Taco Anyone?

Had a bit of company yesterday. Bill and Dorothy Kettlewell came for lunch after making purchases downtown for their church in Aracati, Ceará. I raced home after my last class to make taco shells and get everything on the table.

Dorothy couldn't wait till after lunch to show me her "pocket saxophone" or XAPHOON (it's real name) even though she thought I had already seen one. It was the most amazing thing. Looks like a recorder (flauta doce) being about the same length and the holes, but is slightly conical and uses a tenor sax reed instead of a "flute" mouthpiece. It sounds 2 octaves lower than a recorder; the sound is somewhat between a saxophone and a clarinet. To check this out on the web, go to http://xaphoon.com/

After they left, I picked Jessica up from the conservatory and came home to make 60 cinnamon rolls for a baby shower, 96 more ham and cheese crescents and a pizza for our small group at 5:30 pm. Kept working till 9pm when I couldn't keep my eyes open any more and called it a day.

Just for a bit of variety, here is how we do soft shelled tacos in South America. Maybe another time I will tell you how to do the refried beans, salsa, sour cream,....

TACO SHELLS

Put in bowl (you can use a mixer with a dough hook or knead by hand)
4 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
In measuring cup add:
1 cup water
9 Tbsp. oil
Add liquid to dry and knead until consistent. Break off into balls about the size of large eggs.
Heat a non-stick skillet to medium heat. Prepare a large plate with a tea towel over it to pop your shells under while you make the others.

Roll out your dough ball (use plenty of flour) till it gets super thin. You will be able to see the counter through it. You will have to flip it over and roll on the other side a few times in order to get it this thin. If your dough is softer, this is easier to do. The harder the dough, the more elbow grease you need to accomplish this.

Place the rolled out shell on the skillet. Do not use any oil. When the shell starts to look like it is getting little blisters or bubbles, flip it over to the other side and do the same. (a little less time on the second side than the first) Take it off and put it on the plate under the towel. The towel is used to keep in the moisture. Otherwise your shells will crack when you try to fold them.

Once you get into a rhythm, you can roll one out in the time it takes you to fry one. If you have any left over (doesn't happen too often at my house!), you can freeze them in a plastic bag (wait till they are cool).