Cuisine Diva

Roasted Corn with Green Chile Cheese Tamales

Platter of homemade tamales

For the past couple of weeks I've been blogging about my Mexican inspired cuisine journey. Here are the links to those posts.

Food & Culinary Equipment From Mex Grocer

Pozole; Pork and Hominy Stew

Quesadillas; Homemade Corn Turnovers

More Mexican Ingredients From Mex Grocer

Some of the ingredients used to make tamales

Tamale Time
I've been wanting to try making tamales, and yesterday I finally got around to making them. I made a small batch of vegetarian, roasted corn with green chile cheese tamales. They were a bit time consuming to make, but quite tasty. The nice thing about tamales, is that you can make a big batch of them, then keep the leftovers in the refrigerator for a few days. They can even be stored in the freezer for a month or two.

Soaking corn husks in hot water

Roasted Corn Tamales with Green Chile Salsa

This is a multi-step recipe. You will need to prepare the corn husks, make the tamale dough, make the tamale filing, then assemble the tamales before placing them in the steamer and cooking them.

• Prepared corn husks
• 1 recipe tamale dough
• 1 recipe tamale filing
• Shredded cheese

This recipe makes approximately 1 dozen tamales. You will need to prepare approximately 2 dozen corn husks for this recipe, 1 dozen husks for the tamales, another 3-4 husks to tear into ribbons to tie the ends of the tamales together, and around 6-8 husks to line the bottom of the tamale steamer. To prepare the dried corn husks, soak them in a large bowl of hot water, until they are pliable. This can take up to 3 hours, so start this step in advance!

Stand mixer on left, masa harina blended with margarine and seasonings on right

Ingredients for the Tamale Dough

• 1 1/2 cups masa harina
• 6 tablespoons margarine - room temperature
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1 to 1 1/4 cups vegetable broth

Tomatillos, left, and green chiles, right

Roasted corn with green chile filling

Directions for the Tamale Dough

I highly recommend using a stand mixer to make the tamale dough. You could use a regular electric mixer, but I think my hands would get tired holding onto it for so long. Kitchen gadgets are your friend!

• Place the softened margarine inside the bowl of a stand mixer.
• Whip the margarine until light and fluffy.
• Beat in the salt, baking powder, sugar and cumin.
• Add the masa harina and beat until it resembles fine crumbs.
• Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl as needed.
• Slowly add the vegetable broth and beat until the dough is light and fluffy.
• Cover the bowl of dough with a clean cloth, or piece of plastic wrap, and set aside while you make the filling.

Line the bottom of the tamale steamer with corn husks

Ingredients for the Tamale Filling

• 1 can corn - drained
• 4 canned tomatillos - diced
• 3 canned mild green chiles - diced
• 2 teaspoons toasted Mexican oregano
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon achiote paste
• 1 tablespoon hot water

Directions for the Tamale Filling

1. Place the corn in a large frying pan over medium heat.
2. Cook until the corn begins to turn golden brown, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in the tomatillos, green chiles, oregano and cumin.
4. Place the achiote paste in a small bowl, and stir in the hot water until a smooth liquid is formed.
5. Stir the achiote liquid into the pan, and cook the filling for another minute or two.
6. Turn the heat off, and set the filling aside until you are ready to fill the tamales.

Building the Tamales

I thought it would be easiest to take a lot of pictures of the tamales, as they are being put together, rather than typing out a long list of instructions.

Spread 2 tablespoons of tamale dough, on the smoothest side of a corn husk. You can either use a spatula, your hands or a tamale spreader for this step.

Place a heaping tablespoon of filling on top of the tamale dough.

Place a couple of teaspoons of shredded cheese on top of the filling. I used cheddar, but you can use Jack cheese, pepper Jack, Mexican blend, etc...

Fold the left side over the filling, then fold the right side over the filling.

Use two strips of corn husks to tie off the ends of the tamale.

The tamale ready to go in the tamale steamer.

Fill the steamer basket with a couple of inches of water, place the steamer insert on the bottom. Cover the insert with corn husks, then place the tamales on top. Place the lid on the pan, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Let the tamales steam for approximately 1 hour. Check occasionally to see if you need to add additional water to the steamer pot.

Carefully remove the tamales from the steamer basket. They will be hot! Unwrap the tamales and eat ASAP. You can either eat the tamales as is, or add a bit of mild red chile sauce, or a bit of hot sauce if you prefer.

My Tamale Future
This was my first attempt at making tamales. They came out better than I thought, but this is another recipe where it would be a big help to have another set of hands. I was going to make 3 varieties of tamales, but once I realized how much time that would take, I decided to only make 1 variety for my first attempt. In the future I would like to try a meat filled tamale and a dessert tamale. YUM!

Take care,
Cuisine Diva AKA Lynn Smythe

Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil Salad

Caprese salad plate

Tomato, mozzarella and basil salad is also known as Caprese Salad, or Insalata Caprese. I wrote an article on how-to make a caprese salad, for the Herbs & Spices section of Suite101 on September 14: Insalata Caprese; How-to Make a Classic Italian Salad Platter.

Lunch Salad
I had a caprese salad for lunch yesterday, which is shown in the photo at the top of this blog post. I used perfectly ripe, campari greenhouse tomatoes, layered with marinated mozzarella cheese and fresh basil leaves. The mozzarella had been lightly coated in olive oil, then rolled in a finely chopped mixture of garlic, parsley and red peppers. That must have been red pepper flakes, because the cheese was a bit hot and spicy. I sprinkled the salad with a fruity extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar, freshly cracked black pepper and a bit of sea salt.

Platter of caprese salad kabobs

Balsamic Vinegar VS Lemon Juice
I found the balsamic vinegar to be a bit too sweet for my taste. So for today's salad, I used a bit of freshly squeezed lemon juice instead. That was the secret, the tangy lemon blended perfectly with the fruity olive oil. Lots of yummy dressing to sop up with my big chunk of crusty Italian bread.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

Clementine Oranges

Bag of clementines

Oh my darling, oh my darling,
Oh my darling, Clementine!
Thou art lost and gone forever
Dreadful sorry, Clementine

Click here, for the complete lyrics to Oh My Darling Clementine.

Clementines are a type of mandarin orange. You know, those cute little, bitty orange segments that you can find in the grocery store, either in tin cans, or clear plastic jars. We LOVE mandarin oranges at our house. Clementines are available in the fall down here in south Florida. I started getting them a few years ago, when I saw a small crate of them at Costco.

Perfect Little Packages
They are perfect little snacks, easy to peel and seedless. They remind me of a tangerine, but with a sweet orange taste, and no seeds. I almost never buy regular oranges, just a bit too big for a snack. Since clementines are only available for a short time, I buy them whenever I see them at the grocery store. Today I found a large net bag of them at my local Publix grocery store. A little bit disappointed that they didn't have them in the wooden crates like I usually find them. My husband and kids like them too, always nice to have a healthy snack for a change.

Clementine Facts
Clementines are normally imported from Spain, Morocco and other parts of North Africa. But my bag says it came from Chile. The Produce Pete website mentions that "Clementines have been available in Europe for many years, but the market for them in the United States was made only a few years ago, when a devastating freeze in Florida made domestic oranges scarce and expensive. A lot of oranges, including clementines, were imported from Europe, and clementines started to catch on. Over the past few years they've become increasingly popular, and as the demand has gone up, so has the price."

Snack Time
We've even found mandarin oranges in individual size plastic cups, 6 cups to a package. My daughter, the vegetarian, likes to pack those in her school lunch,much more interesting than a cup of boring applesauce. The individual cups are also great to take along on road trips, much neater than trying to open a full can of mandarin oranges in the van.

Clementine Trees
I would like to grow a few clementine orange trees, but I'm not sure if they can be shipped to Florida or not. Most citrus fruit trees aren't available for Florida shipment. I'll wait until we move to North Carolina, then I'd like to grow a tree or two in a large container. That way the clementine can grow outside during the summer, then be brought indoors, or inside my greenhouse (wishful thinking?) for the winter. A quick search on the Internet found clementine trees available from $24.99 to $325.00, depending on the size and variety.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

Egg in the Basket Recipe

Eggs in a basket, ready to eat

An egg in a basket is simply an egg, that has been pan fried in a piece of bread, which has had it's center removed.

Alternative Names

• Egg-in-a-frame
• Egg-in-a-window
• Egg-in-the-hole
• Egg in toast
• Hen-in-a-nest
• Moon egg
• One-eyed Jack

Butter both sides of the bread

Ingredients for Making Egg in the Basket

I made eggs-in-the-basket on Friday morning for breakfast. I used rye bread, Land O'Lakes Buttery Spread, and cooked the eggs over easy.

• 2 slices bread
• 2 eggs
• Butter or margarine
• Salt and pepper

Hole cut out of center of bread slices

Directions for Making Egg in the Basket

You can either butter the bread first, then cut out the center, or cut out the center and then butter the bread. If you butter the bread first, you could also cook the center circle you cut out, to serve along with the eggs in a basket.

Eggs cooking in the bread basket

1. Place a medium frying pan over medium heat on the stove.
2. Cut out the middle of each slice of bread, using a cookie cutter or small knife.
3. Spread both sides of each slice of bread with a bit of butter.
4. Place the buttered bread into the frying pan.
5. Crack open the eggs, and place one in the center of each slice of bread.
6. Cook until the bread is light brown.
7. Flip the egg in a basket over, and continue cooking until the other side is light brown, and the egg is cooked the way you like it.
8. Garnish with salt and pepper and EAT immediately.
9. Total cooking time is approximately 2 minutes per side for an over easy egg, cook a bit longer if you want to thoroughly cook the egg yolk.

Egg in the basket flipped over and continuing to cook

Creative Flair
You could use just about any interesting cookie cutter, to cut out the center of the bread. How about using a heart shape cookie cutter when making breakfast on Valentine's Day. Or a clover shape for St. Patrick's Day, a star shape for Independence Day, etc... I have TONS of cookie cutters, I could find an interesting shape for all the major holidays.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

More Mexican Ingredients From Mex Grocer

On August 27, I blogged about placing a large order with Mex Grocer. I've been having fun using all the ingredients in a variety of Mexican and Latin American inspired recipes.

 

Above: individual serving of picadillo

Latin American Inspired Recipes
Here's links to my latest Mexican/Cuban recipes, which incorporate some of the ingredients I purchased from Mex Grocer.

Authentic Mexican Hot Chocolate; recipe for a hot chocolate drink.

Mexican Green Chile Cornbread Casserole; recipe for a lightly spicy corn side dish.

Picadillo Recipe; how-to make a classic Latin American meat sauce.

Pozole; pork and hominy stew

Quesadillas; homemade corn turnovers.

 

Above: Mexican green chile cornbread casserole

Last week I placed a second order with Mex Grocer, which arrived this afternoon.

Here's what I've received:

1. Can of mild, whole green chiles. Will use a few in the meat tamale filling and/or to make a green chile sauce to go along with the meat tamales. I'm thinking pork or turkey, but you never know.

2. Can of zucchini flowers - I plan on using them for either a zucchini flower soup, or as part of a corn turnover filling.

3. Bag of tortilla wheat flour, AKA harina para tortillas. I've made corn tortillas before, using masa harina, AKA corn flour, now I want to try making regular tortillas using wheat flour. The wheat flour contains shortening and baking powder, just add water to make into tortilla dough.

4. Another bag of masa harina. I've made homemade quesadilla's, AKA corn turnovers, twice since getting my first order from Mex Grocer. They are super delicious and fun to make. I still want to try making tamales, and will need quite a bit of masa for the tamale dough.

5. Another package of Mexican chocolate tablets. Great cinnamon laced chocolate. I've been using it to make Mexican hot chocolate and hot mocha - delicious!

6. Another couple of packages of corn husks. When I finally get around to making tamales, I'm going to be making a HUGE batch. I want to make three kinds: a dessert tamale, a meat tamale and a veggie tamale for my vegetarian daughter. YUM, I can't wait!

7. Mexican oregano. I have a huge Mexican oregano bush growing out front, but with all the cooking I've been doing lately, I've been using it faster than I can harvest/grow it. Not a bad idea to have some dried Mexican oregano on hand, just in case.

8. Bay leaves. I have an old container of musty looking bay leaves. Time to throw those out and replace them with some fresher ones.

9. Package of short cinnamon sticks, AKA canella. I have ground cinnamon, but there's nothing like grinding your own herbs and spices in a mortar and pestle right before you need them for a recipe.

10. Package of whole cloves. Again, I have ground cloves in the pantry, just not the same as grinding your own.

11. Package of whole cumin, AKA comino. Looks a little bit like caraway seeds. I'll use these both ground and in whole form.

12. Mild, red enchilada sauce. I'll probably use this as the sauce for either the meat tamales, or the veggie tamales when I make them.

13. Chipolte pepper paste. I received a can of whole chipolte peppers in adobo sauce in my last order with Mex Grocer. Since all the recipes I've been following have you finely mince/grind the chipoltes into a paste, I thought it might be more convenient to have a jar of the pre-made paste on hand. Chipoltes are smoked jalapeno peppers, totally different flavor profile than the fresh, green jalapenos.

14. Pickled prickly pear cactus, AKA nopalitos. The pickled cactus pads are packed in a glass jar with  water, onions, cilantro, serrano peppers, salt and vinegar. I'll use these to make a salad, or as part of a corn turnover filling.

I've actually seen prickly pear cactus in a few of my neighbors yards. I suppose I could knock on their door and ask for one. But in this neighborhood, they might shoot first and ask questions later. And I don't think I'd really like dealing with the spines on the fresh cactus pads. 

 

Above: making Mexican hot chocolate

Toast Your Herbs & Spices
Most of the Mexican recipes I've been following, call for dry toasting one or more of the ingredients. It's much easier to toast herbs and spices in their whole form. Use a dry frying pan, set over medium heat, and toast each ingredient until it just begins to turn fragrant. If the items are smoking, either your pan is too hot, or you've left them in the pan for too long. Remove the toasted ingredients from the pan, let cool, then grind to a powder in a coffee grinder or mortar & pestle.

You can also toast dry chile peppers using this method. Once the peppers have cooled, break them open and remove the seeds and membrane, unless you are looking to make a really hot and spicy dish. The peppers can then be torn into rough pieces and added to your recipe, or soaked in a liquid and then added to your recipe.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

How-to Make Caesar Salad Dressing

Individual serving of Caesar salad

Caesar salad can be ordered at most any restaurant. Fancier eating establishments will make the salad table side, which makes waiting for the rest of your meal to arrive not quite so boring. Authentic Caesar salad dressing should be light in texture, yet rich and tangy in taste, and not a gloppy, mayonnaise clogged mess.

 

Making homemade breadcrumbs for Caesar salad

To make an authentic Caesar salad, first you will need to make homemade breadcrumbs. While the breadcrumbs are toasting in the oven, begin to make the dressing. Once the breadcrumbs and dressing have been made, you can assemble the salad.

This recipe calls for a raw egg, which has been coddled in hot water. If you have an aversion to using raw eggs, look for pasteurized eggs in the grocery store. Or you can substitute a tablespoon of mayonnaise for the raw egg if absolutely necessary.

 

Ingredients for making a classic Caesar salad

To make a vegetarian version of the Caesar salad dressing, omit the anchovy fillets. I used to be afraid of anchovies, thinking they were nasty little fishy beasty things, but after making pasta with homemade puttanesca sauce for the first time, I am no longer afraid of this classic, gourmet ingredient.

 

Anchovy fillets packed in olive oil

Making Breadcrumbs

Use leftover Italian or French bread to make the breadcrumbs. I used leftover sesame coated Italian bread that I had purchased a few days earlier at a local Italian market. The bread was pretty much dried out when I went to make breadcrumbs with the leftovers. Fresher bread will require less oil, and a longer toasting time, while staler bread will require more oil and a shorter cooking time.

Ingredients for the Homemade Breadcrumbs

• 4 cups cubed, day old/stale Italian or French bread
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic - minced, or 1 tablespoon garlic paste
• 1 tablespoon fresh, or 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions for the Homemade Breadcrumbs

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Cut the bread into 1 to 2 inch cubes.
3. Place the cubed bread into a large mixing bowl.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, garlic, oregano and salt.
5. Toss the bread cubes with the olive oil mixture, until all the bread is well coated.
6. Place the seasoned bread cubes onto a baking sheet.
7. Bake in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden brown, and crisp.
8. Remove to a wire rack to cool until ready to use in the Caesar salad.

Coddle egg in hot water

Caesar Salad Ingredients

1. 3-4 teaspoons minced garlic or 1 tablespoon garlic paste
2. 4 anchovy fillets - finely chopped
3. 1 teaspoon capers - drained
4. 1 teaspoon grainy, Dijon mustard
5. 2 tablespoons lemon juice
6. 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
7. 1 egg - room temperature
8. 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
9. Freshly cracked black pepper
10. Grated Parmesan cheese
11. 2-3 heads Romaine lettuce - chopped

Caesar Salad Dressing Directions

1. Place the garlic and anchovies into a mortar, and grind into a fine paste with a pestle.
2. Add the capers, and mustard and continue grinding until a smooth paste is formed.
3. Use a spatula to scrape the paste out of the mortar, and place it in a mixing bowl.
4. Whisk in the lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce.
5. Place the egg in a large coffee mug, or other heat proof container.
6. Pour boiling water over the egg, and let sit for 3 minutes.
7. Drain the hot water off the egg, and cover with cold water.
8. Whisk the coddled egg yolk into the mixing bowl with the other Caesar dressing ingredients (discard the egg white).
9. Slowly whisk in the olive oil, until well blended. The dressing should have a consistency which is just a bit thicker than heavy cream.
10. Add the Romaine lettuce to a large salad bowl.
11. Toss with a bit of the Caesar salad dressing, then garnish with Parmesan cheese, freshly cracked black pepper and a few of the homemade breadcrumbs.
12. The salad should be well coated, but not drowning, with dressing.
13. Because of the raw egg that is used, any leftover dressing should be discarded.

 

Garlic, anchovies, capers and mustard processed with mortar and pestle

 

The complete Caesar salad dressing

Cardini's Original Caesar Salad Dressing
Read the story about the origin of Caesar salad: Cardini's Caesar Dressing. The salad was invented circa 1924 when Italian born Mexican Caesar Cardini started making the salad in his Tijuana restaurant.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

Quesadillas; Homemade Corn Turnovers

 

Two corn turnovers topped with mild, creamy green chile cheese sauce

Wow, I can't believe I actually made these all by myself yesterday. They aren't complicated, but are a bit time consuming. I could have used another set of hands, or a short order cook to help me out, but I did it all on my own. Besides making the turnovers with the pork filling, I also made a few with some leftover picadillo I made a few days ago.

 

Cooked, shredded pork

Prep Work
I made the filling and cheese sauce ahead of time. I actually thought I would wait until the next day to make the quesadillas, but decided to make them later that same day. I blew off my regular Wednesday night bike ride and run (BRICK workout) to stay home and make these delectable corn treats. It's a good thing they are so time consuming, otherwise I'd probably make them every week. And then I would weigh 1,000 pounds by the end of the year.

 

Jar of achiote paste, and small dish of achiote paste which has been blended with hot water

Mex Grocer
I got many of my ingredients from Mex Grocer including:

• Tortilla press
• Queso cotija
• Chipolte peppers in adobo sauce
• Achiote paste
• Masa harina

You should be able to find most of the ingredients at your grocery store or gourmet market.

 

Quesadilla filling: pork with spicy red chile sauce

Multiple Step Recipe
There are three items that need to get made, before you can begin putting the quesadillas together. The filling and sauce can be made in advance, and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use. To reheat the cheese sauce, I stirred in 2 tablespoons of chicken broth, and heated it up in the microwave for a few minutes. You could also reheat it in a small pan, placed over medium low heat, but that will take longer.

1. Filling - pork with spicy red chile sauce.
2. Sauce - mild green chile cheese sauce
3. Quesadilla dough

Pork with Spicy Red Chile Sauce
Queso cotija is a very salty, Mexican cheese which is a bit like feta. Use feta if you can't find queso cotija. Chipolte is a smoked jalapeno pepper, they can be found in most grocery stores, packed in small cans of a vinegar based sauce, AKA adobo sauce. Achiote paste is a combination of achiote seeds, vinegar, salt, garlic and spices. I bought achiote seeds before, they are hard as a rock, it's much easier to buy ready made paste.

I had some leftover pozole in the refrigerator. I strained out the pork, and shredded it with a fork. The pork was already well seasoned from when it was cooked in the pozole. You could use chopped, cooked chicken or cooked ground beef in place of the pork, if desired.

Ingredients for Pork with Red Chile Sauce

• 1 1/2 to 2 cups shredded pork
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 chipolte in adobo sauce - minced
• 1 teaspoon achiote paste
• 1 tablespoon hot water
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon Spanish sweet paprika
• 1/2 cup crumbled queso cotija

Directions for Pork with Red Chile Sauce

1. Place the shredded pork into a mixing bowl.
2. Stir in the garlic and chipolte.
3. In a small cup, blend the achiote paste with the hot water. Stir the mixture into the pork.
4. Stir in the cumin, coriander, paprika and cheese.

Shredded, drained zucchini

Green Chile Cheese Sauce
The pork filling is quite spicy. The mild green chile cheese sauce is a nice compliment to the spicy filling. I have a HUGE Mexican oregano bush growing near my front door, which I can harvest a few stems from whenever I need it. Regular oregano can be substituted for the Mexican oregano if necessary. 

To prepare the zucchini, first I peeled it, then I grated it. Then I wrapped it up in a clean, kitchen towel and squeezed the excess moisture out of it.

 

Mild, green chile cheese sauce

Ingredients for Green Chile Cheese Sauce

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 cups grated, drained zucchini
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1 tablespoon fresh, or 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2/3 cup mild, green chile sauce
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 cup shredded cheese such as Monterey jack, cheddar or Mexican cheese blend
• 1/4 cup chopped, fresh cilantro leaves

Directions for the Green Chile Cheese Sauce

1. Add the oil to a large frying pan placed over medium heat.
2. Add the zucchini and green onions to the pan, and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in the oregano, salt and nutmeg.
4. In a small cup or bowl, whisk the cornstarch into the green chile sauce. Whisk the mixture into the frying pan of zucchini/green onions.
5. Whisk in the shredded cheese. Continue whisking the sauce, until all the cheese has melted and the sauce is thick and creamy.
6. Remove the pan from the heat, and whisk in the cilantro.

Ingredients for the quesadilla dough

Quesadilla Dough
There are two ways to make the quesadilla dough, either using the traditional ingredients, or using the modern ingredients. I used the modern method. Masa harina is a dried corn flour, which is specifically processed for use in tortillas and tamales. Do not substitute corn meal!

 

Quesadilla dough

Traditional Quesadilla Dough Ingredients

• 2 cups masa harina
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 7/8 cups warm water
• 2 tablespoons pork lard

Modern Quesadilla Dough Ingredients

• 2 cups masa harina
• 1 7/8 cups chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons margarine - melted

Quesadilla dough waiting to be pressed flat in the tortilla press

Directions for the Quesadilla Dough

1. Place the masa harina in a large mixing bowl.
2. Heat the chicken broth in the microwave, using a microwave safe container.
3. Slowly stir in the chicken broth and melted margarine into the masa harina using a large fork.
4. Form the dough into a ball, and knead a few times with your hands.
5. Set the dough aside for 15 to 20 minutes.

Place filling in center of flatted quesadilla

Assembling the Corn Turnovers

• 1 recipe filling
• 1 recipe sauce
• 1 recipe quesadilla dough
• Tortilla press
• Gallon size plastic freezer bag - cut in half
• Comal or large frying pan
• Vegetable oil

Fold corn turnover in half, sealing edges

Directions for Making Corn Turnovers

1. Place one half of the plastic freezer bag on the bottom of the tortilla press.
2. Place a 1 1/2 to 2 inch ball of quesadilla dough on the middle of the tortilla press.
3. Place the other half of the plastic bag on top of the quesadilla dough ball.
4. Press the dough flat.
5. Open the tortilla press, remove the top plastic bag.
6. Place 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling in the middle of the quesadilla.
7. Fold the bottom plastic bag in half, forming a turnover, or what I like to call, a giant Mexican ravioli.
8. Seal the edges of the turnover using your fingers, making sure not to rip/poke a hole in the dough.
9. Place 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large frying pan placed over medium to medium high heat.
10. Add 3-4 quesadillas to the pan and cook until lightly browned on both sides.
11. Place the cooked quesadillas onto a large serving platter.
12. Add additional oil to the pan if necessary, and continue making, filling, cooking the turnovers until all the filling and dough has been used.
13. Place 1-2 quesadillas on a small plate, and cover with the sauce.
14. EAT - EAT - EAT!!!!!

Pan fry homemade quesadillas

Vegetarian Quesadillas
My almost 14 year old daughter is a vegetarian. If I were to make the corn turnovers again, I would use vegetable broth instead of the chicken broth, so I could make a few quesadillas that she could eat. For the filling I might try heating up some soy crumbles, mixing them with taco seasoning and adding a bit of shredded cheddar or Mexican cheese blend. I think she still eats cheese, but I'll have to check to make sure she hasn't gone to the extreme of becoming vegan.

 

Platter of homemade quesadillas, AKA corn turnovers

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

Pozole; Pork and Hominy Stew

 

Bowl of pozole garnished with queso cotija, cilantro and lime juice

Pozole is a traditional Mexican dish, which features lots of pork, chile peppers and hominy. Hominy is corn that has been treated with the mineral lime, to remove the outer hull, AKA the pericap. It sounds a bit weird, but think of hominy being like tiny little dumplings. They add a bit of texture to this classic comfort food. Hominy is also called pozole.

I saw pozole soup featured on an episode of Dinner's, Drive-in's and Dive's and thought it looked pretty tasty. Now that I'm on a Mexican cooking streak, at least for this month, I thought I'd try making homemade pozole.

 

A plethora of Mexican ingredients from Mex Grocer

Pozole Soup or Stew
Depending on how much liquid is added to the recipe, the pozole can be a soup or stew. I was worried about all the chile peppers that were added to the recipe, so I added a bit more liquid to make mine like a soup. Any kind of pork can be used in this recipe; stew meat or pork shoulder or even thick cut pork chops. My husband had some thick cut pork chops in the refrigerator, which he donated for the pozole. As long as he was being fed, I don't think he really cared what the pork chops were being used for.

 

Pozole AKA hominy

Interesting Ingredients
Most of the ingredients for the pozole should be available at local grocery stores. You may have to hunt around a bit, my local stores all have an ethnic food section, where they lump together all the Asian and Latin American ingredients. You can also purchase the ingredients from an online retailer such as Mex Grocer. I got the hominy, chile peppers, chipolte and queso cotija from Mex Grocer.

Pork cubed and waiting to be added to pozole

Ingredients for Pozole

• 29 ounce can hominy
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 1/2 pounds pork - cut into 1 to 2 inch cubes 
• 1 medium onion - diced
• 4 cloves garlic - minced
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes - any kind of chunky tomato sauce can be used too
• 4-6 cups chicken, beef or vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon toasted Mexican oregano
• 2 toasted bay leaves
• 2 toasted, dried chile peppers - I used one chile negro and one chile pasilla in my pozole
• 1-2 chipolte peppers in adobo sauce - chopped fine

Chile pasilla, on the left, and chile negro on the right

Directions for Pozole

1. Drain the water from the can of hominy, and place the hominy in a medium sauce pan.
2. Fill the sauce pan with fresh water and bring to a boil.
3. Turn the heat down to low, and let the hominy simmer for 30-45 minutes.
4. Add the oil to a large stock pot, or dutch oven placed over medium heat.
5. Add the pork, and cook until lightly browned on all sides.
6. Remove the cooked pork to a bowl.
7. Add the onions to the pan, and let cook in the pork fat/vegetable oil mixture until they begin to turn translucent.
8. Stir the garlic into the onions and cook for another minute.
9. Add the pork back into the pan.
10. Stir in the cumin and allspice.
11. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and chicken broth.
12. Lightly dry toast the Mexican oregano and bay leaves in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the toasted herbs to the pozole.
13. Lightly dry toast the dried chile peppers in a frying pan over medium heat. Remove the toasted peppers to a plate, and let cool. When cool enough to handle, remove the seeds and inner membrane. Roughly tear the toasted chile peppers into small pieces, and stir into the pozole.
14. Stir the chopped chipolte into the pozole.
15. Bring the pozole to a boil, reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 1/2 hour.
16. Strain the hominy, once it has finished simmering, and stir it into the pozole.
17. Let the pozole simmer for another 1/2 hour.
18. Remove the bay leaves, and serve the pozole with the garnishes of your choice.

Chipolte peppers in adobo sauce

Pozole Embellishments
Pozole should be served with a tray full of ingredients, so that each person can add the garnishes of their choice to their individual serving. My favorite combination is a bit of crumbled queso cotija, chopped cilantro leaves and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

 

Pork browning, hominy simmering, herbs toasting

• Crumbled queso cotija - a semi-hard, salty Mexican cheese, which is a bit like feta.
• Shredded cabbage
• Chopped onions
• Fresh cilantro leaves
• Lime wedges
• Sliced radishes
• Chili powder and/or hot sauce - only if you like REALLY spicy pozole. I thought the pozole had a little bit more heat than I'm used to, but I am trying to get a bit more adventurous.

Lime wedges, fresh cilantro leaves, queso cotija

 

Pot full of pozole, simmering on the stove

Have you made pozole before? I'd like to hear about your method for making this classic Mexican dish.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

Joseph's Classic Gourmet Market

My friend Gloria and I were talking about food the other day, after she made the Asian dumpling recipe I posted up to Cuisine Diva on Wednesday. She mentioned a great gourmet store near her, Joseph's Classic Market, and wondered if I had ever been there.

I did a quick search on the Internet, and found their website. Joseph's Classic Market has three Locations; Palm Beach Gardens, Royal Palm Beach and Boca Raton.

Hours of Operation

• All three Joseph's Classic Markets have the same operating hours.
• Monday through Saturday 8 AM to 8 PM
• Sunday 8 AM to 6 PM

My husband and I went to the one in Boca, which is on Military Trail, just past Glades Road.It's just down the street from where the old King's Market used to be. I really miss King's Market, but now have a new favorite gourmet specialty market to go to.

• Joseph's Classic Market
• Town Center Plaza
• 5250 Town Center Circle
• Boca Raton, FL 33486

The Boca store is the newest location, which just opened in June, 2009. It it is a small, compact store that contains a lot of gourmet goodies. The store is divided into 7 main sections:

• Fresh produce
• Meats
• Prepared foods
• Deli
• Bakery
• Wine
• Cheese

To Go Food
Joseph's Classic Market had a terrific selection of ready made food. I had been recipe testing all week, and didn't feel like doing much cooking during Labor Day weekend. My husband and I also had two long bike rides planned for the weekend, a 77 mile ride on Saturday, and a 62 mile ride on Monday. I knew we would be pretty pooped after doing those rides, too tired to even go out to dinner, so we picked up some of their prepared to-go food to have on hand for the holiday weekend.

Here's what we got:

• Chicken piccata
• Eggplant Parmesan
• Green beans almandine
• Potato croquettes
• Rice balls

All of the to-go food can also be ordered ahead of time through the Joesph's Classic Market catering department. Items on the catering menu can be ordered in half trays, which serve 8 to 10 people, or full trays, which serve 16-20 people. They also offer Dinner-for-two-to-go which consists of your choice of entree, vegetable, potato, salad and dessert for two people.

Gourmet Ingredients
I also purchased a lot of gourmet ingredients, some of which will be kept in the pantry, for future meals, and some of which will be eaten right away. Some of the items I got included:

1. Jar of anchovies packed in olive oil - I'm thinking I'll use a few fillets to make a real Caesar salad dressing, and I also want to try making puttanesca sauce for tossing on al dente spaghetti.
2. Garlic paste in a tube - great, concentrated flavor, in a convenient tube. Can be used to make a variety of sauces and dressings.
3. Black olive paste in a tube - same thoughts/uses as the garlic paste.
4. Mario Batali's Alla vodka pasta sauce - my father's side of the family was Italian. I have very rarely come across a jar of pasta sauce that doesn't end up in the shopping cart. Look in my pantry and there's always at least 3 varieties/brands of tomato/pasta sauce in there.
5. Inglehoffer stone ground mustard - a nice grainy mustard. Not sure what I'll use it for, but there was an entire section of gourmet mustard's at Joseph's Classic Market. I showed great restraint in only placing one variety in the shopping cart.
6. Jar of green peppercorns packed in vinegar - I'm thinking it's time to try to make steak au poivre, or maybe chicken au poivre, since I don't really eat red meat anymore. The majority of steak au poivre recipes I've read call for dried peppercorns. But I saw an episode of Diner's, Drive-in's and Dives, where they used fresh green peppercorns, that looked to die for - YUM!
7. Jar of capers - I'll use the capers in the puttanesca sauce. I also sprinkled a few capers on the chicken piccata that we got to go. Chicken piccata already comes with capers, but I really like capers, and always like to sprinkle a few extra on top.
8. Can of whole, peeled, Italian tomatoes in sauce - also for the puttanesca sauce.
9. Bundle of fresh basil
10. Bundle of fresh fennel
11. Japanese style panko bread crumbs - I've got some zucchini in the refrigerator that is telling me it wants to be turned into fried zucchini sticks.
12. Orzo pasta - for an orzo pasta salad.
    
13. Mini penne pasta - too cute
14. Mini farfalline pasta - again, I'm a sucker for anything a  bit different from the usual noodles you find at the grocery store.
15. Fig preserves - to serve with cheese and crackers.
16. Spiced ginger preserves - also to serve with cheese and crackers. Too bad I'm not a wine drinker, would be good with a platter of cheese, crackers and fruit preserves.
17. White stilton cheese with mango and ginger
18. Double cream champignon - soft, ripened cheese with mushrooms

What are some of your favorite gourmet ingredients that you like to cook with?

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

How-to Make Steamed Chinese Dumplings

 

Platter of steamed Chinese dumplings

I love Chinese food, and I especially LOVE Chinese dumplings. It doesn't matter what else we are ordering, we always have to add an order or two of dumplings to the order if we're getting Chinese takeout. We usually get pan-fried dumplings, which are simply dumplings that have been briefly pan-fried after they are steamed.

Chinese dumplings are traditionally filled with pork, but one of our local restaurants also offers a vegetarian dumpling. I decided to fill my dumplings with a mixture of ground, dark meat turkey, shrimp and vegetables.

Wonton Wrappers = Dumpling Wrappers
I used wonton wrappers to save time, instead of having to make dumpling dough from scratch. Although making homemade Chinese dumplings is not difficult, it is time consuming, so they certainly don't qualify for the quick and easy recipe category. You can even make the filling the day before, and store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to make the dumplings.

 

Blanching and draining cabbage in preparation for Chinese dumplings

Ingredients for Chinese Dumplings

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 inch piece ginger root - peeled and grated
• 4 green onion bottoms - cut in half and sliced thin
• 4 ounces mushroom tops - diced
• 1 1/4 pounds ground dark meat turkey
• 3 cups shredded cabbage
• 12 ounces shrimp - peeled, de-veined and chopped
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 2 tablespoons soy or Ponzu sauce
• 1/4 cup cilantro - chopped
• Wonton wrappers
• Small bowl of water

Green onions sliced, mushroom diced

Directions for Chinese Dumplings

You only use a level tablespoon of filling for each dumpling. You need to make sure all the dumpling ingredients are chopped fine, so the sides of the wonton wrappers don't blow out as you are filling the dumplings.

 

Cooking Chinese dumpling filling in the wok

1. Prepare the cabbage by blanching it in boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and immediately plunge into a bowl filled with ice water. Drain the blanched cabbage in a colander, and squeeze out all the excess moisture.
2. Heat the oil over medium high heat in a wok or large frying pan.
3. Add the ginger and cook for 1 minute.
4. Add the green onions and mushroom and cook for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add the ground turkey and cook until no longer pink.
6. Stir in the blanched cabbage and cook for 1 more minute.
7. At this point, check the mixture for excess moisture. The mushrooms and cabbage contain a lot of water, which they release during the cooking process. You might have to drain off the liquid if it is more than just a spoonful or two. You don't want a soggy filling, or the wonton wrappers will disintegrate before you finish filling them.
8. Add the shrimp, and cook until they just begin to turn pink.
9. In a small bowl, whisk together the corn starch with the soy sauce. Ponzu is a thin, citrus flavored soy sauce. We also use ponzu as a dipping sauce for the completed Chinese dumplings. Stir the sauce into the wok and cook for another minute or two.
10. Remove the wok from the heat and stir in the cilantro.
11. At this point you may refrigerate the filling and make the dumplings the next day, or continue with the recipe.

Wonton wrapper filled with Chinese dumpling mixture

Directions for Filling the Chinese Dumplings

1. Let the filling cool slightly so that you don't burn your fingers while filling the dumplings.
2. Open up the package of wonton wrappers.
3. Fill a small bowl with water and place it near the wonton wrappers.
4. Peel off 1 wonton wrapper from the package and place it on your work surface.
5. Use your fingers to wet the edges of the wonton wrapper with a bit of water.
6. Use 1 level tablespoon of the filling and place it in the center of the wonton.
7. Fold the wonton in half.
8. Crimp the edges of the wonton wrapper, making sure to completely seal the dumpling.

 

Bottom of steamer basket covered with perforated waxed paper

Directions for Steaming the Chinese Dumplings

1. The traditional method of steaming the Chinese dumplings is to use a bamboo steamer placed over boiling water in a wok. While I do own a wok, I don't have a bamboo steamer, so I used my metal vegetable steamer instead.
2. I cut out a circle of waxed paper to fit the bottom of the steamer. I poked holes through the waxed paper so the steam will reach the dumplings as they are cooking. I filled the steamer basket with dumplings, approximately 1 dozen at a time. Then I placed a couple of inches of water in the bottom of the steamer, added the dumpling filled steamer basket to the pan, placed the lid on and turned the heat onto high.
3. As soon as the water comes to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low, and let the dumplings steam for 8-10 minutes. Remove the basket from the steamer and carefully remove the dumplings to a platter. Be careful, the dumplings will be hot. If you let the dumplings cool too long, they will begin to stick to the waxed paper, so remove them ASAP. I used a set of bamboo tongs to remove the cooked dumplings from the steamer.
4. Serve the dumplings right away with your favorite dipping sauce. The cooked dumplings will also keep a few days in the refrigerator. I made 2 dozen dumplings, and still have enough filling leftover to make another 2-3 dozen dumplings. I like to make small batches of dumplings, as they are going to be eaten. Nothing like freshly steamed, homemade dumplings!

Steamer basket filled with Chinese dumplings, ready to be steamed

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva