The recipe....finally!

Tamales are labor intensive. Save yourself some grief and make at least the pork ahead of time. It cooks easily in the crock pot, then you can shred it and freeze it in large zip-loc until you're ready to use it.

Pork Filling

4 pound pork loin-I buy a large one at Costco and slice the rest into chops & freeze
Small can of chopped green chiles
1 t. Ground coriander
1 t. Ground cumin
1 medium sweet onin, coarsley chopped

Cook on low in crockpot for 6-8 hours. Reserve liquid for chile sauce.

Chile Sauce

You can make this ahead of time, too. I don't know how it freezes, but it should keep in the refrigerator for at least a week.

3 oz. bag dried New Mexico chiles-at my store, these are called California chile pods-El Guapo brand (buy & add 4-5 Arbol chile pods if you want a little heat)
4 cloves garlic
1/2 t. Coriander
1/2 t. Cumin
1/2 t. Salt
1/2 cup reserved liquid from pork
With gloves on, remove stem ends from chiles and shake as many seeds out as possible. If a lot of seeds remain, break chiles in half and shake out the rest of the seeds. You can rinse under cold water to remove any remaining seeds, but I don't think it' necessary.

Toast the chiles in a large, dry skillet, about 45-60 seconds, just until aroma is released. DO NOT burn them! Place in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered for about 8 minutes. Take off heat and cool.

In the meantime, place the garlic, spices and reserved liquid in blender, drain the liquid, reserving 1/2 cup. Add the liquid and chiles to the blender. Process until smooth.

The day you are putting them together, soak full package of corn husks for at least an hour. Drain.

Masa Dough

2 lbs corn masa
3 T. Smoky paprika
3 T. Salt
3 T. Cumin seeds-buy these in the Mexican section in the little bags, it's much cheaper
3 T. Chile powder- we used 2 regular & 1 chipotle
2 cups vegetable oil
8 cups chicken broth (2 boxes)

Blend dry ingredients together in a LARGE bowl. Add oil and blend with a wooden spoon until oil has moistened all dry ingredients. Using mixer, blend in broth, about 2 cups at a time until dough is the consistency of thick peanut butter. Most likely you will use all the broth.

Preparation

Mix chile sauce with meat, adding reserved liquid or water if necessary. Sauce should just coat the meat, but not runny.

Set up your assembly. Corn husks, masa dough, meat mixture, steamer basket.

The corn husks are shaped like triangles. Place about 1/4 cup masa on one side of the wide part of the husk and spread evenly. Place 2-3 tablespoons of the meat mixture in the middle of the masa. Roll the husk up lengthwise, ending on the side that has no masa. Then fold the top down. You can tear off thin strips of the husk and tie the ends if you want. Place the tamales in the steamer, open side up. Fill the steamer a little loosely--the masa will expand. Steam for about 2 hours. The masa will be fairly firm to touch when done--take one out and let it sit for a bit before you check it. Be careful not to run the steamer out of water!

*note: one of the most difficult parts of the tamale making process was finding the right kind of steamer. You will need one that allows you to stand the tamales upright in the basket to steam.

Gringa Tamales

I've been putting off posting my tamale recipe because it is complicated and I want to make sure I get it right. In November 2010, we visited the Mayan Riviera in Mexico with our good friends Debbie, Butch, Sandi & Mike. Of course, we ate a ton of really good food. When Christmas rolled around, we decided to try to make tamales for our Christmas dinner. I had been thinking about trying to make them and collecting various recipes for quite some time, so I gathered the recipes and set about combining them into a tasty, but easy version. That first year, they were well received, so last Christmas we decided to make them again. This time, of course, we had the basics down pat and tweaked the recipe a bit. Today, Deb and I are making them again, joined by our good friend DeNise. DeNise has been bugging us to make them and her BUSY schedule is finally allowing us all a day in the kitchen. Deb cooked the pork ahead of time and shredded it, so this morning we made the chile sauce and the masa dough. We're now just waiting for DeNise to show up with the makings for ceviche (YUM!!!).

Northwest Cabbage Slaw

This is my go-to recipe to take when invited to a BBQ or potluck.  It's asked for frequently, and with good reason!  DeNise asked me to share the recipe yesterday, so I've done my best to write it down.  This recipe has evolved, kind of from a recipe I used to make that started with raw ramen noodles and cabbage.  One night I decided to make cole slaw to go with something BBQ'd, but there was one little problem....I despise mayonaise!  So I decided to use an oil & vinegar dressing similar to the one I sued on the ramen salad and it got good reviews.  This recipe evolved from those initial attempts.  If you keep the ingredients on hand, this salad goes together really fast, especially if you buy the pre-shredded cabbage and toasted almonds. 

1 small head of cabbage, shredded (OR 1 bag of shredded cabbage, NOT the angel hair variety)

1 bunch of green onions, cleaned and sliced finely

½-1 whole bunch of cilantro, or to taste, chopped finely

¼ -1/2 cup craisins, chopped

¼-1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

1 jalepeno, chopped finely

Prepare vegetables and add to large bowl.  Toast almonds in a dry pan on stovetop (or buy them already toasted).  While the almonds cool, chop and add the craisins to the salad mixture.  Add the almonds when they are fully cooled.  Mix well.

Dressing: 

3 T rice vinegar

1 T good light olive oil or grapeseed oil

Salt & pepper

¼ t cumin

¼ t coriander

1 t. sugar

Whisk until sugar is dissolved and pour over salad.  Mix well.  

Nancy's Black Cake

Thanks to Aunt Nancy for this recipe!  I sure hope at some point you decided to share it with your sister!! 
I am not usually a big fan of chocolate cake--it's typically too dry for me, but this cake is moist, easy and awesomely chocolately!  This is maybe the simplest "scratch" cake I've ever made. 

Butter a 9" x 13" pan, then sprinkle cocoa powder like you would flour, coat the pan and pour out the excess.  In a large mixing bowl, mix all the following ingredients well.

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 t. vanilla
2 squares (2 oz) baking chocolate, melted
1/2 cup milk + 1 t. vinegar
1 cup boiling water + 1 t. baking soda
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
3/4 t. salt

Pour into the prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Frosting

Melt together:
5 T. sugar
2 T. butter
3 T. evaporated milk

Bring to boil, then remove from stove and add 1/2 cup chocolate chips.  Beat till smooth and pour over hot cake. 

Picnic!

One of the best things I've ever bought at a charity auction was a picnic basket.  Technically, I've bought TWO picnic baskets--the first one was wicker and oh-so traditional looking, but not very practical.  The second looks like a piece of soft-sided luggage, but holds everything you might need for picnicking!  We like head east on Memorial Day Weekend, betting that the east side has some of the elusive sunshine that we don't often get over here (reliably, anyway) until July or so.  The hubby and I like road trips.  When I bought the first picnic basket and lugged it along on a road trip/wine tasting trip to Kelowna, BC, he thought it was a silly thing to bring along, and that we wouldn't use it.  After a stop at a gourmet grocery and a nice little picnic on the patio outside our hotel room, he changed his tune.  Now, he always asks if we're bringing it along when we head out for a few days.  This last weekend, we drove over to Pendleton, OR, then hit Walla Walla, and the Tri-Cities for some wine tasting (and buying)!  I prepared a few things to take along instead of just stopping at a grocery store and we ended up stopping at a great little park at Wallula Junction, right outside of the Tri-Cities.  I wish that I would have taken a picture--the weather was picnic perfect, we had the park practically to ourselves,and the food was terrific!

Shrimp with *homemade cocktail sauce
*Cracked pepper flatbread
White bean dip
*Baby carrots & sliced cucumbers
Asiago bread
Artichoke heart tapenade
*Pickled asparagus
Grapes
Smoked Gouda
Blue Cheese
A nice red-blend wine

* From my kitchen--watch for the recipes!

Rosemary-Lemon Flatbread

Lately, the bread basket at several restaurants I've been to has been filled with different kinds of wonderful, crispy flatbreads so I decided to try my hand at making some at home.  I've made this twice now, and it is SUPER easy, even for a cook who isn't a great baker, like me!  And it keeps really, really well in a sealed container.  Today I rescued the last two pieces from my last batch, sprinkled a little Italian blend cheese on them and broiled them in the toaster oven, then added slices of tomato.  Next time I'm going to add a little basil as well.  Tonight I served this alongside Chicken Curry and Coconut Rice.  This is really a quick recipe and very satisfying to make!  Enjoy!!

Rosemary-Lemon Flatbread        

1-3/4 c. flour
1 T. chopped rosemary
1 t. lemon zest
1 t. baking powder
3/4 t. salt
1/2 c. water
1/3 cup olive oil
Sea salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and place a large baking sheet on the middle rack to preheat.

In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, rosemary, lemon zest, baking powder and salt.  Make a well in the center and add water and oil.  Mix with wooden spoon until a dough forms.  Knead dough gently on a work surface 4 or 5 times.  Don't overwork the dough.

Divide the dough into 3 pieces.  Set aside two and wrap in plastic while you work with the first.  Roll out one piece on a sheet of parchment paper into about a 10 inch round.  No need to make it perfect.  Dough should be thin and even.

Lightly brush with a bit of oil and sprinkel with sea salt.  Slide the dough and parchment onto the preheated baking sheet.  Bake until pale golden and browned in spots--8-10 minutes.  Place bread and parchment on a rack to cool, return the baking sheet to the oven and make the other two rounds the same way.  When it is cool, break into pieces and serve! 

Keeps for several days in an airtight container.

Rosemary-Asiago Gnocchi

1-1/2 lbs russet potatoes

1/2 cup flour
1/4 c. grated Asiago cheese
2 egg yolks
1/4 t. allspice
2 T. finely chopped rosemary
1 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper

Boil potatoes whole until soft enough to mash--20-40 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes.  When they are tender, remove from water and cool until you can handle them.  Peel potatoes and cut into chunks.  Run through a potato ricer into a mixing bowl.  Add flour, cheese, egg yolks, allspice, rosemary, salt & pepper and mix well.  Add more flour if needed.

Flour your hands, pick up a chunk of dough and roll it into a rope about 1/2 inch thick.  Repeat with the rest of the dough.  Cut the ropes into 1/2-3/4 inch lengths, flouring the pieces as you go.  Place the pieces on a baking sheet lined with wax paper, cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator until ready to cook. 
To cook:  Place gnocchi in a large pot of boiling salted water. They will rise to the top when they are done.  Remove from the pot with a large slotted spoon. 

Cheese sauce

1 cup milk
1 T. cornstarch
1/4 c. grated cheese asiago cheese.

Mix milk and cornstarch, heat until thickened.  Remove from heat and add cheese.  Mix until blended. 
Mix with gnocchi to serve.