Something Differently Good

Mexican Food.  What's not to love?  Bold, hearty, flavorful, it is as vibrant as its people.  I have heard Mexican food compared to Indian food, what with the liberal use of spices like cumin, chile powder and garlic in both cuisines.  Both Indian and Mexican food have rice or tortillas, or in the case of Indian food - chapattis, to accompany them.  My first ever attempt at Mexican cooking found that to be far from true.  Each cuisine has its own complex flavors and is quite different from the other.

There is a show on PBS called Pati's Mexican Table.  Although I have never watched the show, someone I know stumbled upon it and watched Pati make Chilorio Burritas.  They suggested that the dish was simple to make and I should try my hand at it.  Thus began my adventure.  There were two things I found really interesting about this recipe.  It blew away all the myths I had about Mexican food.  I always thought Mexican food involved tomatoes and beans.  Neither of these were part of the recipe.  Also, the base for the sauce in this recipe was rehydrated ancho chiles.  

Whenever I attempt to make something I've never cooked before, I follow the recipe to a T the first time around.  During the second attempt I make modifications to the recipe to suit my personal taste. During my first attempt at this recipe, I used lean pork because that was all I had in the refrigerator.  I think the lean pork made a significant difference to the dish overall, because it felt like it was lacking a certain something.  I also discovered that the amount of spices called for in the recipe were way too little for me.  Additionally, serving them with whole wheat tortillas did not allow for the flavors of the dish to come through.  Don't get me wrong, it tasted wonderful.  It just felt like I could make many tweaks to the recipe to make it much more enjoyable to me.

My second attempt had me use chicken thighs instead of pork.  I used skinless, bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed of all visible fat.  I cooked them in orange juice, without water.  I think a beef brisket will also work very well for this recipe.  It will need more time to cook, of course.  The other change I made was instead of blending the onions and garlic raw with the other spices, I sauteed them in a little oil first.  I also upped the spice ante big time.  I left the seeds and veins in while hydrating the ancho chiles.  I even added some crushed red peppers.  Finally, I served the dish with flour tortillas, sprigs of cilantro, chopped green onions and slices of avocado.   The result was an amazingly piquant, delicious filling in a soul-satisfying warm tortilla.  It just made me want to get up on on the table and dance.  Almost.  My only regret is that I didn't take pictures so I could post them here.  Oh well, there's always a next time.

If you prefer your food mild to moderately spicy, I recommend you go with the original recipe, but here is the modified recipe I used.


CHILORIO BURRITAS


4 lbs skinless chicken thighs, bone in, trimmed of all visible fat
1 1/2 cup freshly squeezed or high-pulp orange juice
1 tsp kosher or sea salt
3 dried ancho chiles, tops and seeds removed
1 cup boiling water
2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 onion, roughly chopped
6-8 garlic cloves
1/2 cup fresh parsley
3 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt
2 tbs vegetable or canola oil

Place the rinsed chicken thighs in a large heavy pot.  Pour in orange juice, add a teaspoon of salt and set over high heat.  Once it comes to a boil, bring the heat down to medium and let it simmer for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the meat is thoroughly cooked.

Meanwhile, remove the stems from the chiles.  Place them in a bowl, cover them with boiling water, and let them sit and rehydrate for about 10 to 15 minutes.  Saute the onions and garlic in a little oil.  Place the chiles and  their soaking liquid in the blender along with the onion, garlic, parsley, oregano, cumin, black pepper, salt and vinegar, and puree until smooth.

Once the meat is ready, place it in a bowl along with any remaining cooking broth.  Once it is cool enough to handle, remove the bones and shred the meat with your hands or using two forks. 

In the same pot in which the meat was cooked, heat the oil over medium heat.  Pour in the chile sauce and let it simmer for 6 to 8 minutes.  Toss in the shredded meat along with any of its remaining cooking broth.  Let the meat cook, stirring often, until it has absorbed most of the chile sauce, which will have thickened and changed color to a much darker tone. Add more salt if necessary.

Spread 2-3 tablespoons of the chilorio down the center of a warmed flour tortilla.  Garnish with sprigs or chopped cilantro, chopped green onions and two slices of avocado.  Roll into a burrito and serve.

Berry Crazy

I love summer in the Pacific Northwest.  The sun comes out, the rain is on a short hiatus (short being the operative word) and everyone is happy.  It makes me realize what Perry Como was singing about when he sang about "Seattle".  And then there are the berries.  Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, Blackberries.  Berry picking is one of my favorite activities, although not always possible to do.  No worries though, because they are stocked in grocery stores and farmers markets. What better time then, to serve up some berry-laden cake during our monthly Birthday celebration at work?

For years I have enjoyed the bounty of berries on top of a Best Ever Sponge cake, filled in the center and piled high with whipped cream and fruit, like the one on the right.  Not because of any health or dietary restrictions, the only reason I have always gone with this selection was because it produces a light-as-air cake that pairs well with the whipped cream and berries without weighing it down or stealing the limelight.   It was now time to turn this regular cake into its miniature counterpart.  I didn't think the Best Ever Sponge would work because the cake would stick to the paper cups due to the lack of butter/oil.  So off I went in search of the right recipe to (no pun intended) take the cake.  

I happened to come across Martha Stewart's Vanilla Cupcake Recipe.   I baked four dozen cupcakes, frosted and decorated them, then took them to work.  Normally I don't eat what I bake.  But (1) These were Berry Cupcakes and (2) I had never made them before.  I took one bite and....umm.....no.  The cupcakes were terrible.  They were dense and dry.  I decided not to serve them because of how bad I thought they were.  I put them into a refrigerator without knowing what to do.  I hung my head in shame and sent out an e-mail to my co-workers to let them know there was not going to be any cupcake for them as expected.   I promised to make it up to them another day.

My co-workers, being the wonderful people that they are, attacked the refrigerator and polished off the not-so-perfect cupcakes.  I began to get e-mails and instant messages telling me that there was nothing wrong with them, and that they were being enjoyed by everyone.  This is the very reason why I think my co-workers are deserving of much more than those horrible, hard-as-rocks cupcakes.  

Anyway, long story short, my next attempt was Martha Stewart's White Cupcakes.  Sifted cake flour and egg whites make for a light and moist cupcake in this recipe, so much better than the Vanilla Cupcakes.  As much of an improvement as they were, I am still in search of the perfect cupcake recipe that will do justice to the berries and cream.  

The White Cake Recipe is below.  Before you begin, make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature.  While waiting for the cupcakes to cool, prepare berries.  Wash and dry each of the berries separately.   Use a large bowl filled with cold water.   Drop the berries in, then run your fingers gently in the water to loosen any dirt from the berries.  Lift the berries out of the water and place on a paper towel to dry.  When they are dry, hull the strawberries and cut into slices.  Halve the blackberries vertically if they are too large.  Place the mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for 1/2 hour prior to making the whipped cream frosting.   Find a bowl larger than the mixing bowl and line the bottom with ice cubes.  Place the mixing bowl into the larger bowl and place ice cubes between the two bowls.  This will ensure that the whipped cream beats up cold, light and airy.

MARTHA STEWART'S WHITE CUPCAKES
(Yield: 24 cupcakes)


3 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter (1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons)
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
5 large egg whites

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line 2 standard cupcake pans with paper cups.  
• Sift together cake flour, baking powder and salt 3 times, to mix thoroughly and incorporate with air.
• Add vanilla to milk.
• Using an electric mixer on medium-high,  cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.  
• Reduce speed to low.  Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with milk, and beating until well combined after each.  Scrape the sides and bottom of mixing bowl occasionally to make sure all ingredients are mixed well and free of lumps.
•  In a separate bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, whisk the egg whites until stff peaks form.
• Fold 1/3 egg whites into batter lightly using a wire whisk.  Then using a spatula, gently fold in remaining egg whites in two batches.
• Using an ice cream scoop, fill lined cups 3/4 full.  Once filled, tap each cupcake pan once on counter top to release any air bubbles.  
• Bake in center rack of oven, rotating tins halfway through, about 20 minutes.  Check to see if done by inserting a toothpick into the cupcakes in the center of the pan.  Toothpick should come out clean.
• Cool cupcakes in pan about 10 minutes then transfer to wire rack and cool completely for at least an hour before frosting.
• Top with whipped cream frosting and berries. 

         WHIPPED CREAM FROSTING

         1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
         3 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar 

• Prepare mixing bowl and beaters as mentioned above.
• Pour the whipping cream into the mixing bowl and begin beating at low speed.  
• Add granulated sugar and continue beating, slowly increasing the speed.  
• Put a star nozzle into a pastry bag and snip off the tip.
• Fill the pastry bag about 2/3 of the way with whipped cream frosting.  
• Frost cupcakes with swirls.  Top with berries.