Pork Fat Rules!

My mother-in-law celebrated her 65th birthday on Saturday, so we had everyone over at Casa Peterson for a feast.

But what to cook?

Many folks who read this blog don't know that Mark's mom's family are Mexican-American which means that whenever we visit Mamanina (his grandma), we're usually treated to some homemade tortillas. On an even better day, we're treated to homemade tamales (yum!).

That being said, I decided to cook some Mexican food for Olivia.

What was on the menu? Well, I thought you'd never ask Here's a menu (along with links to recipes if you'd like to make this menu as well).

Olivia's 65th Feast
Carnitas (note:I used this recipe as a master, but changed up the spices. BTW, A 5lb pork shoulder was barely enough for us)
Corn and Flour Tortillas (store bought)
Red Rice (I cook my rice in my rice cooker with this - it's kind of weird I know, but the end result is tasty)
Pinquito Beans (you can always use the canned kind from the grocery store)
Pickled Red Onions (this is a foolproof recipe for pickled red onions - no cooking required)
Crema (you haven't lived if you haven't tried this yet - it's basically Mexican Sour Cream)
Tomatillo Salsa (ok, so I bought some from the store - sue me)

A good time (and margaritas and chips and guacamole) was had by all 9 of us.