Tortillas

This one takes a little bit of elbow grease and time. But really, no skill or savvy. And they're so so impressive. Extremely flavorful, incredibly textured and wonderfully fragrant, there's nothing like homemade tortillas.

Ok, so the real reason I made these was because I bought this. (Time out. How hilarious is it that a person reviewed lard on Amazon? And even more hilarious that they discuss the hilarity of reviewing lard on Amazon? Awesome.) Time in. You see a box of lard, you buy a box of lard, right? Then, when you run across a recipe that calls only for lard, flour, salt and water, you dive right in.

Like I said, this requires no skill, just time and a little focus. We served these with brisket last week and one pal said it was "the best thing I have ever put in my mouth." I'll take it.
ps- I doubled the recipe and made my tortillas a little smaller. They were cute.

Flour tortillas
2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup lard (or shortening, or butter)
1/2 cup warm water

Combine the salt and flour in large mixing bowl. Cut the lard in, and add the warm water until you have a soft and pliable dough. I used a pastry cutter (or fork, if you're pastry cutter-less) with the lard, then my hands. Move the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes. Shape into a ball and cut into quarters. Working with one quarter at a time, cut each quarter into three equal pieces. Roll into balls using your hands.

Using a tortilla press, rolling pin, or bottom of a pie plate, roll (or press) these to 1/8 inch thickness. They won't be perfectly shaped, but that makes them even more homey and impressive. Until you're ready to cook, I laid each disk on a baking sheet, sprinkled with a tiny bit of flour, and lapped one on top of the other. Heat a cast-iron skillet or other large frying pan over medium high heat. Cook each disk for about 45 seconds on each side. They'll puff up and get those lovely brown spots. Serve immediately.

You'll never buy tortillas again.

pps- thanks to SAM for the shoutout!