Recipes From The Baja Kitchen
Baja Recipes by Author Ann Hazard
Cooking with Baja Magic Dos -
Mexican Recipes by Author Ann Hazard
These recipe will be in featured in Ann Hazard’s
newest book, Cooking With Baja Magic Dos. It is, or will be soon,
available throughout Baja and California. The new cookbook has over 60
new recipes with corresponding stories and all new art. Whether or not you
have Ann’s original cookbook, you will want a copy of Baja Magic Dos! For
more information on Ann and her Baja books, visit
http://www.bajamagic.com or order her book from Amazon.com on the
right.
ROASTED TOMATILLO SALSA (improved!)
This green salsa has a rich but tangy flavor that comes
from blackening the tomatillos and chiles. It’s relatively mild but you
can easily up the “bam” factor by adding more chiles! I know it may sound
kind of weird to you if you're new to salsas, but you have to believe me
when I tell you that it's really, really good. In fact, it's superb with
pork entrees, enchiladas or virtually any dish. If you can't find fresh
tomatillos in your supermarket, you can buy them canned. If you want to go
with a ready-made version (good but not as good), then look for Herdez
Salsa Verde, Embasa Green Jalapeño Sauce or any green salsa listing
tomatillos as a key ingredient. This makes about two quarts.
3 cups fresh tomatillos, skinned and rinsed
-or- 3 cups canned green Mexican tomatillos, drained
5 - 10 fresh jalapeño chiles, halved and seeded if desired (to lessen
heat)
1 large white onion, finely chopped
4 – 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large bunch cilantro, chopped
1 tbsp chicken bouillon (Knorr Suiza is the Mexican favorite)
¾ cup water
Chilequiles were, and still are, a favorite of mine. They’re served all
over Baja and are offered on most breakfast menus as a local alternative
to eggs and such. I maintain that you can eat them for breakfast, lunch or
dinner. They are that versatile! Oh, and by the way—Victoria flew home
with us on Francisco Muñoz' Baja Airlines.
Unlike a pet on an American airliner, she wasn't treated like a piece of
luggage and relegated to the baggage department. Instead, she napped on
the seat next to me and chased my dad up and down the aisle, barking
gleefully as he helped hand out sack lunches. This recipe serves six and
it will make you think you're right there on the sand, within steps of
that 80 degree ocean. Oh yeah!
1 ½ pounds boneless chicken breasts, cooked and cut in chunks
12 corn tortillas
½ cup corn oil
3 poblano chiles, roasted and cut in strips or 1 - 7 ounce can green
chiles, cut in strips
4 cups Chihuahua or Jack cheese, grated
2 cups canned enchilada sauce
1 cup crema, media ácida or 1 cup American style sour cream
½ cup media crema mixed with 2 tbsp water to thin out
Roast poblano chiles by putting under the broiler for about 5 minutes,
turning frequently until blistered on all sides. Remove, put in plastic
bag and let sweat for 15 minutes. Remove from bag, peel off skin and cut
in strips.
Cut tortillas into one-inch strips and fry in oil until crisp. Drain on
paper towels. Combine enchilada sauce with sour cream in saucepan. Heat
thoroughly.
In a 9 x 11 pan layer the tortilla strips, chicken, chile strips, cheese
and enchilada sauce. Repeat. Top with a layer of tortilla strips, sauce
and lots of cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until cheese is
melted and chilequiles are bubbling. Drizzle media crema sauce over each
serving.
Place clean, skinned tomatillos and seeded jalapeños in large skillet.
Cook over medium high heat until tomatillos are blackened and soft. Remove
from stove and cool for a few minutes. When you can handle the chile
mixture, put in food processor and puree. Put in a large bowl and set
aside.
Into the skillet, pour in the water. Stir in bouillon. When boiling
furiously, toss in onion and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly until
mixture thickens to a good salsa consistency. (This varies from person to
person, so just turn it off when it looks done to you.) Stir in cilantro.
Pour in tomatillo-chile mixture and combine. Place in quart size jars and
refrigerate. It's best if refrigerated at least 8-12 hours and will keep
for several days in the refrigerator.
CHILEQUILES VALLARTA (improved!)
We
used to eat Chilequiles at the El Dorado Restaurant in Puerto Vallarta
when I was a kid. We sat in yellow and green chairs right on the sand and
ate at low tables in our wet bathing suits. To this day, whenever I go to
Puerto Vallarta, The El Dorado is one of my first stops. Even though the
resort has grown astronomically and bears little resemblance to the sleepy
village Nina, our parents and I remember from the ‘60s, the El Dorado is
still there and it still serves some of the best food in Puerto Vallarta.
And hey, there’s no way you can beat the location!
One of my favorite memories from the El Dorado dates back to the Christmas
of 1967. We had just ordered lunch. My parents were discussing the concept
of the empty nest. I could tell that my dad was worried about my mom being
lonely as he anticipated Nina’s and my eventual departure for college.
Suddenly he stood up. My eyes followed his until I spotted the cutest
little black and white puppy I had ever set eyes on. It was under the
pier, on a frayed rope held by one of two little Mexican girls. Within two
minutes my dad bought that dog for $4.00 US, plus a few pesos to buy ice
cream for the crying little girls. We named her Victoria, and she was my
mother's shadow for the next 16 years.
Meanwhile, back on the beach, Victoria fell asleep in Nina’s lap. Our
lunch arrived and we dug in. A beach vendor selling silver earrings,
necklaces and rings diverted Nina’s attention. When she looked back down
at her plate, her chilequiles were gone. Little Victoria, barely six weeks
old, had scarfed the entire meal!
Margarita pie is a perfect way to end any elegant meal.
Light, unusual and incredibly tasty, your guests will feel the essence of
Baja Magic tickling their tongues as they slide that first bite of pie
into their mouths. And they'll definitely be back for seconds. Over the
years, I’ve had more compliments on this than anything else in this
section. The original recipe featured a graham cracker crust, but at the
urging of my friend, Hugh
Kramer—president of Discover Baja Travel Club—the crust has been
reinvented as a crushed pretzel crust. This way, it captures the salty
edge of a real Margarita. Makes 2 9-inch pies.
Filling:
1 small package lemon pudding mix
1 small package lime Jell-O mix
2 cups water
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup lime juice
¼ cup tequila
¼ cup Mexican Controy, Cointreau or Triple Sec
1½ cups whipped topping
1 lime, thinly sliced
Crushed Pretzel Crust:
½ lb butter
½ cup sugar
2½ cups finely crushed pretzels
Filling:
Combine pudding mix and Jell-O mix. Stir in a half-cup water and beaten
eggs. Blend well. Add remaining water and pour into medium sized saucepan.
Cook over medium high heat, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a
full boil.
Remove from heat. Stir in limejuice, tequila and Controy and chill two
hours. Fold whipped topping into chilled mixture. Spoon into piecrusts and
chill until firm, at least two hours. Garnish with lime slices.
Crust:
Melt butter. Stir in pretzels and sugar and mix well. Divide mixture in
half and press each half firmly onto the sides and bottoms of two 9-inch
pie pans. Freeze for at least an hour before filling.
This recipe will be in featured in Ann Hazard’s
newest book, Cooking With Baja Magic Dos. It will be available in Fall
2005 throughout Baja and California. The new cookbook will have over 60
new recipes with corresponding stories and all new art. Whether or not you
have Ann’s original cookbook, you will want a copy of Baja Magic Dos! For
more information on Ann and her Baja books, visit
www.bajamagic.com.
Thank you to
Author Ann Hazard from BajaMagic.com for this contribution.
We
used to eat Chilequiles at the El Dorado Restaurant in Puerto Vallarta
when I was a kid. We sat in yellow and green chairs right on the sand and
ate at low tables in our wet bathing suits. To this day, whenever I go to
Puerto Vallarta, The El Dorado is one of my first stops. Even though the
resort has grown astronomically and bears little resemblance to the sleepy
village Nina, our parents and I remember from the ‘60s, the El Dorado is
still there and it still serves some of the best food in Puerto Vallarta.
And hey, there’s no way you can beat the location!
MARGARITA
PIE (improved!)
