Fiesta Mexicana!!

This week I made some 'real Mexican' dishes, not generic Latin food.

Gorditos

Gordito is the Spanish word for “chubby”, and in the culinary sense a gordito is a thick tortilla. These gorditos include kernal corn for added flavor, and make a great appetizer for for your next Cinco de Mayo or other Mexican themed party; or just for tasty ethic snacking. They have more 'tooth' than tortillas, and don't roll as well as a regular corn tortilla, but they make a good scoop for dips, and salsas.

2 cups Masa Harina

1-1/2 cups Water

1/2 cup Oil (vegetable)

2 Tsp Cumin powder

Pinch of Salt

Combine everything into a non-sticky, firm, dough. 

 Knead together “golf ball” sized spheres and with a tortilla press or a couple of cutting boards and two pieces of parchment paper, press each golf ball into a gordito that is about as thick as the corn kernals. 

Fry them on a dry griddle or non-stick skillet, about 4 minutes per side. Makes 10-12 gorditos about 4” in diameter. Serve warm with butter, or a nice Mexican cheese and a dollop of salsa. I've even eaten these topped with Indian spiced lentils for a real cross-ethnic experience.  Or you can serve them plain alongside the next Mexican dish.

Quick Pozole/Posole

Sally and Holly are vacationing in Croatia for a couple weeks, so I'm making all my favorite green chile dishes which Sally doesn't care for. “While the cat's away...”

Pozole is one of those dishes – everyone has their own version. It's basically a pork, onion, green chile, and hominy stew, with varying levels of spice and heat and optional other ingredients. This is my own stripped down, quick and dirty (but oh so tasty) version.

1 lb ground Pork

1 4oz can diced Green Chiles (Hatch tm brand preferred)

1 10 oz can Hominy

3-4 Fresh Tomatillos, de-papered and chopped

1/2 cup diced Onion

2 teaspoons ground Cumin

1 can Green Chile Enchilada Sauce

If you can't find tomatillos, substitute a large green tomato. It's not nearly as good, but it works. 

Saute the first six ingredients together until the onion is translucent, the tomatillo is soft and the pork is brown. 

 Add the green chile enchilada sauce and a couple cans of water, and simmer until the sauce thickens a bit. You can also add a couple teaspoons of masa harina to thicken things.  Serve in a bowl with a couple gorditos or ordinary corn tortillas for dipping.  

You can also thicken this stew very tight, and make a filling for enchiladas made with corn tortillas.

Chicken Chiles Rellano Casserole

Notice that the proper term is chiles... rellano. Not chile rellanos. Grammar counts at least as much in Spanish as it does in English! The name refers to multiple chiles being stuffed; not a single chile being repeatedly stuffed!!

This is my “feeds a horde” recipe for the year. A horde, in this case being a couple dozen watermen and waterwomen at the marina where my sailboat ManCave is in residence. It's a crockpot dish rather than individually stuffed chiles, but all the essential flavors are there. Makes a great breakfast dish for a crowd.

4 cups shredded chicken (I tore up a megamart Deli chicken)

1 large onion, diced

2 lbs Cheddar or Mexican Blend cheese, shredded or cubed

12-16 Green Chiles (I used 6 Poblanos, 4 Cubanelles, 2 Hungarian Wax, and 3 Jalapeños) 

12 eggs, beaten

3 cups Milk or Half & Half

1/2 cup Masa Harina

1 can Green Chile Enchilada Sauce

Salt, Pepper and Cumin to taste

Cut the ends off the chiles and de-seed/de-vein them.  Lay them out on a large baking sheet, along with the quartered tomatillos, and broil them for about 5 minutes per side.  Allow everything to cool and then chop into 1/4" square pieces.

Mix the onion with the chicken. Alternate layers of chicken, chilies, and cheese in the crock pot. Beat together eggs, milk, enchilada sauce, flour and seasonings until smooth. Pour over the layers. Cook on low for 5 or so hours until a knife comes out clean.  

Take the ceramic liner out of the pot.  Sprinkle some more cheese on top of the casserole, and put the whole thing under the boiler for a few minutes to get a nice brown cheesy crust.