Muy Bueno Cookbook...3 Generations of Mexican Flavor

My sister who lives in Denver, Colorado has also been working on a family cookbook.  However, instead of working apart, only to replicate the same stories, family traditions and recipes, we have decided to collaborate in the spirit of “love”, with our mother to bring you OUR cookbook. In honor of our grandmother, Jesusita, we have decided to name the cookbook after something she always said after tasting her food and just before serving it. "Muy Bueno," she'd say, which means, very good. Please change your settings to OUR new blog. Click on the blog and watch the magic unfold. Veronica http://muybuenocookbook.wordpress.com/ 

GORDITAS

When I think of Gorditas I think of the Catholic Bazaars I used to attend as a kid back home. Gorditas are a corn patty, deep fried, split open like a pita pocket and stuffed with meat, lettuce, tomato, and cheese and topped off with green salsa. Ohhh me ohhh my, these were such a specialty. These always remind me of Fall because of the great corn aroma that fills your home while frying them.
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INGREDIENTS
2 small potatoes
4 Tablespoons of Salt
2 pounds of masa, corn dough, like those to make corn tortillas. It can be purchased in a Mexican grocery store already prepared.
2 pounds of ground beef
3 cups of Canola or Vegetable Oil
1 Head of Iceberg Lettuce
1 block of Monterrey Jack cheese
3 tomatoes
Pepper to taste
Green Salsa Casera
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DIRECTIONS

1. Peel, dice, and boil the potatoes until soft to the touch. Make sure to add about 1 Tablespoon of salt to the water when boiling them.

2. Cook the ground beef, adding salt and pepper to taste, while you wait for the potatoes to cook.

3. Add the cooked potatoes to the masa, add 2 Tablespoons of salt and mix thoroughly.

4. Form the gordita (corn patties) about 1/4 inch thick and no bigger than the palm of your hand.

5. Heat up the oil in a deep frying pan.

6. Drop the patties into the oil and cook until the patties rise to the top. After they rise to the top, allow them to continue to fry for another 5 minutes or until golden brown.

7. Set aside on a paper towel until they cool off and to drain excess oil.

8. Chop the lettuce and tomatoes.

9. Grate the cheese.

10. Slice the gorditas on one end all the way through, creating a pocket for filling.

11. Fill the gordita with the meat, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and top off with salsa. Aprovecho, enjoy!

From my casita to yours, besos y sabores...

Fresh Salsa

Making fresh salsa can be quite easy.  You can use jalapenos, fresno peppers (as in this recipe) or a combination of jalapenos and anaheim long green chiles and or tomatoes. Growing up we always had fresh salsa. Why? Because watch what happens when you put fresh salsa in a bowl and a pile of tostadas (chips) next to it. It won't last long. I never knew it came in a jar...you laugh, but it's true.  Oh poor me, I know.  I was literally spoiled.  The fun part in making salsa is, the sky's the limit.  Once you attempt to make it, you'll wonder why you ever bought the stuff in a jar.  If you have 25 minutes, a blender and a few ingredients you can always have fresh salsa.  Best of all, it goes with everything..well almost everything. The level of hotness is determined by the chile pod or pepper you use. Thanks to my friend Ken, who gave me a batch of these beautiful pods from his garden.

Fresh Salsa  Makes about 3-4 cups

Ingredients:

20 Fresno chile pods

1 large can of whole tomatoes

1 garlic glove

2 teaspoons of salt

Boil the pods in a large pot for about 15-20 minutes, strain, remove stems and seeds and put into a blender.

Add the can of tomatoes, liquid and all. 1-2 garlic cloves, salt and blend for about 1-2 minutes. The less you blend the chunkier the salsa.  If you like super chunky then don't blend it, just chop all the ingredients and throw them all in a bowl when done.  Open your bag of chips and enjoy.

Homemade Mexican Rice

Hola Everyone,
So much has happened over the last several months. I've been doing lots of cooking and finalizing the details to my long awaited cookbook. Pictures to follow of some of the yummy recipes that have filled many a tummies here at home. Thanks for your patience and email requests for the actual recipes. Here is a wonderful dish to compliment a meal of tacos or enchiladas.  From start to finish, it takes about 20 minutes. Makes for great leftovers, if you are fortunate to have any leftover.

Sopa de Arroz - Mexican Rice - Makes 6 servings

1 cup long grained rice
1 TBSP cooking oil
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 can or 3 oz. of tomato sauce
3 cups of chicken stock
1 clove of garlic
1/2 cup mixed vegetables (peas and carrots)
salt to taste

1.  Fry the long grained rice in the cooking oil until golden brown.
2.  Add the chopped tomatoes and onions and mix constantly for about 2 minutes.
3. Add the tomato sauce to the rice and mix for about 1 minute.
4. Add the chicken stock, garlic and vegetables. Heat until it begins to boil. Taste and add salt if needed.
5. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Do not lift the lid until after 15 minutes.

Mole Night was Delicioso

Hi again. I know, I know, it's been awhile. I've been recovering from making the mole. The evening was a lot of fun. Eight of us cautiously tasted the mole, wondering if this concoction tasted any good. I have to admit, the recipe was amazing. Never having made mole from scratch, now having made it, I know why, it was tons of work, but ohhh so worth it. By the way it was not my recipe, but next time, I know what to change to make it my own. It was delicioso....my mouth waters at the thought of it just now. The process was a labor of love, two days to make this sauce. And yes, I did have quite a bit left, all the leftover sauce went right into the freezer. I think I'll pull some out in a couple of weeks and make some enchiladas with the salsa. It seems the lime and cilantro rice was pretty yummy too. Steve just told me tonight that it's his favorite rice. Hmmmm, note to self, keep lots of fresh cilantro available.

Seems fun was had by all...We drank, we ate, we drank, we ate and then ate some more. The tortillas still need some work. They were good while they were still warm, but the minute they cooled off the texture changed. I guess I will have to get a large bag of flour and go to work on testing my recipe. The weren't very round either...How did my grandmother do it so beautifully? I still remember her doing it with such ease. When my grandmother Jesusita passed away several years ago, my mother asked me if I wanted anything of hers and I said, "All I want is the rolling pin she used to make tortillas." So that day I pulled it out, hoping that the powers stored in it years ago would some how, miraculously help me make mouth watering tortillas like my grandmother did. Not so much...so it's back to the drawing board.

Thanks to everyone who endured my recipes and gave me good feedback. Soooooo, what's next you ask? Well, I have some family coming over two weekends this month, so I think I will test a recipe on them and see what they think. April 2 sounds good, so if anyone out there would like to come over for some homemade food on that night send me a message. Let's say 6ish....

Not sure what I'm cooking that night but will keep you posted. Family is over today so I'm cooking some of my mom's famous green enchiladas. Will post pictures later.

From my casita to yours,

Besos y sabores...

Mole it is...February 20th

Mole it is....searching for all the right ingredients in order to start making the mole sauce. Thanks to everyone who responded. I was touched by how many of you are willing to test my recipes.

I will be busy this week making the sauce and finalizing the details for Saturday's dinner. I'm very excited about trying out a new sorbet...Cherry sorbet, a new lime and cilantro rice and maybe a fun sangria. Stay tuned for more up to the date details...

Pictured above are just some of the ingredients that'll be used while putting the mole sauce together.

Coming in March...I will have two dates in March...I always think of green when I think of March, sooooo, I will have one evening with my mother's famous green chicken or vegetarian enchiladas. Another date I will have the pasilla chile rellenos. Stay tuned for those dates in March...

Mole or Not to Mole

OKay, If I had dinner on Saturday, February 20th, who can come, and are you willing to try my Mole Recipe? or Chile Rellenos?.....If you're game for either then let me know that too. I'm still not sure how this whole blogging thing works. I don't think you all get updates every time I post something new, so I think you all have to check in regularly. I see some of you have chosen to follow my blog, which I think is pretty cool. I'm soooo not tech savvy, thank goodness for Steve, my own techie guy....it's a good trade off. He helps me with the computer and I promise to include him in all the dinner parties...LOL!! A match made in heaven wouldn't you agree?...Anyhow, Back to food...
I've been wanting to make my mother's famous chile rellenos. I've been making these for a few year's and every time I make them I put my own twist on them. She always uses Anaheim chile's but I've experimented with Pasilla chiles and I actually like to use these over their slimmer cousin, the Anaheim chile. I've stuffed them with cheese, meat, and vegetables and all the combinations are quite tasty. I love the smokey flavor that works it's magic with all the other items tucked inside these spicy pockets. Pasilla chile's aren't very spicy, however, they are spicy enough to leave a tingle on one's tongue. Hmmmm.
I've given it some thought and here are the menu options. Let me know your thoughts on either.
Menu options:
#1. Mole con Pollo (chicken) served over a mound of Cilantro Lime White Rice with a side of warm garlic spinach salad and fresh homemade flour tortillas. To be followed by pomegranite/cherry sorbet with a sprig of mint.
#2. Pasilla chile rellenos filled with season vegetables, cheese and pork. Drizzled with a light creamy pomegranite sauce, a side of mexican rice and fresh pinto beans, not fried, just fresh and yummy. Followed by dessert which will be a cherry sorbet topped with a homemade caramel sauce.
Okay friends, let me know if you'd like to savor some mole or chile rellenos. If you're interested in coming over on the 20th....

From my casita to yours,
Besos y sabores...

What will the first meal be

Here I am consumed by the idea of actually putting my first meal together and I can't possibly imagine where to begin. Should I have a theme? Should start with the basics? Naw, too easy. Should it be spicy or not spicy....oh heck...who knows, maybe I'll start with something fun and totally different. Afterall I do want to force myself into making some of those recipes I've been meaning to make for years. If you're out there and reading this, give me some feedback. What do you think?

I was thinking along the lines of a fresh mole recipe I've been wanting to make for years. I've read this takes hours, but what gooood Mexican dish, made completely from scratch doesn't. I'm up for the challenge. I know a lot of people aren't crazy about mole. It's a combination of red chili sauce, dark chocolate, sesame seeds and peanut butter and or peanuts and blended into a perfect sauce called mole...this is then mixed with beautiful cuts of chicken and simmered together for a few hours. I've found when you let it sit in the fridge for a few days and then reheat it, the flavors come together so much better.

So there you have it, in light of Valentine's Day this month I think I've convinced myself to give it a try. I have made mole many times, but I've always taken the easy way out. This time I will make it from scratch....ohhh boy....I better start playing with some ingredient combinations to come up with the best concoction....

The date to be determined later.

First Thoughts...

I've been meaning to do this for quite sometime, but just haven't gotten around to it. With the new year, 2010, I feel a sense of renewal and a brand new start. In my attempt to put together a long list of family recipes, some tried and true and others but a faint memory from my childhood, I will put these family treasures into a memory book for my daughter and son. Maybe one day they'll enjoy cooking as much as I do.

Steve and I love to entertain, but I've decided, after having had small and large parties, that the small and intimate ones are the ones that bring us the most joy. Thanks Julie, Julia. Food of course is always a good excuse to bring friends together, if just for an evening.

I will try to email this note out to friends and see who responds. My goal is to have 1 -2 evenings a month where I put a menu together and open it up to the first 6 takers, Steve and I make 8. This will be my chance to have you all come over, and try out old recipes and maybe a new one here and there.