Chiles en Crema

If you're adventurous and you like Mexican or Latin food, then this recipe may be up your alley. This is a great side dish and believe it or not, it goes great with turkey or chicken. My mom made this dish for Thanksgiving a couple of years ago and it's been a hit every since. She gave me the recipe last week and I recreated it last night. I used 3 very large Poblano peppers, which is just enough to feed 3 to 4 people. This is a super easy, low maintenance recipe and you only need 5 ingredients. The pomegranate seeds are not required, I just added them to make my plate look pretty.

INGREDIENTS (serves 4)

• 4 large fresh Poblano pepper, charred and peeled and seeded
• 1 white onion, cut into half moons
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2/3 cup crema (you can find crema Mexicana in most grocery stores in the refrigerated section)
• 2/3 cup grated Cotija cheese + more for sprinkling
• salt

DIRECTIONS

Char the pepper over your stove top or under your broiler. Once they are nicely charred, place them in a plastic bag and seal it. Wait 10 minutes, and then peel off charred skin. Remove stem and seeds inside. Chop up the pepper in a rough chop. Set aside.

In a skillet heat the tablespoon of olive oil on medium. Add the onions and 1/4 teaspoon salt and sweat for about 10 minutes. Raise temperature to medium-high and sauté another 2 minutes. Add the chopped up peppers and let sauté a couple of minutes more, until everything gets nice and hot.

Lower heat to medium again and add the crema and cotija cheese. With a spatula, fold in all the ingredients until it all gets nicely mixed. Let it come to a light simmer (but don't boil), then remove from heat. You can serve immediately, or sprinkle a little more cotija on top and place the skillet (it has to be oven proof) under the broiler and let it broil for 5 to 8 minutes or until top gets bubbly and toasty. How easy was that?

Blackened Tuna with Five Pepper Sauce

Matthew is still in Virginia and he has had some incredible seafood. He recently visited Croc's in Virginia Beach and had their blackened tuna with the five pepper sauce. This recipe is not from the restaurant, but it's pretty close. It's both sweet and sour and just slightly spicy because the chili garlic sauce gives it a kick. If you can't find chili garlic sauce, you can use 1/2 tsp. of red pepper flakes instead.

INGREDIENTS (serves 2)

• 2 (8 oz.) Ahi tuna steaks, about 2/3" thick
• 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 yellow pepper, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 tsp. chili garlic sauce
• 1/4 tsp. fresh black pepper
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 8 oz. dark syrup
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• Prepared mashed potatoes

DIRECTIONS

To make five pepper sauce: In medium saucepan, add syrup, chicken stock, vinegars and stir in sugar. Let sauce reduce by 1/4 over medium heat, about 15 minutes. Once liquid is reduced by 1/4, add all the peppers, chili garlic sauce, salt and pepper and cook over medium heat until all the peppers are translucent in color, about 15 more minutes.

To make the tuna: generously coat tuna with Cajun seasoning.

Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over high heat. When oil is nearly smoking, place steaks in pan. Cook on one side for 3 to 4 minutes, or until blackened. Turn steaks, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes for medium rare.

To serve: place a portion of mashed potatoes on center of a plate. Place your blackened tuna steak over the potatoes, then pour the five pepper sauce over blackened tuna fillet and serve.

Chiles Rellenos

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone! I hope you all had a great weekend. I spent my weekend in Mexico. I first attended my cousins quinceañera on Saturday; and I went to Puerto Nuevo with my entire family to eat some delicious spiny lobster on Sunday.

So, I probaby don't have to tell you that Cinco de Mayo is a national holiday in Mexico. It commemorates the victory of Mexican forces led by General Ignacio Zaragoza over the French occupational forces in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. History lesson over, now go make these chile rellenos. Once you have everything assembled, the cooking is fast, but the entire process will take you 45 to 60 minutes. Salud!

INGREDIENTS

• 6 Poblano chiles or Anaheim
• 1/2 pound Monterey Jack cheese, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup flour + 1 tablespoon
• 1 tsp. salt
• 6 eggs, separated
• 2 cups salsita roja (recipe below)
• 1 cup vegetable oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to broil.
2. Rinse the chiles. Place the chiles in a 9 x 14 baking dish and place on the top shelf of your oven. Watch and listen closely. When the skins start to char and turn black in places, take the chiles out and flip them over. Be sure and use a potholder or tongs so you don't burn your hands!
3. When both sides are fairly evenly charred, remove them from the oven.
4. Wrap each chile in a moist paper towel or place in a sealed plastic bag to steam. After a few minutes, check them. Once the skin comes off easily, peel each chile.
5. Cut a slit almost the full length of each chile. Make a small "t" across the top, by the stem and remove seeds and ribs.
6. Insert the cheese through the slit in the chili. Put in a good amount but don’t stuff it tightly as it expands when it melts. Seal the slit in the chili with thin wooden toothpicks.
7. Dredge the stuffed chiles in 1/4 cup flour and set aside.
8. Whip the egg whites at high speed with an electric mixer, until stiff peaks have formed.
9. Beat the egg yolks with one tablespoon flour and one teaspoon salt. Fold the yolks into egg whites and combine well.
10. Heat the oil in a large skillet with high sides on medium high.
11. Dip each chile in the egg batter. Coat evenly. Fry, seam side down on both sides until golden brown. Place on paper towels to drain.
12. Meanwhile, heat the salsa in a medium saucepan. Place one or two rellenos on each plate and pour salsa over them. Serve them immediately and don't forget to serve Sol beer, too!

SALSITA ROJA

INGREDIENTS

• 2 large tomatoes
• A quarter of a large onion, peeled
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• A handful of cilantro, lightly chopped

DIRECTIONS

In a medium sauce pan add the tomatoes, quarter of an onion and garlic cloves. Add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, or until tomato skins start to break and peel.

Drain, but reserve 1/4 cup of cooking liquid. Peel the skins off the tomatoes.

Place the ingredients in a blender, along with salt, pepper and cilantro. Blend on high for one minute, until you get a sauce. Taste for seasoning. If you want your sauce to be more watery, add a few tablespoons of the reserved water. Serve sauce warm. You can also use this sauce for tostadas or sopes. Can you feel the Mexican love?

Linguine With Lobster And Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

I was at Henry's today and they had lobster tails on sale for $5 each! So, of course I bought some. I came up with this recipe because I really wanted the comforting taste of a pasta dish, but I also wanted the fresh, buttery taste of the lobster meat. All of my measurements on this recipe are approximate because I forgot to measure my ingredients. I also used curry because I love the flavor of it with a heavy cream sauce, but this is optional. By the way, this is enough for two servings.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 large red bell pepper, roasted and peeled (if you don't want to roast your own red pepper, you can use jarred roasted red peppers)
• Chicken broth
• About 1/4 cup your favorite marinara sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon of finely minced Serrano pepper or poblano pepper
• 1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 generous pinch of curry powder (optional)
• Unsalted butter
• Heavy cream
• 5 asparagus spears, cut into 1" pieces
• A few basil leaves torn
• 3/4 cup dry white wine
• 1 large or 2 small fresh lobster tails
• About 1/4 cup red onion, finely sliced
• 1/2 lb Linguine pasta

DIRECTIONS

1. Add the roasted red pepper to your blender. Add about 1/4 cup of chicken broth, and 1/4 cup of the marinara sauce. Puree until smooth, about 1 minute. Taste for seasoning, and add salt, if necessary and puree a few seconds more. Set aside.
2. With kitchen sheers, cut a slit in the underside of the tail. Remove the meat, using a fork if necessary. Pull the meat from the wide end to the tail tip.
3. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large, heavy sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the lobster tails and sauté until done, about 5 minutes, turning a couple times to cook evenly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and chop the tails into 1/2" pieces. Set aside.
4. In the same pan, add the Serrano pepper, onion, garlic, curry powder, if using, and a pat of butter. Cook for about 3 minutes, until soft and tender and fragrant.
5. Add the white wine and let this cook out thoroughly, about 5 minutes more. Add the roasted red pepper puree and cook a few more minutes. In the meantime, start to boil water in a large pot. Cook your linguine until al dente.
6. Add a few splashes of cream to the roasted red pepper sauce, and bring it to a simmer (I think I added about 1/3 cup of heavy cream), and the asparagus spears. Cook 2 more minutes then add the cooked lobster pieces and torn basil leaves, and remove the sauce from the heat so that the lobster doesn't overcook.
7. Drain the pasta and place on a serving platter. Pour the sauce over the pasta and serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.