Tacos al Pastor (ish) and Spanish Rice

Ingredients:
Rice:
2 c White rice
2 c Tomato Sauce
2 c Water
1/4 c Diced onion
1/4 c Diced red and green bell peppers
2 tbs Oil (vegetable or canola)

Marinade:
1 sm. can Crushed pineapple (with half of the juice)
1/8 c diced onion
1/2 tsp Chili powder
1/2 tsp Cayenne pepper
2 tbs Lime juice
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 lb. Pork loin

Tacos:
1/2 c Julienned onions
1/2 c Julienned green bell peppers
1 sm. can Pineapple chunks (drained)
1 tbs Lime juice
Lime wedges
Corn Tortillas
Sour Cream
Cilantro

Directions:
Marinade:
-Combine all ingredients for marinade (except pork) into a food processor, pulse a few times to combine/ liquefy.
-If you do not have a rotisserie cut the pork into 1/2 inch chunks and mix with the marinade. If you do have a rotisserie slice into 1/2 inch thick steaks and mix with marinade. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, if not overnight.

Rice:
-In a medium sauce pan heat oil over medium heat. Add rice and brown slightly, stirring occasionally. Add onion and bell pepper, sautee a bit longer then add tomato sauce and water. Cover and let simmer for approximately 30 minutes or until the liquid is gone (do not stir)

Pork:
Rotisserie:
-Remove pork from marinade (reserve) and skewer onto rotisserie and add some of the marinade to the top and sides. Cook to 160 degrees. In a separate pan sautee the onion, green pepper and pineapple with some of the marinade as well as some of the drippings from the pork.

Without a rotisserie:
-In a cast iron skillet cook the pork, along with the marinade, over medium high heat until the liquid is gone and the pork starts to brown. Add in onion, bell pepper, pineapple and lime juice. Cook until peppers and onion are tender and the pineapple starts to caramelize.

Tacos:
-Heat tortillas however you like.
-Place two tortillas (one on top of the other) on your plate, add meat, garnish with cilantro, and sour cream, squeeze lime onto tacos. Repeat and enjoy with rice on the side.

Taste:5
Ease: 3

If you don't love these tacos you're crazy! They're not authentic tacos al pastor, but they follow the same basic concept (thus the "ish" in the title). This recipe feeds 4 people but would be easy to make for more. Beers to pair with these tacos include: Rogue's Dad's Little Helper, Dead Guy Ale (my number one favorite beer of all time), Double Dead Guy Ale, or Hazelnut Brown Nectar; Widmer's Broken Halo IPA (one of the only IPA's I like), Hefeweizen or Oktoberfest; Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale, Kellerweis, or Torpedo Extra IPA.

Peach Pie

Ingredients:

Pie Crust:
2 c Flour
1 c Butter or butter flavored Crisco (I do half of each)
1/2 tsp Salt
5-7 tbs ICE water (make sure it is ice cold, this is very important)

Filling:
4 large ripe Peaches peeled and sliced or 1 large bag of frozen peaches (never use canned)
2 tbs Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1 tbs Flour

Directions:

Filling:
-Peel and slice peaches into a large bowl. Stir in sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg, let sit for an hour on your counter, covered with saran wrap, two hours if using frozen peaches.
-Stir in flour to thicken the juice and pour into pie crust.

Pie Crust:
-In a large bowl combine flour and salt.
-With a fork, two knives or a pastry cutter cut butter/ Crisco into the flour until it there are pea sized chunks.
-Slowly add in water 1 tbs at a time mixing thoroughly with a fork until the mixture holds together. Be careful not to use too much water or crust will be soggy and hard to work with.
-Divide into two parts, and roll out on a lightly floured surface.
-Line a pie pan with one crust and set other aside to top the pie with.

Baking:
-After filling first crust and arranging the peaches so they are evenly distributed, cover with second crust and pinch the seams together. Cut a few slits in the top of the crust and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.-Bake at 400° for 30-45 minutes.-Allow to cool for about 15 minutes (it will still be warm) and serve with frozen whipped cream or french vanilla ice cream.

Taste: 4.5
Ease: 2

I used to make this pie monthly at a job I had, everyone loved it. I have had the crust recipe for years but came up with the filling after a lot of trial and error. This is great for a cool autumn night with a great seasonal beer like Sierra Nevada's Stout or Pale Ale a Samuel Adams' Octoberfest, Widmer's Oktoberfest or Brrr (a favorite of mine), or even Rogue's Mocha Porter, Shakespeare Stout (another fave), or Old Crustacean Barleywine (which comes in a cool bottle but is pricey).