Guilty Pleasures

• Just because a recipe calls for it doesn't mean you have to use it (I hate cilantro but love parsley)
• Do not ever believe the number of servings because it makes a big difference on who you are feeding
• Good cooking does not have to be or should it be difficult
• Not everything has to be made from scratch
• Great ideas come from food magazines but be daring and change them up
• Cooking for family and friends is good for the soul

 
  

 

In most cases I prefer home made food to fast food or some restaurant food.  But we all have our guilty secret pleasures.  In the restaurant category there is one that stands out above the rest and it's Carson's Au Gratin potatoes.  Many of the Carson's restaurants have closed and Boston Blackie's which also served them has closed too.  I can't begin to describe how wonderfully cheesy these potatoes were and the texture was divine.  Unlike some au gratin recipes, the potatoes weren't sliced, they were cubed.  I have been tinkering with recreating this recipe for the last six months and when I think that it is as close as I can get I'll post it for you and you can see what I mean.

My fast food guilty pleasure- Jack in the Box tacos and I'm not the only one.  I used to deliver these for friends when I was lucky enough to have a Jack in the Box one half mile from my house.  All the Jack in the Box restaurants in my neck of the woods have closed.  The closest one to me now is 4 1/2 hours away and I am seriously considering planning my next vacation based on this location.  They are definitely not your Mexican restaurant tacos.  They're greasy, mushy, with American cheese and chopped lettuce with a mild sauce.  In other words wonderful. 

Before I started this post I did an internet search to see if I could come up with clones for these recipes.  When I entered the search for Jack in the Box tacos I saw that a few recipes had been removed due to the "U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act."  I guess someone got really close to the true recipe.   I'm going to be doing a post about recipe copyright and patents soon.  Some recipes remained so I can only assume that they're missing something from the original recipe.

I am printing one of those recipes here and hope that the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act doesn't come looking for me.  Warning: I haven't tried this recipe yet but when I do I'll let you know if it comes close.

Jack-In-The-Box Tacos

1 Pound Ground beef
1/3 Cup Refried beans
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Chili powder
1/4 Cup Ortega Taco Sauce -- Mild
12 Each Soft corn tortillas
3 Cups Cooking oil
6 Slices American cheese (each cut in half)
1 Head Lettuce -- chopped fine

Slowly brown the beef over low heat, using a wooden spoon to chop
and stir the meat, keeping it very fine and smooth. When the beef is
brown drain the fat. Add the refried beans and use the wooden spoon
to smash the whole beans into the mixture creating a smooth texture.
Add the salt, Chili powder, and Taco Sauce to the mixture.
Remove from the heat.

In another skillet heat 1/4 inch of oil until hot. Test with a
small piece of tortilla - it should bubble when dropped into the oil.
Spread 1/2 of the beef mixture on the center of each corn tortilla.
Fold the tortillas over and press so that the beef fillng acts as an
adhesive and holds the sides together.

Drop each taco into the pan of hot oil and fry on both sides until
crispy. When cooked, remove the tacos from the oil and place them on a
rack or some paper towels until they are a little cooler.
Pry open slightly and add 1/2 slice American cheese and some lettuce.
Top with additional Taco Sauce to taste.

When I try this recipe I'm going to ask the butcher to do a fine grind on the ground beef.  The texture in this taco recipe is really important.