Tag: mexican food

The Shift List – Chef Fermín Núñez (Suerte) – Austin, TX

Posted on by Chris Jacobs

This week, our first in a series of shows from Austin, Texas, starting off with Fermín Núñez, executive chef of East Austin’s Mexican-inspired restaurant Suerte and Eater Austin’s 2018 chef of the year. 

LISTEN: APPLE PODCASTS • MP3

As you’ll soon discover, Chef Fermín is a man with a mission: To create the perfect tortilla, every single day. As he recently told Eater, “It takes a village to make tortillas every night, and the foundation of Mexican food is masa.” The process starts with one of the restaurant’s staffers bringing a pot of water to a simmer, adding the necessary ingredients including the masa, cooking it to a certain level of doneness, and then letting it sit overnight. Another employee comes in the next morning to rinse the masa, the source of the day’s tortillas.

It’s this attention to detail that has made Suerte one of the most beloved new restaurants in Austin, and Chef Fermín’s love of music is woven into each part of the day, from the making of the masa, to prepping his mise en place, to the entire staff stopping at 4pm to clap to a cover of “Achy Breaky Heart” in Spanish and prepare for the night of service ahead. 

Speaking of service, Suerte closed for a few weeks back in early March to regroup and recalibrate as the city of Austin sheltered in place because of the new coronavirus. In mid-March they reemerged with the Suerte Taqueria, providing highlights from Suerte’s menu for takeout — a highlight being the Suadero Taco Meal kit for families to enjoy at home. The kit includes all the ingredients needed to prepare Chef Fermín’s signature dish at home, including confit brisket, avocado crudo, black magic oil, signature tortillas, and sides. In addition to cooking instructions, they rounded out the experience with a video of Chef Fermín cooking along in his own kitchen, and a link to his favorite playlist in an attempt to bring the full Suerte experience into your kitchen. 

The kits are still available, so if you live in the Austin area and need some high quality sustenance, head over to Suerteatx.com.

BGS 5+5: Adam Wright

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Adam Wright
Hometown: Newnan, Georgia / Nashville, Tennessee
Latest Album: Dust

What other art forms — literature, film, dance, painting, etc — inform your music?

Whatever I’m reading at the moment usually has some impact on what I’m writing. Especially if it’s a writer that is new to me. If it’s good, it’ll spark a lot of little ideas. They’re not usually directly related to the book, but it will just get the ideas coming. Reading good writing is good for creativity. I don’t feel the same about movies. I enjoy them, but they don’t spark ideas for me the way reading does.

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

It’s really fun to work hard on a song you know is going to be good. And it’s not hard work to write a bad song that you know is bad. The real drudgery is working on a mediocre song. You have to use all your tools as though you were writing something good, but they don’t work the same and you know the result is going to be lackluster. It’s draining. I try not to get into that situation. I don’t like to settle in to the work unless I think I can land something worthwhile. Sometimes in a co-write you don’t have that luxury. You just have to push on and get it done.

If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?

I want to have contributed to the elevation of the art of songwriting. I want to entertain people. I want to be the best singer-songwriter I can possibly be. And I also want to make a decent living. Because without the means, you can’t give it everything you’ve got. And being your best means giving it everything you’ve got.

Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?

Mexican food, particularly huevos rancheros, is kind of a hobby of mine. There is a place close to where we live that plays great Mexican music. A lot of ’60s Latin pop. Some Mariachi. It’s always good. You’d have to work pretty hard at it to not feel good when you’re eating that food and hearing that music. We went to a newer Mexican place for my birthday not long ago, and it had marble floors and chandeliers and they were playing the shiniest, slickest, newest, American pop music. The food was good but the vibe was so wrong that it ruined the experience. We all ate as fast as we could and got out.

How often do you hide behind a character in a song or use “you” when it’s actually “me”?

I write quite a bit in character. It’s a lot more fun for me. I’ve never been much of a “confessional” songwriter. I’m much more interested in what someone else might do in a situation. I like to tell stories. I like to drop in on a particular moment in the life of a character and write there. Some of my favorite songwriters do that. And not just folk-song writers. Chuck Berry was a fantastic storyteller. And he made it rock and roll. Even as a kid when I listened to his songs, I didn’t have the impression that he was singing about his life. I had the impression that he was a clever writer and he was entertaining me. “Born To Dream” is probably the only song on the new album that is written from my perspective. And “The Banker,” I guess, but it’s not really about me. Shannon, my wife, says “Born To Dream” is the most Adam song on there.

https://open.spotify.com/user/adamwrightofficial/playlist/4ynVBSEIlt81if2t7sTZ8p?si=uDUH1sE4TcuaB_Ta0Zykww

Photo credit: Bret Pemelton

Bangin’ Pot of Beans

Posted on by Editor

My mom always loved to make beans. Typically, she would get a can of black beans and “doctor them up.” She always used more olive oil than you’d think necessary. “That’s what makes them good,” she’d say. But she also loved to soak some dry beans and get some flavor going. I took what I learned from her — and from my own experimentation — to create a pot of beans that can be used with just about any kind of meal.

Basically, this is a generic pot of beans that, once cooked, can be manipulated to eat in multiple settings … from Italian to Mexican and more, depending on what seasonings you have available. When I made this recipe the last time, I was listening to Chris Stapleton's Traveller.

INGREDIENTS
1 lb bag of dry pinto beans
2 medium carrots chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
1 medium onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 bay leaf
1 smoked pork shank
2 Tablespoons or more of olive oil

DIRECTIONS
First, sort your beans and make sure there are no small pebbles or stones. Rinse them, then cover beans in a container or cooking pot with water to soak for at least six hours. Pour off water and place beans in a thick-bottomed pot, like a Dutch oven. Cover with water, at least two inches above the top of the beans. Place pork shank in the middle. Make sure most of the meat is covered by the water. (I typically push it down into the beans.) Turn on high heat until it starts to boil. Add bay leaf and back the heat down to medium-low and simmer for about an hour. Stir occasionally to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot.

In a separate skillet, cook the veggies. Start by heating the pan on high heat. Add oil and coat the cooking surface of the pan. Add aromatics to the hot oil and cook until translucent. Or you can take it a step further and let them get some caramelization/color on them. This is always a good step for a little extra flavor. Add veggies to the beans and stir them in. Simmer until beans are tender and the meat is falling off the bone.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Serving suggestions for an Italian flair:

Fill your bowl with hot beans and a few pieces of the meat. Add some chopped parsley, some grated parmesan, 10-15 toasted pine nuts, a few oven roasted tomatoes, and finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon. Serve with some crusty Italian bread.

Serving suggestion for a Mexican flair:

Fill your bowl with hot beans and a few pieces of the meat. Add some chopped cilantro, a small pinch of dried Mexican oregano, a small pinch of ground cumin, and finish with a squeeze of fresh lime and your favorite Mexican hot sauce. Serve with some tortilla chips.

Frank Solivan fronts the Dirty Kitchen band. Their latest album — Family, Friends, and Heroes — will be released on March 4.