Perfect Guacamole

Ingredients
2 ripe avocados
1/2 red onion, minced (about 1/2 cup)
1-2 serrano chiles, stems and seeds
removed, minced
2 tablespoons cilantro leaves, fnely
chopped
1 tablespoon of fresh lime or lemon
juice
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
dash of freshly grated blac! pepper
1/2 ripe tomato, seeds and pulp removed, chopped
"arnish #ith red radishes or jicama$ %erve #ith tortilla chips$
&ethod
1$ 'ut avocados in half$ (emove seed$ %coop out avacado from the peel,
put in a mi)ing bo#l$ (%ee *o# to 'ut and +eel an vocado$)
2$ ,sing a for!, mash the avocado$ dd the chopped onion, cilantro,
lime or lemon, salt and pepper and mash some more$ 'hili peppers
vary individually in their hotness$ %o, start #ith a half of one chili
pepper and add to the guacamole to your desired degree of hotness$
-e careful handling the peppers. #ash your hands thoroughly after
handling and do not touch your eyes or the area near your eyes #ith
your hands for several hours$
/eep the tomatoes separate until ready to serve$
(emember that much of this is done to taste because of the
variability in the fresh ingredients$ %tart #ith this recipe and adjust to
your taste$
0$ 'over #ith plastic #rap directly on the surface of the guacamole to
prevent o)idation from the air reaching it$ (efrigerate until ready$
1$ 2ust before serving, add the chopped tomato to the guacamole and
mi)$
3ariations
4or a very 5uic! guacamole just ta!e a 1/1 cup of salsa and mi) it in #ith
your mashed avocados$ 6ou don7t need to have tomatoes in your
guacamole$
8o e)tend a limited supply of avocados, add either sour cream or cottage
cheese to your guacamole dip$ +urists may be horrifed, but so #hat9 It
tastes great$ In fact, guacamole #ith a little cottage cheese added to it is
my favorite$
6ield: %erves 2-1$
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How to Cut and Peel an Avocado
&ethod
1$ "rip the avocado
gently on one side #ith
one hand$ ;ith a large,
sharp !nife in the other
hand, cut the avocado
length#ise around the
seed$ <pen the t#o
halves to e)pose the pit$
2a$ t this point there are
a fe# #ays you can
proceed to remove the
pit from the avocado half
that has the pit$ <ne #ay
is to ma!e another cut,
length#ise on the
avocado half that has the
pit, cutting around the
pit, e)posing it so that it
is easier to remove$ 6ou
can also use a spoon to
scoop out the pit$
2b$ nother method is a
bit tric!y, as you7ll see$
8his method is very
popular, but you must be
careful lest you cut your
hand$ 4or safety, fold up
a !itchen to#el and use
that to hold the avocado
half #ith the pit$ "ently
tap the pit #ith a !nife
#ith enough force so that
the !nife edge #edges
into the pit, but not so
hard as to cut all the #ay
through it$ I generally just
tap it very gently a fe#
times, each #ith
increasing pressure, until
a cut is made in the pit
su=ciently to t#ist the
pit out$ "etting the
pressure just right ta!es
a little practice$
;ith the edge of the
!nife, t#ist the pit out of
the avocado and discard$
0a t this point, you can
either scoop out the
avocado >esh #ith a
spoon (for ma!ing
guacamole), or slice the
avocado into segments$
8o ma!e it more easy to
scoop out the avocado
>esh, ta!e a small dinner
!nife and gently ma!e
cuts in the avocado >esh
in a cross-hatch pattern,
careful not to brea!
through the avocado
peel$ 8hen use a spoon to
easily scoop out the
avocado pieces$ If you
are ma!ing guacamole,
don7t #orry about slightly
discoloured or bro#nish
sections$ %coop them up
#ith the rest of the
avocado to mash$
0b$ 8o ma!e avocado
slices, use a !nife to slice
the inside of the avocado
halves into sections$
?on7t #orry if you cut
right through the peel$
1$ ,se your fngers to
separate the avocado
segments from the peel$
Mom's Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients
1 small onion, chopped (about a
cup)
3egetable oil - grapeseed or olive
2 small cloves garlic, minced
1 11$@-ounce can tomatoes,
preferably fre-roasted if you can
get it
2 8bsp red chili po#der
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup to a cup of #ater
12 corn tortillas
"rapeseed oil, peanut oil or canola oil - a high smo!e point vegetable oil
2-0 cups of coo!ed chic!en, shredded or chopped
%alt
2 cups grated cheese (about 1/0 lb)
Method
1$ +reheat the oven to 0@AB4$
2$ +repare the sauce$ 'oat a large s!illet #ith oil and sautC the onions on
medium heat until translucent, a fe# minutes$ dd the garlic for a minute
more$ ;hile the onions are coo!ing, purCe the canned tomatoes in a
blender$ dd the tomatoes to the onions and garlic$ -ring to a lo# simmer$
%tart adding the chili po#der, one teaspoon at a time, tasting after each
addition, until you get to the desired level of heat and chili >avor$ 4or us
that7s around 2 8ablespoons$ -ut it depends on your taste and ho# strong
the chili po#der is that you are using$ Dote that the tortillas and chic!en
#ill absorb some of the heat, so allo# for that and let it be a little bit
spicier than #hat you #ant in the fnished dish$ dd a teaspoon of sugar if
necessary to cut do#n on the acid from the tomatoes$ 6ou #ant more of
the taste of the chili and less of the tomatoes for this sauce$ s the sauce
simmers, dilute it #ith #ater to !eep it from getting too thic! as it
simmers$ (emove from heat$
lternatively, use a prepared canned enchilada sauce, #hich can be
perfectly fne$
0$ &i) in 1/1 cup of the sauce #ith the coo!ed chic!en, and a 1/1 cup of
the cheese$ %prin!le #ith a little salt$ %et aside$
1$ +repare the tortillas$ 8here are 2 basic #ays to prepare the tortillas - the
traditional #ay of dipping them in the sauce and heating them
individually, and my mom7s #ay #hen she is trying to cut do#n on the fat$
4irst the traditional #ay$ *eat a small light s!illet on med-high heat$ dd a
teaspoon of oil (high smo!e point oil as indicated above, #e use
grapeseed oil) to coat the pan$ ?ip a tortilla in the sauce to coat the
tortilla #ith sauce on both sides$ +lace the tortilla in the s!illet and heat
for a fe# seconds, until the tortilla begin to sho# some air bubbles$ ,se a
metal spatula to >ip to the other side for a fe# more seconds$ %et aside on
a plate$ (epeat #ith remaining tortillas$ +roceed to the step @$
4or my mom7s lo#-fat method of heating up the tortillas, she places a
small amount of oil in the s!illet to coat the pan$ dd a tortilla, >ip it to its
other side$ 8hen add another tortilla on top of the frst to soa! up some of
the e)cess oil$ 4lip them both together and add yet another tortilla$ /eep
adding them #herever there seems to be some e)cess oil$ 8he idea is to
heat the tortillas and soften them #ith the minimum amount of oil$ s the
tortillas become soft and heated, remove them to a paper to#el to soa!
up even more e)cess oil$ If you fnd you need more oil in the pan, add it$
;ith this method, you do D<8 get the chili >avor infused in the tortillas$ It
is a matter of preference$ I prefer the frst method, e)cess oil or not,
because it has a much richer and spicier >avor$ -ut as my mom says,
Enything goes$ 8his is just a guideline. do #hat you #ant$E
Dote that because #e made this batch the lo#-fat #ay, the follo#ing
photos sho# tortillas not coated in chili sauce, but the method is the same
for if you did$
@$ ssemble the enchiladas$ ,se an F)12 inch pyre) ba!ing dish$ +lace a
couple spoonfuls of the chic!en mi)ture in the center of a tortilla and roll it
up$ +lace in the ba!ing dish and repeat until all doGen of your tortillas are
neatly placed in ro#s in the casserole dish$ 'over the tortillas rolls #ith
the remaining sauce$
%prin!le #ith the remaining grated cheese$ Dote that I recall often eating
these chic!en enchiladas #ith very little cheese on them$ Instead #e had
probably 2/0 cup of chopped fresh onion that had been soa!ed in vinegar
sprin!led over the top$ (&y mom, bless her soul, has no recollection of the
chic!en enchiladas #ithout the sprin!led cheese$ -ut she7s in her HAs and
sometimes doesn7t remember these things$ <r she remembers later and
doesn7t remember that she ever forgot them in the frst place$ -ut hec!,
I7m in my 1As and my memory isn7t #hat it used to be either$)
I$ +lace in the oven and coo! for 1A minutes, or until cheese is bubbly$
,se a metal spatula to serve$
%erve #ith thinly sliced iceberg lettuce that has been seasoned #ith
vinegar and salt (no oil), guacamole or avocado slices, and sour cream$
"arnish #ith cilantro$
%erves 1$
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Pickled Eggs
Ingredients
Beet pickled eggs with cardamom and anise
1 beet, peeled and roughly chopped into 1 to 2-inch sized pieces, cooked*
1 cup beet juice*
1 cup cider vinegar
1/ onion, sliced
1/! cup granulated sugar
! cardamom pods
1 star anise
" hard cooked eggs**, peeled
*Simmer the chopped beets in a cup of water, covered, until tender, 30-40 minutes, or used
canned beets. se the beet !uice from the cooking water, or the !uice from canned beets.
"urried pickled eggs
1 cup cider vinegar
!/ cup #ater
1/ onion, sliced
!/ cup #hite granulated sugar
! cardamom pods
1 teaspoon mustard seeds $yello# or bro#n%
1 &bsp yello# curry po#der
" hard cooked eggs**, peeled
#alapeno pickled eggs
!/ cup cider vinegar
!/ cup #ater
1/2 cup plus 1 &bsp #hite granulated sugar
" cloves
2 jalapeno peppers, sliced in hal' length#ise, seeds removed and discarded
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 bay lea'
1/2 teaspoon dry oregano
1/ onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled
" hard cooked eggs**, peeled
$arragon pickled eggs
!/ cup cider vinegar
!/ cup #ater
1/ onion, sliced
2 sprigs 'resh tarragon
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 cup plus 1 &bsp #hite granulated sugar
1 teaspoon herbs de provence
" hard cooked eggs**, peeled
**Boil or steam the eggs until hard cooked. $o steam the eggs, place in a steamer rack over
boiling water, cover and steam for %0 minutes. &emove from heat and rinse with cold water.
$o boil the eggs, cover with % inches of cold water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, cover,
remove from heat, and let sit for '% minutes, then rinse with cold water. (ard boiling works
best with eggs at least a week old, otherwise the) ma) be difficult to peel. Steaming works
great with fresh eggs.
Method
1 (eel the eggs and place in the bottom o' a clean glass jar, )uart sized.
2 *n a medium saucepan, add the vinegar, #ater $or beet juice i' using%, the onion $and
jalapeno i' using%, sugar, and spices. +ring to a boil and cook, uncovered, until the sugar has
dissolved and the onions are translucent, about , minutes. -emove 'rom heat and let cool a
'e# minutes.
(our the vinegar onion mi.ture over the eggs in the jar, covering the eggs completely. *'
you are making the beet pickled eggs, place some or all o' the cooked beets in #ith the eggs
in the jar $this #ill help to bring color to the eggs, and you #ill have pickled beets as #ell.%
/ecure close the jar0s cover. -e'rigerate up to a month.
&he pickled eggs #ill be ready to eat a'ter a 'e# days. &he longer the eggs sit in the pickling
juice, the more the pickling juice #ill penetrate the eggs.
!ield" 1akes si. pickled eggs.
Chori#o $ausage
Prep Time: 20 mins
Total Time: 20 mins
Yield: 2 pounds
About This Recipe
"Chorizo is a chile-garlic flavored sausage much loved in Mexico and the American Southwest, ut
most of the commerciall!-availale "inds are made with eef !products #such as salivar! glands$ that
don%t appeal to man! fol"s& 'ere%s a great recipe that uses ground por", instead& (t is a fresh sausage,
so coo" it thoroughl!& (t%s highl! flavored, so a little goes a long wa!& (t is convenient if it is wrapped
and frozen in small pac"ages& Chorizo can e used in man! wa!s) *or rea"fast, saute it and add to
scramled eggs& *r! up some chorizo and add some eans and spices, or grits or potatoes& Add it
coo"ed to !our urrito or taco fillings& (t also is good to add coo"ed to a red chile sauce, stew, or an!
other dishes !ou%d li"e to have a nice Mexican flavor&"
Ingredients
2 ls ground por"
+ large dried ,ew Mexico chiles #Chile Colorin$ or + large mild red chilies # aout +&--inches$
. small dried chile de arol #Chile deArol$ or . small chilies, according to how hot spic! !ou
want !our chorizo
/0. cup oiling water
1 cloves garlic, minced
2 talespoons dr! oregano leaves
2 teaspoons ground cumin
/ teaspoon fresh ground lac" pepper
/ teaspoon dar" rown sugar
. talespoons cider vinegar
2 talespoons te2uila
+ /02 teaspoons salt
Directions
/& 3rea" the colorin chiles into + pieces, and put them and the deArol peppers in a owl&
2& 4our the oiling water over them and let them sit until the!%re re-h!drated and soft&
+& 4lace the re-h!drated chiles together with the li2uid into a food processor and add the garlic,
oregano, cumin, lac" pepper, sugar, vinegar, te2uila, and salt, and process until the mixture
is smooth&
.& 4lace ground por" and the li2uid mixture into a sturd! electric mixer #such as a 5itchenAid$
and mix well&
-& 6hen secured in a sealed container, this chorizo "eeps well in the refrigerator for a couple of
wee"s& ( usuall! let it sit in the fridge for a couple of da!s to let the flavors meld, then divide it
into smaller portions of + to . ounces #that%s aout two servings$ and freeze it& (f !ou have
casings, !ou can also stuff it into those and smo"e it - ver! tast!)
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