Guac This Way (Guacamole for One...or Two)

While on the subject of salsa, we might as well revisit guacamole. I can't get enough of it lately, and it's so easy to make, I just want it all the time. If you've never made guacamole before and think it's really labor intensive, it's not. There are countless ways to make it, but here's how I usually prepare mine...

First, in a large bowl (until I get my first molcajete!), I prepare a base with lime juice, onions, cilantro, and salt. Then I cut open a single avocado and scoop it in, mashing all the ingredients together with a spoon or fork. After everything is thoroughly mixed, I taste it and adjust each ingredient as needed.

Salsa Fiesta! Part Two

If you've ever watched RB's shows, you've probably heard him say that in Mexico salsas are used as condiments, a lot like how we use ketchup and mayo. You might also have heard him say 'chips and salsa, as a snack, isn't really all that Mexican.' Well, the salsas I've been experimenting with lately are really helping me to understand this concept. The consistency of the salsa, since most of the time I'm using a blender or food processor, is thinner than that which I've been used to from those super chunky and thick jarred salsas. Additionally, RB says to 'season your salsas highly' so that they contribute nicely to a finished overall dish and don't get lost in the shuffle. That being said, I'm still a big fan of chips and salsa, so that's how I test out all the salsas I make. And I usually 'test' them until all the chips are gone, or all the salsa is gone, whichever comes first.

The great part about salsa is that you can kind of wing it. Well, not kind of....you can (and I have) flat out wing it, actually. You can easily make each one your own by increasing the amount of some ingredients, decreasing the amount of others. Here are a couple I made over the weekend...both of which were based on RB's recipes or those I've seen elsewhere on the internet.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

6 to 8 small/medium tomatillos, roasted under broiler
2 serrano chiles, roasted
salt, to taste
2T. cilantro
2T. onion (red or white), minced
juice of 1/2 lime, optional

First step was to roast the tomatillos and serranos under a broiler. It takes about 8-10 minutes (4 to 5 on each side) for them to get nice and blackened. When sufficiently roasted, allow to cool, stem the chiles and then add them with the tomatillos (and their pan juices) to a blender. Next add to the blender a couple generous pinches of salt and some cilantro. Pulse the mixture until thoroughly mixed and pureed. RB's recipe does not call for lime juice because the tomatillos add some acidity. I still like it just a little tangier, so I add the juice of 1/2 a lime.

Next, mince your onion of choice (red, white, whatever) and rinse under cold water (RB says this gives the onion a brighter flavor in the finished salsa). Drain the onion and add it to the salsa.

That's it! Before you go following my recipe...please note that after about 5 or 6 chips my face was on fire. Two serrano chiles was a bit much for the amount of tomatillos I used. And the heat doesn't hit you immediately. Next time I will either seed the chiles, OR use 1 instead of 2. Ok, maybe half of one! It was really hot! But in terms of taste, this might have been my favorite salsa to date. I can imagine many ways in which this salsa could be used to brighten up chicken or steak or whatever else. And I have to say, it tasted really good on chips too.

Dried Guajillo and Tomato Salsa

Ever since making the sauce for the tamales a while back, I've had these dried chiles in my cabinet waiting to be used. But how? After searching the net, I found a couple recipes for salsa, so without following any recipes, I winged it. Or is it wung it? I improvised.

6 dried guajillo chiles, held under hot water for 30 minutes, then allowed to cool, stemmed and seeded.
1 serrano chile, stemmed
3 or 4 canned whole tomatoes (not 3 or 4 cans of tomatoes, 3 or 4 tomatoes total)
2T. red onion
salt, cilantro, and lime juice, to taste
water, to desired consistency

After bringing the chiles back to life, stem and seed them, roughly chop them, and add them to the blender with everything else. Pulse until well blended, then add in the onion, and you have your dried guajillo and tomato salsa.

There is a little hint of smokiness from the chiles, and you still get that great freshness provided by the lime juice, cilantro, and onion. Although this salsa tasted good on chips...I don't think this salsa is appropriate for chips. This would make a great base for chili, or an enchilada sauce, or to top off a taco, maybe even in a quesadilla with some grilled chicken. Perfect amount of heat provided by 1 serrano, as opposed to the two I put in the tomatillo salsa.

Experiment. Add, subtract, do whatever. Taylor salsas to your preferences. That's what I've learned. Don't get bogged down by details. If you don't feel like roasting anything, make a raw salsa. It'll be different, but still good. I'm not sure I've ever tried a salsa I didn't like...especially on a good chip...which leads me to...

Mr. Wheat All Natural Crispy Wheat Cakes

I saw these peculiar things in our pantry. I've never been a fan of rice cakes, so I was pretty skeptical. We had the sea salt variety. I've been looking for an alternative way to eat 'chips and salsa' since the chip usually make the healthy snack not so healthy.

So I tried the salsas with some of these crispy wheat cakes. I won't say it was as tasty as eating chips, but I won't say it was terrible either. And when one wheat cake (think fluffy and light, not dense and dry) can be broken into 5 bite-sized chips, each at about 3 calories...well, it's worth trying.

http://www.mrwheat.com/sitefiles2/index.asp

Chiles Rellenos with Tostones

Chiles rellenos (stuffed peppers) are relatively new to me. Or are they? Couldn't you call a jalapeno popper a chile relleno? It is after all, a chile pepper...and it is stuffed with cheese...and it is usually battered and fried. So is a jalapeno popper a chile relleno? Sure sounds like it, in which case I've eaten many a chile relleno in my day. Classic chiles rellenos are made with somewhat larger chiles, and this recipe called for poblanos. To go along with it, I made tostones (fried plantains)...which aren't quite Mexican, but Latin American. I figured as long as the deep fryer is out...might as well get some use out of it.

Chile Relleno

To make a chile relleno you need the following: a roasted poblano chile, some kind of filling, a batter, and some hot oil in which to fry it. For the filling I went simple: Monterey Jack cheese. The batter is relatively simple as well...just gives your wrists a workout. I happen to have the luxury of owning a deep fryer, which regulates the temperature of the oil for me. Frying these bad boys stove top would be a completely different animal, but certainly not out of the question. Let's examine each step...

Roasting the chile

Set your broiler on high and set the oven rack just beneath it. Set some aluminum foil on the rack and lay the chiles down on it. Turn every couple of minutes until the skin blackens all over and the chiles' flesh becomes soft. This will take about 10 minutes or so. Remove from oven, set in a bowl, and cover. Once cooled, peel the skin from the chiles and discard. Your chiles are now ready for stuffing!

Stuffing the chiles

This is perhaps the easiest part of the process yet somehow I managed to make a mess of it. Using a sharp knife (preferably non-serrated) make an incision down one side of the chile from almost at the top to near the bottom. Try not to go all the way to the bottom though, you don't want to risk losing the filling. Scoop out as many of the seeds as you can.

I used a block of MJ cheese to use as my filling. Cut a decent sized rectangular piece of cheese to fit inside the chile. Try to make it as big as you can...but not too big so the chile won't close around it. Now you have a stuffed pepper...a chile relleno. Now it's time to batter it and fry it.

Battering the chile relleno

Dredge the chiles rellenos in four, and shake off the excess. Creating the batter involves separating some eggs...something I had never done before. If I can do it, you can do it...it's a lot easier than it sounds. I used only 3 eggs since I was only battering two rellenos. Separate the eggs and add about 1/2 teaspoon salt to the whites, and beat them until they form stiff peaks. It was fun doing this for the first time and seeing it actually work...but it definitely made my entire arm tired! Once the whites hold their shape a bit, beat in the yolks and 1 tablespoon of flour. The batter is ready! When the oil is hot enough, dip the floured chiles into the batter to coat and put them right into the fryer.

Frying the chiles rellenos

I fried them in my deep fryer at 375. About 5 minutes on one side (and using a spoon to baste the tops while the bottom cooked) and then about 4 minutes on the other. They come out a nice golden color. Then it's to a 400 degree oven to crisp them up just a touch and to fully melt the cheese inside.

It sounds like tons of work, but it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I will definitely try it again. RB says in the book 'All the techniques are manageable, though you'll notice increasingly better results the more times you make them.'

I heated up some fresh tomato salsa in a pan and to serve it I laid the chile relleno in the warm salsa.

Tostones

Tostones are pretty much plantain chips. The hardest part about this was peeling the plantain. By the time I had the peel off, my plantain was a sorry looking thing. But I had enough to work with. I cut the plantain on a bias into six pieces, each about 3/4 thick. I then fried them for 3 minutes at 375, took them out, and let them cool a bit on some paper towels.

Once cooled, I smashed them flat with a plate, and then they went back into the hot tub of oil for another 3 minutes (same temp). Then it was back to paper towels for clearing off excess oil and adding some salt. Nothing difficult here.

Ratings:

Chiles rellenos

Flavor: 4/5 - The batter wasn't as crispy as I'd prefer, but the dish as a whole was very tasty.

Difficulty: 2/5 - I think preparing the chiles is the toughest part, but even that isn't too bad. Like making tamales, this would be a lot of fun to do with a group of people.

Health: 2/5 - Fried and stuffed with cheese. Need I say more?

Kid Friendliness: 1/5 - Even my wife came home and said 'what is that??' and said it looked like a squid. Thanks. Yes, they have a funny shape, but a squid?? I don't see it. I have a feeling if my kids helped make them, they might be more inclined to try them. We'll see next time.

Tostones

Flavor: 0/5 - I must not have done this right, or my plantain just wasn't a good one. I've heard such good things about these, but mine were like eating slices of flavorless banana on cardboard. This was a complete and utter failure. But maybe I'll give it another shot down the line.

Queso Relleno!

I watched an episode of M:OPAAT (Mexico: One Plate at a Time) last night, the one where RB makes queso relleno. I had never heard of such a thing. My mouth is watering right now just thinking about it. I think this will have to be the next Mexican meal I make. The literal translation to english is 'stuffed cheese.' He used Chihuahua cheese and stuffed it with a pork picadillo filling, which consisted of ground pork with a tomato/chile sauce. To make the dish he put two big slices of cheese in the bottom of a crock, then added the pork filling, and put two more slices of cheese on top...then baked it all until the cheese was melted and browned a bit. So the pork filling was completely encased within the hot, melted cheese. I have to try it...it looked so unbelievably good.

Now where can I get myself some Chihuahua cheese??