My friend Emily Swanter (Epicurean Odyssey) hosted a beautiful Cinco de Mayo celebration this past Sunday.
EMILY IN HER GRACIOUS GLORY
When I asked her for her recipes, she generously sent them so that I could share them with you. I only wish that you could have shared the evening with us and had the pleasure of this excellent cuisine.
ESQUITES
ESQUITES: CHILE-SPICED CORN WITH COTIJA
Recipe By: © Emily C. Swantner, www.epicureanodyssey.com
Yield: 4 as a side dish, 8 as an appetizer
I
served this at my Cinco de Mayo Sunday Supper as a small nosh before
dinner. Instead of classic Esquites where the corn on the cob is slathered with
mayonnaise, then sprinkled with cotija and chile powder, this dish is simplified by taking the corn off the cob,sauteing it and tossing it into a warm sald-like concoction.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4
ears fresh corn, shucked, kernels removed (about 3 cups fresh corn
kernels) or 3 cups frozen and thawed fire-roasted corn, such as Trader
Joe's brand
kosher salt, to taste
3 tablespoon mayonnaise
2 ounces feta or cotija cheese, finely crumbled
1/2 cup finely sliced green onions, green part only
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
1 serrano, seeded and stemmed, finely chopped
2 small garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
pure chile powder or New Mexican chile caribe, to taste
Directions:
Heat
oil in a large non-stick skillet or wok over high heat until
shimmering. Add corn kernels, season to taste with salt, toss once or
twice, and cook without moving until charred on one side, about 2
minutes. Toss corn, stir, and repeat until charred on second side, about
2 minutes longer. Continue tossing and charring until well charred all
over, about 10 minutes total. Transfer to a large bowl. (If using Trader
Joe's brand fire-roasted corn, refresh by tossing in hot oil for a
minute or two, or until heated through.
Add mayonnaise, cheese,
scallions, cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, lime juice, and chili powder and
toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and more chili
powder to taste. Serve immediately.
Recipe By: Adapted, "Dos Caminos Mexican Street Food," Ivy Stark with Joanna Pruess
Serving Size: 6 to 8
Clasically, this Mexican street salad includes spears of fruits and vegetables, served in a plastic cup or paper cone with a wedge of lime and a small packet of chile powder, and you eat it with your fingers. It's the perfect thing to eat when strolling around the zócaloa, or central square in Mexico City. When entertaining at home, this is a more friendly way to serve it. And you can prepare it a couple hours ahead. The citrus vinaigrette can be used on any salad.
Ingredients:
Salad:
4 cups baby romaine lettuce, (6 ounces)
2 navel or other seedless oranges, peeled and segmented
1 each small jicama, ripe mango, seedless cucumber and red papaya, peeled and cut into batons, 2 by ½ by ½-inch thick pieces
1/2 ripe pineapple, peeled, cored, cut into batons, 2 by ½ by ½-inch thick pieces
1/2 cup cilantro leaves, or more as desired
Honey, Citrus and Serrano Vinaigrette:
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons mild honey or agave nectar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 serrano chile, stemmed, seeded and minced
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt, to taste
freshly milled black pepper, to taste
shake of pure chile powder, for garnish, see note
lime wedges, for serving
Directions:
Salad:
Put the romaine leaves in a large mixing bowl and drizzle with a little vinaigrette. Lightly toss. Spoon onto a serving platter or into 6 to 8 small shallow bowls or plates.
In the same mixing bowl, combine the oranges, jicama, mango, cucumber, papaya and pineapple, and gently toss with just enough vinaigrette to lightly coat, about ⅓ cup. Spoon the mixture over the romaine leaves, sprinkle with cilantro leaves, a light shake of chile powder and sprinkling of salt. Serve with a lime wedge.
Vinaigrette:
In a bowl, vigorously whisk together the vinegar, orange and lime juices, honey, mustard, serrano chile, salt and pepper. Drizzle in the olive oil and whisk to an emulsion. Refrigerate until ready to use. You may need to whisk to combine right before using.
Note: My favorite chile powder to use in this recipe is Smoked Serrano Chile Powder from wholespice.com.
Recipe By: Adapted, "1,000 Mexican Recipes," Marge Poore
Serving Size: 4 to 6
Lamb simmered in a boldly seasoned red chile sauce is a typical spicy stew in northern Mexico. Accompany the stew with warm tortillas or chicharrones.
Ingredients:
8 (2 ounces) dried Guajillo chiles
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or vegetable oil of your choice
2 1/2 pounds bonless lamb stew meat or leg of lamb, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 large onion, small dice
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon toasted and ground cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon Mexican cinnamon (canela or Ceylon)
1 28-ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes, with juice
1 cup lamb, beef or chicken stock, preferably homemade, or low-sodium commercial stock
6 small whole red potatoes, cooked in salted water until tender and cooled, then peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 medium 2 medium Mexican squash or zucchini, sliced on the bias ¾-inch thick
1/2 cup lightly packed chopped cilantro with stems
1/2 cup chopped green onions, for garnish
lime wedges, for accompaniment
Directions:
Lightly wipe the chiles with damp paper towels. Slice open lengthwise and discard stems, seeds and veins. Tear of cut the chiles into pieces and put in a small saucepan with 1 ½ cups hot water. Bring to a boil. Cover, remove from heat and soak for 20 minutes.
Put the chiles and two-thirds of the soaking water into a blender and process until as smooth as possible. Strain, pressing the purée with the back of a wooden spoon or soup ladle to get as much of the pulp through the strainer as possible into a bowl. Discard the residue.
In a medium mixing bowl, toss the meat with flour.
Heat the oil in a 4-quart soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until light golden, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the meat and cook, stirring, until the meat is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add the salt, chile purée, oregano, thyme, cumin, allspice, cinnamon, tomatoes and stock. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, partially cover with the lid askew, and simmer, stirring frequently, until the meat is tender.
About 15 minutes before serving add the potatoes, zucchini and cilantro to the stew. Simmer over low heat until the potatoes are heated through and the zucchini is just tender, about 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed.
To serve, ladle into warm shallow soup bowls and garnish with green onion and a few cilantro leaves. Pass the limes at the table.
FLAN CAKE
Yield: 12
This cake came from childhood friend, Jacki Ethridge Walker. I played around with the recipe a bit and it has been adjusted for high altitude (over 5,000 feet). To make it at sea level, use 1 cup milk, 8 tablespoons (1 stick) melted butter, and delete the ¼ cup flour. You can use a good quality vanilla cake mix if Trader Joe's brand is not available, though I have to say, for a box mix, it's as good as it gets!
Ingredients:
butter and cooking spray, for the pan
1/3 cup goat's milk cajeta quemada or dulce de leche
Flan:
3 extra-large eggs
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract
Cake:
3 eggs eggs
1 cup milk, plus 2 tablespoons
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 box Trader Joe's Vanilla Cake Mix with Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla
1/4 cup flour
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 365 ℉. Put a small pan of water in the oven leaving enough room for the cake. Thoroughly butter and spray the bundt pan with cooking spray.
Evenly pour ⅓ cup of cajeta into the bottom of the bundt pan.
Flan: Whisk 3 eggs until well blended. Add evaporated milk, condensed milk and vanilla. Whisk until well blended. Pour flan mixture over the cajeta in the bundt pan.
Whisk together the eggs, milk and melted butter. Add the cake mix and ¼ cup flour and lightly whisk to combine. Pour cake mixture over the flan mixture in the bundt pan.
Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until cake springs back when touched. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 15 minutes, run a sharp knife around the edges and center of the pan, then turn onto a deep serving platter. To serve cut into desired serving size, plate and drizzle with cajeta and a sprinkle of toasted almonds.
When completely cool, store covered in refrigerator - if you have any leftovers, that is.
thanks for the recipe!!! I should try on them, because it looks so yummy!!
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