Layer Salad

Google "layer salad" and you will find a couple of million recipes. Here is one more.

Use a glass dish. I use a square baking pan 11 x 8 or so.

• 1/2 head of iceberg lettuce - slice 1/4 inch thick and then cut the long bits to be 2 or 3 inches max.
• red onion - cut 4 or 5 thin slices and quarter
• celery - thinly slice 1 stalk
• bacon - 1/3 pound cooked and crushed, OR 1 1/2 oz bacon bits (bacon bits are vegetarian)
• 8 oz grated Italian cheese - I buy a mixture of mozzarella, provolone, Parmesan and Romana.
• Salt and pepper.
• 12 oz frozen green peas - thaw on a towel so they don't collect water condensate
• 8 oz Miracle Whip salad dressing - You can use plain mayonaisse but its not as good. The Miracle Whip has some lemon or something tangy in it.
• sugar

Chop the lettuce and put it in the pan. Don't fill more than half-way to the top.

Sprinkle the onions, celery, bacon and grated cheese on top to form the layers. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on top of that. Press it down gently to level and compact it.

Next layer is the green peas. They don't need to be completely thawed but try to get them as dry as possible with no ice crystals either. (Keep back three peas to adorn the top later.)

Use the salad dressing to "ice" the salad like a cake. You have to get a knack for spreading the Miracle Whip without exposing the peas underneath. Cover the whole top. It doesn't need to be thick. Just enough to hide the green of the peas. Sprinkle a tiny bit of white sugar over the top of the salad dressing.

Position the three peas in the center as a decoration. Sprinkle a few more bacon bits around to break up the white expanse as in the photo.

Let it chill for 2 to 24 hours to let the flavors blend.

Spicy Pecan Caramel Pie

I'm not a pie guy. Well, I do eat pies. I just don't cook them much. So, last year, I wanted to make something different for Thanksgiving and we had a whole bunch of unshelled pecans off some friends' trees.

This is piled too high. Less pecans tastes better.

This pie will tickle your sweet tooth with the caramel filling, engage your mouth with the toasted pecans and then bite you gently a few seconds later when the spicy kicks in. All in all, a very pleasant experience and it's pretty, too.

I've never learned to make a good pie crust. What with flour and shortening and salt and getting the temperature just right and "don't stir or knead it too much", its too much work. Maybe when I get old. Oh yeah, I'm already old. Whatever ...

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

• 1 pie crust in a pie pan - Buy a pie crust or even a pie pan with a crust in it. If it is frozen, make sure it is thawed by the time you put stuff in it. Do not precook the crust.
• 1 lb Pecan halves, shelled, raw - about 4 cups. This is an approximate measure. I truly measure them out with the pie crust. You want it full and just level level. 4 cups is for my deep 9" pie pan with a store bought crust in it. The store bough crust in the tin pan is smaller.
• optional - 6 oz milk chocolate chips

Set those aside and toast the pecans in a large skillet. Toast 2 cups of pecans at a time. Each 2 cup toasting will use:

• 1 Tbsp butter - not margarine, real salted butter
• pinch salt
• 1 1/2 tsp white sugar
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes - this is the kind you get free with a pizza around here
• optional - zest of 1/2 orange

Melt the butter in the skillet on medium heat. Add the other ingredients and stir together spreading over the bottom of the pan. Add the raw pecans, 2 cups at a time, immediately. Keep the pecans moving and turning over so that all surfaces are coated. If the pecans start to brown, its time to take them out. Put them on a plate and set them aside. Repeat the toasting until you have done all the pecans.

Make the caramel pie "filling". We will pour this over the pecans in the pie shell. Note that the proportions have equal parts butter, white sugar, brown sugar and cream. You can adjust these amounts to fit the size of pie shell you have. Get close on the corn syrup, vanilla and salt and you will be good. (The corn syrup is there for chemical reasons and keeps the sugar from getting too grainy.)

This is how the Caramel looks
just before its fully boiling. The
bubbles will be all over soon.

Add the following to a sauce pan on low heat:

• 2/3 stick butter (6 Tbsp) - Melt this and then add the other ingredients.
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2/3 c white granulated sugar
• 2/3 c brown sugar
• 3 T corn syrup - after adding this stir together thoroughly
• 2/3 c cream

Stir together. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Keep stirring and keep it boiling for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add:

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract - I use Adams Extract double-strength vanilla

Stir well. Set aside for just a moment while we get the pie assembled.

Toasted Pecans in Raw Pie Shell
(Ready for the Caramel)

Put half the pecans in the pie shell. Then sprinkle the chocolate chips over them. Then add the other half of the pecans. The pecans might have gotten a little smaller while toasting so the pan might be a little less full than when you measured.

Pour enough of the caramel filling over the pecans to fill the pie three-fourths full of the thick liquid. If you fill it too full, it will overflow and make a royal mess of the oven when cooking.

Cook 10 minutes at 400 degrees F and then reduce the oven to 375 degrees F and cook 10 more minutes. The crust will be just done and the filling will have started to bubble here and there and the pecans will be a little darker but not burned.

Remove from the oven and let it cool before serving small slices. (It's really sweet so a small slice goes a long way.)

Variation 

Fry until crisp: 

• 4 strips strips of bacon

Crumble the bacon into the crust before adding the pecans

Also double the salt in the caramel and sprinkle a bit of coarse salt over the top of the pie

Chili con Carne

Chile is a dish with a million recipes. A whole lot of them are good. This is pretty traditional and sized to fit my crock pot which is too old to remember the size. But it's about 3 quarts.

First the meat. Prepare the following as described:

• 1 lb beef - I like short ribs or some non-descript and cheap cut of beef with a fair amount of fat. Some bones are good too. I like to get some marrow bones and add them in. A simple choice is just "stew meat". You need to slice it into 1/4 inch bits across the grain.
• 1 lb pork - Pork butt or pork stew meat is good or you can use the cheap pork chops with the funny shaped bones. Again slice into 1/4 inch bits across the grain.
• 1 large chicken breast - Cut into 3/4 inch cubes.
• 1 large onion - chopped
• 3 Tbsp oil
• One can (2 cups or so) chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
• water

Heat the oil in a skillet on medium heat. Add the meat in small batches so the bottom of the pan is covered but the meat is all in one layer. brown on two sides leaving the other edges raw. Add to the crock pot. Repeat until all the batches are browned.

Add a bit more oil and saute the onion until it turns soft and translucent. Add that to the crock pot.

Add the broth to the pan, and stir until the bits of flavor stuck to the bottom of the pan come loose. Pour the liquid into the crock pot.

Add enough water to cover the meat just barely and cook covered on high for 8 hours. You can, if you want, just cook it until the meat is no longer raw but the extra hours make it so much more flavorful and tender.

Be sure to check now and then to make sure the water isn't cooking down too far. If the water level exposes the meat, add some more HOT water to the crock pot.

When the time is up, turn the crock pot down to low and let it cook for another 20-30 minutes. The time doesn't need to be exact. Do not stir or move the pot during this time. This will let the oil from the fat rise to the top so you can spoon it off. Spoon off the fat very gently with a large spoon or ladle. How much oil depends on how much fat was in the meat. No fat and the meat will be tough. The only price to pay for too much fat is that you have more oil to dip off. (If you disturb it too much you can stir it up and let it set for another 20-30 minutes and dip off some more oil.) Note that you can also dip off oil after adding the other ingredients and cooking some more.

Add the spices:

• 4 Tbsp New Mexico style red chile powder - your choice of hot or mild. (Do not confuse this with regular "chili powder". Look at the ingredients. If there is anything except ground bits of chile pods, don't use it. "chili powder" typically contains garlic and oregano, which we don't want here.) I like the New Mexico chile powder for two reasons. 1) I grew up in New Mexico and it seems the right thing to do. 2) I like to choose the proportions of garlic and other spices instead of letting the spice vendor do that.
• 2 Tbsp sugar (or honey)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (not garlic salt)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp oregano (dried flakes)
• 1 tsp ground paprika
• 2 tsp finely ground cumin (or comino in spanish)
• 1 Tbsp salt

Stir  together and then add:

• 2 - 14 ounce cans of diced tomatoes - make sure to avoid the kind with spices already added. (Some people might like a third can of tomatoes if they prefer their chili more tomato-y.
• 1 can pinto beans, drained (about 2 cups) - The beans are optional. Some people don't like beans in their chili. Alternatively you can cook some dry or fresh pinto beans in water and add the beans without the liquid to the crock pot.
• 3/4 cup yellow lentils, dry - Optionally you can precook these in water until soft and either mash or blend them to a thick soupy consistency. The purpose of these is to thicken the broth and add some rich yet unidentifiable flavor.
• 1/3 cup Jim Beam (or other cheap bourbon) - Note that the alcohol will mostly cook out over the next two hours and I have a theory, as yet unproven, that the alcohol helps extract bits of flavor from the tomatoes much the way adding wine to spaghetti sauce works.

Cook for another hour and test for spiciness. If it is too spicy, add up to 1/4 cup of bitter-sweet chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate bar. Add a spoonful. Stir and let it cook until the chocolate melts in and reduces the effect of the spicy factor in the chile. If it is not spicy enough, add some cayenne pepper 1/8 tsp at a time. Chopped jalapenos work to kick up the heat too but I don't think they taste as good.

This can cook for 3 or 4 hours if you need to fit it to your schedule but be sure to cook on low for at least a second hour on low to let the spices merge properly.

Serve in bowls. Optionally top with grated cheddar cheese, Frito corn chips, oyster crackers, corn bread or hot flour tortillas.

Corn Cornbread

In a pan or on the griddle, this recipe works. Its a little sweet, so if you don't like sweet with your cornbread, get another recipe. If you can find the fine yellow corn meal, it's almost the consistency of cake.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Grease a large, flat, rectangular glass pan. Mine is 28 x 18 x 4 cm, strangely enough. That's 10 x 7 inches in Texas measurements. A larger pan will work fine and the the cornbread will be a little thinner. (Grease it with shortening smeared around with your fingers or use a stick of cold butter to cover the inner surface of the baking pan. Make sure to get the corners and the sides of the dish.)

Mix the following in a large bowl:

• 2 c fine yellow cornmeal
• 2 c all purpose flour
• 3 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/4 c sugar

Stir well and mix thoroughly with

• 4 Tbsp bacon fat (or 4 Tbsp butter but you will need to cut the butter into the dry ingredients)
• 4 eggs - beaten

Cut off the kernels from the corn and stir it into the bowl

• 4 ears of fresh, uncooked, unfrozen sweet corn on the cob

Then begin adding the following. First one cup and stir. Then a half cup and stir. Then a fourth of a cup at a time until a thick batter forms (roughly the consistency of good brick mortar).

• 3 c buttermilk

Pour this into the greased glass baking dish. Fill to the 2/3 point on the dish. This gives it room to rise without overflowing onto the bottom of the oven.

Cook for about 25 minutes. Slice into squares and serve with butter.

[Alternatively you can cook this batter like pancakes. You might need to thin it with a little water. Grease a skillet and pour the batter out onto the pan. Turn once when the bottom turns brown and the top begins to firm up a little. Serve with butter. Honey is good on these.]

Options: This cornbread works with other vegetables besides fresh corn. Here are some alternatives or use the corn with something (or things) else. In all cases here, push this stuff down into the batter after you fill the pan.

• Frozen whole okra
• Nickel diameter hunks of cauliflower
• Chunks of whole green chiles
• Halves of grilled jalapenos.
• Generous slices of yellow squash or zucchini
• Small, sweet whole pickles
• Globs of creamed corn. But stir some sugar into the cream corn before adding it.

Posole Variation

I've been making Posole for years. It's a red chile based stew with pork and hominy. We have it every year around New Years Day. A few weeks ago I had dinner with Mother at Garduno's in Albuquerque. They served a different version of the recipe than I have usually made. I liked it and it turned out pretty good made this way.

It does take close to a full day to make. So plan ahead.

I apologize in advance for the quantities. They are not particularly crucial.

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 lbs pork - This is best if it has some bones in it. Something like neck bones is good for part of it but I mixed in some I got at Walmart labelled "Pork for Carnitas" which was sort of pork stew meat but with larger hunks. It's ok if there is fat in the pork. We will cook it off.
• 4-5 cups chicken or vegetable broth - I prefer the broth rather than the bullion with water. The bullion is over salty.
• 1 cup beef broth (or 1 tsp beef bullion or 1 cube beef bullion)
• 1 tsp pepper - black or white both work well
• 1 tsp salt

Slice the port into thin slices as best you can given the bones in it. Brown it in a skillet with a bit of olive oil. If there is some fat in the pork, you might not need the oil. Add the meat to a crock pot and turn it on high. Cover the meat with the broth. Add water if needed. Stir in the pepper. (Salt goes in later.)

Cook for about 6 hours on high.

Turn down the crock pot. Set it on low. Add the salt. Cook for 8-10 more hours. Spoon off any oil or grease that pools on top. You have to not stir the pot for a while and the oil will collect. Gently lower the spoon just below the surface to collect as much oil and as little soup as possible. Dip some of of the outer green leafy Iceberg lettuce leaves to collect more of the little bits of oil this leaves. Use them like little brushes as the oil will stick to the lettuce and the broth won't.

While the meat is cooking, make the chile sauce. Use a medium sauce pan.

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion - dice finely
• 2 cloves garlic - minced
• 2 tsp flour
• 2/3 c New Mexico Red Chile powder - Do not confuse this with "chili powder" which contains garlic and onion and other spices. This is dried, ground up red chiles. (This is the hardest ingredient to find outside of New Mexico.) You can decide whether to use mild, med or hot.
• 1/4 tsp cumin - ground (also called comino)
• 2 cups chicken broth 
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp oregano - preferably mexican oregano
• 1 tsp salt

Saute the onion and garlic in the oil on medium heat until translucent. Stir in the flour and cook out the raw flour flavor. Stir a lot to keep it from over-browning the flour. Add the chile powder and comino. Stir to combine well and break up any lumps. Add the broth and other ingredients.

Simmer gently for 20 minutes. Be careful with the heat. It must be low enough to avoid scorching the chile which is easy to burn. (Be careful with this mixture. Chile will stain the counter or your clothes or the wall or any plastic container.) At this point I usually set the sauce aside or put it in the refrigerator.

When the soup and meat is nearly done, put the following in a large pan:

• 1 gallon can Mexican Hominy - I bought some Juanita's Foods brand. You can also use the dried Posole/Hominy available mostly in New Mexico. But you have to soak it for a couple of hours before heating and you have to add a bunch of water and simmer it for a while to let it soak up the water and soften.

Bring the canned Hominy to a boil. No need to simmer but it doesn't hurt if you need to prepare something else.

In individual bowls, add a little

• thinly sliced red onion

then stir together with equal parts Hominy and meat. Include a little of the liquid from the Hominy and a lot of the broth from the meat. Add a spoonful (or two or three) of the chile sauce to just one spot on the top of the bowl. Sprinkle with fresh chopped Parsley or Cilantro. (Note that the photo above shows how it looks after you stir the chile sauce in. I don't stir it myself as I like different bites to have different levels of the chile flavor.)

Serve hot.