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.