Life's too short to eat bad food - Me

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic - Arthur C. Clarke

Thursday, September 4, 2008

Another Lovely Brunch

A few weeks ago we had another rare Sunday without kids. We had made fajitas earlier in the week, and had leftover frijoles refritos (I tend to keep mine chunky, as opposed to a puree). So Trish suggested Huevos Rancheros, sounded fine by me, but after that recent visit to San Antonio I wanted real Salsa Ranchero. The recipe that has always worked for me is a variant of one appearing in Matt Martinez's Culinary Frontier, which threw me at first because it inclusion of celery, but it really works well.

Two other random factors combined to make this salsa work. The first is that my friend Andrew Galarneau of the Buffalo News and blogmeister of Buffalo Buffet. dropped off some dried chillis for me to share, including Ancho, Gaujillo, de Arbol and Cascabels. Lightly toasted and shredded they would make a a great addition, and one of each would give a balanced heat.

The other factor is that I think I have finally nailed down what I want from an all purpose mexican seasoning blend. I already have my dry BBQ rub, a Cajun seasoning I call Mab!, and a southwest sesoning blend. Penzey's Bangkok Blend is just too good to try to imitate, so southeast Asia is taken care of. But, while I am not giving upon Mole's and other wonderful mexican sauces, I wan't something I can sprinkle on a flank steak or some ground beef that says Mexico rather than New Mexico. I think I have it:

Mexican Spice Blend:

3 Tbl. Ancho Chilli Powder
1 Tsp. Chipotle Chilli Powder of Smoked Paprika
1 Tsp. Ground Black Pepper
1.5 Tsp. Mexican Oregano, Crumbled
1 Tsp. Granulated Garlic
1 Tsp. Granulated Onion
2 Tsp. Dark Brown Sugar
1/2 Tsp. Granulated Sugar
2 Tsp. Cumin, Toasted and Ground
2 Tsp. Coriander, Toasted and Ground
1 Tsp. Cocao Powder
1 Tsp. Ground Cinnamon

As for the Ranchero Salsa,

Toast 1 Ancho, 1 Gaujillo, 1 de Arbol and 1 Cascabel chilli (or a combination to your taste) in a cast iron skillet.

Heat two Tbl. of neutral oil in a heavy saucepot or skillet and saute:

1 Cup of finely chopped white onion
1/2 Cup of finely chopped celery
And the chillies, shedded by hand
for 2 to three minutes.

add a Tbl. or so of the spice blend, 1 Tbl. Cornstarch, a 14.5 ounce can of whole tomatoes and two cups of chichen or beef broth.

Simmer for about 1/2 hour and combine in a blender in batches.

Yum!

Don't worry Andrew, I have a pint in the freezer with your name on it! wink


3 comments:

paul said...

wow, looks and sounds pretty killer. I really like that Penzey's company too, and was turned on to it by relatives in the Midwest who use their spice blends for grilling, etc.

Scotty Harris said...

Actually, I got a chance to experience Penzey's in person at their Cleveland retail store. Pretty cool. You get a chance to take a sniff of everything from sample jars.

I was sold on Penzey's after my first order, when I opened a bag of dried oregano and was greeted by a whiff of something you don't get from Supermarket brands.

paul said...

I've heard about the stores but never actually visited one. I ordered over the phone once and do recall getting a big whiff of a Wisconsin accent! Both of my parents are from Wisco so it was nice that the company has such a friendly kind of vibe to it





Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
- Arthur C. Clarke

Life's too short to eat bad food -
Me