Cilantro Chicken - Pollo Encilantrado

I love the smell and the taste of Cilantro.  I have tried to grow it with no success.  I use it almost every day and I doubt that I could plant and harvest that much cilantro.   When I was about 12, my older sister Lorena was attending college in Monterrey, Mexico.  On a weekend visit home, she made us a cilantro dressing/dip she had learned how to make from her roommate’s grandmother.  The dressing was so amazing, that we have since then adopted it as part of our family recipes.  We use it as a dip or a salad dressing.  I will post the recipe if she gives me the authorization to do so.

By learning how to make this dressing, it gave me the idea that I could turn it into a marinade and a sauce.  Therefore, the cilantro chicken was born.  The first time I made it, I added milk and Mexican crema trying to make it creamy.  On one occasion, I did not have any cream so I kept it out and I added the vinegar for the missing acidity from the cream.  The result was excellent.  The following recipe can be made with the Mexican crema and the milk.  If you choose to go this route, just remember not to add the vinegar.  You do not want curds in your sauce.   If you have any questions let me know.

Cilantro Chicken - Pollo Encilantrado

2 Garlic cloves

1 Bunch of cilantro

4 TBSP olive oil

4 Chicken breasts (I prefer boneless since it cooks faster, but it works well with any cut of chicken)

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

In a blender add the cilantro, garlic, olive oil, vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.  Mix on high until all ingredients are homogenous.  If you are having difficulty because it is too dry, add a teaspoon of water at a time until all ingredients come together as a sauce.  Remember to always taste and adjust for salt and pepper.

Next, in a pie plate, pour half of your cilantro sauce over the chicken.  Move around so that the chicken is covered with the cilantro.  Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes.  Since the cilantro is a strong flavor, you do not need to marinate overnight.  Heat the pan on high with a few swishes of olive oil.  You can use cooking spray on a Teflon surface if you like.  Sear the chicken on each side.  By searing the chicken, you are creating a barrier coat on the outside so that the juices do not escape and leave you with a very sorry looking and tasting dried chicken!  Reduce your heat to low and add the rest of your cilantro sauce.  Cover and let it cook for about 15-20 minutes.  Cooking time will depend on the size of your chicken.  This goes great accompanied with white Mexican rice.

Polvorones (Mexican Wedding Cookies)

When I was about 13 or 14 years old, my grandmother Chawis showed me how to make polvorones.  Polvorones, are what people in the U.S. refer to as Mexican wedding cookies.   The interesting thing is that I have never been to a wedding where these cookies were served.  I really do not think the wedding cookie was really well thought out.  Who, in their right mind, wants to eat powdered sugar when wearing your finest threads?  Believe me, when you go to a Mexican wedding, not only does it last 2 days, it is also a competition of who wore it best.  It is funny how every country has an adaptation of this cookie and they all claim it as theirs, “Italian wedding cookies”, “Polish wedding cookies” you get my point.

Anyway, back to my story.  The first time my grandmother made them, I was in love!  I remember asking my grandmother to show me how to make them.  She told me it was very easy to remember, two sticks butter 2 cups flour.  I quickly learned and made them often, especially during the holidays.  I used to place them in my mom’s crystal covered bowls throughout the house.  Over the years, I have made only one change, instead of two sticks of butter I now use ½ cup butter ½ cup shortening because it makes them more crumbly.  You can always only use butter, you choose.  Make them both ways and see which you like best.

2 cups all purpose flour

1/8 tsp salt

½ cup unsalted butter cut into chunks

½ cup of vegetable shortening

½ cup chopped pecans

1 egg

¾ cup confectioner’s sugar

Confectioner’s (powdered) sugar for dusting

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour and salt.  Add the butter and shortening and mix with your hands until it looks like coarse meal and you will still see the little chunks of butter or shortening throughout.  In a food processor, chop the pecans.  Once the pecans are chopped, add the powdered sugar and pulse a couple of times until mixed.

Add the pecans and sugar mixture to the dough, and mix it through with your hands.  Now you can add the egg and combine using your hands.  The dough will begin to form and you will start to feel it soft, pliable, and able to come together.  Remember, the more you knead, the tougher the dough becomes and the cookies will not fall apart so easily.  You want it to come together.

Use a buttered cookie sheet or a butter flavor cooking spray.  With your hands, form the cookies into 1-inch balls.  Place them about an inch apart and bake for 15 minutes or until they turn a light golden color.  Dust the cookies with the extra powdered sugar and you are done!  Tip: I use a bowl with sugar and toss the cookies in the sugar, easier than dusting.  Enjoy

Enchiladas Suizas

The aromas of my grandmother’s kitchen was always filled with the delicate smell of something magical happening.  Isaura or Chawis as we called her, managed to transform your bad day into a good day filled with love through her cooking.  My grandmother was not a very touchy feely kind of grandmother.  She was very strict and rarely showed affection.  I think she showed her love through her cooking.  Every single time you complimented her cooking, she would say something was off, or needed a little bit of this or that.  She never accepted a compliment.  I inherited her recipes and every single one has four to five corrections.  She always found something to change.

She had a tough life.  She was born in 1909 to a wealthy family.  Her grandfather remarried and the new family managed to keep all the inheritance so my grandmother and her mother, Hortensia were pretty much left on their own. 

My grandmother married a dashing young man of Lebanese descent, Antonio.  He was so handsome and smart; people say he had the charisma of a movie star.  He had a promising career in politics.  He founded the worker’s union in Nuevo Laredo Mexico.  He was the first to receive a license as a Customhouse Broker in Nuevo Laredo.  Unfortunately, God had other plans for him and he died in a car accident when he was about 32 or 33 years old.  My grandmother was suddenly alone and with three children.  She felt she had to be the disciplinarian and had to be both the father and mother.  Chaguis never got over his death.  She used to play de piano by ear, meaning she never took a lesson.  One time when she was about 95, she was playing a song and she started crying saying Antonio, why did you leave me?  She loved him so much until she died August 4, 2008.  

There are so many dishes that I remember her making.  As she got older, in her 70-80’s, she did not make many of them often because she considered them to be fattening.  She was obsessed by cholesterol, sodium, fat, etc.  Nevertheless, sometimes she managed to forget about all of that and make wonderful dishes.  Following is my adaptation of Enchiladas Suizas.  She didn’t write it down but I remember her making them with me several times.  Enchiladas Suizas is a traditional Mexican dish made popular at a restaurant in Mexico City that is now a franchise named Sanborn’s.  This restaurant is famously known for its vibrant blue tiles used throughout the place.

Enchiladas Suizas

10 green tomatillos (the green kind with the husk)

2 serrano chiles

1/2 cup of Mexican Cream

Salt to taste

1 cup chicken broth

10 sprigs of Cilantro

12 corn tortillas

1- 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken

3/4 cup Chihuahua, Monterrey or Manchego cheese (Mexican Manchego not the Spanish)

1/3 cup roasted not salted pumpkin seeds (this was my addition, it gives a nutty flavor)

1 Tbsp. olive oil

Boil the tomatillos with the Serrano peppers for five minutes until they change color and before the skin bursts.  Cool slightly and grind in the blender with the chicken broth, cilantro and pumpkin seeds.  Sauté the sauce in olive oil until it has slightly thickened, about five minutes.    Add the cream and season with salt.  Bring to a slight boil for about 3 minutes. 

Heat about 2 tablespoons of oil, canola, corn, or veg.  Once the oil is hot, pass a tortilla through it.  You are looking for the tortilla to be pliable, so it will be about 30-45 seconds on each side.  Take out the tortilla and place in a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.  Fill the tortilla with shredded chicken and roll.  Place seam down in a Pyrex, or oven safe rectangular dish. Once the dish is full, cover the enchiladas with the Suiza sauce and cover with the shredded cheese.  Place in a 400 F oven for about ten – 15 minutes, until the cheese has melted.  Since I usually only cook for my husband Scot and I, I found individual baking rectangular dishes at Marshalls.  I place three enchiladas in each and cover with the sauce and cheese.  We eat directly from each baking dish.

Serve with white Mexican rice

The powerful "Chile" Pepper

The chile (pepper), besides being one of the most widely used spices in the preparation of Mexican food; it is also commonly used in folk medicine.  In Mexico, the chile is essential in giving flavor to any dish and is without a doubt, the national condiment by excellence.  There are more than 100 types of chiles and for this reason; it has been called “la pimiento de esta tierra”, meaning the pepper of this earth.

The chile provokes a taste that cannot be classified as neither sweet nor salty, but just simply as spicy.  The stinging sensation in the mouth that modifies and sometimes takes precedence over other flavors is what gives it the reason for “being” in typical dishes such as mole, tinga, salsas, tacos and the indispensible enchiladas.

The chile has very unique properties.  As a natural stimulant, it is believed to cure certain types of pain.  Scientists say it releases its own opiates in the brain, which are very effective in helping to cope with the “cruda”, hangover.  It entices the appetite, reduces the effects of the flu, helps dispose of the toxins (because it makes you sweat).  It is also said what when it is smeared over a bald spot, it makes hair grow and it even eliminates the spell of the “evil eye”.

No matter what is said about the chile, we do know that it contains significant amounts of vitamin C and a variety of minerals essential in good nutrition. 

The level of heat or spiciness that a chile contains depends on seven closely related alkaloids (capsaicinoids).  In early 1900, Wilbur Scoville invented a test to determine the relative different spicy peppers.  A certain amount of capsaicin from each type of pepper was extracted with alcohol and mixed in various concentrations with sweetened water.  Testers would taste the chile and drink water.  The number of glasses needed to subside the heat indicated the heatness of the chile.  The higher the number meant the more water one needed to drink to make the burning go away.   This is how the Scoville table was born. 

I can tell you from experience that the Scoville table means nothing!  For example, some Serrano peppers carry no heat.  Then there are some that will burn on the way in and will burn just as much on the way out.  What I recommend is to add one chile at a time and keep tasting after each addition.  You never know what you are going to get! So do not ruin your dishes, add one at a time.

I don’t know about you, but I sometimes have a hard time knowing the difference between chiles.  Below are the most common ones used for Mexican cooking:

Chile de Arbol

The chile is a "treelike" lush plant with thick woody stems or in some cases stemless. It has a tanic, smoky, and grassy flavor.  In pod form, it can be used to flavor oils and vinegars.

 Chile Chipotle

This little chile can make you cry and has become very popular among “foodies” on this side of the border!  This chile is actually a dried, smoked, red jalapeño.  It is smoky and sweet in flavor with tobacco and chocolate tones, a brazilnut finish and a subtle, deep, rounded heat.  In the states, the chipotle is widely available in adobo sauce.  I am going to be honest, I am a chicken and I will usually only use the adobo when it is called for in a recipe.  These little suckers can be “hot”!

Chile Pasilla 

This chile looks like the ancho but it is thinner.  It has the same texture as the ancho and the only difference is that it is elongated.  Its name is derived from the raisin, because when this chile is dried it looks like one.  It has some berry, grape, and herbaceous tones, and a hint of liquorice. The pasilla is also mild and it is a perfect substitute for the ancho when you can’t find it.  The pasilla can be cut into rings, fried, and used as a garnish for the tortilla soup.  The veins and the seeds can be sautéed and it is common be used as a condiment in restaurants. 

Chile Guajillo

The guajillo chile's thin, deep-red flesh has a green tea flavor with berry overtones. Its fruits are large and mild in flavor, with only a small amount of heat.  They are sometimes used to make the salsa for tamales.  The dried fruits are seeded, soaked, pulverized to a thin paste, and then cooked with salt and several other ingredients to produce a thick, red, flavorful sauce.  Guajillos may be used in pastes, butters or rubs to flavor all kinds of meats, especially chicken.  Alternatively, they can be added to salsas to create a sweet side dish with a surprisingly hot finish.  It is always recommended to use a sieve after you use the blender because the skin is tough.

Chile Mulato

The mulato has a blackish brown color and its shape is similar to the ancho. It has a much thicker skin and is not as flexible as the ancho. Its flavor is somewhat sweet with slightly bitter chocolate undertones.  It can sometimes turn out to be a little spicy.  This chile is the most important ingredient in the Mole Poblano.

Chile Ancho

This chile is the dried version of the Poblano. It is the most popular and common dried pepper in Mexico.  It has a sweet smoky flavor.  The skin has a shiny flexible texture, never rough.   It is used to color the broth for Pozole, menudo, and for the pork tamales.  When this chile is soaked it acquires a brick color.  In many parts of Mexico the ancho is also known as the stewing chile because it is used in sauces for stews and to color soups and salsa’s. The ancho chile is often confused for the mulato chile which is darker and bigger. 

Chiles En Nogada (Stuffed Poblano Peppers in Walnut Sauce)

If there is one thing I have learned from years of watching cooking shows, is to taste, taste, taste!  I cannot stress this enough.  Even when I make meatballs of meatloaf, I get a little of the meat mixture and cook it and then try it to see if I need to adjust anything.  I never like to say put a tsp of salt, because I think salt and pepper should be up to the cook's pallet.  So if there is anything you need to learn is to taste everything as you go. 

I remember I was making pinto beans and I added too much salt!  In a panic I called my Mom and my Dad answered.  Mom was not home so I asked him what do I do, I added too much salt?  My Dad which was a great cook, tells me, anytime you add too much salt to anything, add a potato, the starch in the potato absorbs the salt.  It worked and I got to save the beans!

I am going to be honest with you, chiles in nogada where not a dish I grew up with.  My grandmother made awesome chiles rellenos, but for some reason did not make these kind.  I always thought they were hard to make and that is why everyone ate them at restaurants.  They are actually easier to make because you don’t have to cover them I egg whites and fry them like the traditional chiles rellenos.

One day my sister Mariela and I were at my Mom and Dad’s house talking about the nogada sauce.  I said to her, let’s  make them!  We googled and found a recipe.  The one that follows is the one we found but we adapted to what we had.  It seems like there are lots of ingredients that I am sure most people have them in their cupboards. 

I hope you enjoy them as much as we did.  I recommend you start with roasting the peppers so they can sweat and are easier to peel.  The beauty of this dish is that it is mainly served at room temperature.  You can make everything a day ahead if you are serving this for a party, your guests will be very impressed with this dish that is so traditionally Mexican.  Enjoy!  Feel free to ask me any questions! Buen provecho!

Chiles en Nogada

(stuffed peppers in walnut sauce)

4-6 poblano peppers

1 -2 pomegranates

For the filling:

2 TBSP olive oil

2 garlic cloves minced

½ large onion chopped (or one small one)

½ lb each of pork and beef (can make all beef if you like but not all pork)

½ cup of vegetable stock

½ TBSP thyme (powder)

½ TBSP Mexican oregano (powder or dried)

½ tsp cloves ground

½ tsp cinnamon (if you can find Mexican, it is better)

1 peach peeled and cut into small squares

1 apple peeled and cut into smalls squares

¼ cup slivered natural almonds

¼ cup pine nuts

Prepping the stuffing:

Heat the oil in a pan and cook the garlic and onion until translucent.  Add the meat, vegetable broth, thyme, oregano, cloves and cinnamon.  Cook until the broth is partially absorbed and the meat starts to brown.  Add the peach, apple, almonds and pine nuts.  Add salt and black pepper to taste.  The stuffing can be made the day ahead and store in the refrigerator.  Just make sure you warm it up before stuffing.

For the nogada (sauce)

1 Cup walnuts

½ Cup queso fresco

1 Cup milk

2 TBSP sherry

2 TBSP granulated sugar

Half a bolillo or 3 inches of French bread soaked in milk with 1 tsp cinnamon and one tsp sugar

Combine all ingredients in a blender and if the sauce is too thick or clumpy add more milk.  I have to admit I have omitted the bread and I can tell you that the result is still very good.    

Roast 4-6 Poblano peppers directly on a gas stove, on the broiler or on a comal (iron skillet).  I roast them directly over the flame on my gas stove and just char them until they have cooked through.  You are looking for the skin will turn black and that is ok.  Then place them in a paper bag close the bag so that they are easier to peel.  I always skip this step, I just start peeling directly under the faucet, and it works.  Once all the peppers have been peeled, make a slit and with your fingers discard as much of the seeds and veins as you can.  Try to take them all out because it can turn into an inedible pepper because of the heat. 

Stuff each pepper nicely and serve individually cover with the sauce.  Decorate with the pomegranate seeds and parsley flakes.  I honestly do not always use pomegranate seeds because I cannot find the pomegranate.  With or without the seeds they still taste amazing.  The seeds add crunch and tartness to the sweetness of the sauce.  If you do happen to find a pomegranate, make sure you are wearing an apron because the color of the pomegranate is hard to remove from clothing!

My first entry

I have to admit my favorite channels and shows are related in some way or other to cooking.  Whether it is the Food Network, Cooking Channel, Top Chef, or PBS's Rick Bayless and Lydia Bastianich, I love to watch them all.  I first started watching cooking shows on PBS in the 70’s such as Julia Child, and the Frugal gourmet in the 80’s.  I discovered the Food Network when I lived in San Antonio attending college.  It started as a little channel with repetitive programming back in 1999. 

Every time I saw a show with Mexican food, I would get very excited only to be disappointed.  Yes, I understand that in today's world of desperate chefs trying to make it on to one of the above named networks; they have lost the art of cooking.  They have adapted and changed true time and tested recipes that have proven to stand the test of time.  My biggest, biggest and when I say biggest, I mean huge! The size of infinity, which has no size but you get my point, is the belief that every Mexican recipe has cumin in it.  People around the world please understand that TEX-MEX food is known for the use of this B.O smelling spice, not Mexican food.  There is a clear line between both sides of the border cooking.  You can definitely tell when it is a Tex-Mex food or true Mexican food. There are very, very, and when I say very, I mean, a handful of Mexican dishes that call for this spice (Cumin).

I have always loved food and cooking.  I remember when I was about 3 years old, my great grandmother Petra would be waiting for me when I got out of pre-pre-pre K, yes my mother couldn't stand me at home begging her to take me to school, so she asked if I could go and they said yes.  This was in Mexico of course, where life was much simpler.  I would cook with Petrita, which is what we all called her.  I would help her make lunch for everyone.  I remember standing in a chair helping her make gorditas (corn concoctions like a fat tortilla) and shelling peas for the caldo (watery soup not creamy).  Then as everyone got home and started eating, Petrita would always say, Anita (that is I) made all the dishes!  Gosh I miss her she was so awesome!!!!!!!

Not all of us have the luxury to attend culinary school.  We are either too busy with work, kids, school or whatever the reason may be.  In my case, I know that I am a great cook, but I do not know much about how certain spices go with certain foods.  I could be creative if I learned little things like how to create sauces.  Unbelievably, it takes practice to make a sauce and to know how butter or cream reacts to heat.  I have found nothing on line that can explain to me the reason for each process.  I know that if I understood those little things in the cooking world, I could go from a cook to an awesome cook.  Therefore, I am hoping to get some inside knowledge and pass it on to you!

As I post some of the recipes and tips, you will eventually get to know me and I hope you get to know my sisters Mariela and Lorena, my brother Alberto (Tito as we lovingly call him) and my mom as well.  They are great cooks and I am sure I can convince them to collaborate with me in this crazy blog that may be read by none, or who knows may be read by many.  Some of you may have better recipes than I do and I hope you can share your own family recipes and tips!

So, here is to the beginning of a great blog!