A holiday meal review

A

amanda_pennsylvania

Well-known member
After a month or so of being gone from the board, I'm excited to be back. December was such a busy month. I took on too many work projects, and basically didn't cook a thing for weeks on end.

We went out to visit family in New Mexico for Christmas and had many good meals. In Santa Fe, I can recommend Atrisco's (in DeVargas Mall). It's owned by the same folks that own Thomasita's; same menu at about half the price. Also, La Choza (an old favorite), a Mexican place on Cerillos by Richards Ave (can't remember the name), and Upper Crust Pizza--green chile with your pizza? (It was really good!)

(Sidenote: My dad, bless him, really wanted to show that he could provide meals for us at home. So he got in a roasted chicken and cheese tortellini. I just about died. I didn't want to insult him, but we wanted good New Mexican food--I can get those things here! We managed to choke it all down, but that was really hard when all the tamales and enchiladas were calling out to me...)

Other meals included Christmas Eve posole, Christmas day turkey, and I did my traditional beef tenderloin, squash, and potatoes. I was worried about the challenges of cooking at almost 7,000 feet, but everything came out wonderfully. We were feeding almost 20 people! The next day we had green chile turkey enchiladas with the leftovers. Yum.

We went to Rancho de Chimayo for dinner New Year's Eve (my dad babysat). It's located about 30 miles north of Santa Fe. We both dressed up to the nines with Western wear--Andy wore his sunbonnet bolo and I had on my squash blossom necklace. Such fun, and we had a *wonderful* dinner. It was my husband's first time there, and he was really impressed. It's good, traditional New Mexican food at fairly reasonable prices. And the drive up from Santa Fe was beautiful--just a light dusting of snow on the ground.

We started with guacamole, of course, which was served with warm chips. Love it when restaurants pay attention to the details. Andy had a combination plate of tacos, enchiladas, and carne adovada. I had a Chimayo steak, rosemary potatoes, and calabacitas (squash with green chile and corn). For dessert, Andy had a chocolate flan and I had chocolate mousse with pinon nuts. And sopapillas with local honey.

New Year's Day my aunt and uncle came over, and I made black eyed peas (with ham hocks). First time I'd ever cooked it, but it turned out great. Also served ham, cornbread, and my aunt did breaded okra. So good. Also, I made butternut squash.

I came to grief with this dish--I was taking the squash out of the oven, and the door caught my right arm and I got a HUGE burn on it. It hurt like hell, and did blister, but is healing pretty well. Could have been a lot worse.

All in all, it was a wonderful trip. I can't wait to get out to New Mexico again in September (college reunion). More chile!

Happy New Year, everyone.

 
Sounds like you had a wonderful trip Amanda! I'm glad you're back here, I thought you

were gone forever!

Having a couple of cool-handled pots on the stove about a month ago, I temporarily forgot that my copper fry pan was NOT a cool handle and I burned my left thumb - ouch!

Happy New Year to you too and welcome back.

 
Welcome back Amanda. You have me so jealous

with all the mention of the great Mexican food you had. Burns are the worst, I hope you are on the mend.

 
I have the recipes for Rancho Chimaya Huevos Rancheros, Natilla, Sopapillas

and Cocktail and Margarita if you're interested. They were featured in one of the episodes of Great Chef's of the Southwest on PBS many years ago and I have the companion book.

 
I would like to see the red sauce recipe they use for the Huevos Rancheros.

Bub had them for breakfast the morning before we went ocean fishing. He spent most of the day with his head over board. It didn't bother me a bit, but I didn't catch any fish.

 
We have close friends here in Phoenix that are from Albuquerque. They introduced us...

...to real New Mexico-style eating. There are a couple of good New Mexico-style eateries around town, and we enjoy them whenever we can.

Green Chile Stew is a favorite; so are Chile Rellenos using Hatch chiles. Sopaipillas are a wonderful ending to a meal like that.

One restaurant here serves medium-hot food; the other hot-hot! Hatch green chiles are everywhere at both places. Very good stuff!!

Michael

 
Surprisingly, it's green chile/beef - but here it is.

Rancho Chimayo Huevos Rancheros Sauce

1/2 lb. lean beef, coarsely ground or finely chopped
1 lb. mild chiles (anaheim or poblano) seeded and chopped
1 qt. water
2 tsp. finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. worcestershire sauce
1 tomato, finely chopped
2 tbsp. cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup cold water
salt & pepper to taste.

Brown beef in large sauce pan. Add remaining ingredients EXCEPT for cornstarch slurry. Simmer 20 minutes, add cornstarch, bring to boil and simmer five more minutes. Makes six servings.

 
There are some terrific recipes in this book, as well a another I have

that features the different regional styles of Mexican Food-Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. All very different.

 
I assume many people who have never lived in the southwestern US think that...

...'mexican food is mexican food'. Sonoran, tex-mex style was just about all you could find in restaurants, once Taco Bell had taken their watered-down fare eastward. The three-item combo plate (beef taco, cheese enchilada and bean tostada, with beans and rice) was pretty much "it".

So much has changed in recent years. I think most people are better informed now as to the variants in mexican cuisine. Different regions producing different styles of cooking, etc. Plus, the americanization of mexican food also has its regions and local styles.

All good, if you ask me!

Michael

 
Thanks, Melissa! Here is the carne adovado recipe.

* Exported from MasterCook *

Carne Adovada

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

8 ounces whole dried chiles, about 25
preferably chimayo or New Mexico red
4 cups water
1 tablespoon minced white onion
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 pounds pork chops or pork loin -- cut in 1-2-inch cubes

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Break the stems off the chile pods and discard the seeds. In large bowl, rinse the chiles and drain them.
Place the damp pods in one layer on a cookie sheet and roast them in the oven for about 5 minutes, making sure they do not burn. Remove them from oven and let them cool.
In a blender, puree half the pods with 2 cups of water and puree/ repeat with second half. Place the sauce in a sauce pan and add remaining sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes.
While the chile sauce is simmering, oil a large covered baking dish. When the sauce has completed simmering, layer enough sauce to cover bottom of the dish.
Add the pork cubes and pour remaining sauce over pork. Cover the dish and bake at 300 degrees for about 3 1/2 hours. Check the meat after 3 hours.


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I've never seen any mexican food with a paper thin tortilla. I googled and found this...

...description on a website describing sonoran food.

I wonder if they mean the large, 12" to 16" flour tortillas used to roll burritos? They are thin, since by the time you roll a filling the tortilla is at least two layers thick. If they used a thick flour tortilla you would have a heck of a time rolling the burrito, and when you bit into it, you'd have a mouthful of tortilla and not much else.

I like the open-face enchiladas I've been told are authentic to the mexican state of Sonora. It is a thickish tortilla patty made from corn masa. It is baked as a flat round and then covered with sauce and cheese and olives and rebaked. I've had some tasty experiences with those.

We've got a ton of taco shops specializing in seafood now. We have to be careful, as the quality can be spotty. I'd hate to end up in the hospital from a bad cup of ceviche, but it has happened here. Some are excellent, and reasonably priced. You know it's good when you see a large number of latinos ordering and eating there.

Michael

 
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