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.
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!
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