New series of trailer food events! TRAILER FOOD TUESDAYS

Check it out! I'm working with The Peached Tortilla/Yume Burger and Royal Fig Catering/The Seedling Truck to produce a series of five "last Tuesdays" events at the Long Center in Austin, Texas.  Stay tuned for a release on which trucks will be participating (10 of your local favorite rock stars).

Mark your calendar and have a trailer food dinner at the beautiful city terrace at the Long Center overlooking the Austin skyline and lady bird lake.  The event is free to attend (be sure to bring money for the grub though).  Stay tuned to event details on Facebook and twitter: @trailerfoodtues

The July 31st event will feature:

Dock and Roll Diner

Chilantro

The Peached Tortilla

Yume Burger

The Seedling Truck

Evil Weiner

Coolhaus

Hey Cupcake

Be More Pacific

Flying Carpet

TRAILER FOOD TUESDAYS

Presented by Trailer Food Diaries

Every last Tuesday of the month, from 5p-9p

July 31
August 28
September 25
October 30
November 27

Interested in sponsoring? Shoot me an email: tiffany@trailerfooddiaries.com

PS - It takes TEAMWORK to make the DREAM WORK ~ Please pre-purchase your copy of the Portland edition of Trailer Food Diaries on kickstarter.  The campaign ends July 31st.

Taco de Paco

After getting pulled over in the swamp and getting lost, I had the good fortune of meeting up with Aaron Brown, head chef of Taco de Paco.  "Who's Paco?" I asked him.  "That's me," he said, two thumbs pointing towards his chest.  This Baton Rouge truck was originally used during Katrina to feed Fema workers and the homeless but it's purpose now is slinging really good tacos.

Y'all know living in Texas I can spot a good taco when I see one: whenever I stop at a 'taco' truck, I raise a skeptical eyebrow.  I would hazard to guess I've eaten several hundred pounds of tacos in my life and it takes more than sriracha to impress these taste buds.  You see where I'm going with this.  These were the real deal.  I had the "Dat Foo": slow roasted pulled pork, chinese hoisin sauce, thai slaw, topped with spicy Sriracha chili sauce and washed it down with a "Juan": grilled angus steak, roasted corn and jalapeño black bean salsa, lemon creme fresh and fresh cilantro.  Chef Aaron tells me he's made the likes of fried green tomato tacos, steak and lobster tacos, and gumbo tacos.  There is more to this taco truck than meets the eye, and I look forward to sharing their recipes and histories in the Best of the US edition of the Trailer Food Diaries cookbook series.

Like 'em on fb, follow 'em on twitter @tacodepaco

La Cocinita: Cachapas Recipe

 Benoit and Rachael met while working at Commander's Palace, a fine dining institution in New Orleans, Louisiana.  She came by way of Chicago, and he from Venezuela.  What better opportunity to serve their friends and colleagues some late night food and who better to do it than a Latin chef with a French name, thought the pair.  So they conspired to open "La Cocinita" in November of 2011.  I'm looking forward to sharing their arepas recipe and more of their history in the Best of the US Trailer Food Diaries cookbook.  But until then, let me leave your mouth watering with Cachapas...

Cachapas with Red Pepper & Tomatillo Sauce


Ingredients for Cachapas
1 egg
1/4 c milk
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp salt
pinch of sugar
9 oz pkg queso fresco (or mozzarella)

Ingredients for Red Pepper & Tomatillo Sauce
2 red peppers
5 tomatillos
1/2 c vegetable (or chicken) broth
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp honey
splash of balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
pinch of salt and pepper

Directions Cachapas:
1. Grill 3-4 ears of corn in the husks.  Cut the kernels off the cobs (will be approximately 2 cups of corn).
2. Blend 1 1/2 cups of corn with the rest of the ingredients in a blender or a food processor, reserving the remaining 1/2 cup of corn.
3. Fold in the rest of the corn.
4. Ladle a scant 1/4 cup of batter at a time (however many will fit at once) onto a buttered non-stick griddle.
5. Cook at medium heat for 5 minutes without disrupting.  Carefully flip each corn cake.  Cook another 5 minutes.  Flip half of the pancakes once more and add sliced queso fresco to the warm side of each of these pancakes.
6. Let sit another 2 minutes to heat the cheese.  Place the remaining pancakes on top of the cheese with the warmer side facing down to create "sandwiches."
7. Top with Red Pepper & Tomatillo Sauce

Directions Red Pepper & Tomatillo Sauce:
1. Peel, clean, and dice the tomatillos.  Wash, deseed, and cut the red peppers into large chunks.
2. Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, uncovered.
3. Let cool for at least 10 minutes. Puree in a food processor or blender.  Pour pureed sauce through a sieve or strainer.
4. Chill sauce in refrigerator until cool, then serve with cachapas.
3.

Viva la Waffle

Every day he's wafflin' - that's what Collin's shirt says.  I met Viva la Waffle on the side of the road after hours in Lafayette, Lousiana.  He and business partner Fred opened the Viva la Waffle truck in July of 2011.  They were only open five days when an electrical fire burned the cabin and shut them down for three months.  But as the saying goes, you can't keep a good man down.  The guys re-opened with a bang and have been serving their famous waffle sandwiches ever since.

Take a buttermilk brined fried chicken breast, slop a spicy honey drizzle over it and throw in some blue cheese buttermilk slaw in between two waffles and you'll have "The Roscoe," which is purported to be the best selling ticket item on the truck.  So waffle sandwiches, right?  The waffle recipe uses more yeast than most, causing to be a little crispier, and, well, breadier than the waffle you grew up with.  Chef Collin has stirred the proverbial pot a bit with his braised beef cheeks, cotija, chile lime sour cream, shredded lettuce and tomato in a waffle sandwich but he has flavors for every palette.  Check out the nod to Elvis with the "Viva Las Vegas": peanut butter, berry compote, sliced bananas and candied bacon in a waffle sandwich.

They gave me a great story about an ancient waffle cart in New Orleans that sold four waffles for five cents, but you're going to have to buy the cookbook to get the rest of the story... Till then, Viva la Waffle! Follow them @vivalawaffle or like 'em on the fb

It's Portland's time to Shine: Help with the Kickstarter Campaign

Trailer Food fans, the second edition in this cookbook series features the food cart mecca of Portland, Oregon.  Recipes include: broccoli cheddar and apple soup, Marionberry Pie Holes, Jambalaya, Wheat Porter, Sweet Molasses Cornbread, Country Pate, Moong Dal, Becky's Blue Cheese Cole Slaw and more.  You'll love reading the stories behind the recipes too: the guy hiking the continental divide when a sudden injury twisted fate, or the woman who survived a heinous crime and lived to sell waffles....


****Please pre-purchase a copy of the Portland edition of Trailer Food Diaries: Cookbook to support this project.*****


Still a self-published project, this book will not go to print without your help.  Please take a few minutes to pledge your support (any amount will do, but starting at $25 you'll get a limited edition signed copy).  Please consider nabbing a few copies as gifts to have on hand for friends, holidays, birthdays, bunco, or for your coffee table.  The recipes are easy enough for any home chef to create, and the stories couldn't be more inspiring.


Looking ahead: Look forward to posts about my journey this June to New Mexico, Colorado, Lousiana, and Florida seeking out the country's best food trucks and trailers for the 'best of the US' edition in the cookbook series.  We will have guest posts up from colleagues in Portland and Boston ~ it's going to be a fab summer in Trailer land.