A Favorite Flavor from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

For three generations, the women of Mercedes Arteaga Tovar's family have lovingly prepared Chiles en Nogada.

There are many versions of this specialty of the San Miguel de Allende area. This one, however, is served at Mercedes' beautiful Restaurante Bugumbilia in San Miguel.

I and a small group of other Society of American Travel Writers members were blown away by the dish when we dined there in mid October.

I E-mailed Mercedes on the off chance that she would share the recipe and she graciously agreed.

As she said, "I am like you, when I taste the Chiles en Nogada; my mouth is full of happiness and sweet water-like joy. Of course, and with pleasure I give to you the recipe of my version of Chiles en Nogada. I mean very clear, it is my version, and my mother's and my grandmother's version."

Bugumbilia Chiles en Nogada

 Filling

1 Tbs. oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds ground beef
2 pounds tomato puree
1 cup of sliced pecans
1 cup of sliced almonds
1 cup of raisins
½ cup of chopped citron
1 stick cinnamon
Salt, black pepper, thyme, marjoram, bay leaf, cloves, black pepper, sweet peppercorns and sugar to taste.

The filling can be made one day ahead:

1. Place oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onion and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes.

2. Stir in the ground beef and cook until browned. Add the tomato puree, raisins, almonds, pecans and citron. Cook for another 15 minutes.

3. Season with all the herbs, spices, salt and pepper. At last add the sugar.

4. Cook for another 10 minutes.

Chiles

8 Poblano Chiles
Oil for frying
1 cup white vinegar
½ cup vegetable oil
1 Tbs. salt
1 Tbs. sugar
1 small onion
1 garlic head
Fine herbs

1. Make a small cut in the chiles and deep fry them in oil until blistered.

2. Place the chiles in a large bowl and cover with a damp cloth for 30 minutes to steam.


3. Peel the chiles. Cut a slit down one side and remove the seeds and large veins.

4. Place the vinegar, oil, salt, sugar, onion, garlic and herbs in a large pot of warm water.

Let marinate for a least 12 hours or overnight.

Cream topping:

8 cups sour cream                 
3 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
2 cups chopped pecans
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup pomegranate seeds
shredded lettuce
10 radishes

1. Beat the topping ingredients, except for the radishes and pomegranate seeds.

Assembly:

Stuff each chile with a sufficient amount of the filling. Place on a platter covered with shredded lettuce and radishes. Top with the cream mixture. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

Serve, sit back and share the compliments Mercedes Arteaga Tovar, her mother and grandmother have received for generations.

Because it can be served warm, tepid, room temp or cold, Chiles en Nogada is a perfect, make ahead luncheon or dinner party dish. Add some bread, a desert and you're done.

Note: This is the first of several posts that will feature recipes from Mexico and the wonderful chefs I recently encountered there.

I'd love to get your favorites too. Do you have another, preferred version of Chiles en Nogada? Send it in and I'll post it. Have you eaten something else wonderful in Mexico? The food there is nothing like the Mexican food we tend to get in the U.S.A.

Oh, and for more posts on traveling through the state of Jalisco, go to my other blog,  Travel on the Level.

 Look forward to hearing from you!

Judy

More Sweets from the Big Easy

Gourmet Kristi Casey Sanders, editorial director and chief storyteller for Atlanta Metropolitan Publishing, found this "Famous Praline Recipe" from The New Orleans School of Cooking and Louisiana General Store while cleaning out her desk.
"I love pralines. The first time I was in New Orleans, when I was 19, I ate at least one, sometimes as many as three every day with my friend Megaton Matt. We couldn't stop trying them."

These were her favorites and now you, too, can try them.

New Orleans School of Cooking and Louisiana General Store Pralines

1 1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup milk
6 Tbsp. butter (3/4 stick)
1 1/2 cup pecans (roasted is optional)
1 tsp. vanilla

Procedure:
Combine all ingredients and bring to a "softball stage" *(238-240 degrees), stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
Stir until mixture thickens, becomes creamy and cloudy, and pecans stay suspended in mixture.
Spoon out on buttered waxed paper, aluminum foil or parchment paper. When using waxed paper, be sure to buffer with newspaper underneath, as hot wax will transfer to whatever is beneath.
* When you place a spoonful into a glass of water, it sticks to the side.

Note:
To roast pecans, bake them on a sheet pan at 275 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, until slightly browned and fragrant.

Options:
Praline sauce (add 1/2 cup corn syrup to mixture)
Chocolate covered praline candy
Flavored Pralines (chocolate, coffee, brandy, etc.)

Louisiana General Store: 524 St. Louis Street, New Orleans, LA 70810
http://www.nosoc.com

Remembering New Orleans

Louisiana in general and New Orleans in particular are foodie havens where it's easier to find a remarkable meal than to find a bad one.

Friend and frequent traveler Janis Noe of Marysville, WA, was reminiscing about a trip to the Big Easy and shared a favorite experience.

After spending all day eating our way around New Orleans and planning to turn in early, we found ourselves in front of Arnaud's at 5 p.m. and not very hungry.  I insisted on going inside for Bananas Foster.
  The restaurant was empty.  As my husband and I crossed the foyer toward the tuxedo-ed Maitre d' I felt a little intimidated.  My husband asked if we could just order dessert and he looked at us as if we were very strange, but after the slightest hesitation he snapped, "Why NOT?"  
  He led us into the empty and cavernous main dining room (which I understand from guide books is reserved for tourists), seated us, introduced us to our waiter and we enjoyed the fabulous show that followed.
  The recipe will get you the Bananas Foster, but in order to enjoy the full spectacle of the Arnaud's presentation you'll have to take a pinch of cinnamon and rub it between your fingers, releasing it a little at a time high over a flame so it sparkles as it catches fire on the way to your plate.  It wouldn't hurt to wear a tuxedo while you're doing it.

Bananas Foster

4 TBS butter                                          4 bananas, cut in half lengthwise then halved
4 scoops vanilla ice cream                     1/2 TBS cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar                                4 TBS banana liqueur
1/4 cup of rum
Melt butter in a flambe pan over an alcohol burner. Add the sugar, cinnamon and banana liqueur and stir to mix. Heat for a few minutes then place the bananas in the sauce and saute until soft. Add the rum and allow it to heat, then tip the pan so that the flame causes the flame to ignite. (You can do the same thing over Sterno or on the stove top, lighting with a match, if you must.)

Allow the flame to die out, tipping the pan with a circular motion to prolong the flaming. Serve over vanilla ice cream.

Beer Lovers' Salmon

Juneau, the starting or stopping port for a cruise through Alaska's Inside Passage, is also home of the Alaskan Brewing Co. Their brewmasters have pleased many a tourist from the lower 48 and inspired many a cook with their Alaskan flavored recipes for beer lovers.

During a tour of the facility a number of years ago, I left with some of those recipes as well as an appreciation for Alaskan Amber. However, because Alaskans keep it to themselves, we have to substitute. Make-do with any other well-brewed amber beer, but do put the real thing and the spectacular state that inspired it on your bucket list.

Alaskan Amber Glazed Salmon

1/4 cup amber beer                              4 TBS butter
2 TBS honey                                          2 TBS brown sugar
1TBS lemon juice                                   1 TBS soy sauce
1 tsp ground cumin                               1 tsp lemon pepper
Splash of liquid smoke

2 lbs fresh wild salmon or halibut

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat then reduce the heat to low and allow the sauce to reduce slightly. Remove from the heat and cool. May be made in advance and kept refrigerated until ready to use.

Coat fish with glaze and grill over medium heat or broil, basting frequently. Watch closely to prevent burning. Cooking time depends on the type of fish and its thickness.

Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Recipe supplied by Tom West, production assistant

For information on Alaskan Brewing Co. and more beery recipes, go to www.alaskanbeer.com.
For information on Juneau, go to www.traveljuneau.com.
For my feature story on cruising the Inside Passage, go to www.WellsWords.com

One Pot Wonder: Low Country Boil

Country doesn't get much lower than Georgia's back barrier islands and you won't find a better Low Country Boil than Cap'n Andy's Eagle Island version.

Andy's bankers may know him as owner of Private Islands of Georgia, the organization that offers travelers the unique, your-own-private-island experience. Many guests on Eagle Island, one of those exclusive getaways 15 minutes by boat from the port of Darien, know Andy as a dedicated and talented connoisseur of regional cuisine.

Book an island escape and if you like, Andy will stock your kitchen with the necessary ingredients. If you really want to escape from responsibility, you can order the classic dish done for you by Andy and his crew.

I'm one of those fortunate former guests and prevailed upon him to share.

Private Islands of Georgia Cajun Low Country Boil

Fill a large - and I mean large - pot with water, leaving room to accommodate the food without boiling over.

Add to boiling water:

Private Islands Seasoning Blend
2 sticks of butter                                          1 cup pepper
1/2 cup red pepper                                       1/2 cup seasoning salt
1 cup garlic salt                                            1/2 cup celery salt
10 lemons, halved and juiced                       10 jalapeno peppers, thinly sliced
Melt butter in large sauce pan on low to medium heat. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl and stir with a wire whisk. Pour ingredients into melted butter and stir with whisk until well blended.  Pour juice into pan and stir. Add jalapeno slices and stir. Add mixture to boiling water.
Note: You can substitute Old Bay Seasoning if you must.

Now it's time to add the ingredients, beginning with those that require the most cooking time.
16 new potatoes - 2 per person or more (See note below). Rutabagas and sweet potatoes are also good, instead of or in addition to the potatoes.
8 onions peeled - 1 per person or more (see note below)
1 small bag baby carrots
2 packages Hillshire Farm sausage cut into 1-inch slices
4 ears of corn, halved - 1/2 ear per person
4 pounds of shrimp - 1/2-pound per person
Add potatoes and boil for 10 minutes. Add the carrots, sausage and whole onions, return to boil. Add corn and return to boil. Add shrimp last, cooking until they are pink in color. Do NOT overcook the shrimp.
Strain and serve.


Extras: Cocktail sauce, lemon wedges and plenty of napkins.

Note: Outdoor gas cookers are typically used but a large pot on the range can also work. Adding extra potatoes and onions gives you the makings for great hash browns the next morning.

As you see, if you can boil water, cut up stuff, stir and keep time, you can prepare this regional favorite.

Colorful Curacao Treat

It's hard to believe but the now color blind, integrated city of Willemstad, Curacao, was where freshly captured West Africans arrived after their arduous trip across the oceans. After being rested and fed, they were sent to one of the island's plantations to be "trained" to be slaves.

If the slaves were lucky, they could snag the rind after their Dutch owners had eaten the cheese (in the days before refrigeration or plastic wrap the rind was kept intact). The story is that this dish developed to use up what scraps of cheese or cheese flavor remained by black slaves and poorer whites.

When served at the Avila Hotel, it becomes a gourmet treat. Even better, one easily and inexpensively recreated at home.  Many thanks to travel writer and Caribbean specialist Lynne Sullivan,www.islandgecko.com, who shared that memorable lunch at Avila and found her copy of the recipe when I couldn't.                                                 

Avila Hotel Keshi Yena

Chicken filling: Rub 1/4-pound of chicken breast and 1/4-pound of chicken thighs with the juice of several limes. Season with salt, pepper, poultry seasoning and onion then allow to marinate several hours before browning in 3 TBS of butter.

Place browned chicken into a heavy pot with
1 qt water                                                 1 tsp salt
6 peppercorns                                           1 medium onion
1 stalk celery, with leaves                          1 bay leaf, bruised
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until chicken is tender. Strain and reserve the broth. Discard vegetables. Debone chicken and set aside.

Saute in 2 TBS of butter:
2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped                1 onion, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced                                 salt and pepper
1 TBS minced parsley and/or a few drops of Tabasco sauce

Add in and stir well:
1 TBS ketchup                                             1/2 TBS capers
1/4 cup pimento-stuffed olives, sliced        1/4 cup raisins
1 TBS piccalilli                                              chicken

Simmer until tomatoes are reduced, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.

Generously butter 4 soup cups then cover sides and bottoms with sliced cheese, preferably Edam although any yellow cheese will do. Fill with chicken mixture and top with a slice of cheese. Put a couple of inches of water in the bottom of a pot, place cups in pot, cover pot and steam for about 15 minutes.

Traditionally, this chicken dish was prepared and served in the shell of an Edam cheese rind after baking in an oven or steaming in the top of a double boiler. If you do it this way the red wax must be removed from the empty shell after it has been soaked in hot water.
For a more dramatic-looking version, the filled Edam, with red wax intact, is tied in a cheesecloth and suspended in boiling water for 20 minutes, The wax melts away in the hot water, leaving a delicate pink blush on the cheese.
Whatever method you use, beef can be substituted for the chicken.




      

Sauces a la Blue

During a recent trip to Flagler Beach, an old-fashioned beach community on the East Coast of Florida between Palm Coast and Daytona Beach, with a giggle (a gaggle would have been  a bigger group) of travel writers, we dined on some exceptional food.

All of us fell in love with Chef Gary Maresca and his wife, Kelli O'Reilly, who run Blue, a divine restaurant in the downstairs of Topaz Hotel, maybe a mile south of the Flagler Beach Pier. Gary, who's been working in food since the age of 12, developed his culinary chops working at Riverview in Oakdale, Long Island; the Daily Grill in Los Angeles; and Ruth's Chris in Beverly Hills.

I talked him into sharing two recipes for sauces so full of flavor that, in the words of Paul Prudhomme, "They dance in your mouth."

Note: Both are on the spicy side so go slow adding the hot stuff and season to your taste.

Wasabi Encrusted Oysters

1 lb. butter softened to room temperature                  1/2 cup wasabi powder
1/2 cup horseradish                                                    3/4 cup honey
2 cups Panko bread crumbs

Combine butter, wasabi and horseradish and blend well with your hands. Add honey and bread crumbs and combine until it forms a paste.
Shuck oysters and top with wasabi butter. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes until golden brown. Drizzle with teriyaki sauce and sprinkle with a little minced red pepper and green onion then serve.

Store unused topping refrigerated for up to two weeks while you see what other foods it enhances (I'm thinking maybe as breading for shrimp).
Note: Gary originated this sauce as a crusty coating for salmon; the idea of adding a little Asian fusion to an existing recipe came to him in a dream, he said.

Mango Chili Garlic Glaze

2 cups diced mango (1/2-inch dice)                   1 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup sugar                                                         2 TBS fresh chopped garlic
1 1/2 cups water, separated                                1/2 cup corn starch
2 tsp. red pepper flakes

Combine sugar and vinegar in a sauce pot on high heat until sugar is dissolved. Add garlic, red pepper flakes and 1 cup of water.
While that mixture comes to a boil, combine 1/2 cup water with corn starch to create a slurry, add to sauce pot and stir until thickened. Remove from heat and glaze meat.
 Note: This is spicy and sweet - "The meat has the flavor, the sauce has the heat," said Gary, who uses this on duck but I can think of other meats - like pork or game - it would jazz up.