Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Chorizo & Potato Soft Tacos with a Simple Homemade Salsa ...and Photograph Talk

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You know what bothers me about this picture above?

That the corner of the white square plate with the tortillas is almost touching the wooden board rather than completely running parallel to the board and the grains of the wood.  My eye focuses on that particular spot in the photo and I find it distracting. Weird? Maybe.  WAIT. WAIT. Look again!  Now it's driving you crazy too! Right?!

Anyway... it makes me realize how when you're standing (or in this case sitting/crouching) behind a lens you don't necessarily notice such minor imperfections.  That's not to say all photos need to be in complete balance...how boring would that be?!  It's just in the photo above with such pronounced geometric shapes and lines...that one crooked plate throws my entire picture off.  Just my honest, overly self-critical, non-expert opinion.  (I decided to soften the boarder of the photo above in an attempt to draw your eyes out...not sure I was successful ...but I'm practicing...)

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So let's talk food...don't allow the long instructions to preparing this meal throw you off ~ it's a simple mid-week dinner idea that with just a little prep work ~ comes together in a flash!

Chorizo and Potato Soft Tacos with a Simple Homemade Salsa

Preheat oven to 400.

PREP WORK AND WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
A few flour or corn tortillas ~ about 6-8
Sour Cream
Tabasco Sauce (here I used Chipotle infused Tabasco)
Peel one large Idaho potato and cut in into small cubes, set aside
Peel than dice one large onion, set aside
De-seed and dice one very large, ripe tomato (or 2-4 smaller ones)
Chop a small handful on cilantro (about 3T)
Take 2-3 links of Mexican Chorizo Sausage and remove it from its casing
Tortilla Chips

Instructions:

Place your diced tomatoes in a bowl, add the cilantro and a hefty few shakes of Chipotle flavored Tabasco Sauce (I pureed mine in a mini food processor as I wanted a smooth consistency but it's personal preference) Salt and Pepper to taste. Simple salsa done! Set aside.

In a cast iron skillet, cook up the chorizo breaking it up into small pieces with a spatula. When completely cooked through, remove the chorizo from the pan and set aside.

Add your diced onion to the same pan and saute up your onion until soft and translucent (about 6-7 minutes). Remove onion from the pan (you can add it to the chorizo) and set it aside.

Add your diced potatoes to the same pan (add a tablespoon of butter to the pan only if you need to, if the pan is too dry) and cook up your potatoes until beginning to brown and get crispy. (I left my potatoes undisturbed for a few minutes and covered the skillet - this allowed for the bottom of the potatoes to crisp while also creating a steaming environment for the potatoes to almost cook through)

When the potatoes look crispy, place the entire pan in the oven and continue cooking until the potatoes are cooked entirely, crispy on the outside, soft in the center (about 5 minutes). *Be sure to wear an oven mitt when removing the cast iron pan from the oven - I know this is a no brainer but you would be amazed how many people's first instinct is to just grab the handle!!! Keep the handle covered with mitt to remind you it's HOT. 

Remove the potatoes from the pan, salt and pepper to taste and place on a serving tray.  Now reheat your chorizo and potatoes only if necessary.

In a separate pan heat up flour or corn tortillas until HOT and flexible...stuff each tortilla with chorizo, onion, potatoes, salsa and sour cream. Serve chips on the side. *Cheese, homemade guacamole and an ice cold Negra Modelo with lime would only make this better!!! ENJOY!

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17 comments:

Karen said...

Argh! I hate it when I take photos and put everything away and then eat the subject of said photos AND THEN realize there was a big dog hair right on top or that a huge piece of tomato is totally out of place. (At least I can photoshop out the dog hair! And yes, it happens more than I care to admit...)
I'm trying slowly to get my husband to like chorizo...tacos might be a good way to do it in combination with the potatoes. The spread looks wonderful...except maybe that crooked plate! :)

Andrea the Kitchen Witch said...

I didn't even notice the plate until you pointed it out. And yes, now it bugs me too LOL :) Like Karen, I always seem to notice the nasty dog hair on top of my garnish AFTER the photos are done & the meal is eaten and there's no left overs. I need to learn photoshop LOL!! The tacos sound down right delicious. And awesome tip on the cast iron skillet in the oven. If I had a dime for every time I've burned myself on a skillet that's hot out of the oven, well I'd be able to afford the DSLR that I've been wanting LOL :)

StephenC said...

If only I could take photos as good as yours. Chorizo - God must be a Mexican.

Pam said...

Your photos look great! But, I do the same and get hung up on the geometric lines and wonder why I can't "see" through the lens and take photos better. It kind of drives me crazy. I do the same with the mitt and hot handles whenever possible. It only takes once or twice to get burned and remember.

Nicole said...

I wouldn't have noticed, but I'm definitely a novice photographer!
I'm just always impressed at how inventive your meals are and wonder at how you manage to do all this with 2 kids!

Lea Ann said...

I didn't notice the plate until you mentioned it .. BUT with that said, the same thing drives me crazy. Anything crooked, and if I had taken the photo I would have noticed it. Love that 2nd photo, gorgeous. I've made potato and chard soft tacos with a little vinaigrette .. it was WONderful. With fall, I've been thinking about all my taco recipe. yum.

Kevin (BBQ Smoker Site) said...

Question for you - do you prefer one brand of chorizo over another? We have a few here in our local supermarkets, but I'm never real sure which ones are best...

Unknown said...

You make me laugh.. I'm sitting here looking at the picture and thinking how jealous I am because your pictures look so lovely and there you are noticing something silly like the plate isn't lined up perfectly!! lol
LOVE chorizo anything.. in tacos it is da bomb though!!!

Unknown said...

Thanks all!

@Kevin - it's funny you ask because my husband and I both agreed we didn't love the chorizo we bought...thought it lacked flavor. There is a Mexican Market close by to us so the next time I will certainly pick up chorizo there...they have tons of different options!

Velva said...

Fresh Chorizo from a Spanish market will never disappoint you (smile). This looks delightful.

I spend a lot of time with my camera too. There are small things that bug me about a photo, and I try, try again. I smiled my husband would say that he has not had a warm meal, or a cold cocktail since I started blogging.

Velva

Anonymous said...

It is so hard to compose a picture correctly, especially on the small display window on our cameras. I wish I would have the software to display the picture on my lap top right away, like my photography instructor. It opens a world of opportunities.

Simply Life said...

ha, I never would have noticed that if you didn't point it out but I go through the same thing (although I wish my photos look like yours)!

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