Month 9 aka 91 recipes down, 64 to go

Month 9 clearly marks a low point for Susie’s MK Project.  I have been lazy about updating and clearly, lazy too about cooking.  I could give all the usual excuses about how busy I’ve been (I really have been busy!), but this refrain is getting a bit tired, isn’t it?  So I’m just going to recap the 3 lonely recipes that I made this month and try to move on as best I can for Month 10.

Back on May 4th I made Crusty Lentil Cakes with Garlic and Herbs VBRED7.  These were cooked lentils mixed with sautéed onion, roasted garlic, parmesan cheese (my local market doesn’t carry queso añejo), and cilantro.  This mixture is formed into cakes which are dipped in egg and breadcrumbs and then fried in oil and served with a roasted tomato-jalepeño salsa (I used Rick’s store-bought variety).  This was a good meal but lentils aren’t my favorite and the multi-step prep will probably keep me from making this again.  If you like lentils, I would definitely recommend it.

The next day was Cinco de Mayo and so I couldn’t not cook Mexican then!  So I made Seared Skirt Steak with Chipotle and Garlic MD23.  This is seared skirt steak with a roasted tomatillo-chipotle salsa with a healthy dose of garlic added in.  I remember this being good but honestly, the details are a little fuzzy for me.  I guess that’s what I get for waiting so long to write about it.

Finally, my mom was in town for a visit and I decided to try Pan-Roasted Salmon in Aromatic Green Pipián MD17 for her.  It was a huge success and the highlight of the month!  The star of this dish was the Pipián which is Essential Tomatillo-Serrano sauce with the addition of toasted sesame seeds, cilantro, fennel fronds (I remain unable to find hoja santa), and chicken broth.  This all gets simmered together and then is puréed.  A piece of roasted salmon is served atop the sauce.  All agreed that this was fantastic (creamy, tangy, spicy, wonderful) and I will certainly be making this again.

So the winner of Month 9 is clearly Pan-Roasted Salmon in Aromatic Green Pipián MD17.

74 recipes down, 81 to go

I defied the decree for no Mexican Saturday night to make Tacos of Garlicky Mexican Greens with Seared Onion and Fresh Cheese (TEOCE7).  I guilted John into accepting it by letting him know that this could be the month that I officially fall behind schedule.  That, and another batch of Topolo Margaritas sealed the deal.

This was a good, light and easy recipe to make.  All you do is boil the chard to wilt it and then add that to sliced onions and garlic that have been cooked in a skillet for 10 minutes.  The filling gets topped with cheese (we used Parmesan) and served in a tortilla with salsa of your choice (we went with Rick’s recommendation of Tomatillo-Chipotle, purchased Frontera brand).

The result was a great light vegetarian meal.  The onion, chard, garlic combo was a good one and really went well with the smoky flavor of the salsa.  I would make this again because it was good and healthy, but also because of how easy it was to make.

Month 5

What can I tell you about Month 5 of Susie’s MK Project?  That I feel like I’m in the doldrums; I really am trying to cook as much as possible but have still only managed 9 new recipes (which is especially depressing as I had thought I had counted 10, and yes, math was never my strongest subject).  What else?  I was happy to be able to cook for family, both in CT and here at home on New Year’s Day.  And that even when sick I can produce one of the gems of the month.  The best recipes of Month 5 are:

• Mexican-Style Sweet Roasted Garlic Soup
• Braised Turkey in Teloloapan Red Mole

The soup is there for being the perfect combination of flavor and freshness, and the Mole was outstanding; there’s a good reason it’s considered Classic Fiesta Food.  I will be making both of these again.  As for what I will not make again?   Only the Spicy Plantain Pie; it was too sweet for my taste.

So now I’m at the outset of Month 6.  I sense another trip to Pilsen in the near future.  I would like to do some of the recipes calling for fresh masa and I’d also like to give cactus another try soon.  John and I also have a wine dinner at Frontera Grill in the next month, so look for an update on that experience as well.  And if I can’t hit double digits this month, I think I’m going to be in trouble for finishing the project in time.  Wish me luck!

62 recipes down, 93 to go

Despite having a cold the Mexican cooking continues.  I’m determined to put up some better numbers for Month 5 because at the pace of the last couple of months I will not finish the project in time.  My cold arrived on Saturday and I was glad that I had already planned to make the chicken-broth based Mexican-Style Sweet Roasted Garlic Soup (LHS2).

I had just made a poached chicken last week so I had (and still have, in fact) an abundance of good homemade chicken broth.  I had originally planned to make Slow-Simmered Fava Bean Soup (LHS8) but apparently dried fava beans are not easy to find (i.e. not carried by Whole Foods).  The Garlic Soup was the back-up.  I had had a feeling about the fava beans and so luckily I had written down the ingredients for both soups on my shopping list.

This recipe is fairly simple to make, the main aspect being the preparation of the various accoutrements (garlic croutons, broiled green onions, diced avocado and tomato, crumbled queso fresco, sliced strips of chipotles en adobo).  As for the broth, you cook garlic in olive oil and the strain out the garlic.  The oil you use for the the croutons and the garlic is simmered in the chicken broth, imparting its sweet garlic flavor to the broth.  Then, just before serving you stir in two lightly beaten eggs.  To serve, you pile the accoutrements in the bowls (except the croutons and chipotles, which get added on top) and ladle in the broth.

This soup was excellent!  It had the quintessential Bayless elements of flavor and freshness.  There was a flavor of garlicky goodness in every bite.  The eggs did add a bit of texture to the broth but there was no egg flavor.  The croutons were fantastic, crisp and flavorful, and the freshness of the diced tomato and avocado make the soup amazing.

John and I sort of have a running joke about foods that I consider fresh.  When I was pregnant with Scarlett I had nausea for about seven months.  During that time there was not much that sounded good to me.  John would ask me what I wanted to eat and I would just keep repeating that I wanted something fresh.  I had lots of fresh fruit, steamed veggies, fish, etc.  It was really a pregnancy-induced healthy diet (except for the pint a day ice cream habit that somehow sounded good).  What I can say about the soup is that it would have been something that I would have liked when I was pregnant.  There is just something about adding in the fresh avocado and tomato at the time of serving that makes the soup really good.  This would be a very impressive and not that difficult to pull off first course for company.  The other thing that is nice about this soup is that it is really easy to customize the level of spice as each person adds how much chipotle they want.  I added a few strips and they provided a nice zest to the broth.  John added much more, for much more spice.

I also cooked last night (Chile-Glazed Sweet Potatoes and Red-Chile Rice); I’ll try to post that meal tomorrow.  I’m also hoping to make Spicy Plaintain Pie this week.