New recipes, September 3, 2011

The start for this meal was the Tomato and Watermelon Salad from Epicurious. We opted for the mosaic (rather than tossed salad) presentation, which was colorful and delicious! This mint does indeed make this dish!

We celebrated Judy Montero's birthday today, with her husband Nolbert Chavez, daughter Hope, and Hope' s friend Mattie. The main course was a (new) Chicken Mole Colorado from Chef Ana Garcia of La Villa Bonita, (repeats) Corn on the Cob with Seasoned Salts from Food and Wine, and a Spanish Rice.

The dessert was Strawberry Tamales, again with a recipe from Chef Ana.

We had a Sangria recipe from Los Barrios with this meal--it was delicious with this meal!

New recipe, May 12, 2011

Tonight we had Pork Tamales and Chicken Tinga Tamales we had made and frozen last year, with Salsa de Jitomate and Chile Pequin, a recipe from Chef Ana Garcia of La Villa Bonita Culinary Vacations. We had them with the Topolo "Caesar" Salad from Rick Bayless' Mexican Kitchen.

Both were delicious! The wine was a Puerta Bonita G5 Garnacha Reserve 2008. Great with the spicy meal!

February 24, 2011 new recipe

This is Anne's last day before she goes home to France. We will miss her! We had Roasted Tomatillo Shrimp Tacos, which I found on the Cookincanuck's blog. They are very tasty indeed! We decided to have these with Margaritas, instead of wine. It was accompanied by a variant on Spanish rice, with carrots. We learned the technique at La Villa Bonita, from Chef Ana Garcia.

We did toast to a wonderful visit with some New Mexico Gruet Blanc de Blanc sparkling wine, along with a Dulce de Leche and Caramel Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory.

Au revoir, Anne!

February 6, 2011 new recipes

Sunday, February 6 had a Mexican theme. We started with Rick Bayless' Grilled Garlic and Orange Guacamole, from Fiesta at Rick's. This was a new recipe for us. We also made Spanish rice, using a recipe we learned from Chef Ana Garcia at her cooking school in Tepoztlan, Mexico, La Villa Bonita. This was accompanied by Spicy Jicama Salad with Tangerine and Fresh Coriander, from Rick Bayless' book Authentic Mexican, and Frijoles Borrachos and Chicken in Mole Teloloapanse from his book Mexican Kitchen. As I have learned to do for my vegetarian friends, I left the bacon out of the Frijoles, and used a little more oil and some smoked paprika to get the smoky flavor. We made the mole a year ago, and made a double batch of the sauce to freeze, so we could use it for occasions like this evening, to make a chicken mole without the hassle of making the sauce quickly. It still has fabulous flavors.

You can see in the guacamole photo that I forgot to take the picture before it was all eaten!

Tonight's wine was the 2009 Garnacha del Fuego Old Vines, which is still a great choice with spicy food, especially with the spicy earthy flavors of the mole and frijoles.