Grilled Skirt Steak Tortas

I made another Rick Bayless recipe today. I think this was one of the best dishes I've ever cooked. The sauces and spreads on the sandwich (torta = sandwich) were awesome, particularly the chipotle steak sauce.

The recipe called for steak or zucchini, but I used both.

Ingredients

• 1 medium red onion, sliced into 1/4-inch thick rounds
• A little vegetable oil
• ½ pound skirt steak
• 1 zucchini, sliced lengthwise a little less than 1/2-inch thick
• 1 24-inch baguette
• Simple Mashed Black Beans
• Chipotle Steak Sauce
• Avocado-Cilantro Mayonnaise
• 4 ounces (about 2 cups) shredded Mexican Chihuahua or Monterey Jack cheese

Directions

Make the simple mashed black bean spread, chipotle steak sauce, and avocado-cilantro mayonnaise (follow the links above for the recipes... they're all really simple).

Grill the onions. Light a charcoal fire and let the coals burn until they are covered with grey ash and medium-hot; set the grill grate in place. Or heat a gas grill to medium. Brush both sides of the onion slices with a little oil, sprinkle with salt, then lay in a single layer on the grill. Grill, turning at least once, until richly browned and soft, about 10 minutes. Scoop onto a cutting board.

Grill the steak and zucchini. Brush both sides of the steak and zucchini slices with a little oil, sprinkle with salt and lay on the grill. Grill, turning at least once, until the steak is medium (or more well done if you like) and the zucchini tender, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board. Chop the onion, steak, and zucchini into small pieces (about 1/2-inch). Scoop into a skillet and keep warm on the grill.

Assemble the tortas. Cut the baguette in half, then split each half lengthwise. Scratch out most of the soft bread from the top and bottom. Smear the bottom pieces with beans and lay face-down on the grill to warm for a minute. Flip them over and spoon a portion of the filling into each piece. Splash about 1/4 of the chipotle sauce over the meat on each piece. Smear each top baguette piece with avocado mayo, then press in a portion of the cheese. Set each top piece over a bottom. Turn the tortas over the fire until the cheese is melted and the bread is crisp, usually about 8 minutes. Cut each half in half and serve to your lucky guests.

Shrimp Tacos

This recipe comes from Rick Bayless. You may have seen his cooking show on PBS: Mexico: One Plate at a Time. You can find the original recipe here.

We ate this for dinner today. Even Josie loved the shrimp.

Ingredients

• 1 lime, halved
• 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, very coarsely ground
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice berries, very coarsely ground
• 3 bay leaves
• 12 ounces shrimp, deveined but unpeeled
• 1/2 small red onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 ripe medium-small tomato, cored and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 5 radishes, finely diced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil, preferably half olive oil and half vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

Squeeze the two lime halves into a medium saucepan, then add the two squeezed rinds, the black pepper, allspice, bay leaves and 1 quart water. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes.

Raise the heat to high, add the shrimp, re-cover and let the liquid return just barely to a simmer. Immediately remove the pan from the heat, hold the lid slightly askew and strain off all the liquid. Re-cover tightly, set aside for 5 to 8 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through, then rinse the shrimp under cold water to stop the cooking.

Peel the shrimp. If the shrimp are medium or larger, cut them into 1/2 -inch bits; place in a bowl. Add the red onion, tomato, radish and cilantro to the shrimp. In a small bowl or jar with a tight fitting lid, combine the lime juice, oil and salt.

Shortly before serving, mix the dressing ingredients thoroughly, then pour over the shrimp mixture. Toss to coat everything well, cover and refrigerate or set aside at room temperature.

Serve with tortillas.

Serves 4.

Here are a few of my own recommendations:

• Use less that the 5 tablespoons of oil that it calls for. Next time, I'll try it with 2 tablespoons oil.
• We left out the radishes (because I forgot to buy them). We didn't really miss them, but I think it would have been good with them in.
• We used flour tortillas, but I think corn would have been better. I always prefer flour tortillas to corn, but I think this dish may be an exception.