Cooking with Baja Magic Dos - Mexican Recipes by Author Ann Hazard
 We
are taking a culinary tour of Baja Sur with Ann's latest series of
recipes. This time we are in La Paz for two wonderful new recipes.
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. CHICKEN
ENCHILADAS SUIZAS
I first had these mild, yet flavorful enchiladas when I was eight years
old and staying in La Paz for the very first time. Enchiladas were the top
of the line as far as Mexican food goes, according to my mom (and her mom
before her). So of course I was encouraged to try them on my first big
Baja adventure. I loved them then and I love them now. In fact, the most
recent time I had enchiladas suizas was at a bay-front restaurant right on
the malecón in Lap Paz — for breakfast!
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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 I couldn’t believe they were really and truly on the breakfast menu, but
they were. And I, preferring enchiladas to eggs most any day, promptly
ordered them. Of course, this story wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t tell
you what Nina ordered. She ordered a “Perrito Caliente,” which was a huge
hot dog, (although the literal translation is “warm puppy”) smothered in
mustard and loaded up with cheese, bacon, pineapple and avocado. For
breakfast, mind you. With coffee! I didn’t know yet that Mexican hot dogs
are a national delicacy, usually served wrapped in bacon off a hot dog
cart … only at night. You can check out the recipe in the Poultry and Meat
section.
While I haven’t included this recipe in the breakfast section, I do
recommend these enchiladas for breakfast, lunch or dinner. And the sauce
can be spooned over eggs, meat, fish or poultry or used as a mild salsa
with tacos. Makes three cups. This recipe serves four.
Enchilada Suiza Sauce
8 large tomatoes
1½ tbsp oil
6 chiles de arbol, lightly toasted
1 pasilla or guajillo chile (pasilla is milder), lightly toasted
1 large white onion, quartered
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cup water
1 cup crema media ácida or American sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
In large skill, heat oil and cook tomatoes until blackened and softened,
about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, soak chiles in water for 15 minutes to
soften. Remove stems, seeds and membranes if desired. In food processor,
blend together tomatoes, chiles, onion, garlic, water and crema or sour
cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper and pour into a large
saucepan. Heat thoroughly.
Enchiladas
½ cup corn or canola oil
12 corn tortillas
2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
4 cups Swiss, Chihuahua or jack cheese, grated
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1 cup crema media ácida or sour cream
Garnish
1 cup lettuce, shredded
1 tomato, diced
½ cup queso fresco, crumbled (can substitute feta)
 Heat oil in skillet until a drop of water sizzles when dropped in it. Fry
a tortilla lightly on both sides so it’s still pliable. Using tongs,
remove it from the pan. Dip it into the enchilada sauce and lay it inside
a 9 x 13 pan. Stuff enchilada with chicken, cheese and onions. Roll and
place seam side down in the pan. Repeat for all 12 tortillas, reserving a
small amount of cheese and onions.
When all enchiladas are made, place the pan in a 350° oven for about
twenty minutes. Remove from oven, pour remaining enchilada sauce over
enchiladas until almost covered. Cover with remaining cheese and onions.
Broil for two minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve immediately, topped
with media crema or sour cream and garnishes.
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 just
bask in the beauty of it all. It drew us like a magnet. A blast from our
long-ago (try 35 years — then!) past. A place still cut off from the
hubbub of life, still spilling over with Baja Magic.
The waiter, Marcelo remembered us from a prior visit. A super-friendly guy
who loved to brag about his mixed (1/3 Italian, 1/3 African and 1/3
Mexican) ancestry, he couldn’t wait to offer us his favorite recipe. He
chose this one, he explained, because, after watching us swim, he knew we
had both been mermaids in a previous incarnation! He also told us that the
mermaids shadow the gray whales on their trek from the Arctic to their
birthing grounds in Baja — those same whales who sneak into the bay of La
Paz periodically. The mermaids and whales communicate by singing, and they
dance together, flipping their tales in unison in the late night, under
the watching eyes of the moon and stars.
When I visited the Palapa Azul a few months later, Marcelo was gone and so
was his recipe. In early 2005 I found him again, however. Since early
1998, he’s owned a popular restaurant on 5 de Febrero in La Paz called Mr.
Azucar’s (Mr. Sugar’s) and you can find La Cola de la Sirena on the menu
there. When Terry and I hooked up with Marcelo, he made us a plate of this
appetizer and informed me that he’s changed it dramatically from his days
at Palapa Azul. The first recipe used sardines and tomato juice; the new
one uses smoked white tuna and is even better. Marcelo told us that people
from all over La Paz stop in and buy it para llevar (to go). Mr. Azucar’s
is laid back. It has a sand floor, a wooden dance floor showcasing local
talent on the weekends and a diverse, creative and super affordable menu.
Stop in the next time you’re in La Paz. You won’t be disappointed! Rumor
has it he may be coming to Los Barriles. Oh yeah….
I still love it that he created La Cola de la Sirena at Tecolote, because
just the name alone makes me feel like taking a running dive into the 83°,
lighter-than-aquamarine-green water offshore. It makes me want to swim on
and on and on, unable to force myself back to land, because I too have
become a creature of the sea. A mermaid. Serves eight. Make extra para
llevar.
4 cups smoked albacore (or canned in water)
4 hard-boiled eggs, finely diced
1 large white onion, finely diced
2 - 4 (depending on desired spiciness) pickled jalapenos from can, finely
diced
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste
1 cup mayonnaise (non-fat is okay)
Saladitas (saltines) or totopos (tortilla chips) for dipping
2 limónes (Mexican limes) or key limes, quartered
1 bottle Salsa Huichol
Combine tuna, eggs, onion and jalapeños in small bowl. Add pepper, salt
and mayonnaise. Stir gently until all ingredients are thoroughly but
lightly coated in mayonnaise. Add a little extra if the dip appears too
dry. Chill well. Serve scooped onto saltine crackers or tortilla chips,
garnished with a squirt of limón and a shot of salsa.
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