Sangria Mexicana ~ Red-Wine Cooler with Fresh Lime

September 16 is Mexico Independence Day.  It's similar to our July 4th.  In honor of our friends' to the South special day I made Mexican Sangria.  The recipe is from Rick Bayless' Season 6 of Mexico - One Plate at a Time.

A refreshing  and sparkling drink, it's a little different from the Sangria I'm accustomed to where lemons, limes and oranges are used.  This recipe focuses on only the lovely lime.

 Fresh lime juice, sugar, dry red wine and sparkling water are all you need.


Sangria Mexicana
From Season 6 of Rick Bayless' Mexico - One Plate at a Time
Serves 6

Ingredients:
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (4 to 5 wines)
2/3 cup sugar
3 cups dry, fruity red wine (I used a Pinot Noir); you can also use Beaujolais or Zinfandel
1 cup sparkling water + 1/4 cup to use for the lime syrup
4 to 6 wheels of lime, with a cut made on one side, for garnish

Mise en Place:

• chill wine
• juice limes
• measure out sugar
• measure out sparkling water, divided

Method:
In a small bowl, mix the sugar, 1/4 cup of the sparkling water and the lime juice.  Stir until sugar is completely dissolved.

Just before serving pour the wine into a pitcher and stir in the sparkling water and lime syrup.  Serve over ice in tall glasses, each garnished with a wheel of lime slipped onto the rim.

I'm sharing this post at I Heart Cooking Clubs.  Hop on over and see how everyone else is celebrating!

Thyme Mango Sorbet

The perfect little palate cleanser when you serve a six course meal.  What?  You don't serve six course dinners on a regular basis?  I don't either.  But you can still enjoy sorbet without all the fanfare of a fancy dinner.

The base of a Sorbet is fruit juice, fruit pureé, wine, liqueur or tea infusions.  Mixed with a simple syrup and frozen.  Easy - peasy.

Every so often I go through my freezer and use up what I've stored over the past months so I can free up space.  Since the holidays are creeping up on me I decided to do just that.  I found a bag of frozen mango and here's what I came up with.



Make your simple syrup first because it needs to be cooled.  I made mine the night before and stored it in the refrigerator.

Place the fruit and the simple syrup in a blender and pureé until very smooth.  That's it.  You're done.  Almost.

Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and flip the switch.  Now you're done.

Thyme Mango Sorbet

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
5 sprigs fresh thyme
1 package frozen mango or 3 fresh mangoes

Mise en place:
This recipe is so simple, there's really no extra prep work to do.

Method:
In a small sauce pan, bring sugar, water and thyme to a boil until sugar is completely dissolved.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Put fruit in the blender.  Add the simple syrup.  Blend until very smooth.  Pour mixture into ice cream maker and mix for about 25 minutes.  Transfer to a plastic container and store in freezer.

Fresh Melon Cooler

 

With Summer winding down the watermelons will soon disappear in the markets. I bought one today knowing it is probably the last I'll buy for the season.  I also took the opportunity to use the watermelon for my I Heart Cooking Clubs' weekly assignment which is Esta Roja!  Watermelon is a shade of red, no?



You can make this with other melons such as cantaloupe and honeydew.  The cool green of a honeydew would make a pretty cooler.

You can also use this cooler as a base for a simple cocktail by adding vodka or champagne or simply making it a sparking, non-alcoholic spritzer by adding Perrier.

Place all of your ingredients in a blender and push the button.  Simple as that.  Adjust for your desired texture and taste by adding extra sugar, water or lime juice.  My watermelon was so nice and sweet it didn't need any added sugar.  I also used the juice from the watermelon as part of my water.

Let your cooler chill in the refrigerator before serving.  The colder the better!!


Fresh Melon Cooler
Makes about 1 quart
Recipe from Season 3 of Rick Bayless' Mexico - One Plate at a Time

Ingredients:
4 cups (packed) fresh melon (watermelon, cantaloupe, or honeydew)
1/2 cup water; plus more if necessary
1/4 cup sugar; plus more if desired
About 2 Tbsp lime juice; plus more if desired

Mise en place:

• peel, seed and roughly chop up melon
• measure out water
• measure out sugar
• juice lime

Method:
Scoop the fruit into a blender, then add the water, sugar and lime juice.  Blend until smooth.  Add more water, if necessary, to achieve a light easy-to-drink consistency.  Taste and season with more sugar and lime if you think necessary.

You can also add extra flavorings (mint to honeydew, orange juice to cantaloupe, and blended raspberries to watermelon) if you like.


I am sharing this recipe at IHHC.

Hatch Chile Time in Texas!

They’re Baaaaaaaack!!  You can tell what time of year it is when you see the roasters cranking up in the parking lots of Central Markets and Whole Foods across the Southwest.

 

Hatch Chile Festival time!  And people who love them can do a happy dance.

The last half of August welcomes the Hatch Chile season in the Southwest.  And it's celebrated in a big way for a couple of weeks.

To be called a Hatch Chile it must be grown in the vicinity of the town of Hatch, New Mexico.  They grow them hot and they grow them mild; the mild still have a nice bite to them.  But their flavor is so wonderful and when they are roasted they are even better.

The Roasters are set up in the parking lot of Central Market in Fort Worth.

They roast 2 cases at a time and they are roasted to perfection in about 4 minutes.

Even if I don’t have recipes in mind at the time I always grab a carton that have been roasted in the parking lot. You can use them for so many things.

You pair them with eggs in any form, omelets, fritattas, scrambles, and on and on.  Queso, enchiladas, soup (a great way to use them).  You can even make a tea with them for sore throats.

I freeze some so I can enjoy them for several months.  I rinse the charred skins off them and put 3 to 4 in a quart size baggie and freeze.  Make sure you press all of the air out of the baggie.  You can also seed them first, but I just leave the seeds and deal with them later.

Cheese Ravioli with Lemon Alfredo Sauce

Alfredo Sauce just can't be beat when it comes to cream sauces for fresh pasta.  And, when you add lemon it gets even better.  And I love it; even though some refer to it as a heart attack on a plate.  It's so rich with the butter, cream and cheese

When Alfredo di Lelio created this sauce for his wife it was made with butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.  It became popular in the US when two Hollywood stars brought the recipe back to the states in the 1920's (supposedly Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks).  The recipe had to be adapted in the US because the butter and cheese available in the States was not as rich as that available in Italy, so chefs in the US added heavy cream to compensate.  In Italy the name Fettuccine Alfredo is not used; they call it fettuccine al burro.  And, in our household for this meal it is Ravioli Alfredo since Lovey wanted ravioli with an Alfredo sauce; so that's just what he got.  I let him have his way quite often.

The best dishes are made with the simplest of ingredients. 

Stir the cream and lemon juice to blend then add the butter and cook just until the butter is melted.

Add the lemon zest and the freshly grated nutmeg.  Once these are combined, remove the pan from the heat.

Now, is that not simple?  In the meantime you are cooking your pasta.  I did not make my ravioli.  Central Market has some excellent fresh ravioli.   The author of the cookbook I lifted this Alfredo recipe from makes a very important point.  Because this sauce has such rich ingredients, a dried pasta will not hold up to them.  Fresh pasta, whatever the shape, is a must.

When the pasta is done, drain and add to the sauce.  Add the remaining cream, the Parmesan, salt and pepper to taste and toss gently.  In the case of ravioli it was a little more difficult and delicate to turn them over several times to become coated.  Toss until the sauced thickens slightly.

Lemon Alfredo Sauce
Adapted from Giada de Laurentiis' Everyday Italian
Serves 6 First-Course Servings

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups heavy cream - divided
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 to 2 tsp. grated lemon zest (from about 1 lemon)
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Salt
12 Ravioli or 9 ounces of other pasta
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. freshly ground white pepper, plus more to taste

Mise en place:

• Measure out cream divided - 1 cup and 1/2 cup
• wash lemon, dry well and zest
• juice lemon
• grate nutmeg
• grate Parmesan

Method:
In a large, heavy skillet, stir 1 cup of the cream and the lemon juice to blend.  Add the butter and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, just until the butter melts, about 3 minutes.   Stir in the lemon zest and grated nutmeg.  Pull skillet off heat.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the ravioli or other pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender but still firm to the bite, about 10 minutes with ravioli but only about 4 minutes with other pasta.  Drain.  Add the ravioli, the remaining 1/2 cup of cream, the Parmesan, and 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper to taste.  Toss gently over low heat until the sauce thickens slightly.  Transfer the ravioli to wide, shallow serving bowls and serve immediately.

Fresh Cheese with Papaya-Chipotle Salsa

On the way home from running all our errands Saturday, it started raining; and raining hard.  We are so thankful for this liquid refreshment from heaven.  That was around 2:30 in the afternoon and it didn't let up much throughout the evening.  This is such a blessing for us since we have been so hot and dry in the DFW area.

Lovey and I enjoyed  the pitter patter of the rain and the soft rumbling of thunder all afternoon.   We threw open a couple of windows and kept the music and TV off while we read and relaxed.  Lovey read and for me, relaxation was puttering around in the kitchen.  Since we had a heavy burger lunch we decided to go light for this evening.

It's Beach Bum week at I Heart Cooking Clubs and although it was far from beach-y weather in Fort Worth yesterday, I threw together this cheese and fruit salsa snack for dinner since we had a heavy lunch.


I saw Rick Bayless create this dish beachside on his PBS show.  I made it last month when I hosted our neighborhood book club and decided then it was definitely one I'd make again.  So I did.

Here's what we're working with.  Whole milk panela cheese, Mexican papaya, avocado, red onion, cilantro, chipotle in adobe sauce and lime juice.

Slice the cheese and shingle the slices on a serving platter.

Dice up the papaya, avocado, onion, cilantro and chipotle.  If you are an observant individual you will have noticed that the chipotles are not in this mixing bowl.  If you are a really observant individual, you will recall from past recipes that Lovey does not like the heat of chiles.  So, I left them off today.  But let me tell you, it is F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S with the chipotle.  The heat of the chipotle just knocks the flavor of the avocado and papaya up to a whole other level.  So, please, use the heat!

Gently toss all of the ingredients and mix in the lime juice.  I would suggest doing this by hand as the ripe avocado and papaya can be bruised being tossed around by a spoon.  Taste and season with a little salt if you feel it needs it.

Spoon the salsa down the center of the cheese and serve with tortilla chips or pita chips.

Notes:  This serves more than 6 people when you serve it as hors d'oeuvres (you can also slice the cheese down the center after it's shingled on the platter. Because of the avocado, it doesn't do 'leftover' very well.

Fresh Cheese with Papaya-Chipotle Salsa
Serves 6
Adapted from Rick Bayless' Season 8 Mexico - One Plate at Time

Ingredients:
12 ounces whole milk panela cheese
1/4 of a ripe Mexican papaya
1/2 small red onion
1 ripe avodado
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1/4 cup (loosely packed) chopped cilantro
1 to 2 canned chipotle chile en adobo
Salt
Crisp-fried corn tortillas

Mise en place:

• slice the cheese in 1/4 to 1/2-inch slices
• peel and seed the papaya and cut into 1/4-inch pieces (you should have about 2 cups)
• chop the onion into 1/4-inch dice
• cut off the thick bottom stems of the cilantro and chop
• seed and finely chop the chipotle (you might want to use food gloves)
• pit the avocado and cut into 1/4-inch pieces

Method:
Place the slices of cheese on a serving platter, shingling them on top of another. In a bowl, gently mix together the papaya, onion, avocaod, cilantro, chipotle and lime juice.  Taste and season with salt, usually 1/2 teaspoon.  Spoon the salsa down the center of the cheese.  Serve with tostadas.


I'm sharing this at IHCC  

Mushroom Potato Crema with Roasted Poblano

It's 'Feel the Heat' week at I Heart Cooking Clubs.  Well, we're sure feeling the heat in Texas this summer!  We hit 106° the other day so I thought I'd make a nice hot soup; you know, just to take the chill off.

The heat never deters me from making soup; even when the soup contains a little added heat with chilis.

Chicken broth, potatoes, mushrooms, garlic, corn, poblano chile, yogurt, rosemary and cilantro all come together to produce a soup that's earthy with a hint of sweet from the corn and spiced up with roasted poblano.

At first taste, I wasn't a big fan, but my mind was completely changed after the garnish of fresh cilantro had a little time to do its magic.

Mushroom Potato Crema with Roasted Poblano
Adapted from Rick Bayless' recipe as it appears on his website
Makes a generous 6 cups serving 4

Ingredients:
4 medium (about 1 pound total) red-skin boiling or Yukon Gold potatoes (I used Yukons)
3 garlic cloves
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth (I used chicken broth)
1 large fresh poblano chile
8 ounces mushrooms ( I used a combination of shiitake and enokidake)
1 scant cup corn kernels (frozen or fresh off 2 cobs) (I used fresh)
1 large sprig fresh epazote (I substituted 1 sprig fresh thyme)
1/4 cup plain yogurt, heavy cream or sour cream (I used yogurt)
salt
1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro, for garnish

Mise en place:

• roast poblano chile over open flame or 4 inches below a broiler then place in a plastic baggie while prepping the rest of the ingredients (I demonstrate how I roast mine in this post)
• measure out broth
• peel cloves and slice in half
• remove kernels from ears of corn (here's my handy way of coralling those kernals)
• measure out yogurt
• roughly chop cilantro
• peel potatoes and cut roughly into 1-inch pieces
• rub the blackened skin off the chile and pull out the stem and seed pod.  Rinse the chile flesh to remove bits of skin and seeds.  Cut into 1/4-inch pieces

Method:
Scoop the potatoes and garlic into a medium (3 quart) saucepan, pour in half of the broth and set over high heat.  When the liquid boils, reduce the heat to medium and simmer briskly until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

When the potatoes are tender, use an immersion blender to puree the soup base (or blend in batches in a food processor or loosely covered blender draped with a kitchen towel and return to the pan).

Add the remaining half of the broth, the mushrooms, poblano, corn and thyme.  Simmer 10 minutes over medium heat.

Just before serving, scoop out about 1/2 cup of the hot soup into a small bowl.  Mix in the yogurt.  Stir the mixture back into the pot, then taste and season with salt, usually about 1-1/2 to 2 teaspoons.  Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with cilantro.

I'm sharing this recipe at IHCC