300 Best Taco Recipes: From tantalizing tacos to authentic tortillas, sauces, cocktails & salsas

Kelley Cleary Coffeen
Robert Rose Publishing (2011)
ISBN 9780778802679
Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (4/11)

After perusing “300 Best Taco Recipes,” I realized that as long as you have a corn or flour tortilla, you can combine pretty much anything and you have a great taco. Aside from giving recipes for making the tortilla shell, Kelley Cleary Coffeen gives awesome combinations; from simple to elegant, from basic to fully filled.

For the purpose of the review we are asked to test three recipes.  I have to admit I didn’t make the shells myself because I feel it’s just too much trouble and the local grocery store has any type of tortilla one would need. 

The first recipe I tried was “Tacos el Pastor.”  The pork tenderloin pieces sat in a marinade that was a combination of pineapple, onion and cilantro for at least 4 hours.  The pieces were then sautéed in a skillet and then placed in double-layered corn tortillas. Sprinkled with fresh lime and served with Pico de Gallo it made a nice lunch. The pork pieces were extremely tender.

The second recipe I tested was “Artichoke and Spinach Tacos.” The filling is more of a salad which was a combination of spinach-leaves, romaine lettuce, sliced onion, chopped water chestnuts, and canned artichoke hearts.  The recipe suggested topping with Jalapeno Cream Sauce, but I couldn’t find one in the book so I made my own with sour cream and jalapeños.   This was a good combination and tasted great. The only thing was that the shells were overstuffed and fell apart at first bite.  I decided that the next time I make this recipe I will use the combination as a salad and service tortillas on the side.

For the third recipe I decided to test a desert taco.  The recipe I chose was “Blueberry Corn Tacos with Vanilla Ice Cream.”  The first layer on the corn tortillas was a combination of sugar and cinnamon and this was topped with a layer of cream cheese combined with sugar and vanilla.  The recipe asked for 1/4 cup cheesecake filling but could be substituted with a cream cheese combination.  The final topping was fresh blueberries.  The tortillas were folded in half, secured with toothpicks and deep fried.  After a minute or two they were taken out of the oil, drained, and tossed in sugar/cinnamon mixture.  The end result was served with vanilla ice cream.  I had trouble with this recipe; the filling oozed out of the tortilla while frying.  This is probably because the edges weren’t secure enough; the tortilla kept tearing if I attempted to place the toothpicks any closer. What was left of the taco was good but it took just too much fuss.  I doubt I will try this recipe again.

There are many other combinations I’ll be trying as well as some of the salsa recipes.  The recipes look simple and the ingredients could be found in kitchen pantries or local grocery stores.  If you are a taco fan, “300 Best Taco Recipes” will give you the license to experiment with combinations you’ve never thought of before. 

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