What Do I Know About Mexican Food?
Well, it's a legitimate question. Having been born of parents who were born of parents who were born of parents, etc. born in the USA, I'm not really sure what I am. My family, on both sides, has been here so long nobody remembers who came over or exactly from where. My great, great, greatsomebody on my father's side fought in the Civil War. My mom's family came from Germany via England and has been here for as long as anyone can remember. All in all, it is believed that I am a German-English-French-Scottish-American.
So, what could I know about Mexican food? I know that I didn't have a clue about it until I moved from Illinois to California. Oh, sure, we have Mexican food in Illinois. In fact, I remember a Mexican-American nursing school classmate who once took us to a great little neighborhood place in Chicago. But, for the most part, Mexican food in Illinois is Taco Bell, Chi Chi's, El Torrito's, etc. OK, it's Mexican, but, let's be realistic. It's Americanized Mexican.
It wasn't until I moved to California that I was introduced to the likes of carnitas (pork), black beans, menudo (tripe) or birria (stewed goat). The first introduction was a little restaurant in San Jose off St. Somebody Street. I don't know its name or if it's still there. My husband found it when he lived in California before we were married. We were always the only non-Spanish speaking people in there. Many times, we ordered by pointing at what we saw. Lot's of times, we didn't know what we were eating. It reminds me of a friend from Chicago who visited a friend's family in Thailand. When they fed her some local dishes, she would remark "This is wonderful! Please don't tell me what it is."
From there, we moved to the coast and its great tacquerias and Mexican restaurants. Mmmmmm.
Well, these places have nothing to fear from what you will read here today, but I like it, my husband likes it, and our friends like it. So, please indulge me while I wander down the spicy-side of life. My husband and I like our food pretty spicy.......many of our family and friends don't. So, I have toned the heat down. What you will find here is "tolerated" by those around us. If you don't like hot food, minimize the hot spices. If you like heat, please feel free to crank it up to reactor level.
Chicken Mole Enchiladas
Serves 6.
3 pounds chicken
3 tablespoons mole sauce
1/2 cup onion -- chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth
12 corn tortillas
1 can enchilada sauce
2 cups cheddar cheese -- shredded
Cook chicken by any method (I use a pressure cooker). Skin cooked chicken and tear meat into small pieces. Combine chicken and mole sauce in a bowl and mix with a fork or electric mixer gradually adding broth until chicken is shredded into uniform pieces. Add onion and thoroughly mix. Spoon 1/12th of mixture into a tortilla and roll into a cylinder. Place rolled tortillas into a 9x13 baking pan. Pour enchiladas sauce over tortillas and sprinkle with cheese. Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. When done, the cheese will be melded and sauce will be bubbling. Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
NOTE: Mole is a mixture of spices and cocoa. If you can't find it, don't worry about it. Just leave it out.
Black Beans with Chorizo
Serves 6.
1 cup black beans
1/3 pound chorizo
1/2 cup onion -- chopped
1 clove garlic -- chopped
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
12 ounces beer -- or water
salt
Soak beans over night. In a heavy bottomed pot, sauté chorizo, onions, garlic, oregano and 1 teaspoon of cumin until chorizo is fully cooked. Drain beans and add to pot. Add Tabasco sauce and beer/water. Add enough water to cover mixture plus 1/2 inch. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a bare simmer. Cook uncovered until beans are tender about 1-2 hours. Take out about 1/3 of the bean mixture and mash. Return mashed beans to pot and stir. Add 1/2 teaspoon of cumin and salt to taste.
NOTE: If you can't find chorizo, you can substitute a spicy uncooked sausage. It won't be quite the same, but that's life.
Spanish Rice
Serves 6.
1 cup rice
Bring water, enchilada sauce and butter to a boil in a heavy bottom
pot. Add rice, onions and pepper. Stir once. Cover and simmer
hard for 20 minutes. Do not uncover pot or stir while simmering.
This will lead to sticky rice.
NOTE: You can substitute liquid drained from salsa or spicy V-8
juice for enchilada sauce.
1 cup water
1 cup enchilada sauce
1 teaspoon butter
1/3 cup red onion -- chopped