2005-12-30 - 12:18 p.m. Cooking With Gump: Ten Tiny Tacos A few months ago I went to this chic restaurant in Cambridge called the Middlsex Lounge. They had some very interesting food from Kobe Burgers to this dish called �the ten tiny tacos� which were made with pulled pork, a taste of avocado, and a slice of jalepeno. I looked at them and thought �hot damn these are easy to make.� First of all, lets not talk about the fact the meal was 12.95. Lets talk about the fact that it was simple and could be done better. Here is what I did to make �Gump�s Tiny Tacos� This is what I needed � Bag of Scoops, Bag of Shredded Cheese, Peppers, Ground Beef, Taco Seasoning, and Salsa. Step 1: Layout the shells. Get rid of the broken ones with no sides. You might not think you need to do this, but you�re wrong. Also these are bite size so you can go through them quickly. Remember that. 8 is the ideal number for one person. 10 are a good appetizer for sharing. Step 2: Cut up the peppers. Being Christmas and all we went with the green and red which I think was a wise choice anyway. I prefer them raw over saut�ed, but you can mix them in with the ground beef as well. Step 3: Sautee the ground Beef. You won�t need as much as you think. Also, you can use turkey or pulled pork, or whatever meat you want here. For the vegans some tofu mixes in nicely here, but I would recommend adding in some seasoning of sorts. As another note, I added taco seasoning to give the beef flavor. I also cut the beef up multiple times because you don�t want to have big chucks because it won�t fit into the shells. Step 4: Scoop the meat into the shells. Now, don�t worry about getting the meat cool, because its going into the oven�but also drain the fat, because that�s going to seep through the shells and taste terrible. Step 5: Put in the peppers. Make sure that you cut them small, and don�t push down on the shell because it will again, crack the shell. Step 6: I spooned on Salsa to the shells which gave it a nice flavor. Now chucky salsa is ideal for some because it had, well, chunks�.but mostly I like thinner types for the mild taste. Step 7: Cheese and lots of it. The cheese really makes the meal since almost everyone I know loves cheese. You can play around with the type of cheese too and make this a very spicy dish. Overall though try not to make as much of as mess as I did. Step 8: Bake them until the cheese melts, just as you would nachos. Step 9: Serve your delicious New Year�s Eve Party treats! (resolutions after the first!) | |||||||||||
