Carne Adobada (Red Chile and Pork Stew)

The weather cooled down long enough for me to try one of the long braises I crave at this time of year. According to my friend Raul, this dish is usually roasted on a spit, but since I lack that equipment in my small apartment kitchen, I went with the old Dutch oven. Do not be scared of the amount of peppers. There is heat, but it is gentle though lingering. The pork becomes incredibly tender and the onion and cilantro relish adds a bit of freshness and bite. Initially, I served this with warm corn tortillas which gave me a chance to show off the tortilla warmer and salsa dish that my sister gave me for Christmas, but this stew also goes really well with rice.




One year ago: Lentil Soup with Tomatoes, Kale, and Saffron Yogurt
Two years ago: Chicken Satay
Three years ago: Quinoa with Roasted Vegetables


Carne Adobada 
(Adapted from Saveur)

*Note, the recipe calls for blending the sauce in a blender. My blender met it's unfortunate demise when I made frozen hot chocolate, so I used an immersion blender. If you do the same, make sure to be very careful when blending to avoid red splatters all over your kitchen.

Makes 8-10 servings

5 ounces dried New Mexico chiles, stemmed
2 tablespoons New Mexico chile powder
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Juice of 1/2 lime
5 tablespoons olive oil
3 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Warm corn tortillas for serving
Onion and cilantro relish for serving

Heat the chiles in a 6 quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat and cook, turning occasionally until toasted and fragrant, about 5 minutes.

Transfer the chiles to a large bowl and cover with 8 cups of boiling water. Let the chiles sit for 20 minutes. Drain the chiles, and reserve 1 1/2 cups of the soaking liquid. Transfer the chiles to a blender. Add the reserved liquid, chile powder, honey, vinegar, cumin, cloves, cayenne, and lime juice. Puree until smooth and set aside.

Return the Dutch oven to medium-high heat and add the oil. Season the pork with salt and pepper. Working in batches, brown the pork on all sides, about 12 minutes per batch.

Add all of the pork back to the pot with any accumulated liquids. Add the sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pot loosely. Cook, stirring occasionally until the sauce has thickened and the pork is tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Add salt as needed. Serve with warm tortillas and onion and cilantro relish.

Printable Recipe

Loteria Grill

What do you get when you put four blogging gal pals together?


(A whole lotta fun)

We'd been trying to make a lunch or dinner date happen for a while. We finally settled on a date that we could all make and it just so happened to coincide with a Blackboard Eats discount. Have you heard of Blackboard Eats yet? It's seriously amazing. You can find some great deals at restaurants in your city. Alright, well they only really exist in Los Angeles and New York right now, but I am sure it will spread like wildfire to wherever you are.



The original Loteria at the Farmers Market is just up the street from me, but I have never been. I had heard the food (and margaritas) were legendary so I was excited to check it out. The chips and salsa were amazing. I am pretty sure we had at least four orders of it. Whatever they put in the salsa is completely addictive. Knowing I was on my way there, my good friend JenFinn suggested we order the "cheese hat" (Chicharrones de Queso). I was super confused at first, but completely understood once it came out. It's cheese that's been fried, then folded in to the shape of a hat. Served with tortillas, salsa, and guacamole, it's a cheese lover's dream and definitely a popular menu item. I noticed almost every other table at the restaurant ordered the same thing and Jonathan Gold just named it one of the 99 things to eat in Los Angeles before you die.



For my entree, I ordered simply. Chicken tacos and carnitas tacos as well as a side of cilantro rice, because I'll be damned if I go to a Mexican restaurant and don't order rice.





All in all, it was a great meal and even better that it was 30% off! I am looking forward to using Blackboard Eats specials in the future and of course, more fabulous times with some of my favorite gals!

Loteria Grill
6627 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028
(323) 465-2500
http://loteriagrill.com

Chicken Fajitas with Slow Roasted Tomato Salsa

Happy Cinco de Mayo!! What do you guys do to celebrate the occasion? In college we used to just use the day as an excuse to drink all day (as if we really needed a reason). Now that I am responsible adult (please try not to laugh too hard), I just spend the day at work and maybe grab a few cocktails with friends. This year I don't have any plans, but I wanted to eat something festive over the weekend. I also found an almost full bottle of tequila and an almost full bottle of triple sec in my freezer. What goes better with margaritas than fajitas? At my favorite Tex-Mex restaurant, Marix, we like to order our margaritas "kick ass" style and our fajitas with no peppers and the onions well done. This past Saturday after I was done volunteering, I made a pitcher of margs and these fajitas. They were so yummy and worth the time browning the onions and making tortillas. Homemade tortillas are so easy to make and taste so much better than the store bought variety. I encourage you to try them sometime. I had just a few slow roasted tomatoes left so I combined them with a few things to make a really delicious and spicy salsa. This was a most excellent way to use up leftover chicken.



Chicken Fajitas

Chicken, cut into strips
Caramelized onions (recipe follows)
Tortillas
Slow roasted tomato salsa (recipe follows)
Shredded cheese (optional)
Sour cream (optional)

Spread chicken and onion mixture over each tortillas. Top with the toppings of your choice.

Caramelized Onions
(Adapted from Simply Recipes)

1 1/2 onions, thinly sliced
Pinch sugar
Pinch salt
Extra-virgin olive oil

Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add enough oil to cover the pan. Add the onions and stir to make sure they are all coated in oil. After 10 minutes, sprinkle the onions with salt and sugar and reduce the heat medium-low. Cook, stirring every few minutes for 30 minutes to 1 hour until the onions are rich and brown.

Slow Roasted Tomato Salsa

6-8 slow roasted tomato halves, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
Juice from 1/2 lime
1 jalapeno, seeded if desired and chopped
Kosher salt to taste

Mix everything and let sit 15 minutes to let the flavors come together.

BB: Mexican Chicken Soup

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Here's some...Mexican Chicken Soup? That's right. I know it's turkey day, but it's also Barefoot Thursday so this is what I am bringing you. Judy from Judy's Gross Eats picked this soup. When I first learned of this choice at the beginning of the month, it was still 90 degrees and soup sounded so not appealing. However, I think fall has finally settled in. It's hard to believe that a week ago it was so hot and fires were raging out of control. Right now, I am preparing to fly up to rainy San Francisco and wear jackets and scarves. Crazy, huh? This soup is just the kind of thing to warm you up on a cold fall day. It is so flavorful and relatively good for you. Especially if you keep your toppings low in fat like I did. I chopped my chicken instead of shredding it because I have a weird aversion to shredded meats. I also left out the tortillas and I don't feel like I was missing anything. As usual, I halved the recipe and had a ridiculous amount of food. I really don't know how these serving sizes are estimated, but this makes a lot! I hope you are all enjoying a few days off of work and spending time with people you love. When you get a chance, head over to the Barefoot Bloggers blogroll to see how the others fared with their soup. I'm thankful for my family and friends and all of you who read my rambles from day to day and keep encouraging me to bring more. Happy turkey day!



Mexican Chicken Soup
(Adapted from Ina Garten)

1 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 boneless skinless chicken breast tender
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1 quart plus 1/4 cup chicken stock
14 ounces whole tomatoes in puree, crushed
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1 or 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves, optional

For serving: sour cream, grated Cheddar cheese, and tortilla chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan lined with foil. Rub with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until done. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones, and chop or shred the meat. Cover and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions, celery, and carrots and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until the onions start to brown. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes with their puree, jalapenos, cumin, coriander, 1 teaspoon salt (depending on the saltiness of the chicken stock), 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and the cilantro, if using. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Add the chicken and season to taste. Serve the soup hot topped with the toppings of your choice.

Blood Orange and Chipotle Shrimp Tacos with Tomato Black Bean Salsa

Oh Sunday. While I look forward to spending the day at the Farmer's Market and preparing my lunches for the week, this particular Sunday also marks the end of my super long holiday weekend. It was a great weekend of friends, food, cocktails, and the beach! Besides the cornbread I will be posting about on Thursday, I didn't make much over the weekend so I wanted to make something fresh that also highlighted the tastes of summer. I had been wanting to make homemade tortillas for a while and I thought I could combine that with some grilled shrimp since I am loving the grill right now. I had a little chipotle sauce left over and I snatched up the last of the blood oranges (of the season) at the Farmers Market. I made the salsa for a little extra freshness.

Blood Orange and Chipotle Grilled Shrimp Tacos with Tomato Black Bean Salsa

8 shrimp peeled and de-veined
1 tbsp chipotle in adobo
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped plus extra for garnish
juice from one blood orange
splash of canola oil

Combine all ingredients and let the shrimp marinate for about 20 minutes. Grill shrimp over high heat for about 2 minutes on each side.

Tomato Black Bean Salsa

1 organic beefsteak tomato, seeded and chopped
8 oz organic black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 c cilantro, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
1/4 white onion, chopped
1/2 jalapeno, minced
juice from 1/2 lime
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

Homemade flour Tortillas
(adapted from Epicurious)

2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp canola oil
6 oz warm water

In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients and 1/2 of the water. Mix together with your hands and continue adding water into the dough until it forms a solid ball, but is not too sticky. If necessary, add additional flour or water as needed. Knead the dough on a floured board for 5 minutes. Cut the dough in half and then in half again. Roll each piece into a ball, place them on a lightly floured surface, and cover with a damp towel. Heat a grill to medium heat. Roll out the dough, one piece at a time to about 1/4 inch thickness. Place one round of dough on the grill and cook on each side for about 30 seconds. Continue the process with the remaining portions of dough.