Homemade Hamburger/Sandwich Buns

I thought about naming this post” Check out My Buns”, but I’d rather you check out Elvis’ buns. Did you ever see him in leather pants?




By now you’re wondering what my hamburger buns and Elvis have in common. Well, last Friday would have been Elvis’ 75th birthday. Everyone who knew about Elvis knew he loved to eat. One of his favorite meals was a cheeseburger and home fried potatoes. Bob and I decided that is what we would have for dinner. It was going well until I realized I didn’t have any hamburger buns. So, I made some. No, I didn’t take pictures of my cheeseburgers or potatoes. You’ll just have to use your imagination for that. But I did want to share “my buns” with you. Bob’s been using them for sandwiches for his lunch. They really are very good.

I wonder what Elvis would like in leather pants at 75?

Enjoy!


Homemade Hamburger Bun Recipe

http://breads-muffins.suite101.com/article.cfm/homemade_hamburger_bun_recipe



Ingredients for the Dough:

4 1/2 cups all purpose or bread flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
5 tablespoons butter, soft or melted
1 tablespoon yeast (dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water)
1 1/4 cup warm milk

Additional Ingredients:

Flour for kneading
Vegetable oil, for greasing the bowl and baking pan.
Egg wash made from one egg and one tablespoon milk (optional)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil or melted butter, for brushing on the hamburger buns

To Make the Dough:

Blend the flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Add the butter, yeast mixture and milk, and mix by hand to form dough. Knead five minutes with an electric mixer with dough hook, or turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for seven to nine minutes by hand.

As the dough kneads, add small amounts of additional flour or warm water as necessary to achieve a dough that is light and slightly sticky.

When the dough has been kneaded until smooth, transfer it to a greased bowl and turn over the dough once to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with a towel, and leave the hamburger roll dough to rise until doubled in bulk, about one to one-and-a-half hours.


Shape and Bake the Hamburger Buns:

Turn the dough out of the bowl and divide it into 12 portions. Shape each portion into a smooth ball and place the dough on a greased baking sheet. Lightly pat the tops of the balls of dough to flatten them slightly.

Cover the tray with a towel, and leave the dough to rise again for another hour to hour-and-a-half.

Preheat an oven to 425° F (220° C). If garnishing the hamburger buns with sesame seeds, brush the rolls with the egg wash and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Bake the hamburger rolls until rich golden brown, about 20 minutes. Immediately upon removing the rolls from the oven, brush their tops lightly with melted butter or vegetable oil.

Transfer the sandwich rolls to a rack and cover them loosely with a towel to trap steam and keep the crust soft as they cool. Store thoroughly cooled rolls in a plastic container or plastic Ziploc bag. Freeze any rolls which won't be used within a day

I Love Sweet Potatoes

It's the same every Thanksgiving holiday. How am I going to prepare the sweet potatoes this time? I've mashed, served sweetened with marshmallows, savory with red chile, served baked - whole- with a little butter. This year I wanted to make this delicious recipe I found in the FOOD Everyday magazine, November issue. Bourbon Sweet Potatoes. Super easy recipe and the most tasty sweet potatoes I've had in along time.

Look at these luscious wedges dripping in a decadent sauce of brown sugar, bourbon and butter. Who could resist? Check out the simple recipe.


Bourbon Sweet Potatoes
(from the FOOD Everyday magazine, Nov. 2009)

3 ½ pounds sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch wedges
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons bourbon
Course salt and ground pepper
3 tablespoons butter, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Arrange sweet potato wedges in a 9 X `13 inch baking dish.
Add sugar and bourbon and toss to combine; season with salt and pepper.
Bake until sweet potatoes are tender and glazed, 1 to 1 ½ hours, tossing every 30 minutes.
Stir in butter before serving. Makes 8 servings.

Doesn't get any simpler than that. Of course, if you want to make something a little more dramatic, there is a recipe I prepared last year for our Left-Over Queen's tribute to Ovarian Cancer Research. Orange Sweet Potato in Red Chile Sauce.

This recipe is red-hot with red chile sauce. The combination of the spiciness of the chiles with the sweetness of the oranges makes this recipe keeper. If you would like to see the recipe, please follow this link (it's a post from 2008).

Now that we're on the idea of bourbon, check back in a couple of day when I post several cocktail recipes that you can keep on hand for celebrating with friends and family. Hasta Luego.

Pulled Pork (the crockpot method)

The mightly El Paso winds have been blowing, so there will be no barbecuing over the coals today. BUT that doesn't mean we can't enjoy a delicious BBQ meal. We're in the mood for BBQ Pulled Pork sandwiches so I'll just make it indoors..in the crockpot. I'm not saying that I wouldn't have preferred the smoked pork, but sometimes we just have to adjust.

We topped off our sandwiches with some Pineapple Slaw and had a Watermelon Margarita and our meal was complete. So, if you can't cook outdoors, adjust your thinking and BBQ indoors. A crockpot, a grill pan, the oven. Nothing should keep you from enjoying a great BBQ - not even the weather. Enjoy.

Pulled Pork (the crock pot method)
Makes 10 servings.

3 pounds boneless pork shoulder roast, well trimmed
1 package McCormick Slow Cookers BBQ Pulled Pork Seasoning
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/3 cup cider vinegar

1. Place pork in slow cooker. Mix Seasoning, ketchup, brown sugar and vinegar until blended. Pour over pork. Cover.

2. Cook 8 hours on LOW or 4 hours on HIGH. Remove pork from slow cooker.

3. Shred pork, using 2 forks. Return pork to slow cooker. Mix and heat with sauce before serving. Serve on sandwich rolls, if desired.

Cabbage Pineapple Slaw

3 1/5 ounces pineapple tidbits in juice
1 1/5 cups shredded cabbage
½ cups shredded carrots
¼ cup finely chopped jalapenos
2 celery stalks, chopped
½ cup craisins
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar

Drain pineapple, reserving 3 tablespoons of juice. Combine drained pineapple, shredded cabbage, celery, craisins, carrots and jalapenos. Combine reserved pineapple juice, mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar. Add to cabbage mixture and toss lightly. Spoon into serving bowl, cover and chill until serving time.

Watermelon Margaritas

3 tablespoons coarse salt
1 lime wedge
1-cup watermelon puree*
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 cup tequila
2 tablespoons orange-flavored liqueur
1 cup ice

Chill a margarita glass in the freezer for 30 minutes. Place the coarse salt in a shallow dish or saucer. Wet the rim of the glass with a lime wedge and dip the glass into the salt, coating the top edge. In a cocktail shaker, combine watermelon puree, lime juice, tequila, orange-flavored liqueur, and ice. Shake until frothy and well chilled, at least 1 minute. Strain into the prepared glass and garnish with a lime wedge.

* To make the watermelon puree, remove seeds from fresh watermelon and cut into large chunks. Place in a blender and process until smooth and well pureed.
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If you like fudge, go to my chocolate blog for some fine Mexican Chocolate Fudge!

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Another Smiley:

My memory's not as sharp as it used to be. Also, my memory's not as sharp as it used to be. :)

Border Frittata

Bob and Lily are out of town this weekend. They went to Atlanta to see our niece’s graduation from high school. So I thought it would be the perfect time to experiment with a special Father’s Day breakfast for Bob. This Frittata recipe came out quite tasty. It contains all the ingredients he loves in a breakfast burrito, but I think I’ll serve it as a baked omelet along with some juice and lots of coffee. That ought to start his day out just great.

Our lives are still a little up in the air right now, so we’re taking it day-by-day. Lily will be moving to Dallas in July so I want to make Father's Day a special day for “Dad”. The universe always seems to be on our side, offering us new adventures. So we’re actually looking forward to seeing where life takes us next. Have a great weekend everyone.

Border Frittata

6 eggs
½ cup cream
4 ounces sausage
1 link chorizo
1 small potato diced small
½ cup diced jalapeno
¼ cup diced onion
¼ cup diced tomato
1 ½ ounces cream cheese (1/2 block a small 3 ounce package), cut into small cubes
½ cup shredded Asadero cheese (or any soft cheese like muenster or mozzarella)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a non-stick skillet, cook sausage and chorizo until no longer pink. Remove from pan to paper towels to drain grease. Wipe most of drippings from pan and sauté potatoes until almost done. Add jalapeno and onion. Remove from pan and allow to drain on paper towels. Whisk cream into eggs. Add cooked sausage, chorizo, potatoes, onions, jalapenos and tomato to egg mixture. Fold in cubed cream cheese and half of shredded Asadero.

Lightly grease an oven safe pan or skillet with olive oil. Pour mixture into skillet. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Top frittata with remaining shredded cheese and return to oven for another five to eight minutes. Run a knife along the outer edges of frittata and cut into wedges for serving.

Go to the chocolate blog and check out a super idea for a chocolate breakfast!

Strawberries from Poteet (San Antonio)

Welcome to day 3 of Gloria Chadwick's Foods and Flavors of San Antonio. You still have 3 days to enter the drawing to win a copy of Gloria's newest cookbook. Remember that the winner will also receive a copy of my ecookbook, Mi Chita's Mexican Chocolate Recipes. AND there will be two winners announced on Saturday. For each comment you leave here or post about in your blog you will have your name dropped into the hat. Just let me know that you've posted and I'll make sure your chances of winning increase.

So now to the food. I wanted to make one of the chocolate recipes I told you about on my chocolate blog from the great new cookbook I got. So I searched through both Gloria's book and the CHOCOLAT book and decided I would concentrate on strawberries (and chocolate of course).



Poteet, Texas lies right outside of San Antonio and is considered part of the metropolitan area of San Antonio. The town is called the Strawberry Capital of Texas because of it's delicious strawberry crops.





Looking through Foods and Flavors of San Antonio, I saw a delicious yet simple recipe for strawberries that was in turn going to compliment the recipe I wanted to do for the chocolate blog.

Aren't these beautiful? I topped them with some mint I've been growing so the arrangement looked so fresh. And the taste? MOUTHWATERING. I bought these strawberries because I planted my strawberry plants a little too late this spring. But once they bear fruit, I will make this recipe again...and again...and again. They are delicious.

Strawberry Blossoms

1 - 16 ounce container large strawberries
1 - 3 ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 tablespoon sour cream
Fresh mint leaves

Remove the stems from the strawberries. Cut the tops to form a flat base. Place berries pointed side up on a plate. With a sharp knife cut through the berries in thirds making sure not to cut hrough the base. Slightly open each berry forming the petals.

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese, powdered sugar and sour cream until light and fluffy. Fill each strawberry with the mixture. If it helps, use a pastry bag fitted with a star tip to do this.
Top with fresh mint leaves.

Be sure and check out my chocolate blog to see the first recipe prepared from "CHOCOLAT".
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Always Remember This:
You don't stop laughing because you grow old,
You grow old because you stop laughing!!!

Day 2 of Foods and Flavors of San Antonio

Today's featured recipe from Gloria Chadwick's new cookbook, "Foods and Flavors of San Antonio", is enchiladas. This recipe is easy to prepare and quite versatile when it comes to deciding what type of filling you would like to use.

The typical enchilada dishes offered in various restaurants around the Southwest, especially in San Antonio, are filled with either beef or chicken. Some new " Nuevo Latino Cuisine" food establishments have been known to offer this traditional dish with a filling of lobster or crabmeat. They are quite tasty too.

For a sauce, you can use red chile or green chile. However you choose to prepare your enchiladas I'm sure they will be enjoyed by all. Complete the meal with a side dish of Mexican Rice and maybe some refried beans and a simple salad and you will have yourself a memorable meal.

Remember that we will be adding names to the "hat" for a drawing on Saturday for two of Gloria's cookbooks. The winners will also receive a copy of my ecookbook Mi Chita's Mexican Chocolate Recipes. So get yourself to the kitchen and enjoy making this wonderful dish of enchiladas.

Beef Enchiladas

1 pound lean ground beef
1 small onion, diced
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
2 (10 ounce) cans red enchilada sauce
1/4 cup vegetable oil
12 (6 inch) corn tortillas
2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Ligtly spray a 13 x 9 inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, brown ground beef with the onion over medium-high heat. Season with cumin and chili powder while meat is still cooking. Place 1/2 cup of the enchilada sauce in a shallow pie plate and set aside.

Add oil to a 12 inch skillet and heat for 2 minutes over medium heat. Using tongs, fry each tortilla (one at a time) for 3 seconds per side.Drain on paper towels and set on a paper plate.

Dip each tortilla in the sauce and set on a separate plate. Once done, fill each tortilla with the beef mixture and cheese and roll tightly. Place seam side down in prepared baking dish. Top with remaining enchilada sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Uncover and bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes to brown the cheese.

Easter Feast

Hello everyone. I know I've been gone for a while and I will probably be gone again for the next couple of weeks. I have a lot of family coming into town to celebrate the arrival of our latest addition to the Cordero Family - Frida Isabella Caldera-Cordero, born April 2nd, 6 pounds and a few ounces. Congratulations to my nephew Robbie and his lady Lydia. Job well done. She's gorgeous. After the family leaves, my daughter Lily will be having surgery on the 17th. So life is hectic right now. But as I wait for Bob to come back from running some errands before we take off to do the shopping for our family get together, I thought I'd share "last" year's Easter feast with you.

May you all have a lovely Easter Day with your family and friends. A wonderful time of hope and renewal. My love to all of you.

Strawberry - Lemonade Cooler

1 (12 ounce) can frozen lemonade
6 cups ice
1 cup fresh or frozen strawberries
3 tablespoons sugar
2 cups fruit juice (like white grape)

Blend lemonade, ice, strawberries, and sugar until smooth. Chill. Add juice to mixture right before serving. Serve drink over ice.

Glazed Pork Tenderloin

3 tablespoons jalapeno pepper jelly
2 tablespoons tequila
2 tablespoons pineapple juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
2 (1 pound each) pork tenderloins
3 medium firm peaches, sliced in halve, pits removed
2 tablespoons olive oil

In a small bowl, combine jalapeno jelly, tequila, juice and zest. Mix until well combined. Season tenderloin with salt and pepper. Coat pork with olive oil.Cook over hot coals until grill marks develop on all sides.Move pork to cooler side of grill. Coat pork with glaze and cover grill. Turn meat every 5 to 6 minutes and re-glaze. Cook until internal temperature reaches 150 degrees. Brush glaze on cut peaches and grill cut side down. Grill about 5 minutes.

Sweet Potato Soufflé

1 (29 ounce) can cut sweet potatoes in light syrup
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 large egg
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg or cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 cup miniature marshmallows

Heat sweet potatoes over medium heat. Drain. In mixing bowl, whisk sweet potatoes, pineapple, egg, butter, vanilla, milk, nutmeg and salt.Divide mixture into 4 custard cups that have been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.Place cups on a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.Sprinkle miniature marshmallows over each cup and return to oven. Continue baking for 10 more minutes until lightly browned.

Individual Layered Salad with Green Chile Ranch Dressing

Shredded lettuce
Chopped tomato

peeled and diced cucumbers
croutons
Sliced olives
Sliced sweet onion
diced avocado
Shredded Asadero cheese

Set out all cut vegetables and allow everyone at the table to create their own layered salad.Prepare dressing two hours before serving and allow to chill in refrigerator.

Green Chile Ranch Dressing

1 cup buttermilk ranch dressing
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles
1/4 cup milk
Pinch of salt

Combine all ingredients in food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Chill until time to serve.


Lemon Mousse Easter Cupcakes

1 box deluxe lemon flavored cake mix
1 (12 ounce) tub prepared whipped topping
1 (21 ounce) can lemon cream pie filling
1 tablespoon lemon zest
jelly beans, green edible cake glitter, or green tinted shredded coconut

Prepare cake mix for cupcakes as per package instructions. Cool completely.Combine whipped topping, lemon pie filling, and lemon zest by gently folding together until well combined. Using a large star tipped pastry bag, fill with prepared whipped topping.Frost the tops of cooled cupcakes. Decorate as desired.


Come to my chocolate blog to find out how to make "CASCARONES". These are confetti filled eggs everyone enjoys here in the southwest.

Corned Beef Brisket

Corned Beef Brisket with Warm Tomato Salsa

1 (3 pound) corned beef brisket
1 (8 ounce) can diced tomato1
4 ounce can chopped green chile
1 fresh jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
1 small onion, cut into thin slices
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 medium carrot, sliced thin
salt, pepper, garlic powder
2 tablespoons olive oil

Put brisket in Dutch oven and cover with water. Sprinkle the pickling spices included in the corned beef package over the brisket. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer and simmer for 60 minutes per pound, in this case, 3 hours for a 3 pound brisket.

In the meantime, heat olive oil in large skillet. Saute onion, celery, jalapenos, carrot slices, and green chile until vegetables wilt. Add diced tomato. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.

Over low heat, cook the tomato mixture for 15 to 20 minutes. If mixture begins to dry out, add a couple of tablespoons of the liquid cooking the brisket.

When brisket is done and tender, allow to rest, covered with foil, for 15 minutes. Slice thinly and serve with warm tomato salsa.

Corned Beef

Each year, thousands of Irish Americans gather with their loved ones on St. Patrick's Day to share a "traditional" meal of corned beef and cabbage.
Though cabbage has long been an Irish food, corned beef only began to be associated with St. Patrick's Day at the turn of the century.
Irish immigrants living on New York City's Lower East Side substituted corned beef for their traditional dish of Irish bacon to save money. They learned about the cheaper alternative from their Jewish neighbors.
http://www.history.com/content/stpatricksday/symbols-and-traditions

Shamrock Cookies

No, I'm not Irish, but I once had a wonderful friend who was Irish through and through. His name is Patrick Bresnan. He now works in New York. But in the years that our lives were connected, we never once neglected to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day.

His day would start off by going to early morning mass. He would arrive at our place of employment where he knew his friends and co-workers would be ready to celebrate his birthday. Yes, his birthday is March 17th, being Irish, he was named after his patron saint.



The rest of us would be sporting green hair, clothing, shamrocks, you name it. A wonderful luncheon of corned beef and cabbage, a huge birthday cake, Irish coffee and Celtic music playing in every corner of the building would permeate the day. Those were wonderful times. I miss them and my friend dearly.

So, even though I'm not Irish, I still celebrate Saint Patrick's Day. My love of history and anthropology have given me an appreciation of the gifts all cultures have to offer.



So for today, enjoy these delicious butter cookies made with my Mother's "Galletas de Mantequilla" recipe.

Butter Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 to 2½ cups flour

Cream butter and sugar together. Add vanilla. Slowly, add flour and knead to combine well.
Chill dough in refrigerator for 30 minutes for easier handling. Roll out a small portion of the dough between two pieces of wax paper to ¼ inch thickness.
Dip cookie cutter in flour and cut out desired shapes.
Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10 to 12 minutes (middle of oven) at 325°. If desired, before chilling dough, add food coloring during the mixing process. Also, after cutting with cookie cutters, you may sprinkle shapes with colored decorating sugars.
Makes about 1 ½ to 2 dozen, depending on size of shapes cut.
For the rainbow cookies, I used a round cookie cutter and then cut each in half before baking. The shamrock cookies, I sprinkled green sugar srinkles before baking. I used royal frosting to decorate the cookies. White as a base for the rainbow cookies and green tinted frosting for the shamrocks. Use M & M minis for the rainbow bands.

Royal Frosting
1 pound (1 box) confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)
6 tablespoons Wiltons Meringue powder
6 tablespoons (about 1/3 cup) water
paste food coloring, if desired

Mix all ingredients in electric mixer for 7 minutes.


The Shamrock

The shamrock, which was also called the "seamroy" by the Celts, was a sacred plant in ancient Ireland because it symbolized the rebirth of spring. By the seventeenth century, the shamrock had become a symbol of emerging Irish nationalism. As the English began to seize Irish land and make laws against the use of the Irish language and the practice of Catholicism, many Irish began to wear the shamrock as a symbol of their pride in their heritage and their displeasure with English rule.
http://www.history.com/content/stpatricksday/symbols-and-traditions

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year everyone. I hope you all had a grand holiday and are ready for 2009. I wanted to share this recipe with you because it came out quite tasty. The mixture of mangos and jalapeños gave the everyday ham a tastebud sensation. And, there were plenty of left overs for sandwiches and breakfast.

May you all have a blessed new year and may all your wishes come true in 2009.

Mango Glaze
(adapted from the Washington Post, http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes/2007/04/04/baked-ham-fresh-ginger-mango-glaze-and-roasted-swe/ )

For the glaze:

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 cup mango nectar
4 cups sliced mango (from 6-8 medium to large mangoes)
1 -inch piece peeled ginger root, cut into thin slices
¼ cup jalapeño jelly* recipe follows
1 cinnamon stick

For the ham:

1 10-pound sugar-cured smoked ham (cooked) (I used a spiral cut ham)
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

Directions:
For the glaze: Combine the brown sugar, vinegar, mustard and nectar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the mango pieces, ginger, jalapeño jelly and cinnamon stick. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mango is quite soft and the liquid is thick and bubbling. Let cool to room temperature.
Remove and discard the cinnamon stick. Press the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a stainless-steel or glass (nonreactive) bowl. Discard the pulp. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.

For the ham: Position a rack in the middle of the oven; preheat to 325 degrees. Have ready a large shallow roasting pan.
Rinse the ham under cool running water to remove the solution and sticky residue (because it will burn) and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Rub the allspice and cloves into the meat. Place the ham in the pan and bake for about 1 hour and 45 minutes, until the ham reaches an internal temperature of 140 degrees.

About 25 minutes before the ham has finished cooking, brush the top and sides evenly with the mango glaze. Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees; the glaze will be bubbly.
Transfer the ham to a cutting board and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Cut the ham into slices. Transfer to a warm platter and serve immediately with more glaze alongside.

Jalapeño Pepper Jelly

1 large green pepper, cut into quarters
2 fresh jalapeño peppers, stemmed, seeded, and ribs removed
6 ½ cups sugar
1 ½ cups cider vinegar
½ of a 6 ounce package (1 foil pouch) liquid fruit pectin
Several drops green food coloring (optional)

Finely chop green pepper and jalapeño peppers. In a 4 ½ quart Dutch oven, combine chopped peppers, sugar, and vinegar. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer, stirring often, about 15 minutes or until pepper mixture turns transparent.
Stir in pectin; add food coloring. Return to full rolling boil; boil, uncovered, 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with metal spoon. Pour at once into hot, sterilized half-pint jars; seal, using metal lids or paraffin.

Galletas de Mantequilla / Butter Cookies

My mom made the best butter cookies in the world. She use to make them when she was a cook for the El Paso Independent School system. The kids would devour them, but of course she always managed to bring a couple home for us. I still have her original notes and recipe well guarded. It's a simple recipe, only four ingredients. And it's so versatile I can't begin to describe all the ways my kids and I have made this recipe: the shapes, the colors and the flavors. For the holiday season, I would like to share with you this wonderful recipe. Your children will be able to make them easily with little help from you. Enjoy and know that's it's from the heart.

Galletas de Mantequilla
(Butter Cookies)

1 cup (2 sticks) softened butter
½ cup sugar
1-teaspoon vanilla
2 to 2½ cups flour

Cream butter and sugar together. Add vanilla. Slowly, add flour and knead to combine well. Chill dough in refrigerator for 30 minutes for easier handling. Roll out a small portion of the dough between two pieces of wax paper to ¼ inch thickness. Dip cookie cutter in flour and cut out desired shapes. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 10 to 12 minutes (middle of oven) at 325°. If desired, before chilling dough, add food coloring during the mixing process. Also, after cutting with cookie cutters, you may sprinkle shapes with colored decorating sugars. Makes about 1 ½ to 2 dozen, depending on size of shapes cut.

Butter Cookie Pecan Sandies
(makes about 3 dozen)

Prepare the Butter Cookie dough and add 1 cup chopped pecans. Roll into a log and refrigerate for 40 minutes. Slice into 1/4 inch rounds and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool 5 minutes and dust with confectioner’s sugar.

Thumb Print Cookies
(makes about 3 dozen)

With this recipe, you make roll 1 inch balls (after the dough has been in the refrigerator of 40 minutes). Have a cup of finely chopped pecans. Roll half of the 1-inch alls in the pecans, the others leave as is. Using your thumb, press an indentation in the middle of each cookie before baking in the oven. When you remove the cookies, allow to cool for a couple of minutes and then with a spoon, top each indentation of each cookie with jam or preserves. We used raspberry, cherry and apricot. Actually, we got carried away and even topped some of the cookies with a Hershey kiss.

Snowball Surprise
(makes about 3 dozen)

Here we took the same recipe but added 1/4 cup of cocoa. Allow the dough to rest in fridge for 40 minutes. Take a scant amount of the dough and flatten in your hand. Place an unwrapped piece of chocolate (like a Hershey kiss) and place in the middle of the dough. Wrap the chocolate piece with the dough and roll around in the palms of your hands to form a ball. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Dust with confectioner’s sugar.

Then of course, there are the regular cookie cutouts. You can tint the dough with food coloring or use colored sugar sprinkles for the top. You can frost the baked cookies with homemade buttercream frosting. Use your imagination. Better yet, let the kids come up with their own unique cookie for the holiday.
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Be sure and check out
The Chocolate Shop for last minute online shopping.

Tamales - Part 3

This is the final installment of the how-to on making tamales, like I need to tell you fine foodies how-to anything. I've learned so much more from you than I could ever show you. So let's just call it sharing. Foodies are good at sharing. (Unless it's CHOCOLATE, then I get a little stingy!)

Masa Preparation (Hot)
1 1/3 cups lard, whipped until fluffy
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 cups masa flour (corn tortilla flour, not cornmeal)
2 teaspoons salt
2 2/3 cups broth saved after cooking meat

Mix masa, baking powder and salt. Add broth to masa mixture a little at a time to make moist dough. Add masa dough to lard. Beat until it has a spongy texture. Taste-test just a smidgen of the masa for salt content. (A quick test to make sure masa is ready is to drop a small round ball of the masa, about the size of a pea, into a glass of water. If it floats to the top, masa is ready.) This is enough masa for 2 dozen medium to 1 ½ dozen large tamales, or 4 to 5 dozen cocktail (small) tamales. To add a little kick to your tamales, try adding some of the red or green sauce into the masa mixture. This will add flavor if you are looking for something a little spicier.

On the previous post, I suggested a method of preparing “Sweet” Tamales. But check out the link I have listed blow for other exciting recipes.

Tamales Cooking Instructions

Prepare ChileSauce
Prepare Filling
Prepare Husks
Prepare Masa

After patting cornhusks dry, spread 2 tablespoons of masa down center of husk to form a rectangle, 1 inch from the top and 3 inches from the bottom. This should be spread to about 1/8-inch thick*. A cornhusk is usually triangle shape. The top is the straight edge; the bottom is the pointy edge.


Spoon 2 rounded tablespoons filling in center of masa.








To enclose filling, fold husk so that masa edges meet. Wrap plain side of husk around outside of tamale and fold tip. Place seam side down on tray and cover with damp paper towels until all tamales are prepared.

To steam, use a 12 to 14 quart steamer or place a rack inside a 12 to 14 quart pot. Add 1 inch of water to bottom of pot**. Stack tamales loosely in steamer, overlapping edges.

Lay them in a circular fashion leaving an opening (a well) down the center so that steam can circulate and so that you can add more water during the steaming process if needed.




Stack tamales in circular fashion. Stack only enough tamales to leave a 2-inch clearance from the top. Place some spare husks over the prepared tamales and cover the pot with lid. This will keep steam from escaping and will assure adequate circulation.



Heat water to boil; adjust heat to keep water at a steady low boil. Continue to cook, adding boiling water to maintain water level in pot at 1 inch. Cook until masa is firm and does not stick to husk. Open 1 tamal from center of pan to test. Be sure to use tongs to pick up the tamales, they will be extremely hot. Cooking time is approximately 1 hour.

*HINT: If you look closely at the cornhusks, you will see (or feel) that one side of the husk is smoother than the other side, which has ridges. Spread the masa on the smooth side. Tamales will separate much more easily from the husk when cooked.

**HINT: Place a coin at the bottom of pot before stacking tamales. As the water boils, you will hear the coin rattling around. When you stop hearing the coin, it's time to add more boiling water down the "well" or center of the tamal stack to keep the steam going until the tamales are cooked thoroughly.


Rule of Thumb
One pound of masa plus one pound of filling equals one dozen tamales.









If your level of excitement isn’t quite at the boil over stage, check out this one site I found on my quest for the perfect tamal. http://www.recipegoldmine.com/swtamale/swtamale.html

This site is filled with various fillings and preparation methods that will have your head spinning. I love that it stimulates your imagination in creating the perfect TAMAL for your family.

[Notice I didn’t spell tamales with an e at the end for a single one. That’s because it doesn’t have one. In Spanish, for one of these delicious delicacies, it is spelled Tamal. For more than one, it is spelled Tamales. That’s where you add the e. Ah, grammar. I need to be careful, Meryl and Arlene are watching and I don’t want to be kept after school!!!]

Love you guys.

Mexican Word of the day: TEXAS
My ruca always Texas (texts) me when I’m not home wondering where I’m at.

Tamales - Part 2

Part 2

Fillings:

Tamales can be filled with a variety of meats such as pork, beef, or chicken. Other foodstuffs such as chiles, cheese or even beans are used. Nuevo Latino Cuisine has even featured tamales stuffed with mushrooms, seafood or a variety of vegetable fillings.

Shredded chicken, beef, or pork are traditional items, but I have known people to fill their tamales with chile strips topped with cheese such as Asadero or vegetables mixed with chile. Then of course there are the sweet tamales. These don't have a filling but the masa is prepared with cinnamon, anise, raisins and pecans. You could probably even add some chopped Mexican chocolate to these as well.

The following is a simple shredded pork recipe that is most commonly used in making tamales.

Tamales with Shredded Pork and Red Chile

4 to 5 pounds of pork roast (if boneless, 3 pounds)
1 large onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1-teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoons salt

Brown pork roast in large Dutch oven in oil. Add enough water to cover the roast. Add onions, garlic, cumin, and salt. Boil till fork tender, about 2 to 3 hours. When meat is done, remove from stove and let cool.

Discard fat and bones (if any). Drain broth from meat and shred with the use of 2 forks, or by hand, when meat is cool enough. Reserve broth for use in masa preparation.

Shred meat into small strands using 2 forks. Mix meat with 2 cups of chile sauce and simmer for 20 minutes (add broth if needed).
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This filling is one I made to use up some leftover brisket I had in the fridge. I included some sliced, roasted peppers and onions to the filling also.

Tamales with BBQ-Red Chile Brisket Filling

1 10-12 pound brisket
2 cups BBQ Sauce, your favorite
1 cup beef broth
1 batch red chile sauce

Optional
Slices of red, green and yellow peppers, roasted
slices of yellow onion, roasted

Rub salt, pepper, garlic salt on brisket.Wrap tightly with aluminum foil.Place in a large roaster pan, add 2 inches of water. Cook brisket in 225 degree oven for 10 to 12 hours. Check and make sure the water level remains at 2 inches. When done, allow to cool enough to handle. Shred brisket and set aside.

Prepare 1 batch red chile sauce. Mix with 2 cups barbecue sauce and 1 cup beef broth. In large Dutch oven, combine shredded brisket with BBQ-Chile sauce and cook through. Follow Tamale making instructions using the brisket filling in place of the pork or chicken filling for a real Southwestern flavor. Filling should be enough for approximately 8 to 10 dozen tamales, depending on how much you fill each tamale.
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Sweet

1-pound masa flour
½ pound lard, whipped until fluffy
1-teaspoon baking powder
1-tablespoon salt
1-cup broth
1-cup brown sugar
1-cup raisins
1-teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cloves
½ teaspoon allspice
½ cup pecans
½ cup chopped Mexican chocolate, optional

Mix masa, lard, and baking powder together until a small portion (the size of a pea) floats in a glass of cold water. Fold in the rest of ingredients to dough and combine thoroughly. Place 2 tablespoons dough in middle of cornhusk, spreading towards top end and fold over bottom end. Steam tamales same as you would the hot tamales.
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I’m sure with a little imagination, you can up with a variety of fillings of your own. Next post we’ll do Masa Preparation and the Steaming of the tamales.

I meant to have this up yesterday, but Bob’s gout reappeared and we ended up going to see the doctor and getting meds and whatnot. Things are a little calmer today. Murphy’s Law! Life goes on. Hugs to all.

From Website to Cookbook to Blog

...celebrating our culture through generations.

This was the logo on the website I maintained for several years. I closed it down January 1st, of this year. A lot of hard work and a lot of fun went into this site.


Aprovecho: A Mexican-American Border Cookbook (Hippocrene Cookbook Library)
Click on the link above to go directly to the Amazon.com site to get a quick look inside

From this site, Bob and I created the manuscript for our cookbook, Aprovecho, A Mexican-American Border Cookook. This cookbook was done with the intention of having it passed on from generation to generation. As our world is constantly changing, it is getting harder and harder to pass on cultural traditions. This cookbook encompasses both sides of the border with stories and legends that are unique to the Southwestern region of the country. It also contains Dichos (Proverbs), a chile glossary and 250 delicious, simple and easy to follow recipes.

Food and all the aspects of food: preparation, development, the tablesetting, gatherings, family, celebrations, all these things are exciting for me. Now, with my blogs and viewing my foodie friends blogs and sharing in their creations simply elates me. My passion for all things FOOD brings a joy to my writing and cooking. I have friends online with whom I can share that joy. Of course I still need to make a living. This is why I am imposing on your generous nature and decided to spotlight my own cookbook. I hope you won't hold that against me. Oh, and did I mention that the book makes a wonderful Holiday gift for the Foodie in your life?

Now, though, I want to share with you some of the recipes that are contained in this cookbook. Over the last couple of months I've written about some of the legends and traditions that are contained in the book. I've posted some of the recipes as well. But it's now the Holiday season and in keeping with the idea of passing on cultural traditions, most of which are centered around the dining table, I thought posting some of our Holiday recipes would be in order.


The first one is Picadillo Navideño, or Christmas Picadillo.
This delicious dish is made with ground beef, beets, onions, carrots, potatoes, raisins and pecans. It's a savory yet slightly sweet dish traditionally served during the holidays.


This one is called Montezuma Casserole. This dish is made with pork roast and green poblano chile.





This third recipe is my grandmother's (Mi Chita's)Polvorones. These delightful little biscochos are coated in cinnamon sugar and are served at every holiday meal (as well as weddings, birthdays and all fiestas).

I hope I've piqued your interest in checking out the Aprovecho Cookbook. Not only is cooking, developing recipes and writing about them my passion, it is also my career.

Over the weeks to come, I will post more holiday recipes and traditions that encompass my part of the world, the desert Southwest, the Mexican-American Border. Enjoy these recipes. They come from the heart.

Picadillo Navideño

1/2 pound medium beets, chopped
3 pounds ground beef
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 carrots, chopped
3 to 4 small potatoes, cubed


1 cup rasins
1 cup chopped pecans
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon cumin
salt and pepper

Cook beets in water until tender reserving the liquid. Heat oil in a skillet and saute the meat, onions and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Once the meat is no longer pink, add the carrots and potatoes and cook until semi done then add the beets, raisins, pecans, cinnamon and cumin. Cook for 10 more minutes. Add some of the reserved liquid if you see the dish getting too dry. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Montezuma's Casserole

1 1/2 pounds pork roast
salt and pepper
olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 pound tomatoes, peeled and chopped
8 green poblano chiles, roasted pealed and cut into strips
2 garlic cloves, minced
12 corn tortillas
2 eggs, lightly beaten
6 ounces asadero cheese, grated
Lettuce and radishes for garnish (optional)

Season the pork roast with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven and brown the roast on all sides. Add enough water to cover the roast and cook until done. Shred the pork once it is cooked and cool enough to handle.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9 X 13 inch baking pan. In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and saute the onion, tomatoes, chiles and garlic. Add this mixture to the shredded pork with a little water. Fry the tortillas in oil and dip in the beaten eggs. Place these tortillass in the prepared greased baking pan. Add the meat mixture and top with the grated asadero cheese. Bake until browned and thoroughly cooked, about 25 minutes. Serve with lettuce and radish slices if desired.

Mi Chita's Polvorones
(Biscochos)

2 pounds of flour
1 pound of lard
2 tablespoons baking soda
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ cup warm milk
Cinnamon-sugar mixture for coating

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, sugar, and cinnamon. Mix well. Add lard. Cut lard into flour mixture with a pastry blender (or do it the way my grandmother taught me; with your two clean hands, scoop up flour and lard and gently rub between the palms of your hands). Continue this until flour-lard mixture converts to pea-size pieces. Add warm milk. Combine until well blended. Do not knead dough for too long, as it tends to toughen the pastry - just like with pie pastry. Roll out small sections of the dough between two pieces of waxed paper. Remove top layer of waxed paper and cut dough with cookie cutters dipped in powdered sugar. Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 10 - 12 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Allow to cool for 6 to 8 minutes. Coat with cinnamon sugar mixture. Makes approximately 5-6 dozen small polvorones.

This is my grandmother's recipe for polvorones (biscochos). She never wrote it down, but rather taught me (show and tell) how to make them when I was 12 or 13. I in turn have taught my daughter how to make this wonderful recipe. She learned very well.

I hope you enjoy these recipes. Until next time, Aprovecho.

Pepitas -- Pumpkin Seeds

We’ve seen a lot of recipes lately with “pepitas”. But what are pepitas? Pepitas are pumpkin seeds. And some of the recipes that have been created with these delicious little morsels are fantastically tasty. But there is so much more to pepitas.

For example, did you know that pumpkin seeds, the pepita, have been around since the time of the Aztecs? Together with maize (corn) and beans, these three food products are known as the “Three Sisters” for being among the earliest plants domesticated in the Western Hemisphere.

Pumpkin seeds are a great source of zinc, which boosts the immune factors in the body. They also contain iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium that help lower cholesterol. Five to ten grams of pepitas can help with urinary problems and even assist in the prevention of prostate problems in men.

As with any food type containing natural oils, over consumption can contribute to weight gain. But my motto has always been all things in moderation. Moderation allows you to enjoy different foods and still maintain a healthy lifestyle.


Halloween is the perfect time to make your own pepitas. If you’ll look through your Mexican Foods isle in the supermarket, you’ll see that pepitas are sold and packaged as a snack item. They are sold roasted, plain, salted or with seasoning added, such as red chile powder. But if you’re carving up a jack o’lantern for the little ones, don’t waste the seeds. They are very easy to prepare and also good for you. Here is a simple recipe to follow in making your own seasoned pepitas. I’m also linking to Lori at Recipe Girl. She made some absolutely divine crackers topped with raw pepitas that roasted up rather nicely while the crackers were baking. She served these scrumptious crackers with some homemade Fresh Cranberry Jam. Man she's good! Please go to her site and you'll see what I mean.

Follow the Left-Over Queen's philosophy and make use of all foods. Waste at this point in our lives is nonsense. It’s like throwing money away. So, use every bit of what you have and enjoy.




If you like saltier or spicier pepitas, you might consider boiling them in salted water first before roasting them. This will help infuse the salt into the kernel. Just be sure and let them dry completely before roasting them. Also, if you aren’t planning on making a truck load of seeds, consider roasting them in an iron skillet on top of the stove instead of the oven.

One more thing. Did you know that many people eat their pepitas with the hull intact? Yep. They can be eaten this way. After all, the hull is what contains a lot of the nutrients and the fibrous texture helps with the digestive system. Personally, I prefer to shell them one at a time. This keeps me from eating far more than I should, and I just can’t fathom eating the hull…nutritious or not.


Pepitas

Ingredients:
Pumpkins seeds
Olive or canola oil
Salt
Chile powder, garlic powder or other seasoning

Directions
Scoop out seeds from pumpkin cavity. Rinse the seeds using a colander, drain. Allow the seeds to dry. Add 1 tablespoon of oil for each cup of seeds. Mix until all seeds are well coated. Add salt, garlic and chile powder.

Spread on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 35 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Stir occasionally.

Optional variations on flavoring your pepitas:

Savory: 4 tablespoons melted butter, 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt and 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

Lemony: 4 tablespoons melted butter, 1 teaspoon 'Mrs. Dash" or lemon pepper

Halloweeny: 4 tablespoons melted butter, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
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Mexican Word of the Day:"HERPES"
When me and my homegirl split a churro, "herpes" is always bigger!

Are You Ready for Some Football?

Oh yeah, it’s that time of year again. Sitting in front of the screen and screaming for your favorite football team and cussing out the referee when he doesn’t make the call you expect him to make. Why aren’t there any women referees? I guess guys are afraid they’d keep the game fair. Ooooh.

Anyway, football is great to watch and great to eat by. You can chow down some store bought pizza, some heartburn hot dogs or a stale bag of popcorn. Or you can get ready for the game with some really great food to munch on. I say "munch on" because the secret to really great game food is small-size portions so that you can eat as much as you want and think you’re pigging out, but in reality it ends up being a regular size meal.

Bob helps me prepare the football feast early in the day, cause if the “Boys” are playing, I’m not about to be in the kitchen missing the game.

So, good luck with your team and have some fun. It’s that time of year when everyone’s a fan.

Here’s our Game Plan Menu:

This is so easy my daughter could make it.

Mini Jalapeño Cheeseburgers
(small yet filling, and so simple to make)













1 (10 count) package frozen biscuits
2 pounds ground meat
10 asadero slices
sliced pickeled jalapeños
salt and pepper to taste

Bake biscuits as per package directions. Slice each biscuit in half horizontally and set aside.Form 10 small hamburger patties from the ground meat. Grill patties on a stove top grill or an outdoor grill. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Two minutes before removing from grill, top each patty with a slice of asadero cheese. Top the asadero with jalapeño slices.Place one patty on the bottom half of cut biscuits and replace the top. Makes 10 burgers.


Chile con Queso


½ onion, diced
6 roasted, peeled, and seeded long green chiles
2 jalapeños stemmed, seeded and diced
1 large tomato, chopped
1 can evaporated milk
10 to 12 ounces cheese (Monterrey Jack, Longhorn, or even Velveeta), shredded or chopped
1 tablespoon of bacon grease or shortening
Corn tostada chips, homemade or store bought

Sauté onions in bacon grease for about 3 minutes until translucent. Add long green chiles and jalapeños. Sauté another 5 to 6 minutes. Add chopped tomato and evaporated milk. Bring to a simmer. Allow to simmer for a couple of minutes. Turn down heat. Start adding the shredded or chopped cheese. Stir until cheese is completely melted and bubbly. Serve with lots of tostadas and napkins.

Drinks
Well, here, Bobby and I have to compromise again. I don’t especially like beer, and he doesn’t have wine too often, so we have both.

He gets Corona or Dos X’s and I make a pitcher of
Manzana Cocktails. (or chocolate margaritas, whichever I’m in the mood for)

1/2 cup apple juice
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons lemon
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 medium apples, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 bottle chilled sparkling wine, like Prosecco

Combine first 5 ingredients in a Dutch oven and blend well. Add chopped apples. Stir and cover. Over medium-low heat, simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.
Allow to cool then mash apples in food processor or by hand.
Place 2 tablespoons mashed apples in bottom of tall cocktail glasses and top with sparkling wine. Makes 6 glasses. And that makes me happy.

Dessert you say? Of course. But you’ll have to go to my chocolate blog to get the recipe.
Football Mexican Chocolate Butter Cookies. Do you think the title is long enough, or should I make it longer? :) This is a recipe my mom gave me long ago.

Whatever team you’re rooting for, remember it’s just a game. Have fun and take advantage of the time you can share with your family. Hasta luego mis amigos/amigas.
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Mexican word of the day: Budweiser
Your chica is so fine, budweiser face so ugly?
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