Sam N’ Ella
Behind Bars
Margarita
---------------------
The true margarita has no sweet sour mix. We
repeat…no sweet sour mix. Rim a glass with Kosher salt, by
wetting the rim with a lime and then putting it onto a plate that has
some salt on it. Put ice in the glasses and drop the lime piece in.
Now, in an ice filled shaker mix 1 ½ ounces tequila, 1 ½ lime juice (not Rose’s!) and 1 ounce cointreau.
Shake, pour and serve. Yum!
The better the tequila, the better the margarita. Or shall we say, the
better you like the flavor of the tequila plain…the better
you’ll like the margarita!
Tequila
------------------------
Tequila is only one type of mezcal, which is the name of any
distilled alcohol made from the agave plant. What makes tequila
different from other mezcals is its adherence to the strict standards
set by the Tequila Regulatory Council, the region where it is made
– Denominación de Origen regulations restrict its
production to specific regions in the states of Jalisco, Guanajuato,
Michoacán, Tamaulipas and Nayarit – and the fact that
tequila is made from Agave, also called blue agave or agave azul.
Tequila is required to be at least 51% agave; the remainder is usually
maize or sugarcane. There are, however, premium tequilas made from 100%
blue agave.
Tequila is usually bottled in one of five categories:[6]
• Oro ("gold") – unaged tequila which is "joven y abogado"
(young and adulterated) which means that caramel, fructose, glycerin
and wood flavoring can be added to resemble aged tequila
• Blanco ("white") or plata ("silver") – not aged white spirit
• Reposado ("rested") – aged a minimum of 2 months but less than a year in oak barrels
• Añejo ("aged" or "vintage") – aged minimum 1 year but less than 3 years in oak barrels
• Extra añejo ("extra aged") – aged minimum 3 year in
oak barrels This is a new category which was established in March 2006.
Be sure to read ...
"A Year of Sam n' Ella"
available from GrayInk Press in Dec. 2007
|
Mexican Meal with the Real-Deal Margarita
This week’s show is a Mexican meal. Pulled Pork,
calabacitas, guacamole, homemade tortillas and margaritas. Fabulous dinner.
Impossibly easy. We live in Taos,
New Mexico so people tend to just
go out when they’re in the mood for real
Mexican cooking, but it's even better tasting and way more fun at home. Make a
party of it. When there’s margaritas around, it’s always a party and you can
get your guests to do anything. Press tortillas, cook the calabacitas, set the
table, play twister with the kids….
Mexican Pulled Pork
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Love this recipe. It’s a crock pot recipe, so you put it
together in five minutes in the morning. Six to ten hours later it’s ready and
smelling up the whole house…in a good way!
First, get as big a
pork butt as you can fit into your crock pot. You’re going to want leftovers.
Don’t have a crock pot (slow cooker)? Get one! They’re cheap and make your life
so easy. They’re great in the summer when you want to cook up something, but
don’t want to heat up the house. They’re also great in the winter when you want
to come home to a hot meal.
Put the butt in the
pot and then you have two choices. You can either use a jarred red chili sauce
like 505 Chile Red Chile Sauce (made in New
Mexico, by the by) or make your own. Honestly, it’s good
either way.
To make it yourself,
buy some Chimayo Chile powder. You need hot and mild. Mix it in a bowl
separately. Use about ¼ cup mild and then 1/8 cup hot. Mix it with water and
stir it up. Taste it. If it’s too hot…add more of the mild. If it’s too
mild…you know where we’re going with this…right?
Then I add salt,
pepper, minced garlic, finely chopped onion, a can of tomato sauce or pureed
tomatoes, a dash of vinegar, sometimes
some orange juice, some honey. Basically you’re trying to mimic your favorite
red chili sauce.
I start the crock pot
on high, turning every hour or so. If you’re going off to work, just turn it
when you get home, or cut the butt in half, trying to submerge all of it under
the sauce. Turn it down to low a few hours before serving and when it looks
like the pork is starting to be able to be pulled with a fork.
A bit before serving, pull all the pork apart with a fork
and let it all sit in the sauce as you prepare the rest of the meal. To
serve…take all the pork out with a slotted spoon and then ladle a bit of sauce
over it and then put the sauce in a bowl for people to add as they see fit.
Calabacitas
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Love these! Sometimes we just don’t know what to do with a
zucchini, especially when they get so plentiful. Do you know there is actually
a holiday in August. August 8th, to be exact called Sneak Some
Zucchini On Your Neighbor’s Porch Night? So I guess we’re doing this recipe
early, but we’ll remind you about it again in August. So you actually sneak a
zucchini onto your neighbors porch in the middle of the night without getting
caught. Who made this up? Hallmark? I think not.
Back to the recipe .Even people who don’t love zucchini,
love this one. Take a bunch of zucchini or thin yellow crook-necked squash or a
combination of the two and dice them up big. How much…come on people…we’re
moving away from exact measurements. We’re trying to mold you into intuitive,
thinking cooks. The point is, you’re dicing up enough zucchini and squash to
feed as many people as you’re serving. Unless you want leftovers, in which
case…cut up more.
In a large cast-iron frying pan, heat up a bit of olive oil
and add some minced garlic and diced onion. The onion should be diced finer
than the zucchini, cause most people don’t want as big a hunk of onion as they
do zucchini. Cook the onion and garlic over medium heat a few minutes and then
add the zucchini and squash.
The zucchini will let go of some liquid, but if it seems to
need a bit add some chicken or veggy broth. When they are almost done, add some
corn. Frozen corn is best, that’s been sitting out to thaw. Add that and salt
and pepper to taste. I also like a bit of oregano, basil and some cumin.
To serve this, I like to put diced tomatoes and crumbled
feta cheese on top. Try it, you’ll like it!
Guacamole
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We may have done this one before, but not the new improved,
intuitive way!
O.K., you have two choices on your avocado…fresh and already
mushed in a sealed bag. You know the kind we mean. Just make sure it has
nothing but mushed avocados in it. It may have something to preserve freshness,
but no extra ingredients…we’ll add those.
We buy whichever is cheapest at ant given time. The good
thing about the packages is that when they’re on sale, buy a bunch. They freeze
wonderfully! Just thaw them in the fridge a day before you need them.
So, put a few avocados in a bowl and mash them with a fork.
Add diced garlic, onion and jalapeno…to taste. Then a squeeze of lime and some
finely chopped cilantro. I then also like to put in a few spoonfuls of our
favorite salsa…either homemade or store-bought. For an extra wonderful taste,
cook some corn on a cookie sheet in the oven until it just begins to get
golden-brown and crunchy and then add that. It adds a nice, new dimension to
the guacamole.
This tastes great served on the side of the pork and
calabacitas!
Corn Tortillas
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
O.K., so the truth is that store-bought corn and flour
tortillas are far superior…in looks and uniformity…that is. But sometimes you
want a rustic, homemade flavor and that’s where these babies come into play. In
fact if you think of them as Mexican Corn Cakes, they are ever much more
pleasant.
Take two cups of Masa Harina (available in the baking
section of most grocery stores) and add one cup of water and mix well. Form
into balls and then press them between two sandwich baggies. You can use your
hands or a rolling pin. Don’t make them too thin or you’ll never get it off the
baggy.
Fry them in a dry, hot cast-iron skillet about thirty
seconds per side. Keep warm in foil til ready to serve.
They are great with Spanish goat Chevre on top!
|
|
