Archive for the ‘Holiday Cooking’ Category

So, yesterday was Cinco de Mayo.  This is the holiday held on May 5th that commemorates the Mexican army’s unlikely victory over French forces.  The 5th of May is also when I commemorate my unlikely victory over the Marlboro Army… See, as of yesterday, I have been a non-smoker for 5 years.  Viva me!

I really love Mexican food. I grew up just 10 miles from the Mexican border, where you can’t go for more than a few blocks without finding a  Mexican restaurant or a taco shop. You could find me many a late night ordering a Carne Asada burrito.   Now I live in the Midwest.  People here often ask me what I miss about living in CA. Well, family is always right there at the top of the list, of course….but, a real close second would have to be authentic Mexican food.

So, in celebration of Mexico’s victory over the French and mine over the Marlboro Army, here is what we had as a victory dinner….

I hope you enjoy…  Home Chef Mark
Recipes for the shredded chicken, refried black beans and grilled corn salsa follow the pictures…

Grilled Corn and Salsa (makes 3 cups):

• 2 ears of corn, husked
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• salt
• 1 small red onion, finely diced
• 1 small jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed and finely diced
• 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin

Preparation:
Preheat a grill pan or your. Brush corn with 1 tablespoon of oil and season with salt. Place on grill and cook until lightly browned on all sides, about 8 minutes. Remove from grill and let it cool. Then hold the ear of corn upright in a bowl and cut the kernels from the cob. Add remaining ingredients to the bowl and stir to combine.  Let chill for 30min

For the Mexican Black Beans

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 large jalapeno, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can vegetable  broth
• fresh lime juice
• fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 cup monterey jack cheese

Preparation:
Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat.

Add garlic, jalapeno and cumin and sauté 30 seconds.

Add beans and broth and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Coarsely mash beans with potato masher.

Continue boiling until thick, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with lime juice, salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Mexican Shredded Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2-3lbs of shredded chicken
• 1 (4 ounce) can tomato sauce
• ¼ cup salsa
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Preparation:
In a medium sauce pan add chicken breasts and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil; add salsa, seasonings, garlic and chili powder. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 -30minutes.

 

 

Well, my official Christmas season is underway today.  We have started rolling out and punching out sugar cookies, one of our most favorite Christmas eatable items.  I like to get everyone involved in the making of my sugar cookies, and I do mean everyone.  Of course Garrett is ready to help, and with a little and I do mean very little persuading Chelsea is happy to help too.

What looks like flour on the counter top, is actully powdered sugar.  Powdered sugar is really great to use when rolling out a sweet dough–it helps from drying out the dough as you roll it out over and over.

Remember to turn your cookie sheet 180° about half through the bake.  These were finishing at about 8 minutes, so I turned them at the 4 minute mark. Remove them from the oven just as the edges begin to brown.  Let them sit on the cookie sheet for 2 minutes and then place them on the cooling rack.

As I mentioned above, I like to get everyone involved in making my Christmas sugar cookies.  The tradition at my house is in order to get your Christmas dinner you must first paint at least 3 cookies. I choose 3 so you can take two of them home to leave out for Santa, and one to stay at my house to fill my cookie platter. These cookies won’t get painted till Christmas Eve.  So, I will post the pictures of these cookies probably  on Christmas day.  Till then, please enjoy a few shots of Christmas past…