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Guacamole
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3
ripe avocados
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1
medium ripe tomato, finely chopped
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2
Tbls fresh, finely chopped cilantro (or 1 tsp dried)
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1
fresh jalapeno chopped (or canned chopped jalapeno to taste)
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1
sweet red onion chopped fine
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Juice
of one lemon
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1
tsp. salt or to taste
As
with fine Chinese cooking, Mexican cooking by Marco and Maria Sanchez
is "by feel, by texture and by taste." In Mexican homes, this flavorful
guacamole is made with a volcanic rock mortar and pestle called a
molcajete y tejolote. The ingredients are finely chopped, then ground
together into a rough paste with the salt and lemon in the molcajete.
The avocados are cut in half, scooped out and added last.
Since most households north of the border don't have volcanic mortars,
you can use a food processor, starting with the onions and tomatoes
and being very careful to pulse only a few times. Do not overprocess
the tomato and onion. It will get watery and not blend well. Mash
the ripe avocados with the back of a spoon and pulse only once to
incorporate. This version of guacamole is more like a thick salad
than a puree. It should be lumpy and crunchy. Serve with chips or
warm corn tortillas or as a side dish or garnish.
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Sopa
Seco De Fideos (Noodle soup)
Break
the spaghetti into two inch lengths, or roll the fideos with a rolling
pin. Sauté the onion and red pepper in olive oil for four minutes,
then add fideos and sauté another two minutes. Add beef broth and
salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until the pasta is al dente, as we
say in Italian.
This "dry" soup is often served as a side dish, an accompaniment to
a meat or fish dish with the broth all but absorbed by the pasta.
Maria likes to serve her dry soups with lots of broth as real soup,
so she uses more broth and sometimes adds a cup of corn or some chunks
of avocado for elegance.
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Queso
and Refried Bean Quesadilla (Mexican Pizza)
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4
flour tortillas
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1
can refried beans
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8
oz. California Jack with or without jalapenos, or a string cheese
shredded
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1
Tbl. butter
-
1/4
cup pitted black olives sliced (optional)
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2
Tbls finely chopped onions (optional)
Grease
two cookie sheets just a little. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sauté
refried beans in the butter in a frying pan until hot and slightly
crusty on the bottom. To assemble, sprinkle tortillas with water.
Put two tortillas on greased cookie sheets. Spread refried beans on
the tortillas, sprinkle with the cheese (and black olives and onion
if desired), put second tortilla on top of the mixture and press to
make a sandwich. Bake in the oven for ten to fifteen minutes until
cheese is melted and quesadillas are crispy. They can also be fried
in a frying pan, but Maria uses the low fat method. Cut in wedges
like a pizza.
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Camarones
con Limon (Lime Shrimp)
-
1
lb. shrimp peeled and deveined
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Sea
salt and pepper to taste
-
1/3
cup lime juice
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1
sweet onion sliced
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2
medium tomatoes broiled
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1
crushed, then chopped, garlic clove
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4
Tbls olive oil
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1/4
tsp. oregano
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1
sweet red pepper, sliced
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1
fresh hot pepper (optional)
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1/4
cup white wine
Marinate
shrimps in sea salt, pepper, and lime juice for 30 minutes. At the
same time, broil the tomatoes until soft in a toaster oven or under
the broiler for a grilled taste. In a large frying pan, sauté the
onion, garlic, and peppers in the olive oil for five or six minutes.
Chop the tomatoes in a blender. Add the shrimps to the frying pan,
and sauté only for a few seconds to brown, then add the tomatoes,
oregano, marinating juices and wine and
cook only long enough to marry tastes. The shrimp will be dry if they're
overcooked.
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Skirt
Steak Fajitas (with soy sauce, the Chinese way)
Accompaniments:
Cross
slice the steak into four sections, then slice steak into strips one
inch thick. Marinate the strips in the lime juice, olive oil, soy
sauce, garlic, cumin and pepper to taste for several hours or overnight.
The steak strips are then cooked quickly on a very hot griddle or
non stick fry pan. The steak should be pink and succulent.
Mound on a platter and serve with warmed tortillas and other accompaniments.
Fajitas are eaten with the sliced steak, onion, avocado, scallions,
sour cream and tomato folded inside. Add salsa for extra heat.
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Flan
(Traditional style, the way Maria likes it)
(This is traditional but not absolutely necessary. You can reduce
to two or three egg yolks if cholesterol is a concern. The custard
will not be as thick, but still delicious nonetheless.)
A traditional flan is made in a mold, then removed and served on a
cake plate with lots of syrup on top. The restaurant way is to bake
each serving in individual white porcelain ovenproof cups. The cooking
method is the same for both.
Melt 3/4 cup sugar in a saucepan, tipping the pan to distribute heat.
Let the sugar bubble and become dark and caramelize. Before it hardens,
quickly pour into one oven-safe mold or six to eight small ones, and
distribute the caramelized sugar evenly to cover the whole bottom
of the cups.
In a saucepan, heat milk, salt, remaining sugar, vanilla bean or cinnamon
stick, and lime rind. Bring the milk to a gentle simmer, being careful
not to burn the bottom of the pan or let it boil over. Simmer for
a few minutes until reduced by 3/4 cup. Cool to room temperature and
discard rind and vanilla bean. Beat the eggs and egg yolks, and add
to cooled milk. If the milk wasn't boiled with a vanilla bean, add
the vanilla extract. Strain and
pour into cups.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and improvise a bath for the flan.
For small cups, use cake pans and fill so that hot water reaches 2/3
of the way to the top of the cups. The flan must bake in the oven
in water to make a proper custard. Check a single mold after an hour.
For one cup flans, check after 30 minutes. When a knife is inserted
and comes out clean, the flan is done. Take it out of the oven.
Leave the flan the bath for twenty minutes until the water is cool.
Wait for several hours before unmolding. To unmold, cut around the
edge with a knife and invert on a plate. Or serve in the cup and let
the syrup be a surprise.
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