Diego's Taco Shop Review

Growing up in the southwest, Mexican food is one of the few cuisines that I rarely get tired of.  Yesterday I had Mexican twice.  I'm not tired of it at all, but one of my meals seemed like tired Mexican.

Sorry Diego's, you just didn't come very close to getting the job done for me.  Now I know that Diego's is somewhat of a Provo favorite, but in reality there are just too many other good to great options for Mexican in Utah county to have to put up with mediocrity.

Why the beef? A few reasons.  The first of these doesn't have to do a whole lot with the food, but rather the lack of it.  They were out of Carne Asada on a Saturday evening.  Having worked in the food biz, running out of something that you're "known for" is a huge faux pas, and in turn probably reflects in the rest of the review.

Second, the Carnitas and Al Pastor pork that I had in my tacos was just average.  It was good, but I can make good Mexican at home.  A tacqueria should be great. (On a side note, their Al Pastor does not have any pineapple in it like you would find in an authentic Tacqueria).

Third, and this was the primary reason that Diego's gets a negative review, THEY DON'T MAKE THEIR OWN TORTILLAS!  What the...???  Seriously?  I even make my own tortillas when I have time.  This is how easy it is:

As a result, the tacos I had (on corn) were dry.  The burrito my gf had (on flour) was store bought floury.  I just can't give a taco shop a passing grade when they choose not to do something that is so simple and cheap (i'm sure it costs more to buy pre-made) as making your own tortillas.

I apologize to all of the Diego's lovers out there, but if you want to have some real Mexican, give El Giro Gallo a try.  Diego's gets 2.5 stars.  Maybe 3 if I was really hungry.

<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/54/1221667/restaurant/Salt-Lake-City/Diegos-Taco-Shop-Provo"><img alt="Diego's Taco Shop on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1221667/biglink.gif" style="border:none;width:200px;height:146px" /></a>

Back to School and Eating Healthy? This is some kind of joke.

So apparently I had the longest back to school transition period known to man, because I haven't blogged since early August.  But here it goes.

The last few weeks I have been on a healthy kick.  I have a bet with my friend Laura Marquez that I can lose twenty pounds by Christmas.  The problem is, as you all know, that I love to cook and eat.  But i wasn't going to let that stop me.

Without further adieu, here is the best whole wheat Banana Pancakes recipe that I have tried.  Sorry mom, it's better than yours.  But yours are great.

Pat's Favorite Bananapancakes (sorry for no space, but the amount of "a"s looks more impressive without).

There is one alteration you should absolutely make to the recipe!  Separate the egg and stir the yolk in with the other wet ingredients, but beat the white to firm peaks and fold into the batter once everything else is incorporated.

There is a second alteration that is optional.  Add an extra banana.  The recipe as called for doesn't have a ton of banana flavor, fyi.  That may be good for some people, but I like it with two.

Enjoy my friends.

BTW, it doesn't take much to eat healthy.  I started working out and eating healthy two and a half weeks ago and I have lost six pounds.  I'll keep you posted on my progress.

TRIFLE WITH THE BRITS? You must be crazy.

While I was in England earlier this summer, I was thoroughly unimpressed with the majority of the meals that I had, aside from the dinner I ate here, at Merton College's dining hall:

For some reason, the Brits just don't believe in salt or seasonings too much.  If they only knew how good Bangers and Mash could be...

They do get one thing right though nearly 100% of the time.  ANY DESSERT THAT HAS WHIPPED CREAM IN IT!  Their whipped cream rocks.  So in tribute to my British friends, behold my Trifle recipe.

Trifle is easy, three components: 1. Pound Cake, 2. Whipping Cream or Custard, and 3. Fruit.  I've listed them separately in the recipe.  Once you've prepared all three elements, start with a layer of pound cake, and then layer fruit, followed by cream, until you reach the top.

Pound Cake:
Buying is easiest, and possibly cheapest, or you can make it from scratch.  I go Sandra Lee style, semi-homemade.  Here's the recipe I use.

1 Yellow Cake Mix
3/4 c. Vegetable oil
1/2 c. sugar
4 large eggs, well beaten
1 c. Sour Cream (you can use fat free if you insist)
1 tsp. Almond Extract
1 tsp. Lemon Zest

Preheat oven to 350, Mix all ingredients and then pour into a 12 cup bundt or tube pan.  Bake for 45-50 minutes.  Let cool 10 minutes before taking cake out of pan, and cool completely.

*The reason you use a bundt pan is because it allows you to cut thin slices of pound cake that you'll use to layer the trifle.  You could use cake chunks or whatever, but I like the layers to be even.

Fruit
You can really use any fruit you like in your trifle, I just like to use something that will give off a little bit of juice.  The recipe above is Blackberries, Strawberries and Peaches.  This is your opportunity to color theme your dessert for 4th of July, Valentines day, etc.

4 medium peaches, sliced and peeled
6 oz. clamshell of blackberries
1/2 lb. strawberries, quartered

Place cut fruit in a bowl and cover with 2-3 tablespoons of sugar/artificial sweetener, stir.  This helps to draw the juice out of the fruit.

Whipped Cream:  I'm gonna let you in on a secret...Lemon Curd (you can find it in the jam or baking goods section)

Whip 2 cups of heavy whipping to a stiff peak, add 2 T sugar, and fold in 1/4 c. of lemon curd.

Got it all done?  Start layering.  This really is a recipe that you can tailor to your crowd.  I had a pumpkin trifle last fall that was to die for, and I've seen richer trifles made with chocolate cake.   Make it your own and let me know how it goes.

Total Cost: $12-15.  I know that's a bit on the spendy side, but it serves about 10-12, and it's more of a "special occasion dessert" due to the work that goes into it.

Smart Phones and Smart Cooking

Have you ever gone to the grocery store and spent a bunch of money on food Wednesday, and by Friday, "There's nothing to eat in this house?"  Me too!  I don't think it's because of an actual lack of food, but simply because our culinary creativity is gone by the end of a day at work or school.

Well check out Recipe Search.  It's an app that allows you to type in a few ingredients that you have on hand, and returns recipes you can make with those ingredients.

I entered "celery" and "gravy,"  and the first results were Beef Roulade, and Shepherd's Pie.  If you really want to dip your celery in gravy, go ahead, but I think I'd prefer the Roulade!

There are lots of other features too, like forums and a place to store your recipes.  Best of all it's free and helps you cut down on your wasted food.  Let me know how it works for you by commenting below.

Mayonnaise Doesn't Suck! I promise!

Best Foods mayonnaise sucks.  So does Kraft.  I'd even go so far as to say that Hellman's is mediocre, and I hope that Jimmy John's will forgive me for that statement.  But Mayonnaise done right ROCKS!  If you don't believe me, go to Bruges Waffles and Frites in SLC and then get back to me.  You'll love it.

Europeans know what's up, and any good French chef will tell you that knowing how to make a good Mayonnaise is the basis for literally thousands of recipes.  When I was in Romania recently I made Salata de Beouf with my favorite Romanian Grandma.  It's essentially potato salad but with a crazy tangy mayonnaise for the base.  And yes, yours truly made the Mayo.

Two weeks later when I got home I tried to make it for a 4th of July BBQ.  Epic Fail.  So in honoring the ever important Mayonnaise, here is a video with old Gordon Ramsay himself (I think he was on crack when he filmed this) teaching us how to make Mayonnaise our friend!

Give it a try, and mix in some chipotle, or roasted garlic and red peppers, or whatever your heart desires.
Total cost for this recipe: LESS THAN $2.00.  Peasants Unite!