latin market

I finally made it to the Latin/Asian market on Winchester yesterday. I've been hearing about it for years. It's about an hour away from me but we were at a birthday party even further away and happened-upon the market on our way home.

On vacations, I go to local markets and groceries like someone would go to a museum. I could have stayed for hours. I picked up a totally unripe guava, beautiful and cheap avocados, jalapenos, raw sugar, a chuck roast, golden mangoes, and a stack of freshly made corn tortillas.

This morning I sauteed black beans, onion, garlic, and a can of Mexican corn. That was layered with the corn tortillas, 2 fried eggs, salsa, cheddar cheese, cilantro, and a splash of hot sauce. HEAVEN! There is just something about that combination that makes me feel so good. It definitely reminds me of Sofio's in Telluride 15 years ago, which is now closed. Check out my version of Huevos Rancheros below.

Latin-Inspired Huevos

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Yield: 8 servings

16 fresh corn tortillas, heated

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 small can (about 1 cup) mexi-corn

1/4 cup diced onion

1 tsp. minced garlic

2 tbsp. coconut oil

16 eggs, cooked your way (fried, poached, scrambled, etc.)

8 tbsp. salsa

4 tbsp. chopped cilantro

Saute the beans, onion, corn, and garlic in the coconut oil. Layer one tortilla on the plate and top with about 1/4 cup of the bean mixture. Top with another corn tortilla. Top that with another 1/4 cup of the bean mixture and 2 cooked eggs. Top that with salsa, cheese, and cilantro. Serve immediately.

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Sangria, Paris, & Hooters, Oh My!

photo courtesy of stay.com

I've been on a Sangria kick lately. I had forgotten just how delicious it can be. This rediscovered love started last week after my daughter had to have an MRI. She wasn't allowed to eat after 9:15 in the morning and was starving when we walked out of Le Bonheur at 3:30 in the afternoon. We asked her where she wanted to eat and she said, wait for it... Hooters. She had never been there before but has a dedicated fondness for hot wings. We have ordered take-out wings from there on many occasions, but to request to go there was just too funny. After calling a couple of friends of mine that had daughters and asking for their opinion and advice on taking your girl-children to Hooters, we decided to go for it. Of course right when the girl was taking our order, my youngest daughter asks, "Mom, what does "hooters" mean anyway?" And so it goes...

Now I know that Hooters really isn't the best place for Sangria, but I didn't want beer or a cocktail, and for heaven's sake, definitely not straight up wine from there, so I went for the sangria. It was very drinkable and the sweetness went well with the wings. It was good enough to order a second glass and was a great stress-reliever for a very worrisome day.

My mom, sister, and nephew are coming over for Sunday lunch today. I'm doing my roasted chicken, roasted potatoes and brussel sprouts, chocolate pie with praline sauce (sauce, because the pralines didn't work...never using Martha's recipe for pralines again, ever!), and homemade Sangria.

For Christmas, my husband got me a case of assorted wines, hand-selected by a wine distributor friend of ours. I have a couple of half bottles left, so what better use than to make some homemade Sangria. After mixing my sangria together, I was transported back to December 1998 in Paris at a Spanish Tapas restaurant where all 8 of us (me, husband, mom, and 5 other friends) sat passing plates, trying delicacies from other far-off places, and sipping sangria while the snow blasted the cobblestone. If I had some fried fresh sardines right now and a cigarette, it would be 1998 in my house right now. But here I am, in the country, cigarette-free for over 14 years, and sipping sangria with my beautiful family, happy, healthy, full of delicious memorable smells, and soon-to-be full of a lovely Sunday lunch. How blessed?!

Oops....I forgot to take a picture of our sangria today. We drank the pitcher and ate the fruit. Beware of the fruit! The picture above is one of the restaurant we ate at in Paris, Casa Tina. All pictures from 1998 are not digital! Thank you to "Let's Go Paris 1998" for their recommendation on Casa Tina all those years ago. I really don't know if it's still a good tapas place or if their sangria made the food taste good and the memories better, but that was then and this is now and my sangria today was damn tasty!

Sangria

Yield: 3 quarts

1 bottle good red wine

1/4 cup brandy

1/4 cup triple sec

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2-1 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)

2 nectarines, sliced

1 small apple, diced

1 lime, half thinly sliced, half quartered

1 lemon, half thinly sliced, half quartered

1 clementine/orange/mandarin, half thinly sliced, half quartered

2 quarts sparkling water

Combine the wine, brandy, triple sec, sugar, orange juice, nectarines, and apple; stir to combine. Leave in the frig overnight. Two hours before serving, add all the citrus and muddle it in the wine mixture. Add the sparkling water right before serving. I don't add the citrus overnight because it tends to make it bitter from the white pith of the citrus fruits.

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The Cookie

This past year I have been obsessed with cookies. I've taken pictures and edited recipes, only to be swept away with the busyness of 2011. I've had every intention of starting a side blog, "My Year with Cookies." Whole wheat has been my flour ingredient of choice. The problem has been trying to make them "healthy" by using applesauce or a sugar substitute. Well, if I'm going to eat it, I want it to taste good, so screw the completely healthy part of it all. I've stuck with the butter and sugar, while using whole wheat flour. These cookies aren't tough balls of grit, but look like regular chocolate chip cookies that spread beautifully and magically in the oven. I jumped for joy when they started to goo and melt like that Nestle Tollhouse commercial. So, while you won't save any calories or fat on this recipe, you will not sacrifice taste or texture either, but you will gain a bit of whole grain in the process.

~check this out...summer is around the corner, can you believe it?!

~new blog i found.

~i wish they lived next door & they gave photography lessons.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
click the recipe title to print

Yield: 24

14 Tbsp. salted butter, room temp
1 cup dark brown sugar
2/3 cup organic sugar*
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sea salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350. Beat together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs and vanilla. Mix in the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and chocolate chips until just blended. Using a small icecream scoop (2Tbsp.), place balls of the cookie dough on a parchment lined baking sheet about 2-3 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Do not overcook. Allow to cool on the baking sheet for 5-10 minutes. *I prefer the crystal size of the organic sugar but regular white sugar works fine.

In the Last Two Months...

picture courtesy of wikipedia

...I've been gone a bit longer than I'd like to admit. Fifth grade homework has not treated me well and hasn't left me with much time. Thank goodness I cook for the week on Monday's or we wouldn't be eating. Cooking on Monday's doesn't lead to too much creativity so I haven't had much to share. Two to six hours of homework a night led to an email to the teacher. We weren't the only ones overwhelmed and the homework has lessened.

What has happened in two months:

~My best friend (Kim) and culinary school roommate was in town with her husband (Rob) and four-year old daughter (Maddie). We had a blast.

~I cooked at Restaurant Iris for the chef collaboration brunch. It went so well and everyone cleaned their plates. I was truly honored. They are an impressive bunch of people.

~Finished out a 6th year of Dinner on Demand.

We took my best friend and her family to the zoo, Tom's Farm, The Peabody to see the ducks, and to The Rendevous.

The zoo in Memphis is awesome. We all loved it and the animals were really active. The monkey's were so loud it freaked out little Maddie.

The Rendevous was liked by a couple of us, but it just wasn't very good to me. I have to admit that I've been spoiled by Ernest's ribs (he's a friend of mine and makes the best ribs on the planet). While eating ribs at The Rendevous, our girls commented that, "they're not as good as Ernest's." They are sooo right!

I've been making these Salted Caramel Brownies a lot. You can find the recipe here. I added cayenne to these, but it's optional.

I made Jana's (friend and co-worker) French Dips this past weekend, so I'll be sharing that soon. Other than that, I haven't cooked anything new, but how about those Honeycrisp apples?! I'm addicted! I wish there were around all year!