Mexican Night

Tonight's dinner is the very reason I created this blog. I had a dish in mind, I made it up as I went along, it turned out better than expected and I need to get this recipe written down before I forget. I used to just write it out while B did the dishes. Now I draft an entry, let it simmer a day or two, make adjustments and then post. So there you have it - the creative process exposed...muy caliente!

This post is a whole meal, so I'll start with all the dishes then list out their ingredients and methods one at a time. Hope you don't lose interest...but please let me know if you do.

Mexican Style Supper:
Fresh Guacamole & Chips
Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Re-fried Black Beans

Guacamole:
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 6 minutes
vegetarian, vegan, gluten free

Ingredients:
2 large ripe haas avocados, you can tell they're ripe when they have a darker (almost black) skin and they give a little with a light squeeze but there's no sensation of slimy under the skin. A harder avocado (like a tennis ball) will take 2-3 days to ripen.
1 large clove garlic, minced
.5 lime, juiced
1 T green onion or chive, minced
.5 t red pepper flakes
1 T fresh tomato, minced (skip if you're not already using tomato soon)
S&P

Method:

1. Scoop out the avocado into a bowl. Add all other ingredients and smush till desired texture is achieved.
2. Serve with chips. Yum
   

Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 60 minutes
gluten free, easily vegetarian

Ingredients:
4 large poblano peppers - to me, large is about the width of a tennis ball at the "shoulders" of the pepper
1 T vegetable oil
.5 - .75 lbs ground beef, bison, turkey, chicken, shrimp or 4 cups of beans and rice (combined)
1 small onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 T peppers in adobo, minced (find them in a small can or jar in the Mexican foods section of the market)
.5 c sweet corn
1 t dried oregano or 3 t fresh, chopped
1 t cumin
.5 c water
.5 c smashed corn chips
1 c shredded cheese (cheddar, jack, pepper jack, whatever makes you happy)
S&P

Method:

1. Heat oil over medium in pan, brown meat with onion until cooked through. Season very lightly with S&P
2. Add garlic, peppers, corn, oregano, cumin and water. Stir well, cover tightly and reduce heat to low. Keep an eye on it, you don't want it to get dried out completely, but you don't want it watery either.
   
3. On a grill, over the flames on a gas range or under the broiler in your oven, char the whole peppers all the way around. The name of the game here is HIGH HEAT, you want to char the skin off without over cooking the pepper itself. I've had best results with broiler and range. Once the peppers are charred all the way around, pop in a paper bag or a bowl with foil and allow to steam for a couple of minutes. Carefully peel the thin thin skin off the peppers. It can be a giant pain sometimes, but its worth the end result. If you end up ripping the pepper, don't sweat it - it'll get covered with cheese later.
4. Lay the peppers in a broiler friendly pan and carefully cut each open from tip to toe. Remove as many seeds a possible. If you're like me, the peppers are already somewhat eviscerated from the skinning episode, so just take advantage of a tear you already made.
5. Spoon the meat or bean filling into the peppers, you'll be serving one per person, so make em full. No need to bring the 2 edges of the cut back together - we'll make a band aid in the next step.
6. Sprinkle the smashed chips over the exposed filling - this will help soak up some of the liquid. Top the chips and peppers with the shredded cheese.
7. Run the peppers under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly and brown.
8. You'll need a spatula and 2 or 3 spoons to hoist each pepper out of the pan and onto the plate....so grab some help and serve em up.

Re-fried Black Beans
Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
gluten free, vegetarian, vegan

Ingredients:
1 can black beans rinsed, or 2 cups cooked dried beans
1 T vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced or small dice
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 t oregano
2 t cumin
2 t chili powder
2 t smoked paprika
1 minced jalapeno, chipotle or pepper of your preference
.5 c water
1 small tomato chopped (optional...helps cool everything off if it turns out too hot)
S&P

Method:

1. Heat oil over medium in a medium pan. Saute onion until browning, about 10 min.
2. Add everything but the tomato, toast over medium head 1 or 2 minutes stirring constantly. It will stick on the bottom - don't worry about it. It will make you sneeze, so be prepared.
3. Add water and stir wildly to scrape up any stuck bits on the bottom.
4. Toss everything with beans in a food processor and process till you its as smooth or chunky as you like.
5. Season with S&P and decide if you need to add the tomatoes. The mixture should be a little more watery than you like because you will 're fry' it before serving.
6. Just before serving, return the beans to their original pan and cook over medium until warmed through and at the your preferred thickness.

This turns out to be a good deal of food. If you want to add a veg, succotash or some grilled summer squash with oregano would be perfect.

Bison Go Bragh!

I'd love to write a great story to go with this one, but I have another dish I want to post so I have to save my brain cells. This is a super tasty version of Sheppard's Pie. You can sub beef, turkey, lamb, seitan or quinoa & mushroom for the bison and end up with a great dish. Enjoy.

Shepard's Pie (Bison Style)
Yield: 4 servings
Time: 90 min

Ingredients;
1 T vegetable oil
2 medium onions, rough chop
2 medium carrots, peeled, rough chop
1 large celery rib, rough chop
1 lb ground bison
2 cloves garlic, minced / pressed
1 t rosemary, dried
1 t thyme, dried
1 bay leaf, dried
.5 c fresh or frozen sweet peas
.5 c fresh or frozen sweet corn
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8's
2 T butter
.5 c half n half
1 bottle porter or ale
1-2 pints water
2 T Worcestershire
1 T butter
1 T or less flour
s&p

Method

1. Put pot of water (not pints of water) on to boil for potatoes.
2. Heat oil over medium high until just shimmering and add bison., Stab with wooden implement until the meat is in large crumbles and about half browned. Add onion, stir and cook a couple more minutes. Add a little salt and pepper, stir and add herbs, carrots & celery. Continue cooking and stirring until meat is cooked through and veggies are tender. You are not looking to brown the veggies here.
3. Add garlic and cook for a minute or 2.
4. Add beer, Worcestershire and 1 pint of water, bring to a boil, cover, reduce to a simmer and cook.
   
5. Salt potato water with about .5 T salt once boiling. Boil potatoes till fork tender. Quickly drain (retain a little water) and return to pot. Mash with butter, half and half, a little garlic, s&p to taste. Mash only until potatoes are just broken down...pea sized lumps are ok. Over mashing / mixing will make taters gluey and gross. Once you get mashed, carefully fold / stir to incorporate ingredients...this will help keep them from getting gross. Set aside once they are done and taste good.
6. Check on stew parts, should be tender and lovely. Add peas and corn. Cover and continue cooking. You're going to need 2 or 3 ladles of liquid from that pot in a minute, so make sure that's in the pot. If its not, add beer and water till you get that much liquid.
7. Get a small whisk and a ladle take cover off your stew pot....then melt butter in small sauce pan over low, sprinkle in flour and stir like a freak until incorporated. Cook - stirring constantly - till light brown and reduce heat. Slowly whisk in one ladle of hot stock until thick, add more until you have a thick gravy. Return this thick gravy to the stew pot, stirring and increase heat a bit. Stew should thicken nicely.
8. Ladle thick thick stew into a casserole or individual oven safe bowls. Top with taters...they may sink, but they'll pop up again in the oven. You're looking to make a top crust with the taters..but don't worry about it if you just have some lumps - it will work out.
9. Place vessels on a baking sheet and broil until potatoes are browned.
10. Remove, let stand 3 -5 minutes. Serve.
    

One Last Hearty Winter Dish

This recipe is is not mine, it was passed to me by one of my favorite foodies, who also happens to be a woman who played a huge role in shaping my understanding of, respect for, and interested in both food and people. The dish sounds pretty good on paper, but turns out SO much better than that! If you try and enjoy, please thank Nonna-Marie and her big food brain.


Kale Pesto Pasta with Beets

Yield: 2 entree servings, 4 sides
Prep time: depends on the beets, 45 to 90 min
vegetarian as written


Ingredients:

2 bunches kale or any dark green of your choosing, rinsed, tough stems removed, and roughly chopped. cooking times will vary based on your green!
1 clove garlic
1/2 + c. olive oil
1/2 - 1 c. parm, romano or locatelli
1/2 c. lightly toasted walnuts or pine nuts
1/2 lemon
1/2 lb beets, scrubbed, root and stem removed
1 t rosemary
1/2 lb whole wheat rigatoni or other pasta
s&p

Method:

1. Set oven to 475*
2. Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
3. Place beets in a small roasting pan with 1 inch of water. Sprinkle with rosemary and S&P. Cover tightly with foil and pop in the oven. No need for the oven to preheat. Roast beets until tender to a fork. This could take 20 to 90 min depending on the beet. 20 for golf ball sized, 90 for soft ball sized. Allow beets to cool slightly and rub skin off with paper towels or kitchen dish gloves. Slice or dice.
4. While beets are cooking....blanch kale until bright green and just tender. Reserve blanching water for cooking the pasta.
5. Bring water back to a boil and cook pasta to package instructions. Drain.
   
6. Add cheese, garlic, nuts and a handful of the greens to a food processor and turn it on. Add greens and slowly drizzle in olive oil. Reserve a handful of the greens for serving. Once all greens and oil are in, open the processor, taste, add salt and pepper. If too thick, add more oil or a little bit of water till you reach the desired texture.
7. Add a little oil to the pasta pot, saute reserved greens until cooked through - maybe throw in some pepper flakes?
   
8. Add pasta back to the pot, toss with a generous scoop or 2 of pesto. Squeeze a bit of lemon in there too.
   
9. Spoon pasta into warmed bowls and top with beets.

Other serving ideas - top with pancetta or bacon....add some warm smoked ham to the bottom of your pasta dish....julienne some herb roasted chicken over the top....use grape tomatoes, sugar snap peas, baby peas, or roasted portebello instead of beets.

Ginger Carrot Soup

I'm a huge carrot fan ... in fact, when I'm in the zone I can easily eat 5 lbs in a week. I eat so many carrots that my eyes have improved 2 levels in the past year. Seriously. But here's the catch...I only like them raw. My mom tried a million variations on cooked carrots and I rejected them all. Until I futzed my way into this soup recipe. This is a dish that I crave year round...give it a try, you'll be surprised. Really.

Carrot Soup

Yield: 4 mains, 6 starters
Time: 60 min to 3 hrs, depending on the flavor you're seeking. Shorter for bright and fresh, longer for sweet and earthy.
veg, vegan, gluten free...but fun to garnish with bacon!

Ingredients:

1-2 T veggie oil or olive oil

1 lb carrots, peeled & thinly sliced

2 large leeks, white and tender green parts thoroughly washed* & thinly sliced

1 red potato, peeled & diced sugar cube sized

2 cloves garlic, peeled & minced

1-2 inches of ginger root, peeled & minced

5-6 cups veggie broth or water

s&p...maybe some thyme or dill if you're into that?

Method -

1. Heat oil over medium heat in a medium sauce pan
2. Add carrots, cook until just tender - 5-10 mintues
3. Add leek and potato, cook until potato is soft 5-10 min
4. Add garlic & most of ginger, cook 5 min
5. Add salt, pepper, liquid, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
6. Partially cover and simmer for as long as you like. At least 20 min. Once everything is good and soft, remove from heat and let cool a bit. Blend until super smooth with an immersion blender in the pot or pour carefully into a blender in batches.
7. Return to heat - add more broth if needed - the soup should not be brothy thin or too thick like a veggie puree. Return to a boil and reduce to a simmer, add remaining ginger if you like. Also throw in some oj if you want somethin a little sweeter. Partially cover and cook until you get the flavor as deep and rich as you like.

Other thoughts...you could easily take this to the east by adding some basic Indian spices and serving with lentils or garnishing with roasted chick peas. OR - go way thicker and serve as a puree with pork or roast whole fish.

* to wash a leek....cut off the root end and cut off the tough dark green tops. Split the leek long ways down the middle and fan out the layers under cold running water. There is usually a TON of grit and dirt in there. If you intend to fry or sautee (as opposed to throw in a soup or sweat with other veggies) place cut side down on a super absorbant tea towel or paper towel (promise me you'll re-use the paper towel for something...) to wick the water out of the layers.