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Sabroso - Winter2008
TRADITIONS
By Felipa Solis
Photo by Marty Snortum Studio
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Cabbage & Beef Burritos
Made with a Sesame Seed Tortilla
By Anela Borrego
When I was younger, living in the place many would consider the boonies (a super-small town in northern New Mexico) had its advantages. Since the closest grocery was almost 40 minutes away much of the food we ate came from our garden, which was totally healthy for us. In addition, many of the dishes that my mom prepared had a unique flare to them, which made each meal exciting and new. My mom used what she had on hand. There was no running out to the store to pick up missing ingredients. She had to be creative.
One of my favorite dishes that resulted from my mom’s creative cooking and our “off the beaten path” living location were these wonderful cabbage and beef burritos wrapped in a sesame seed tortilla. They were, and are, absolutely delicious and they seem to be tastiest on a cold winter day.
Serves 4 to 6
Sesame Seed Tortillas
• 2 cups of white flour
• 1 cup of whole wheat flour
• 1⁄4 cup sesame seed, unhulled
• 1⁄4 cup butter, at room temperature
• 1⁄2 tbsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup warm water
Mix together all dry ingredients: flour, sesame seeds, salt and baking powder. Work in room-temperature butter into the dry mixture. Begin to slowly add warm water (a little at a time). Add water until dough is soft but not too sticky. Divide dough into 1⁄4 cup portions and form them into balls. Roll each ball out into a 6-inch circle. Place rolled-out dough (one at a time) onto a dry, hot skillet; slightly brown on each side. Set tortillas aside in a warm cloth.
Cabbage & Beef Mixture
• 1 medium cabbage, shredded
• 1⁄2 tbsp butter
• 1⁄2 tbsp olive oil
• 1⁄2 cup beef stock
• 1⁄2 lb hamburger meat
• 1 fresh ear of white corn, kernels shaved off
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 garlic glove, diced
• 1 stem cilantro (leaves only)
• 1 large carrot, diced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Pinch of basil
• Pinch of wild celery
In medium skillet, brown hamburger meat.
In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, sauté onions and garlic with butter and olive oil. Once the onions and garlic are caramelized, add in carrots, corn and cabbage; season with cilantro leaves, salt, pepper, basil and wild celery. Add beef stock (just enough cover the bottom of the pan). Cover and allow vegetables to steam. Once cabbage is wilted, remove from heat and drain any additional liquid.
Take cabbage mixture and wrap in sesame seed tortilla.
Chile Relleno Casserole
By Jenna Frosch
A tradition is something that is passed down from generation to generation by word of mouth, including actions, statements, information, legends, beliefs, customs, etc. The Frosch family tradition for the holidays is not so much a tradition, but a settlement. You see, I never liked chile when I was a kid (I know, I know…ridiculous), so on Christmas Eve, while everyone was eating Green Chile Enchiladas and Chile Relleno Casserole, there would be a pot of Sloppy Joes on the stove just for me. Since I have grown up a little, I enjoy the green chile dishes present during the holidays, and yet those Sloppy Joes are still a part of our tradition.
Serves 8
• 1 large can green chile (or 12 oz fresh, whole green chile)
• 11⁄2 lbs ground beef
• 1 lb grated cheese
• 1 medium-sized onion
• 11⁄2 to 2 cups milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 tbsp flour
• Pepper
Brown the hamburger meat in a pan. Chop onion into fine pieces and set aside. Spray a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray, then layer green chile, hamburger, onion and cheese. Repeat layers until all the ingredients are gone. Mix the milk, eggs, flour and a dash of pepper together and pour over the chile layers. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until set.
Pizza
By Jeff Becker
I learned pizza from Italians. Real Italians. The kind that not only thought less of people that didn’t make their own tomato sauce (much, much less), but were so thoroughly repulsed by the idea that to do so was to cause them intense physical pain. It was summer, and I was interning in the North End of Boston. A friend had generously offered to let me stay with her Italian-Armenian family, and that is where I met Noni. All four-feet-something of her, with white hair, sharp eyes and a no nonsense attitude. “Noni,” in Italian, means grandmother and when this Noni saw me—a tall and skinny dope from New Mexico—she made it her personal mission to fatten me up to a respectable size. Of all the women that have taken on this challenge—she was the most successful. Every time she showed up, she had at least three or four full meals under tinfoil in the backseat of her car —all that had been made earlier that day. Pasta dough seemed to fit perfectly into the crook of her palm. From what I could tell she just cooked all day, and I loved her for it. She was everything a grandmother should be—and lived up to the name “Noni” well.
Serves 2 to 3
Pizza is simple. Here’s what Noni taught me: Don’t roll out your dough, and (for the love of your mother) use your own sauce. Easier said than done right? Here’s my advice, first, make a dough. Let it rest overnight. Take it out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature when you are ready to use it. Flour your hands and pull off a ball slightly larger than a baseball. Slap it from palm to palm to shape it into a disk, stretching it out from the center as you go. Stretch, do not roll, because rolling toughens the dough. Once it is too large to handle, throw the dough onto a pizza sheet and, using your finger tips, poke, press and stretch the dough until from the center out until it is as thin as possible. Put some homemade sauce on it, cover with slices of fresh buffalo mozzarella and cut basil leaves and you are in business. Bake it for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned and crispy. Serve with garlic powder and crushed red pepper. Trust me, though, no matter what you do to it, your pizza will never be as good as Noni’s.
Green Chile Chowder
By Kelly Jameson
This recipe was modified from a potato soup served at one of El Paso’s most popular restaurants. It takes a few extra steps, but the end result is nothing short of palate-pleasing perfection. This version adds a few more ingredients to make it a little more colorful. I’ve made it my way many times, and each time I make a little more. You rarely have leftovers, but if you do, it freezes well and would make for a perfect winter appetizer. For the avid Aggie or Miner fan, it is a tailgating staple food!
Serves 8
• 1⁄2 fresh jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 1⁄4 cup fresh long green chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into 1⁄2 - inch cubes
• 11⁄2 cups sweet corn kernels (can also be frozen or canned with juice strained)
• 1⁄2 tsp seasoned salt
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1⁄4 cup margarine
• 1⁄4 cup flour
• 1⁄2 cup milk
• 1⁄2 cup Half and Half
• shredded Monterey jack cheese
• slightly crushed tortilla strips
• sliced green onion
In a large Dutch oven, boil chicken stock and seasoned salt. In a mixing bowl, blend together jalapeno, green chile, onion and potatoes. Add to chicken stock and simmer for about 20 minutes. Melt margarine over low heat and add flour to make a blonde roux. Strain liquid from potato mixture and reserve 3 cups cooking liquid. Divide potato mixture in half; mash together one half and reserve the other half. Stir reserved cooking liquid into roux, raise heat and stir with a wire whisk until thickened. Add milk to thickened roux and continue to stir until it comes to a boil. Turn off heat immediately. Add mashed potato and chile mixture and blend well. Add cubed potatoes and chile and serve in warmed bowls. For garnish, add crushed corn tortilla strips, shredded Monterey jack cheese and green onion.
Mom’s 5th Generation
Buttermilk Biscuits
By Kelly Jameson
Some of my fondest childhood memories come from my Grandma’s kitchen, but when it came time to learn how to make biscuits, I studied from the master: my mother-in-law, Dolly.
These biscuits are what our Sunday morning breakfasts are made of, and they’re some of the best you’ll ever put in your mouth. Personally, I think they’re just perfect in their raw form! The original recipe is more than 100 years old, and is a testament that simplicity in the kitchen is where good taste starts. With only four real ingredients, how simpler could it be?
• 21⁄2 cups sifted self-rising flour
• 2 tbsp baking powder, heaping
• 1⁄2 cup water
• 1⁄2 cup buttermilk
• 2 tsp salt
• bacon drippings (about 1⁄2 cup)
Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Pour bacon drippings into a cast-iron skillet or glass baking dish and place in oven to warm.
In a large bowl, form a well with the flour. Slowly add remaining ingredients and blend with a spoon until dough is firm and sticky. Turn out onto a floured surface (my mother- in-law uses newspaper because it provides for an easy clean-up) and pat into a circle. With a biscuit cutter or glass, cut biscuits out starting from the outside edge. Coat each biscuit in bacon drippings and arrange in the skillet or dish. Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes until golden brown on top.
Mom’s Noodles
By Jillian Mills
There are few things we cherish more than pleasant childhood memories. One memory I have is when I’d go sailing through the kitchen only to discover that Mom was making homemade noodles. I’d eye the floured countertop and keep going (very nonchalantly, naturally) already devising my secret plan to extract a few of them in their raw state without her knowledge. With the “Mission Impossible” theme song running through my mind, I felt ready for the task. Sneaking in behind her, I knew that she always somehow had a few that strayed to the portion of the counter I could actually reach and if I was quiet and clever enough I could slip my hand up and make my escape without her being any the wiser. Joyously, I would devour them in the next room – the evidence of my crime obvious in the flour that powdered my fingers and face. (It wasn’t until I was older that I realized Mom put those “strays” out where I could reach them purposefully.)
Basic noodle recipes are very simple, but don’t be fooled, once you’ve tried them, you’ll likely never look at packaged, dry noodles the same way again.
• 2 cups of flour
• 2 eggs
• Pinch of salt
Mix flour and salt very well. (This is important so you won’t end up with some noodles lacking flavor and others terribly salty.) Put flour/salt mixture on clean surface in a mound or dome. Make a hole in the center of mixture. Crack eggs into hole and begin gently swirling your finger so that you are incorporating flour gradually with every turn. Once fully incorporated, you will have a ball of dough. If dough is too dry, add warm water, a tablespoon at a time. Knead gently for 1 to 2 minutes. Roll out dough to desired thickness. Use a pasta cutter, pizza cutter or knife to create the desired width of your noodles. Leave noodles to dry on counter (tossing occasionally and sprinkling with flour to prevent sticking) for approximately 1 to 2 hours. Voilá…homemade noodles!
** Noodles can be added to chicken broth or water to cook or added directly to soup. Note: Noodles added to soups will tend to thicken soup some due to flour.
** For uniformity in noodles, opt for a pasta machine or a pasta roller and cutter attachment for a stand mixer. If you are not that exacting, (and who holds up noodles for comparison anyway?) a rolling pin along with a kitchen knife or pizza cutter work well.
Grandma's Peach Cobbler
By Charlotte Tallman
I'm not a fan of cobbler, but the one my grandma made while she was alive and my mom now makes is excellent, and it's always made with peaches just picked off the tree in the backyard. My grandma would have us grandkids churn ice cream to put over it, too - which immediately melted on the just-out-of-the-oven cobbler.
Cobbler crust
Sift together 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 11⁄2 teaspoon baking powder, and 1⁄4 teaspoon salt. Cut in 1⁄4 cup butter untill mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine 1⁄4 to 2⁄4 cup milk and 1 beaten egg. Add to dry mixture, until moistened.
Combine 11⁄2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1⁄4 ground mace, 1⁄2 cup brown sugar, 1⁄2 cup water in saucepan. Cook and stir until thickened. Add 4 cups sliced peaches, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 2 tablespoons butter plus a dash of love. Cook until peaches are hot, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Pour filling into a 12-inch by 6-inch baking dish, or around that size. Spoon topping on top.
Bake at 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.
Great with ice cream on top. |
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