Amy's Going Away and My Little Brother is in Town Party

I woke up feeling upset and annoyed about the party.  I did not know who was coming and it had been designated as a potluck.  The fear that it would be a "bad party" cuz I was not totally controlling it is knotted in there deep.

But by 11am or so, when Geordie and I had to go shopping I made a conscious (slightly aggressive) decision to change my mood about it and have fun.  I cam eback to the original intention of gathering which was to come together and love Amy.  And of course it was a blast.  

About 30 wonderful loving people all happy for Amy's Journey to New York showed up with food and drink to share.  My little brother and I had a blast cooking together.  And we got to roll the furniture around to open the house.

The theme was Mexican.

Drinks

Arturo brought Sangrita and Tequila

Jackie brought Mojitos

Beer and Wine

Lots of Pellegrino

Appetizers

Seviche with Homemade Chips

Guacamole

Salsa

Grilled Corn with Mayo, Chili Powder, Feta and Lime

Dinner

Homemade Corn Tortilla (Roberto and Alana)

A delicious Squash Filing (Roberto and Alana)

Smokey Pork Filling

Grilled Achiote Fish

The Trimmings for Tacos

Black Beans (Olivia)

2 Delicious Rice Dishes (Amber and Elizabeth)

Chili Cornbread (Meghan)

Lots of wonderful Green Salads (Jacqui, Sara, Jim)

Deserts

Flan (Allison)

Chocolate Cake (Amy)

Homemade Chocolate and Vanilla Ice Cream (Amy)

Stuffed Crab and Smoked Whitefish Jalapenos with Tomotillo Salsa, Avocado and Feta

Chile Rellenos are one of my most favorite foods, but I have always been intimidated about working with that huge chili, hoping it won't fall apart as I fry it up. Working with jalapenos has been a good way to gain confidence. And one day I'll tackle the poblano.

I have stuffed these with cheese, pork, chorizo, chicken and various other experiments. Tonight, I decided to try a crab and smoked white fish filling since we were having pork tenderloin as the main dish.

I served these as a first course for 4 peeps and made enough so everybody could have 3 each. The jalapenos are fresh and plentiful this time of year. I got mine at Farmer and the Cook who got theirs from Tutti Frutti.

Preparing the Jalapenos
1. Fill a medium saucepan with about 3 inches of water. Add 2 roughly chopped small cones or 1/3 of a big come of piloncillo (Mexican cane sugar) or about 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Bring to a boil as you prepare the chilies.

2 Make a "T-shaped" slit in each chili. The top of the "T" should be near the stem (about a thumb width) and the slit should go almost to the tip of the chili.

3. When water is boiling and sugar has dissolved, add chilies to the water. Simmer for about 5 minutes. (I usually use a small lid to press the chilies down cuz they have a tendency to bob on the top of the water).

4. Remove with a slotted spoon or tongs and drain cut side down.

5. When cool enough to handle, remove the seeds and veins with a small spoon. Be diligent about this. Any seeds left in there make it almost inedible for most people.

The Filing
As I mentioned above, you can stuff the chilies with anything, but tonight we used crab and smoked whitefish.

1. Heat some water and pour over a handful of Flame Raisins to soften.
2. Finely chop about 1/3 cup of white onion.
3. In a saute pan, heat a little olive oil. Add some freshly ground cumin and coriander and a hint of garam masala. Once fragrant (only about 20 seconds or so), add the onions and turn the heat to low. Saute until onions are super tender and the spices have blended. (I usually let this happen for at least 15 minutes)
4. While onions are cooking, chop about 1/4 cup of cilantro, a tbl. of capers and the warmed raisins.
5. Mix the onions, cilantro, capers together, mashing a bit with a fork.
6. Grate zest of one lemon into mixture and offer the juice of half of the lemon.
7. Add a generous 1/3 of a cup of crab meat and 1/2 cup of smoked whitefish. Blend well and taste for needed tweaks. Salt is usually required. (I do not add pepper cuz of the spiciness of the chilies).

Stuffing the chilies
Carefully Open and stuff the chilies with amount of stuffing that allows you to close the chili back up into its "original" shape. Store on plate with Plastic Wrap and put in fridge. 30 Minutes before frying, put the chilies in the freezer so they hold together better. (Thank you Rick Bayless for this tip).

Battering and Frying the Chilies
This is what makes this dish difficult to do for company. Cuz you really want to do this right before you serve it. So, I only serve it when pals who don't mind you in the kitchen when they come over.

1. If you want to keep them warm while you fry the whole lot up, turn the oven to its lowest setting. (I had polenta cooking in the oven tonight, so I did not have this option).

2. Heat a massive amount of oil in a deep dish heavy skillet. You want at least 1/2 inch of oil. Tonight I tried Spectrum's High Heat Sunflower oil and it worked great.

3. Separate eggs, letting whites fall into big bowl and keeping egg yolks in a smaller bowl.

4. Spread about 1/4 flour on a plate.

5. Add about 1/4 tsp. of salt into egg whites and beat until stiff peaks form. Then, with mixer still going, add a tbl. of flour and the yolks one at a time until blended.

6. Working quickly, hold onto the stems as you dunk chilies in flour, shaking off the excess and then dip them into the batter to coat fully. Then place them in the hot oil to fry. Work in small batches to allow plenty of frying room. As they set, spoon some of the hot oil on the sunny side up. Turn after about 2 minutes and fry other side.

7. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels and keep in oven if you have that option.

To Serve:
Tonight I smeared a platter with tomotillo salsa and layed the chilies on top. Sprinkle with cilantro and feta and serve with extra salsa and avocado slices to cut the heat. Might have been nicer to make everyone individual plates of them...but it worked out fine. Sour creme would also have been welcomed as these jalepenos turned out to be on the spicer side.

Poblanos Rajas for BFF

My BFF (that's Best Friend FOREVER) just asked me to post this recipe. I did not make it up. It's a classic Mexican thang. The ratio of onions to poblanos can vary depending on your taste and aesthetics.

1. Roast 3 or 4 Poblanos under the broiler, turning occasionally so they are totally charred and black. (If the cute boy next door is grilling, you can put them on the grill and char them there). Time varies depending on the shape of the peppers and your broiler. Once charred, you need to steam them. You can do this is a zip lock bag or in a brown paper bag. My favorite technique is in a bowl covered with that new amazing Press n' Seal. Let them rest at least 5 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, slice up a big white onion into 1/4 inch slices.

3. Mince a clove of garlic.

4. When poblanos are ready, remove from "steamer set up" and peel off the skin. This is where you will wish you really charred them, cuz if you got lame in step 1, it will be hard to peal here.
Remove the stem and seeds and then thinly slice.

5. Turn on heat under a pan and add some olive oil. Add the onions and saute until softer, but not brown or soggy. I think the dish tastes better when the onions still have a little crunch, so usually no more than 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute more. Add the poblanos strips and and heat through. Add some crumbled Mexican Oregano.

6. Remove from heat and when you are ready to serve, add a hit of heavy creme and good salt.

Seviche for Kim's Birthday

Kim turned 50 yesterday. She and Jake had been 2 of my primary food muses for the last several years. They went to Argentina for 6 months and came back divorced. Yesterday's gathering to celebrate her birthday was sweet, but I can still feel the mourning for the way it was.

Thank you to What a Deal Seafood, the tomato girl, and B.D for the ingredients.

This made enough Seviche as an appetizer for a group of about 30.

1. The freshest Fish you can get.
I used:
a shy pound of Bay Scallops
a shy pound of Escolar
a shy pound of Shrimps

2. Cut Fish up into 1/4 inch pieces.
Put in Bowl and Squeeze enough Lime Juice to cover.
(The limes I got were really dry and I ended up using 35!)

3. Put the Lime soaking Fish in the Fridge and allow to sit until "cooked". I let the fish sit for 3 hours. If you are used to sushi and trust your fish source, you do not need to let it sit for so long. Since I was bringing this to a party, i leaned on the side of caution. If you are squeamish about it, let it sit up to 6 hours.

4. While fish is "cooking," make the tortilla chips. Cut up store bought flour tortillas into triangular chip shapes. Spread them out and allow them to dry for about 30 minutes. (Make too many chips). In your favorite frying pan, heat about 1/4 inch of oil to hot. You will fry the
tortilla pieces in batches, being attentive to not crowding the pan. Because the top side will be cooking simultaneously, once you flip the chips over (being mindful with the hot oil), they will not need to be fried as long on the second side. Drain on a paper towel and sprinkle some good quality salt on them while they are still hot.

5. While the fish is "cooking," make the salsa. Cut up 4 delicious ripe tomatoes into a dice that looks attractive with your fish and put in a bowl.

6. Mince up 3 Serranos and add to the tomatoes. I only left the seeds in one of them for a little kick, but not too much since it was for a party.

7. Mince up some cilantro, maybe about 3tbl., and add to tomato mixture.

8. Mince up 1/2 a big white onion. To reduce the "onion-i-ness" you can put the onion in cold water and put in the fridge until ready to use, or you can simply put in a strainer and rinse with cold water. Reducing the "onion" helps keep it from overpowering the rest of the flavor. Do not mix the onion into the tomatoes until you are ready to serve.

9. Once fish is done, drain the lime juice and press fish gently against the strainer to remove as much lime juice as you can. Toss the onions into the tomatoes and then gently toss in the fish. Add lots of salt and taste. Yesterday, by community vote, we decided to not add the avocado. The prevailing thought was that it would mellow the flavors too much.

10. I put it into a pretty blue bowl and stuck some of the chips around the sides. I served it with the bowl of chips next to it.