Skillet Corn

Over the weekend, I went to the farmer's market to pick up some vegetables.  I wasn't sure what to get but I saw they had sweet corn.  It seemed a few weeks early, but I love sweet corn and I grabbed some ears in the hopes that it was sweet and not starchy.   Thankfully it was very crisp and sweet so I ate one as is.  Someone suggested I make skillet corn which is something I never heard of.  After making it the first time, I thought of it as really good creamed corn with the kernels still intact and crisp.  It is definitely delicious and I was craving it again tonight.

Most recipes for skillet corn just have it as a side or a simple dish you just eat from a bowl.  I wanted it to be dinner, so I topped it with pico de gallo that I made with tomatoes from the same market, sliced avocado and a poached egg.

I began by removing the kernels from 4 ears of corn.  I set the cobs to the side so that I can scrape the whole surface with a butterknife to get all the corny goodness.

I technically didn't use a skillet, but I did put a few tablespoons of olive oil in a pot.  To this I added about half a small onion, 2 cloves of garlic and half a chile serrano (someone sent me a picture of some jalapeño corn bread and it sounded good).

I then added the corn kernels and cob scrapings to the pot.  I let this cook together on medium high heat for a few minutes, making sure to stir to coat the corn in the mixture.

I then added a tablespoon of flour and mixed it into the corn.  I let this cook together for a few minutes longer before adding water. 

I added about a cup of water, I wanted the corn to be somewhat submerged.  I let this all simmer on low for about 30 minutes.  Some recipes I found said 45, others said 15. I just picked something in between.  I think a reason for a longer cooking time is to get as much corn flavor into the sauce that forms, but I didn't want the corn to get too soft or overcooked.

The acidity and crispness of the pico de gallo was a great contrast to the sweet, slightly creamy corn.  Normal recipes call for butter or bacon to add some richness.  I added the egg with the hope of stirring the yolk into the corn to achieve a similar affect, also because eggs are just really good on things. I added the avocado to add another type of richness to complement the corn and provide another contrast to the pico de gallo.

Ajo Blanco

I've been craving this soup for a few days after having a garlic soup at dinner over the last weekend.  The flavors are very similar except that ajo blanco is served cold.  It is usually enjoyed in a glass over ice, maybe with a few grapes and apples floating in it.

 

 

The plan for my ajo blanco was to make it for dinner so I wanted to incorporate some prepared vegetables and a bit of meat as well. the base for the soup is fairly simple: blanched almonds, roasted garlic, bread, olive oil, vinegar, water, salt, pepper. I decided to top the soup with blanched asparagus, roasted red peppers and some carnitas I picked up from the Mexican grocery store.

To prepare, I used 200g of peeled slivered almonds and blanched them for about 4 minutes. I removed about have of the cooking liquid and added them to my blender.  I roasted 5 garlic cloves (you can use 2 but I like garlic a lot) and added those to the blender as well.  I topped this with 8oz of good olive oil, and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. I blended until a puree formed, then I ripped off a couple of handfuls of crusty bread (day old is best) and added to the blender along with 12 oz of water.  I blended this all together to get it as smooth as possible, adding salt and pepper to taste.  That's it, soup is done.

 

To serve I topped with asparagus, red pepper, and carnitas.  The asparagus was simply blanched and the red pepper I roasted and chopped.  The carnitas were already prepared by the butcher and made a great addition to the soup. I finished it with a few drops of olive oil.

 

 

I made a more traditional version by splitting green grapes in half and floating them in the soup.  I served in a tall glass with ice and some more olive oil.  The sweetness of the grapes go really well with the garlicky soup and it seems I was able to taste the almond more as a result.



Baked Spinach

This quick side dish was an idea I got from a steakhouse we went to recently.  It is basically a take on creamed spinach, but I chopped the spinach into bigger pieces for texture.  The end result is more soupy than thick.

 I began by cooking garlic, onion and red chili flakes in butter for a couple of minutes before adding about a pound of chopped spinach.  I tossed everything to coat and cooked untilt he spinach wilted.

I added a bit of half and half to the pan and mixed in some crumbled aged cheddar.  I topped with additional cheese before baking.

After baking at 400 for 20 minutes the cop was browned and some of the spinach on top crisped up slightly.  The end result was delicious, the cheese worked great with the spinach and the bit of broth that formed was quite flavorful. I would probably cut back on some butter and cream next time as this was just for a meal at home, though I can see a large tray of this being a hit at a holiday party.

the rub

Last week I was given a wonderful mole inspired spice rub from my brother Lupe, aka @2bridgesflavor , who makes the best best jerky I've ever had.  The flavors and spices used are excellent, I recommend following him to get more information and updates on what he is working on.

When I first got the rub, the aroma is what struck me.  There were so many different complex notes in it that I knew it was going to be good.  You can get the chocolate, nutty and chile notes indicative of mole while being fresh and vibrant.

Immediately I thought of doing spice-rubbed chicken legs.  To begin I put a generous amount of the the rub all over every surface of the legs to make sure they were completely covered.  The rub spread easily and it was nice to able ot distinguish some chili flakes and sesame seeds which will show nicely in the end result. I placed the chicken legs in the oven at 375F for about an hour.

As the chicken cooked this amazing smell was coming from the oven as the spices warmed and melded with the roasting chicken.  I took the chicken out and immediately noticed that a beautiful crust had formed.  The outside of the chicken was crisp and had an amazing color to it.  It was hard not to rip of a piece and have a try.  The chicken took well to the spices and it worked wonderfully to create the end result.

To serve the chicken, I made a bit of crisp, oven-roasted kale that I had coated in a bit of the chicken fat that had rendered from the roast.  I proceeded to make sort of a quick pickle of roasted carrot and fennel tossed in lime juice and a touch of honey to round it out.  I placed the chicken on a bed of kale and spooned some of the carrots with the lime juice and fennel on top.  The final dish was amazing, the flavors of the spices really shined through and tied all the components together.  I was really impressed by and excited about this spice rub and I can't wait to see more from @2bridgesflavor .

family cookout!

I went to my parent's house for a cookout with the family today.  There were a few flavors that I have been thinking about that I wanted to try out and offered to make some salads.

The first salad is kind of a take on a Vietnamese green papaya and shrimp salad.  I wanted to incorporate some Mexican flavors, my thinking was that there are a lot of similar flavors that work well between the two cuisines.  To prepare this I combined jicama, shrimp, red bell pepper and scallions which then I tossed in a sauce made from lime juice and agave nectar.  I then added 8 cloves worth of toasted minced garlic for crunch and flavor.  To finish I folded in some sliced avocado.

Next I made a corn salad with flavors similar to an elote.  I first took sweet corn off the cob and blanched for a couple of minutes.  After cooling I added red bell pepper and scallions and lime juice.  To finish I stirred in a bit of mayonnaise and cotija cheese.

Finally I made a fruit salad with chopped mango, pineapple and papaya.  I tossed this in a combination of lime juice and orange juice.  To finished I mixed in some fresh mint.

a little get together

We recently had some friends over for drinks and dinner later on in the night so I wanted to make a couple of things I knew would be crowd pleasers. Our friends that were visiting have provided us with great hospitality and meals in the past and I wanted to do something special for them.  Two things instantly came to mind: carnitas and ceviche. Its being spring also made me think to make a salad with ramps and fava beans.

Carnitas to me are a fail-proof solution for any gathering.  I mean, who doesn't love crispy fatty pork?  I remember having family get togethers where my uncle would fry up chunks of pork (and other random meats) outside in a huge copper pot with boiling hot lard.  Once it was cooked the meat was perfectly juicy and fatty. When I lived in Mexico, one of my favorite shops sold carnitas stuffed into a bolillo with nothing else but a few slices of pickled jalapeños. I thought it would be a great idea to make mini carnitas tortas with pickled beets and jalapeños.

I've found an easy and equally delicious way to recreate carnitas in my oven at home using everyones favorite: pork belly.  To begin I seasoned pork belly with skin on with garlic, salt and pepper and roasted in the oven first at a low temperature for a couple of hours, then cranking it up for the last half hour to crisp up the skin.

While the pork belly finished cooking, I sliced beets and jalapeños paper-thin and I placed in a bowl with white wine vinegar, salt and pepper.  I let this sit for at least an hour, allowing the vinegar to combine with the beets and jalapeños, softening them up a bit.

Once the pork belly was out of the oven, I chopped up the meat including the skin and begun to construct my tortas.  I sliced the bolillo in half before slicing it open to make smaller , more manageable portions.  I filled each bolillo with pork meat and topped with a few slices of pickled beet and jalapeños.  That's it, the fattiness of the pork provides more than enough moisture for the bread and the vinegar in beets goes well on top of the meat.

For my ceviche I decided to go with cod.  I love making ceviche and it is always good with a crowd of people. The idea behind ceviche is that raw fish basically "cooks" in acid.  For my version I marinated cod in lime and orange juice.  It is important to cut the fish into bite-sized pieces, a bit larger than a dice.  This will allow the acid to fully cook the fish.  There should be enough lime and orange juice to fully cover the fish.  The fish should marinate in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours.  This can go longer but you run the risk of the fish being tough. 

Once the fish is done, little needs to be done to complete the ceviche.  I simply added diced onion, diced chile serrano, minced garlic, diced avocado, chopped cilantro, salt and pepper.  I stirred to combine all the ingredients and served with tortilla chips.  Normally this is eaten on a tostada but I felt the chips worked well and were more conducive to beer drinking and hanging out.

To round out our meal, I decided to use a couple of spring vegetables, prepared very simply. I recently went to the store and saw ramps and fava beans for sale.  Admittedly I do not have much experience with either of these but I have heard they are quite delicious and a must-have when they are in season. 

This simple salad was made by sauteing chopped ramps in olive oil with fava beans that have been removed from the pods, blanched and peeled.  I added the zest and juice of one lemon, seasoned with salt and pepper and tossed until all the flavors came together.  These vegetables didn't need much more than just their own natural goodness.

I was very glad to have had the opportunity to cook for our friends.  We have enjoyed such great food at their place that it was really good to hear that they enjoyed it.

calabacitas rellenas

Calabacitas are what I can best describe as a mexican zucchini, though the name calabacita literally translates to "small pumpkin".  Calabacita tends to be shorter and more rounded at the bottom than a regular zucchini and is used quite frequently in Mexican cuisine.  I always think of calabacita sauteed with tomatoes, mushrooms and chicken, perfect filling for a tortilla. 

Another popular preparation for calabacita is stuffed with vegetables, chicken and cheese.  For my version I chose to stuff the calabacita with a basic picadillo: ground beef cooked with potatoes and peas.  Normally a picadillo would also contain raisins, but I did not happen to have any at the time.

To add spice to the picadillo I used a dried red jalapeño.  This weekend I visited my parents house and noticed that my dad had an abundance of dried piquín, serrano, habanero and jalapeño peppers.  I decided to take advantage of my dad's love of chiles and took a few.  I felt that the dried jalapeño had an aroma and texture similar to that of a sun dried tomato, but very very hot, a perfect addition to my dish.

assorted chiles

red dried jalapeño

To prepare the picadillo, I sauteed the ground beef with onion, garlic and the dried jalapeño.  I cooked the beef until browned and added finely diced potato and peas towards the end to avoid overcooking in the oven.

I split each calabacita in half and using a spoon I hollowed out the vegetable , taking out mostly the seeds.

I placed the calabacitas in a baking dish and stuffed each one with my picadillo.  I used queso fresco to sprinkle over the top before placing in the oven.

I baked in the oven until the calabacitas were fork tender.  The queso fresco is not really a melting cheese but it formed a nice crust on top.

To serve the calabacitas I made a quick sauce by placing avocado, crema mexicana, and hot sauce in a food processor and blending until smooth.  The dish overall was very tasty, the beef went well with the taste of the calabacita and the jalapeño added the right amount of heat.

birthday dinner

This past sunday I had the great pleasure of making a birthday dinner for my friend Cara who happens to be vegetarian.  I was excited to get to work with a variety of vegetables and cooking methods.

For dinner I decided to make chiles en nogada filled with veggies instead of meat, a roasted vegetable quinoa salad and a baked cabbage soup.  For dessert I made pecan bread pudding with a Mexican chocolate whipped cream.

For the roasted vegetable quinoa I utilized a variety of vegetables: parsnips, celery root, potatoes, onion, turnips and fennel.

I diced all the vegetables and placed into baking sheets.  I drizzled with olive oil over, seasoned with salt and pepper and placed in the oven to roast.

To prepare the quinoa I added 1 part quinoa and 2 parts water to a rice cooker, it cooks perfectly every time. I removed the vegetables from the oven once they were cooked through and slightly toasted. I tossed the quinoa in with the roasted vegetables and set aside to cool. 

To make baked cabbage soup I first chopped one head of cabbage and added this to a deep pot.  I then added enough vegetable broth to almost cover the cabbage and cooked over high heat until the cabbage was tender but not mushy.

While the cabbage boiled I cut thick slices of crusty Italian bread that I then toasted in the oven.  I buttered a dutch oven and placed a few slices of the toasted bread as a base.  I topped the bread with grated gruyere cheese.  Using tongs I added about half of the cabbage and topped with dabs of butter.  I made another layer of bread, cheese, and cabbage.  I covered the dish with a final layer of bread and poured the vegetable broth into the dutch oven to soak into the bread.  I topped with more gruyere and placed in the oven to bake until the cheese is browned and bubbly.

layering the soup:

Chiles en nogada is a traditional Mexican dish that consists of a roasted poblano chile, stuffed with picadillo that is then topped with a walnut cream sauce and pomegranate seeds.

In this version I am stuffing the poblano with a variety of vegetables.  The main component of my stuffing was zucchini, I think it has a heartiness to it that worked well as a stuffing.  The rest of the ingredients were cremini mushrooms, tomatoes, and walnuts:

I diced all the vegetables and sauteed in a skillet with olive oil, onion and garlic:

I prepared the poblano by first roasting it over an open flame, making sure to slightly char the outside.  After taking them off the flame I immediately placed them in a plastic bag to steam for few minutes before peeling off the skin.

roasted peeled poblano:

I cut the poblano along one side and shook out the seeds.  I then stuffed the chiles with the zucchini mixture, topped with a bit of crema mexicana, and sprinkled with some pomegranate seeds.


To complete the dinner I tossed the quinoa salad with chopped cilantro and lime juice and set along side the chile en nogada. I made a quick guacamole with avocados, lime, and onions and served with the dish as well.  I pulled the cabbage soup out of the oven and I served this separately in a bowl.

The texture of the roasted poblano went well with the stuffing and the quinoa had a bright earthiness with the lime and root vegetables.  The cabbage soup was luscious, very rich and satisfying.  It was a bounty of vegetables but we made sure to make room for some dessert.

I had it under good authority that Cara is a fan of bread pudding so this was an easy choice to make.

To serve alongside the bread pudding I made a mexican chocolate whipped cream.  I used one of those bricks of mexican chocolate that you can get at most stores.  I boiled the chocolate with heavy cream until melted and passed this through a mesh strainer and placed in the refrigerator to cool. To make the whipped cream I used an iSi cream whipper, but I have also made whipped cream by whisking cooled cream in a large mixing bowl.

I first cut a loaf of crusty Italian bread into large cubes and placed in a buttered casserole dish and topped with roasted pecans. In a large mixing bowl I combined milk and heavy cream with eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. I poured the mixture over the bread and let this sit for 10 minutes so that the bread can properly soak.  I placed the pudding in the oven to bake until the top was golden brown.

The bread pudding was a hit: the vanilla and pecan of the bread pudding went well with the chocolate and cinnamon flavors of the whipped cream.

I am happy to say that our guest of honor enjoyed her dinner very much and I was glad to have the opportunity to do something special for her birthday.

Grillin' and Chillin'

I love weekday grill nights, I'm always presented with something that can be relatively quick and easy to make with tons of flavor.  I did a mixed grill of chicken breast and veggies with some grilled flour tortillas to stuff it all in.

I butterflied some chicken breasts that I then marinated in the juice of two oranges, honey, red chili flake, garlic, cumin and olive oil.

In a separate bowl I added zucchini, eggplant, brussels sprouts and green onions.  These were then tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper and the zest from the oranges.

I tossed these all on the grill, added some flour tortillas on the side and we had a great light but delicious weeknight meal, with tons of leftovers!