Cooking with Banana Leaves

Video - Banana Leaves

Here is a video in which I explain how to prepare banana leaves for your most delicious, authentic and exotic recipes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFlFD29hePs&feature=youtu.be

Chicken Pozole Verde Recipe - Light and Delicious!

I love Chicken Pozole Verde because it is light and easy to prepare! This is my mother’s recipe. She was known for it among our friends and neighbors. Everyone looked forward to visiting her in hopes that she would serve her dish. When I moved to California, I was feeling homesick so I prepared it for my relatives.  They were intrigued because they had never heard about it. When they tried it, they were delighted! Then, I became well known for the dish.  Since I am a cooking instructor, I’m always glad to share my recipes so everyone can enjoy them. Nowadays, when people prepare pozole it’s usually Pozole Rojo but my favorite is definitely Pozole Verde. 

I also recall that when my mother would reluctantly pass on her recipe, she would leave out a couple of key ingredients. Perhaps she wanted to be the only one to make it just right. But this recipe has all ingredients listed. So I hope that making this dish will become a family tradition for you as well.

Enjoy!

Preparation time: 1 hour

(12 servings)

Ingredients:

Broth

1 ½ Chicken cut into pieces

1 onion

1 head of garlic

½ bunch of cilantro

16 cups water

2 Tablespoons of Chicken base

1 (6 lbs-10oz) can hominy

1 tablespoon of kosher salt

You will need a large pot for Soup

Sauce

½ pound green tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed

3 roasted Pasilla chilies

1/2 bunch green onion, diced

½ white onion

4 large garlic cloves

1/2 cilantro bunch

1 to 2 cups of chicken broth

Garnishes

1 onion finely chopped

1 romaine lettuce, finely sliced

1 Bunch radishes, rinsed, halved and thinly sliced

2 avocados, diced into small squares

2 limes cut in wedges

Dried oregano, crumble

Corn tostadas

Step 1 - Remove chicken’s skin and rinse with cold water. Place into large pot. Pour cold water into pot with chicken. Add onion, garlic, cilantro and chicken base.

Step 2 - Bring to boil. Lower the flame and simmer for 20 minutes.

Step 3 - For the sauce, place Pasilla Chiles, tomatillos, green onion, garlic, cilantro leaves and 1 to 2 cups of chicken broth from the soup in a blender and blend until smooth.

Step 4 - Pour sauce into the soup and simmer for 15 minutes. Add salt if necessary.

Step 5 - Remove chicken from soup and shred. Set aside.

Step 6 - Add hominy bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove onion, garlic, cilantro and top layer of fat. 

To serve

Step 7 - Place shredded chicken into bowl. Add broth with Hominy, top soup with finely chopped Romaine lettuce, onion, and radishes. Served with lemon wedges, oregano, avocado, green spicy sauce and corn tostadas.

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BONUS TIP:

Spicy green sauce

(½ cup)

4 to 6 fresh serranos cut into large pieces

1 garlic clove

1/3 cup of lime juice

1 teaspoon Kosher Salt

To prepare spicy green sauce. Place Serrano chilies, 1 garlic clove, lemon juice, salt and ¼ chicken broth from soup into blender. Blend until smooth. This sauce is wonderful to spice up your pozole. 

For more ideas on how to spice up every meal, ask me about my SBCC CLL Spice it up with Chilie's class. I will post announcements as the information becomes available. 

http://sbcc.augusoft.net/index.cfm?method=ClassInfo.ClassInformation&int_class_id=13426&int_category_id=4&int_sub_category_id=30&int_catalog_id=0


OPTION 1:

606384  011   Spice it Up with Chilies  Instructor: Monica De Alba

Start 04/14/14  Monday 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm; 2 sessions starting April 14, 2014, ending April 21, 2014 Location: Santa Barbara, Schott Campus  Rm. 27 Culinary Lab OPTION 2: 606384  02   Spice it Up with Chilies    Instructor: Monica De Alba   Start 05/12/14  Monday 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm; 2 sessions starting May 12, 2014, ending May 19, 2014 Location: Santa Barbara, Schott Campus  Rm. 27 Culinary Lab

Join me on Monday for a 4 week culinary voyage through Latin America:

Latin-American Cuisine

Start Date:           Monday, February 3, 2014

Time:          10:00 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Duration:   4 weeks

Location:   Schott Center, room 27, Culinary Arts Lab

Tuition:      $69 lab and $40 material fee

Registration is now open!

Experience the exotic flavors of South America and Mexico! Join us and have fun learning how to prepare delicious dishes from Peru, Mexico, and Argentina.

Mexican-style Hot Chocolate for the winter. Where do I buy it? How do I make it?

Mexican Chocolate is made from dark chocolate, sugar and it is infused with cinnamon. There are different brands such as: Ibarra, Abuelita (sold in powder or syrup), my favorite ones Juquilita and Mayordomo infused with almonds from the state of Oaxaca. You can purchase the first two in Mexican Markets or sometimes at VONS. The Oaxacan-style chocolate is sold in Oaxacan markets. It can be enjoyed by itself or dunked with Mexican sweet bread such as: Rosca de Reyes, Pan de Muerto or Conchas. It is pure comfort in a cold, rainy day!

A little history:

Chocolate played an important part in the history of Mexican cuisine. The word "chocolate" originated from Mexico's Aztec cuisine, derived from the Nahuatl word xocolatl. Chocolate was first drunk rather than eaten. It was also used for religious rituals. It was often flavored with vanilla, chili pepper, and achiote (Mexican herb) Source: Wikipedia

Ingredients(4 servings):

4 Cups of Milk

½ bar Mexican-style chocolate

Pour milk into a saucepan, add chocolate and simmer for 5 minutes (medium flame) to dissolve chocolate

Wisk for 2 minutes or for a very foamy cup of hot chocolate use an immersion blender or place one cup of hot chocolate in blender (make sure is not too hot) and mix it with the rest of hot chocolate

Pour into a pitcher

Serve with Mexican sweet bread or croissants

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Grandma's Authentic Mexican Buñuelos

As a child, I would spend a couple of weeks with my Grandmother in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico. One of my favorite memories is when we used stop by my Grandmother’s favorite traditional buñuelos stand after church. We would talk and wait eagerly for our buñuelo while we sipped atole blanco (traditional masa-based hot corn beverage) I can still smell the cinnamon and guava, raw-sugar syrup. I experimented with several recipes and these crispy, cinnamon fritters remind me of the ones in Mexico. Therefore, I make them every year during the holidays in remembrance of the happy times we used to spend together!

Ingredients:

2 Cups of All Purpose Flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

½ Teaspoon of salt

1 egg

1 Tablespoon of melted butter or vegetable oil

½ Cup of warm water

1 teaspoon of vanilla (optional)

½ cup warm water

2 Cups of vegetable oil to fry the Buñuelos

1 cup Sugar and 1Tablespoon cinnamon to sprinkle

In a large bowl mix flour, baking powder and salt.

Form a well in the center and add the egg, and melted butter  

Mix until mixture resembles a coarse meal.

Slowly add the water a tablespoon at a time. Mixing and kneading until you have a soft and smooth dough. This will take less than 5 minutes.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes.

While the dough is resting prepare your working area with a rolling pin, a dish lined with paper towels, extra flour for rolling circles and a large frying pan with vegetable oil

Divide the dough into 8 small balls and place in a plastic bag (You can place them in the refrigerator and roll, fry them next day). Heat ¾ inch of oil in the frying pan.

Place one of the dough balls in your already flour-sprinkled-working-surface and stretch with a rolling pin. Roll out each ball to form a circle as thin as possible without breaking the dough. If you have a hole in the Buñuelo, don’t worry! Once you fry it no one will notice it.

To give extra stretching to the Buñuelos, place in the inverted bowl and pull the edges very gently. They should be thin almost transparent.

Fry them in very hot oil for 40 seconds to 1 minute on each side, press down gently on Buñuelo with a spoon or tong to ensure it fries evenly. They are ready when golden and crispy. Place them on a plate lined with paper towels and drain excess oil. Sprinkle with sugar and serve warm or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

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  http://monicainyourkitchen.blogspot.com/2013/12/how-to-make-mexican-style-bunuelos.html