Editor’s note:
Please welcome our newest contributor to the friendly confines of TacoTown.  Pigpen has graciously opened his family’s culinary vaults to share this recipe for Chicken Enchiladas – you Texan readers may notice that he uses flour tortillas instead of corn- it yields a bigger enchilada- more akin to a smothered burrito…but tasty nonetheless…Onto the recipe >>

Ingredients:

• Your drink of choice! (for you, not the enchiladas)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• ¼ cup all purpose flour
• 2 ½ cups chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon dried coriander
• 1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chiles
• 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 cup (4 oz.) shredded Cheddar cheese
• 4 boneless chicken breasts, trimmed and chopped
• ½ cup cilantro
• ½ tablespoon dried cumin
• 1 lime
• Kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• Fresh ground black pepper
• Light cream cheese
• 8 flour tortillas

Preparing the Chicken Marinade:
Use a marinade dish for the following items. Roll the lime on kitchen counter to soften; cut in half and squeeze on chicken. Sprinkle kosher salt, cumin, minced garlic, and black pepper over chicken breast (about ½ tablespoon each) and half of the cilantro. Repeat for other side. Cover and place in fridge at least 30 minutes before cooking.  I recommend cooking the chicken over charcoal as it gives the finished product a distinctive flavor that gas cannot duplicate.

Making the Sauce:
Melt butter in saucepan, stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add the chicken broth smoothing the sauce with a wire whisk as you pour and bring to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes until thickened. Stir in coriander and half of the green chiles and simmer. Remember to stir the sauce frequently if you are not using it immediately.

Making the Enchiladas:
In a large mixing bowl combine the chopped chicken, Monterey Jack cheese and remaining green chiles. Spread a little cream cheese on a tortilla and spoon ¼ cup of the chicken mixture into the center of the tortilla. Roll and place seam side down in an ungreased baking dish, repeat until you’re out of chicken!! Pour the sauce over the rolled enchiladas. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese down the center of the enchiladas.

Bake, uncovered at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.  Remove from the oven, plate, and garnish with a dollop of sour cream and maybe a side of rice & beans, a salad, or tequila.  Enjoy!!

Conceived by entrepreneur and music industry mogul Lon Bozarth and perfected by his twin boys Evan and Dustin Bozarth, Chappy’s Original Green Salsa is a tangy mix of roasted green tomatillos, serrano peppers and a few treasured pickled carrots. The recipe is deceptively simple, yet the results are a complex and addictive addictive blend that goes well on anything from tacos to chili to scrambled eggs to White Castle burgers.

Awards and Accolades

CHAPPY’S Original Green Salsa was awarded honorable mention in the Individual Green Sauce division of the 2009 Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival. This was the 2nd honorable mention award in 4 years of competing at The Chronicle Fest, to go along with two 1st place champion awards at the famous Joby’s Hot Sauce Contest. More awards are sure to follow for this timeless and universally loved salsa.

Music in the Kitchen: Favorite Recipes from Austin City Limits Performers

Chappy’s Gets Published

When Austin salsa music legends, Beto and the Fairlanes, were asked to submit a recipe for the newly released “Music in the Kitchen: Favorite Recipes from Austin City Limits Performers”, they of course chose the best salsa in Austin –  Chappy’s Green Salsa!  Thanks Beto!  It has been a huge honor to be included in the book– Other recipes include My Morning Jacket’s “Quinoa Eggs with Cheese, Please!”, Willie Nelson’s “Willie’s Tequila-Mango Salsa”, and Joss Stone’s “Veggie Lasagna.” You’ll find the recipe for Beto’s favorite – our famous green salsa on page 25.. [amazon link]

The Future

While Chappy’s Original Green salsa is not being commercially bottled at the moment, the Bozarths are using it’s unique appeal in other ways.  Under the umbrella of their boutique design shop AIRSHP, Evan Bozarth is designing a unique packaging for Chappy’s.  The handcrafted jars will be used to promote AIRSHP’s design and branding capabilities, while offering the friends and clients a delicious calling card and something to share with their loved ones.  it’s the gift that keeps on giving.  If you’re dying to get your hands on some Chappy’s Green Salsa, we suggest getting in touch with AIRSHP…Who knows, you may even strike up a working relationship along the way

a nice assortment of Austin, TX tacos
Warning: do not click this link if you are hungry.

Thanks to Chris Dye for this guest post from the mean streets of Hell-EH!

This spot in Atwater Village, Los Angeles, “Tacos Villa Corona” is one of my favorite taco joints, it is also the favorite of many Los Angelenos and because of it’s meatless menu it serves a wide variety of people.

My favorite is the standard Asada Taco (Steak) their home made hot sauce is kickin’ and it is simply served with cilantro and white onion. My second would be the Papas Tacos (Potato) and I would have to say this is probably their best seller, not many places serve this and it is very popular.

If you are in Los Angeles and get a chance to stop by “Tacos Villa Corona” you will not be disappointed and the prison art is only $25.00.. more photos after the jump!

and be sure to check out Chris Dye’s music – he is a super talented songwriter and performer from LA who now lives in Lockhart, TX – home of the Purple Bee Crew.. Read the rest of this entry »

Longtime Houston food critic, author, and salsa pioneer, Robb Walsh, skips all the roasting and hard labor involved in some salsas and shows us how the taco trucks do it – quick and simple, with a few fresh ingredients thrown into the blender..

oh and by the way: Robb has a new book out called The Tex-Mex Grill and Backyard Barbacoa Cookbook.. Be sure to check it out!

The Mother Hips from SXSW 2009

Local Natives
up n comers – catchy songs and amazing singers.
2pm • The Parish (NPR) Listen Live on KUT

Fader Fort – Thursday Lineup Highlights
3:45 Neon indian
4:30 Local Natives
5:15 Bomba Estereo
6:45 the Morning Benders
7:30 Fucked Up

Dam Funk
3:30pm • Carniville Party

The Mother Hips!
5pm • Kayceman Treehouse Party @ Cheers – FREE!
11pm • Encore patio (official sxsw)
the Fathers of Califonia Soul are back in Austin – DON’T MISS THEM

Lissie
8pm • The Parish (official sxsw)
great vocals – great songs and a magnetic presence

Mountain Man (check out my interview w/ them)
9pm • Buffalo Billiards (official sxsw)
trio of girl singers from vermont – spooky and beautiful folk hymns

The Low Anthem
10pm • Palm Door (official sxsw)
Don’t call it Americana – great songs, rootsy, real, raw vocals

jj
10pm • Mohawk Patio (sxsw)
Mysterious electro pop from Sweden w/ sexy female vocals

Holy Fuck
11pm • Mohawk Patio (sxsw)
Amazing instrumental band from Toronto. Thom Yorke digs it.

TacoTown had an absolute BLAST at the BACON TAKEDOWN this past Sunday at Emo’s during the 2010 SXSW Interactive conference.

The 22 Bacon-centered entries ranged from ridiculously meaty – Frank Mancuso of Saint Arnold & his Bacon Explosion - to the sinfully sweet – Laura Finger’s Bacon Cups filled with peanut butter chocolate pudding, topped with banana & maple glaze). Not to mention Bacon Booze! Lucky 13 Mixology served up killer Bacon Bloody Mary’s…and it would be an Austin takedown with out some tacos! Absolutely NOT. That’s where we come in…So, what did we make??

Crack taco - Our Winning Entry (credit Nelson Flores onthe last one)

Crack Tacos!
Maple blueberry glazed bacon inside a fresh flour tortilla (made w/ bacon fat),
topped with blueberry-habanero hot sauce – ftw.

And to top it all off- We Won!
TACO TOWN took home 1st place in the Judges category and 2nd place in the people’s choice!

——————————

BIG BIG ShatOut to: Arnold Perez- our partner in crime and official chef of Purple Bee Crew. Arnold was the ever-smiling brown fellow rolling out over 250 fresh tortillas LIVE on-site for the hungry carnivores! We couldn’t have done this without him…really…

Big ShatOut to: Takedown honcho Matt Timms – Let’s do a TACO takedown next year, Matt!!

Big ShatOut to: The esteemed judges- Local food-blog-queen Addie Broyles and Bon Appetit Magazine’s Emily Fleischaker.

Big ShatOut to: Nelson Flores of show me your taco for sharing that last bacon photo with us.. check out his great taco blog

Big ShatOut to: our old pal Hilah Johnson’s and her Caballero Candy: a Chocolate bacon Fantasy – which narrowly beat TacoTown for the People’s Choice 1st place – also be sure to check out Hilah’s badass online cooking show.

Here’s The Official Results:

Judge’s Choice
#1 Tacotown.org – Crack Bacon Tacos
#2 Vanessa & Lisa Blackwell – Bourbon Bacon Pecan Pie
#3 Amanda Joyner – Bacon Jam

People’s Choice:
#1 Hilah Johnson – Bacon Chocolate
#2 Tacotown.org – Crack Bacon Tacos
#3 Josh White - Avocado Bacon Salad on Toast

more coverage:
Takedown Website
Addie Broyles Coverage for Austin360
Hilah’s Awesome Video of the event