I had a bunch of friends over to my house for a taquito party recently!

I. Love. Taquitos.

Check out Melisser’s post all about it here.

Want to make your own taquitos?  Then read on for ten taquito tips:

1. Make sure your filling is moist and sticky enough to cling to itself, otherwise filling will fall out of each end and your taquito will fill with oil and the remaining filling will be greasy.  If your filling is tasty but not moist enough, consider pureeing part of it in a food processor and mixing it with the remaining filling to form a more cohesive mass.
2. lightly steam your tortillas a few at a time to make them pliable enough for rolling
3. use a toothpick to sew your taquitos together at the seam
4. use at least enough oil to submerge your taquitos
5. fry one taquito by itself first to get the hang of it and to correct any issues with your filling.  If it all falls out and burns and turns your oil black, see tip #1!
6. 350 deg. F might be “proper” frying temperature, but your oil temp will drop sharply as you add your taquitos.  Use a thermometer and heat your oil as high as possible but below the smoke point of your particular oil.  Watch your temperature, and only add enough taquitos until the temperature drops to around 350.
7. after tesing the first one, roll all your taquitos prior to frying.
8. fry until golden brown and crispy.  Time depends on your oil temp.
9. remove from the oil with metal tongs.  Tip each end of the taquito toward the oil to drain any oil that seeped in.
10. rest the fried taquitos on a towel-lined sheet pan in a 300 deg. F oven while the remaining taquitos fry

After that, eat, preferably with friends and guacamole.

Here are the pics from the party! 

Vegan potato gratin is extremely satisfying, let me tell you. No dairy needed. Stuff it with whatever fillings you like. It’s gonna be great.

The essentials for this dish are potatoes, cashews, salt and pepper. Anything else is up to you. To this one I added sauteed greens (kale and spinach) and sauteed black trumpet mushrooms.

Ingredients:

• 4 russet potatoes, peeled and sliced into thin disks (I used a mandoline set to 3mm)
• 1-1/4 cups raw cashews
• oil, salt, pepper

optional ingredients: (these are the quantities I used, feel free to omit or increase)

• 2 large yellow onions, small dice
• 1 to 1-1/2 qts mushrooms, finely chopped or sliced (I used black trumpet, use your favorite)
• 2 large bunches assorted greens, chopped (I used spinach and kale)
• several garlic cloves, to taste, minced or pressed
• nutritional yeast, nutmeg, lemon zest
• acidic ingredient of choice, such as lemon juice, dry sherry, etc.

To prepare the mushrooms:

Heat a large skillet over medium-high.

Add a thin film of oil and half the onions and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes.

Turn the heat to high. Add the mushrooms and cook until the liquid has evaporated.

Add a little lemon juice or sherry to loosen everything, and cook until the the liquid has evaporated.

Remove from heat. Add salt and lemon juice to taste. Set aside.

To prepare the greens:

Heat a large pan over high heat. To test if the pan is hot enough, sprinkle a couple drops of water in the pan. They should immediately bead up and not turn to steam too quickly.

Add a high-heat stable oil, about 1 tablespoon per bunch of greens.

Add remaining onion and cook for 2 minutes just to soften, stirring.

Add garlic and cook until golden.

Add greens and stir. Continue cooking on high heat until the greens reduce in volume significantly and are more tender.

Add lemon juice and salt to taste. Remove from heat and set aside.

To prepare the cashew cream:

Place cashews in a blender. Add enough water to come to 2 cups.

Add optional ingredients to taste, such as nutritional yeast, nutmeg, fresh lemon zest, cayenne, etc.

Blend on high for 1 minute (in a high speed blender like a Vita-Mix) or several minutes in a normal blender. Check the texture either with your mouth or fingertips. There should be no grit from the nuts. The consistency should be thick but pourable. Salt to taste.

To assemble the gratin:

Preheat your oven to 350.

Oil the bottom and sides of an 8-10″ round casserole dish.

Layer the potatoes in circles, overlapping partially. After each addition, sprinkle with salt and pepper and about 1/2 cup of cashew cream.

Fill with the greens and mushrooms however you see fit, each in its own layer.

You can finish the last layer with more cream or oil, as below. I think finishing with oil makes for a better presentation.

Seal with foil and bake for at least one hour. Insert a fork in the center – there should be no resistance.

Uncover and increase oven temperature to 400. Let the top turn golden, about 10 more minutes.

not done yet…

Remove and serve.