(So Much More Than) Just Tacos

Ask a busy mother what's for dinner and you might hear her say, "Just tacos," as if this popular entree needs a justification or apology. But about three pages into Shelley Wiseman's newest book, Just Tacos, and you quickly realize the heights to which this standard fare can quickly be elevated under the right watchful eye.

And Wiseman, a former food editor at Gourmet magazine as well as an acclaimed cookbook author (her first book, The Mexican Gourmet, co-authored with Maria Dolores Torres Uzabal, was nominated for a Julia Child cookbook award), is just the person to give tacos their true culinary due. "I have eaten millions of tacos in my life," she says, noting she lived in Mexico both as a teenager and as an adult.

Based on the book, it's likely a lot of those tacos were not of the ground beef-and-flavoring-from-a-packet-with-a-bunch-of-grated-cheese-and-taco-sauce variety so common to American dinner tables. In Just Tacos, everything from mushrooms and poblano strips to seared tuna and octopus find their way inside a tortilla. In between the recipes, Wiseman offers instruction, with helpful photos, of how to make your own tortillas as well as salsas and other add-ons.

"People still think of a lot of additives on top (of a taco), but that's a little Americanized," Wiseman says. In Mexico, she adds, a grilled meat taco is all about the grilled meat. "The meat figures more prominently than the toppings," she says. The meats are prepared more frequently in their own sauces, leaving salsa to play second fiddle rather than be front and center as it so often is in America. "Perhaps there is some chopped onion, maybe lime on the side to squeeze or maybe some radishes to have the piquant alternative flavor."

While Wiseman is not averse to buying good tortillas -- the caveat here being on the word "good" -- she prefers to make her own and encourages her readers to do so, too. "I live in a Hispanic neighborhood so easy to get good tortillas," she says, "but I do think there's a reward if you make your own.

"All you're doing is adding water and a touch of salt to the powder," she adds. "You do need a tortilla press but it's inexpensive to press."

Make a party of it, Wiseman suggests. "It's a process to get your friends involved," she says. "I usually have some bought ones in the back so if I run out of steam, I can go to them."

To learn more about Shelley Wiseman, visit her website, www.cookingwithshelley.com or follow her on Twitter @helenofqueens.

RECIPES:

Seared Scallop Tacos with Jicama-Peanut Slaw

Makes 8-10 tacos

Serves 3-4

ingredients

for the pico de pinta

1 cup diced jicama

2 large clementines or 1 large navel orange, peeled, including white pit, and diced (1 cup) plus juices from 1 large Clementine or 1/2 navel orange

1/2 cup chopped red onion

1/2 cup chopped chicharron (fried pork skin) (optional)

1/2 cup chopped cocktail peanuts

for the scallops

1 pound sea scallops

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil

method

Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat until hot. While the skillet is heating, pat the scallops dry with paper towels and season them with salt.

Add the oil to the skillet and swirl to coat the bottom. Immediately add the scallops, one by one so they aren't touching, and cook, without moving, until the undersides are browned, about 3 minutes (When the scallops are ready, they will move when you shake the pan because their browned crust will released them from the pan.) Turn the scallops over and cook until just cooked through, about 2 minutes more.

Cut the scallops into half-inch pieces and make tacos with the pico de piñata.

Variation: Substitute popcorn shrimp for the scallops. Season with salt and sauté, stirring, until cooked through, 2-3 minutes.

Corn Mushroom Tacos

Makes 1/4 cups (6 to 8) tacos, serves 2-3

ingredients

1/4 cup chopped white onion

1 medium garlic clove, finely chopped

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 7.5 --ounce cans huitlacoche*, including liquid, or 2 cups chopped fresh huitlacoche

2 tablespoons chopped fresh epazote leaves (optional)

salt

method

Cook the onion and garlic in the oil in a small skillet, stirring until they are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the huitlacoche and epazote, if using, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Season with slate to taste.

Accompaniments: warm corn tortillas, chile poblano sauce, avocado slices, chopped white onion.

*Huitlacoche (also spelled cuitlacoche) is a mushroom that grows on corn kernels. It is considered a pest by many farmers, except for the owner of Burns Farms, who sells it fresh in season and frozen the rest of the year. It can be ordered online at MexGrocer.com