Sandra's Kitchen Studio

Cary Magazine Feature, with video!

2012-01-24T12:47:44-08:00

I had a wonderful time with the folks at Cary Magazine last month. The full feature is available at their website, Learn how easy it is to make my Latin Pimiento Cheese in my new book, The New Southern-Latino Table.

In the following video, I talk about the birth of the new Southern-Latino movement and prepare some of my delicious pimiento cheese. See how quick and easy my recipes are to make! If you're looking for a succulent recipe for Super Bowl Sunday, this is it! Serve this dish with chips, crackers, or crudites.

Chile-Chocolate Brownies

2012-01-23T11:10:14-08:00

[This recipe is crossposted at UNCPressBlog.]

The combination of chile and chocolate is nothing new to Latinos living in Mexico and in Guatemala. Mole (pronounced móh-leh) is a mixture of nuts, seeds, vegetables, aromatics, and spices found in the cuisines of these two Latin American countries. The most famous is the mole poblano of Puebla, Mexico, and it's the only mole out of the myriad made in the Aztec nation that actually has chocolate added to its formula. I grew up eating a delicious Mayan dessert that consisted of plantains smothered in a sugary chile and chocolate sauce called mole de plátanos that juxtaposed very sweet and spicy flavors.

I must confess that one of the first things I learned to bake as a child was a brownie recipe. I was eight years old, and had traveled to the United States on vacation, as we often did, but this time I sampled a chocolatey, moist, and chewy bar that tasted like nothing I had tasted before. I was hooked! Brownies are the ever-present dessert in children's parties, school events, and church suppers and I thought to give these popular bars a little twist by adding a subtle hint of chiles.

The result is a sweet bar that captures the essence of chocolate and that at first bite tastes sweet--like any other brownie. It's not until after you've savored it that you start feeling this faint tingle in your mouth. The more bites you take, the spicier the taste, but it doesn't overpower, it just seduces.

Did you know that the best way to counteract the natural oil in chiles that causes them to burn (called capsaicin) is to eat a dollop of sour cream or to drink milk? The fat in dairy acts as a neutralizer and lends immediate relief to the tongue (why else do you think that so many Mexican dishes are served with crema?). And what goes better with brownies than a glass of cold milk?

Go ahead, make a batch (or two) of these scrumptious brownies and discover a new way to enjoy an old favorite. And while you're at it, make a chile-free batch for the kids. You won't want to share yours with anyone!

Chile-Chocolate Brownies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

6 ounces unsweetened chocolate

2 cups sugar

4 eggs, at room temperature

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

¾ cup all-purpose flour

1 ¼ teaspoons ancho chile powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup chopped and toasted pecans (optional)

For the Glaze:

¼ cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 tablespoon coffee-flavored liqueur

¼ teaspoon chipotle chile powder

Preheat the oven to 350° F. butter a 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Place the butter and chocolate in the top of a double boiler and heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until they have melted and are well combined. Lift the bowl carefully from the pan so no water droplets come into contact with the chocolate mixture; let cool for 5 minutes and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the sugar; add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; stir in the vanilla. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ancho chile powder, and salt; gradually add the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture, beating well until fully combined. Add the pecans. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the center is set and the brownies begin to pull back from the sides of the pan. Cool brownies for 1 hour in the pan. To make the glaze, in a medium bowl, combine the confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, butter, liqueur, vanilla, and chile powder; blend until smooth. Place the glaze in a pastry bag (or zip-top bag with a snipped corner), and drizzle back and forth over the brownies. Cut them into 20 bars. Makes 20 brownies.

Gratitude

2012-01-01T13:32:26-08:00

I have heard it said that in order to be happy one must begin by feeling grateful. If this is true, then I must be a very happy person for I have a multitude of things to feel grateful for in my life: my family, my friends, and my career, for starters.

So much of my life revolves around food-- not so much the act of eating it, but also the crafting and sharing of dishes, the cultural discovery it gives rise to, and the conversations that ensue around the table.

This space is a prolongation of the pleasures found on my table, a door into my kitchen, a window into my world of food, and as such I offer you a serving of what has been a most exciting time in my life.

Earlier last summer, before the craziness and excitement of my book launch and tour took over, I was fortunate to break bread with the most inspiring group of women, fellow colleagues, writers, and lovers of life and food. We laughed, we cried; we agreed and disagreed; we fixed the world and unraveled it again for someone else to try to find order. We taught each other and learned from one another, all the while embracing our differences and finding common ground. And always, in the forefront and in the background, there was food. And so I'm grateful for the food on the table and the food of the soul.

I'm also very grateful to all of you, who came out to meet me during the first leg of my book tour:

And to those of you who came to my presentations to learn more about this new cuisine I discovered in the South. Here are some moments from my tour:

At the Bookmarks Festival in Winston-Salem

Meeting dear friends at Park Road Books in Charlotte.

At the beautiful Miami Culinary Institute.

At the Miami International Book Fair.

At a panel with my colleagues Raquel Rabade Roque and Chef Daniel Orr in Miami

This first leg of my tour took me to Nashville, Mississippi, Georgia, South Carolina , Florida, and through other states in this great country of ours.

As of late, my book tour brought me back home to North Carolina.

Here I am talking to a friend at Parker and Otis in Durham.

There is no bigger gift you can give a food writer than to read (and eat) her words. So for that, I want to thank YOU, dear reader. I am so grateful to the many of you who came to say hello and to those of you who have spread the word of my book. I'll continue my tour in the Spring (I will let you know where later, when my schedule is a bit more clear).

Everyone has heroes, or at least they should have them. I'm so grateful to mine, many of whom I met for the first time this year, all of whom inspire me.

Gratitude can mean so many things to so many people. I look upon this year, which has just started, with a deep hope that I may continue to do what I love. And I wish you health, the love of family, good friends, and many reasons to be grateful.

And to those special ladies (and you know who you are) I hope that our next retreat gives us more reasons to laugh and cry, to plan and dream, to push away and embrace, to challenge and encourage, and to celebrate big and small accomplishments around many a table in the future. Now that's something to be grateful for!

Cookbook Giveaway Winner!

2011-11-26T09:23:21-08:00

Congratulations to Garden Girl, the winner of my first cookbook giveaway!!!

You have won a copy of my friend, Robin Asbell's new book BIG VEGAN. Expect to hear from her publisher soon, via email!

Thank you all for your amazing suggestions. I have a new respect for tofu, and although still not a fan, there is hope for me now that I'm armed with the wonderful suggestions you have sent me.

Now, go start off your holiday season, with joy in your hearts! Come back for future posts.

Sandra

Virtual Potluck Dinner: Big Vegan

2011-11-01T06:57:00-07:00

I first met my friend Robin Asbell, cookbook author extraordinaire who has penned several amazing vegetarian cookbooks, as few years back and it was one of those things where we just immediately clicked. In one of those "opposites attract" situations, this meat-loving Latina and this vegetarian guru found plenty of common ground, and years later, we remain close friends.

Throughout the years, we've encouraged each other through writer's blocks and cheered each other enthusiastically through rounds of recipe-testing marathons. We talk a lot and laugh a lot. Robin has convinced me to eat less meat too. Mind you...meat is still on my menu--very much so. But now, I dedicate several meals a week to eating meatless. That means, my friends, means that I sometimes delve into the vegetarian--and dare I say it?--vegan world.

When Robin asked me to join her virtual blog party, her publisher sent me a copy of her book. I am delighted to participate. Not only because she is my friend and not only because she blogged about my book for my own virtual party, but because when if first read through the pages of BIG VEGAN: More than 350 Recipes No Meat/No Dairy All Delicious (Chronicle Books;2011), my mouth was watering and I couldn't wait to get into my kitchen to play with her recipes.

If you're a carnivore, like me, you may flinch at the idea of eating vegan. Personally, tofu belongs to the category of things that I steer away from in a conversation with friends, along with politics and religion. Let's just say that I have strong opinions about it and prefer to keep those to myself.

Yet, after a quick glance through the pages of Robin's book, filled with international flavors and comforting dishes, you'll understand how easy she's made it for me to change some of my eating habits. Recipes such as Green Apple and Cashew Spring Rolls, Avocado-Pepita Crostini, Braised Sweet Potato and Pecan Pasta, Lemony Quinoa-Almond Granola, and Spinach "Feta" Pies in Phyllo have made it easy for me to savor meatless meals.

This is a great book to include in any cook's library--vegan or not. Robins recipes are straightforward and truly succulent and if you don't believe me, try her recipe for Green and Red Spaghetti, below.

Soon, maybe--just maybe and I'm not promising--tofu may no longer be a four-letter word in my home. I wouldn't put it past Robin to convince me about that too. Or maybe you will. Chronicle Books has offered to send a give-away book to one of my readers. Give me your best attempt of ways in which I should try tofu to lose my aversion to it.

Whoever gives me the best suggestion, will win a free copy of BIG VEGAN. Just remember to add your email address to your comment so the good folks at Chronicle Books can contact you for a mailing address and send you a book. I will announce a winner at the end of November.

In the meantime, I leave you with Robin's magnificent recipe for Green and Red Spaghetti. It's the perfect juxtaposition of flavors and textures. A balance of crunchiness and creaminess combine seamlessly. I'm particularly fascinated by the combination of pistachios and avocados, which creat an explosion of "umami" in the palate, followed by a sweet and tangy bit of sun-dried tomatoes. It's easy to put together and cleanup is a cinch. Try it. You won't be dissapointed. I wasn't. In fact, I think I'll add an extra meatless meal to my winter menu.

Green and Red Spaghetti (Recipe from Big Vegan by Robin Asbell: Chronicle Books, 2011)

1 large avocado, cubed

1/2 cup or 15 g fresh parsley, chopped

8 large sun-dried tomatoe halves, rehydrated and chpped

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

8 oz/225 g dried whole-wheat/wholemeal spaghetti

2 cups/140g snap peas or snow peas/mangetouts

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper

1/4 cup/30g pistachios, finely chopped

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. In a serving bowl, combine the avocado, parsley, tomatoes, and oil.

2. Cook the pasta in the boiling water according to the package directions, adding the peas for the last 2 minutes. When the pasta is al dente, drain it well, and return it to the hot cooking pot. Dump in the avocado mixture. Over low heat, toss the pasta and sauce to heat them through and to let the oil absorb into the pasta. Add the salt and pepper.

3.Serve the pasta hot, topped with the pistachios.

Check out Robin Asbell at www.robinasbell.com and at www.robincooksveg.wordpress.com

Here are the other blogs from great food bloggers participating in this party. Check them out and join our virtual party!

http://www.veganplanet.blospot.com/

http://www.juliehasson.com

www.theasiangrandmotherscookbook.wordpress.com

http://vegangoodthings.blogspot.com/

http://crumbsonmykeyboard.com/

http://foodblogga.blogspot.com/2011/10/cookbook-review-big-vegan-by-robin.html

http://nanciemcdermott.wordpress.com/2011/10/25/big-vegan-potluck-with-korean-miso-tofu-soup/

http://www.theveggiequeen.com/blog/

http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.com/2011/10/big-vegan-potluck-day-2-armenian-lentil.html

A quick side salad for your table: Ensalada Mixta

2011-10-22T17:31:38-07:00

As Latin ingredients go, few as are underrated as hearts of palm or "palmitos". These edible center cores of palm trees grown in Latin America (most famously, in Brazil). Their taste is similar to that of artichoke hearts but their texture is reminiscent of asparagus.

You'll be pressed to find them fresh in the U.S., but they are widely available in jars or canned in most grocery stores. They are great just out of a jar but I love to add them to my salads. I also enjoy cooking with them. I use them intercheangably with artichoke hearts in my favorite recipes for dips (warm mayo-based dips, especially), mixed into rice dishes or in soups.

Hearts of palm are low in calories, which of course gives me the perfect excuse to eat them often. The ensalada mixta or mixed salad is commonly enjoyed as a side dish in Latin homes every day. It can be a mixture of lettuces, some sliced tomatoes, and a few extras. Here is one of my favorite ways to make this salad a bit more special.

Ensalada de Palmitos y Tomates

3 large beefsteak tomatoes, sliced thinly

7-8 hearts if palm, sliced into 1-inch slices

1/2 cup thinly sliced white onion

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons chopped parsley

2 teaspoons chopped cilantro

Salt and Pepper to taste

Arrange the tomatoes attractively on a large platter. Sprinkle the hearts of palm all over the top of the tomatoes; mound the onions in the center of the salad. In a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, herbs, salt, and pepper. Pour dressing over the salad and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Copyright© Sandra A. Gutierrez, 2011; All Rights Reserved. No part of this post nor any photographs or recipes can be copied, re-posted, or otherwise disseminated without the proper, written consent of the author.

The New Southern-Latino Table Book Launch: It's Party Time, Y'all!

2011-10-02T09:12:24-07:00

Hi All!

It has been a whirlwhind two weeks since my book launched across the country and I can't begin to tell you how exciting this time has been!

In the next few posts, I will share with you some of the thrilling "happenings" and events that have taken place.

On September 22, 2011 we launched my book with a very elegant party at The Umstead Hotel and Spa in Cary, North Carolina. Hundreds of you attended the event and I can't tell you how very grateful I was to see you all there.

I wish all of you could have been there with me to celebrate this very exciting moment. Many wonderful people flew in for the event, including my dear friends, photographed above: Lisa Ekus, who happens to be my very good friend but also my most amazing agent: www.lisaekus.com and Virginia Willis, author extraordinaire (her book is the best-selling Bon Appetit, Y'all!) www.virginiawillis.com . The handsome man standing with us is my beloved husband, Luis.

The launch of a book is akin to a debutante party, where the book is presented to the community at large. You could feel the excitement reverberate throughout the room. I was touched by the presence of my family, friends, colleagues, students, and food-loving folks, who gathered to offer their congratulations!

The wonderful chefs at The Umstead prepared food from my book and it was beautifully presented:

Here is one of the dessert tables, featuring my Chile-Chocolate Brownies, miniature versions of my Layered Guava Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, and my Cajeta Bread Pudding.

Following the reception, I signed books. This is the view of the line. There were dozens and dozens of people. The line turned into the ballroom and around!

This was a night that allowed me to thank the many people who have helped me get here. Thank you all for your support of my work! Now the work begins....I have started a book tour and hope to visit many places (first in the Southeastern region of the U.S.). So please spread the word and tell your friends! Come see me! I'd love to meet you all!

Now....keep on cookin' and partyin', and adding spice to your life, y'all!

Copyright text and phototgraphs 2011 Sandra A. Gutierrez; All Rights Reserved. No part of this article or any of the photographs may be used, published, copied, or disseminated in any way, form or shape without express written consent of the author.

The New Southern-Latino Table Dinner Party, Part 3!

2011-09-26T09:12:45-07:00

What a ride it's been--and it's only just beginning! We had a fabulous book launch event last week in Cary, NC, and celebrated the publication of The New Southern-Latino Table with friends and family from the Triangle and beyond. You can see some photos at the book's Facebook page. Glad to see so many of our dinner party food bloggers there!

Thank you for dining along with us. We hope you've been inspired to try some of these dishes in your kitchen. And maybe you've discovered a new food blogger or two whose blogs you'll continue to visit. We thank all our fabulous foodies for helping make this dinner party series a success. Today's roundup post is crossposted at uncpressblog.com.

Our final menu is filled with these scrumptious dishes:

Chile-Cheese Biscuits, from Cheryl Sternman Rule of 5 Second Rule
Carrot Escabeche and Jalapeño Deviled Eggs prepared by Domenica Marchetti of Domenica Cooks
Pumpkin Seed Brittle, from Johanna Kramer of Durhamfoodie

In case you missed our last 2 dinner parties, you're in luck--we saved you some leftovers! Here's what we enjoyed last week:

Spiced Pepitas, prepared by Meghan Prichard of nestMeg
Layered Potato and Egg Salad (Causa Vegetariana), from Robin Asbell of The New Vegetarian
Chile-Chocolate Brownies, prepared by Dean McCord of VarmintBites.

And here's what we served at our first dinner party:

Peach Salsa, prepared by Tara Mataraza Desmond of Crumbs on My Keyboard
Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce, prepared by Jill Warren Lucas of Eating My Words
Pecan Rum Cake with Figs, prepared by Amy Lewis of The Practical Cook

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Chile-Cheese Biscuits

with Avocado Butter

from Cheryl Sternman Rule of 5 Second Rule

It took an American-born, Guatemala-raised North Carolinian and a grocery clerk with a Puerto Rican dad to lead me to a Mexican tienda twelve blocks from my California house.

What the ?

Sandra Gutierrez and I met a few years ago at a food writing conference, and her smile stayed with me even after I'd crawled into bed, shut the light, and closed my eyes that first night. Hers is a big, warm, sincere smile, the kind that lingers and makes the world a sweeter place.

Sandra's first cookbook, The New Southern-Latino Table, fuses her Latin American roots with her Southern sensibilities, and the results are steeped deeply, and equally, in both traditions. Biscuits meet chiles, grits meet loroco (an "edible vine flower" common in Central America), and peach cobbler meets mango and tequila. You'll find a solid introduction to ingredients with which you may be unfamiliar -- from chayote (a squash) to chiltepin (a fiery pepper) to yuca (a popular tuber). I'm game to try them all. That said, Sandra also seems quite fond of the Southern staple pimiento cheese, and I'm afraid I need to draw the line somewhere. Lo siento.

Happily, however, the two recipes I've made so far were wonderful. Sandra's Chile-Cheese Biscuits with avocado butter were rich, flaky affairs. I served them with a potful of her Nuevo Red Beans and Rice, thick with andouille sausage and meaty pork ribs. My Texas-bred husband -- a man who knows a thing or two about biscuits -- and my children, who enthusiastically welcomed all the bold flavors -- gave firm seals of approval to both.

The biscuits call for queso seco and the stew called for achiote oil, a mixture of achiote seeds steeped in olive oil. My local supermarket had neither the cheese nor the seeds, but the young clerk whispered that his Puerto Rican father shopped at a small Mexican market that -- it turned out -- was just a few blocks from my house. I'd driven by it a thousand times without noticing it.

Later that evening, I had everything I needed.

Thanks to him -- and thanks, too, to Sandra, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Guatemala, and North Carolina. It takes a village, and sometimes the whole world really is right outside your doorstep.

...

For the past several weeks, Sandra's friends and colleagues have been helping her spread the word about her book. More recipes from The New Southern-Latino Table are aggregated on Sandra's blog and on the website of her publisher, The University of North Carolina Press.
Photo © Cheryl Sternman Rule, 5 Second Rule

Chile-Cheese Biscuits with Avocado Butter

[[csr notes: This recipe yielded 17 biscuits for me, rather than the 12 indicated in the recipe. They freeze beautifully. If you have trouble finding the queso seco, take the time to look for a Latin or Mexican market in your neighborhood. You'll love knowing where it is. Also, if you don't have self-rising flour, simply add 1 tablespoon of baking powder and 1 teaspoon salt to 2 cups of all-purpose flour and proceed as directed.]]

Excerpted with permission of the University of North Carolina Press (2011).

For the biscuits:

2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup grated queso seco (use Parmesan cheese in a bind)
1 teaspoon ancho (or pasilla) chile powder
1/4 cup chilled lard, bacon fat, or shortening
1 poblano chile, roasted, peeled, seeded, deveined, and finely chopped
1 to 1-1/4 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

For the avocado butter:

2 Hass avocados
2 teaspoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
Pinch dried Mexican oregano (optional)

Preheat the oven to 475°F. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cheese, and chile powder. Using a pastry blender (or two knives), cut the lard into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse sand. Stir in the chiles. Gradually add the buttermilk, mixing the dough with a wooden spoon or your hands just until it holds together (you may not need all of the buttermilk). Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead it gently a couple of times. Pat it into an 8-inch circle (about 1/2 inch thick). Using a well-floured 2 1/8-inch biscuit cutter, cut out 12 biscuits (you'll need to gather up the dough and pat it down again lightly after the first biscuits are cut to get all 12). Place the biscuits, with sides touching, in a 10-inch springform or cake pan. With your knuckle, make a small indentation in the center of each biscuit; brush the tops of the biscuits with the cream. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.

To make the avocado butter: halve and pit the avocados; scoop out the flesh with a spoon into a medium bowl and mash into a smooth paste. Add the lime juice, salt, pepper, and oregano (if using) and stir until combined. Serve the hot biscuits with avocado butter.

Makes 12 biscuits and 1 1/2 cups avocado butter

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Carrot Escabeche &

Jalapeño Deviled Eggs

from Domenica Marchetti of Domenica Cooks

A Celebration of The New Southern-Latino Table

You probably have a bag of carrots in your refrigerator. I do. I always do. Carrots are the workhorses of the vegetable world. Dependable. Right there in the crisper should you need one or two to sweeten your tomato sauce, or to flavor a batch of chicken broth, or to shred into a tossed salad.

They are, in my opinion, a seriously undervalued ingredient. We pile them on crudité platters and arrange them around a chicken or turkey for roasting. Rarely do we make carrots the star of the show, except for in the ubiquitous carrot cake.

But this common, bright orange (or occasionally red or pale yellow) vegetable has plenty more to offer. I have turned carrots into delicate gnocchi and into filling for ravioli. At Thanksgiving, they become a rich, savory tart. And I am always looking for new and clever ways to feature them.

Which is why I was so happy to see the recipe for Carrot Escabeche in my friend Sandra Gutierrez's cookbook, The New Southern-Latino Table: Recipes That Bring Together the Bold and Beloved Flavors of Latin America & the American South. Sliced carrots, cooked until they are just tender, then marinated in vinegar, fresh herbs, and garlic. Yep, that recipe has my name all over it. So do many others in Sandra’s new book. It is filled with fresh takes, from Sweet Corn Soup with Cinnamon Hushpuppies to Kale Canelones with Country Ham and Mushrooms.

Sandra and I met a few years ago at The Food Writers Symposium at the Greenbrier. Like so many of us, her background is a blend of cultures—in her case Guatemalan and American—that influences everything about her, including the way she cooks. In the introduction to The New Southern-Latino Table she writes: “My first words, I’m told, were in English, and I grew up as a student in an American school in the middle of Guatemala City…Our school cafeteria was as likely to serve hamburgers and tuna salad one day as it was to offer milanesas and panes con frijol the next. Brownies and doughnuts shared the dessert counter with arroz con leche and buñuelos.”

For years, Sandra has made her home in North Carolina, which is why so many of her recipes have a delicious southern twist—Guava Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting! Interspersed throughout the book are short, informative essays ranging from the history of pork in Americas to what to plant in a Southern-Latino garden. Perhaps the nicest feature, though, is that the book is written in Sandra’s warm, expansive voice. It’s as welcoming as a slice of that layer cake washed down with a glass of sweet tea.

When Sandra asked me to be part of a series of virtual Southern-Latino dinner parties to celebrate the release of her book, I knew I would be in for a treat. Right away, I volunteered to make the Carrot Escabeche. But I did not want to stop there. Flipping through the pages, I found just what I was looking for: Jalapeño Deviled Eggs. Rich and savory, with a fresh herb and jalapeño-spiked filling, these eggs were a perfect partner for the bright, assertive flavors of the escabeche.

I’m sharing both recipes below, but I invite you to check out all the other delicious dinner party posts celebrating Sandra’s book:

* Cheryl Sternman Rule has whipped up Chili-Cheese Biscuits with Avocado Butter.

* Johanna Kramer has your sweet tooth covered with a batch of Pumpkin Seed Brittle.

* You’ll find a roundup of all of the tasty posts, recipes, and links on Sandra’s own blog, Sandra’s Kitchen Studio, and at Sandra’s publisher, uncpressblog.com.

Photo © Domenica Marchetti, Domenica Cooks

From The New Southern-Latino Table, by Sandra Gutierrez (UNC Press, 2011)

This recipe gives carrots the star treatment they deserve. I like to serve it as an accompaniment to grilled meat, roast chicken, or fish. To insure the fullest flavor, toss the sliced carrots with the vinaigrette while they are still warm. Sandra recommends adding the chopped herbs after the carrots have cooled completely to maintain their bright green hue.

The only change I made to the original recipe was to shorten the cooking time for the carrots. I found they were done within 10 minutes of boiling.

Carrot Escabeche

2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro (leaves and tender stems)
1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (leaves and tender stems)
1 tablespoon minced fresh mint
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Dash freshly ground black pepper

Place the carrots in a medium saucepan filled with cold water. Bring the carrots to a boil and cook over medium-high heat, uncovered, until fork-tender, about 15-20 minutes. While the carrots are cooking, in a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar and oil; set aside. Drain the carrots and place them in a bowl; pour the vinaigrette over the hot carrots and mix to combine. Allow the carrots to cool to room temperature. Add the cilantro, parsley, mint, rosemary, garlic, salt, and pepper; stir to combine. Serve slightly chilled or at room temperature. The escabeche will keep for up to 1 week in your refrigerator; bring it to room temperature before serving.

Serves 6-8.

Photo © Domenica Marchetti, Domenica Cooks

I never met a deviled egg I didn’t like. These ones, though, are especially good, spiked with finely chopped jalapeno pepper and brightened with fresh cilantro. Sandra’s technique for hard-boiling eggs—bringing them to a boil in water and then turning off the heat and letting the eggs sit for 12 minutes—works perfectly. I ended up doubling the recipe because, you know, you can never have too many deviled eggs.

Jalapeño Deviled Eggs

6 eggs
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons finely chopped yellow onion
2 teaspoons finely chopped jalapeños (seeded and deveined if less heat is desired)
2 teaspoons finely chopped cilantro (leaves and tender stems)
1 teaspoon finely chopped flat-leaf parsley (leaves and tender stems)
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Smoked Spanish paprika (optional, for garnish)
Curly or flat-leaf parsley (for garnish)

Place the eggs in a medium pan and cover with cold water. Set the pan over high heat and bring to a rolling boil. As soon as the water comes to a boil, cover the pan and turn off the heat. Let the eggs cook for 12 minutes. Plunge the eggs into iced water to stop the cooking process.

Once the eggs are chilled, peel off the shells. Halve each egg lengthwise; scoop out the yolk into a small bowl, and set the egg whites on a plate lined with paper towels. Using a fork, mash the egg yolks into a paste; add the mayonnaise, onions, jalapenos, cilantro, parsley, mustard, salt, and pepper and stir together well. (If not serving immediately, cover the egg whites and filling separately with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 6 hours.) Using a spoon (or a pastry bag), fill the egg white cavities with the egg yolk mixture (about 1 tablespoon). Chill them, loosely covered, until ready to serve (but no longer than 2 hours). When ready to serve, sprinkle the eggs with smoked paprika and garnish with parsley.

Serves 6.

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Pumpkin Seed Brittle

from Johanna Kramer of Durhamfoodie

Photo © Johanna Kramer, Durhamfoodie

I love peanut brittle! As a child growing up in Toronto Canada, making peanut brittle was something my dad and I did together during the winter months. There was something exciting about spreading out the finished peanut mixture onto a sheet pan and setting it onto the snow-covered back porch to chill. I would stand there staring out at the glistening peanut-studded brittle through the sliding glass doors, knowing it wouldn’t be long before I would be eating (devouring is a better word) a piece of that sweet, salty, and crunchy peanut-laced brittle.

In her new cookbook, “The New Southern-Latino Table,” author Sandra Gutierrez brings the flavors she grew up with in Guatemala to the southern table, incorporating both the traditional ingredients of her Latino heritage and the southern flavors she has grown to love.

When I received my copy of Sandra’s “The New Southern-Latino Table,” I couldn’t help but think of my dad when I came across the recipe for Pumpkin Seed Brittle. And as I made it, I felt propelled back to the days when I was standing on a chair making peanut brittle next to my dad; watching the temperature rise on the candy thermometer and the sugar turn deep amber before adding the peanuts, then waiting in anticipation as it cooled.

Photo © Johanna Kramer, Durhamfoodie

Sandra’s recipe for Pumpkin Seed Brittle is a “traditional Mayan treat popular in Guatemala.” The recipe substitutes the use of regular peanuts for toasted raw pumpkin seeds, which lends a crunchy nutty flavor to the honey-infused brittle. The brittle is perfectly tasty on its own, but I think a small piece placed on top a piece of cheesecake, or scoop of ice cream would turn a simple dessert into something special.

Photo © Johanna Kramer, Durhamfoodie

Join us as we celebrate Sandra’s cookbook by presenting you with the virtual New Southern-Latino Table Dinner Party. This is the third and final week, so if you’ve missed any of the first two, you can read them here.

Pumpkin Seed Brittle

2 cups raw pumpkin seeds
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup honey (raw preferred)

Directions

Butter a large metal baking pan. Place pumpkin seeds in a large skillet over medium heat; toast, stirring until they’re golden and puffy, 5-7 minutes. Remove to a plate and cool. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and honey and cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until the sugar melts. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring for 8-9 minutes, or until it turns a dark amber color; it should register between 300°F and 310°F on a candy thermometer (or a little of the mixture dropped into iced water will turn hard as glass). Remove from the heat and stir in the seeds. Spread the mixture carefully onto the prepared pan (it will be very hot). Cool completely (about 25 minutes) and break it into pieces.

Serves 6-8

(Note: I followed the recipe as it is written. Be sure to continually stir the sugar and honey mixture and watch closely as it reaches the desired temperature; once there, it can burn quickly. Instead of buttering a metal pan, I buttered parchment paper. To cool, I placed the brittle in the freezer for 20 minutes.)

Our 2nd New Southern-Latino Table Dinner Party!

2011-09-19T09:17:49-07:00

I'm sure you're still stuffed from our first dinner party last week, but it's time for another virtual feast! We're celebrating the publication of The New Southern-Latino Table: Recipes That Bring Together the Bold and Beloved Flavors of Latin America and the American South, by Sandra A. Gutierrez. Guest food bloggers are cooking the recipes, and we're crossposting their experiences here and at UNC Press blog, uncpressblog.com.

Our second dinner party features:

If you missed out on our first dinner party, here's what we ate:

Peach Salsa, prepared by Tara Mataraza Desmond of Crumbs on My Keyboard
Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce, prepared by Jill Warren Lucas of Eating My Words
Pecan Rum Cake with Figs, prepared by Amy Lewis of The Practical Cook

And if you're in the Triangle area this Thursday, come to The New Southern-Latino Table Launch Party. For more information and to RSVP, check out the Facebook event page, and we'll see you there!

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Spiced Pepitas

from Meghan Prichard of nestMeg

: Photo © Meghan Prichard, nestMeg

Remember that time I got to help with a cooking demonstration at A Southern Season? Well, I'm excited to be a part of another project with Sandra Gutierrez in celebration of her first cookbook: a virtual dinner party! I'm joined by fellow bloggers Robin Asbell (making layered potato and egg salad) and Dean McCord (making chile-chocolate brownies) for this week, with participants from the other weeks listed below.

I had the privilege of seeing The New Southern-Latino Table in its final stages of development while shadowing Sandra last semester, and I've been cooking out of my very own copy for a couple of weeks now. Sandra combines the familiar -- Southern cuisine -- with the more unfamiliar flavors (at least for me) of Latin America. I'm particularly looking forward to tackling her empanadas and cocoa, chile, and bourbon mole. I am also excited for Sandra herself. I consider her a mentor and, above all, a friend. She provided me with a wealth of insight about the world of food writing for someone just starting out in the field. I think her final quote in my profile about her says it all:

"I would like to see the next generation to be responsible about the world we live in, the food that we eat, generous with helping others who are coming along in their career or feeding people, but also, honest, to really try to treat each other with respect. I’d really like to see a return to honesty and respect in the next generation. For others. For our world, for our earth. For our ingredients. And a return to the kitchen. I feel that these last two generations have run away from the kitchen and that you really lose that connection with the world, that honesty and respect, if you do not have it for cooking."

Respect, Sandra believes, begins in the kitchen. My respect for her began there, as well.

She encompasses everything I love about being a part of the food community. Foodie people are happy people.

These spiced pepitas certainly make me happy. This recipe is quite possibly the easiest I have ever posted on this blog, and I like to think that most of my recipes are easy. Cooking time is under 10 minutes, and the final product makes for an addictively healthy snack. A little bit salty, a little bit spicy, and undeniably easy to consume in large handfuls.

: Photo © Meghan Prichard, nestMeg

Spiced Pepitas

2 cups raw pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon sugar

Preheat the oven to 375°F. In a medium bowl, toss together the pumpkin seeds, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, cumin, pepper, coriander, chile powder, cayenne, garlic powder, and sugar. Spread the mixture on a baking sheet. Bake for 5 minutes; remove the baking sheet and shake to redistribute the seeds. Return to the oven and bake for another 3 minutes; stop to shake the pan again. Finish baking for 1-2 minutes, or until the pumpkin seeds are crispy and golden, being careful not to burn them. Transfer to a cool baking sheet and cool completely before storing. Makes 2 cups

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Causa Vegetariana

(Layered Potato and Egg Salad)

from Robin Asbell of The New Vegetarian

: Photo © Robin Asbell, The New Vegetarian

It’s a great big world out there, and as people move around in it, they bring their cultures and cooking with them. Cuisines evolve, living and breathing along with us. New traditions are born. When a talented chef grows up moving between cultures, absorbing and reinterpreting cuisine as she goes, you can bet there will be some tasty results. When that chef is Sandra Gutierrez, the tasty results are the creative recipes, gorgeous photographs, and enticing prose in her new book The New Southern-Latino Table (UNC Press).

Sandra Gutierrez has taken a path that started in the US, went to her parents’ homeland of Guatemala, looped up to Canada, and ended up in North Carolina. Along the way, she learned to cook her native dishes at the side of her Aunt, traveled a lot, and learned more about Latin cooking, even as she absorbed the multicultural foods all around her. She also noticed that the South was home to a whole collection of Latinos, from all the countries south of the border, and they were creating a new kind of cuisine in their adopted homeland. From this realization came The New Southern-Latino Table. This cuisine is bigger than Sandra’s home cooking, encompassing the evolving food styles of all her Latino brethren. It’s a beautiful book, and Sandra clearly embraces both the food of her origins and of her current home, and composes from their palette thoughtfully and affectionately.

When you take a forkful of any given dish from this book, you might be tasting Guatemala, Mexico, and Mississippi Delta in one bite. Or Peru via New Orleans, or Brazil with a soupcon of Creole. It’s exciting stuff, delicious at face value, but fun to analyze a little bit, to see which influences she’s whisked together this time. That’s why I wanted to share her recipe for Causa Vegetariana, and the thinking that went into its creation.

I asked Sandra to tell me more about the origins of the causa, a Peruvian dish.

“Potatoes are native to Peru and they have dozens and dozens of varieties and colors of potatoes there. You find causas all over Peru and it's one of their most famous dishes, along with ceviche. There is a Southern element in my causa because I took the elements of a classic Southern potato salad and deconstructed it; then I built it in the shape of a causa.

: Photo © Robin Asbell, The New Vegetarian

"All causas have these things in common: first the potato part is always enhanced with lime and chile (traditionally with the Peruvian ají Amarillo). Second is that they are always stuffed with a mayonnaise-based salad which can be made with anything you want: other veggies only, seafood, or meats. But the one I made with egg salad is new and I pulled from southern elements in traditional potato salad. Causas therefore can be vegetarian but many times are not,” said Gutierrez.

See what I mean, about the thought process that went into building this dish? It’s not the kind of thing most cooks can pull off with such skill and familiarity. That comes from years of crossing and mingling cultures and cuisines, and a rare ability to work both analytically and intuitively. The book is full of recipes like Chile Cheese Biscuits with Avocado Butter; Coconut, Chayote, and Corn Bake; and Chile-Chocolate Brownies, all of which make mouth-watering use of New Southern combinations.

Since this vegetarian version is a brand new creation, I asked Sandra how vegetarians would fare south of the border, in places like Peru and Guatemala.

“There are many vegetarian dishes in Peruvian cuisine, but mostly each Latin cuisine features a huge array of plant-based dishes. Vegetable Escabeches (pickles), rice and bean based dishes such as Nicaraguan Gallo Pinto, fruit smoothies (sometimes called aguas or batidos), and a wide selection of salads are traditional to Latin American cuisine in general,” says Gutierrez.

Maybe I need to make a trip to North Carolina, to get a taste of this Nuevo cuisine. Pimento cheese and collards never sounded so appealing!

: Photo © Robin Asbell, The New Vegetarian

Causa Vegetariana (Layered Potato and Egg Salad)

This is Sandra’s version of the causa. Like a potato-based egg salad sandwich, this causa will definitely wake people up at your next potluck, with its zingy lime-chile potatoes and a generous topping of olives. I substituted hot sauce in place of the ají amarillo paste in the recipe. Vegans can use crumbled tofu instead of eggs for the filling, and with vegan mayonnaise, you can enjoy this creative new party dish!

For the Potato Layer:

4 pounds yellow potatoes (such as Yukon Gold), boiled, peeled, and mashed
1/2 cup minced white onion
1/3 cup key lime juice
1 teaspoon ají amarillo paste
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

For the Egg Layer:

9 hard boiled eggs, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped pimiento-stuffed green olives
2 tablespoons minced capers
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pinch salt
1 cup sliced pimiento-stuffed green olives
1/4 cup finely chopped chives

Spray a 9x13x2-inch casserole dish with cooking spray. Place the mashed potatoes in a large bowl; add the onions and stir to combine. In a medium bowl, whisk together the lime juice, ají amarillo, salt, and pepper until the ají paste is dissolved. Whisk in the oil and add the dressing to the potato mixture, stirring well to combine. In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, olives, capers, mayonnaise, mustard, pepper, and salt; stir to combine. Spread half of the potato mixture evenly in the prepared dish. Spread the egg salad evenly over the potato layer; top with the remaining potatoes. Garnish with the olives and chives. Chill for at least 1 hour (up to 24 hours) before serving. Serves 12

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Chile-Chocolate Brownies

from Dean McCord of VarmintBites

: Photo © Dean McCord, VarmintBites

My 10-year-old daughter Clara has become quite the baker. She’s always surprising me with cookies, breads, muffins, and lately, even pies. But one of her favorite things to bake is also one of the easiest: brownies. She’s been making brownies for years, and she occasionally looks for a new variation on the tried and true standard chewy chocolate version that our family prefers.

Well, do I have a great variation for you: Chile-Chocolate Brownies from Sandra Gutierrez’s new cookbook, The New Southern-Latino Table. (It’s funny, I’ve never met Sandra, but I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been told, “Oh, you two should really meet!” Even now, after receiving a complimentary copy of her new book, we still haven’t met. Time to fix that!)

: Photo © Dean McCord, VarmintBites

But back to these brownies. I recently read a local magazine’s take on this rich, dense and moist brownies, which combines two different types of chile powder, one in the brownie itself and a spicier, smokier chipotle for the glaze. This magazine said that if you’re making these brownies for kids, leave out the chile powder. Leave out the chile powder? Are you completely out of your mind??? Yes, this recipe would make a very nice brownie without the spice, but it would still be relatively ordinary. It’s the chile powder that makes this dish something special, something unusual, something truly memorable. And the amount of heat is really not that great. We had a bunch of kids trying these brownies, and they all loved them. Were they a bit spicy? Yup. But combined with the sweetness and all that chocolatey richness, it was a perfect combination. So please, try making these brownies, just the way Sandra intended you to (although you can leave out the nuts, if so desired — we did). But do not leave out the chile powders — it’s all the difference between a good brownie and a kick-ass one.

And the recipe is so simple, even a 10-year old can make it!

: Photo © Dean McCord, VarmintBites

The recipe below comes directly from Sandra’s cookbook. We made just two minor variations. First, we did not include the pecans. We wanted a nut-free version. Second, rather than melting chocolate in a double boiler, we did our standard operation of combining the butter and the chocolate in a large Pyrex measuring cup, and melting it in a microwave, thirty seconds at a time, stirring after each cycle. If you’re wondering where to find the chile powders, check out a Latino store, but I was lucky enough to find both types at my neighborhood Whole Foods.

Chile-Chocolate Brownies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons ancho chile powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped and toasted pecans (optional)

For the glaze:

1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon coffee-flavored liqueur
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Place the butter and chocolate in the top of a double boiler and heat over low heat, stirring occasionally, until they have melted and are well combined. Lift the bowl carefully from the pan so no water droplets come into contact with the chocolate mixture; let cool for 5 minutes and transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the sugar; add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition; stir in the vanilla. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ancho chile powder, and salt; gradually add the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture, beating well until fully combined. Add the pecans. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the center is set and the brownies begin to pull back from the sides of the pan. Cool brownies for 1 hour in the pan.

To make the glaze: In a medium bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, butter, liqueur, vanilla, and chile powder; blend until smooth. Place the glaze in a pastry bag (or zip-top bag with a snipped corner), and drizzle back and forth over the brownies. Cut them into 20 bars. Makes 20 brownies

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All recipes from The New Southern-Latino Table: Recipes that Bring Together the Bold and Beloved Flavors of Latin America and the American South. Copyright © 2011 by Sandra A. Gutierrez. Used by permission of the University of North Carolina Press. www.uncpress.unc.edu

Welcome to the New Southern-Latino Table Dinner Party!

2011-09-12T08:50:01-07:00

Welcome to the first New Southern-Latino Table Dinner Party! This virtual dinner party is the first of three such events we'll be hosting to help celebrate the publication of The New Southern-Latino Table: Recipes That Bring Together the Bold and Beloved Flavors of Latin America and the American South, by Sandra A. Gutierrez.

We asked nine food bloggers to cook, photograph, and blog about recipes from the book. Each of three dinner parties will feature posts from three bloggers who have prepared different dishes. Their entries---including the recipes from the book---will be crossposted in full here and at UNC Press Blog, uncpressblog.com, and we'll link to the sites where the posts originally appeared so you can go explore those sites and get to know some food bloggers that may be new to you.

Today's dinner party features:

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Peach Salsa

from Tara Mataraza Desmond of Crumbs On My Keyboard

Peaches, like Betty White after Rose Nylund, are destined to be typecast in sweet, jovial roles of buckles, pies, crumbles, and cobblers. Soft pinks and yellows and fuzzies keep them securely in the sweet-ending desserts category.

Then a cross-over recipe happens, putting peaches at the center of something entirely savory, and you end up with Betty White after Saturday Night Live. Initially, it’s all a little disorienting. Peaches and pimientos? (What was that she just said about a dusty muffin?!) Where’s the cinnamon? Where’s the sugar?

But in the first bite, it makes perfect sense and you dig into it without hesitation just the way you guffaw at every unbelievable line Betty delivered on the stage of Studio 6A, because she was meant to be there with those writers, and benchmark comedians, and even the heaping servings of lewd after all these years.

This salsa is like that (minus the lewdness). Peaches march right in with enough sass to boss around fiery jalapenos and assertive raw red onions. They wear speckles of cilantro and lime zest like they’re showing the rest of us how to accessorize. And they tuck those sweet, velvety bits of pimiento right under their wings, and stare back at you as if to say, “Told you so!” when your palate unexpectedly remarks, “Obviously!” to the pairing.

This is the peach salsa I made for tonight’s virtual dinner party, hosted by Sandra Gutierrez, author of The New Southern-Latino Table: Recipes that Bring Together the Bold and Beloved Flavors of Latin America and the American South. Sandra’s cookbook is full of dishes like it: ones that are built from elements you know, but not quite this way. She says, “It’s my hope that when you try these recipes you’ll wonder how something so different can taste so familiar to you.”

Her writing and recipes detail how both Latin American and American Southern cuisines have been influenced by the same cultures throughout history and share staple ingredients.

In her introduction, Sandra explains, “I’m writing about a culinary movement in which grits are combined with roasted poblano peppers, chiles rellenos are stuffed with pimiento cheese, fried chicken is dipped into smoky ketchup, pulled pork is simmered in annatto and citrus broth, and sweet corn ice cream gets topped with hot praline sauce.”

These pages are educational and inspiring, which is apropos for an author who makes her living as a journalist, food writer, and culinary instructor. Her ideas get you going, nudging you to fiddle around the kitchen in a brand new way. The peach salsa, for example, goes naturally well with tortilla chips as a snack to kick off a party. But it also makes a completely satisfying lunch when it tumbles over warm rice smoldering a little from chipotle chile powder.

Tonight is the first in a series of three dinner parties celebrating The New Southern-Latino Table. Dropping by will give you a sampling of dishes that emerged from a long-established rapport of cultures.

Learn more about Sandra here http://sandraskitchenstudio.com/, buy her book here, and join us for these virtual dinners.

I promise there will be no incongruous surprises—like Rose Nylund in a Latin dance dress—only great new recipes that taste like they were always meant to be.

Peach Salsa

2 cups peeled and cubed fresh peaches (about 3 large peaches)

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro (leaves and tender stems)

2 tablespoons minced jalapeños (seeded and deveined if less heat is desired)

1 (2-ounce) jar diced pimientos, drained

2 teaspoons grated lime zest

Juice of 1 lime, or to taste

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

In a medium bowl, combine the peaches, onions, cilantro, jalapeño, pimientos, and lime zest. Add the lime juice and season with salt and pepper. Let the salsa sit at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving to allow the flavors to blend, or cover and chill until ready to use (for up to 24 hours). Makes 2 1/2 cups.

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Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce

from Jill Warren Lucas of Eating My Words

A few years ago, I spent a tortured afternoon trying to dazzle my husband by making a linzer torte for his birthday. My optimism dimmed as the dough got increasingly messy and melty, and I was downright angry by the time I gave up on creating its classic lattice lid. While he dutifully ate it, I decided that day that there are some things that just aren't worth making at home. At least by me in my home.

Things that fall in this category often aren't terribly complex, but I don't lose sleep over investing my trust, my dollars and the ease of not messing my kitchen to those who have a demonstrated knack for making things I like to have brought to me on a plate I don't have to wash.

Chicken enchiladas used to fall into this category. I never imagined them to be especially difficult to prepare -- and now that I've done it, I can vouch that it's really pretty simple. Perhaps I was intimidated by all that cheese -- which, really, isn't that much per enchilada. It could have been any number of excuses, but they're all blown now that I made and we all thoroughly enjoyed Sandra Gutierrez's Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce from her new book, The New Southern-Latino Table (University of North Carolina Press).

I was fortunate to be among a group of bloggers invited to preview and write about her new book as part of the “Southern-Latino Dinner Party.” While I made dinner, others made appetizers and desserts. You can find all of the special event recipes – today, next Monday and Sept. 26 – at http://sandraskitchenstudio.com/ and http://uncpressblog.com/.

The ingredients for these tasty enchiladas are easy to gather and the recipe is simple to follow. My only quibble is that, when a recipe starts by telling me to preheat my oven, I think it's reasonable to assume that dinner is soon to follow. In fact, long after the oven was cranked and ready, I was still simmering tomatillos and hadn't rolled a single chicken-filled tortilla.

In the interest of time, I opted for a few shortcuts, such as zapping the tomatillo sauce with my immersion blender instead of waiting for it to cool and pouring it into a standard blender. Next time I'll even make this ahead. I also used a reliably tasty roasted chicken from my neighborhood market, which yielded the needed six cups of shredded chicken.

Regrettably, I did make one tweak that I would recommend against. We're weenies when it comes to chilies, but the otherwise mild flavors of this dish can stand up to the four serranos and one jalapeño Sandra includes. We cut back and the result, while delicious, lacked zip. Be bold and trust her list.

While you're at it, have a few extra tortillas on hand, too. I measured my filling to make sure it made a dozen enchiladas but actually wound up with three bonus rolls. I baked them in a small dish with sauce and cheese, then popped them in the freezer to enjoy another day.

We barely made it through the full batch before I retrieved the frozen ones. Trust me, you won't be able to resist them, either.

I made another of Sandra's recipes, Green Mango Salad with Pepitas, to serve with the enchiladas but unfortunately cannot quote recipe. It's an even tastier version of what she made when I first met her at a class last summer and blogged about it here. If the enchiladas did not provide sufficient temptation to get her book, this beautiful salad should seal the deal.

Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce

20 tomatillos, husks removed

2 cups chopped white onion

2 large garlic cloves, peeled and left whole

1 cup water

4 serrano chiles, seeded and roughly chopped (leave seeds for more heat)

1 jalapeño, seeded and roughly chopped (leave seeds for more heat)

2 cups chopped cilantro (leaves and tender stems), packed

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

12 warm corn tortillas

6 cups cooked and shredded chicken (dark and white meat)

2 1/4 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Garnishes (optional)

2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce

1 1/2 cups sour cream

1 cup seeded and finely chopped plum tomatoes

3/4 cup finely chopped cilantro (leaves and tender stems)

3/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1/4 cup finely chopped serrano chiles (with seeds)

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Butter a 13x9x2 baking dish. In a large Dutch oven, combine the tomatillos, onion, garlic, water, chiles, and jalapeños; bring to a simmer and cook until the tomatillos have popped, about 15 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes. Working in batches, transfer the tomatillo mixture and cilantro to a blender (or food processor) and blend until smooth; season sauce with salt and pepper. Return the sauce to the pan and simmer, uncovered, until it has thickened, about 20 minutes.

Place 1/2 cup of the tomatillo sauce in the bottom of the baking dish. Working with 1 tortilla at a time, dip the tortillas into the warm sauce in the pan. Place 1/2 cup of the chicken on the tortillas, roll them up, and place them seam side down, snuggly together, in the baking dish. Cover with the remaining tomatillo sauce; sprinkle with the cheese. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese has melted. Serve hot, with garnishes.

Yield: 6 servings

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Pecan Rum Cake with Figs

from Amy Lewis of The Practical Cook

Gentle Readers, The Practical Cook adores fusion cuisine, and what could possibly be better than the heady blend of Southern food and Latin food? (Answer, nothing.) Better still, the recipe being reviewed involves figs, which I love, and which come from a family fig tree. Roots, new and old, are everything in cooking.

: Prepping for Fig Cake from The New Southern-Latino Table Photo © The Practical Cook Blog (http://www.thepracticalcookblog.com) | @practicalcook.

First, the cookbook from whence this recipe comes, The New Southern-Latino Table by Sandra Gutierrez is inspired and inspiring. I love the opening where she discusses her own journey down a blended path, and some of the interesting connections between the foodways of the South and her native Guatemala. And lots of very practical cooking tips are wedged in these pages, and you know I love that. Sometimes it takes someone learning a cuisine from scratch to break old dogs of bad habits.

So I spent an afternoon perfuming my house with the smells of allspice, figs, and rum. Not a bad pursuit. This recipe completes a wonderful virtual meal. Visit my fellow bloggers Tara Mataraza Desmond (Crumbs on My Keyboard) for starters with Peach Salsa, and Jill Warren Lucas (Eating My Words) for the main Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce. So brew a strong cup of coffee, and let's finish this meal.

Roll the tape for a video review of the first bite:

Pecan Rum Cake with Figs Recipe

Though I'm notorious for meddling with recipes, to the point that the Eldest Practical Cook Junior noted what a difference it was that I was following one exactly, I pretty much stuck to the letter of the law here. Except (sorry, couldn't help it) that I don't own a 10-inch springform, so I baked in a 9-inch, which needed a little more time at a little lower heat to finish. Also, I toasted the pecans briefly in the microwave before chopping to heighten their flavor. Though the recipe implies stand mixer, I successfully used my trusty hand-held 3-speed electric mixer.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon allspice [I had to grind my own due to a planning fail, effective!]
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
6 eggs, at room temperature
1/3 cup dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons mayonnaise [Hellmann's Light was used here]
1/2 cup chopped pecans [toasted lightly, my addition, as noted above]
1 1/4 cup fig preserves (see recipe below)
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, and butter the paper. Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, allspice, and salt into a large bowl; set aside. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on high speed for 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.

: Add the eggs one at a time, and blend thoroughly. Farm-fresh eggs will give you great color! Photo © The Practical Cook Blog (http://www.thepracticalcookblog.com) | @practicalcook.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl. Turn the mixer to low and add the dry ingredients; blend until well incorporated, stopping occasionally to scrape the sides of the bowl. Add the rum and vanilla and mix until combined. Add the mayonnaise and beat for 30 seconds, or until the mixture is smooth.

: The batter will be thick and smooth. Photo © The Practical Cook Blog (http://www.thepracticalcookblog.com) | @practicalcook.

Stir in the pecans and preserves. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean and the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

: Bake until the cake is golden brown. If it cracks, fear not. It eats just as well and sugar covers all flaws.Photo © The Practical Cook Blog (http://www.thepracticalcookblog.com) | @practicalcook.

Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes; remove the sides of the pan and cool completely. Invert the cake to remove the bottom of the pan and the parchment and transfer it, right side up, onto a platter; sprinkle liberally with confectioners' sugar.

Makes 1 cake (10-12 servings)

: Success! The Pecan Rum Cake with Figs is beautiful and delicious. Photo © The Practical Cook Blog (http://www.thepracticalcookblog.com) | @practicalcook

Fig Preserves Recipe

Because I only had 2 pounds of figs, I made a 2/3 batch of this recipe. Worked perfectly. Also, I used dark brown sugar here. For the record, I used my trusty Thermapen to test the temp, and my immersion blender to smooth the mixture out at the end.

: Beautiful fresh figs go on the kitchen scale. Photo © The Practical Cook Blog (http://www.thepracticalcookblog.com) | @practicalcook

3 pounds ripe figs (about 60) washed and dried
1 pound piloncillo or dark brown sugar
1 stick Mexican cinnamon (canela)

Using a small paring knife, cut a small X in the bottom of each fig; set aside. In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the piloncillo, cinnamon, and 3 cups of water; cook over medium heat, breaking up the piloncillo as the mixture heats. When the piloncillo has melted (about 8-10 minutes), add the figs.

Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium; cook, uncovered, for 18-20 minutes, or until the syrup registers 210° F on a candy thermometer (it will be bubbly and frothy). If the bubbles are rising too quickly, reduce the heat a bit. When the syrup reaches the proper temperature, reduce the heat and simmer until the syrup is thick, about 10-15 minutes; remove from the heat. When the figs are cool, remove them from the syrup, chop liberally (or process until almost smooth), and return to the syrup. Transfer the mixture to a clean container. Store well covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Makes 4 cups.

: Fig Preserves: A Thing of Beauty HomemadePhoto © The Practical Cook Blog (http://www.thepracticalcookblog.com) | @practicalcook

Don't let the fact that this includes a secondary recipe throw you. You can substitute store-bought, but if you've got access to figs, it would behoove you to preserve them, and the preserves are the simplest of the two recipes. Overall, I enjoyed the cake immensely. It has a strong rum flavor, so be forewarned if that's not your thing.

: Pecan Rum Cake with Figs, Sliced and Ready. Photo © The Practical Cook Blog (http://www.thepracticalcookblog.com) | @practicalcook

Additionally, this is not a cookbook for beginners, you need to know some basics. That said, The Practical Cooks Junior had several altercations during the making of this cake, but declared truce in the end and called this cake delicious. Point being, you can start and stop the process and still bake a great cake.

On a personal note, this one goes out to Blended Familia, who defines this new fusion of cuisines and lives for me in my real life. Thank you.

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