Yummy Food!

Flour Tortillas

2004-10-08T20:50:00.000-07:00

I need to save this recipe somewhere. It might as well be here.

5 cups unbleached white flour
3 cups whole wheat flour
4 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons baking powder

Mix well.

1 cup canola oil
4 or less cups water

bake at 370 degrees

Mexican Chicken/Lime Soup

2004-10-05T21:52:00.000-07:00

Let's divert. This is terrific & pretty easy. The lime makes it addicting as well. Did I mention it's low fat, low calorie, and "Atkins-friendly?"

****

Olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, sliced
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast and/or thighs, cut into strips and sprinkled with black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons dried oregano
3 cans low-salt chicken broth
Fresh lime juice from 6 limes
Chipotle chili powder

1 avocado, chopped
2 jalapeño chilies, sliced
1 tomato, chopped
Lots of chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in large soup pot over high heat. Stir in garlic slices. Add chicken and oregano to pot. Sauté until chicken is cooked on the outside. Add chicken broth and lime juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through. Add a dash of chipotle chili powder. Season soup to taste with salt.

Ladle soup into bowls. Top soup with lots of avocados, tomatoes, jalapeños, and cilantro.

Rubs, Part 1

2004-09-05T10:57:00.000-07:00

Here are some ingredients for rubs. Works on poultry, pork, and beef. Meant to be a list of suggestions, not an entire recipe.

dried, ground ancho peppers
dried, ground chipotle peppers
dried, ground habanero peppers
smoky paprika
Old Bay Seasoning
dried, ground yellow mustard seeds
salt
brown sugar 1 tablespoon ground
cumin
ground coriander
chipotle chili powder
black pepper
white pepper
cayenne pepper
onion powder
garlic powder
dried oregano
dried thyme
dried basil
cocoa

cinnamon (jerk-style)
ground gloves (jerk-style)
ground nutmeg (jerk-style)
ground allspice (jerk-style)

I'd Rather Eat a Chipotle Pepper Than Chocolate (Or Chicken or Pork & Mango/Avocado Salsa)

2004-08-17T20:24:00.000-07:00

Rating ****

1 pork large tenderloin or 2 chicken breasts

2 tablespoons finely chopped canned chipotle chiles
1 tablespoon adobo sauce from canned chipotle chiles

Marinade:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon adobo sauce from canned chipotle chiles
1/3 cup plain yogurt

Salsa:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 tablespoons chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 cup chopped onion
1 large firm but ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, & chopped
1 large firm but ripe mango, peeled, pitted, & chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped canned chipotle chiles
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
fresh-squeezed lime juice from 1 lime
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

2 cups arugula

This recipe is reasonable spicy, reduce chipotles for the faint of heart.

Pre-heat barbecue to medium.

Cut each tenderloin or breast horizontally almost all the way across and open like book. Spread chopped chiles over the meat facing up. Close the meat and tie with a string.

Whisk yogurt, 1 tablespoon oil, cumin, and 1 tablespoon adobo sauce in small bowl to blend. Place the meat in the yogurt sauce and set aside to marinate for 15 -30 minutes.

Heat oil over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and stir until brown, about 2 minutes. Add onion and ginger to skillet. Sauté until onion and ginger are fragrant, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add mango, avocado, chipotle chiles, and turmeric. Stir until avocado and mango are warm, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and mix in lime juice and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper to taste. (Can be made ahead.)

Grill meat, brushing with remaining yogurt sauce, until thermometer inserted into thickest part of meat registers 145°F for pork or 175°F for chicken. Remove from grill and let rest for a few minutes. Slice meat crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

Spread 1 cup arugula on each plate. Arrange sliced meat and salsa on top. Decorate with cilantro leaves.

This dish needs a good Zinfandel or Pinot Noir. Or, for a beach party atmosphere, concoct a Rum drink, such as Mojitos. (I guess I better post some drink recipes soon.)

Snob Burger

2004-07-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

Rating: ****

Reduce Zinfandel & minced shallots in a sauce pan.

Meanwhile, slice ripe garden tomatoes, avocado, red onion, & blue cheese.

Mince fresh rosemary.

Mix Zinfandel & minced shallots reduction with ground beef (you can also use a % of ground lamb or veal here), ground black pepper, and salt. Make patties, place on barbecue. Place sliced red onion on barbecue.

Spread sliced half of sourdough hamburger rolls with butter, then sprinkle with chopped rosemary.

Turn burgers and onions, top burgers with sliced blue cheese; put rolls on barbecue, butter side down.

Remove rolls when browned. Remove burgers when cheese has melted.

Assemble with bottom roll, sliced avocado, hamburger with melted cheese, arugula leaves, sliced tomato, grilled red onion, and top roll.

Serve with Zinfandel and fresh corn with chopped rosemary butter.

Ribs!

2004-07-26T23:01:00.000-07:00

Smoked some babyback ribs in my Meco electric water smoker yesterday. Wow were they good. Used hickory & mesquite. Also, used a more formal rub than salt & pepper for the first time. Yes, I am an amateur.

Smoked 2 racks for 4.5 hours until the meat was falling off of the bone.

Served with homemade barbecue sauce, of course. I always use molasses for the sweet, works well. I reserved the habanero sauce for my own plate rather than making the barbecue sauce too hot for some individuals.

More on rubs later.

Just Say "No" to Store Bought Barbecue Sauce

2004-07-24T13:52:00.000-07:00

After I posted that last recipe, I reheated some of the chicken and as I was enjoying the left-overs I was thinking about how truly awful store bought barbecue sauces are (in general they are way too sweet) and why anyone would use them when it is so easy to make it with ingredients found in most kitchens.

The basis for most barbecue sauces (that I know of) is tomatoes and these come in the form of ketchup or chili sauce. Maybe the real hardcore types start from fresh, home grown tomatoes, I don't know, but I start with either of these. How many households don't have ketchup?

Another component is the sweetener. Molasses, brown sugar, or fruit juice can be used.

I also like some sort of citrus in mine to provide some tang, but its not required. Even a splash of vinegar can be used.

Barbecue sauces are typically both spicy and slightly salty.

Worcestershire, tamari, or soy sauce provide both salt and flavor. I have never tried steak sauce but I think it could work.

For spices, any number of things can be used from Dijon mustard, Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce, garlic powder, garlic, onion powder, onions, black peppers, white pepper, red peppers, chipotles, paprika, cumin, etc.

You really don't need any more than this although additions like beer, bourbon, whiskey, and/or liquid smoke can provide additional complexity. Did you know that Jack Daniels sponsors the World Championship Invitational Barbecue Contest?

Just go easy. Start with the tomato base, like ketchup, in a pot on the stove and add one thing at a time. Stir and taste after each addition.

So how many people don't have the basic components in their homes? Is it the spices they don't stock? Or do people just don't know how easy it is to make a good barbecue sauce? It seems an effort is already being made to barbecue chicken, pork, or meat; so why not make your own sauce and enjoy it even more? Next thing you know you'll be using a mop and making your own rub!

Grilled Chicken Legs with Orange-chili Garlic BBQ Sauce

2004-07-24T12:46:00.000-07:00

Rating: ****

The sauce:

2 cups orange juice
2 cups ketchup
1/3 cup bottled Asian chili sauce (with garlic)
1/8 cup tamari sauce
1 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon ground cumin
Hot pepper sauce, such as habanero, to taste.

Wisk the sauce well, no need to cook it.

Reserve 3/4 of it to use as sauce. Use remaining 1/4 of it to baste the whole chicken legs (I like to separate the thighs from the legs for more consistent cooking) while barbecuing them.

Pour reserved sauce over chicken when serving.

Serve with barbecued corn and frisse (spray olive oil on frisse, sprinkle with salt and pepper and barbecue briefly on both sides).

This dish can be made quickly and easily and is delicious. The frisse makes it look quite fancy.

Poor a chilled, good Pinot Gris or Pinto Blanc, such as ElvenGlade.

Portuguese Stew

2004-07-12T18:45:00.000-07:00

Rating: **

This was pretty good. Not sure if Linguica is my favorite sausage or perhaps I didn't have the best Linguica. This reminded me of Creole cooking.

Sliced Linguica
Chopped Onion
Italian-style canned diced tomatoes
Small, hard-shell clams
White wine (I always use Vermouth)
Hot pepper sauce (I always use my homemade habanero sauce - PS I'm a hot pepper addict)
Chopped cilantro

I made it reasonably spicy.

Is this authentic?

This is My Yummy Food Blog

2004-07-12T12:57:00.000-07:00

Love to cook, eat, & drink wine; so, here it is........