I just use olive oil, lime juice, 2-3 cloves minced garlic, & cilantro in the marinate but I rub the meat with S/P & a bit of chili paste before grilling.

Ancho paste: 2-3 dried ancho chilis soaked in hot water for about 10-15 minutes. Open them up, cut off the stems & remove the seeds. Put into blender & add a bit of the soaking water. Mix until a paste forms about the thickness of Elmer's Glue (?...couldn't think of anything else the right thickness, sorry!).

After the steak has come off the grill, rested, & sliced...I hit it with the juice of another lime just before serving & sprinkle with more minced cilantro (we really like cilantro). Then, I pile the sliced steak (very thinly sliced) on a large platter with all the fixin's surrounding it. Warm flour tortillas on the side. Lots of black beans & red onions!

/tricia

We think this one's nice -- quick and easy, but very flavorful. I'm a little hazy on this part, but I believe it should be enough for about 1-1/2 lbs. of beef. I usually triple it at least to allow for extra steak and also to have some for marinating the peppers and onions.

Combine 2 tablespoons olive oil with 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice. Add finely-minced garlic, to taste. (I only use 1 clove, but that's pretty minimal.) Mix in 1 teaspoon each of kosher salt, freshly-ground black pepper, chili powder, cumin and crushed red pepper flakes. (Again, adjust that last one to taste.) Put sliced meat and veggies in separate containers. Pour marinade over, tossing to coat. Refrigerate for a couple of hours before grilling.

Now, give up your margarita recipe, sir! My quest for the perfect one is relentless. :)

sm

This recipe was posted by David (Lakebum) some time ago, it's a favourite of his. I made them for a Mexican themed BBQ at the cottage and they were a huge hit.

Beef Fajitas Recipe Courtesy Emeril Lagasse, 2003

1/4 Cup fresh lime juice
1/4 Cup tequila
4 Clove garlic peeled and smashed
2 Tbl roughly chopped cilantro leaves
2 Tbl vegetable oil
2 Tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tsp dried crushed Mexican oregano
1 Tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tsp ground cumin
1 Tsp ground coriander
2 Lb flank steak fat trimmed
2 Tsp salt
1 Tsp ground black pepper
6 large flour tortillas
1 red bell pepper stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced
1 yellow bell pepper stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced
1 large white onion thinly sliced
1 Tbl minced garlic
Lime wedges

accompaniment
Cold Mexican beer or tequila shots

In a bowl, whisk together the lime juice, tequila, garlic, cilantro, 1 tablespoon of the oil, the Worcestershire sauce, oregano, pepper flakes, cumin and coriander. Pour into a large zip-lock bag, add the steak, and seal. Place in a baking dish and refrigerate for at least 12 and up to 24 hours, turning occasionally.

Remove the meat from the bag and pat dry. Season on both sides with 1 teaspoon of the salt and 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper.

Preheat the grill to high, and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Wrap the tortillas in foil and place in the oven for 15 minutes to warm and soften. Remove from the oven and keep warm in the aluminum foil.

Cook the steak over the grill to preferred temperature, 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium rare. Remove from the heat and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining oil over medium-high heat. Add the peppers and onions, and cook, stirring, until soft and slightly caramelized, 12 to 15 minutes. Add the garlic, remaining teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant and soft, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Thinly slice the steak against the grain. Divide among the warmed tortillas and top with the vegetables. Squeeze with lime juice and serve immediately with cold beer or tequila shots.

David's notes: Our normal sides are chips and salsa, refried beans, mexican rice, chopped lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, pico di gio, LOTS of sour cream, and grilled onions and peppers. Lots of salsa too or hot sauce too!

Margaritas are the drink of choice with a side of ice water!!

David

...that the marinade works well for chicken, too. For a party, it might be nice to offer both.

sm

I make a marinade using a jarred mole paste.
I sautee a chopped onion in a bit of olive oil, add a crushed clove of garlic and about a cup of chicken broth, 2 Tablespoons of sugar and about 1/4 cup Mole paste.. Simmer a few minutes until the onion is cooked and the sauce slightly thickened.
Cool and place pieces of tenderized round steak into the sauce. Layer the meat and be sure there is lots of sauce between the pieces of meat. Refrigerate overnight.
Grill meat, squeeze some lime juice over the meat, slice ands erve in warm tortillas with the traditional fixins.
Linda C

Thanks for the recipes - still deciding on my menu. In the meantime, here is how I make my margaritas on the rare occasion that there's a middle man between the tequila bottle and my lips - LOL! It's basically "Jimmy Buffets's Margaritaville Restaurant Perfect Margarita" slightly modified:

juice of half a small lime
2.5-3 oz tequila to taste (While I like higher end tequilas, I'm partial to 1800 for margies.)
1 oz Rose's lime juice
1/2 oz triple sec
1/2 oz Cointreau
1/2 oz simple syrup

Shake well with crushed ice, serve over fresh crushed ice with a wedge of lime. No salt for me!

p.s. I now know how to spell "cinco"!

That would be Cinco de Mayo. Vique.

I already had a Cinco de mayo dinner party last night with fajita quesadillas and creamy enchiladas with my parents. I had to dial down the spice for them but we did just fine.

When I make fajitas for me and Dh I do a selection of colored peppers, vidalia and red onion, cumin, cracked pepper and whatever pepper I can get at the fruit market, jalapeno, scotch bonnet, and if there are none ripe and ready I dash in from my hot pepper sauce stash.

Thanks Vique, but if you look at my very last word before your post you'll see I already corrected myself.

Anyway I didn't go with fajitas at all - made some beef enchiladas with Cook's Illustrated recipe. It tasted great and my stomach is a mess, so obviously I did it right!

Tonight it part two with some seared shrimp. I might have to switch to beer though. Must be getting old.

you know you live in new jersey when...

you can't find a ripe avocado in a 15 mile radius!

ihadtouseprepackagedguac

hey enchiladas sound good! thanks fen :) I can do cinco de mayo *and* seis de mayo

duh beef enchiladas that is I already have chicken ones.

It's contagious fen...

I tried for years to re-create the fajita recipe from my favorite mexican restaurant here. Never could get it right.
One night DH was telling the owner about my little "experiments" with his steak fajitas.
He started laughing and shared his secret recipe:

equal parts of honey and soy sauce, squeeze half a fresh lime over the dish before serving.

Now I must make steak fajitas again soon. LOL

I just tasted our appetizer for tonight and it is yummy! I tossed some shrimp (with shell) in olive oil, garlic and chili powder and sauteed it over med-high heat. When cool serve with a squeeze of fresh lime and a bowl of guacamole for dipping.

FOr the entree I had saved the following recipe from last year and decided to dust it off for tonight....

TEX-MEX CHICKEN BREAST
Source: Cowboy Cartoon Cook Book
Publisher: Golden West Publishers
Posted: Thursday, July 05, 2001, 0:00 p.m. MST

6 large CHICKEN BREASTS
1/2 stick BUTTER
2 medium ONIONS, sliced thin
1 small RED BELL PEPPER, diced small
1 small GREEN BELL PEPPER, diced small
1 can (16 oz.) CORN -- reserve liquid for cooking rice
1 can (16 oz.) diced TOMATOES -- reserve liquid for cooking rice
3/4 cup DRY WHITE WINE (or DRY SHERRY)
1 shot TEQUILA
1 tsp. RED CHILI POWDER
SALT and PEPPER
2 cups LONG GRAIN WHITE RICE
3 cups WATER (or CHICKEN STOCK)
1 LIME, sliced thin

Cook chicken in melted butter turning until golden brown. Take chicken out and keep warm. Saute onions in pan until wilted, but not brown. Add red and green bell peppers, saute for two to three minutes. Add corn, diced tomatoes, wine, tequila and chile powder. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook for five minutes. Add chicken and cook another five minutes. Cook rice, using reserved liquids and three cups water. Put rice in large serving dish and arrange chicken on top of rice and spoon the vegetable mixture around the chicken. Garnish with lime slices.
Serves 6.

angelaid I have already committed that one to memory for next fajita night.

I just made taco meat and meat and bean burrito filling.

Why am I making all this stuff???
oh yeah cuz it beats cleaning

I don't normally celebrate Cinco de Mayo (and it's not celebrated in Mexico much either - it more of a Chicano holiday, according to channel 5 News this morning). I have another avocado, and so maybe I'll make guacamole. I should have thought to make fajitas, but maybe tomorrow...

I don't use Triple Sec in Margaritas - just Cointreau or Grand Marnier. Instead of syrup, I used canned lime juice concentrate, but I do add lime juice and lots and lots of ice. The ice dilutes the juice concentrate. I bought Tequila recently because I saw the brand I like on sale at the drug store. I generally buy Sauza - it's not the most expensive, but it's good enough for me. I'd like to try some of the high end tequilas, but I don't like spending that kind of money on tequila - the high end brands cost more than the Grand Marnier!

Lars

Lars - I don't celebrate CdM per se, it's just a convenient excuse to have Mexican food and try to justify why I've nearly killed a liter of Sauza (on sale, 14.99) that I just bought on Quatro de Mayo.

Weird thing about tequila, as I've grown to enjoy it more my tastes have gotten cheaper - I am no longer a Patron-or-better snob. I wish I could say the same for Scotch!

Angelaid - that honey and soy, sound weird but I'm willing to give it a shot. I assume that's a marinade?

Interesting that I'm seeing recipes here and elsewhere for fajitas with meat other than skirt steak, in particular with flank. I always thought skirt was a given, but evidently I'm wrong.

Most people don't know that back in 1912, Hellmann's mayonnaise was manufactured in England. In fact, the Titanic was carrying 12,000 jars of the condiment scheduled for delivery in Havana,Cuba which was to be the next port of call for the great ship after its stop in New York.

This would have been the largest single shipment of mayonnaise ever delivered to Cuba. But as we know, the great ship did not make it to New York. The ship hit an iceberg, sank and the cargo was forever lost.

The people of Cuba, who were crazy about mayonnaise and were eagerly awaiting its delivery, were inconsolable at the loss. Their anguish was so great, that they declared a National Day of Mourning, which they still observe to this day.

The National Day of Mourning occurs each year on May 5th and is known, of course, as Sinko de Mayo.