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.

All Star Trailer Chefs + Trailer Food Traveling

I'm off to Taos, Crested Butte, Florida and Yellowstone over the next several weeks and I'm on the lookout for some of our country's best food trucks for my next cookbook.  I have had a few recommendations, but please tweet at me if you have some you think I should try @trailerfood.  While I'm en route, I wanted to leave a few links up highlighting some of the Austin trailer food all star chefs in previous articles:

• Bryce Gilmore.  My first TFD blog post was about Odd Duck Farm to Trailer in ATX 4/13/2010 - since then, chef Bryce Gilmore has opened his brick and mortar restaurant Barley Swine, and been honored as one of Food & Wine's best new chefs of 2011.  Here is a recipe for his grilled carrot salad with brown butter vinaigrette.

• Aaron Franklin.  Here is a 5 minute trailer (short film) my team created after the first annual Gypsy Picnic featuring none other than Franklin BBQ (2010).  With press from Bon Appetit, New York Times, Texas Monthly, the Austin Chronicle, and more they are the BBQ darling of North America.  

• Paul Qui.  Best known nationally for recently winning Top Chef, his trailer concept East Side King is recognized locally as one of the best food trailers in town.  Winner of the 2011 Gypsy Picnic fan favorite, and taking down awards in the Austin Chronicle Readers Poll as well as the Austin Food Blogger Alliance favorites, Austin loves them some Paul.  Here is their recipe for the Thai Chicken Karaage, which is also featured in the Trailer Food Diaries Cookbook: Austin Edition. 

North Austin welcomes the NATY

North Austin has previously not been a part of the traditionally South and East Austin food trailer parks.  But as of this Saturday, the NATY (North Austin Trailer Yard) changes all of that.

The NATY Grand Opening Party
Saturday May 12th: 1p-9p
1012 W.  Anderson Ln. (78757)

The NATY offers diverse foods in a trailer park setting.  You can try a little of everything and check out the full story on Culture Map:

• Snarky’s Moo Bawk Oink: Sandwiches on baguettes or pitas 
• Genuine Joe's: Coffee/smoothies 
• Big Fat Greek Gyros: Greek cuisine
• The Dog Pound: Hot dogs and snow cones 
• Michi Ramen: Japanese noodles 

BikeCaffe Austin

Conveniently located in downtown Austin at 816 Congress Avenue, the BikeCaffe is a beautifully crafted bike trailer that serves responsibly roasted coffees and teas.  "We love that coffee is a luxury item that most people can afford.  We love helping people enjoy that part of the day," says owner Jerry Strickland as he's telling me about their beans and leaves.  "Our roaster goes to el Salvador and has a relationship with growers and communities," he continues.  BikeCaffe is savvy about real world complications that their partnering communities endure on a daily basis.  "That cup of coffee has an impact on the part of the world where it came from; it's easy to not think about that.  Being involved in fair trade coffee, we need to make sure what we are doing is benefitting the community."  That's why Jerry and wife Lara are putting together a bike donation program to help the farmers who are carrying the beans long distances.

The bike itself was made in Boulder, Colorado and the name is a nod to their Italian heritage.  They have a full commercial espresso machine built in Italy and they use an old Italian method for pulling the espresso that is likened to a Guinness pour.  Having been to Italy, the couple loves the culture and history there and the coffee they say, is one of the best parts. Local pastries from Quacks bakery gives vegans and non-vegans alike yummy breakfast snack options to accompany their latte.  My personal favorite was the honey vanilla chai.  BikeCaffe Austin is open Monday-Friday from 7:30a-1p on the corner of 9th and Congress.  Jerry reminds you, "Coffee is a great common denominator."  So grab a friend and stop by for an al fresco cup of feel-good joe and tell them Trailer Food Diaries sent ya!

Biscuits & Groovy

51st & Duval
7 days a week 9a-2p  *open at 8:30a on Sat & Sun
www.iwantbiscuits.com

Biscuits and Groovy opened on September 1, 2010 with an all vegan but notably comforting menu based on biscuits.  The current menu has choices for carnivores and vegans alike, but almost everything 'meat' can be converted to a vegan option.  

The names of each menu item offer a nod to owner Jon Lach's love for music.  Winging through more than 1,000 biscuit dishes each Saturday, the Gloria Gaynor is his best-seller.  It contains three homemade biscuits, split open and steaming, topped with your choice of gravy, three scrambled eggs, two cheeses, bacon, sausage, jalapeños and chives.  It's absolutely worth the $9, and although I should have split mine with a friend I was able to eat the whole thing.  If you're looking for something a little lighter on the pocket book, the Bee Gee is only $1 and is your basic real good biscuit with butter and jam of the day.

Other fun names on Jon's menu have included (or will be soon): Johnny Hash, Philly Nelson, Melton John, Tina Turnip, Fleetwood Mac & Cheese, Barry Hamilow, Pig Floyd.  There is a mixed tape swap available when you order as well: bring a mixed tape CD, they give you someone else's and the cycle continues.

Jon uses local farms (Richardson) and breweries (Independent) to develop his biscuit concepts.  While I was there, Jon even taught me a trick on how to make vegan buttermilk, which is the secret to making his biscuits so wonderful.