the garden under. I had a full 5-gallon bucket of tomatoes just for sauces and fresh salsa, with another bucket fresh picked before the party for garnish and an impromptu bowl of pico de gallo.

All the shopping for the Saturday party was done the Wednesday before. The sauces were made Thursday, the meat and chili on Friday. All of the little taco and nacho garnishes were done Saturday morning. Being able to do the sauces and meat ahead of time allowed for a really relaxed catering job, there were no moments where I felt I was in the weeds and the prep couldn't have went any better than it did.

THE MEAT
Recipe for the meats

THE SAUCES
Ancho chili sauce
Guajillo chili sauce
Salsa verde
Ranch tomatillo dressing

THE PARTY
The biggest surprise was the amount of people who opted for a plate of nachos rather than soft tacos. They covered the chips with all the gourmet meats and sauces like they would have a taco, many just opted for tortilla chips to deliver the goods.

Another huge surprise was raw onion. I could not keep the container full, I diced at least 10 large red onions before and during the party. When it comes to a taco bar make sure you give them onions!

Another unexpected dilemma was the nacho cheese sauce. We purchased a large gallon container of it and I thought it would be nice for the nacho chips but it was really intended for the hot dog bar put out for the kids. But, like the onions, I couldn't put enough out. People were drowning plates of nachos with the stuff, there was a group of teenage boys that should have just grabbed pint glasses of it and drank it because that would have been more practical than the runny mess they made at the counter. So, if you put nacho cheese on a taco bar, PLAN TO HAVE AS MUCH NACHO CHEESE AS YOU DO MEAT! It was the first and only item that I ran completely out of.

The party had three main waves of eating, and there were people snacking at all times. The first big wave was right when the party started at 2 p.m. and it was mostly the bride and groom's family. The second wave was around 5 or 6 and was a mix of family and a younger crowd of friends that were there to party. The third wave was later that night when all of the party people got the munchies. The late night run got crazy with people using the chili as taco filling. (Which was pretty tasty I must say.)

In the end, small portions of meat were left, a few soft tacos and a half bag nachos. The mild sauces ran out, but I had a lot of the spicier salsa left over. There was just a small amount of chili left and a few dogs. If I had to do it again I would do it exactly the same way, except I would probably make more mild sauce than hot and I would have purchased 2 gallons of Nacho cheese instead of 1.

It was a complete success.

FYI - Desert and cake was provided by the Mother and drinks were BYOB ... 


THE LIST
My grocery list that became the meal:
300 tortillas
30 lbs chicken
1 gallon margarita mix
30 lbs ground beef
2 Cups  Chili powder
1 Cup Cumin
5 lbs tomatillos
15 pounds tomatoes
30 red onions
30 to 40 jalapeños
3 lbs green peppers
20 limes
10 bunches of cilantro
Half gallon buttermilk
Jar of mayo
2 packets of ranch seasoning mix
1 Bag each of dried ancho and gaujillo chilis
10 heads of garlic
5 heads of lettuce
5 lbs shredded cheddar cheese
150 oz of tortilla chips (6 25 oz bags)
1 gallon of salsa for chips
60 hot dogs
60 hot dog buns
1 gallon Hot dog chili sauce
1 gallon nacho cheese
2 30 oz can refried beans
5 cans black beans
5 cans corn
4 32 oz boxes beef broth

What it makes
300 Tacos - meat, garnishes, sauces
10 quarts of Southwestern Black bean and corn chili
60 hot dogs - chili or nacho cheese
Chips and salsa, or a plate of nachos for 125 people

This party was a total success, it seemed as though there was enough variety that everyone was able to build the taco or nacho plate that they wanted. Cant wait to do it again.

Eat well, cook often ...

Homemade Mexican Hot Sauce

Printable version

This recipe starts with onion, garlic and four jalapenos. The peppers are kept whole with ribs and seeds for that extra fire that they provide. I simply chopped each jalapeno into five or six slices and tossed it in the pot. Once the base has cooked a few minutes and starts to soften up I add the tomatoes and chiles.

I had never worked with the Pasilla de Oaxaca chile, it’s smoked and ads a meaty bacon or ham-type of flavor. I think it would be ideal for vegetarians to use to simulate a bacon flavor in soup - As long as they can stands the heat.

After the chiles have toasted and the tomatoes start to surrender some of their liquid I add the chicken broth. It's all brought to a simmer and let go for at least a half an hour – or until it has reduced some.

Before transferring it to a blender, I took it off the heat for a while just to let it cool – I think it is a bit easier to work with when it’s not as hot. The mix is blended for a minute or two, just long enough so that everything is liquefied into a smooth and silky sauce. That's all it takes - now it's time to slather it on your favorite type of taco!

BEHIND THIS BITE
I actually made much more than what I thought I would be making for this batch - about 2 quarts - which is enough for about six thousand tacos. All I needed was enough for 12. I ended up giving a couple of bottles away.

I decided to make this hot sauce to get rid of some dried chiles I had left in the pantry. About a year ago Greg Patterson form the online spice store SpicesInc.com sent me a number dried chili samples to try. I had used most of them but had a few left so I decided to use them for a taco sauce. I am going get more of the Pasilla de Oaxaca chile in the future. It has a smoky flavor like a chipotle but it also has a meaty quality to it as well. As I mention in the introduction, it would be a good chili for vegetarians to use.

I thought that four jalapenos would really add some fire to this sauce but to my surprise, it was rather mild for my taste. But then again, my mild is another man’s hellfire - as most of my relatives would say.

Eat well, cook often ...

THE RECIPE
Makes 2 Quarts; 1 hour
1 1/2 C Red onion, chopped
4 Jalapeño, chopped
5 cloves Garlic, whole
3 C Tomatoes, chopped
1 oz Pasilla de Oaxaca chiles, dried, seeded
2 oz Ancho chiles, dried, seeded
3 C Chicken broth

Cook vegetables
In a soup pot over medium heat sauté onion and jalapeno in a little olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Cook until soft 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in garlic cook until fragrant, another 2 to 3 minutes.

Add chiles, broth; simmer, blend
Add tomatoes and chiles, cook until tomatoes release some of their juice, 5 to 6 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Stir occasionally. Add chicken broth bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes or until tomatoes break down and liquid reduces by a third. Remove from heat let mixture cool for an hour then blend until smooth.