Mexican
Josh’s Margaritas
by NICHOLAS AMMATURO on August 23rd, 2010
Recipe courtesy of Josh W
I lie awake in bed some nights thinking about the next time I get to make these. They are so good and so easy that you will never go back to buying a mix or making your own from scratch, it will be hard to top these.
Ingredients
- 12 oz Corona
- 12 oz Can of frozen Limeade
- 12 oz Lemon/Lime Soda (Sierra Mist / Sprite / or 7-Up)
- 12 oz Tequila
- Lime for garnish
- Coarse Salt for rim
In a large pitcher, add the frozen limeade, beer, and Lemon/Lime soda. Use the empty limeade container to measure out exactly 12 oz of Tequila. Mix all ingredients well until there are no large chunks of limeade. Meanwhile, run a lime along the rim of your margarita glass and then gently press into a small dish of course salt.
Add a few ice cubes and pour the mix into the glass, serve with a lime wedge as garnish. Enjoy.
Huevos rancheros
by NICHOLAS AMMATURO on May 14th, 2010
Do you speak Spanish? Well I don’t, but this translates to “eggs ranch-style” or “eggs country-style.” You’ve got to love Mexican food. Here is breakfast with eggs, beans, tortillas and cheese. It doesn’t even have to be limited to breakfast, it can be eaten anytime. I woke up this morning and decided that I needed to eat this. I’ve ordered it out at restaurants several times and it’s really hit or miss. It’s either really good, or should never be served to humans. I decided to step it up and make it myself.
Ingredients
- 1 TBLS vegetable oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 1 TBLS minced jalapeno
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes and their juice
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 3 TBLS chopped cilantro
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
- 4 large corn tortillas
- 1/2 cup warm refried beans
- 2 TBLS unsalted butter
- 8 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups shredded pepper Jack
RANCHERO SAUCE:
in a medium pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and bell peppers, and cook, stirring, for 3 to 5 minutes.
Add the cumin, salt, cayenne, jalapeno, and garlic, and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
Add the tomatoes and their juices and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.
Add the broth and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the cilantro. Adjust the seasoning, to taste, and cover to keep warm.
In a large skillet, heat 1/2 teaspoon of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add 1 tortilla and cook until warmed through and just starting to brown about 30 seconds. Turn and cook on the second side. Remove, cover to keep warm, and repeat with the remaining oil and tortillas.
In 2 medium skillets, melt 1 tablespoon of butter each, over medium-high heat. Break 4 eggs into each skillet and fry until beginning to set, about 1 minute. Sprinkle the eggs with the cheese and cover to finish cooking, about 1 1/2 minutes.
Place 1 warm tortilla on each of 4 plates and spread each with 2 tablespoons of warm refried beans. Place 2 eggs on top of each tortilla and top with the warm Ranchero Sauce. Serve immediately.
Enjoy.
Recipe courtesy of Emeril Lagasse
Grilled Salsa
by NICHOLAS AMMATURO on May 2nd, 2010
What is the most popular condiment in the United States? You would first assume its ketchup or mustard, but apparently over the last few years, salsa has been taking over the pantry. I heard this fact a few years ago and I can’t seem to find any current statistics that prove it, but for our purposes, lets assume its #1.
I enjoy the taste of jarred salsa, but nothing compares to fresh. It reminds me of going to a Mexican restaurant, sitting down and instead of bread at the table, there are chips & salsa. It’s their own unique blend, its their signature. Here is a chance to make your own. You can easily do this in the oven, but the grill creates a great charred flavor that the oven lacks.
Ingredients
- 3lbs Roma tomatoes
- 8 peeled garlic cloves
- 1-2 peppers (serrano chile peppers or jalapenos)
- 1 cup fresh chopped cilantro
- 1 tsp sugar
- 3 TBLS white vinegar
- Kosher salt to taste
Preheat the grill to high or your oven to high broil. If you are grilling these, then place the garlic cloves in aluminum foil and wrap tight. If you are using the oven, line a rimed baking sheet with foil and place tomatoes, peppers and garlic directly on the pan. For broiling, you are going to broil them for 5-10 minutes on 1 side, making sure to brown them slightly. Flip everything over and then continue broiling for another 5-10 minutes. Remove from the oven to let cool.
For the people that are grilling, place the tomatoes, peppers & garlic (wrapped in foil), directly on the grill.
Close the grill and grill for 5-10 minutes until charred black. You will start to notice the skin is peeling off the tomatoes. Flip them over to continue grilling the other side. They should look like below.
Remove them from the grill and let cool completely. Once cooled, peel the tomatoes. Cut off the tomato top to remove the core and make peeling easier. These tomatoes are juicy and will make a mess, I do them on a cutting board and make sure there are plenty of paper towels to soak up the juice. Sometimes I do these in a strainer to drain some of the juice, but its up to you. Peel the peppers and cut off the stem.
Next, place the garlic, cilantro, peppers (seeds & all), sugar & white vinegar into a food processor. Finely chop everything up.
If you don’t have a food processor you can just mince up everything finely and you will have a chunkier salsa then one made with a food processor. Once these base ingredients are finely chopped, add the peeled tomatoes and few handfuls of kosher salt and pulse everything together. I like to just pulse a few times, so that its chunky. You can mix it as much as you want if you prefer something more liquid.
Make sure to taste for flavor and add salt as needed. Place the salsa in a container and then store in the fridge until ready to serve. You can serve immediately or store for up to 5 days.
After you taste this salsa, you may see why American’s voted salsa #1.
tortilla soup
by NICHOLAS AMMATURO on April 27th 2010
Anytime I see “Tortilla Soup” on a menu it immediately catches my attention and I must order it. I have never had one that taste like the other, everyone has their own unique twist. I first tasted it at California Pizza Kitchen in the King of Prussia Mall when I was going to college in the area. Since then, I have been making it myself, testing out recipes, altering it into something that I feel it much better than the original I tasted 8 years ago.
I had a few go-to-recipes that I was mix and matching and I omitted most of what was overpowering the soup itself. Now what I make, is more of a bath for the salted tortilla strips,avocados and Monterey Jack cheese. It’s very basic and can be thrown together in 20-30 mins. This is certainly a week night, come home from work late soup, but it taste likes it been cooking for hours. I typically use chicken for this, but have been known to use the leftovers from my 6 hr slow roasted pork pernil. Sometimes I bake a couple of chicken breasts in the oven, then shred them with a fork and other times, I boil the chicken right in the broth, then remove and shred.
Tonight, I am running home from work and just feel like eating, so I purchased a store roasted whole chicken. I think every grocery store is equipped with their own rotisseries now and while I am diligently working all day, these little guys are slow rotating on a spit, waiting for me to eat them. The great thing is they only cost $5 to $7 dollars.
I hope you enjoy this recipe and embrace is at one of your own and adapt it to your likings.
This recipe will make 4 dinner servings and approx 6 if this is just an appetizer or a side to a main course.
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded chicken or pork
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 48oz can of chicken broth (6 cups)
- 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz) with the juice
- handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
- 4 TBLS Vegetable Oil – 2 TBLS for the soup and 2 TBLS for the tortilla strips
- 3/4 cup corn (fresh/frozen/canned) (optional)
- coarse salt (sea salt or kosher)
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (optional)
Toppings
- 16-8 oz Package Soft Corn Tortillas (just grab like 10 of them out of the package) – follow cooking instructions below
- 2 Ripe Avocados, diced
- shredded Monterey jack Cheese
- Lime
- Sour Cream (optional)
Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F and line a rimed baking sheet with aluminum foil. Meanwhile place 10 or so corn tortillas on a cutting board, cut in half and then cut into strips.
Scatter the strips onto the baking sheet, drizzle with 2 TBLS of the vegetable oil and sprinkle with coarse salt. Work everything together with your hands, to make sure the oil and salt get on as many strips as possible.
Place these in the oven and bake for approx 20 minutes, keep an eye on them and move them around a few times, because the outside edges tend to cook quicker. You just want to get the strips golden brown and crispy. I usually place these in the oven first and then continue on with making the soup, by the time the strips are done, your soup will be ready as well.
Here is what they should look like when they are done.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 TBLS Vegetable oil in a large saucepan over med-high heat. Add the minced garlic and sauté for a min or so.
Next, add the can of diced tomatoes with their juice, corn, the can of chicken broth and the shredded chicken or pork.
Raise the heat and bring to a boil, cover partially and reduce the heat to medium, cooking for 10 mins. Stir in a palmful (approx 3 TBLS of fresh chopped cilantro). Continue cooking for another minute or so. Here is where you can taste it and add salt as needed. I rarely add salt because of the salt on the tortilla strips. Remove the soup from the heat and ladle into bowls.
Add a spoonful of diced avocado, a handful of the freshly baked tortilla strips and sprinkle with some Monterey jack cheese. You can add a scoop of sour cream on top as well. Serve with Lime.
