Upscale, At-Home Taco Night?

[Anonymous]

Ok, not upscale. Our friends are coming over next weekend and want to do a taco night. I'd love to really do it up, as opposed to just opening a box of Old El Paso (even though I secretly love that stuff).

Any ideas for appetizers though dessert? What kinds of sides? Where can I get good taco shells?

thanks for any great ideas!

[Anonymous]

My suggestion would be to get Penzey's taco seasoning-- that stuff is a serious upgrade over OEP (although we still use OEP shells, so what do I know).

[Anonymous]

not so much " up scale" but this year for the superbowl we did a taco bar that went over really well. Made the meat in the crock pot and had tons of bowls of toppings- used both soft and hard tacos

We also had chicken nachos as an appetizer that they could use the toppings with.

Guacamole/salsa/ queso

Have fun - we had a great time and can't wait to do it again!

Churros for dessert ( costco)

[Anonymous]

Fish tacos are very classy. There's a great recipe on epicurious/gourmet with baja sauce, guac, etc

[Anonymous]

I would do soft tacos with options of grilled chicken (marinate in some sort of lime juice/garlic/cumin/chili powder combination) or black beans. Grate up some jack cheese and make some pico de gallo and guacamole. You could also grill some veggies (peppers and onions) if you wanted (using flavors similar to chicken marinade).

Do not need a grill.

Any taco night is upscale if you sub out those terrible always-broken Old El Paso hard taco shells with some nicer, fresh tortillas. I personally prefer corn, but you can get good flour ones too.

[Anonymous]

There are some sauce packs by Rick Bayless that we buy at the grocery store and cook some shrimp in on the stove for tacos - they are really good and easy. You could also do steak, good grilled chicken, baked fish, mushrooms, grilled vegetables, etc.

[Anonymous]

For appetizers - I bought empanadas and made ceviche.

I had soft and hard tacos.

I had the regular meat for the kids and adults but I also grilled some shrimp.

I used Havarti for the cheese, I had roasted red peppers, grilled red onions (or vadallia) and grilled sliced portabello mushrooms as toppings.

I also had the regulars: guacamole, sour cream, diced tomatoes, and lettuce.

I had black beans and rice as a side.

I made a salad so people could make a taco salad.

I made Tres Leches for dessert.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would do soft tacos with options of grilled chicken (marinate in some sort of lime juice/garlic/cumin/chili powder combination) or black beans. Grate up some jack cheese and make some pico de gallo and guacamole. You could also grill some veggies (peppers and onions) if you wanted (using flavors similar to chicken marinade).

Do not need a grill.

Any taco night is upscale if you sub out those terrible always-broken Old El Paso hard taco shells with some nicer, fresh tortillas. I personally prefer corn, but you can get good flour ones too.

Another vote for corn tortillas. I'm vegetarian, so I look for veggie taco recipes - tacos de papa are good and very delicious.
At this time of year since tomatoes are so pallid I'd skip the pico de gallo and use other interesting salsas, such as chipotle, pumpkin seed, et al. Rosa Mexicano sells a good chipotle salsa, you could just buy that too. And get some nice Mexican cheese, like queso fresco/ cotija, for topping.
Don't forget a nice pitcher of margaritas or sangria! And for dessert, how about chocolate brownies with dulce de leche swirl? Always popular, and easy.

[Anonymous]

See if you can find some Rick Bayless recipes online for tacos. I have his Mexican Everyday book and it has some great simple recipes for tacos.

I'd use corn tortillas. I get the store bought ones and then heat them up in my cast iron skillet. In fact, I also do this with the plain flour tortillas so that they get nice brown spots on them.

[jindc]

Can you do some "upscale" toppings that are easily made ahead of time?
like jicama-mango salsa? A latin-inspired cabage slaw with some chopped chipotle peppers in greek yogurt, the mix with the cabbage and whatever veggies you like?
What about pickled onions?

I agree with soft tacos. If there are kids, though, they might like crunchy tacos better - there are loads of recipes online for how to crunch up your tortillas int he oven for "crispy" taco shells that aren't fried (you hang them off the rack in the oven?

sounds like a great evening!

[Anonymous]

Any of the above, with margaritas.

[Anonymous]

I'd do a braised meat instead of ground beef/turkey. I saw this on The Chew and have been meaning to try it out:

http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Braised-Pork-Chiles-Mario-Batali

[Anonymous]

Different colored tortilla chips instead of taco shells. Flan for dessert.

[Anonymous]

pulled pork
refried beans
couple of salsa options
queso fresco
home made guacamole
curtido

tres leches

[Anonymous]

Anyone have a great tres leches recipe?

These ideas are great. No pork for us but will probably do beef and fish.