Gourmet Meals in Crappy Little Kitchens (17 page)

1. cup vegetable stock

Sea salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

¾ cup Queso fresco, white cheese

2 cups self-rising cake flour with a pinch of salt

4 cups corn oil

8 egg whites

½ teaspoon cream of tartar

1
Preheat oven to 400°. Place the poblanos on a sheet tray and drizzle ¼ cup of olive oil over them. Roast them for 15 to 20 minutes or until they have begun to blacken and blister. Remove them with your tongs, place them in a mixing bowl, and cover with plastic wrap to steam.

2
Place your Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Once it begins to smoke, quickly sauté your onions until they begin to soften, and add the smoked paprika. Carefully add the rice, toss it all together, and allow the rice to brown for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the raisins and pecans, and then pour in the stock, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Allow this to boil, remove from the heat, cover and stick in the oven for 45 minutes exactly.

3
Once the peppers are cool, carefully peel off their skins. Make a 2-inch slit in the side and carefully remove as many seeds as you can, trying not to tear the pepper. Stir ½ cup of cheese into the rice mixture. Cup the pepper in one hand with the slit side up and open. Use your other hand to gently stuff ¼ to . cup of rice filling into each pepper. Close the slit in each pepper with two or three toothpicks. Save any leftover rice filling for adding to the Tomato and Avocado Fritatta (p. 144) for breakfast in the morning. Wash and dry the Dutch oven for the next step.

4
Dredge each stuffed pepper in the flour. Place the Dutch oven over medium-high heat, and add the corn oil. In a large bowl, whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar until the whites form soft peaks. Roll a pepper in the egg whites, and carefully drop it into the oil. Repeat with two other peppers. You should be able to fry three at a time. Turn them often, and fry them for about 5 minutes or until golden brown. Gently remove them and place them on paper towels to drain. Repeat with the rest of the peppers, and carefully remove the toothpicks when the peppers 5Serve are cool enough to handle. warm, drizzled with Mexican Mole Sauce (p. 212) and garnished with the Queso fresco crumbled over the top. If you like, top it with some Latin Salsa Verde (p. 218) or Pico de Gallo Salsa (p. 215).

Leaning Tower
of Tofu Lasagna Stacks

Serves 4

I've received rave reviews for this vegetarian entrée in my restaurants. The tofu doesn't replace the meat in this recipe. It is a high-protein, low-fat substitute for the noodles!

½ cup olive oil

16 ounces extra firm tofu

Sea salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

2 eggs

¼ cup milk

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup plain bread crumbs

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cups (about 8 ounces) sliced cremini mushrooms

1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced

1 recipe Mighty

Marinara Sauce (p. 210)

6 ounces provolone cheese, thinly sliced

¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

1
Preheat the oven to its lowest setting. Place your 12-inch sauté pan over medium-high heat, and add the olive oil. Make ¼-inch slices down the length of the tofu and lay the slices on paper towels to absorb any moisture. Gently salt and pepper each tofu “noodle” and cover with more paper towels.

2
Whisk together the eggs and milk in a medium bowl to make an egg wash. Line up a medium bowl of flour, the egg wash in the middle, and a medium bowl of bread crumbs on the end. Lightly dredge the tofu in the flour, dip it in the egg wash, and then coat it in the bread crumbs. Drop a pinch of bread crumbs into the hot oil. If it fries rapidly then the oil is ready. Carefully place four pieces of tofu in the olive oil and fry until golden brown (about 2 minutes), turning once to brown the other side. Place each finished noodle on a baking sheet lined with paper towels in the oven to stay warm and drain.

3
Rinse your 12-inch sauté pan, dry it off, return it to medium-high heat, and add the butter. When it has melted, toss in the mushrooms to coat them with butter, lightly season with salt and pepper, and turn down the heat to medium to allow the mushrooms to sweat. After about 10 minutes, when the mushrooms have released their liquid, add the zucchini and sauté until it also becomes soft. Season the mixture to taste with salt and pepper and turn out onto clean paper towels to get rid of the liquid we sweated out. Again wash this pan for the next step.

4
Turn the oven up to 350°. Lay four tofu slices in the sauté pan. Top each tofu slice with some mushroom and zucchini mixture, marinara sauce, and a slice of provolone. Then place another tofu “noodle” on each stack and layer with the other ingredients.

5
Place the pan in the oven until the cheese has melted and the marinara is hot, about 10 minutes. Use your spatula to center each stack on a dinner plate and garnish with a sprinkling of fresh basil.

BYOM (Bring-Your-Own-Margarita)
Mushroom Tamales

Serves 10

My mushroom tamales receive rave reviews in my restaurants as well as my home. This gourmet meal can become the reason you have the gathering. Throw a tamale-making party, and don't forget the margaritas!

36 large dried cornhusks

½ ounce dried porcini mushrooms

8 ounces cremini mushrooms caps, sliced

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

¼ cup finely chopped yellow onion

1 garlic clove, minced

8 ounces shitake mushrooms, sliced

1 teaspoon crumbled dried epazote

Sea salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

2 cups finely ground dry corn masa harina (Mexican flour)

½ teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon sugar

2 cups mole sauce (p. 212)

1
Cover the cornhusks with hot water to soften for 30 minutes. Drain and cover the husks with a damp towel. Soak the dried porcinis in 1 cup of hot water for 30 minutes. Reserve the soaking liquid, but squeeze as much water as possible from the porcinis, slice them, and place them in a bowl with the sliced cremini mushrooms. Place a paper towel, like a filter, into the top of a measuring cup. Slowly pour the mushroom liquid through the paper towel to filter out any grit, and reserve the strained liquid.

2
Add 2 quarts of water to your 12-quart stockpot and put it over medium-high heat.

3
Place your 12-inch sauté pan over medium heat and add ¼ cup of the butter. Once melted and foamy, add the onion and garlic. Sauté until the onions have become translucent. Add the mushrooms and epazote and toss the entire mixture together, sautéing for 5 minutes. Season the mixture to taste with salt and pepper. Pour in the porcini water, bring it to a simmer, and drop the heat to low so it can reduce slowly.

4
Combine the masa, baking powder, sugar, and ½ tablespoon of salt into a large bowl. Stir in 1½ cups of hot water and then ¾ cup of softened butter. Fold the dough over and over in the bowl until it becomes smooth.

5
Flatten 3 tablespoons of corn dough into the center of a cornhusk (½-inch thick). Cover it with 1 tablespoon of mushrooms and then 1 tablespoon of Mole sauce. Fold the top and the bottom of the husk closed, then fold closed the right side to completely cover the filling. Roll the whole tamale over onto the left flap encasing the tamale like a package. Repeat until you run out of mushrooms.

6
Raise the temperature under the stockpot to high. Fill the steamer basket with tamales by standing them up on end. Cover and steam the tamales for 40 minutes. Remove them from the basket with tongs, stack them high on a platter, and serve immediately with extra Mole sauce and the Spanish rice (minus the pecans and raisins) from the Chili Relleno (p. 134) in bowls nearby. You can individually wrap the leftovers tightly in foil and freeze them, but they never last that long in my Crappy Little Kitchen.

Dignified
One-Pot
Creations

The most CLK friendly dishes are those that can

fit all that crap into one pot! To be a true one-pot wonder, everything should be tossed, cooked, and even served in one single pot. This method of cooking cuts down on dishes (obviously), as well as prep time, and requires little space and only one burner for gourmet cooking results. This chapter explores some of my favorite only-one-potneeded dishes that guarantee a spectacular gourmet finish.

You'll love the ease of preparation and gastronomic genius you'll achieve with the use of only one pot!

Classic one-pot wonders span the globe—the French have cassoulet (a rich, slow-cooked bean stew or casserole originating from France's Languedoc region in the south), the Spanish have paella (a rice dish that originated in its most recognized form near the eastern coast of Spain's Valencian region), and the Indians have kema (a hearty casserole of lentils, potatoes, tomatoes, and curry served all over India), to name a few. One-pot wonders run the gourmet gamut of flavors, textures, and even shapes and sizes.

Tomato and Avocado Frittata
with Cracklin' Corn Bread

Serves 4

You can find the ingredients for this recipe precut at your local market to save time on dicing. Or, make this dish when you have leftover salsa or Pico de Gallo Salsa (p. 215). Just add the sliced avocado.

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

½ cup diced yellow onion

1 clove garlic, minced

½ cup diced Roma tomatoes

Sea salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

6 eggs, beaten

1 avocado, sliced

Corn bread (see recipe that follows)

1
Preheat oven to 300°, and place your 8-inch nonstick sauté pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil to the pan and allow it to heat up. Put the onion in the pan and lightly sauté until it starts to soften and change color. Then add the garlic and tomato and continue to sauté another 2 minutes. If the elements start to caramelize or turn brown, turn down the heat a bit. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to season.

2
Pour in the eggs, and move the onion, garlic, and tomatoes around to disperse them evenly in the pan. While the eggs begin to cook, arrange your avocado slices on the top of the frittata fanning them around into a complete circle. Allow it to cook this way for 1 minute.

3
Sprinkle another pinch of salt and pepper evenly over the eggs and avocado. Put the entire pan in the center of the oven for 10 minutes.

4
Using a potholder or dry towel, remove the pan from the oven and run a heat-resistant spatula around the outside of the frittata to make sure it will release. Slide it out onto your cutting board and, using your chef knife, cut it like a pizza.

5
Serve warm, with 2 wedges of frittata fanned over a slice of warm, buttered corn bread.

To make the Cracklin' Corn Bread:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon salt

1½ cups cornmeal

3 cups buttermilk

4 eggs

½ cup melted butter

1
Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, add all of the dry ingredients and whisk to sift them together. Make a well in the center and pour in the buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter. Whisk to make a smooth batter.

2
Spray a 9 x 13-inch cake pan (disposable is fine) with cooking spray and fill with the corn batter. Bake until golden brown on top and a butter knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 15 minutes.