Last night we went to dinner at some friends' home, and the only Mexican dish in sight was the FLAN I took for dessert. We considered this our "night off" from Mexican food and cooking.
Tonight presents an interesting challenge: we are going to another party, which starts at 4PM. We have all been asked to bring an appetizer to share. I have committed to taking CEVICHE and TOSTADAS, although I have been thinking about changing to another dish - a shrimp and avocado salad served on tostadas or sturdy tortilla chips.
Since we don't want to fall out of the routine of trying to eat Mexican food most days of the week, we will be on the lookout for something other than deviled eggs and raw veggies with spinach dip to eat at this party today. I hope someone shows up with a good guacamole, at the very least. Maybe I'll just make a double recipe of our CEVICHE (or the shrimp and avocado salad) just so that we get our Mexican food fix for the day.
Today is also grocery shopping day, so we will be checking out good corn tortillas, Mexican cheeses, and a few more varieties of peppers.
Wish us luck - buena suerte - and to everyone reading ¡Buen fin de semana!
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Camarones al Ajillo 236
¡Qué sorpresa! Right before I left for work yesterday morning, Javier and I had discussed dinner. We decided not to make anything new since there were several leftover Mexican dishes in the refrigerator that we needed to eat. I suggested that we warm up the leftover SOPA TARASCA and serve it with a warm bolillo (Mexican French roll) on the side. I also suggested that we serve it with some cut-up avocado rather than more cheese - and that's where we left it.
I had a long day at work yesterday of classes, meetings, grading and an evening classroom observation of a colleague that I needed to do. By the time I got home I was completely exhausted and ready for my warmed-over Sopa Tarasca for dinner. I was so tired that I might have eaten it cold!
After driving my car into the garage and stepping out, I smelled something ...well, different... coming from the kitchen. As I came through the door I noticed that Javier had his sauté pan on the stove top, and in it were shrimp (camarones), peppers, onions and tons of chopped garlic. He had thrown the shrimp into the hot pan the minute he heard my car drive up so that they'd be freshly cooked and not overdone and tough.
We ate the CAMARONES AL AJILLO with some brown rice and warm corn tortillas, which I heated on the comal as Javier finished the shrimp. It was a simple meal, yet very elegant and thoughtful at the end of a hard day! The leftover soup will be our lunch today.
And, speaking of lunch, I've forgotten to mention our Mexican breakfasts. Three mornings this past week we've had Mexican hot chocolate and warm bolillos. One morning - and just to break the routine - we had eggs, frijoles and tortillas with a nice salsa on the side. Breakfast does seem to present a challenge each day, so we would appreciate any suggestions you may have.
I had a long day at work yesterday of classes, meetings, grading and an evening classroom observation of a colleague that I needed to do. By the time I got home I was completely exhausted and ready for my warmed-over Sopa Tarasca for dinner. I was so tired that I might have eaten it cold!
After driving my car into the garage and stepping out, I smelled something ...well, different... coming from the kitchen. As I came through the door I noticed that Javier had his sauté pan on the stove top, and in it were shrimp (camarones), peppers, onions and tons of chopped garlic. He had thrown the shrimp into the hot pan the minute he heard my car drive up so that they'd be freshly cooked and not overdone and tough.
We ate the CAMARONES AL AJILLO with some brown rice and warm corn tortillas, which I heated on the comal as Javier finished the shrimp. It was a simple meal, yet very elegant and thoughtful at the end of a hard day! The leftover soup will be our lunch today.
And, speaking of lunch, I've forgotten to mention our Mexican breakfasts. Three mornings this past week we've had Mexican hot chocolate and warm bolillos. One morning - and just to break the routine - we had eggs, frijoles and tortillas with a nice salsa on the side. Breakfast does seem to present a challenge each day, so we would appreciate any suggestions you may have.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Entomatadas 237
Almost everyone knows what an enchilada is. In case you don't, it's some kind of filling (meat, vegetable or cheese) rolled in a corn tortilla and then covered with some kind of enchilada sauce. These usually come in red or green, but there are many other varieties as well. In restaurants enchiladas usually come 2-3 to an order, are smothered in sauce, garnished with chopped lettuce, tomato, some kind of cheese, and are served on a plate with arroz y frijoles. At home enchiladas are often a vehicle for leftovers. You have some leftover chicken; you shred it, roll it into a corn tortilla, then make a sauce to go over the top - and it looks like a brand new meal!
Entomatadas are a variation on this theme of rolling something into a corn tortilla and then serving it with sauce, but rather than a chile based sauce (which enchiladas have, thus the name en-chil-adas), entomatadas have a tomato based sauce (thus the name en-tomat-adas). These can also be spiced up several different ways or served as a less spicy version of the enchilada.
Last night we had chicken ENTOMATADAS. In the morning I had made a sauce from canned tomatoes, chipotle chiles, and salt & pepper to taste. Later in the day Javier cooked a couple of chicken breasts, shredded the meat, then added diced bell peppers and onions. We served them separately (no side dishes) topped with shredded romaine lettuce and queso fresco.
This is a simple meal which can be made more involved or elegant by adding several toppings, serving side dishes such as arroz, guacamole or frijoles.
We're getting close to the end of the month, which also means we're running low on all kinds of ingredients. In the next couple of days we hope to do some Mexican food shopping as we begin to explore other Mexican dishes that we can put on our menu each week!
Entomatadas are a variation on this theme of rolling something into a corn tortilla and then serving it with sauce, but rather than a chile based sauce (which enchiladas have, thus the name en-chil-adas), entomatadas have a tomato based sauce (thus the name en-tomat-adas). These can also be spiced up several different ways or served as a less spicy version of the enchilada.
Last night we had chicken ENTOMATADAS. In the morning I had made a sauce from canned tomatoes, chipotle chiles, and salt & pepper to taste. Later in the day Javier cooked a couple of chicken breasts, shredded the meat, then added diced bell peppers and onions. We served them separately (no side dishes) topped with shredded romaine lettuce and queso fresco.
This is a simple meal which can be made more involved or elegant by adding several toppings, serving side dishes such as arroz, guacamole or frijoles.
We're getting close to the end of the month, which also means we're running low on all kinds of ingredients. In the next couple of days we hope to do some Mexican food shopping as we begin to explore other Mexican dishes that we can put on our menu each week!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Mexican Menu 238 - Sopa Tarasca
The other night we made the BAKED CHILE RELLENOS, and when we made them we were thinking ahead. Remember the PICADILLO stuffing we made for the rellenos? We made extra so that the next day we could eat tacos. Quick recipe: Heat corn tortillas (we use our comal, which is a Mexican griddle that sits on our stove top 24/7), then fill the hot corn tortillas with your choice of picadillo, salsa, queso fresco, and shredded lettuce. We put bowls of each in the middle of the table, along with our tortilla basket full of the hot tortillas, then sit and assemble tacos right at the table over our plates.
The picadillo tacos weren't the only leftovers from the chile relleno dinner. We had also made a huge pot of frijoles pintos, which were delicious, and become even more tasty after sitting in the fridge for a day or two. So, last night we took them out of the fridge, and used them as the main ingredient in a Sopa Tarasca, a dish I learned to prepare in Morelia, Mexico while on a study abroad trip with my students from Oregon.
Sopa Tarasca is basically a puree of frijoles which is then mixed with some chicken stock, tomatoes, onions, garlic and seasonings (chile powder, cumin and salt) I also blend one chipotle chile into my puree before adding the other ingredients just to make sure that the sopa is spicy enough! Before serving, we have toasted some corn tortilla strips; we have cut one dried chile ancho into strips; and we have grated some queso fresco. These appear on the table in bowls, and one can add as much or as little as one likes to the soup. I always add the queso first so that it can slowly melt. The chile ancho strips come next so that they can soften up a bit, and the tortilla strips come last so that they remain crispy.
Last night's Sopa Tarasca was amazing! It must have been the leftover frijoles...
The picadillo tacos weren't the only leftovers from the chile relleno dinner. We had also made a huge pot of frijoles pintos, which were delicious, and become even more tasty after sitting in the fridge for a day or two. So, last night we took them out of the fridge, and used them as the main ingredient in a Sopa Tarasca, a dish I learned to prepare in Morelia, Mexico while on a study abroad trip with my students from Oregon.
Sopa Tarasca is basically a puree of frijoles which is then mixed with some chicken stock, tomatoes, onions, garlic and seasonings (chile powder, cumin and salt) I also blend one chipotle chile into my puree before adding the other ingredients just to make sure that the sopa is spicy enough! Before serving, we have toasted some corn tortilla strips; we have cut one dried chile ancho into strips; and we have grated some queso fresco. These appear on the table in bowls, and one can add as much or as little as one likes to the soup. I always add the queso first so that it can slowly melt. The chile ancho strips come next so that they can soften up a bit, and the tortilla strips come last so that they remain crispy.
Last night's Sopa Tarasca was amazing! It must have been the leftover frijoles...
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Mexican Menu 239 - Baked Chile Rellenos
Sunday evening - two nights ago - was to be the first night of our Mexican cooking and eating regimen. Several days earlier I had bought 4 beautifully dark green and unwrinkled chiles poblanos with the inspired idea of making CHILE RELLENOS one evening. Javier had charred, blistered and peeled them for me, and they were in the refrigerator waiting to be stuffed, battered, and baked before being served on a plate with sauce, frijoles and rice.
For these chiles I made a traditional filling of PICADILLO, a recipe I had learned in Guadalajara in 1972 from Señora Sara. Picadillo is a ground meat filling made with finely diced potatoes, carrots, and raisins, and it's seasoned with a slightly spicy tomato sauce. There are many versions of picadillo, ones that include diced onion, zucchini, corn and/or other vegetables and seasonings. When I was done making the picadillo, I separated three eggs, whipped the egg whites with my mixer (adding a slight dash of salt at the end), and proceeded to stuff the peppers and place them into a greased glass casserole dish.
Traditional chile rellenos are stuffed (and often with cheese only), then dipped into a batter, fried, and served on a plate with sauce covering them. However, since my husband and I have been cutting back on the fried versions of Mexican food, we have come up with this variation to settle our chile relleno cravings, at least here at home. From time to time when we're traveling in Mexico or eat out in a restaurant, we will order the usual fried variety, as long as it's mostly chile and not too much egg. (Javier once ordered a chile relleno here in Central Oregon that turned out to be a three-egg omelet with a small canned Anaheim chile and some cheese tucked inside of it. The omelet-relleno was smothered in a tomato sauce that more closely resembled spaghetti sauce than anything we'd ever eaten in Mexico. Ever since, he's always asked before ordering how the chile rellenos are prepared.)
After I'd stuffed our chile rellenos with the picadillo and placed them lovingly into the greased casserole dish, I quickly broiled them to brown the egg white batter, then lowered the heat to 350 while I prepared the sauce.
My CHILE RELLENO SAUCE is a simple grilled onion, tomato and chile concoction that I learned in Morelia, Mexico in 2005 from Señora Lupita. When my chiles are done baking, I serve one on a plate covered with this onion-y sauce, accompanied by frijoles pintos and rice.
We had company Sunday evening for dinner, so each one of us ate our own chile relleno right out of the oven, smothered in sauce. Dinner was un éxito completo - a complete success!
For these chiles I made a traditional filling of PICADILLO, a recipe I had learned in Guadalajara in 1972 from Señora Sara. Picadillo is a ground meat filling made with finely diced potatoes, carrots, and raisins, and it's seasoned with a slightly spicy tomato sauce. There are many versions of picadillo, ones that include diced onion, zucchini, corn and/or other vegetables and seasonings. When I was done making the picadillo, I separated three eggs, whipped the egg whites with my mixer (adding a slight dash of salt at the end), and proceeded to stuff the peppers and place them into a greased glass casserole dish.
Traditional chile rellenos are stuffed (and often with cheese only), then dipped into a batter, fried, and served on a plate with sauce covering them. However, since my husband and I have been cutting back on the fried versions of Mexican food, we have come up with this variation to settle our chile relleno cravings, at least here at home. From time to time when we're traveling in Mexico or eat out in a restaurant, we will order the usual fried variety, as long as it's mostly chile and not too much egg. (Javier once ordered a chile relleno here in Central Oregon that turned out to be a three-egg omelet with a small canned Anaheim chile and some cheese tucked inside of it. The omelet-relleno was smothered in a tomato sauce that more closely resembled spaghetti sauce than anything we'd ever eaten in Mexico. Ever since, he's always asked before ordering how the chile rellenos are prepared.)
After I'd stuffed our chile rellenos with the picadillo and placed them lovingly into the greased casserole dish, I quickly broiled them to brown the egg white batter, then lowered the heat to 350 while I prepared the sauce.
My CHILE RELLENO SAUCE is a simple grilled onion, tomato and chile concoction that I learned in Morelia, Mexico in 2005 from Señora Lupita. When my chiles are done baking, I serve one on a plate covered with this onion-y sauce, accompanied by frijoles pintos and rice.
We had company Sunday evening for dinner, so each one of us ate our own chile relleno right out of the oven, smothered in sauce. Dinner was un éxito completo - a complete success!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Mexican Menu 240
So, we're sitting at our dinner table here in Bend, Oregon and as we're finishing our dinner of GREEN MOLE over grilled chicken breast, we're wondering why we don't eat Mexican food more often. It's delicious, it's not that hard to fix, it can be extremely economical (depending on what you fix) and it can always be nutritious if you avoid certain ingredients (lard), techniques (frying) and stick to certain basics (not using large amounts of sour cream and/or melted cheese on your finished product).
We love good Mexican food and want to eat it more often. But more than that, we want to share our love and knowledge of Mexican food with others.
I learned to cook Mexican food as a 15-year old doing a study abroad program in Mexico years ago. My husband learned to love Mexican food as a Mexican growing up in Guanajuato in a rural area where ingredients were varied, cheap and plentiful.
We've always eaten 2-3 Mexican meals a week. Most of them have been at home, and some have been in restaurants.
As we were eating our GREEN MOLE, we decided to test ourselves: could we eat Mexican food every day of the week for the next 8 months? And, could we find all of the ingredients we'd need for real Mexican food here in Central Oregon? Could we have one day off per week, and did we need to eat three Mexican meals per day?
We've decided to challenge ourselves, and these are the ground rules: Dinner has to be Mexican food every evening but one per week. Even Mexicans living in Mexico occasionally eat a hamburger, pizza or fried chicken. There are only two of us, but we'll make enough food so there will be leftovers for lunch the next day. Breakfast should also be Mexican whenever possible.
Follow our progress, and I promise to post recipes, food sources, ideas and solutions to the breakfast problem. Whenever I write out the name of a dish in CAPITAL LETTERS, just ask me for the recipe if you'd like me to post it.
By the way, I also teach Spanish full time, so feel free to ask me any questions you have about coooking vocabulary and the Spanish language. ¡Buen Provecho!
We love good Mexican food and want to eat it more often. But more than that, we want to share our love and knowledge of Mexican food with others.
I learned to cook Mexican food as a 15-year old doing a study abroad program in Mexico years ago. My husband learned to love Mexican food as a Mexican growing up in Guanajuato in a rural area where ingredients were varied, cheap and plentiful.
We've always eaten 2-3 Mexican meals a week. Most of them have been at home, and some have been in restaurants.
As we were eating our GREEN MOLE, we decided to test ourselves: could we eat Mexican food every day of the week for the next 8 months? And, could we find all of the ingredients we'd need for real Mexican food here in Central Oregon? Could we have one day off per week, and did we need to eat three Mexican meals per day?
We've decided to challenge ourselves, and these are the ground rules: Dinner has to be Mexican food every evening but one per week. Even Mexicans living in Mexico occasionally eat a hamburger, pizza or fried chicken. There are only two of us, but we'll make enough food so there will be leftovers for lunch the next day. Breakfast should also be Mexican whenever possible.
Follow our progress, and I promise to post recipes, food sources, ideas and solutions to the breakfast problem. Whenever I write out the name of a dish in CAPITAL LETTERS, just ask me for the recipe if you'd like me to post it.
By the way, I also teach Spanish full time, so feel free to ask me any questions you have about coooking vocabulary and the Spanish language. ¡Buen Provecho!
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