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

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

Instant Homemade Pizza

I like making pizza at home. It's less expensive then ordering pizza from a restaurant, and you can control the ingredients used to make the pizza. You can either make a large pizza for the entire family, or let everyone make their own individual pizza. My husband and son are meat eaters, my daughter is a vegetarian and I like interesting topping selections, so it works out better to let everyone at our house make their own, personal size pizza.

 

Perforated pizza pan, helps make a crispy crust. Available at kitchen supply stores and the kitchen department of larger department stores.

 

Individual Boboli pizza crust, spread with olive oil and minced garlic. The olive oil helps create a crispier crust.

Pizza Crust Options

1. Visit your local pizza restaurant and buy pre-made pizza dough from them. I cover a large cutting board with corn meal, and use a rolling pin to roll out the dough before placing it on a pizza pan.
2. Pillsbury pizza dough. Available in the refrigerated section of grocery stores, along with biscuit and cookie dough. This pizza dough unrolls into a rectangular shape. Spread the dough out onto a medium to large rectangular cookie/baking sheet.
3. I can sometimes find fresh, pre-made pizza dough at my local grocery store. Check the bakery department of grocery stores to see if they have pizza dough available.
4. Pre-made pizza crusts such as Boboli. I like Boboli individual pizza crusts, which are available in a package of two, at most grocery stores.

Add your favorite toppings, such as sun-dried tomato paste, sliced green onions and black olives. 

 

Add mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and fresh herbs such as thyme and oregano. I always have fresh herbs growing in my garden, so I can simply run out to the garden and snip a few herbs to add to all my culinary creations.

 

Bake the pizza according to the pizza crust directions. If you are using pizza dough from a local restaurant, ask them for their cooking recommendations. I use a pizza cutter to make quick work of cutting through the pizza.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

Healthy Snack Foods

I try to have a variety of healthy snacks in the house at all times. After I get back from my cycling workouts, I'm usually starving. I don't always have the energy to cook a meal from scratch, so instead of eating a bunch of junk food, I grab one of these healthy snacks.

The snack will keep me satisfied, then I can take my shower and relax for a few minutes before having a real meal. The snacks are also nice to have on hand for between meal nibbling. 

Healthy Snack Ideas

• Apple slices with cheese slices. I really like sharp cheddar cheese with apples.
• Celery stuffed with peanut butter.
• Vanilla yogurt served with fresh fruit such as blueberries, raspberries or sliced strawberries.
• Dried fruit and nut mix. Make a mixture of your favorites including apricots, raisins, cranberries, cherries, pecans, walnuts and sunflower seeds.
• Hummus with whole wheat crackers.
• Guacamole with baked corn chips.
• Raw vegetables with low fat ranch dressing.
• Low fat cottage cheese with your favorite fruit such as mandarin orange slices, sliced strawberries or blueberries.
• One of my favorite snacks, which I sometimes have for breakfast, is a bit of granola mixed into a carton of soy yogurt. I'm lactose intolerant, so I have to stay away from dairy products. My daughter recently decided to become a vegetarian, so we usually pick up a 6-pack of fruit flavored soy yogurt whenever we go grocery shopping.

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva

Lots of Muffin and Biscuit Recipes

 

ABOVE: tray of rolled biscuits waiting to go in oven

I love a good muffin, or freshly baked biscuit, with all my meals. My waistline could do without so many bakery products, but a homemade muffin is a weakness of mine.

Here are links to some of my muffin and biscuit recipes on the Suite101 website.

Zucchini Nut Muffins

 

ABOVE: zucchini nut muffins

Pumpkin Spice Muffins

 

ABOVE: pumpkin spice muffins

Savory Corn Muffins

Lemon Poppy Seed Teacakes

Banana Bread & Banana Bread French Toast

Blueberry Muffins with Crumb Topping

Quick Bread Recipes. Includes recipes for chili cheese cornbread, garlic bread and Parmesan chive biscuits.

Recipe for Four Varieties of Rolled Biscuits. One basic biscuit recipe can be turned into plain biscuits, poppy seed biscuits, sesame seed biscuits or cinnamon sugar biscuits.

 

ABOVE: sesame, poppy and cinnamon rolled biscuits

Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva