barry learns some fun facts about tres carnales

only open for a week, tres carnales is already the talk of the town. all you mexican food lovers, rejoice!, because this place is the real deal.

chris - one of the tres carnales - gave me some fun facts to share about his new place:

1) 2 years ago in a small mexican town, 3 buds sat down with a bottle of flor de cana rum. by the end of the bottle, the idea and business plan of tres carnales was hashed out. really, wouldn't the world be a better place if all ideas came about this way?

2) these guys have some serious passion. all 3 (chris, dani and edgar) are right in the thick of things at the restaurant - chris and dani work the floor, while edgar tends grill. need a food recommendation, or a way to snag one of their elusive tables? just ask one of these guys and they'll hook you up.

3) all the meat is locally sourced within 200 km of edmonton, so feel good about supporting your friendly neighbourhood ranchers!

4) their menu is going to be changed up regularly. chris was already talking fish tacos (hell, yes), duck, and desserts. my response to this news? thank you, jebus.

***

some other things you should know:

1) come expecting to socialize with strangers. this place is small, and they emphasize communal eating (including a large communal table). after waiting in line for awhile, my bud and i ended up dining with the couple behind us in line. turned out to be a really awesome conversation about travels through mexico, the small-town feel of edmonton, and pink tacos. (don't ask.)

2) the chorizo is made in-house, and is pretty damn awesome.

3) the sangria is alcoholic. it might taste like juice, but by the second pitcher you'll suddenly realize it's not.

4) at first we were all a little disappointed that the hot sauce wasn't so hot. turns out the real stuff is made in-house and kept under lock and key in the back. ask for some up front with your food. you won't be disappointed, but your tongue might hate you just a little for trying to burn it off.

5) ordering is a cross between pampa and famoso. you initially order at the counter, but if you don't want to start a tab, you pay up and get your table sign clothespinned. (you'll get this when you go) otherwise you can keep ordering more from your table. like additional pitchers of sangria...so dangerous...

6) watch out for table cherry pickers. they kept coming in behind us, and cutting in front to wait for tables. give them the cut-eye, and be ready to grab a table as soon as you see people heading out.

go.

eat some tacos,

and be ready to make some new friends.

10119 100A Street
Rice Howard Way
Edmonton
780-429-0911

barry has even more reddish recipes.

so, as it’s a special occasion, two or three courses are just not going to cut it. sorry, but your facebook relationship status is on the line here. drastic measures must be taken in the form of a primi course before the main event. sure, these recipes COULD be used as the main event, but why would you do that? this way, you get more food. yay! okay now, we once again have two recipes from last food fest (we really outdid ourselves cleaning out our freezers), so hopefully you’ll also have some of these ingredients on hand (read: on hand = cheaper). the first recipe is from my cookaphobic friend who really can cook, even if she doesn’t know it. yet. the second is something i whipped up to get rid of a package of frozen olivieri brie cheese and roasted garlic ravioli that was taking up valuable space in my freezer. the pasta is creamy but too mellow, so you need some punch in the sauce.

barry’s bud’s cornbread topped with mexican goodness.

cornbread:
(from the back of the purity cornmeal package)

3/4 cup (175mL) cornmeal
1 1/4 cups (3000 mL) milk
1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (75 mL) granulated sugar (my bud wanted to use brown but it was too hard)
1 tbsp (15 mL) baking powder
1/2 tsp (2mL) salt
1 egg
1/4 cup (60 mL) vegetable oil (canola oil)
my bud added grated aged cheddar & frozen corn - maybe a 1/4 cup of each.

1. combine cornmeal and milk. let stand 10 minutes.

2. combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in large bowl.

3. add egg and oil to cornmeal mixture. (my bud accidentally added this to the flour mixture). mix well.

4. add to dry ingredients, stirring just until combined. (my bud thinks she over stirred. this is also when she added the frozen corn and the grated cheddar.)

5. fill greased muffin pans 2/3 full. (she did not use a muffin tin, nor did she grease the pan).

6. bake at 400F (200C) for 15-20 minutes. (make sure the bread doesn’t jiggle, and it should be cracked on top.)

makes 12 muffins (or the equivalent in non-muffin shape).

okay, step 1 is complete. by the way, you can do this all the day before. now my bud made homemade salsa (diced tomato, finely chopped red onion, minced garlic, 1 jalapeno and fresh lemon juice) and guacamole (mashed avocado, a little garlic and lemon juice). if you make these ahead of time, the flavours will blend very nicely.

let cornbread cool for an hour.

cut cornbread into rectangles about 3.5 cm thick (is that an inch and a half? go metric!)

heat up pan on stove and put a glob of butter on it.

pan-fry each side of the cornbread until it's nicely browned and a tiny bit crusty (make sure to get the edges too).

top with guacamole, salsa, sour cream and some grated jalapeno havarti. serve with enrique playing in the background.

cranberry and lemon ravioli.

1 pkg. olivieri brie cheese and roasted garlic ravioli (i got this from costco in sherwood park.)

1 onion, chopped

butter

white wine (i ended up using 1/3 of a bottle)

pecorino, pienza, asiago or parmesan cheeses (as much as you like. i roughly used ½ cup of a pecorino/pienza blend.)

1 lemon, grated

1/3 cup cream

a pinch nutmeg

approx. ½ cup frozen cranberries

small handful craisins

1. prepare pasta according to package directions.

2. sauté onion in butter. add cranberries, craisins, and half of lemon zest. sauté until craisins start to plump up.

3. add wine and juice of half a lemon, reduce a little bit.

4. add cream and cheese. stir.

5. add nutmeg and remaining lemon zest.

6. toss cooked pasta with sauce and serve immediately.