Strawberries with Tex-Mex Tequila and Black Pepper

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This is a shocking dessert if there ever was one, with the sharp flavors of the pepper tequila and black pepper strangely complementing the sweetness of the strawberries. Only a truly daring chilehead would serve this over chile-infused icecream.

Ingredients

  • 6 cups halved strawberries

  • 1/2 cup orange juice

  • 1/4 cup chile-infused tequila (or soak crushed piquin chiles in tequila for a few hours and strain)

  • 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

  • 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

  • Mint sprigs for garnish

Instructions

Combine the strawberries, orange juice, tequila, black pepper, and balsamic vinegar in a bowl and toss well. Cover and chill for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Spoon the mixture into 6 small glass bowls and garnish with the mint sprigs.

Shepherd-Style Barbecued Goat

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The central Texas town of Brady has staged the World Championship Barbeque Goat Cook-off for more than twenty years on Labor Day weekend. And they know how to cook it correctly, using ten to eighteen pound goats that have been slaughtered at thirty to forty days of age. The older goats eat grass and develop a distinct muttony flavor. They can also be tough. The best time to find young goat is around May. Cabrito is the Spanish word for young goat.

Purists insist that the only traditional way to cook cabrito is to dig a hole in your back yard and burn mesquite wood down to coals. Then you take the skinned cabrito, season it, wrap it in wet burlap bound with wire, and set the meat over the coals. You cover it with dirt to seal in the heat and smoke, and let it cook all day.

Known in the Southwest as cabrito al pastor, barbecued young goat is a spring tradition that can be duplicated in a grill with a spit or in a smoker. The biggest problem is going to be finding a young, tender 12 to 15 pound young goat and you may have to search out butchers, farmers, or Hispanic markets.

Ingredients

  • Your favorite barbecue rub containing chile powder

  • 1 12-pound young goat, cleaned

  • Barbecue sauce of choice, chipotle recommended

  • Flour or corn tortillas

  • Guacamole

  • Salsa of choice, chipotle recommended

    • Instructions

    Sprinkle the rub all over the goat and rub it in thoroughly. If grilling the goat, build a mesquite wood fire in a large barbecue with a spit, or use natural charcoal and mesquite chips. Arrange the goat on a spit about 1 foot above the coals. You can use a motor to turn the spit, or turn it manually every 10 or 15 minutes. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 170° F., for well done.

    If smoking the goat, place the goat on a rack in the smoker with the smoke from pecan, oak, or fruitwood at 200 to 220° F. Smoke for about 1 hour per pound, or until the internal temperature reaches 180° F.

    To serve, slice the cabrito thinly and top with barbecue sauce. Serve with the tortillas, guacamole, and salsa on the side, or make tacos topped with the salsa.

    Greens and Ferns with Santa Fe Serrano Dressing

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    You should make small batches of the dressing because the avocado will discolor slightly on the second day; however, it is so good and so versatile, that it probably won’t last that long anyway. Using Champagne vinegar adds zest without the harshness associated with other types of vinegars. You can also serve the dressing over cooked chilled vegetables, such as freshly cooked asparagus or artichokes.

    Ingredients

    • 1 ripe avocado, peeled, seed removed, and cut into quarters

    • 2 tablespoons Champagne vinegar

    • 1/4 cup water

    • 1/2 cup unflavored low-fat yogurt or sour cream

    • 2 tablespoons cilantro

    • 1/4 teaspoon salt

    • 1 teaspoon sugar

    • 1 clove garlic

    • 1 fresh serrano chile, seeds and stem removed

    • 6 bunches of different greens, mixed together in a bowl

    • 18 fiddlehead ferns

    Instructions

    Place all of the ingredients (except the greens and ferns) in a blender or food processor and blend until thoroughly mixed. If the dressing seems too thick, add more water or yogurt. Place the mixed greens in 6 bowls and add 3 fiddlehead ferns to each bowl.. Add the dressing to taste.

    Creamy and Spicy Ramp and New Potato Soup

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    If you can’t find ramps, substitute scallions with a few cloves of garlic. Of course, you can adjust the heat level by increasing or reducing the amount of chile powder added to the soup. Serve with crusty French bread.

    Ingredients

    • 1/2 stick unsalted butter

    • 1 pound fresh ramps, cleaned and cut into 2″ pieces

    • Salt to tasteFreshly-ground black pepper, to taste

    • 1 tablespoon New Mexican red chile powder

    • 1 bay leaf

    • 3 tablespoons minced garlic

    • 10 cups chicken stock2 1/2 pounds new potatoes, quartered

    • 1/4 cup heavy cream

    Instructions

    Melt the butter in a 6-quart stock pot over medium-high heat. Add the ramps and stir. Season with salt, black pepper, and chile powder. Saute until the ramps are wilted and soft, about 6 minutes. Add the bay leaf and garlic, stirring for 2 minutes. Add the stock and potatoes and bring the mixture to a boil.Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are very soft and the mixture is thick and creamy, about 1 hour. Remove the soup from the heat. Discard the bay leaf. Slowly add the cream. Stir to blend. It can be served as is, or blended in a blender or food processor.

    Spicy Morel Sauce for Meat and Poultry

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    The odd-looking morel does not have a cap but rather a fruit body about four inches long that is pittted and resembles a honeycomb. Since the darker the mushroom, the stronger the flavor, the morel is prized as one of the strongest mushrooms with its earthy and smoky flavor. It is related to truffles, but far more common. They are spring mushrooms, available fresh from April through June, although specialty markets will have them all year long in the dried form. They are easily rehydrated. Morels are particularly common in the midwest, and a festival is devoted to them in Boyne, Michigan. Since morels have never been successfully cultivated, mushroom lovers depend upon foragers. A word of caution: never eat morels raw, as they contain toxic helvellic acid, which is destroyed by cooking.

    Ingredients

    • 1/4 cup water

    • 1/4 cup sugar

    • 1/4 cup red-wine vinegar

    • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar plus additional to taste

    • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

    • 24 fresh morels (about 1 pound),cleaned and trimmed (or 1 ounce dried morels, soaked, reserving 1/2 cup soaking liquid)

    • 1/3 cup finely chopped shallots

    • 1 teaspoon cayenne

    • 2 cups dry red wine

    • 2 cups chicken stock

     

    Instructions

    In a small heavy saucepan, boil the water with the sugar, without stirring, until a golden caramel color results. Remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the vinegar and balsamic vinegar down the side of the pan. Stir the mixture over moderate heat until the caramel is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.

    In a heavy saucepan cook the morels in butter, stirring, over moderate heat until liquid from morels is evaporated, about 5 minutes. Transfer the morels with a slotted spoon to a bowl and reserve. Add the shallots and the cayenne to the pan and cook, stirring, until golden. Stir in the wine and boil until reduced to about 1 cup, about 15 minutes.

    Add the stock and reserved morel soaking liquid (if using dried morels) and reduce to about 1 1/4 cups, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from heat and stir in caramel mixture. Add the morels to sauce with salt and pepper to taste. You can serve the sauce as is or processed in a blender or food processor.