Taco Party: Slow Cooker Carnitas redux, plus Fabulous Coleslaw

A little while ago Mr. Tarte Tatin asked if we'd cater a party in celebration of the Pajama Queen's graduation-- something fun that would go with margaritas. Tacos, do-it-yourself tacos, looked like the answer, especially since we expected to feed 50 people or so The Evite had terrifying said 150 people, but Mr TT assured us that only a third of them would show up. Better hope so, or everyone is only getting half a taco.

We've been honing the Carnitas recipe that I first tried about a month ago.

We made it much the same way as the recipe, but I have a secret. After cooking the meat seemed like it was drying out, so when we reheated it in the electric skillet (which we left on low for serving) we incorporated the pork "jello," the leftover juices that separated from the lard. When it coold it gelatinizes and it is unbelievably flavorful. So rather than waste it, we mixed it back into the shreeded pork and it is FAN-freaking-tastic.

With it, we got a box of fresh tortillas, made by hand and utterly scrumptious, from La Palma Mexicatessen, and to complete the "do-it-yourself" taco bar, there were bowls of crema, chopped onions, cilantro, shredded cheese and three kinds of salsa. Oh baby...

After the food, a rousing round of pinata fun.

Does it say something about the Pajama Queen's determination that she beheaded the poor thing on her first wild swing?

Do not get between her and dessert.

Along with the tacos we served a Cumin Lime coleslaw which was pretty yummy. This recipe started out life on Epicurious, but we made a few changes based on the helpful reciews people left and our own tastes.

Cumin Lime Coleslaw

3 medium carrots, peeled, finely chopped
6 cups shredded green cabbage (from 1 small head)
1 red bell pepper, cut into matchstick-size strips
1 red onion, thinly sliced
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 cup olive oil

Drain. Cool completely. Transfer carrots to large bowl. Add cabbage, bell pepper, onion and cilantro.

Whisk lime juice, cumin, garlic and hot pepper sauce in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Season with salt and pepper. (Cabbage mixture and dressing can be made 8 hours ahead. Cover separately; chill. Rewhisk dressing before continuing.)

Toss salad with enough dressing to coat. Season with salt and pepper; serve.

Check It Off: Organizing the pantry

So I have another Check It Off column in the Chronicle's Home & Garden today. Those of you who follow this blog might find yourselves amused by a few of my suggestions...

Whether you have a walk-in pantry with acres of shelf space, or a tiny under-the-sink cabinet in your rental apartment, the key to avoiding cooking frustration is organization. If your pantry is a disorganized mess, and you've just bought your third can of paprika because you can't find the other two, it's worth your while to make a weekend project of clearing out the pantry and reorganizing. Here are a few ideas that can help.

Square glass canisters. For efficient use of your space, square containers stack better, and clear canisters allow you to see what's inside quickly. If you want to avoid plastic containers - those made with #3, #5, #6, or #7 plastic can leach chemicals into your food - ceramic, metal or glass containers like these Anchor Hocking canisters are perfect for bulk foods like rice and pasta, or for storing sugar and flour. $5.49-$8.99 at Bed, Bath & Beyond. (Related to my recent rant against plastics...)

Bay leaves. A bay leaf in your flour and grain containers helps keep away mealworms and other unpleasant pantry pests. (Related to "Why you must sift flour...")

Small spice tins. Don't keep your spices in a plastic bag or little plastic bottle. Small metal tins like the ones from Paper Mart are food grade, uniform, easy to label and stackable. $11.76 for a pack of 24 four-ounce tins at papermart.com. (Inspired by our Spice Rack...)

Read more at Check It Off: Organizing the pantry.

Picnic essentials

Longtime readers of this blog know that I'm a FAN of the picnic. I LOVE picnics... So I was happy to do a Check It Off article for the San Francisco Chronicle's Home and Garden section last Sunday centered on ideas for a perfect picnic.

A good picnic basket: There are lots of cute baskets out there, but for sheer practical sturdiness, Reisenthel's market basket holds everything from plates and cups to a whole roasted chicken. And when you're not picnicking, use it for shopping at the farmer's market. $40 at Sur la Table, surlatable.com.

Tablecloth: It's not only a civilized addition to a picnic, it can also be a practical one, helping to cover a dusty table and keep splinters at bay. Fabric shops like San Francisco's Satin Moon (32 Clement St., 668-1623) often have lengths of inexpensive remnant fabrics that can easily double as a cheerful table covering.

Silverware: Any outing feels more genteel if you pack silverware instead of plastic sporks. Same goes for glasses and plates.

Wire-bale canning jars: With a wire clamp that firmly closes the top, canning jars are good reusable containers for relishes and condiments or even sides like macaroni salad or cold soup. The wide-mouth makes it easy to spoon the contents out and the rubber ring helps keep the jar from leaking. $3-$6 at Sur la Table, surlatable.com.

Read the rest at the SF Chronicle site.

Of course, poll ten people and you're likely to get ten different ideas of what is essential to a perfect picnic. I tried definitely to focus less on food items, because that kind of stuff falls more under the Food & Wine heading, plus I think the Chronicle has already had lots of great features with yummy recipe ideas in the past.

I thought it was interesting, though, that there were a few comments about the idea of the glass jars. Readers objected to hauling around heavy glassware-- why not use those disposable plastic containers from Ziploc or the Glad Family of Products? After all, they're lighter, reusable and recyclable.

I've used them for a long time myself, because, let's face it, they're cheap, and if you leave them behind by accident, you don't really care. I've even saved the plastic containers that Chinese or Indian takeout food comes in, and reused them because those pint and quart containers are a great convenient size. But when I started this piece (and an upcoming one on storing pantry items), I read a lot more about storing foods in plastic and even though the FDA has approved the use of Bisphenol A or BPA in food grade plastics, there's a body of evidence to suggest that it leaches out of plastics (especially when heated) in unhealthy levels.

If you're like me-- I read about something like High Fructose Corn Syrup and I go rampaging through the house looking for everything with HFCS in it-- you'll head for your cabinet and start flipping over your plastic containers to find out what number plastics are used in the Glad Family of Products. On the bottom of any piece of plastic is a little triangle with the Resin ID number printed on it, telling you what category of plastic you're holding. BPA is commonly found in #3 (PVC), #7 (a variety but notably polycarbonate or Lexan) plastics.

"Well, phew!" you say, after checking your Glad Product, "It's #5 (Polypropylene) and not made with BPAs. Dodged that bullet. I guess we're okay!"

Not so fast. Now it comes out that #5--which you find in everything from Rubbermaid to long underwear--may be leaching other kinds of chemicals, called quaternary ammonium biocides and oleamide, in high enough levels that a research team in Canada had to stop a drug experiment because the chemicals in their containers were contaminating the results. Oleamides are found normally in sleep-deprived animals (including humans) and is thought to help induce sleep.

As a side note, #6 plastic (polystyrene or styrofoam) I try to avoid on the grounds that most recyclers won't take it, and it's not biodegradable -- I envision large flotillas made up of my styro coffee cups choking off a whale and I have fits.

That leaves you pretty much with #1 or #2 or #4 plastics, but now I'm exhausted with the effort of figuring out what plastics are okay and which are not. I'd rather just have some nice glass jars or a Corningware baker with silicone cover.

So we have a nice little oval Corningware gratin that I've been forcing My Omnivore to use for his lunches-- I pointed out that he could either microwave or use it in a toaster over which you can't do with a Glad Family Product--and that's ben just perfect for our purposes. And yes, I'm slowly ditching all the plastic we have and replacing it with Corningware bakers-- I'm a sucker for that "Oven to Table" bit-- and Pyrex storage sets.