Tamales

This is my favorite thing to make out of my leftovers from pulled pork tacos.  It's very time-consuming, but I love tamales.  It's worth the effort!

Equipment:

--large pot (typical stock pot)

--steamer basket

(or you can use a steamer appliance, whatever)

Ingredients:

--About 3 cups of filling (I use the pulled pork but you can use whatever you want)

--3 cups masa harina (regular or the stuff specifically for tamales - both work well)**

--1 tbsp ground oregano

--2 tbsp chicken bouillon

--2 tsp cumin

--1 tsp garlic salt

--1 tsp cayenne pepper

--1/2 tsp chili powder

--1-1.5 cups oil

--2-4 cups of water, as needed

--1 pkg corn husks

**This amount of masa harina will generally make enough tamales to cook one batch in the stock pot, about 30 tamales, give or take.

1.  Soak the corn husks in warm water for long enough to soften them up.  (They're impossible to work with if you don't soak them well.  Chop the filling up so there aren't large pieces of meat.  Place the steamer basket in the stock pot and fill with water to just below the steamer basket. 

2.  In a large bowl, combine the masa harina and all the seasonings (oregano through chili powder).  Mix this well with a fork.  Add the oil and mix well.  The mixture should be sort of crumbly.  Add water about a cup at a time and mix it with your hands.  This is the tricky part - getting the right consistency - the dough should not really stick to your hands much, but you want it to be thick like peanut butter.  So creamy sort of, but not too wet and sticky...

3.  Tear a few corn husks into thin strips; you'll use these to tie up the tamales, so be sure they are long enough to wrap around. 

4.  Lay down two corn husks, overlapping them by an inch or so at the widest point.  Take about a golf ball sized amount of dough and press it onto the husks, making a thin layer in the shape of a rectangle.  (This should leave a few inches of husk on the ends, enough to fold over.)  I like a thin layer (as opposed to a thick layer) because you can taste more meat, so press it as thinly as you like.  I use the heel of my hand and my fingers to get it in the shape and depth I prefer.

5.  Layer the filling along the center of the dough, leaving a little space on either end (to close up the masa). 

6.  Take the husks and fold up the top and bottom to close the masa around the filling.  (Make sure you have enough masa to cover it all; if not, take out some filling.)  Pinch the husks just above the masa and roll it up, fold the ends of the tamale across it, and tie it with a husk strip.

***This is hard to explain without pictures!***

7.  Heat the water in the stock pot to boiling; while it's heating, place the tamales in the steamer basket, standing upright.  

8.  Turn the heat down to medium-low.  (Just low enough to keep making steam, like maybe around a 4 setting.)  Cook the tamales for at least 2 hours and 15 minutes; I usually check one around 2 hours and see how the masa is cooking.  If it's not done, keep cooking it.

There are tricks to the masa, too - I don't really use them, but you can try to float a ball of masa in a cup of water to make sure you have enough oil in the dough.  If you have trouble with the dough and it won't cook, then you can finish them off in the oven; that will help dry the masa out.  They don't taste as good, but it does dry the dough out so they stick together.



Hashing it Out!

This recipe is so perfect for those chilly winter months -- healthy and hearty. It's great for breakfast but we've made it for dinner too! You can basically roast any kind of winter veggies you want but here's the way I made it. Fennel bulb, carrots, turnips, other types of squash and yukon gold potatoes make good substitutions as well.

Winter Veggie Hash

Ingredients
1 butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed and cubed
1 lb Brussels sprouts, halved
1 bunch kale, stems removed and cut into bite sized pieces
3 parsnips, sliced into chunks
3 shallots, quartered
8 eggs (for poaching)
white vinegar (for poaching)
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
8 sage leaves, roughly chopped
safflower oil (or other oil with high smoke point -- can also use grapeseed)
olive oil
salt & pepper for seasoning

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Boil a medium pot of water to cover parsnips and parboil them for 15 min. Enough to where they are softened a little bit. Drain water.

2. Combine parsnips, squash, shallots, sprouts, thyme and sage in a large bowl. Toss with enough safflower oil to coat and season with salt and pepper.

3. Spread squash/veggie mixture onto 2 large baking sheets and bake in 400 deg oven for 30-35 minutes, until squash is cooked through.

4. While veggie mixture is roasting, prepare the eggs for poaching. You can do this 4 at a time using this method: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMiCy8EH1go

5. Toss kale with salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. When veggies are roasted, remove them from the oven and into a covered casserole dish or pot to keep warm. Spread the kale onto one of the baking sheets and flash broil kale for 3 min or until edges are slightly crispy. *watch this closely because kale can burn pretty fast!! 

6. Poach eggs and toss kale in with remaining veggies.

7. Arrange mound of roasted veggies on plate, top with 2 poached eggs and freshly ground pepper. Serves 4!

Pulled Pork Tacos

A twist on my favorite carnitas recipe!  You can use either a slow cooker or a pressure cooker (or a pot, if you want) for this recipe.

Two main components - the pulled pork and the slaw with dressing.  I'll break them down separately:

For the pulled pork:
--2-3 lbs of pork (I use tenderloin because it's lean and easy to cut, but shoulder/roasts work fine)
--28-oz can of tomatillos (similar to canned tomatoes)*
--28-oz can of Rotel*
--1/2 a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (about 3-4 oz)
--Cumin
--Chile powder
--Garlic powder or salt
--~2 tbsp Mexican oregano
--Black pepper
--3 tbsp cooking oil
*If you can't find this stuff, improvise - use fresh ingredients, or just use the same amounts of red and green enchilada sauce.

1.  Cut the pork into large chunks, approximately 3" square.  Season all sides of the pork with the spices (cumin, chile powder, garlic powder, pepper).  Take liberty to add what you want here (cayenne, etc.).  I don't over-coat the meat, but put enough because then you don't have to add much seasoning later on.

2.  In a skillet, heat oil over medium-med. high heat.  When oil is ready, brown the pork on all sides; set aside.  (Pork will still be raw in the middle.)

3.  Place the tomatillos, Rotel, and chipotles in a food processor.  Blend until well-mixed.

4.  Place the browned pork on the bottom of the cooker; then pour the tomato mixture over the top.  Add the oregano.  If using a slow cooker, cook on high for about 6 hours or until the meat starts to come apart.  For a pressure cooker, I used the high pressure setting for 1 hour, then quick release.

5.  After the meat has cooked, shred it with a fork (just tear it all apart).  Leave it in the juice and simmer for an additional 15 minutes.

Slaw Topping:
--Bag of cole slaw (undressed) or make your own shredded cabbage, about 5-6 cups
--1 cup milk
--1 cup sour cream
--1 package ranch dressing mix
--1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro (adjust as you like)
--1/2 cup pickled jalapenos (adjust as you like)

1.  Place everything but cabbage into a blender and mix well. 

2.  Toss this dressing with the cabbage; refrigerate until ready to serve.

Assembly Ingredients:
--Refried black beans, heated
--Quesa fresca, crumbled
--Avocado, cubed

I served them as follows:
--Start with Laurel's homemade corn tortillas
--Spread some warm refried black beans on the tortilla
--Layer the pulled pork in the center
--Top the pork with the cabbage mixture
--Crumble some quesa fresca on top

This can make a pretty thick taco, so you may need to make those tortillas a tad larger!

This amount of pork will feed about 4-6 people.

Blackened Salmon Tostadas

Another wedding recipe... this was the recipe I asked the lodge to make as a passed appetizer. This is one of our household favs -- inspired by the great Ivar's Salmonhouse here in Seattle. You can get the larger sized tostada shells and make them more meal-sized. Sometimes I top them with a spicy cilantro aioli that I will add to the blog whenever I make it next. Something about the spice of the blackened seasoning combined with the cooling creamy cilantro flavors... so delicious. Pic coming soon!

Mini Blackened Salmon Tostadas

Ingredients

12 oz wild salmon fillet
1 15oz can refried black beans
1 medium sized avocado, cubed & divided
1 cup pico de gallo salsa (or any red salsa)
Handful of chopped fresh cilantro
12 3-inch mini tostada shells
12 lime wedges, for serving
Cajun blackening seasoning

Directions

• Heat beans over med-low heat until creamy.
• Coat flesh side of salmon fillet with blackening seasoning.
• On either a hot grill or a heated cast iron skillet with 3-4 tbsps canola oil (medium heat)
• Flash cook salmon, flesh side down for 2-3 minutes. Turn salmon over and grill/cook until skin gets crispy, about 5-6 minutes.
• To assemble tostadas, spread black beans over each tostada. Top with 1 oz salmon, avocado chunks and about a tablespoon of salsa. Garnish with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

Makes 12 tostadas.

Wild Blackberry Margaritas

If this isn't West-meets-South I don't know what is! This beverage was the signature cocktail of the Selby-Coulter wedding and I (the bride) wanted to choose something that featured an indigenous Pacific Northwest fruit with a Tex-Mex flair to pay homage to the two parts of the country we grew up in. Perfect summer (or end of summer!) cocktail. 

Wild Blackberry Margaritas

Ingredients
2 parts Sauza Hornitos
2 parts Stirrings margarita mix
1 part Cointreau
1 part Real Lime Juice (avoid Rose's Lime juice, it is too sweet.)
3-4 Blackberries
Splash of Sprite or other lemon-lime soda
Lime Wedges

Directions
• Lightly muddle ice and blackberries together in cocktail shaker.
• Add ingredients 1-4.
• Shake and pour into salted rim glass or mason jar.
• Add Sprite.
• Stir, garnish with lime wedge and serve (makes one serving).

Homemade Corn Tortillas

I know its been a while since I have posted so I am making it up to you all by coming back with a vengeance and passing along my #1 go-to recipe these days... corn tortillas. Once you make these once, I promise you won't want to ever buy the papery, tasteless store-bought version ever again. Not only are they delicious, making them is also quick and easy. The number one required piece of equipment is a metal tortilla press. If you don't have one, get one. I have tried these with a plastic one and it was kind of a failure... each tortilla was too small and super thick so I had to roll each one out with a rolling pin. Yeah.. NOT fun. So save yourself the trouble and get yourself a metal one!

Corn Tortillas

Ingredients
1 c masa harina (I recommend the brand Maseca)
2/3 cup warm water
sea salt (about 1 tsp)

Equipment

• metal tortilla press (I bought mine in a tienda up here in Seattle for $20 and it's the bomb)

• double griddle (not %100 necessary but makes things go a little quicker)
• 1 gallon-sized zip lock bag (cling wrap will do if you don't have one on hand)
• tortilla warmer or basket w/ kitchen towel

Instructions

1. Combine masa, water and salt in a bowl with a spatula. Form into a ball with your hands. Cover with a damp cloth until ready to press.

2. Heat griddle to med-high

3. Cut a gallon size zip-lock bag into two halves for both sides of the press.

3. Form dough into 1 inch balls (or whatever size you want really)

4. Take one ball at a time between the two sheets of plastic and press out each tortilla

5. After pressing out tortilla, flop it out on the griddle and heat for 1 min each side (should see some golden brown on each side)

6. Place each tortilla in warmer or basket with kitchen towel to keep warm until you're ready to fill them with your fav Tex-Mex goodies! (makes about 8 tortillas)

Breakfast Chilaquiles

I don't have a picture of this, but we all know this is my favorite, go-to breakfast recipe when I want to impress.  You can cheat and buy salsa and chips from the store, but what fun is that? 

Breakfast Chilaquiles

Ingredients:
--1 batch of red or green salsa (either works well!)
--1 batch of homemade chips (found on same link as salsa recipes); probably need the medium package of tortillas to have the right amount
--2 dozen eggs (obviously you can adjust all these amounts for your target audience)
--1 package of quesa fresca (maybe about 16 oz)
--1 container of sour cream***
--1-2 bunches cilantro

Prepare the salsa and chips according to the recipes on the link.  (If you make the salsa in advance, reheat it on the stove prior to assembling the chilaquiles.  It needs to be warm.)

1.  While the salsa is still warm, mix in the chips.  Watch the ratio - I just eyeball it, but you want the chips to be lightly coated with salsa.  Don't drown them in salsa, but make sure they are all coated on all sides.  Too much, they get soggy; too little, they don't have the right flavor.
2.  Start frying the eggs; the timing is important as well so the chips don't get soggy.  Make sure the eggs are fried as desired.  I like to have the salsa already warm, the chips prepared, and then I mix the salsa/chips at the same time I start frying eggs. 
3.  Spread a thin layer of the salsa/chip mixture on a plate.  Top the mixture as follows:  fried egg (or two), a dollop of sour cream, a tablespoon of crumbled quesa fresca, and a sprinkling of cilantro.  Serve immediately (with a mimosa or a spicy bloody mary!).

This typically involves the cook being a short-order cook, taking orders for how the eggs should be fried for each person and serving it as soon as it's assembled.  For large crowds, you'll need a helper that can keep the fried eggs coming!

***Note:  some people don't like sour cream.  TOO BAD!  That makes this dish taste as it should, so do whatever you can to persuade them to at least TRY it.  It adds a creamy texture as the egg yolk mixes with the salsa, and it is incredible.  I WON'T eat it without sour cream!  Fat free is fine :)  And although I always substitute Greek yogurt for sour cream, I will not in this dish because it really does make a difference.