Ensalada de Jicama y Naranjas / Jicama and Orange salad
This fruity crunchy salad complements spicy dishes perfectly
• 1 small jicama, peeled and diced
• ½ cucumber, scored and thinly sliced
• 3 oranges, peeled, sliced and quartered
• Oil and vinegar dressing
• Green leaf lettuce
Mix together the jicama, cucumber and oranges. Toss with dressing and chill until ready to serve.
Line a platter or individual plates with the lettuce leaves and arrange salad on top.
Dressing:
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• ¼ cup white wine vinegar
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 1 tsp. dry mustard
• ¾ cup olive oil, or mixture of vegetable and olive oil
Combine all ingredients except oil in a closed container, shake well to combine. Slowly pour in the oil and whisk until blended.
Arroz a la Mexicana / Mexican Rice
“A la Mexicana” means, prepared with onions and tomatoes. This popular rice dish is often served as one of many courses in a typical “comida” or main meal.
• 2 C. long grain white rice
• 4 T. vegetable oil
• 2 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 white onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2- 3 whole serrano chiles
• 4 C. chicken stock*
• 1/2 C. carrot, diced in small uniform pieces
• 1/3 C. green peas fresh or frozen
• 1 T. chopped cilantro or parsley
Soak rice for 5 minutes, rinse, and drain well. Heat oil in a large skillet over low heat; add the garlic, onion, and chiles and sauté for 2 minutes.
Add rice and stir until all the grains are coated with oil, sauté and stir until the rice looks translucent and the grains separate.
Add tomatoes, stock, carrot, and peas, season with salt and pepper. Turn heat to high and bring to boil, reduce heat to a low simmer; cook uncovered for 25 min. or until all liquid is absorbed. Stir the rice occasionally as it cooks, add more water if needed to continue the cooking process until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.
Serves 6
* The most flavorful Mexican rice is made with the best chicken stock, which is of course, homemade. But, prepared bouillon cubes or boxed chicken broth work fine also.
Easy Mole Poblano / Mole Poblano Facil
Our version of mole sauce is a busy cooks secret.
• 4 dried ancho chiles
• 4 dried guajillo chiles
• 3 dried pasilla chiles
• 2 chipotle chiles
• 3 large roma tomatoes
• 5 cloves garlic, skin removed
• 1 med. white onion, quartered
• 2 cup chicken broth
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbl. vegetable oil
• 1 Tbl. anise seed
• 1 Tbl. coriander seed
• 1 Tbl. black peppercorns
• 1 tsp Mexican oregano
• ½ tsp. Mexican cinnamon, ground
• ½ tsp. cumin
• ½ disc Mexican chocolate
• 1/8 cup grated piloncillo* or dark brown sugar
• 2 Tbl. toasted sesame seeds
Cover dried chiles with water in a saucepan. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until softened. Remove from water and let cool. Open the chiles and remove seeds, place in a blender. Add the onion, garlic, peanut butter, one cup of broth and salt to the blender. Puree until the mixture is smooth.
Heat the oil in a heavy skillet. Strain the contents of the blender into the hot oil. Stir and cook over low heat for 5-10 minutes until the mixture darkens and thickens somewhat. Add another cup of broth and let simmer.
Finely grind the anise, coriander, and black pepper in a molcajete or spice grinder. Add 1Tbl.of the spices to the sauce. (More seasoning may be added later if needed) Add the oregano, cinnamon and cumin next. Add half a disc of Mexican chocolate and the piloncillo; stir the sauce continuously until chocolate melts completely. Continue to simmer until the sauce thickens to the consistency of a med. thick tomato sauce, approx. 15 – 20 minutes. Adjust salt and seasonings if needed.
Serve mole sauce over baked chicken or turkey breasts garnished with sesame seeds.
*Piloncillo is Mexican raw sugar sold in very small to very large cones.
We had a blast filming this dating/ cooking segment for the Hispanic Food Network. Good energy flowed; we laughed, cooked, and made new friends. The concept ala Nancy Bates from “Single Mingles” is simple, “If you can happily cook a meal with someone you just might be able to find love with that someone too.” My trusty “love-o- meter,” my internal compatibility needle…pointed straight up at a couple of bachelors and bachelorettes who will be hooking up for sure!
Four couples; Four Mexican dishes.
Each couple worked diligently on their Cook with US recipe; gathering ingredients, prepping and cooking the food and finally plating the delicious creations. We feasted on authentic Chicken Mole cooked in a traditional cazuela or clay casserole. The Mexican rice with chiles, carrots, and peas was perfectly executed by our young chefs as an accompaniment. A fresh salad composed of escarole, oranges, jicama, and mango presented a colorful refreshing platter. Individual dessert dishes of pears in tequila and chocolate with crema and fresh mint left us sweetly content.
We are happy to share our recipes, invite your friends over for a scrumptious Mexican feast and watch the show while you are at it. Channel 4 KXLY in the greater Spokane area. It airs Sunday May 30, 2010, In the Kitchen with Mike Gonzalez.
Can’t wait to see the footage for the last shoot we did for “In the Kitchen” with Mike Gonzalez. It airs Sat. April 10th at 10:00. We fired up the BBQ for the stuffed peppers and they were amazing. It was a fun time with friends, music, and delicious food. This is the recipe that we did for the show. Enjoy!
A Cook With US Recipe
Stuffed Jalapeño Peppers / Jalapeño Rellenado
Skewers of Jalapeno peppers stuffed with jumbo shrimp and creamy goat cheese. Grilled on the Barbie, Delicious!
• 20 large jalapeno peppers
• 20 large prawns
• 20 strips of bacon
• 1 C. cilantro, chopped
• ½ C. garlic, chopped
• 12 oz. queso cotija or feta cheese ( goat cheese )
• ½ C. onion, diced
• 1 tsp. fresh ground pepper
• 1 Tbl. oregano, crushed
• 1 Tbl. olive oil
• 10 skewers, 10 toothpicks
Prepare peppers: Make a pocket for the stuffing by slicing off a quarter of the jalapeno lengthwise, remove the seeds and veins with a small spoon, wash and set aside.
Prepare filling: Crumble goat cheese into a bowl, add garlic, cilantro, pepper, oregano, and oil. Mix thoroughly. Set aside. Clean and de vein shrimp, leave whole.
Stuffing peppers: fill prepared pocket of the jalapenos with the cheese mixture. Place a shrimp onto the cheese. Beginning near the stem wrap a bacon strip securely around each filled pepper, insert a toothpick at the end, leaving the toothpick exposed.
Skewer peppers: While holding the pepper firmly insert a thin wooden or metal skewer* lengthwise through the pepper. Use two peppers per skewer.
Cook peppers: To barbecue; place skewers on a grill at a med. low heat. Grill until bacon is crisp and the pepper is soft, turn often. Cook approx. 45 minutes or until done.
To bake; place in 375 degree oven for approx. 30 minutes or until done. Remove toothpicks before serving.
* soak wooden skewers in water before using to prevent them from scorching or burning.
Red Snapper Veracruz / Huachinango Veracruz
This famous dish combines chiles from the New World with the very Spanish addition of capers and olives.
• 2-3 LB. Red snapper fillets ( rockfish)
• 3 Tbl. lime juice
• 2 tsp. sea salt
• 12 small new potatoes
• 2 Lbs. roma tomatoes or 1- 28oz. can of diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 white onion, cut into eighths
• 1 green pepper, julienne
• 1/4 c. olive oil
• 3 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/3 c. chopped parsley
• 1 t. Mexican oregano
• ¼ c. chopped green olives
• ¼ c. raisins
• 2 Tbl. capers
• 3 pickled jalapeno peppers, halved lengthwise
Cook potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain, when cool enough to handle peel and slice. Rub fish fillets with lime juice and salt. Set aside to marinate.
Peel and chop tomatoes, crush into chunky puree, strain and reserve the juices.
Heat oil in a heavy skillet over med. heat, add onion, cook for one minute, add garlic and cook until onions are tender but not browned. Add chopped tomatoes, green pepper, bay leaves, 1/2 the parsley, oregano, and half the reserved tomato juices, simmer at fairly high heat until sauce reduces, about 5 min. Add olives, raisins, capers, and remainder of tomato juice and continue to simmer for five more minutes. Season to taste with salt & pepper.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat bottom of baking dish with sauce, arrange fish fillets atop sauce, surround with sliced potatoes. Spoon remaining sauce over the fish. Bake covered for 15 min. Uncover baking dish and continue to cook until fish is opaque in center, approx.15 min. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and garnish with the jalapeno halves or slices.
Come Cook With Us,
Learn the art of Mexican cooking in our hands-on cooking classes.
Sat. April 17th and Sat. April 24th. we will explore the unique ingredients and proper methods to create traditional Mexican fare and regional favorites. Groups are small, informative and fun! Classes begin at 11:00 and finish up around 2:00 when we sit down to a delicious meal that participants have prepared. Recipe booklet and beverages provided.
Location: Greenbriar Inn, Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho; home of 315 martinis and tapas restaurant. http://www.315martinisandtapas.com/
Cost: $ 50.00 per class or $90.00 for both sessions
E-mail info@cookwithus.com or call us to reserve your spot today.
Buen Provecho, Lynne
After much tinkering in the Cook with Us.com kitchen, our original new recipe for Stuffed Poblanos is finally published. Mike Gonzalez from the Hispanic Food Network showcased our dish on his TV show “In the Kitchen”.
Check out the HFNTV.com video here:
A few tips on the recipe:
Try using all fresh ground pork instead of half ground beef and half ground pork. The flavor is more subtle, somehow not as meaty.
We used Oxxacan cheese in the the video version of the recipe, instead of the crumbled queso cotijo. Either way it’s great!
Chile Poblano Rellenado / Stuffed Chile Poblano
A Cook With Us recipe
A change from bell peppers, poblanos are a little spicier. The red chile sauce is easy to prepare and really pumps up the flavor of this dish.
• 4 large poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded
• ½ lb lean ground beef
• ½ lb. lean ground pork
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, diced
• ½ t. cumin, or comino ground in spice mill
• ½ t. black pepper, fresh ground
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 tortillas
• 4 guajillo chiles
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 white onion, quartered
• 1 roma tomato, seeded
• 1 Tbl. achiote paste, crumbled
• 2 Tbl. Olive oil
• 1 c. Mexican cotijo cheese, crumbled (may sub. feta cheese ) *
• ½ cup Mexican crema*
Prepare chiles: blister and blacken the poblanos over an open flame or under a broiler. Place in a plastic bag for 10 min. to steam. Remove from bag and peel off skin with the back of a spoon. Make a slit to remove seeds and make a pocket for the stuffing. Set aside.
Prepare meat filling: heat 1 Tbl. vegetable oil in a sauté pan over low heat; add the garlic and jalapeno and cook gently until softened, about 5 minutes. Combine the ground meats and brown in the same pan until no longer pink. Season meat with cumin, black pepper, and ½ t. salt. Fill the prepared chiles with the meat mixture. Place in a baking casserole.
Prepare chile sauce: rehydrate the gaujillo chiles in a cup of very hot stock or water, (10 min.) save the soaking liquid. In a blender place the softened chiles, tomato, onion, ½ cup soaking liquid and salt. Puree until smooth. Dissolve the achiote paste in the other ½ cup of hot liquid. Set aside. Heat 1 Tbl. of oil over med. high heat. Strain the chile puree into the hot oil. Cook and stir as the mixture darkens and thickens a bit. Add the achiote and continue to simmer over med low heat. Add more water if sauce is too thick, it should be the consistency of a medium thin tomato sauce.
Finish dish: Pour the hot sauce over and around the chiles. Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake covered at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Uncover dish for the last five minutes of baking.
Garnish: finish dish with a sprinkling of fresh parsley or cilantro and a drizzle of crema* on each chile.
Mexican crema is available in Mexican grocers or substitute a mixture of half sour cream and half whipping cream.
Serves 4
* Oaxacan string cheese is great in this recipe too, especially if you like the filling cheeeesy. Just add the cheese to the cooked meat and let melt. Proceed to stuffing chiles.
A Cook With US recipe Achiote Jalapeno Bread
• 8 cups all purpose flour
• 1 T. sea salt
• 1T. sugar
• 2 T. dry yeast
• ¼ cup achiote paste
• 3 jalapeno peppers, charred
• 1 ¼ cup warm water
• 2 T. sesame seeds
• 2 T. garlic, chopped fine
• 2 T. Mexican oregano
• 1 egg white
• 2 T. Olive oil
• ¼ cup cornmeal
Combine 7 ½ cups of flour, salt and sugar into a bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon and set aside. Dissolve yeast in ¼ c. warm water for 15 minutes.
Char the jalapenos on a hot comal or griddle. Leave most of the blackened skin intact for flavor. When cool enough to handle seed and coarsely chop chiles. Set aside.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add 1 cup warm water into the well; carefully pour the proofed yeast into the water, add the jalapenos, garlic, and oregano. Break up the achiote paste into the flour mixture. Mix the ingredients thoroughly until dough is pliable, about 5 minutes.
Dust work surface with ½ c. reserved flour. Turn out dough and knead for 10 minutes until dough becomes smooth and elastic. Roll dough into long cylinder and cut into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a 14 inch baguette. Place loaves on two cookie sheets sprinkled with cornmeal. Scribe loaves diagonally with a sharp knife, brush lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Cover pans with damp dish towel, let rise at room temp. until double in size. Bake 40 minutes at 350 degrees. Brush finished loaves with egg white wash. Let cool on racks. Makes 8 baguettes
