Día de Acción de Gracias

I decided to go Mexican for Thanksgiving. I made Tacos Al Pastor (left) and Birria (right – consommé not pictured) – both with queso, Roasted Squash with Pumpkin Seed Mole and Grilled Asparagus with Creamy Pasilla Chile – plus Yucatán-Style Pickled Red Onions in Sour-Orange Juice and Taqueria Pickles.

• • • • • • • • • •

I decided to go with a bottle of Cerveza Negra from Xicha Brewing.

• • • • • • • • • •

Way back when I started this blog, the original idea was to pair food with music and tie this in with my other blog… And while that never came to be, there has always been special playlists for many of the meals I have prepared – especially the bigger ones like this one.

During the prep-work, I listened to my Calexico playlist – which is almost 4 hours long. After that, was my Spaghetti Western playlist – which is primarily made up of the instrumentals from the “Ecstasy of Gold” compilation series. But the main playlist for the evening was one I made of newer Psychedelic Cumbia. Here’s a brief list of some of the songs:

• Bareto • Mamá Motelo
• Los Taxis • Del Barrio pal Barrio
• Combo Tezeta • La Reina Nocturna
• Sonido Gallo Negro • Chaneque
• La Mecánica Popular • Móntame en la Tormenta
• Agrupación Ilegal Los Imparciales • Cumbia Psicodelica (Dub)
• La Floreria Primavera con Los Hermanos Flores • Culebrita
• Passion Coco • Tiagos Hermanos
• Ritmos Tropicosmos con Ivan del Acordeón • Beso de Muerte
• Carmelo Torres y Los Toscos • El Chacho

Crawfish & Andouille Gumbo

I’d forgotten how much work goes into this. Definitely worth the effort.

• • • • • • • • • •

I went with a bottle of Earl of Tenmile from Draper.

Collard Greens Soup

Another soup to stock the freezer for Winter… I used the other half of the pickled pork I made for the the Red Beans & Rice and some Mogette de Vendée beans that my sister had sent me from France (with some Foie Gras to make Cassoulet).

• • • • • • • • • •

I decided to go with a bottle of Scrap Iron from Upright.

Roasted Chicken with Root Vegetables, Braised Kale with Shallots & Gouda

It’s been quite some time since I made this last. I also wanted to make some chicken stock…

• • • • • • • • • •

I decided to go with a bottle of Apricity – a “rustic winter saison” – that I picked up at Terramar (along with a few bottles of their whiskey) on my way back from Canada a few months back.

Red Beans & Rice

As the days get colder and shorter, time to stock the freezer. This is one of the staples that I usually make around this time of year. Since Tails & Trotters closed, I had to make my own pickled pork this time. And to my surprise, not only was it fairly easy – it was damn tasty.

• • • • • • • • • •

I went with a bottle of Friar’s Festivus from Monkless.