Double Take: Beef and Chicken Fajitas

A big plate of grilled meat... yum!

I’ve always been a fan of soft tacos, but I’ve never been one to order fajitas on a regular basis at Mexican restaurants. I’d rather have the tacos de asada... or quesadillas... or chimichangas. I have always been attracted to the sizzling cast iron skilt it arrives on, and the smell of course, but not necessarily the fajitas themselves. Most likely because it always comes with tons of green bell peppers. And well, I’m not a fan of bell peppers.

But the recipe in the all-new ultimate Southern Living Cookbook (p. 248) did not call for bell peppers. In fact, it didn’t call for much of anything. It’s basically a recipe for a marinade with serving suggestions. Which means easy peasy, right? Well, actually, right. This recipe was incredibly easy.

Prepare a spice mix: chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, pepper, salt, and garlic powder. Add Italian dressing, mix well. Add meat (steak and chicken) to a bag or glass dish with the marinade, let sit two hours, grill. You’re done. Right? Right. Except, don’t forget to prep all your toppings. But you have 2 hours plus grill time to prep, so no big deal. You even have time to throw a chile con queso together. Yum.

Double Take: Ravioli in Basil-Cream Sauce

 Mushroom Ravioli in Basil-Cream Sauce

EDIT: To see an updated version of this sauce, complete with recipe, check out this post!

Double Take: Key Lime Tarlets

"Key Limes! Pastry! I'm making it!" That was my reaction to reading the title to this week's Double Take: Key Lime Curd Tartlets. Yum. It just sounds good, doesn't it? How can you go wrong with these fabulous ingredients? Don't worry though, you can... just add water.

This recipe is also another one of those that is impossible to look up in the index: both tart and dessert leave you befuddled. I guess Pies and Pastries don't count as dessert. You can find this recipe on page 354 of the all-new ultimate Southern Living Cookbook, but I'm not sure why you'd bother. There have got to be better recipes out there.

The curd itself is relatively tasty and easy to make: combine butter, eggs, key lime juice (go for the bottled stuff, squeezing them yourself takes way too much time and effort), and butter. Heat until thickened, strain, stir in lime rind, chill 4-6 hours.

Tabitha and I failed to strain the curd (Did I mention we actually got to make this in the same country?! In the same kitchen?! At the same time?! Yipee!), but in the future I'll be straining my curds.

Double Take: Yukon Gold Mash with Morel Sauce

Ew! I'm not making that! 

This week's Double Take challenge with feature a different recipe on each blog. Tabitha and I have a list of many of the recipes from the all-new ultimate Southern Living Cookbook, and we've rated them: Yes or No. (It actually even gets a bit more complicated than that b/c I also rate what Hubby will eat.) All items marked Yes by both people have to be made at the same time, but all items marked No can be made by the other person at any time. We will feature these recipes every-so-often, and here is the first one! (Do you like the title?)

Double Take: Croissant French Toast with Fresh Strawberry Syrup

This recipe jumped out at me the first time I read it, but I know that Hubby doesn't exactly love French toast. I also knew that I'd be seeing Momma in a couple months, so I bookmarked this recipe to make "with" her when I went to visit. I wasn't disappointed.

You can find the recipe for Croissant French Toast with Fresh Strawberry Syrup on page 122 of your all-new ultimate Southern Living Cookbook.

Start by making your Fresh Strawberry Syrup. Slice some strawberries, add some sugar, orange juice or orange liqueur (we used Triple Sec), and orange zest. Let stand until sugar dissolves (I stirred it every few minutes just to check on it, though I'm not certain it sped things along), then cook until warmed through. If you are accustomed to the ridiculously thick corn-based syrups, syrup will seem like a bit of a misnomer as it was quite runny, but it was delicious nonetheless. Whilst the sugar is disolving, make your whipped cream.