View from the Innside

Apple and Green Chile Empanadas

Don't let a Spanish word intimidate you--"empanada" is just the word for "turnover."   There are several steps to this recipe, but they are SO good and very unusual.  These empanadas will be the talk of your brunch or party.  This is another great recipe from New Mexico Magazine.  For a printer-friendly pdf file, click here.

I can hardly wait to try the Red Chile and Goat Cheese Brownies!

Apple and Green Chile Empanadas

New Mexico Magazine, December 2010

Makes 12-16 empanadas

Cream Cheese Dough

1 c. butter, softened
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/8 tsp. salt
2 c. all-purpose flour

Cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy; add salt.  Combine flour with butter-and-cheese mixture until just blended together.  (Do not overwork dough.)  Form dough into a circle, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill at least 1 hour.

Apple and green chile filling 

3 medium-size apples
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
1/3 c. honey
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 c. pecans, lightly toasted and chopped
1 1/2 c. green chile, peeled, seeded, drained, diced (add more green chile to taste) (if you need to use canned green chile, this is about 3 4-ounce cans)

Peel, core and dice apples on small pieces.  Place in saucepan, add sugar and water.  Cook over medium heat until water has evaporated and apples are cooked but still hold their shape.  Add honey and cinnamon, and cook until mixture has thickened (it should be sticky and hold together).  Stir in pecans and well-drained New Mexico green chile.  Place in bowl, cover, and chill.

To prepare empanadas:

1 egg
2 tsp. water
Cream Cheese Dough
Apple and green chile filling
2 oz. Cheddar cheese
turbinado (crystalline) sugar

 Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line sheet trays with parchment paper.  Beat egg with water. 

Divide dough into two equal pieces.  On lightly floured surface, roll one piece of dough into circle or rectangle 1/4 inch thick.  Cut in circles, using floured, 4-inch diameter round cookie cutter.  Gently remove excess dough.

Fill each circle with large teaspoon of filling and sprinkle with grated cheese.  Brush edge of dough with egg wash.  Gently fold circle in half, making sure filling is completely covered.  Place on parchment-lined sheet tray, brush with egg wash, sprinkle with turbinado sugar.  Bake 15-20 minutes. 

Cool 10 minutes and serve warm.  If not serving immediately, cool to room temperature and store in sealed container.

I’m having fun--come on along!

Kathy

Bottger Mansion of Old Town
historic bed & breakfast
110 San Felipe Street NW
Albuquerque, NM   87104
www.bottger.com

 

 

Authentic Delaware Chicken and Dumplings

I called my mother this morning to get her recipe for authentic Delaware Chicken and Dumplings (locally called "chicken and slicks").  Mom is from Georgia, so when she married my father and moved to Delaware, she had to learn to make chicken and dumplings like the locals do.  She learned from my Aunt Margaret, who was the best chicken and dumplings cook in the family.  

I had tried a recipe that called for dumplings made with biscuit dough dropped by spoonfuls on top, and I was disappointed by the results.  It was not my mother's chicken and dumplings (click here for the story of that experiment).  

I made them today, making careful notes as I went along.  They were delicious!  No biscuit dough balls or canned biscuits, no shortening or chicken bouillon cubes--these are as authentic as you can get.   Click here for a printer-friendly pdf page.

Authentic Delaware Chicken and Dumplings

from Sue Layton

Serves 4 (or maybe not!)

2 lb. chicken thighs, skin removed 
8 c. chicken broth 
3/4 tsp. salt
1 large onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced  

Place chicken thighs in a large Dutch oven and cover with chicken broth.  Add salt, onion and celery.  Bring to a boil, turn down to a moderate simmer and cook for about 60 minutes until meat is beginning to fall off the bone.  Remove chicken from broth and cool.  Remove broth from the heat and allow to cool just until lukewarm, about  an hour* (see below for quick-cooling method).  When chicken has cooled, remove meat from bones and set aside.

Dumplings

1 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt 
1/2 c. cooled broth (approx.)

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt.  Add broth and mix with a fork until it starts forming a ball.  The dough will be very soft and sticky.  Put all the remaining chicken broth back into the Dutch oven and bring to a low boil.

Have lots of flour handy.  On a large flat countertop, sprinkle flour very liberally and dust a rolling pin with flour.  Put lots of flour on your hands and take the dumpling dough out of the bowl.  You’ll need to keep putting flour on your hands and patting the dough ball to keep it from sticking to your hands.  Place the dough ball on the counter and start rolling it out from top to bottom and side to side.  After a couple of rolls, pick up the edges and shove more flour underneath (lots of flour is fine).  Keep rolling out the dough until it is very, very thin (Aunt Margaret used to say “until you can read a newspaper through it”).  Cut the dough into about 3” squares (I use the blunt edge of a dough scraper to keep from scoring my countertop).  Pick up about 3-4 dumplings at a time and gently drop them one at a time into the simmering broth, keeping them flat.  As you add the dumplings, keep pressing them down into the broth with a wooden spoon or spatula to immerse them in the broth.  Stir a bit to keep the dumplings from sticking together.  Continue with all the remaining dumpling squares.  Once all the dumplings are in the broth, add the chicken meat back to the dumpling mixture and stir gently.  Turn the heat down to a gentle simmer and cook, covered, for about 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes.  The dumplings will want to stick to the bottom of the pot.  As they cook, the dumplings will expand and absorb the broth.  Most of the liquid should be gone.  

Authentic Delaware chicken and dumplings (locally called “chicken and slicks”) have a gravy-like consistency.  This is not a soup or a stew with the dumplings floating on top.

*  This can take a big part of the afternoon to make, which may be why it’s usually served for Sunday dinner.  It’s usually cooling the broth that holds you up, so if you want to get it done sooner, you can pour the broth into several large baking sheets with a rim (jelly roll pans).  The large surface area will make it cool rapidly.

I'm having fun--come on along!

Kathy

Bottger Mansion of Old Town
historic Bed & Breakfast
110 San Felipe Street NW
Albuquerque, NM   87104
(800) 758-3639
www.bottger.com

 

 

Tomato-Orange Soup

We lived in Portland, Oregon, for 15 years, and Elephants Delicatessen was one of our favorite places.  Their Tomato-Orange Soup is incredible, and I was delighted when the Oregonian published the recipe.  Now that we live far away from Elephants, we can still enjoy this great soup.  The recipe was requested by the ladies who joined us for our holiday high tea today.

Tomato-Orange Soup

Elephants Delicatessen, Portland, Oregon

1/2 c. unsalted butter
1/2 medium onion, diced
(2) 14 1/2-oz. cans unsalted diced tomatoes (see note)
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 c. fresh orange juice
1/2 c. whipping cream

In a saucepan, melt butter; add onion and sauté until translucent.  Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, baking soda and thyme.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered about 15 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Puree in a food processor or blender; strain through a sieve or food mill.

Return to saucepan and stir in orange juice and cream.  Bring to a simmer and adjust seasonings if necessary.  Serve hot.

Note:  S&W makes unsalted diced tomatoes.  If not available, substitute regular canned diced tomatoes and omit or reduce salt, depending on your taste.

I'm having fun--come on along!

Kathy

Bottger Mansion of Old Town
historic Bed & Breakfast
110 San Felipe Street NW
Albuquerque, NM   87104
(800) 758-3639
www.bottger.com

 

 

Pumpkin flan--easy Thanksgiving dessert

This is from the November 2010 issue of Woman's Day Magazine that someone left at the Bottger Mansion of Old Town.  This has to be the easiest recipe ever.  If you're going to a potluck Thanksgiving dinner and want to take something different than pumpkin pie, this is easy to make well ahead of time.  No baking!  (Confession:  I've made this three times already.  We're big pumpkin pie fans.)

Pumpkin-vanilla flan 

(click here for a printer-friendly pdf file)

1 box (3 oz.) flan with caramel sauce mix (Jello or Royal brand)
1 cup pumpkin pie mix from a can (not 100% pumpkin puree--you need the spices)
1 cup French vanilla coffee creamer (or just use milk)

Place four 6-oz custard cups or ramekins on a tray.  Follow the directions on the flan box, substituting 1 cup of the pumpkin pie mix and 1 cup vanilla creamer (or milk) for the 2 cups of milk.  Refrigerate 1 hour or until firm.  To unmold, run a small metal spatula or knife around the edge of each flan, top with a serving plate, hold them together and flip over to invert.  Shake gently to loosen, then lift off cups.

I’m having fun--come on along!

Kathy

Bottger Mansion of Old Town
historic Bed & Breakfast
110 San Felipe Street NW
Albuquerque, NM   87104
www.bottger.com

 

Maple-orange Mashed Sweet Potatoes

You know when you try a new food and it's so good that when you put it in your mouth you close your eyes and just savor it?  This is that good.  The mistake is waiting until Thanksgiving to have these great mashed sweet potatoes.

Maple-Orange Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Cooks Illustrated.  Serves 4.

Cutting the sweet potatoes into slices of even thickness is important in getting them to cook at the same rate. A potato masher will yield slightly lumpy sweet potatoes; a food mill will make a perfectly smooth puree. The potatoes are best served immediately, but they can be covered tightly with plastic wrap and kept relatively hot for 30 minutes. This recipe can be doubled in a Dutch oven; the cooking time will need to be doubled as well.

4 T. unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces
2 T. heavy cream
1/2 tsp. table salt
1 tsp. granulated sugar
2 lbs. sweet potatoes (about 2 large or 3 medium-small potatoes), peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
pinch ground black pepper
2 T. maple syrup
1/2 tsp. grated orange zest

Combine butter, cream, salt, sugar, and sweet potatoes in 3 to 4 quart saucepan; cook, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally, until potatoes fall apart when poked with fork, 35 to 45 minutes.

Off heat, mash sweet potatoes in saucepan with potato masher, or transfer mixture to hopper of food mill and process into warmed serving bowl. Stir in pepper, maple syrup, and orange zest; serve immediately.

I’m having fun--come on along! 

Kathy

Bottger Mansion of Old Town
historic Bed & Breakfast
110 San Felipe Street NW
Albuquerque, NM   87104
www.bottger.com

 

Cranberry-chipotle relish recipe

This month's New Mexico Magazine food section is entitled "Grill aThanksgiving Feast."  The recipes are full of various New Mexico chilies, of course, and I just had to try the Cranberry-Chipotle Relish as soon as fresh cranberries were available at the store.

The chipotle chile deepens the beautful red color even more, as well as adding a distinctive spicy kick.  While the recipe calls for 1-3 tablespoons of chipotle chile in adobo sauce, I found 1 1/2 tablespoons to be plenty for me.

The recipe follows below, as well as my tip for chipotle chile.  Next, I think I'll try the Jalapeno Corn Bread.

Cranberry-Chipotle Relish

from New Mexico Magazine, November 2010

1 pound fresh cranberries
1-3 tablespoons chipotle peppers, coarsely chopped, from canned chipotle in adobo (available in most markets) *
1/2 cup sugar
2 oranges, juice and zest

Rinse cranberries.  Put all ingredients in saucepan and cook until cranberries begin to pop.  Chill mixture in refrigerator.  Serve at room temperature.

* Kathy’s notes:  Look for chipotle chilies in adobo sauce in the Mexican food section of your grocery store.  I like Embasa brand.  I use this very sparingly, only about a tablespoon at a time.  Here’s how I save and use the entire can:  dump the chilies and sauce into a blender and puree, then run it through a food mill or strainer to get out the seeds and skin.  Measure one tablespoon of the puree into each section of an ice cube tray (it will stain the tray red—I have one that I use just for this) and freeze.  When frozen, put the cubes into a freezer bag and label. 

I’m having fun--come on along!

Kathy

Bottger Mansion of Old Town
historic Bed & Breakfast
110 San Felipe Street NW
Albuquerque, NM   87104
www.bottger.com

 

 

 

 

 

orange trifle with Grand Marnier cream

The original recipe called for Grand Marnier.  Of the orange liqueurs, Grand Marnier tends to be somewhat bitter, Cointreau is sweet, and Grand Suzette is somewhere in between.  (I don’t like the flavor of orangecello.)  A trifle isn't that difficult to make, although it can take some time if you make your own ladyfingers.  Just plan ahead so it has at least a day to chill and let the flavors blend and the ladyfingers soften.

Orange Trifle with Grand Marnier Cream

 

Adapted from Sunset Magazine, Dec. 2008

Serves 12

 

zest of 5 oranges

12-14 medium oranges

1/2 c. orange liqueur

1/2 c. orange marmalade

12 oz. mascarpone cheese, softened (if unavailable, use softened cream cheese)

3/4 c. whipping cream

10 oz. ladyfingers* (if unavailable in your grocery store, make your own or use crushed sugar cookies, not pound cake—it’s the wrong texture)            

1/4 c. orange marmalade

1 T. orange liqueur        

 

Peel and segment oranges to make 4 cups of segments and 1/2 cup of juice.  In a bowl, mix liqueur and marmalade; add oranges and juice and stir.  Macerate for 2 hours.  Then drain the oranges, reserving the liquid. 

           

In a mixer, combine mascarpone and whipping cream; beat until stiff peaks form.  Set aside 1/4 cup of orange juice liquid; add the remaining juice mixture to the cheese mixture.  Mix until blended (mixture will be softly creamy).

 

In a trifle bowl or straight-sided serving bowl, layer one-third of the ladyfingers on the bottom; drizzle with a little of the reserved juice mixture.  Top with one-third of the whipped cream mixture, then add a layer of one-third of the orange segments.  Repeat for two more layers, ending with orange segments in a decorative spiral on the top.

 

Heat marmalade with orange liqueur just until it’s a bit melted.  Brush over the top layer of oranges.  Chill for 3-4 hours.

 

beef stew--improved by Julia Child

Last week I made Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon out of her cookbook I got for Christmas.  As I was making it and observing the results from using different techniques, I wondered what would happen if I used the same techniques on my favorite beef stew recipe, which I knew could be better.  (I have to admit that I had not been consistent with it, and naturally I was not getting consistent results.)

My favorite beef stew is now outrageously good.  The recipe I modified using her techniques follows.  However, here's what I've learned to date just from making that one recipe:

• Good cooking takes time.  Stew that cooks for 3 hours tastes much different (better!) than stew that has only cooked for one hour.  Start early enough.  Don't be impatient.
• Don't take shortcuts.   Everything is done when and how it is for a reason.
• Even though she's been gone for a few years, Julia Child can STILL help us all cook better.

Beef Stew

adapted from McCall’s Cooking School

8 servings

 

2 1/2 lb. boneless chuck roast, cut into 1” cubes

1 T. oil

1 T. butter

1 large peeled yellow onion, cut into chunks

1 lb. medium carrots, pared and cut into 1” chunks

1 1/2 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

1 1/2 c. celery, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 T. flour

5 c. beef broth

1 bay leaf

1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves

2 parsley sprigs

4 whole cloves

 

            In hot oil and butter in 6-quart Dutch oven, brown beef well on all sides, turning with tongs.  Do not overcrowd or burn.  As beef is browned, remove and set aside.  Continue browning the rest.  It takes 30 minutes to give it rich flavor and brown color.  Remove beef from Dutch oven and set aside. 

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Add vegetables to Dutch oven, toss to coat with drippings, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often.  Remove vegetables and set aside. 

            Return beef to Dutch oven.  Add salt and pepper and mix into beef.  Sprinkle beef with flour and stir to mix well.  Put Dutch oven into the oven and bake for 4 minutes; stir and bake another 4 minutes.  This will put a little crust on the beef cubes.  Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.

Take Dutch oven out of the oven and put back on the burner.  Over medium heat, add the vegetables and beef broth.  Make a bouquet garni of the bay leaf, thyme, cloves and parsley sprigs (tied up in a cheesecloth bag) and add to the pot.  Bring to a simmer.

Put the stew back into the oven and bake, covered, for 2  1/2 to 3 hours.  Remove the bouquet garni and serve.

           

Kathy’s notes:  the recipe originally called for new potatoes, but they don’t have enough starch.  Russet potatoes will release starch as they cook and will give a nice thick broth for the stew.

 

Easy coffee granita

I found a recipe in an old Bon Appetit magazine for Coffee Bean Granita.  It called for whole coffee beans which you put in boiling water and steep for 3 hours, then freeze, stirring every 45 minutes for 5 hours.  I made the recipe as it said, and it was pretty good, but... too much trouble.  So here I go again to see if I can make something just as good, maybe faster and easier.

What is granita?  Well, you know ice cream, which is made with cream, sugar, flavorings, and you make it in an ice cream freezer so it's very smooth and creamy.  In other words, it's high calorie and high fat, but oh so good.  Then there's sorbet, which is just fruit juice that's been processed like ice cream to have a smooth and creamy texture.  Granita is like sorbet, except that you want it to have ice crystals in it, unlike ice cream or sorbet.  Instead of making it in an ice cream freezer that turns continuously and keeps the ice crystals extremely small, you make granita in a bowl or pan, allowing the ice crystals to form around the edges.  Then you stir it occasionally and new crystals form.  By the time it's all frozen, you have a pan or bowl full of fine flavored ice crystals.

My hot tip:  I wear a clip-on kitchen timer to remind me to get back into the kitchen and stir the granita.  Otherwise, I'd forget about it and have a solid block of frozen coffee.

Below is the recipe, and on my third attempt I just did the entire thing in a 4-cup Pyrex glass measuring cup.  My quicker and easier version was so close in taste to the original coffee bean granita, why would I do it the hard way?

Easy Coffee Granita

 

Kathy Hiatt

4 servings

 

1/2 c. brewed coffee

1/2 c. boiling water

1/4 c. sugar

1 T. coffee liqueur (Tia Maria or Kahlua)

 

            Combine coffee, water and sugar in a glass bowl or large Pyrex measuring cup.  Stir until sugar is dissolved.  Add coffee liqueur and stir to blend.  Freeze until firm, stirring every 30 minutes, about 2-3 hours.  (Can be prepared 3 days ahead.  Cover and keep frozen.)

            You can either scrape it into large crystals with the tines of a fork, or mash it for finer crystals.

New Mexico desserts--flan vs. natillas

Today I made chocolate natillas (nah-TEE-yahs) with coffee bean granita.  I had been going through back issues of Bon Appetit Magazine and pulling out recipes that looked interesting.  The presentation was lovely--creamy chocolate pudding in a small narrow glass topped with beige crystals of granita--and I'm looking for something different to serve at our high teas.  I followed my curiosity to look up the traditional New Mexican version of natillas.  It also appears in a variety of forms throughout Cuba, Spain and Latin America.  Apparently, in Colombia it is much thicker and can be cut into squares, and in Spain it's more like a custard, similar to a flan.

So what's the difference between natillas and flan?  Natillas have more milk and fewer eggs, which makes it thinner and creamier, and it's cooked in a pan on top of the stove, cooled and spooned into serving dishes.  Flan has less milk and more eggs to make it thicker, is poured into custard cups, baked in a hot water bath, then cooled and the custard is inverted onto a serving plate.

Below are recipes for both natillas and flan from the Cocinas de New Mexico cookbook published by the Public Service Company of New Mexico.

Flan Caramelisado (Caramel Custard)

From Cocinas de New Mexico, published by Public Service Company of New Mexico

Yield:  6 servings

  2 cups sugar

3 1/2 cups milk

1 cinnamon stick

6 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

Place 1 cup of sugar in a heavy pan. Stir sugar at low heat until it is liquid and light golden brown.  Pour caramelized sugar evenly into six warm custard cups. Set cups aside.  Place milk and cinnamon stick in a medium-sized saucepan. Scald milk at medium heat and allow to cool.  Beat eggs until foamy. Gradually add remaining sugar to eggs and beat well.  Gradually add scalded milk to egg mixture, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add vanilla. Pour mixture into caramel-lined cups. Place cups in a pan of hot water and bake in a 350°F oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes.  Cool completely.  To serve, loosen custard from cups and invert onto a plate.

 

Natillas (Soft Custard)

From Cocinas de New Mexico, published by Public Service Company of New Mexico

Yield:  6 servings

 

4 eggs, separated

1/4 cup flour

4 cups milk

3/4 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

nutmeg

cinnamon

Place egg yolks, flour and 1 cup of milk in a small mixing bowl.  Stir to make a smooth paste.  Set aside.  Place the remaining milk, sugar and salt in a medium-sized saucepan and scald at medium heat.  Add the egg mixture to the scalded milk and continue to cook at medium heat until a soft custard consistency is reached.  Remove custard from heat and allow to cook to room temperature.  Beat the egg whites in a medium-sized mixing bowl until they are stiff but not dry.  Fold the egg whites into the custard and chill.  To serve, spoon into individual dishes and garnish with nutmeg and cinnamon.