New Mexico Enchiladas with Red Chile Sauce

Just like Mama used to make.

Sauce:

8-10 dried red peppers (New Mexico, Ancho, Cascabel, etc. dried red peppers)
- break off the stems, remove loose seed, toast in frying pan over med heat 2-3 minutes, put in glass bowl
2 cups hot water
- soak chiles in hot water in glass bowl for 10 min
- move chiles to blender, add half the water and blend out all the large chunks (set aside for a bit)
1 Tbsp oil (olive, vegetable)
- heat in saucepan over med heat
1/2 small onion - chopped finely
- reduce to low heat and add onion to pan
1 Tbsp flour
- add to pan and stir until onions are soft and flour is beginning to color
- remove pan from heat, strain chile mixture into pan to remove seeds, stems, and fibers
- bring to a boil and simmer on low for 4 minutes stirring constantly. Chile will scorch easily.
1/2 tsp oregano (Mexican oregano is best)
1/2 tsp salt
- add and simmer 2 more minutes, remove from heat

Build enchiladas in a casserole pan.

18 corn tortillas
vegetable oil
1 very large red onion or 2 small red onions - chopped
4 green chiles/peppers (ancho, poblano, anaheim or green bell peppers work)
- You can use 8 oz of canned green chile but it is very mild like the bell peppers
16 oz sour cream
16 oz monterey jack cheese (mozzarella will work)
8 oz cheddar

- Toast the green chiles or peppers over a flame, a grill or under a broiler. This works best when they are charred all around.
- Toss into cold water.
- remove loose skin
- cut open and remove stem, vein and seeds (You can leave a few seeds if you want.)
- chop into 1/2 inch pieces.

- heat vegetable oil in flat pan
- dip each of 6 tortillas in hot oil, turn over once, remove quickly and arrange in casserole dish. 6 should cover bottom of pan.
- spread 1/2 of the chopped onion over the tortillas in the pan
- spread 1/2 of the green chile over the onions.
- spoon 1/2 of the sour cream around over the onions
- spread the cheddar cheese over the sour cream

Create a 2nd layer using those same ingredients: 6 tortillas, onion, sour cream but with 1/2 of the monterey jack cheese

- pour a thin layer of chile sauce over the cheese

- add another layer of tortillas (just as with the other, dipped in hot oil)
- pour on another thin layer of chile sauce
- spread the rest of the cheese over the top.
- sprinkle a bit more oregano and/or parsley over the top to make it look pretty

bake at 350F for 1 hour.

Serve with shredded lettuce, diced tomatos and additional sauce.

Some people like a fried egg added on top of their serving (on the plate not in the pan).

BBQ Brisket Rub

I've been playing with this for years and I like this one pretty well. It is the right amount for one brisket.

4 tsp salt
4 tsp black pepper
2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp New Mexico chile powder

Stir or shake well, crush any lumps. Spread the whole mixture over the surface of one whole brisket before cooking. Top and bottom and all sides.

Cook with the fat up. I like to cook it at 233 degrees F for around 10-12 hours.

Some options that work and you might like the taste. Try them one at a time or on combination. These are the right proportions by my taste.

1 tsp dry mustard
4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp thyme

Don't ever add sugar, pineapple, other fruit, tomato, honey or molasses before cooking. It can be spread on for the last hour if you like it sweeter. I prefer to put the sweetness in the sauce.

Happy Mouth Ice Tea

You may have noticed there is no "d" in "ice tea." That's the way we roll in Texas.

I've been making the raspberry tea for my wife for years but adding the lemon and mint take it to a whole 'nother level.

A Good Raspberry Tea

Steep the tea in 4 cups of boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes. It gets pretty dark when it's ready.

• 3 regular tea bags (decaf or caffeinated)
• 1 raspberry tea bag ( I use Bigelow Raspberry Royale and there might be a decaf variety.)

Remove the tea bags and add

• 1/2 cup raspberry syrup (I get it at the middle east grocery)
• 1/4 cup sugar

Stir and move to a pitcher with

• 4 more cups of water (unless you are going add the ice while it is still warm)

Chill--maybe overnight. If you don't chill, you should have put less water in with the brewed tea and you will need more ice when serving.

Add to a tall glass in this order

• Ice
• 4 fresh mint leaves, bruised
• 1/2 tsp (or so) lemon juice (juice of 1/4 lemon)
• chilled tea from above

Stir well and enjoy. Makes 8 glasses. Serves 4 people

Classic Margarita

I'm not much of a drinker. But now and then I'm in the mood for a Margarita--always on the rocks. This recipe reflects my reluctance to buy some Triple Sec or Margarita mix since it would take years to use it up at my rate of imbibing.

I have to explain my Margarita motivations. Once I went to Garduno's Mexican food restaurant. I asked for a Margarita. The waitress wondered what kind I wanted--premium, super-premium or whatever. I asked about the difference between the choices. She said the expensive ones were "smooth." I replied, "If I wanted smooth, why would I be drinking Tequila?"

A Margarita is supposed to be sort of rough, by my way of thinking. This recipe has just enough of that.

Serves one drink each for two people.

Put these in a small bowl:

• 1 Tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate
• zest from 1/2 orange (optional: substitute some lime zest but don't replace all the orange zest). About 1 tsp.
• 2 Tbsp tequila (or vodka)

Microwave for 30 secs and set aside to steep for as much as 30 min. (Or sooner if you are in a hurry.) These add the bite to the drink with the bitterness in the zest.

In a measuring cup add together:

• 1 cup tequila (I used Milago Silver brand.)
• 1/4 cup lime juice (the juice of two limes if they are big enough)
• 1/3 cup corn syrup (or 1/2 cup white sugar)

When the steeping is over, strain the orange stuff into the measuring cup with the above ingredients. (I used a tea strainer.)

Note that if the ingredients are not room temperature or if you skip the ice, there will not be enough melted ice in the drink. In that case you will need to add a small amount of water to keep the flavors under control.

Prepare the two glasses by getting the rim wet with lemon or lime juice and then coat with coarse salt. (Regular salt works, too.)

Fill the glasses with ice cubes. Stir the liquid well and pour carefully into the glasses making sure not to mess up the salt stuck to the rim.

Drink and enjoy.

One or two Bisquits

Perfect at breakfast for two.

I tried for many years to find a good biscuit recipe and failed. This is based on a recipe from Huntley Dent's "The Feast of Santa Fe." I'm not sure why a cookbook of New Mexican cooking has a biscuit recipe. We did fiddle with the recipe for several years before it got to here.

Part of the trick to good biscuits is to treat the dough as it it's breakable. Touch it gently. Coddle it a bit. Pat. Don't knead. (Also expect your biscuits to get better as you practice.)



Set oven to 425 degrees F and stir the following together in a mixing bowl. (Total elapsed time, start to eating, about 15 minutes.)

• 1/2 c flour (Note: later you will put another 1/2 cup on the countertop)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt (= 1 pinch)
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp sugar

Add

• 1 Tbsp butter - Pinch into flour mixture to incorporate it fully. 

Pour in slowly, stirring gently but continuously.

• 1/4 c buttermilk (or so)

Try not to mash it down but use a folding motion to keep it light.


If you haven't already, pile another 1/2 c of flour on the countertop. Pour out the dough on top. Pat down gently. Maybe fold over semi kneading without mashing to incorporate a bit of flour if it's too wet. Then lit it sit for 2 minutes.


Pat flat to about 1" to 1 1/2" thick and either pat into one round biscuit or cut into two biscuits with a table knife. If they are sort of round, the corners don't overcook. Put on thin greased cookie sheet or just a piece of foil greased.


Cook for about 8-11  minutes until slightly brown at 425 degrees.


This recipe works in multiples up to four.Just double, triple or 4X the quantities and follow the same procedure.

• You can use milk with a little lemon juice if you have no buttermilk.
• You can use plain milk if you leave out the baking soda but it's not as tasty.
• Don't use cream in place of buttermilk. They are too crumbly.

Option -- The following ingredient list makes 28 biscuits. This is just enough to fill my large cookie sheet completely. It's a lot of work to pinch in the butter so I use a food processor. You have to do it in two halves as most food processors won't hold 6 cups. Put half of the ingredients in at a time. Mix the dry ingredients. Pulse the food processor to mix. Add the butter. Pulse the food processor a few times to mix it all in. Transfer to a big, old bowl. Repeat and add the buttermilk.

• 6 c flour
• 2 Tbsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 c butter (or shortening) - 1 1/2 sticks butter
• 2 c buttermilk (+ 1 1/2 cup as needed to get consistency right)

You need about 2 cups of flour on the cabinet top for this number of biscuits. Pour out the dough and fold one or two times but DO NOT KNEAD. Pat gently to 1 1/2 thickness and use a table knife to cut into squares between 1 and 2 inches on a side. Gently round the corners as you transfer them to a cookie sheet. for cooking. Usually you will need the edges to touch to fit them on one sheet. That works pretty well.

Cook 12 to 15 minutes for this quantity.

Retreat Breakfast Casserole with Spicy Gravy

This is sort of like the Fritatta that LaToya showed me how to make a few years ago, though bigger. Serves a big slice to 12 people.

You will need a total of 2 dozen eggs before you get through. Since the ingredients go in by layers, I have marked each different ingredient in bold once below, in case you have to hit the grocer's.

• 25 oz frozen uncooked hash brown potatoes (grated style) [Alternative: This might be good with 1/4 - 1/2 inch round slices, cut from baked potatoes. Bake the night before and slice after they are cool. Skins or no-skins? You decide. I haven't tried this. Let me know if you try it.]
• 1-2 Tbsp parsley flakes

Press these into the bottom of a large greased casserole dish sort of like a crust. Sprinkle with the parsley.

I used a dish I got at Walmart marked 10 inch by 13 inch, 4 quart. This is the picture to the left. If your dish is smaller, you will need to reduce the quantities of eggs, at the least.

Bake "crust" at 400 degrees F for about 15 minutes while you prepare all the other stuff. They can turn brown but don't let them burn. When you remove the potatoes, turn the heat down to 350 degrees F.

• Med onion, about 2" diameter, chopped.
• 2 Tbsp butter, olive oil, or bacon grease
• 3/4 cup diced ham

Saute in a large skillet until onion is translucent and water is out of the ham on medium heat. Remove from pan and set aside.

• 2 bunches fresh spinach, washed and coarsely chopped
• 4 Tbsp butter (1/2 stick)
• 1 tsp salt

Melt butter over medium heat in same pan. Add spinach and sprinkle with salt. It will seem like too much spinach and you may need to add it to the pan by parts. When the spinach is wilted but not totally soft remove the pan from the heat.

• 8 eggs
• 1/4 cup cold water (No need to be precise on this)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt

You should remove the pan from the oven if you haven't already. (And turn the heat down to 350 degrees F.) Beat the eggs, water, salt and pepper together with a whip or a fork thoroughly. Pour evenly over the potatoes in the dish. Try to get some egg on every part of the potato "crust."

Spread the spinach over the top of the eggs. It is hard to get it even but try to get some in what will become each serving sliced out of the casserole dish when you are finished.

• 12 eggs
• 1/3 cup cold water (preciseness not required)
• 1 tsp salt

Beat the eggs, water and salt together as before. Add the sauteed onion and ham that you previously set aside. Stir well. Pour into the pan gently and spread around trying not to disturb the spinach too much.

• 4 eggs
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1/2 cup grated gruyere cheese (substitute mozzarella or cheddar if you wish)
• 1/2 cup grated havarti cheese (substitute as above)
• 2 Tbsp parsley flakes
• 1/4 Tsp black pepper
• 1/2 Tsp salt

Beat the eggs with the water. Stir in the salt, cheese, parsley and pepper. Mix well. Pour over the top evenly in the casserole dish. (Note: If the dish is over 2/3 filled from the top, it will overflow when you cook it. There is no solution other than to have a bigger pan or reduce the amount of eggs. Sorry.)

Cook somewhere between 40 and 60 minutes. The trick is to remove and serve hot just as the eggs in the middle get cooked. Cover for a more tender top crust. Don't cover for a more crispy top. (For the retreat, I cooked it at home uncovered for about 20 minutes on 350 in the convection oven. I then drove 20 minutes in my car to get to the retreat. Then it was cooked, this time covered, for about 40 more minutes in a regular oven set on 375 but that oven is notoriously inaccurate.)

Fresh Roasted Green Chile

While the eggs are cooking, make the spicy gravy.

• 4 Tbsp butter
• 4 Tbsp flour
• 1 quart buttermilk (or 3 cups milk and 1 cup sour cream)
• 1 cup New Mexico green chile, chopped coarsely (this is about 4 of the small cans)
• (optional but not recommended) 1-2 finely chopped fresh Jalapeno pepper to make it more spicy hot. Seeds, if included, will make it hotter.

Melt the butter in a saucepan on med-low. Meanwhile microwave the buttermilk a minute or two to get it warm.

When the butter is melted, add the flour and stir together. Cook the rawness out of the flour. Don't let it turn brown. This takes about 3 minutes from the time you have the flour and butter thoroughly mixed. But if it starts to burn, move to the next step.

Add the warm buttermilk all at once. Move the heat to medium and stir constantly until the mixture comes to a boil. It should thicken at this point but depending on unknown factors you may need to simmer a bit to thicken.

Add the chile (and optionally, the Jalapenos), stir well and bring back to a simmer, still stirring constantly.

The egg mixture will puff up, higher than the sides of the pan but shouldn't overflow. When it is done, as described above, remove from heat and let it set for 3-5 minutes before cutting.

Serve a 2" by 2" square with a ladle of gravy over the top. A tiny bit of finely chopped red bell or fresno pepper looks great on top.

Ice Cream Sandwich

This is so simple, I'm not sure we should call it a recipe. I'm pretty sure you'll need more than one of these.

• 1 Oreo

Open it up, leaving the filling on one side or the other (or both).

• 1 Tbsp Vanilla ice cream

Put the ice cream in between the Oreo halves. Scrape off any ice cream that sticks too far out. Serve.