A tale of two mexican dinners

Quite coincidentally, J and I found ourselves at two separate Mexican dinners last night. We thought we would compare them on Miss Soft Crab today, though not in a competitive way. Just because.

Let’s begin with the Mexican dinner AB cooked for Lil, Chambo and I.

Menu

AB served chicken burritos with buttered corn and chunky guacamole.

She also made sangria, but after having a sip of it told us we weren’t allowed to drink it because she feared that the special sangria wine she used to make it had turned. (I had a sip and thought it was fine, but didn’t argue because I didn’t want to look like someone who can’t tell when wine has turned.)

The burritos were delicious. It was the buttered corn and the chunky guacamole that did it. The corn had been char grilled, then the kernels removed and butter stirred through. We spooned it in to our burritos along with all the other delicious things you would expect in a burrito – cheese, sour cream, jalapenos, salsa, lettuce and guacamole. The guacamole had chunks of avocado instead of mushed avocado, tomato, coriander and lots of green chilli and lime juice. It was a real winner.

The first burrito I constructed balanced the different ingredients perfectly. I congratulated myself on every bite.

I guess I got a little cocky, because the second burrito was basically stuffed full of so much stuff that I couldn’t wrap the tortilla all the way around without delicious things oozing out either end. I soldiered on, but didn’t take a photo because it probably looked pretty gross.

Interesting conversation

The topic on everyone’s lips was dentistry. It all began with the discovery of a bunch of what AB called Piksticks in the drawer of her coffee table. These things are like tiny bottle brushes which you shove between your teeth to use instead of dental floss. AB raves about them, and likes to keep them in the drawer of her coffee table so she can maintain dental hygiene while watching television.

She invited us to try them for ourselves, but recommended we select carefully as some of them are definitely used. In the cold light of day this invitation seems so unappealing, but last night it seemed like a good offer and I can cheerfully report that Piksticks really do work.

Sadly, it was too late for Lil who told us that she was in the process of getting a root canal. Readers, getting a root canal is a three stage process that involves removing the nerve, drilling a hole then filling the hole. WTF. Lil has just completed stage 2 – drilling of the hole. Apparently the dentist had to up the size of the drill-bit three times. *Shudder*

AB advised that she too had spent a great deal of time in the dentist’s chair of late, having her canine teeth rebuilt. We all looked at her blankly. “Because of all the grinding” she said. She thought our blank looks were because we didn’t understand why she needed tooth rebuilding, not the fact that you can get your mother flipping teeth rebuilt. Ha!

Turns out AB grinds her teeth in her sleep and had ground her canines down so much they no longer had any pointy bits on them. These days, dentists can replace lost pointy bits. Isn’t that incredible? AB doesn’t think so. Apparently her dentist rebuilt the heck out of her canines, so much so that her chewing motion was impeded. Anyone who knows AB also knows that impeded chewing motion absolutely will not do, so she went back to the dentist and told them to fix it. I understand that tooth filing was involved. *Shudder*

Despite the talk of dentistry, we all had a lovely time. Thanks AB.