Cooking with Baja Magic Dos - Mexican Recipes by Author Ann Hazard
 Author
Ann Hazard will be holding a book signing event along with author
CM Mayo on February 18 in San
Jose del Cabo.
Click here for more information.
These
recipe are 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.
Thank you to
Author Ann Hazard from BajaMagic.com for this contribution. HOTEL
CALIFORNIA CHEVRE STUFFED
CHICKEN BREAST WITH JAMAICA COULIS
Chef Dany Lamote of the Hotel California in Todos Santos
asked me to explain to you that the very exceptional sauce for this dish
is made with jamaica (Hah-MIKE-ah), a plant native to Baja. Often confused
with the hibiscus flower, this annual has leathery flowers and a single
stem without any leaves can produce a dozen flowers. It has a deep
burgundy color and a bitter flavor that reminds me of cranberry juice,
only better. The dried flower is not edible because of its leathery
texture, but the petals of the fresh flower are quite pleasant. The flavor
pairs well with chicken, turkey or pork. Serves four.
More Below...
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These are excerpts from Ann's new Cookbook "Cooking with Baja Magic Dos". Full of
tempting recipes from Baja California the book also contains many original
artwork photos by the author and her husband. Available from Amazon.com
this book will make a great gift for your friends and family that love
Baja. You better pick up an extra copy for yourself too!
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To make burgers
Finely chop basil, mint and garlic and mix with the ground
lamb. Add the egg, salt and pepper and form four equal patties. In a large
skillet or on a griddle, fry about five minutes on each side. Top with
cheese about two minutes before done. In small bowl, combine mayo and
mustard. Toast the bun lightly and spread with the mayo mixture. Place a
burger patty on a bun, top with caramelized onions and serve with lettuce
and tomato on the side, and other burger condiments if desired.
MARC’S CITRUS FLAN EXTRAORDINAIRE
The day Nina and I met Marc Spahr at his Caffé Todos
Santos, he sent this flan out to us as a gift after our meal. In all our
years of traveling Baja and mainland Mexico, neither of us had ever, ever
tasted flan this good. I consider it a real honor to have been entrusted
with this recipe, and now it’s yours too.
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4 chicken breasts
6 ounce log chevre (soft goat cheese)
½ each yellow and red bell peppers cut in very thin strips
2 ounces almonds or pecans – slightly toasted
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup dried jamaica flowers
1 cup water
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
½ cup honey
½ cup sugar (do not use Splenda!)
Pinch of fennel seed
2 ounces anisette or orange liqueur (optional)
½ tsp dried dill
Salt and pepper to taste
Toothpicks
Place chicken breasts on a cutting board and pound until lacy. In small
bowl, combine goat cheese, bell peppers and toasted nuts. Stuff the
chicken breasts with cheese mixture and roll the breasts, securing with
toothpicks.
In a skillet brown the chicken breasts in olive oil over medium high heat,
about three minutes on each side. Place in a baking dish and cook at 350°
for 15 minutes.
To make jamaica sauce, boil the flowers for 15 minutes in a cup of water.
Strain flowers out. Add orange juice, sugar, honey, dill, fennel and
liqueur and cook until it reduces to thick syrup. Lightly season with salt
and pepper.
Chef Dany says that for a delectable presentation, pour some sauce on the
plate, slice the chicken in half and display artfully on the sauce.
HOTEL CALIFORNIA LAMB BURGER
WITH GORGONZOLA CHEESE
I had this lamb burger one sultry June day on the patio at
La Coronela Restaurant and it rocks! The combination of lamb, pungent blue
cheese, the sweetness of caramelized onions is divine. Chef Dany also
recommends trying it with chevre, pine nuts and mango chutney. Oh yeah!
Makes four burgers.
Burgers
1 lb ground lamb
4 cloves garlic
6 basil leaves
6 mint leaves
1 egg
Salt and pepper
4 pats Gorgonzola or Roquefort cheese almost the size of the burgers.
4 roasted garlic or rosemary bun or any quality homemade bun
Lettuce and tomato on the side for garnish
Dijon flavored mayonnaise
½ cup mayonnaise
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
Caramelized onions
1/3 cup olive oil
1 white onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp honey
Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add all onions. Sauté
until pale golden, about 30 minutes. Mix in honey. Sauté until onions are
deep brown, about 15 minutes.
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Marc never had any formal training as a chef until 2004 when he went to
Paris. He came to Todos Santos, if you’ll recall, to grow tropical fruits
— and he’s as successful a farmer as he is a restaurateur. Married to a
lawyer in La Paz, he’s definitely integrated himself into the Southern
Baja culture. He likes to tell the story of how he started cooking. His
first attempts at baking were in a wood-fired brick oven on his farm. He
started selling breads, cakes and cookies to the local gringo community.
Pretty soon he was hired as head chef at El Molino Restaurant in Todos
Santos. By 1993 he’d taken the big step and opened his own restaurant.
If you ever are so fortunate as to find yourself in Todos
Santos, make sure you stop in at Marc’s restaurant. Try it for breakfast,
lunch or dinner — or anytime in between. Sit in front in one of the
hand-painted artsy chairs, or waltz through the kitchen (pure Baja-style)
and eat outdoors in the cool, lovely patio. You won’t be disappointed. No
way José!
Coffee Caramel
½ cup sugar
¼ cup espresso
Flan
2 cups milk
1 cup heavy cream
¼ tsp nutmeg (fresh, grated)
1 cinnamon stick (4 inches long)
1 tbsp citrus zest (lemon, limón and/or orange)
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
6 egg yolks
3 eggs
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
Coffee Caramel
In a small copper saucepan, mix sugar and coffee. Cook over medium heat,
stirring only until sugar is dissolved. Then cook until syrup forms a soft
ball when dropped into ice water. (If you have a candy thermometer, this
happens at about 238°.) Pour mixture into mold — a nine-inch round,
two-inch deep cake pan works well. Let the syrup set up in refrigerator
while making flan.
Flan
Preheat oven to 325°. In medium saucepan, combine milk, cream, vanilla,
nutmeg, cinnamon stick and zests. Cook until almost boiling on low heat,
stirring, constantly. Pour mixture through fine sieve into a bowl. In
another bowl, whisk together eggs, yolks, salt and sugar. Pour milk
mixture slowly into egg mixture, whisking constantly.
Remove mold with caramel from refrigerator and pour flan into it. Set this
mold inside a larger mold (a ten-inch round cake pan works) filled a
quarter of the way up with water. Bake for one hour. Remove from oven and
refrigerate for four hours. To serve, loosen edges with a knife and invert
onto a platter. Cut flan into eight wedges.
Click here
for other recipes...
The Agave Sunset
Agua de Jamaica
& Limones Cocadas
Crab Salad & Cornbread
Carnitas & Nachos
Tomatillio Salsa, Margarita Pie & Chilequiles
Vallarta
Sopa Rompe Catre, Shrimp and Smoked Marlin
Open-Faced Ravioli & Chiles en Nogada
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