Culinary Gringos

From time to time, we find that it's nice to settle down to a nice homemade meal in the 'Mexican Food' genre. Just like the abuelitas we never had used to make. Our south of the border repertoire includes the usual taco, burrito, enchilada, etc. We fancy ourselves pretty good Mexican food cooks, after all there's practically a Mexican joint on every corner where we live in San Pedro. That being said, if we really want to be real with ourselves, we know that what we're making is probably generic "Acapulco", "whitey-style",  or "gringo" Mexican food. That's cool. It's what we are, right? White folks making food inspired by our neighbors from down south and the variety of cultures that surround us everyday right here in Los Angeles.

The only bummer about cooking Mexican food is that whenever our Mexican or South American friends see how we cook Mexican food, they roll their eyes and tell us about the prized recipes that have been in their families for generations. Now I don't know about you, but that just makes us jealous that most of the time our Mexican culinary prowess involves purchasing a Lowrey's packet and throwing it into some ground beef.

So we decided to go ask the Internet, who is an ancestor of us all, for a good Mexican recipe. We found a good one for Enchiladas and Calabacitas.


First, we chopped up about 16 Roma tomatoes, a few cloves of garlic, as well as just the right amount of onions and threw them onto an oiled cooking sheet. Then into the oven they went to get nice and roasted. After roasting, we threw this mix or mezcla of vegetables into a blender and pureed it up into a sauce for later use.



We diced up some green chiles to add a little fuego and color to our enchiladas. But, they were Anaheim chiles. Nice and mild just how us whiteys like our chiles.



We seasoned up our chicken with cumin, paprika and chile powder, then proceeded to pan fry those chicken tits.


Our chicken tits got the chop chop treatment into bite-sized bits, perfect for wrapping up with a warm tortilla hug.


Since we know how to multi-task in the kitchen, we prepped some zucchinis and some summer squash for a little roasting while we wrapped up our enchiladas.



During the assembly process we didn't miss a beat with a little chicken, cheese and chiles gingerly arranged on a tortilla, which had been dipped in simmering chicken broth. The broth bath really helped in making the tortillas tender and vulnerable - just the way we like them - so that they didn't give us any trouble when we turned them into little bundles.  It also helped the tortilla to get friendly and bind to itself when going into the cooking dish.



After rolling up those bad boys or chicos malos, we smothered them in cheese and chiles, as well as our roasted tomato, garlic and onion sauce from earlier.


Into the oven with our enchiladas.



While our enchiladas cooked up in the oven, we added some onion, corn and seasonings to our roasted zucchini and cucumbers and sauteed. After the saute was finished, we topped the veggies with a little oregano, and just like that we had our calabacitas.



Once the enchiladas were done, it was time to plate everything and add some of our favorite toppings.

Of course we had plenty of left-overs, which tasted even better than the first-timers. Maybe that's the secret to good Mexican food. They are always serving you yesterday's food and the stuff you see them making fresh in the kitchen is for mañana.
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My Summer Vacation by Bob

Remember when you were a kid and returned to school after summer? Remember how you had to give a presentation on what you did over summer? Well, it was probably an excuse for your teacher to phone in the first day of class so they could shake off their hangover and get their business together after a long summer of procrastinating.

In the case of this blog, we've for passed procrastination and have been phoning in doing anything with the blog at all. So I'm going to phone in our lack of effort by doing a 'My Summer Vacation Story'. Replace 'Summer' for 'The Last Year and a Half.' Then replace 'Story' with 'Cell Phone Photos with Captions'.

Budweisers at Walker's

Shrimp Scampi at Big Nick's

Tim Barry at Alex's Bar

Breakfast Burrito and Corona at some restaurant in Sedona, AZ

Frosty beers at a really old bar in Jerome, AZ

Spirit Shirts purchased in Sedona, AZ

Chili and Cheddar at Pacific Diner in San Pedro

We didn't eat here, but I heard the portions are small

We saw The Gaslight Anthem. Mainly because Tim Barry was opening, but Gaslight turned out to be a great show

Fartbarf played in downtown San Pedro. You can see a video here.

The wall-o-boots at Robert's Western World in Nashville, TN

Tots and a dog at The Dog of Nashville

Two Cow Garage killing it at the Basement in Nashville, TN

Glossary was epic too. Probably one of my top 5 live shows.

Al enjoying her supper at The Loveless Cafe. This place was amazing. Really off the beaten path in Tennessee.

Home of the best biscuits I have ever had. If you don't believe me, you better book a flight.

Turkey, fried green tomatoes and mac and cheese / Pork, sweet potatoes and hush puppies.

Faith No More at the Palladium.

It seemed like they never broke up...

The presentation was better than the flavor. Some chain restaurant.

Dogs, a Mexican Coke and a Mexican Pepsi at the Corner Store in San Pedro.

Old Crow Medicine Show playing in 'Pedro. I spent most of my time at the beer tent since I wouldn't be able to see anything either way.

Food trucks a been comin' to 'Pedro...

... Maybe we'll write about it.

That's a hell of a Monte Cristo. Rex's in San Pedro.

Niko's in San Pedro now has a Greek section in their menu. The above was delicious.

The Pine Hill Haints played on the Rocket Boat in Long Beach. It was crowded and the boat did not rocket.

So that was what happened the whole time we weren't writing. Nothing more, nothing less. We are planning on bringing back normal stories, recipes, bands, adventures, etc., etc., etc., so keep yer eyes peeled.

Tunesday: Micah Schnabel

Ever heard of Two Cow Garage? If you answered no, then you should go treat yourself to some good music, then come back.

The focus of this post is the lead singer of Two Cow Garage, Micah Schnabel. Dude's a seriously awesome songwriter who sings with a sense of urgency and meaning. I had been listening to TCG for a while when I saw that Suburban Home Records would be releasing Micah's solo album. Being the music geek that I am, I swooped on it immediately. I think after the first or second listen through, both Alison and I were hooked on the record. Everything from his playing to his lyrics to his vocal delivery are damn good. I'm not going to bother washing this dude up any longer, just watch the below videos and you'll understand why we like the dude's music so much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_t0dPHXfBuI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTGO3XGRlR8

Me and My Bag of Hot Links

Alison's been in New Jersey the past week having fun with her family. We've written about our adventures there before, but this time I'm left behind to fend for myself while she gets to vacation in one of the misunderstood states in the Union.

Luckily for me, a week ago I purchased this awesome bag of Bar M Louisiana Brand Hot Links: Extra Hot.

I don't know under what circumstance I would be able to get Al to eat these for 2 reasons: 1. They are pork. 2. They are marked as hot. Basically she doesn't really like the other white meat and she shies away from the spicier of the food chain. Myself on the other hand, I love this stuff.

Out of the bag of 15 sausages, I am down to 5, so I'm doing pretty good. My favorite way to cook them is to boil the bad boys for about 5 minutes. It gets them nice and hot while hardening the skin up a bit and absorbing up water while retaining the juices of the sausage.

Next, I have a hot skillet waiting for the boiled sausages. Once the boiling is over, they go straight to the skillet at medium heat. Hot enough to leave a little searing, but not too hot to where the skin gets burnt or the sausages pop.

While the sausage gets crisped up in the skillet, I toast two hot dog buns. The whole while the Three Muskateers, mustard, pickles and sauerkraut lie in wait. (Claussen products are the best, but I'll elaborate on that in another post.)

You introduce the fine ingredient to each other ...

Then watch the Lakers or whichever sporting team you follow.

These sausages are pretty damn good, so go try to find some. If you think you can't eat 15 within a reasonable time, then freeze them ya dummy... for your health!

Tunesday: Uncle Tupelo presented by 'The Unwanted Guest'

Bob here... we've recently been solicited some unsolicited material. Our good friend Sean sent us over the below article for Tunesday. He demanded we call him 'The Unwanted Guest'. We aren't sure why he feels unwanted, but we'll leave the psychoanalysis up to the professionals. Enjoy thew below article and thanks, Sean.

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past 15 or so years, you have likely heard of the band Wilco with their 7 full length records, 2 records of unreleased Woody Guthrie material recorded with Billy Bragg, and sold out shows all over the world. Some of you may have even heard of Son Volt, although it is less than likely. It is more than likely that most of you have never heard of Uncle Tupelo.

Uncle Tupelo was a country band, although not in the ordinary sense of the Nashville bands you may be familiar with. Uncle Tupelo was an alternative band, although not in the same vain of Nirvana, Green Day, and the other alternative bands taking over the air waves in the early 1990s. Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country band, formed by Jeff Tweedy (Wilco) and Jay Farrar (Son volt) (Assisted at times by Brian Henneman of the Bottle Rockets) , before alternative country even existed, and long before alternative country was a punk rock retiree in a flannel shirt with an acoustic guitar. These twenty something’s started off playing punk rock, spurred by their admiration of The Ramones, the Minuteman, and Black Flag; however, there was little positive reception to punk rock in the scenes of Belleville, IL or St. Louis, MO. Driven by their desire to play music, they began to listen to the country music their parents had forced on them as children for inspiration. Out of this rose 4 records, a major label record deal, a nationwide tour, and some would say, Alternative Country.

When you turn on Anodyne, their major label debut, you hear Alternative Country… a concoction of the Ramones meets Hank Williams, with a side the Minutemen fronted by Neil Young, the rhythms of any ‘90s punk or alternative band with the twang, edge, and drawl of the Johnny Cashes, Kris Kristofferson’s, etc. Lyrics, alternated between Farrar and Tweedy, covered the topics of blue collar life in the Midwest and girls and relationships. This hybrid mix should have appealed to rock and country fans alike, however, selling a mere 150,000 copies (Sire records assumed they would be a platinum record making cash cow like all of the other alternative acts) reinforced that it was too rock for the country folk and to country for the rock folk. Fallout occurred between Tweedy and Farrar in 1994, breaking up Uncle Tupelo, and leading to the aforementioned Wilco (which started as Uncle Tupelo – Jay Farrar) and Son Volt.

Tweedy argues that they didn’t create a genre; they were simply playing Americana and furthering the work laid down by previous artists, notably Guthrie and the Flying Burrito Brothers. However, with a listen to many of the emerging Alt-County acts out there today, it is easy to see Uncle Tupelo’s influence. With more and more groups trying this “we are country” business these days, Tupelo classics like Whiskey Bottle, Graveyard Shift, Factory Belt Long Cut, continue to sound more sincere and relevant.

I cannot pinpoint when I first found Uncle Tupelo. I believe it started early in college as I out grew punk rock, heard a band called Lucero, and tried to engulf my self in this new found alternative country. These days, I don’t listen to Uncle Tupelo to pay homage to the alt-country scene I have embraced: I listen to Uncle Tupelo because it’s really good and although the records are aging quickly, they are still relevant to my current listenings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hy3WkIfgkSQ

Cover of Terry Fell’s Truck Driving Man

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOYdlgOmxwI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICrur9dMoiA

Tunesday: Playing Catch-Up

This is where I was about to write about how long it's been since I wrote a Tunesday update. I'm glad I didn't. Although I did. Man...

Even though I have been pretty lazy with keeping up to date in the writing department, I have still been buying new music almost on a weekly basis. There's been so much good stuff coming out lately and a lot of it is coming from one of my favorite labels / distributors, Suburban Home Records / Vinyl Collective. I found out about SH Records when I first started listening to Tim Barry and Drag The River, both of which are on SH Records. I first saw Tim and DTR probably about 4 years ago when they played Alex's Bar in Long Beach. Such a good show, I think I walked away with some merch from both bands.

I began buying more and more releases from Suburban Home Records. I started getting their newsletters and they were just putting out so many good records by bands like Tim Barry, Josh Small, Drag The River, Austin Lucas, Two Cow Garage, Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground, The Takers and more. I started falling down the rabbit hole.

I discovered SH Records was putting out 7-inch vinyl titled 'Under the Influence' where they find a set of bands or artists to do a cover version of a song that has influenced them and their music. Well, I didn't own a record player, but I had to buy one to hear these songs since they were only available on vinyl or digital download. Now, I have a problem collecting audio. I need the artwork. I need the physical copy, so here I am now with the whole first run of the 'Under the Influence' series (even multiple copies of some since there were some released in different colors of vinyl).

Now since I own the record player, the world is my musical oyster. To top it off, the dudes that run Suburban Home Records also run The Vinyl Collective where they sell tons of awesome vinyl. The most recent releases I bought were a couple of Jawbreaker records... so good.

All that ruthless plugging aside, I'd like to share with you some music from a few of the bands that have been on my turntable / in my CD player / on my itunes. Please pay close attention to the following:

Click here if on Facebook.

That's Micah Schnabel's (Two Cow Garage) solo record. I'm really impressed with the album front to back, and can't wait to see what he comes out with next.

Then dig this... the new Look Mexico record!

And... Tim Barry at Alex's Bar this weekend! With a true G, Possessed by Paul James:

Reactionaries

Time for a little shameless promotion... although that's what writing blogs is all about, right?

I recently partnered up with a few friends to start a record label that showcases musicians from my hometown of San Pedro. We just finished our first record, which is a re-release (first release) of a practice tape The Reactionaries (Minutemen before they were the Minutemen) and a b-side of a bunch of pedro musicians doing their versions of the songs by the aforementioned band. It's a pretty cool concept and was a lot of fun to make. You can check out site out at Water Under The Bridge Records. We even have another blog that chronicles the whole process of making the record.

It was a pretty damn cool experience. Chuck Dukowski of Black Flag played on it as well as Jack Brewer and Joe Baiza of Saccharine Trust and even Mike Watt, Todd Congelliere. So get down!

We are having a release party for the record at Harold's Place in San Pedro, Saturday Feb. 20th with a bunch of bands and good times. Check / click on the flyer below for info!