Casarita's Poblano Cream Sauce

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   This recipe was in The Express News of San Antonio and it was from Casarita's Mexican Restaurant.

I cut this recipe in 1/2 and I still have enough for many more meals of grilled chicken with poblano cream sauce.  I may freeze it and see how it does when I warm it.


Makes 6 cups or 12 (1/2-cup) servings.







Ingredients:
5 fresh poblano peppers, roasted, stemmed and peeled
5 fresh poblano peppers, coarsely chopped ( I just used 2 roasted peppers)
1 quart heavy cream (I used a pint)
1/2 cup white wine (I didn't use this; I used chicken stock)
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter (I used about 1/2 of a stick of butter)
5 bay leaves(I used 2)
3 tablespoons dried thyme (I used 1 tablespoon)
1 1/2 tablespoons chicken base or bouillon  (I used 2 bouillon cubes)
1/2 cup tomatillo (green tomato) sauce (canned is fine) (I didn't measure, I just used 1/2 of a small can)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese (1/2 cup)
Place roasted and fresh poblano peppers in a blender and process until smooth. In a large saucepan, bring the heavy cream, wine, and butter to a boil. Add the bay leaves and thyme. Stir in the pureed poblanos. Whisk in the chicken base and tomatillo sauce. Simmer until the sauce has thickened to desired consistency, about 15-20 minutes. Add Parmesan cheese and stir briefly to dissolve. Discard bay leaves. Serve over chicken, pork or seafood.

Macaroni and Cheese - Carolyn

 We had this amazing meal the night before
we left Oregon.  Our host made smoked bbq ribs and our hostess made this amazing macaroni and cheese.  It came from a cookbook called Flavors for Friends by Cathy Bailey. 

Printable link: Macaroni and Cheese

16 oz package of uncooked large elbow macaroni

2 ½ C. milk

½ C. butter, melted

1/3 to ½ C flour (she used 1/2 cup)

1 ½ t. garlic salt

1 ½ t coarse ground black pepper

1 t. dry mustard

2 T Worcestershire sauce

28 oz Velveeta cheese, cubed (2 cups)

1 ½ C shredded Longhorn Colby cheddar cheese

Cook macaroni according to package directions.  Drain well, run cold water over and set aside. 

Melt butter in large Dutch oven.  Stir in flour and mix well in melted butter to remove lumps.  Slowly add milk and stir well with a whisk until smooth.  Add salt and pepper, dry mustard and Worcestershire sauce and mix well.  If mixture is too thick, add more milk slowly.

Add Velveeta and one cup of cheddar cheese and stir until melted.  Add macaroni and mix well.  Stir in additional salt and pepper if desired. 

Pour into greased 9-x-13 inch casserole dish.  Sprinkle with remaining 1 ½ cups of cheddar cheese.  Bake at 325 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

Chet made the ribs. He didn't go into detail, but I do remember that he cooked them 3 hours on the smoker. I assume he salt and peppered them and maybe even added his favorite rub.  He served them with some barbecue sauce. They were wonderful.

Cherries in Wine

Printable Copy: Cherries in Wine
Compiled by CATHY THOMAS

Yield: 4 pints

• 2 quarts red wine
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups orange juice
• 24 whole cloves
• 16 (3-inch) strips orange zest
• 4 pounds Bing cherries, pitted, about 8 cup

Procedure:
1. Place wine, sugar, orange juice, cloves and zest in medium pot. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring all the while to dissolve sugar and ensure it doesn't burn.

2. Have ready 4 scalded pint jars and their bands (see Water Bath Canning). Simmer new lids in a small pan of hot water to soften the rubberized flange.

3. Add cherries to wine and simmer 10 minutes, until they are soft but not collapsed looking. Remove cherries with slotted spoon and ladle them into hot jars.

4. Reduce wine mixture remaining in the pot over medium-low heat to about half its volume, about 10 minutes. It will be rather viscous. Strain the wine mixture and pour over cherries in the jars, leaving 1/2- to 3/4-inch headspace.
5. Wipe rims, set on lids and screw on the bands. Place jars in big pot with a rack in the bottom and add enough water to cover the jars by 3 inches. Bring to boil over high heat, then lower heat to medium and gently boil the jars for 20 minutes. Turn off heat, allow jars to rest for 5 minutes, then remove. Allow the jars to cool, untouched, for 4 to 6 hours. Check seals and store in a cool, dry place for up to one year. Refrigerate after opening.

Bone says that Cherries In Wine is delicious in both savory and sweet dishes. "I love having them on hand for unexpected company," she says. "All I have to do is dump 1/2 cup into a wineglass and top with whipped cream for an elegant dessert.
Nutrition information (per 1/4 cup serving): 45 calories, less than 2 percent of calories from fat, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 21 g carbohydrates, 0.1 g protein, 10 mg sodium, 1g fiber

Source: "Well-Preserved: Recipes and Techniques for Putting Up Small Batches of Seasonal Foods" by Eugenia Bone (Clarkson Potter, $29.95) Contact the writer: cathythomascooks@gmail.com

Sweet Cherry Jam--Makes six-8ounce jars

find someone to pit your cherries

find somneone to chop your cherries

Ingredients:

4 cups chopped pitted sweet cherries

4 tablespoons lemon juice

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

½ teaspoon ground cloves (optional

¼ cup amaretto liqueur (optional)

1 package regular powdered fruit pectin

5 cups granulated sugar

1. Prepare canner, jars, and lids.

2. In a large, deep stainless steel saucepan, combine cherries, lemon juice, cinnamon, cloves, and amaretto liqueur, if using. Whisk in pectin until dissolved. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Add sugar all at once and return to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim off foam.

3. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot jam. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.

4. Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.

Blueberries and Cream Pie

   This is an amazing recipe that I found on pinterest.   I went out the front door of the place where we are staying in Oregon and there are about 6 blueberry bushes that are filled with blueberries.  The people have given me permission to pick as many as I want.  They do not know me very well, or they wouldn't have made that offer.  I have already picked all their strawberries to make jam.  Then I picked their raspberries to make raspberry chipotle.  You would think they would learn.  But they are really nice people.  Enough! Get to the recipe.

Ingredients for the Crust (makes 2 single pie crusts)
First off I must admit that I bought a Pillsbury pie crust that comes in a box.  It was better than I could make, but here is the recipe.
4 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 3/4 cup cold shortening, diced
1/2 cup cold water
1 large egg (cold)
1 large egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water (for egg wash)

Ingredients for the Filling
3 cups blueberries
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients for the Crumb Topping
2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 t1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch ground nutmeg (about 1/16th teaspoon)
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup plus 2 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour

Instructions for the Crust
1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and kosher salt. Put the bowl in the freezer for 5 minutes. It's important that the ingredients for the pie crust are very cold. Dice the shortening and also place it in the freezer.
2. Take the bowl out of the freezer and add in the shortening. Using a fork, cut the shotening into the flour. The mixture should resemble small peas. Mix together 1/2 cut of very cold water (I put the water in the freezer) and 1 large cold egg. Add it to the bowl and mix the ingredients together in order to incorporate everything.
3. Put the dough onto a floured counter and form it into a large circle. cover in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
4. Take the dough out of the refrigerator and take off 3/4 of the dough. I always use a little more so it's easier to roll out. You can reserve the extra dough you don't use for another pie.
5. Flour the counter, rolling pin and the dough. Roll it out into a large circle. Then roll the dough onto your rolling pin. Roll the dough over the pie plate (a 9" pie plate) and press it inof the pie plate.
6. Crimp the edges of the pie or if you can just take a fork and crimp the edges.
7. Place the pie shell in the refrigerator while you work on the filling.  Now you see why I bought a pie shell.

Instructions for the Filling
1. In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the sugar and flour.  Add in the sour cream, eggs and vanilla extract. Mix until combined.  I don't have a mixer in the house where we stay, so I just did it by hand and it worked fine.
2. Take  the pie shell out of the refrigerator and put the blueberries on the bottom of the crust. Pour the filling over the blueberries and spread it out.

Instructions for the Crumb Topping
1. Mix together the sugar, brown sugar, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg. Pour the melted unsalted butter into the bowl and mix everything together.
2. Add in the flour and mix until the ingredients form a crumble topping.
3. Crumble the crumb topping over the pie.
4. Mix together 1 large egg and a tablespoon of water and brush over the edge of the crust.
5. Bake the pie at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes. Let the pie cool before cutting into slices.

Caprese Salad

We are in Oregon as I write this.  I went to market in Corvallis this morning and bought some heirloom tomatoes to use with this salad.  Two tomatoes cost me $6.00, but I think it was worth it.  I didn't ask Jud if he thought it was worth the cost. Thanks Chet and Carolyn for making this amazing salad to go with the coke roast, potatoes, and carrots.  It was definetely the star of the meal.



Ingredients:
2-3 slices of good tomatoes per person
2-3 slices of mozarella cheese
drizzle of extra virgin olive oil over each serving
drizzle of balsamic vinegar over each serving
basil sprinkled over the top

Amazing

Stuffed zucchini

http://prouditaliancook.blogspot.com/2010/05/tiny-tomatoes-big-taste.html   I found this on pinterest and thought since I was in Oregon with all this fresh produce, I would try it.  I thought maybe it needed to cook a little longer, but it was really amazing just like it was.








I used one zucchini for every two people for the side dish. Cut the zucchini in 1/2 lengthwise and trim a little off the bottom of each 1/2 so they zucchini will be flat on the baking sheet.  Scoop out a little of the center and brush with a mixture of extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic.  Cut the baby tomatoes in 1/2, I used heirloom, and arrange them in the groves of the zucchini.  Sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven a place diced fontina or mozzarella cheese on the top. Broil until cheese is melted and bubbling.  Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and parmesan cheese.