Dos XX Flank Steak

Summer is the perfect time to fire up the grill.  You don't have to turn the oven on and make an already hot house even more hot.  I avoid cooking with the oven at all costs in the summer months because it's already at least 100 degrees out.  So a couple weekends ago I was craving Mexican food (which actually happens often, but let's not digress) so Cole and I decided to make some fajitas on the grill.  The flavor was really good, but the meat was a little tough.  I think it's because of the way we cut it, but if anyone has any other ideas please share.  Gracias.

Dos XX Flank Steak

What you need:

Flank steak

One bottle Dos XX (or any other Mexican beer)

Juice of three limes

4-5 cloves garlic (chopped)

3 T cilantro (more or less to taste)

1 small to medium white onion

1 jalapeno

1 bell pepper (any color)

What you do:

Mix together the beer, lime juice, garlic and cilantro.  Pour over flank steak and let it marinate for several hours.   

When you have about two hours left until you want to eat add the bell peppers, jalapenos and bell peppers on top of the steak. Then about an hour after that flip over the steak so it's on top of the veggies so they can soak up some of the yummy marinade flavors.  Whenever you're ready to eat, pull out the steak and put it on a preheated grill.  Cook until your desired "doneness." We prefer medium rare.  At the same time saute your veggies on the stove.  Serve with rice, beans and tortillas.  

Enjoy with beer and a nice Cuba Libre.  

Mini Mondays: Churros

One of my favorite memories growing up is going to Costco with my mom.  She didn't take me very often because she would usually go during the week when I was in school because, let's face it, Costco is a mad-house on the weekends.  But occasionally she would put up with the crowds and take me along with her.  After we were done shopping (and tasting all the samples) we would stop by the food court and get a giant churro, and man were they delicious.  Now that I'm an adult, Costco trips aren't nearly as fun.  Mostly I want to get in and out of there as fast as possible; forget about waiting in a forever long line to get a churro.  So I decided I would try my hand at making homemade churros.  I decided to make them miniature for several reasons: 1) I didn't feel like using a ton of oil to fill up a big pot to fry up a normal sized churro.  2) I could eat more of them and feel less guilty if they are small.  3) As we have already established on this blog, things are a million times more adorable in miniature form.

Mini Churros

What you need:

1 cup water

2 1/2 T sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 T vegetable oil

2 tsp Mexican vanilla

1 cup flour

Oil for frying

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

What you do:

Combine water, 2 1/2 T sugar, salt, vegetable oil and vanilla in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil then remove from heat and stir in the flour until a ball forms.  Mix the remaining sugar and cinnamon together in a shallow dish and set aside. 

\

Allow the dough to cool some them either put the dough in a pastry bag and pipe out the dough into finger length strips (longer if you want to make regular sized churros).  If you use a star tip then your churros will look "normal."  I don't have a pastry bag and I tried to use a ziploc bag but after ripping two I said "screw it" and just rolled them out by hand.  

Now fry the dough until golden brown.  Make sure the oil is not too hot or the outside of the churro will crisp up before the dough on the inside is all the way cooked.  Immediately after taking the churros out of the oil roll them in the cinnamon sugar mixture you made earlier.  These taste best when eaten immediately, but they are still quite tasty even a couple days after you fry them (as long as they are kept in an airtight container).