Improvised Choco-Taco From Instructables LIVE @ Craftsman Experience

Last night, I got to go to the Craftsman Experience in Chicago for the Instructables LIVE event and webcast.

I brought my electric motorcycle with me and was the first presenter for the show.

I also happened to be very hungary, as I had a four-hour drive to get there (Chicago traffic - ug!) and only finally arrived not long before the show started.

After my segment of the show was done, I quick grabbed some food. The event had a Qdoba taco bar, and dessert by Pinkberry ice cream. Somehow, the show kept calling me back on stage while my face was full of taco and guacamole..... but when I was done with that, it was time for some dessert.

That's when I realized that I had all the materials available to me to make a CHOCO-TACO!
At an event like this where I was surrounded by other people who were into building, designing, hacking, and modding, NOBODY else had already noticed how these foods could combine to form the ULTIMATE PARTY FOOD DESSERT!

Here's how I did it.

The first step in any project is knowing what it is you have to work with.

In this case, the Instructables LIVE event was sort of a social mixer with a TV show thrown right in the middle.

Food was provided - a taco bar and a dessert ice cream bar.

Looking through what was available at both, I noticed tortillas (soft flour variety), ice cream, and toppings.

Besides the actual ingredients for improvised desserts, you also have to keep in mind what might be needed for utensils, cookery, heat source, plates, etc.

In this case, there were plastic forks and spoons, paper napkins, and black foam plates. I also asked the Qdoba server if he had any extra (clean, unused) aluminum pans, which he did. I also took notice of the Sterno alcohol gel burners...

Here's where the fun starts.

I asked for a single tortilla on a plate. Next, I moved on over to the ice cream bar, and asked for a scoop right onto the middle of the tortilla. They had a variety of flavors, including Peanut Butter, which actually sounded really good right then.

So, a scoop of peanut butter right in the middle of the tortilla.

I noticed that the ice cream was REALLY frozen and commented on that, as it would be hard to shape the final dessert into a taco if the ice cream was too frozen.

The Pinkberry staffer told me that they put dry ice in the cooler to make sure the ice cream stays frozen hard. But that lead me to another idea....    When Mexican Fried Ice Cream is made, it RELIES on the fact that the ice cream is frozen hard to start with.

I had the ice cream topped with chocolate chips, Captain Crunch cereal, and Magic Shell chocolate icing.

The dry-iced ice cream was really too hard to even shape into a taco.

However, the other resource Qdoba had was aluminum pans, and Sterno alcohol gel burners.

I politely asked it they had a spare aluminum pan, and the server pulled one out, and brought over an additional burner.

I laid the Choco-Taco directly in the aluminum pan, over the top of the flame.

In just a minute or two, the chocolate chips were melted, but only just the edge of the ice cream  was thawing.

The bottom of the tortilla was nicely warm and toasty.

I then just slid it off the aluminum pan, onto a plate, and folded it in half to the traditional taco shape.

Now eat it!

Man, was that good.

It was exactly the right combination of peanut butter, chocolate, cruncy/chewy, cold and warm all at once.

Half Choco-Taco, half Fried Ice Cream, all delicious!

The hardest part was not dripping on my face and the floor!

Of course, half the fun of making this was that it was improvisational, and at a fun, live event! I got to eat ice cream while watching other Instructables authors on the live webcast. Afterwards, we got to hang out and chat at the Craftsman Experience.

So, next time you are at an art gallery opening, social event, or cocktail party, see if you can make yourself an impressive improvisational treat!

And if you just wanted to make this in your home kitchen, that would work as well.