Back in Feburary 2010 I posted a recipe for one of my favorite Mexican dishes, Carnitas. You can find the post here. While I was happy with the recipe I posted, I am always looking for ways to improve my dishes or do them differently. One of the problems with the recipe is that it cooked on the stove top for quite awhile. This meant that since both my wife and I work, the only time I could make these was on the weekend or on a day that I was off. I decided to do the initial cooking in the slow cooker, allowing us to have carnitas any day of the week as most of the cooking was done while we were working.

It’s been awhile since I spoke of my love of the slow cooker, AKA Crock Pot. In my early days as a chef, I used to look down on these gadgets, associating them with bad casseroles and 1970′s cooking. I quickly changed my tune though when I started playing with them and realized what great vessels they were for slowly braising all sorts of meats and dishes. It allows me to start a dish in the morning, before work, making for a quick but tasty dinner soon after I get home.

While you do most of the cooking, for this dish, in the slow cooker, it does need to be finished on the stove top to evaporate the remaining liquid and fry the meat in its rendered fat. Luckily this doesn’t take too long, just about the time it will take you to get the condiments together and heat up the tortillas.

Forget the bottled salsa with these tacos. I prefer the standard accompaniment of finely diced onion, jalapeno and cilanto, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice.

Slow Cooker Carnitas
serves 6-8 people

5 pounds pork roast (I used a shoulder roast, whatever you use it should have plenty of fat in it as you need the fat to finish the dish)
1 can Rotel (original flavor)*
1 Tbl. chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
salt
black pepper

Start your preparations in the morning, before work. Pour the Rotel into your slow cooker. Fill the can 3/4′s of way with water and add that also. Place the pork roast in the slow cooker and sprinkle with the chili powder and cumin. Generously season the meat with plenty of salt and pepper. Turn the slow cooker to “low,” cover and allow to cook while you’re at work.

When you get home, 8 hours later, the pork should be fully cooked and quite tender. Break up the pork into large pieces (2-3 bites each) and transfer the meat, along with all the juices and fat to a large nonreactive pot. Place over high heat and cook until all the liquid has evaporated, leaving just the pork and the rendered fat in the pan. Allow the pork to fry in its own fat until it starts to brown around the edges and crisp up slightly. Stir occasionally as it will want to stick at this point. By this time the pork should have broken down into small, bite sized pieces or smaller. If not break it up a bit more.

Serve with corn tortillas that have been briefly grilled to warm then through. Top with a mixture of finely diced onion, jalapeno and cilantro, and finally, with a squeeze of fresh lime.

*Note: For those of you not familiar with Rotel, you can find it in the store with all the other canned tomato products. It’s a mix of diced tomato and green chiles. While I don’t advocate too many canned products, my house is never without at least of cans around at all times.

I first discovered Elote when I was living in Chicago. There were all these Mexican street vendors in my neighborhood pushing carts and selling, what I discovered, was corn on the cob. But this wasn’t ordinary corn on the cob has I had known it. Instead of slathering it with butter, salt and pepper they slathered it in mayonnaise, dipped it in grated cheese and sprinkled it with ground chile and a squeeze of fresh lime. I have to admit, at first I was kind of disgusted. Mayo on corn on the cob?! But being a chef and a rather adventurous sort I had to give it a try. Besides how bad could it be? Ultimately it was just corn on the cob. Well, I tried it and fell in love. And let’s face it, what’s not to love; creamy, rich mayo, salty, nutty cheese, a bit of spicy heat, and the freshing tang of lime juice, all backing up that wonderful sweetness of fresh corn.

This week, our CSA share contained 5 ears of freshly picked corn on the cob. I racked my brain, coming up with all sorts of wild and crazy things to do with this corn (and hopefully I’ll get to do one or 2 of those things in the near future) but ultimately decided the best way to showcase such wonderfully sweet, freshly picked corn was to serve up in the ultimate summertime fashion; on the cob. But that wouldn’t be much of a post, which got me to thinking and wondering how many other people had never had corn on the cob done the Mexican way. See how I selflessly put my readers first. Trust me it has nothing to do with the fact that I’ll use any excuse to add as much fat and dairy as I can to just about any recipe…really.

Just a few notes before I get to the recipe. First off, I often talk about how produce is so much better the fresher it is. While this is true of most all produce, it is especially true of corn. Corn is the sweetest the moment it is pulled off of the stalk. Once picked those sugars begin to get converted into starch, losing much of its sweetness at an alarming rate. While supermarket corn, in the middle of summer, may taste pretty darn good, I challenge you to stop by your local farmer’s market, pick up a couple of ears of corn that were picked early that morning and have them cooked off by noon. If you have never indulged in this summertime luxury you’ll be amazed at the sweetness and depth of flavor that you never knew you were missing.

Traditionally, the cheese used in making elotes is Cotija Anejo (Queso Anejo). Outside of cities or in area without larger hispanic populations, this cheese may be difficult to find. Not a problem. Just use parmesan cheese instead. As always I will state that doesn’t mean that nasty stuff that comes in a green container and has a shelf life of a million years. Use the real stuff!! Cotija Anejo is not exactly like Parmesan, but close enough that the vast majority of people couldn’t tell the difference.

Finally, when I make elotes, I use ground cayenne pepper as my choice of chile. You could use ground ancho, chile de arbol or even ground chipotle if you want a bit of that smokiness that comes from chipotle, but please stay away from “chili powder.” While chili powder has its uses for this dish it doesn’t work so well, in my opinion. Of course there are plenty of recipes, gracing the web, for elotes that use chili powder, but I disagree with its use here. Chili powder is a spice mix containing, not only, ground chile, but usually ground cumin, ground oregano, and other various herbs and spices. To me this muddles up the flavor a little too much, taking away from the bright freshness of the food.

Elotes

fresh corn on the cob, still in the husks
mayonnaise
finely grated Parmesan cheese (see my rant above about the stuff in the green container)
ground cayenne pepper (or your choice of chile, not chili, powder)
lime wedge (cut limes into 1/6ths)

One and half hours before you are ready to eat prepare the corn. Rip off the exposed part of the corn silks but leave the husks intact. No need to remove them completely as they are easy to remove after being cooked. Submerge the corn in cold water. After the corn has been soaking for 45 minutes to 1 hour, fire up your grill and set it up for direct grilling over medium high heat. Place the corn on the grill and cover, checking every few minutes and turning every 4-5 minutes. Don’t worry, you will have the occasional flame as loose bits of husk or stray bits of corn silk catch fire. Unless your fire is too hot that initial soaking should prevent the entire ear from catching fire. If this is your first time cooking corn on the grill you might want to keep a spray bottle with water, just in case. The corn will take approximately 20 minutes, depending on the size of the corn, how hot your grill is, how often you remove the lid, yada, yada, yada. You can tell the corn is done by gently peeling a bit of the husk back to expose the kernals. Raw corn will have a dullish look to it. Cooked corn will have a slight sheen to it and the colors will be a bit more vibrant.

Once done, remove from the grill and serve. I usually make this a serve yourself affair. Everyone grabs an ear of corn. I peel the husk down to the stem, which I have left on to serve as handle for eating the corn. Most of the corn silk should come with the husks, but it is easy to remove any strays that still cling to the corn. I then liberally slather the entire ear with mayo, just like you would with butter. I probably use between 1 and 2 tablespoons per ear. Next sprinkle with the grated cheese. Don’t be shy…load it on. Next sprinkle with the chile powder. This is a personal preference on how hot you like it. I like medium hot. Just enough to get a bit of burn but not enough to interfer with the taste of the corn. Finally grab a lime wedge and squeeze the juice all over the ear and enjoy. Since the cheese is usually pretty salty no need for any added salt unless you are a complete addict!

So we finally had a beautiful weekend, and just in time. This weekend was the first farm event, of the season, for our new CSA. After not joining a CSA for the last few years we decided to get involved again and chose Good Earth Farm, in Oakfield, WI as our new CSA. The event, this past weekend, gave us a chance to meet Nicole, one of the owners, along with a couple of people working for a share. While not much is happening in the fields yet, except for garlic, the greenhouse was in full swing, and by the looks of things, there were plenty of plants just waiting for the first nice week to be planted outside. I won’t dwell too much on our CSA today as I’m sure there will be plenty of posts about Good Earth Farm once the produce starts rolling in.

This weekend we were also able to finally get the deck together, getting the canvas on the “gazebo” and the table and chairs out. I even had a chance to take full advantage of the set up and spent an hour relaxing and reading on the deck. Oh yeah, I also got the first mowing of the season in. This year I was able to get it done before the grass grew knee high!

The nice weather also brought out the neighbors and it was great to reaquaint ourselves with them after the long, cold winter during which we don’t see much of each other. Overall, a great weekend!

I was in a “Latin” mood today so I thought I’d surprise my wife with homemade empanadas. Empanadas come in all shapes and sizes, and with many different fillings and crusts. Some are baked while others are fried. I have a whole arsenal of different empanada doughs, but I also often just use my tried and true pie dough recipe. It makes a great, light and flaky empanada pastry, especially if you are baking them. I will even admit to occasionally using store bought pie dough if I am pressed for time, although I try not to do that too often.

I still have plenty of chorizo, sitting in my freezer, from my foray into sausage making so I figured I would base my filling on that. Add a few potatoes and a little onion and you have the makings of a great filling. The chorizo is spicy enough and complex enough that you don’t need much else.

Chorizo Empandas
makes 16 empanadas enough to serve 4-5 people

2 batches pie dough for a double crust (your favorite recipe)
1 pound Mexican chorizo
1 1/2 pounds waxy potatoes (something like a red bliss or Yukon Gold)
1 medium onion

Divide the pie dough evenly into 16 pieces, roll into balls and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes. Peel the potatoes and cut into a 1/4-1/2″ dice. Place in cold, salted water, bring to a boil and cook for 8-10 minutes, just until al dente. Rinse under cold water. Remove casings from the chorizo and cook in a skillet over high heat along with the diced up onion. When cooked through add the potatoes and cook for 10 minutes longer. Taste for seasoning and add salt, if necessary. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. As chorizo mixture is cooling remove pie dough from fridge and allow to soften slightly. Working with 1 dough ball at a time, roll out dough into a 5″ circle. Brush edge with water and place 2 Tbs. of the filling in the center. Fold the edges together and crimp, with a fork to seal. Place on a greased sheet tray. Repeat with remaining dough. You will have leftover filling, but it makes a great mix in for scrambled eggs the next morning for a mexican inspired breakfast. Bake in a preheated oven, at 350°F for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is lightly golden brown. While empanadas are baking make the Avocado Cream.

Avocado Cream
makes approximately 2 1/2 cups

1/4 cup sour cream
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 jalapeno, with seeds, roughly chopped
1/4 cup half and half
2 avocados
salt

Place sour cream, lemon juice, half and half, and jalapeno in a blender and blend until smooth. Peel, pit, and dice the avocado and add to the blender. Blend until smooth, adding more half and half only if necessary to keep the contents blending. It should be thick like thick mayonnaise. Season with salt. To store, wrap tightly with plastic wrap, pressing the plastic down, onto the surface of the avocado cream.

Serve the empanadas with a few dollops of the avocado cream and garnish with pico de gallo or diced tomato and cilantro.

When I was first introduced to Mexican Chorizo I was very confused. What I knew as “Chorizo” came from Spain and it was a dried sausage, so the first time I ordered Chorizo and Eggs I was perlexed by what I received. My consternation didn’t last long, however, after taking my first bite. I immediately fell in love with this new (well at least new to me) form of sausage. And I’ve been in love ever since.

Chorizo is a great way to add a little spice and Southwest flair to just about any meat dish that calls for ground meat. I often like to add it to chili, use it to fill tacos and burritos, add some into fried potatoes, or a pot of refried beans, and, of course, in the ever popular Chorizo and Eggs, for breakfast. But one of my favorite things to do with chorizo is to make my Southwestern Chorizo Burgers. It’s a combination of chorizo and ground beef and it makes one of the best nontraditional burgers around. You can find the recipe on my blog here.

Making Mexican Chorizo is a pretty simple process, especially so since I find no need to stuff it into casings. The vast majority of uses requires it to be crumbled and browned so there is no need to bother with the hassle of stuffing. To be honest, as much as I love chorizo, it is a pretty spicy product and I’m not sure that I’d enjoy eating it as a link.

Mexican Chorizo

4 pounds pork butt
2 Tbs. paprika
1 1/2 Tbs. ancho powder*
1 Tbs. chipotle powder**
1/4 tsp. ground clove
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano, crushed
1 tsp. ground black pepper
5 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/3 cup cider vinegar

Cut the pork butt into 1 inch pieces, making sure to remove any glands you might come across (for a description is my post on making Italian Sausage). In a nonoreactive bowl, combine all the dry ingredients and mix into the pork.

Add the vinegar and mix well. Cover and place in the refrigerator for, at least 2 hours, or overnight. Before grinding place all grinder parts in the freezer to chill. Grind once using the coarsest die.

Mix the sausage to help distribute the seasonings even more then grind, again, through one of the smaller dies. Make a small patty and cook it up. Taste and check for seasoning. Adjust seasoning to your taste. This recipe makes a full flavored sausage with just a bit of heat. You can up the ancho and chipotle, or even add a bit of cayenne if you want more. I usually then package it into 1/2-1 pound packages that I freeze until needed. While this sausage is ready to go after grinding, I find giving it another day, for the flavors to meld, improves it even more.

*If you can’t find Ancho powder, take a couple of ancho chiles (the dried form of the poblano pepper) and roast them in a 350°F oven for 10 minutes. Allow them to cool completely, remove the stem and seeds (you can leave the seeds in if you want it hotter), crumble it up and grind in a spice grinder.

**If you don’t have Chipotle powder puree 1-2 chipotles en adobo as a substitute. You can find these in most Hispanic sections at the grocery store nowadays.

Tomato Bowl 2011 is alive and well. Half way through the competition Team Green Bay is ahead of Team Pittsburgh by a touchdown. I’ve been kind of slacking so it is time to add another blog post in support of the Packers and my team of bloggers!!

Today’s recipe is one of my favorites. I love tamales, but they can be time consuming to make so I don’t make them very often. When I am having a serious tamale jones but don’t have time to make the real thing I often make this recipe. It’s basically chili topped with a thick batter of masa harina and Bisquick mix then baked until bubbly and golden brown. It’s not a tamale, but much of the flavor profile is there.

While you are more than welcome to use this recipe as is, if you have a favorite chili recipe just use that and then follow the recipe for the topping.

It used to be that masa harina was difficult to find unless you lived out West or in a major city. Nowadays, it can be found in most larger grocery stores, in the Hispanic section. While masa is a corn flour, cornmeal is not an acceptable substitute.

Tamale Casserole
serves 6-8 people

FOR FILLING:
2 pound Ground beef
2 each Onions, peeled and chopped
1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder
1 teaspoon Ground cumin
1 tablespoon Chili powder
2 cans (14.5oz) Red Gold diced tomato
1 can (15oz) Kidney beans
1 1/2 cups Water
Salt
Pepper
FOR TOPPING:
1 cup Masa Harina (mexican corn flour-do not substitute corn meal)
1 cup Bisquick® baking mix
2 cups Water

To Make the Filling:
Combine ground beef and onions in a large stock pot and brown over high heat. Add garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper and cook for 3 minutes. Add diced tomato, kidney beans and water and cook for 30 minutes or until thickened (liquid should be reduced by about 1/2). Adjust seasoning if necessary. Remove from heat. Recipe can be made up to this point and refrigerated. Preheat oven to 350. Pour filling into a 9×13 casserole dish or cast iron skillet.

To Make the Topping:
Combine remaining ingredients and stir just until smooth. Pour over top of filling and spread it out evenly. Bake for approx. 30 minutes or until top is lightly golden brown. Will take longer if filling was made earlier and cooled. When done remove from oven and allow to rest for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Well, the major parts of our kitchen renovations are done, for now, and just in time for me to participate in Tomato Bowl 2011 put on by Red Gold brand canned tomato products. This new marketing strategy/competition pits 6 Pittsburgh area bloggers against 6 Green Bay area bloggers to see who can come up with the most creative Game Day eats.

Playing for the Green Bay team, besides myself, are:
Proudtobecheap
Tummytreasure
Anniebakes
Cheesecurdinparadise
Runaroundaroo

Playing for Pittsburgh (and I’ll apologize now for your loss both here and on the field) are:
EatPGH
Youlittletarte
Evelynscorner
Ohfoodbaby
Justroxy
Dailyrumpus

For my first post of the Tomato Bowl, I thought I would do a take on the traditional Sloppy Joe, and create a Sloppy Jose. Now the web is full of recipes for “Sloppy Joses” but to be honest, I find them all pretty lacking in any kind of originality. Most of them basically take standard Sloppy Joes and merely add a packet of Taco Seasoning and a can of green chiles. I figured I would bump up the flavor profile a little bit and make it a little more Mexican. And yes, the recipe reads right; there is cocoa powder in the final product. Chocolate is used, in Mexico, in a number of sauces, especially in many moles. The great thing about this dish is it is even better the following day. So make it on Saturday and then slowly heat it up in a slow cooker on Game Day for an easy meal!

Sloppy Joses
makes 10-12 sandwiches

12oz Mexican chorizo (sausage)
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, peeled and diced
1-3 jalapenos, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can (6oz) Red Gold tomato paste
1 can (14.5oz) Red Gold diced tomatoes
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 tsp. ground mustard
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. cocoa powder
1/2 bunch cilantro, stems removed and chopped

In a large skillet, brown the chorizo and ground beef along with the onions, until cooked through.

Pour off half the grease then add the jalapenos and garlic. Cook for 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Add the diced tomato, along with all the liquid, the brown sugar, vinegar, ground mustard, cumin and cocoa powder. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring regularly so that the mixture doesn’t burn. Skim off the majority of the remaining grease and remove from heat. Stir in the cilantro and check for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper, if necessary.

If you make this a day ahead, leave out the cilantro until you reheat it the following day. Serve on burger buns, with plenty of napkins!!!

Growing up in small town mid-America I wasn’t exposed to a whole lot of ethnic foods beyond the standard Americanized Italian, Chinese and Mexican. While I loved “Mexican” food, I really hadn’t realized that there was much more to the cuisine than tacos and burritos stuffed with either ground beef or chicken and served with a side of beans and rice. Sure, I encountered the occasional enchilada and even more rarely, the occasional tamale, but my experiences were rather limited. Once out of high school though, and able to travel, I discovered that Mexican cuisine was filled with all sorts of wonderful foods, from complex moles to delicate ceviches to a vast array of street foods.

I have particularly become enamored of masa harina, the ground “flour” made from corn soaked in a lye solution. Masa is the basis for corn tortillas, tamales, and sopes. It can also be used a thickener for soups and stews and makes a wonderful addition when breading foods before frying.

The other day I was hungry for some good Mexican inspired food, specifically tamales, but I really didn’t have the time or the energy to get that involved so instead I decided to make some sopes. For those of you not familiar with sopes the best way to describe them is like a very thick corn tortilla that is crispy on the outside yet soft and tender inside though that doesn’t quite do them justice. They are then topped with a whole variety of fillings. This day I decided to braise up some beef and top my sopes with shredded beef. Add a little lettuce, some avocado and salsa and you have fantastic meal!

Shredded Beef Filling
this recipe makes more than you will need for 1 meal’s worth of sopes

2 1/2-3 pounds beef arm roast, or chuck roast
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can Rotel (canned tomatoes and green chile peppers)
salt
pepper
water
1 can tomato paste

Season the roast with salt and pepper and place in a large pot. Add the onions, garlic, Rotel and enough water to come 3/4′s of the way up the side of the meat. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 2 1/2-3 hours, or until tender enough to shred with a fork. Remove meat from pot, allow to cool for 5 minutes then shred. Meanwhile increase heat to high and start reducing liquid. Once shredded, return meat to pot along with tomato paste and continue to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and the meat is thickly coated by the sauce. Remove from heat and serve or cool and package for later use.

>Sopes con Carne
1 1/2 cups masa harina (dried masa flour)
3/4 cup water
vegetable oil
Shredded Beef Filling
Pico de gallo
avocado
lime
shredded lettuce
sour cream

Combine the masa harina and water. Knead for 5 minutes. Masa harina continues no gluten so the kneading is really to make sure the dough is fully hydrated. Adjust consistency by adding more water or more masa, a little at a time, until you have a soft dough that is only slightly sticky. Divide the dough into 6 balls.

Flatten each ball into a circle about 3-4 inches in diameter. Meanwhile heat a skillet over high heat. In another deep sided pan heat about 1 1/2 inches of oil to 350°F. In the dry skillet briefly cook the masa disks for about 1 minute per side, just until they brown a little.

Remove from pan and while still warm (as soon as you can handle them) create a 1/4 inch lip all around the edge.

Drop into the oil and fry for about 4-5 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy on the outside. Drain on paper towels. While draining, dice up the avocado and mix in a little lime juice and salt. Stir just enough to bring together and mash it up enough for it to hold all together. Fill the sopes with the shredded beef, top with shredded lettuce then the avocado, pico de gallo and sour cream. Serve 1-2 per person.

If you make the sopes bite sized they make the perfect appetizer hors d’oeurves. You can then fill them with anything from BBQ chicken to melted cheese to mashed plantains.

I’m a pig and a glutton, sometimes. I admit. It’s true.. The other day, for example, I made a wonderfully simple salsa, packed with the fresh flavors of late summer. That, in and of itself, doesn’t make me a glutton, but the fact that once I started eating it, I didn’t stop until I had polished off half of a family sized bag of tortilla chips does. In fact, for 2 nights salsa, chips and PBR (that’s Pabst Blue Ribbon-beer- for those not in the know) was my dinner. I look at it this way; at least I got my vegetables for the day!!!!

Seriously though, I love salsa in all its forms, from the simple pico de gallo, to complex mole like creations involving 15-20 ingredients or more, though I don’t make it as often as I should. Instead, I often take the lazy way out and just pick up a bottle at the store. Yes, I am ashamed of myself, especially as I so often gripe about people buying stuff at the store when it is so easy to make at home.

This time of year though, I’d be a fool not to make my own salsa. With so many of its ingredients at their peak of ripeness there is no way store bought can even come close to the beauty that is homemade salsa. A quick stroll through my local farmer’s market and I had all I needed to make some killer salsa, and at a fraction of the cost of the store bought stuff.

Grilled Vegetable Salsa
makes about 1 quart

4 pounds tomatoes
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
3-6 jalapenos, depending on how hot they are and how hot you like your salsa. I used 3 as my wife likes her salsa only medium hot.
1/2 bunch cilantro
4 Tbsp. vegetable oil
salt

Preheat your grill. Peel the onion and remove the core. Cut it into 3 thick slices. Use 2 Tbsp. of the oil to lightly oil the tomatoes, onions and jalapenos. Grill until lightly charred and slightly softened.

When done, core the tomatoes and remove the stems from the jalapenos. Roughly cut the tomatoes into 1/6ths or 1/8ths. Place the vegetables in a blender, along with the garlic and blend until well blended but not completely smooth. You will need to do this in 2-3 batches. You shouldn’t need to add any liquid if you place the tomatoes in first. Meanwhile add the remaining oil to a large skillet and heat until smoking. Add the puree to the skillet-be careful as it will sputter and spit-and cook for 10 minutes or until the salsa thickens slightly and turns a darker red. Remove from heat. Allow to cool to room temperature. While the salsa is cooking finely chop the cilantro and add when cool. Season with salt. Place in the refrigerator and allow the flavors to mature for at least 1-2 hours before serving.

Once again life seems to have gotten in the way of blogging. I was gone the better part of last week for 3 days of training, for work and while I wasn’t able to get online and blog, let alone cook, it was a good time and very informative. An added plus was 3 nights of having a bed to myself!! No dogs hogging the space, no wife trying to pile up the covers on top of me, and no kid trying to sneak into bed then taking up 3/4′s of it by sleeping perpendicular to the way one is supposed to sleep. Sorry honey, I missed you, but it was glorious having a bed to myself!!!

Then, after I got back, my brother’s wife went into labor. After a long weekend in the hospital she finally gave birth to a beautiful little girl. We are so happy for them and my daughter is thrilled to have a little cousin. So thrilled, in fact, that when we went to see them, in the hospital, she was very disappointed that the baby wasn’t coming back home with us!

Needless to say, the last few weeks have been pretty busy, but that doesn’t excuse my lack of writing, so I will try to get back to something more regular, once again.

With summertime upon us, I often find myself sipping on Margaritas and other tropical, adult beverages. And of course, when sipping numerous adult beverages, it is inevitable that the munchies set in. One of my favorite ways to curb that appetite is tortilla chips and guacamole.

Guacamole is so easy to make I don’t know why anyone buys that heinous stuff that comes prepackaged. It is always so tart due to all the citric acid they have to use to keep it green, and it seems to have the consistency of baby food. It doesn’t even come close to the “real thing.” Good guacamole should be chunky, with a good citrus zip from lime juice, but it still should be well balanced and all the flavors should come through individually.

This is the recipe I use that has wowed friends, family and restaurant guests for years.

Guacamole

4 avocados
1/2 medium onion
2 medium tomatoes
1-2 jalapenos*
1/4 bunch cilantro, leaves only
1-1 1/2 limes
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
salt
pepper

Finally dice the onion. Core the tomato and cut in half width wise. Gently squeeze the tomato to remove all the seeds and watery pulp, then finely dice. Seed and mince the jalapenos. Finally chop the cilantro. Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice of 1 half into a bowl. Combine with the rest of the chopped ingredients. Cut the avocados in half and remove the pit. The easiest and cleanest way to dice an avocado is to leave the flesh in the skin and cut it in the skin. To do this, make 4 slices, the length of the avocado, through the flesh just until the knife encounters the skin. Turn the avocado 90 degrees and repeat.

Now just take a spoon, slip it just under the skin and scoop out the flesh into the bowl. Add the cumin, a little salt and pepper, and mix just until everything comes together and the avocado is just starting to break up, holding it all together. Taste the guacamole and adjust the seasoning and add more lime juice, if necessary. You need enough lime juice to help keep the guacamole from oxidizing and turning brown and to help elevate all the flavors, but the lime juice shouldn’t overpower the other flavors.

To store the guacamole, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the guacamole and push it down to remove as much air as possible. This will help to slow down the oxidization process by limiting the amount of air that comes into contact with it.

*If you like your guacamole with more kick don’t add more jalapeno or the pepper flavor will overpower. Instead choose a hotter pepper such as a Serrano, or use jalapenos and add a bit of ground cayenne to bump up the heat.

I am amazed by many of my blogger friends out there. Where do you find the time to post so often? I try to post regularly but I often find life interfering with those plans. I try to get out 2-3 posts a week, usually, but, like this past week, I didn’t have time to get anything done. Between work, family and other writing assignments I just couldn’t fit it in. I know, I need to make it more of a priority, but sometimes other things just have to take precedence, especially family time. And, well, I felt that I needed a little break. I am constantly surprised by how much time is taken up trying to keep a blog fresh. Yes, I know, I’ve said that before, but its true. From recipe development, to cooking, to photographing, to photo touch up and writing, a post can easily take up a few hours.

But enough of my excuses for not writing. That’s not what you came here for; to listen to me whine. I’m back to cooking after a short break and surprise, surprise, this post is again inspired by Latin cuisines. I love the cuisines of Latin America, especially that of Mexico. Like so many foods from rural and less prosperous areas, much of the cuisine is simple and straight forward. That in no means implies that it is bland or boring. Quite the contrary, in fact. Foods from such areas are usually robust and full of flavor. They also have that comforting quality, that speaks of home, that often haute cuisine lacks. Not that all dishes are simplistic. Mexican mole is a great example. Ask any chef and they will tell you that moles can be some of the most time consuming and complex sauces out there. There are some mole recipes that contain upwards of 30 ingredients and require numerous steps in its completion.

The dish I offer up today is of the simplier variety though. Carnitas are one of my favorite dishes. Simple yet flavorful, it simply diced pork that has been braised then allowed to fry in the fat that has rendered out of the meat. Plenty of fat is what makes this dish so tasty so look for pork shoulder (butt) that hasn’t been trimmed of too much of its fat. Served simply with corn tortillas, a little pico de gallo and lime. It doesn’t get much better!

Carnitas

5 pounds pork shoulder (butt) bonless
water
salt
1 lime

Dice the pork into 1″ cubes, leaving most of the fat intact but removing any really thick silver skin that remains. Place into a pot and just barely cover with water. Season with salt and the juice from 1 lime.

Turn the heat on to medium and allow to cook for about 1 1/2 hours. At this point most of the water should have evaporated. Turn the heat to medium high. Allow the rest of the water to evaporate. At this point the only liquid left in the pot should be the fat that rendered out during the braising. Allow the pork to fry, in its fat, until it has browned and crisped up slightly.

Plate immediately and serve with pico de gallo, lime wedges and tortillas. That is plenty of a meal for me, but if you like accompany it with refried beans and rice, or maybe a few fried plantains.

It’s hard to believe that something so simple can taste so fantastic, but then again, pork fat can work wonders on just about anything!!!!