Happy Cinco de Mayo all! I love any excuse to eat Mexican food. Recently when Joe and I were in Kauai we walked over to a little restaurant called Monico’s Taqueria where we shared a plate of Steak Nachos. It was a simple nacho platter with spicy marinated steak and melted cheese with Chile de Arbol salsa on the side. After 2 weeks of Hawaiian food I was having withdrawal pangs for Mexican food and for me this was heaven on a plate. The arbol salsa goes perfectly with steak but I wanted more options. So I added some more toppings which I hope you will enjoy.
Barbecue is taken very seriously where we live. Kansas City is famous for it’s barbecue and there are plenty of great places to choose from if you’re ever in the area. Our favorite is Oklahoma Joe’s, they have the absolute best burnt ends on this earth and no I don’t have a clue how they do it. Any day of the week you could expect to stand in a long line running out the door just to get some of these tasty smoked meats. By no means do I claim to be an expert on barbecue but I do love to eat it. I would describe our KC barbecue sauce as a sweet heat. It’s a bit on the spicy side with sweet tones behind it. Just recently we watched Anthony Bordain “No Reservations” Kansas City and on this episode he ate barbecue at many of the local favorites. Joe and I sat there and drooled as they ate burnt ends, ribs, pulled pork and brisket. I tell you, I wanted barbecue so bad I could hardly stand it. I went to the freezer and pulled out a pork shoulder roast to thaw and the next day set about getting a dry rub, marinade and sauce ready for a pulled pork roast. I slow cooked it for an entire day and as the hours passed by the aroma became intoxicating. Every couple hours I would take a big fork and turn the roast over and when 8 hours had passed, the fork went in and the roast fell apart.
Sometimes you just need comfort food and for my youngest son Cameron, these enchiladas remain his favorite. When my boys were little I would make up a special batch for them without the green chile because I thought it would be too hot for them. Well, Cameron spoke up one day and said where’s the green chile in my enchilada, I want chile too! Knowing that he couldn’t handle the heat of the chile, I switched out a can of Cream of Chicken for a Cream of Celery and after that the bits of celery became “green chile”. He was happy and ate every bite. Now he’s all grown up and is a “chile addict” just like the rest of us but he still asks for the Chicken Enchiladas with “the soup”. So since he’s having a birthday in a few days and just because he’s my baby I’m going to make his favorite enchiladas. This one’s for you Cam!
The Tomato Mozzarella Salad is sometimes known as a Caprese Salad or Margherita Salad. Doesn’t matter what you call it, it’s one of the freshest and appetizing salads around. I’m tempted to pick up a fresh mozzarella ball every time I see cherry or grape tomatoes on sale. I could eat it with a slice of toasted french bread and be happy. But my guys love it too so I usually make it a side salad with our meal.
I’ve been in the mood for something sweet, something citrussy, something lemony. As I was looking for ideas and going through my recipe files I found a recipe for Lemon Pound Cake. Lemons in the springtime, it was just what I was looking for. A really moist lemony pound cake dripping with glaze that would taste oh so good any time of day. But there was one more thing that would make this cake even better. Some sliced strawberries!
I admit it, I have a problem. I have an addiction to all things spice and have collected an increasing number of jars and bags of spices that overwhelm my pantry. I just can’t seem to help myself. Every so often I have to reorganize the pantry so that I can make a little more space for my obsession. Well, I decided that a little Spring cleaning was in order so I set out to reorganize my pantry. What a job! I have a small kitchen and need every little bit of space so we converted the laundry room that was in the kitchen to a pantry. Joe put in shelves and racks and a cart just to hold all my small kitchen appliances, pantry foods and spices. So I set off on my mission . . .
Poblano Chiles are a great pepper to stuff. Their size and shape enable you to stuff them with almost anything. They have a mild taste and a meaty texture that will hold all that goodness inside. I like to bake them with with a creamy cheese filling, grilled chicken with corn salsa over top. And for a little added crunch I coat them with a bread crumb coating. Sometimes I go vegetarian and switch out the grilled chicken for black beans. It takes a little prep work but it’s so worth it when you taste all the flavors going on inside this poblano chile.
Like many families we love making deviled eggs for Easter. Long gone are the days when my boys were little and they would dip their eggs into the cups of pastel colored water. They would decorate the eggs while I took pictures and after awhile we would peel those beautiful eggs and devil them. So every year at this time I boil the eggs and remember. Our favorite is a simple classic recipe that you find in a lot of recipe books. I wouldn’t dare mess with the recipe because it’s become tradition with our Easter holiday. You might want to double the recipe though, they don’t last very long.
Did any of you notice the Tex Mex Sloppy Joe Sandwich posted by “The Homesick Texan” a few weeks ago? The photo alone made my mouth water. Most Sloppy Joes are ketchup based and sweetened with brown sugar but this Joe was put together with a tomato sauce that was more spicy than sweet. I altered the spices and changed up the chile a bit to give it a more New Mexican flare. I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed the flavors we experienced eating this savory sandwich.
I just spent a week in my Native New Mexico. It was a memorable week spent with family on the farm with a side trip to visit my sister Kat. Being surrounded by guys every day, it was so much fun spending time with the girls. We had two days of shopping, talking and eating great food. Leading up to the trip, I was reminiscing about my Mom’s cobbler. She doesn’t make it as often these days but in my memories her fruit cobblers were the absolute best. My favorite recipe is from an old cookbook by the Progressive Farmer. It’s so versatile in that you can use almost any fruit, fresh or frozen, and it turns out great. I had peaches and blackberries in the freezer which turned out to be a perfect combination. The topping is unusual in the making but I know you’ll love the results. Just don’t count any calories, that would spoil all the fun!
An Inspired Cook 