Cinco de Mayo

[Innkeeper]

This is it folks. Get the zinfandel and tempranillo ready! Full report follows tonight or tomorrow or whenever.

[Bucko]

What? Are you on a moon launch? Bear hunt? Mud wrestling with Tonya Harding?

[Innkeeper]

We did not plan ahead, so we ended up with mostly cans. We did make our family recipe for Mexican Rice, and that tied the whole meal together. The “cans” included Casa Fiesta Beef Tamales with Chile Gravy, Casa Fiesta Refried Black Beans, Hatch Enchilada Sauce with Roasted Garlic, and Muir Glen Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes. We found some very nice 60 day old organic Jack Cheese, a very ordinary head of Ice Berg lettuce, and some plump limes to quarter. Washed it all down with 2000 Bodegas Crotta, Tempranillo, Mendoza.

MEXICAN RICE:

1 - 3 tbl Lard
1 Lg Onion chopped
1/2 tsp Crushed garlic
1 C Short grain rice
2 C Beef stock or bullion
10 oz Tomato puree or crushed tomatoes
1 tsp Lawry salt/nosalt
1/2 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp Ground cumin
1/4 tsp Granulated garlic (garlic powder)
1 bunch Cilantro minced

Nuke the onion with as much lard as you can stand. Add to pressure cooker, rice cooker, or saucepan with rice, crushed garlic and beef stock. Cover and cook rice until done. In a small mixing bowl whisk together remaining ingredients. Stir into cooked rice and heat till piping hot. Serve with shredded Monterey Jack, and shredded lettuce.