Tag: Margaritas

Weekend Finds 5:11:14: Rhubarb Edition

I was thinking about giving this weekend finds post a Mother’s Day theme, but let’s face it: If you haven’t already figured out what you’re giving your mom for mom’s day, you are way late. Maybe you could make her one of these recipes instead? Yeah, I bet she’d like that.

1. Spicy Rosemary Rhubarb Margarita

Spicy Rosemary Rhubarb Margarita on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Not only do these margaritas sound delicious, but if I can get mine to look anything close to this beautiful, I’ll be happy.

In case last week’s margaritas weren’t quite intense enough for you, give these ones from Adventures in Cooking a try. Spruced up with a little heat and some rosemary, they seem nice and earthy, while still being fruity and light.

2. Strawberry Rhubarb Salad with Hazelnuts and Mint

Strawberry Rhubarb Salad on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Salad with Hazelnuts and Mint.

I love this refreshing take on the classic combo from Bon Appetit. No baking, No roasting. Just a little marinating in some sugar and adding some freshness with the mint and some crunch with the hazelnuts.

3. Rhubarb Curd

Rhubarb Curd on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
I only wish this curd had more of the beautiful blush color.

I am in love with the toast plate with lemon curd they serve at The Sugar Cube, and I think I might have to recreate it at home with this rhubarb curd. Yum.

4. Rhubarb Scones

Rhubarb Scones on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
One of my favorite breakfast baked goods studded with rhubarb.

I think scones are my favorite breakfast baked good. I love the crumbly sweetness of them. And I imagine I’d love them studded with beautiful gems of rhubarb. Picture it slathered in the above curd. Muahaha. Yes.

5. Rhubarb Vinegar

Rhubarb Vinegar on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Use this vinegar to jazz up your spring and summer salads.

If you’re looking for something to bring a little life to your springtime salads, this rhubarb infused vinegar from Thrifty Jinxy is probably it. I think it’d be perfect tossed with some oil on a spinach salad with strawberries and hazelnuts and goat cheese.

6. Literally 100 more rhubarb recipes

MORE RHUBARB on Weekend Finds // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
This is just a pretty picture of rhubarb. In case you forgot.

In case none of those are tickling your fancy (that’s a saying, right…?) here’s a list of so many more things you can do with this beautiful ingredient. It’s not all pie, friends!

Weekend Finds 5:3:14: Cinco De Mayo Edition

I’ll be working on Monday night, but this edition of weekend finds is for those of you that will be celebrating Cinco de Mayo! I plan on celebrating with my roommates over the weekend, though there certainly won’t be any margarita cupcakes or jello shots (because, seriously?). You can celebrate this weekend, too, if lots of margaritas are more your style…

1. Rhubarb Margaritas

Weekend Finds: Cinco de Mayo Edition // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Try these rhubarb margaritas with homemade rhubarb simple syrup!

Yes, more rhubarb. I had a hard time deciding if this weekend finds would be rhubarb themed or Cinco de Mayo themed, and lucky for me, this find fits both. This time, the rhubarbh is combined with tequila, so it’s about as great as it could ever be. I would DIY some rhubarb simple syrup for this recipe instead of trekking out to your nearest Ikea…

2. Tacos Galore

Weekend Finds: Cinco de Mayo Edition // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
This slideshow from Bon Appetit has so many different kinds of tacos, it’s hard to choose which ones to make.

If you know you’re going to make tacos (and really, why wouldn’t you?), check out this slideshow from Bon Appetit to help you decide what exactly to fill them with. I think making a few of these fillings is a perfect way of giving folks some options.

3. Corn Tortillas

Weekend Finds: Cinco de Mayo Edition // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Beautiful fresh tortillas. There’s nothing like them.

If you haven’t made your own tortillas before, I definitely recommend it. The softness and freshness cannot be beat by anything in a little ziploc bag you buy at the store. Try this recipe from Happy Yolks on Food52. It only calls for 3 ingredients, one of which is water, and you don’t even need a tortilla press.

4. Guacamole with Spring Peas

Weekend Finds: Cinco de Mayo Edition // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Guacamole: springtime edition with the addition of peas and ginger.

I love that this guacamole recipe brings fresh peas into the mix, letting us celebrate springtime a little bit too. The ginger sounds nice too, like it would make for a very refreshing snack. Bring on the Juanita’s. And don’t forget this guac saving trick.

5. Crunchy Black Bean Tacos

Weekend Finds: Cinco de Mayo Edition // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
These crispy tacos look delicious with all the cheese and beans oozing out.

These black been tacos look delicious, and I love the way you fry up the tortillas to get them nice and crunchy. Imagine these bad boys all piled on a plate, piping hot and ready to enjoy with some Coronas. Yum.

6. Fish Tacos

Weekend Finds: Cinco de Mayo Edition // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
These fish tacos are some of my favorite tacos I’ve ever made.

If you are going to make more traditional tacos, this recipe for fish tacos will always be one of my absolute favorites.

7. Mango Michelada

Weekend Finds: Cinco de Mayo Edition // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
I love the color of this mango michelada.

If margaritas aren’t quite your style and you’d prefer something a little more laid back, try this mango michelada. I bet you could simplify it even farther by replacing the mango purée with mango juice, too.

Restaurant Review: Que Pasa Cantina

The patio at Que Pasa Cantina // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler

Mexican food and I are relatively new friends. Growing up, I loved a good plain quesadilla as much as the next kid (occasionally I would even put shredded chicken in it), but beans and tomatoes and onions? Gross. Hated it. Blech. The texture of beans in general is still something I’m working on. But Mexican food has slowly creeped in to my life in the past 6 years or so. In high school, I would’ve way rather gone to Vietnamese or Indian than Mexican.

Here in Portland we’ve got some killer Mexican food. You want a hole in the wall with the most amazing tacos you’ll ever have? Go to Tienda y Panaderia Santa Cruz in St. John’s. You want a line out the door for a delicious bowl of rice and beans and meat and some mystery amazing sauce? Go to Porque No. You want a crazy good Mexican style brunch? Definitely go to Autentica. But a relatively recent discovery has made my go to Mexican list: Que Pasa Cantina.

First let’s talk about the margaritas. Because, let’s be honest, margaritas (margs for short) are delicious, thirst-quenching, and I love the combo of salty and sour. The margs at Que Pasa were great – strong, sour, and just straight up good. Could you ask for more? Yes – at happy hour their house marg is only $5. Don’t want to go traditional? Don’t worry, they’ve got margs with jager, seasonal fruit, grapefruit juice, jalapeño, and of course all different kinds of tequila.

Before I get to the food, I want to tell you about one of my favorite parts of going to Que Pasa Cantina. Aside from the Potatoes Olé (you’ll read about them later), this restaurant also has possibly my favorite waiter in town. He has served us both times we’ve gone to the restaurant, and I don’t know his name, but he’s hilarious. He’s a little quiet, but very suave and with a stellar sense of humor. You can tell the guy is having a great time and doesn’t take anything too seriously. I want to be his friend.

Chips and Salsa at Que Pasa Cantina // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler

The first time we went to Que Pasa, I had recently discovered pastor (thanks Eliza!), so I ordered their traditional pastor tacos. Pastor is thinly sliced pork that has been marinated in a spice rub of chilies, cumin, and other delicious herbs. The bonus is that these tacos came not only with pastor, but also with pineapple (not uncommonly served with pastor), which is a serious weakness of mine. I have a tendency to, if there’s pineapple around, eat so much that my tongue starts to get numb and little bumps appear. This may be because I have a geographic tongue… but we’re getting sidetracked. Anyway, these tacos were awesome. First, any good Mexican restaurant knows to double wrap their tacos – 2 tortillas please! That way if one ruptures, you’ve got a backup. Makes the whole affair far less messy. Second, the pastor was so packed with flavor and had the nice fruitiness from the pineapple – I was in heaven. My next trip I ordered some chorizo tacos, which were super tasty, very flavorful, and spicy. Loved it.

Tacos and Potatoes Olé! at Que Pasa Cantina // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler

The first time we went to Que Pasa was with Peter, the producer of Jonah’s new album. Peter told us the greatest secret of Que Pasa. With your dish, don’t get the usual side of rice and beans. Why? Because you can choose to replace those beans and rice with their Potatoes Olé, mashed potatoes with carrots, sweet white corn, jalapeños, sour cream, cheddar cheese, and jack cheese. These potatoes are to die for. I know, they aren’t super healthy (potatoes, sour cream, and hella cheese), but hot damn. I now have bouts of serious cravings for these potatoes. They are so creamy, and I love the occasional crunch of the corn and carrots, and the little bit of spice from the jalapeño. These are definitely on my list of dishes to attempt to recreate.

So there you have it, folks. If you want some bomb.com Mexican food with a side of probably the best mashed potatoes you’ll ever eat, do me a favor, and visit Que Pasa Cantina (just north of the Hawthorne food carts on 12th ave).

Friday Finds 6:21:13

This week’s Friday finds revolves a lot around family, as I spent last weekend in Seattle for Father’s Day:

1. La Bête, Seattle, WA

La Bête, Seattle, WA // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler

We went to La Bête for brunch on Father’s Day, and wow, let me tell you, it was wonderful. Beautiful space, delicious food, great staff… everything about it was just lovely. I have also heard great things about dinner, so if you’re in the Seattle area, you should absolutely go to this spot.

2. Wine Tasting in Woodinville (specifically Ross Andrew)

Ross Andrew Winery // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Photo Credit Ross Andrew Winery

On Father’s Day, after brunch, we went wine tasting in Woodinville, WA. I’ve never been wine tasting before, but I must say I really enjoyed myself. When I get rich, I’ll go all the time, and I’ll buy all the wine. My favorite tasting room we visited was Ross Andrew – check out their Red Blend and their Meadow White Wine.

3. Apricots, peaches, and nectarines, oh my!

Broiled Apricots // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler

The stone fruits have arrived and I could not be more excited! I have made these super easy broiled apricots twice now, and I have a feeling I’ll be making them and variations on them many times this summer. Recipe coming soon! Other recipes to check out include this apricot and basil tart, this grilled peach crumble, and this nectarine galette.

4. Sayulita, Mexico

Sayulita, Mexico // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Photo Credit Ashley Gordon via National Geographic

My mom booked a place in Sayulita, Mexico in October, and Jonah and I will be joining her for a week (the week of my birthday! also the week of dia de los muertos!). We booked our tickets this week, and all I can think about is laying on the beach, drinking margaritas, and eating tamales. This would all be fine, if the trip weren’t 5 months away. Ah, the waiting game.

5. A Platter of Figs by David Tanis

A Platter of Figs by David Tanis // Serious Crust by Annie Fassler
Photo Credit Hamptons Magazine

I bought A Platter of Figs while up in Seattle, and the recipes look so lovely. David Tanis is a head chef at Chez Panisse, and has a lot of the same theories about food as Alice Waters and Tamar Adler – simple is good, you don’t need to have a specific recipe (he has lots of suggested variations accompanying his recipes), cooking and eating well are good, etc. What really caught my eye about the book was the photos and the pages. They aren’t glossy, and the photos are really rustic and beautiful. Take a look at it next time you’re at the bookstore.