Comida Mexicana!

This meal was a fabulous success. These refried beans and stuffed peppers, both of which were improvised, are now standards for me, and i will never again make a key lime pie sans tequila.

Menu:

White sangria

Tostadas with guac, lettuce, salsa, crema & cilantro

Pintos refritos

Chipotle chicken with cheese grits & mole

Grits, corn, & black bean stuffed peppers w/ mole

Margarita pie

Way-better-than-canned pintos refritos

1 smallish onion, diced
2-5 cloves garlic (depending on size and taste), minced
1 small jalapeno, minced (don't use the rib and seeds if you don't want much heat)
1 medium tomato, diced
2 tsp ground cumin, plus more to taste
salt and pepper to taste
2 cans pinto beans, drained

heat up a few tablespoons of oil or butter in a smallish pot and sautee the onions until soft. Add the minced garlic and jalapeno and saute for another minute or two, until slightly browned. Add the tomatoes, cumin, salt, and pepper and saute another minute to cook the tomatoes a bit. Add in all of the beans and cook, stirring constantly and mashing them against the side of the pot as they start to break down. Add some vegetable broth or water if they get dry. If you want them more smooth, you can use a potato masher or even put them in the food processor. Adjust the seasoning and enjoy.

Stuffed peppers with grits, corn, and black beans in mole

1 can black beans, drained
1 medium onion, diced
5 ears of corn, with kernels sliced off (if its winter you can use frozen corn)
cumin, salt, and pepper to taste

~2 cups cooked grits (follow bag instructions)
~1/4 cup cream
~2 tbs butter
~1/2 cup grated cheddar
salt and pepper to taste

~6 bell peppers of any color, cored and halved
~3 cups mole (see here)
~1/2 cup grated cheddar

Preheat your oven to 400. Start your grits cooking according to instructions. Meanwhile, prep the vegetables. heat up some oil in a big pan and saute your onions until soft. Add in the corn and black beans in a proportion that is pleasing to you. Add seasoning to taste, then cook until the onions have browned a bit.

When the grits are done, stir in the cream, butter, and cheddar, and season to taste.

Prep the peppers and then stuff each one with a layer of grits and then a layer of vegetables. line them up in a baking dish with a little bit of mole in the bottom. fill in the edges between the pepper with more mole (add some water to it if you need to to fill it - the sauce will re-thicken as it cooks). top the peppers with the rest of the mole and bake until soft, about 1/2 hour.

Margarita Pie (Key Lime + Tequila)

1 bag of graham crackers (one of the two that come in a box)
~1 stick butter
pinch of salt

10 egg yolks
2 14 oz cans sweetened condensed milk
a shit ton of key limes (or a moderate number of normal limes)
~1/2 c tequila

Note for the filing: this makes double what most recipes reccomend, but I always find I need more to fill up my pie pan. This will probably give you a little bit of extra filling to make mini-pies.

preheat to 375. Make your graham cracker crust by smashing up the crackers (I prefer to do it by hand and not use a food processor so that they don't completely disintegrate and stay crunchy). Melt the butter and stir it in a little at a time (plus the salt), until the mixture is wet enough to be pressed together firmly but not soggy. Press the crust evenly over the bottom and sides of a pie pan. Bake for just 5-10 minutes until it has a tiny bit more color.

Mix your yolks and sweetened condensed milk in a big bowl, then start zesting and squeezing like a madman. I reccomend using all of the zest from every lime you juice for optimal green color and citrusy smell. Once you've added about 1 cup of lime juice, start tasting the filling frequently until you reach the right level of limeiness - but don't wimp out early. Then start adding tequila a litle bit at a time until the taste is noticeable but not overpowering.

Pour the filling in the crust and pop that dude in the oven. Bake for 15 minutes and then cool in the fridge for a VERY LONG TIME, I'm serious like at least 3 hours or it's going to fall apart. Top with some vanilla whipped cream and enjoy!

Carrot (Cup)Cake(s)

Carrot (Cup)Cake(s)

1 pound carrots, shredded (should be ~4 packed cups)

2 cups minus 2 tbs all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tbs cocoa powder

4 e eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

1 packed cup dark brown sugar

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

some walnuts, chopped and toasted (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 2 muffin tins with liners or a two cake pans with parchment.

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cocoa.

Beat the eggs. Add the vanilla, sugars, and oil, and mix. Add the dry ingredients and mix only until combined. Stir in the carrots, and (optional) nuts.

Divide the batter into whatever pans you are using. Bake ~40 minutes for cake pans and ~15 minutes for cupcakes, until a skewer comes out clean and the tops are springy. Remove and cool a little in the pan before transfering to a cooling rack.

Ice with:

Cream Cheese Icing

16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

4 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

Beat everything together until no longer lumpy, adding sugar as you go until you get the right level of sweetness and firmness.

Sweet & Sour Braised Red Cabbage

Winter staple for me, prepared essentially the same way I make brussels sprouts. Perfect with mashed potatoes or noodles.

Sweet and Sour Braised Cabbage

1 medium onion, sliced into ribbons
1/2 head red cabbage, sliced into ribbons
~1 tbs lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
~2 tbs grainy mustard
~1 tbs brown sugar
salt and (lots of) pepper to taste

Heat up a little bit of oil in a big, deep pan and saute the onions until somewhat softened. Toss in your cabbage and immediately sprinkle with lemon juice or vinegar to preserve the color, and salt it a little to help it wilt. Saute for a few minutes until everything takes on a little more color. Then stir in the mustard plus about 1/2 cup water, cover, and turn down the heat. Simmer/steam for about 5 minutes, then remove the top and let any remaining water evaporate. Add a bit more oil, plus the sugar, and turn the heat back up. Taste and add more acid/mustard/sugar/salt and pepper to taste. keep stir-frying until the cabbage is soft and everything is starting to caramelize.

Breakfast Dinner: Eggs Florentine-ish, Blue Cheese French Toast w/ Pears

Eggs Florentine-ish
Makes 4 servings

4 egg yolks
~1 tbs lemon juice
~1/2 cup butter
~2 tbs mustard
pinch cayenne
salt and pepper to taste

1 clove garlic, minced
few big handfuls baby spinach
salt and pepper to taste

~4 eggs

2 English muffins (recipe here), halved

Make your hollandaise-ish sauce by whisking the yolks and lemon juice together until they get very voluminous. heat in a double boiler (1 pot over another pot of boiling water) and start whisking. stir in your mustard and then slowly drizzle in the butter, whisking constantly, letting it cook and thicken. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Turn off the heat but leave over the water to keep warm,stirring every few minutes while you prep the other components.

Heat a bit of butter in a wide pan and cook the garlic for just a minute. Toss in the spinach and cook until just wilted. Season and set aside.

Toast your English muffins and prep the eggs. Traditionally they're supposed to be poached, but that is above my cooking skill level, so I just fried them over easy in butter. Assemble your Florentines by stacking it all together and pouring the sauce over the top.


Blue cheese-stuffed french toast with pears
Makes 4 servings

~1/2 cup cream cheese or mascarpone
~2 tbs honey
~1/4 cup blue cheese

4 very thick slices of bread, preferably challah or a thick, sweet loaf bread like cinnamon swirl

2 large, ripe-but-not-mushy pears, peeled and sliced
~2 tbs butter
~1/4 cup water, pear juice, pear liqueur, brandy, or other liquid of your choice
~2 tbs brown sugar
~1 tsp cinnamon
~1 tsp vanilla

1 cup half-and-half
3 eggs
~1 tsp cinnamon

Mix the cheeses and honey, adjusting until you get a pleasing balance of pungency and sweetness. Carefully cut a wide slit into each slice of bread with a very sharp knife, making it as wide as possible without cutting any edges of the bread. Spread the filling into the middle section with a butter knife, being very careful not to tear the bread.

Prepare the pears by sauteing them in the butter for just a minute, stirring carefully so as not to break them. Stir in the liquid, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon and let simmer until the sauce is thickened. Set aside.

Mix the eggs, half and half, and cinnamon together in a wide pan. Soak both sides of each slice of bread in the mixture, then let it drain for a minute while you heat up some butter in a pan on medium. Let it cook until golden brown on both sides. Top with some pear slices and syrup - Add additional maple syrup if there's not enough to go around.

English Muffins

A perfect summer bread recipe because you don't have to turn on the oven. these are thicker and breadier than the kind you get in a store. Totally delicious. Like all English muffins, best toasted.

English Muffins
Makes 18

1 cup milk
2 tbs white sugar
1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm (not hot!) water
1/4 cup melted butter
6 cups flour (bread is best)
1 tsp salt

Heat the milk and stir in the sugar to dissolve it. Cool until lukewarm. Dissolve the yeast in the water in a large bowl. Stir in the milk and butter, then 3 cups of the flour, and stir until smooth. Knead in the rest of the flour until your dough is very smooth and elasticy. Put in a greased bowl and let rise in a warm place until doubled (1.5 - 2.5 hours).

Punch the dough down LIGHTLY and cut it into ~18 pieces. GENTLY roll into rough flattened-ball shapes. Roll each ball in cornmeal or flour, cover them all with a cloth, and let rise another 1/2 hour or so.

Heat up a griddle (or two or three) on medium. Cook each muffin about ten minutes on each side, until browned. Cool and enjoy!