Fresh Tomatillo Salsa with Serranos

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n Mexico, all sauces are salsas, regardless of whether or not they are cooked. But in the U.S., a salsa usually refers to an uncooked sauce. This is one of the simplest–yet tastiest–uses of serrano chiles. Serve this as a dip for chips or as a marinade and basting sauce for grilled poultry and meat.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound fresh green tomatillos

  • 3 tablespoons finely chopped red onions

  • 2 serrano chiles, seeds and stems removed, minced

  • 1 small bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped

  • Juice of 1 lime

  • 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil (optional)

  • Sugar to taste (optional)

Instructions

Husk the tomatillos and wash them thoroughly under very hot water. Cool under running water, and coarsely puree in food processor or blender. Add the onions, serrano chiles, cilantro, and lime juice and pulse until coarsely chopped.

Remove the bowl and add olive oil if you wish to adjust the consistency. Add some sugar if the tomatillos are too sour.

Stuffed Rocoto Chiles

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The heat factor in this dish can be very high, but the other ingredients will temper it somewhat. Serve it with hot slices of fresh corn and rounds of sweet potatoes.

Ingredients

20 red rocoto chiles, or substitute the largest jalapeños available

  • Water to cover

  • 1 pound pork, cubed

  • 3 cups water

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 2 onions, chopped

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 cup peanuts, toasted and ground

  • 1 pound cooked green peas

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

  • 2 hard-boiled eggs, diced

  • 4 eggs, separated

  • Vegetable oil for frying

Instructions

Wash the chiles, leave the stems intact, open half way, and carefully remove the seeds. Place the peppers in a large pot, cover with water, and boil the chiles slowly for 3 minutes. Drain the chiles carefully, keeping them intact, and set aside.

Place the pork in a medium saucepan, add the 3 cups of water, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 1 hour, or until the pork is tender. Drain the mixture and reserve the cooking liquid. Grind the pork using a coarse setting on the grinder, and set aside.

Heat the oil in a medium skillet and sauté the onions and the garlic. Add the ground pork, peanuts, peas, salt, pepper, and enough of the reserved pork stock to keep the mixture moist. Mix in the chopped eggs, then remove from the heat and let the mixture cool for a few minutes.

Stuff the chiles with this mixture and close as tightly as possible.

Beat the egg whites until they are quite stiff and then fold the well beaten egg yolks into the whites.

Heat the oil, and when it is ready, dip each pepper into the egg mixture and deep fry for 30 to 60 seconds, until the outside is golden brown.

Mario’s Restaurant Crash Site Chicken

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Roswell, New Mexico is a small desert town in the middle of nowhere that became world famous because of one incident that may not have happened. This past Independence Day was the 50th anniversary of the debated crash of a UFO. Amid the parades, costume contests, scientific-like presentations, and items for sale (which included everything from abduction insurance to a dead “alien” in a mason jar), there was a banquet.

Held in Hangar 84, the site where crash debris and off-world bodies were purportedly taken in 1947, the dinner’s featured speaker was Whitley Streiber, author of the book Communion. He was not abducted during the banquet, which was catered by local restaurateur Mario Reid. Mario maintained the general other-worldly spirit of the event with dishes such as “MOO F. O.” (Beef roulades), “Cover-Up Pork,” and “Flan Saucer Dessert.”

I was able to extract the recipe for “Crash Site Chicken” from Mario, which consisted of skinless, boneless chicken breasts in puff pastry with mozzarella and a green chile and pecan concass. The original recipe served 500, so I’ve cut it down a bit.

Ingredients

  • 8 chicken breasts, skinned and deboned
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • 1/4 cup chopped New Mexican green chile
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon dry vermouth
  • 1/4 cup chopped pecans
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 16 pieces puff pastry dough
  • 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
  • 2 egg whites

Instructions

Place the chicken breasts on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes at 300°F. Remove and reserve.

To make the concass: in a skillet, combine the tomato, chile, garlic, and vermouth and sauté over low heat, stirring frequently, for about 15 minutes.

In a dry skillet, toast the pecans, taking care not to burn them. Add the pecans to the concassé during the last 5 minutes of cooking, stir well, and remove from the heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Place each chicken breast on a piece of puff pastry dough. Cover each breast with 2 teaspoons of concass and a sprinkling of cheese. Place the other piece of puff pastry dough over the top of the breast and crimp the edges of the two pieces of dough together to seal. Using a brush, paint the puff pastry with the egg whites.

Bake on cookie sheets in a 350°F oven until golden brown.

Fourth of July Barbecue Baked Beans

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White “Haricot Beans” include types such as Great Northern, navy, cannellini, white kidney, and small white beans, and they comprise the most versatile of the common beans. Serve these as a hot replacement for the traditional baked beans at your next picnic or barbecue.

Ingredients

  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons New Mexican chile powder
  • 4 slices uncooked bacon, cut in ½-inch pieces
  • 1-1/2 cups barbecue sauce
  • 1/4 cup beer or water
  • 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 3 cups cooked Great Northern beans

Instructions

Sauté the onion and garlic in the oil until they are soft.

Combine the onion mixture, chile powder, bacon, barbecue sauce, beer, sugar and mustard. Mix this sauce with the beans.

Cover and bake the beans in a 325 degree oven for 1 hour or until the beans are heated through and coated with the sauce.

Texas-Style Beef Brisket

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This easy, basic recipe uses the combination of a rub and a sauce to create the taste of a traditional barbecue for those who don’t have a pit or a smoker.

Ingredients

  • 1 4 to 6-pound beef brisket
  • 1 jar barbecue rub
  • 2 to 3 cups barbecue sauce

Instructions

Trim the fat on the brisket to 1/4-inch. Rub the barbecue rub evenly and thickly over the brisket. After coating, wrap in plastic or seal in a plastic bag and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Light the grill.

Place the brisket, fat side up, in a disposable aluminum pan or on a large piece of foil. Add ½ cup of water and cover tightly with another piece of foil. Place the pan in the center of the grill over a very slow fire of briquettes.

Cover the cooker and cook for 5 hours, turning the brisket every 1-1/2 to 2 hours. Pour off the fat in the pan as it accumulates and add water, ½ cup at a time, as needed.

Remove the brisket and reserve the remaining pan juices. Place the meat directly on the grill.

Combine the drippings with the barbecue sauce and brush over the brisket. Replace the cover on the cooker and cook for 1 additional hour, basting occasionally with the sauce. Simmer the remaining sauce mixture 10 to 15 minutes.

Slice the brisket diagonally across the grain into thin slices and serve with the sauce.