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Chef Edgar Rico, right, owner of Nixta Taqueria in Austin, Texas, shares tips on grilling with a participant in the American Bounty series of classes at the Culinary Institute of America at Copia in Napa. 

Setting out the fixings for tacos in the Hestan Teaching Kitchen at the CIA at Copia. 

Chef Edgar Rico, right, leads a class on Exploring Southwestern Cuisine at the CIA at Copia. 

When most of us want to make tacos, we just grab a bag of tortillas, though some may make a trip to a place that sells fresh tortillas like La Mexicana Tortilleria in the River Park Plaza in Napa. But it’s not hard to make your own tortillas, and it can be a very rewarding experience.

I recently attended a class on just that subject at the CIA at Copia. We also got to eat a fine taco lunch using the tortillas we made.

The class was part of the CIA’s celebration of the American Bounty that honors the founding 40 years ago of the eponymous restaurant at its headquarters in Hyde Park, New York.

American Bounty was more than just a restaurant, however. Before then, the CIA, like most American culinary schools, was Euro-centric, and specifically, Franco-centric. The then-new restaurant signaled a change to recognize the diverse food of the United States and later, of the world.

The American Bounty restaurant made a bold statement that American food was a cuisine deserving of both recognition and celebration.

Along with a number of renowned chefs at that time — many of whom were CIA alumni, like Larry Forgione ’74 (“godfather of American cuisine”), Dean Fearing ’78, Susan Feniger ’77 and Jasper White ’76 — American Bounty’s focus on regional and seasonal ingredients set the stage for what was to come. It’s now difficult to imagine a fine restaurant not celebrating local ingredients and food, if sometimes also honoring other cuisines.

Copia scheduled two weekends devoted to the American Bounty.

Ken Morris recently described a class he attended focusing on the south with Carlton McCoy in the Register.

I attended a class on Exploring Southwestern Cuisine with James Beard award winning chef Edgar Rico, owner of Nixta Taqueria in Austin, Texas, and his wife and co-owner, Sara Mardanbigi.

Nixta is not a typical taqueria. It treads a line between the super-traditional (they make their own masa and tortillas using heirloom corn from Mexico) and the modern (you don’t see many taquerias where duck confit stands in for carnitas).

The class focused on learning about and making tortillas, although we also put the final touches on their fillings.

Interestingly, as Ken noted of the class he attended, it wasn’t about recipes. It was about technique. Traditional cooks use memory not recipes.

I couldn’t give you an exact recipe with ingredients for anything we made (or consumed), but I will tell you how we made them with enough information that you can make your own version.

The teachers were joined by Jorge Gaviria, founder of Masienda, a supplier of masa harina (masa flour) and author of the mouth-watering new book “Masa,” to learn more about masa, and make tortillas from scratch.

The day also included an overlapping tequila class and a class on Mexican and Texan wines. It ended with a pachanga (Tex Mex slang for lively party) with food, wine, fun and music by Latin Grammy nominee Gabriel Navia.

The next day, Rico and Gaviria taught a class in making fresh masa.

Most people who’ve read this far probably have some idea what masa is, but to be clear, masa is ground nixtamalized field corn. This corn is a far cry from the sweet hybrid corn prized by customers at the farmers’ market.

The corn kernels are soaked in an alkaline solution that helps remove the skins and also makes the corn more nutritious, adding calcium and unlocking its B3 so humans can utilize it. The process takes about a day.

The alkali used traditionally was wood ash, but the more powerful cal or calcium hydroxide is now most popular. It’s quite caustic and must be used with care.

The corn kernels are boiled, then soaked with the cal for about 16 hours. The result is pozole (called hominy in the American southeast).

The kernels are rinsed with water; many of the skins will float off and can be drained away. For small quantities, you can also rub the kernels in water with your hands and more skins will slough off. You don’t want to remove all of them, however.

The pozole is then ground to the desired texture. Small mills (molinitos) are available if you make a lot of masa, but a food processor works.

Depending on its texture, the masa is used for tortillas, tamales, sopes, pupusas and other such products, or it can be stirred into soups and stews like chili to thicken them.

For tortillas, the pozole is ground very finely. For tamales and some other preparations, a coarser grind is preferred.

This is fresh masa, which you can use immediately to make tortillas and other items. It is only good for a day but can be dried slowly to make masa harina.

Masa harina, or masa flour, is what most people use to make tortillas and other products, including tortilla factories. To use it, the wet masa is dehydrated.

We see a few brands even in supermarkets thanks to our Mexican American neighbors, but Jorge Gaviria’s company Masienda offers masa harina from heirloom corn grown in Mexico. It comes in four colors. They call them white, yellow, red and blue, but the later three are a bit muddy, not bright colors.

They have distinctive flavors, though they can be overwhelmed by the ingredients in a taco or other finished dish.

The yellow is the “corniest.”

To hydrate masa harina, you can just add some water and knead it by hand until it’s about the consistency of Play Doh. (They do have machines in restaurants to mix the dough.)

It takes a little less water to hydrate the masa harina but the exact amount depends on a lot of things including humidity. Warm water operates fastest. It shouldn’t be sticky or dry.

Rico says to make a “smush” test to see if the consistency is right: Break off a piece, roll it into a ball and smush it. It the edges crack, it needs a little more water.

It is best to cover it and let it sit for a short time to make sure the masa harina is hydrated fully. You might have to add a few drops of water.

To make the tortilla from fresh masa or rehydrated masa harina, pull off a piece of dough about the size of a big walnut (22 grams or ¾ oz. for a 6 inch tortilla) and roll it into a ball. It’s best to wet your hands as the dough tends to dry out.

Abuelas (grandmothers) can pat the tortilla out between their hands, but most people now use a tortilla press. My cast aluminum 8-inch version cost about $15, but many varieties are made.

The typical method is to open a plastic sandwich bag on each side and put it in the press. It doesn’t hurt to spray the facing insides with cooking spray, then put the dough ball between the sheets, flatten it a bit with your heel, then close the press and push down on the lever to flatten the tortilla.

You have to be careful not to press it too hard but you can make thin or thick tortillas. The thicker ones are a little easier to manipulate.

Heat up your comal, griddle or skillet and rub it with an oiled towel to give it a very light coat of sunflower oil.

When it and the tortilla are ready, carefully peel the plastic off the tortilla and invert it onto you palm and carefully put it on the skillet in one motion.

Bake the tortilla until is changes color, then flip it. It’s easiest for beginners to use a fish spatula, but old hands can flip a skillet or pick it off with their fingers (ouch!).

The optimum tortilla puffs in the middle, but that doesn’t always happen. If it does, flatten it carefully. You want some brown spots on each side and might have to flip it onto the first side again.

How long does this take? It depends on the heat, the thickness and who knows what, but it isn’t long.

When it’s done, place the tortilla between towels to steam and finish. You can pile multiple tortillas on top of each other; they shouldn’t stick.

A note on tortillas: Corn tortillas are traditional in most of Mexico; corn comes from there, after all. But in parts of northern Mexico, they grow wheat and naturally make wheat flour tortillas and use them in tacos. Flour tortillas are used for making burritos and some other dishes, but in my view, the best tacos are made with corn tortillas.

Making the tacos is a bit anticlimactic after making the tortillas, but I guarantee you’ll be hungry by then. You can add anything you like.

Rico had marinated boneless chicken thighs and skirt steak. He was a little vague about the marinade, so use what you like. I know the chicken had orange juice in it.

You can use a grill outside or a grill pan to cook the meat.

The chicken is cooked slowly to make sure it cooks through, and Rico recommends the same for the flank steak, which is tough if rare. Blast the steak iat the end with high heat.

The most interesting filling was cauliflower florets cut so they have a flat side, tossed with a little oil and cooked in a skillet without touching until that have deep color, then flipped or stirred.

I liked the idea, but they was a bit too burned for me. Brown good, black bad. I think an air fryer or a grill might be better.

To finish the tacos, we cubed red onions finely and sliced avocados and plucked leaves off cilantro and chopped it.

The lunch used the tortillas we made from Masienda heirloom masa.

— Salsa Morita – tomatillos, chile morita, garlic, onion

— Carne and pollo asada – grilled skirt steak and chicken, cilantro, avocado, red onion, handmade tortilla

— Cauliflower taco – roasted cauliflower, pine nuts, cilantro, queso fresco, handmade tortilla

I had to look the Salsa Morita up. Morita peppers are roasted red jalapeños. It was sweet, smoky and spicy. You can find recipes on the internet.

The class was interesting, and I learned a lot even though I had made tortillas before. And the lunch was excellent.

Coarse ground hominy is what was traditionally called grits in the American southeast, but now commercial grits are made from unprocessed corn. They add vitamins and other ingredients to compensate.

You can order true hominy grits made from organic nixtamalized organic corn online, including from The Congareee Milling Company in Columbia, SC. It tastes much like corn tortillas, not the Albers grits I grew up eating (and still do).

You won't find these crazy fast food items outside of the good ol' US of A! For this list, we’ll be looking at fast food dishes that can only be found in the United States.

This week's recipe roundup is all about tacos — fish tacos, pork tacos, taco dip, etc. — which is perfect if you're preparing for a Cinco de Mayo celebration (or really just anytime).

There aren't enough good things to be said about tacos — they're delicious, easy to make and completely customizable based on your flavor preferences.

Do you know the meaning of Cinco de Mayo? It’s a holiday that commemorates when the Mexican army defeated the French in the Battle of Puebla against overwhelming odds in 1862. Puebla and many U.S. cities have huge celebrations with parades, festivals and dancing. And, of course, food.

Fried fish tacos are a favorite seafood dish in our house, especially when cod is on sale at my local grocery. Every once in a while, though, I load my flour or corn tortillas with fried shrimp instead. It’s just as flavorful as fish, but somehow feels more festive. It’s easy to prepare and cooks up even faster than fish. Sometimes I simply toss the shrimp in a little flour to make it crunchy, ...

Sometimes you don’t really have time to prepare snacks with elaborate steps. So why not put together two of your favorite game day foods in one dish: taco dip.

Whether you make chalupas, sopes or tacos, any of these recipes would be a perfect way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. 

When you think about tequila, your first thought is probably of a margarita. But there are plenty of other refreshing cocktails you can make with tequila that don't require a cocktail shaker or a variety of ingredients. Enter: the paloma.

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Chef Edgar Rico, right, owner of Nixta Taqueria in Austin, Texas, shares tips on grilling with a participant in the American Bounty series of classes at the Culinary Institute of America at Copia in Napa. 

Setting out the fixings for tacos in the Hestan Teaching Kitchen at the CIA at Copia. 

Chef Edgar Rico, right, leads a class on Exploring Southwestern Cuisine at the CIA at Copia. 

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