Chile Colorado

Chile Colorado has always been my all time favorite dish. Add a side of pressure cooker beans, some delicious Spanish rice and warm corn tortillas and you have described my choice for a last meal. The sad thing about chile colorado is how rarely it tastes right in a restaurant. It is always over powered with cinnamon and oregano. Now I'm not a against cinnamon or oregano, these spices have their place, but they don't belong anywhere near red chile. You need to let the chile shine in this dish. Whenever we would go out to eat as a family, I would order this and just hope it would be good. As a kid the cinnamon was less offensive to me, but I remember my dad trying it with the hopes that maybe it would remind him of home but almost every version would have too much cinnamon. I remember he would say "It's like a dessert, there is so much cinnamon in there." My mom would roll her eyes and laugh but I was just happy to have some red chile with beef in front of me. This dish is made with the Red chile sauce recipe I posted recently and there is no cinnamon or oregano. I would recommend making the sauce the day before or this will become an all day thing. I normally do it in one day but the kitchen is my happy place. This is another dish that is simple but so amazing.

You will need:
Red Chile sauce
stew meat
bacon(for the grease)
garlic
onions
salt
pepper

Salt and pepper your stew meat and set aside in a bowl for later and preheat over to 275.

Mince onion and garlic and set aside for later.

Cook bacon until crispy in a dutch oven. once cooked remove bacon and set aside and use for yummy bacon bits for a salad if you wish. Leave a couple tablespoons of the bacon fat in the pan to brown your meat.

Add the stew meat to the bacon fat. Brown meat a few minutes per side, you will need to do this in batches.

Once the meat is browned set aside in a bowl. Add the onions to the dutch oven and cook until soft. Then add in the garlic and cook until fragrant. Return the beef to the dutch oven and pour in the red chile sauce that you prepared that morning or the day before. cover the dutch oven leaving the lid slightly open and put in the oven for 3 hours or until meat is tender. You may need to add water if the sauce gets too thick.

Your finished product will be an amazingly rich Chile Colorado.

Recipe at a glance
 Chile Colorado
makes 8 servings
5 cups Red Chile sauce
2 lbs stew meat
1/2 lb bacon(for the grease)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion, minced
salt
pepper

1. Salt and pepper your stew meat and set aside in a bowl for later and preheat over to 275.
2. Mince onion and garlic and set aside for later. 
3. Cook bacon until crispy in a dutch oven. once cooked remove bacon and set aside and use for yummy bacon bits for a salad on a future date if you wish. Leave a couple tablespoons of the bacon fat in the pan to brown your meat. 
4. Brown meat a few minutes per side in the bacon fat, you will need to do this in batches.
5. Once the meat is browned set aside in a bowl. Add the onions to the dutch oven and cook until soft. Then add in the garlic and cook until fragrant. Return the beef to the dutch oven and pour in the red chile sauce that you prepared that morning or the day before. cover the dutch oven leaving the lid slightly ajar and put in the oven for 3 hours or until meat is tender. You may need to add water if the sauce gets too thick.

Red Chile from Hatch, New Mexico

   We were taught at a young age to worship these beautiful chile peppers. My dad (as most know because only family reads these posts) is from Las Cruses, New Mexico and he would take us to visit often and plan our trips around his favorite restaurants. We would go to the chile festival in hatch and buy a year's supply of red and green chile, and my mom would pick out a few ristras to decorate our home with. So not only did we eat the chile but we decorated with it too. My favorite memory was one summer when we bought several pounds of fresh green chile and brought it home and roasted them in our backyard, the smell was heavenly but the time together was unforgettable. Many of my happiest memories revolve around food and so do many of my traditions. This week while I made the red chile sauce I could feel all those happy moments flooding in. The smells, the routine and the calmness that I experience when cooking always makes me feel the closest to my Dad. Thankfully many of the foods I grew up cooking like this recipe are easier than most might think. Often I tell people I make my sauce from dried chile pods and almost always their eye widen and they say "wow, that's dedication." But honestly it is barely harder than opening that can of enchilada sauce you buy at the grocery store and the best part is you only need three ingredients.

What you will need
Hatch, New Mexico dried chile pods, you can use other kinds but I only use Hatch. I buy mine on amazon or you can order from Hatch Chile Express (theirs are better but a little more expensive).
Butter
Ground Cumin

The first thing you want to do is clear out your sink and put a bowl or colander in the sink. I use a colander for easier clean up. You will need to break the stem off the top of each pepper and then wash the inside and outside to get off any dirt and to rinse out the seeds. I leave the stems in the colander and put the other part in a big stock pot.

After I have cleaned each pepper, I fill my stock pot that already has the chiles in it with water until they are covered. Some will float to the top but that's okay. Turn heat to high until it begins to boil. once the water boils turn off the heat and leave it covered for 20 minutes.

Once your chiles are done steeping in the pot, use a slotted spoon to transfer the chiles to a blender. This will take a few batches; you don't want to overfill the blender because red chile stains are not easy to get out. Then with a measuring cup use some of the water the chiles were steeping in and pour it into the blender, normally a cup of water is enough, and blend until you have a runny consistency.

Put a mesh colander over a big stock pot and pour the sauce into the colander. Use the back of a big spoon to push the sauce through. After you have gotten as much liquid out as possible, there will be leftover chunks of skin and seeds that you will discard. I like to keep a bowl close by with a plastic bag for easy clean up.

After all the chiles have been blended, melt one stick of butter in a big pot. Pour in the blended and filtered chile sauce with about a tablespoon of ground cumin (more or less to taste) and let it heat up. You are now ready to make red enchiladas, Chile Colorado or any other amazing Mexican dish that calls for red chile sauce.

Recipe at a glance

Red Chile Sauce
makes about 10 cups
16 oz dried red chile pods
1/2 cup butter
1 TBS  ground cumin

1. The first thing you want to do is clear out your sink and put a bowl or colander in the sink. what you will need to do is break the stem off the top of each pepper and then wash the inside and outside to get off any dirt and to rinse out the seeds. Leave stems in the sink and put other half in a big stock pot. 
2.  After you have cleaned each pepper, fill the stock pot that already has the chiles in it with water until they are covered. Some will float to the top but that's okay. Turn the heat to high until it begins to boil. Once the water boils turn off the heat and leave it covered for 20 minutes. 
3. Once your chiles are done steeping in the water use a slotted spoon to transfer the chiles to a blender, this will take a few batches, do not overfill. Then with a measuring cup use some of the water the chiles were steeping in and pour it into the blender, normally a cup of water is enough, and blend until you have a runny consistency.
4.  Put a mesh colander over a big stock pot pour the sauce into the colander. Use the back of a big spoon to push the sauce through. After you have gotten as much liquid out as possible there will be leftover chunks of skin and seeds that you will discard. I like to keep a bowl close by with a plastic bag for easy clean up. 
5. After all the chiles have been blended, melt one stick of butter in a big pot.  Pour in the blended and filtered chile sauce with about a tablespoon of ground cumin (more or less to taste) and let it heat up.

Pressure Cooker Pinto Beans

Remember that time I started the blog and then stopped? Well, I found out I was pregnant last October and my cooking skills are shameful during those nine months. So I decided to take a break, but then my sweet little man was born and I was a little busy doing the mommy thing. So now 8 months after my sweet man was born I decided to give it another try.

Today I am giving you the recipe for our Pressure Cooker Pinto Beans. It is a great side dish that goes with many different main courses. I grew up eating these at least once a week and every time they were made you would hear my parents talk about whose version was better. There is only one difference between the two recipes. My mom's version uses hot sauce and my dad's doesn't. That is what the endless debate is about. Are the beans better with or without hot sauce? Whenever the family gets together we all cook and we are, for the most part, always asked to make the same thing. Megan is always in charge of the creamed corn because I mean, damn her creamed corn is good. Linsday is always in charge of pie and other baking because her crusts will make you cry, and I am always in charge of the beans. I like to think we have all been assigned what we are best at, which makes me the authority on beans. And I only make them with hot sauce, so that's the final word on that. So today I am going to give you my mom's version because, sorry dad, I think the other version is missing a little something.

You will need: Pinto Beans, Salt pork (whole not pre-sliced), sugar, hot sauce, and salt

 First you will need to put 3 cups of beans into a colander and wash them really well. You will also want to pick through them to make sure there aren't any beans that look bad. Watch out for rocks and dirt clots too. Those aren't fun to bite into. Set them aside until we are ready to add them to the pot.

 Next you will need to cut up your salt pork. First you will need to cut off the top layer of skin and throw it away. Once you have cut off the layer of skin you will want cube the pork into 1-inch pieces. If you can't find salt pork bacon will work but it won't give you the same tasty flavor. Don't be scared of the fatty salt pork it is amazing!

Now we add it all to the pot. First fill the pressure cooker with 12 cups of water. Now add the beans and salt pork. if there are any beans that float to the top scoop them out and throw them away. You will then add a tablespoon of sugar and about a tablespoon of hot sauce more or less depending on how spicy you like your food. Close the lid make sure your seal is secure and let it cook under pressure for 90 minutes. After the beans have cooked add salt to taste. You can also leave them to simmer on the stove to let the juice get a little thicker and you wouldn't regret it. Enjoy! 

Ingredients

12 cups water

3 cups dry pinto beans

1 package salt pork (sometimes I use two don't judge)

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon or to taste Hot sauce (topatio is the best)

salt to taste

1. Thoroughly wash beans and inspect them to make sure you only use quality ingredients. Sometimes rocks make their way into your bag of beans.

2. cut the skin off the salt pork and discard, Then cut the remaining pork into 1-inch cubes.

3. Add 12 cups of water to pressure cooker.

4. Add all ingredients except the salt to the pot. Seal and cook under pressure for 90 minutes.

5. After the beans are done salt to taste.

Note: You can also leave the pot to simmer on the stove until you serve them and it will give you a thicker juice and add more flavor to the dish. I will often let mine simmer for a whole hour before serving them. If you choose to let them simmer add the salt just before you serve them.

Taco Night

Tonight was taco night in our house. We have been making these tacos ever since I can remember, but this is one of the few recipes that my family didn't actually start. These crunchy gifts were introduced to us by the Smith family. We all get our family recipes somewhere, right? Sometimes they come from close family friends.  Growing up we would make these almost weekly. Anytime we had big family dinners at our house, tacos were almost always on the menu with my dad at the helm and the three daughter prepping all the tortillas. My mom would be creating a new mouthwatering dessert, and the baby boy of the family was in charge of following the messy cooks around with a garbage bag. It was always a group effort on Sundays. We would spend the time in the kitchen talking about anything and everything and chances are my dad was teasing someone. Everyone was always so excited to come over for taco night at our house. These tacos have always been my go-to dinner when I want to impress someone. Is that weird? Maybe. During My Freshman year at college I was living in BYU student housing and often times there were would be a flyer on my door for a dessert party at one of the other apartments in my building. I would go mingle and try to make new friends. After going to a few of these parties where the dessert was sparse and really not that great, I decided to have my own party. My party wasn't a dessert part though, instead I put flyers on about 50+ doors saying "Taco Night bring your appetite." So I told my parents about my plan and they took me shopping. A few hundred dollars later I had the makings for a great taco night. By the time the night was over I had made over 200 tacos. I cooked most the night but I also was the girl who made killer tacos and there were no left overs. So if you ever want an easy way to impress people these tacos are your answer.

They require three simple ingredients, Corn tortillas, garlic salt, and ground beef. You will also need lard or oil for frying. I prefer Lard it gives them a good crunch and they end up being less greasy. 

The first thing you do is get your ground beef, only a little, and spread it on one side of you tortilla and then you sprinkle garlic salt over the top of the beef. Repeat this process with the rest of the tortillas and stack your tacos so the meat is on the opposite side. If you put all the meat on one side your pile will fall over. 

Your oil or lard should be hot by now. You will need to fold your taco in half and place it in the hot oil. You will want to hold the bottom part of the taco in the oil for a few second to keep it from cracking. then place the taco on its side and let it cook for 3-5 minutes on each side. It will be a nice golden brown when its done.

Once your tacos are done place them in a serving dish over paper towels. You will want to place the tacos upside down so you can let all the excess oil drain. Once all your tacos are cooked you can stuff them with you favorite ingredients. My go-to is homemade salsa and shredded cheese. Enjoy!

Quick Look

Makes over 30 tacos 

1 lb ground beef

package of corn tortillas

garlic salt

lard or oil for frying

1. Heat lard or oil in skillet. The oil should be about 2 inches deep.

2. Spread about 1.5 teaspoons of ground beef on one side of tortilla and sprinkle meat with garlic salt. repeat with the remainder of the tortillas.

3.  Fold the tortilla in half and place in the oil. First let the bottom of the tortilla sit in the oil for a few seconds to prevent the tortilla from breaking.

4. Place the taco on its side and cook each side for 3 - 5 minutes until golden brown.

5. Build your own taco with all your favorite toppings and enjoy!

Green Chile Burritos

Little Hands can cook too. Me and my Daughter cooking. She loves to help with the salt.

Tonight I made green chile burritos. Now, these aren't any ordinary chiles. These chiles come from Hatch, New Mexico. Most people know what Hatch Chile is because it has become pretty trendy in the food world. My family has been cooking with Hatch Chile long before it was popular, but that's because my dad grew up in New Mexico. While I was buying my fresh batch of roasted chiles, there were two guys buying several cases. I couldn't help but laugh to myself because these guys were probably as hipster as you can get, and I knew the thoughts that would be going through my dad's mind if he was standing where I was. We would have gotten in the car, and he would have smirked and said, "Did you see those fashion jeans those idiots were wearing?" Yes, my dad called any jeans that weren't wranglers "fashion jeans". So try not to let the fact that hipster now buy Hatch Chile keep you from enjoying some of the best chile our nation has to offer. My boot-wearing dad didn't let it faze him.

You will need Lard for cooking, ground beef, an onion, potatoes, garlic powder, salt and of course green chile. First heat about a table spoon of lard in your skillet

Then dice up the onions and throw them in the skillet. Cook them until they are translucent. Once cooked remove from skillet and set aside in a bowl.

While the onions are cooking you will want to wash and dice up your two potatoes and put them in a microwave safe bowl. Yes I said Microwave. You will cook your potatoes under the baked potato setting. It was about 7 minutes in my microwave. Trust me this will make it go much faster and guarantee you don't serve crunchy potatoes!

While your potatoes are cooking, start to cook your meat.

Once your potatoes are done and your meat has browned, add the remaining ingredients, including your onions and potatoes. Cook until the meat is cooked through. You will then turn your burner to low and cover your burrito meat and let the potatoes soak up all the flavor. Leave it covered for about five minutes.

And now we build the burrito. Put a spoonful of the meat in the center of your tortilla and top with a little cheese, but not too much; you want to taste the chile. Some people put sour cream on the burritos at this point. To my dad, this is worse than fashion jeans and should be considered culinary treason.

Roll up the burrito and enjoy!

Quick look
Makes about 20 burritos

2 lbs ground beef
1 Large Onion
2 Medium Potatoes
1/2 cup Hatch chile (Taste it as you add, so its not too hot)
2 1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 tablespoon lard or oil
Flour tortillas (I like the raw ones)
Cheese

1. Heat lard in pan
2. Dice onions and cook until translucent. Once cooked transfer to a bowl and set aside for later.
3. Dice potatoes and cook in microwave. Follow the instruction on your microwave for two baked potatoes. It will make the cooking process much faster.
4. Add the ground beef to the skillet and cook while you wait for the potatoes.
5. Once potatoes are done, drain meet and add all ingredients to skillet, including the potatoes and onions.
6. Continue to cook until meat is cooked through.
7. Turn your heat to low, cover the burrito and let sit for five minutes to let you potatoes soak up the flavor.
8. Assemble your burritos and enjoy!

Birthday Dinner

My dad and my daughter Isabella on the day he entered the hospital

Saturday was my Dad's birthday. He would have been 55 this year. We spent the day reminiscing, which isn't too different from every day. We had a good ol' country breakfast at our local diner, watched Lonesome Dove and finished off the weekend with salmon patties. Salmon patties were the very first thing my Dad ever taught me to cook, and it only made sense to have them be the first recipe on the blog. They aren't gourmet and they aren't anything fancy but they make me feel like I am home. I wont lie, I absolutely hated Salmon patties growing up, but now they are one of my go-to recipes. They are quick, easy and require little clean up.

Its a simple recipe with few ingredients. You will need: two cans salmon, about half a sleeve saltine crackers, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1 egg, and vegetable oil for frying.

 Throw your cracker in the food processor and grind them until they are crumbs. The finer the better so the patties will form well.

Drain salmon and combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix until well combined. 

Roll the patties into ball a little bigger than a golf ball. Once oil is hot place the patties into the oil and let them cook for about 3 to 5 minutes until they are golden brown.

Once cooked remove salmon patties from the oil and place them on a plate with a paper towel to soak up any excess oil. I often serve these with my homemade pinto beans, fried potatoes, and a dash of Tapatio hot sauce

Quick Look

Makes 10 patties

2 6 oz. cans skinless boneless salmon

1/2 sleeve saltine crackers

1 egg

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

oil for frying

(chopped pickles taste great in the salmon patties too!)

1. Pour oil into your dutch oven, about 2 inches deep, and heat to 300 degrees.

2. Throw your crackers into the food processor and pulse until they are crumbs. The finer the better.

3. Drain Salmon and then combine all the ingredients into your mixing bowl.

4. Mix your ingredients with hands until well combined.

5. Once oil is hot gently place the patties into you dutch oven, they should be covered by the oil. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes until golden brown.

6. Remove from oil and place on a plate with a paper and let the oil drain off. 

7. Serve and Enjoy!

Welcome to The Nostalgic Pantry

My Dad's favorite Restaurant in New Mexico

I have started this blog mainly for myself and my family, but all are welcome to take part in the journey. My family and friends know the reason behind this blog, but I will tell the story to the new comers, assuming there are any. 

In December of 2012, the week before Christmas, my dad was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. It was obviously devastating for our family, but we pulled through. My little Brother was my Dads bone marrow donor, and by that following July my Dad was in remission. We celebrated with a family feast, and my Dad started living his life again. He always was a family man, but after cancer he always did a little extra, because we never know when our time comes. My parents traveled to Germany and made unforgettable memories. We all came home for Christmas and made up for the one we lost the year before. It was an amazing Christmas. There were two new grand babies to snuggle papa. It was like a Dream. We all returned to our homes with our families. A couple weeks later, we got a call, and my Dad's cancer had returned. This time it showed up as tiny little tumors all over his spine. I was on the next flight out and preparing for the worst. The doctors told him that without treatment he would die within 6 weeks, but with it he would probably have 6 months maybe more. We had two family dinners. One was green chili burritos, a classic in our home, and the other was another Dewey favorite: spaghetti with garlic bread with too much garlic salt, its the way he always made it. The next morning, he left for the hospital to start his chemotherapy. We took turns visiting, babysitting kids, and making the food runs. Going to the hospital was hard for me, so I spent most of my time with the kids, meal planning and cooking. It helped me stay positive, and there few things that bring me peace like creating a meal for people I love. On February 14, 2014 my dad was taken to the ICU because he had developed pneumonia. Because of the cancer and chemo, he didn't have any way to fight it off. The next day, by some miracle, we had babysitters lined up for all five grandchildren. So we all went together to the hospital to be with my dad and talk with his doctor, who we all had grown to love. While we were there, they were performing a biopsy of his lung to see if the cancer had spread. During the biopsy, he went into cardiac arrest. They were able to revive him and told us it was time to say goodbye. My dad was surrounded by his amazing wife and children. He was not alone, and we talked to him until the end. My dad died on February 15, 2014.
I grew up in a home that was full of food. Both my parents are incredible home cooks. I spent my evening watching them both cook. My dad taught me how to cook things like Salmon patties, Chili Verde, Chili Colorado and just about any dish that had New Mexico Chili. He grew up in Las Cruces, New Mexico and taught all his children to worship just about everything New Mexico, especially the food. I was raised to appreciate all foods from the county fair to the gourmet. My dad had compiled a list of dishes that he considered to be his favorite. Some of the dishes are there because of the story behind them, and others are on the list because they were so delicious that he couldn't stop thinking about them. There are well over 100 dishes on the list. My goal is to create as many recipes as I can for the dishes he considered special.  I will be posting some but not all recipes on this blog, and the rest will be available in the cookbook I will create.
If you know our family, you'll also know there is no subject more discussed than food (except maybe sex). You can imagine how often the idea of a cookbook came up. Dad never got a chance to put it together. Perhaps it's better that I do it, since now we can put hot sauce in the beans.