Wacko Jaco Tacos

Hola Amigas Comidas (food friends)!

I am in beautiful Jaco, Costa Rica on spring break with six of my best friends, enjoying surf, the turf, and the many activities this country has to offer. Of course, this country is abundant with wonderful tuna, mahi-mahi, steak, mangos, avocados, and any other fresh produce you could imagine.

When cooking for a group of seven, you want to keep things simple and easy and not have too many things going on at once. So I went with tacos, where I prepare the separate ingredients and people make their own. It's easy and fast and works with everyone's taste buds.

The taco. Tacos can be found in many different variations all over the world--particularly in central and south american cuisine. You can use fish, chicken, beef, pork, beans and rice, or whatever else you have in your kitchen. And best of all, the tortilla (hard or soft) is great for holding it all together. Originally from indigenous peoples of central Mexico, taco just means a tortilla wrapped around a filling, much like the English "sandwich".

I went with shrimp tacos because my friends that hated fish still like shrimp and my friends that are vegetarians still eat seafood. This dish was great for a tropical vacation in particular, as seafood tacos are a very popular dish for beachy, hot weather places. The closest grocery store was a big super-mercado, much like Safeway, where I bought frozen shrimp (doesn't really taste different in flavor or texture than fresh shrimp, in my opinion).

I started the process by chopping and sautéing onions in butter because they take the longest to cook. Caramelized onions also taste good on everything and add a mixture of salty-sweet flavor to any dish. Next, I sliced red bell peppers and threw those into the pan with the onions, as they also take awhile to cook. I added about 4 tablespoons of butter (a hefty amount) and some salt, but you can go as light or as heavy with the amount of butter and salt you add to each dish.

While my wonderful sous chef and friend, MC, continuously stirred the onions and bell peppers, I began making the sauce for the shrimp. Given that we're renting a house and didn't have much in the way of grocery stores, I didn't have any spices to work with. But the sauce I created is very simple and can be made with ingredients you find in almost every kitchen.

First, I started by placing the frozen shrimp in a pan and turned the heat on to its highest in order to dissolve all the frozen ice still stuck (this process is not necessary for fresh refrigerated shrimp). Once all the ice is gone, drain the shrimp so that this "shrimp juice" doesn't affect the flavor (believe me, it is not very good). Next, take the shrimp and put in at least 2-3 tablespoons of butter. Now, pour a hefty amount of white wine in (any white wine will do) and top with lime juice (I squeezed in about half of a lime's worth, but it can use more, depending on the taste you're looking for).  Last but not least, I sprinkled with salt and pepper. Shrimp cook very quickly, so stir the shrimp in this sauce for maybe 5 minutes, checking for taste only, as the shrimp will have already cooked in the first round (before I dumped the excess shrimp juice).

In the mean time, I put the tortillas on a plate and put them in the oven at around 350 degrees to warm them. In separate bowls, I placed chopped lettuce, shredded cheese, chopped tomatoes, and extra lime wedges. While everything finished cooking (the onions and bell peppers finished last) I put these bowls out in the middle of the table.

Now, just take a tortilla, put some shrimp on, a little of the white wine-butter-lime sauce, a spoonful of the now caramelized onions and bell peppers, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, a squeeze of lime, and buenisimo! Everyone can just help themselves. Had I had the ripe ingredients at the time, I would have also added mango slices and avocado. And enjoy!

Still keeping it delicious in Costa Rica,

Love & Doughnuts,

The Mrakulous Kitchen