Daring Cooks: Mushroom & Goat Cheese Tamales

Never in my life did I think that I would ever possess a 4 lb bucket of lard.  But as I researched tamale recipes, Addison somehow convinced me that they wouldn’t be authentic if we substituted butter instead.  When I asked the man at the Mexican grocery store if I could purchase a smaller quantity than FOUR POUNDS, he laughed and said no- just one size.   Addison has assured me that we will use the lard for all kinds of things… so I hope you are all excited to read a year’s worth of recipes featuring lard!

 

I've included some other objects for context so that you can appreciate how HUGE this bucket is.

I knew nothing about lard, so I did some  Wikipedia research. Did you know that lard actually has less saturated fat than butter?  But don’t get too excited- vegetables oils have way less.  It does have a higher smoking point than many fats though which makes it ideal for frying up chicken.  Wikipedia also says it makes for very moist pie crusts.  So I have some options. 

Anyways, I’m sure you are all fascinated by this discussion of rendered animal fat, but the post today is about tamales!  Last month (while procrastinating during finals), I joined a group called the Daring Cooks.  Each month features a different challenge, and all of the members post their own interpretations on the 15th.  The idea is to force me out of my culinary comfort zone (i.e. pancakes and pasta) and tamales are definitely outside of that zone! The assembly seemed a bit daunting at first, but I followed the very clear picture steps on this blog and everything turned out fine (although it looked like a hurricane had gone through my kitchen when I was done).  If you aren’t interested in leaving your culinary comfort zone, the mushrooms would also be a delicious filling for tacos or quesadillas!  Or you could just eat them on their own.  They were seriously yummy.

MUSHROOM & GOAT CHEESE TAMALES
makes about 40 small tamales
Click here to print

For the Filling:
1 package dried corn husks
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 lbs mixed mushrooms, roughly chopped (I used cremini, portabella, and shitake)
8 cloves garlic, pressed (in a garlic press)
2 cups chicken stock
¼ cup sherry
¼ cup lime juice
Kosher salt
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
4 ounces goat cheese

Before you start anything, put the corn husks in a large pot of hot water and soak for at least 1 hour (preferably 2).  Make sure they are completely submerged.

To make the filling, heat the canola oil over high heat in a large sauté pan.  When it is shimmering and very hot, add the mushrooms and sprinkle with a little salt.  Stir a few times, but allow the mushrooms to brown a little bit.  When they begin to release liquid and look slightly glossy, add the garlic and stir for a minute.  Add the chicken stock and sherry and bring to a boil.  Let boil until the liquid has almost completely reduced- this will add concentrated flavor.  Remove from heat, season to taste with salt and lime juice.  Stir in cilantro and set aside.

For the Dough:
2 cups of masa harina
2 cups chicken stock, warmed up
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
2/3 cup lard (or butter if you don’t want to buy a 4 lb bucket)

Whip the lard using an electric beater until it has almost tripled in size, about ten minutes.  Add the masa to a large bowl and mix in the baking powder, salt, and chili powder.  Slowly add the warm chicken stock, mixing with a large spoon, until the liquid is absorbed.  Add the whipped lard and continue to mix until smooth.  Instead of writing out directions for assembling the tamales, I’m going to refer you to one of the very helpful videos on youtube.  Just put some mushrooms in the middle of each tamale along with a small dollop of goat cheese. 
Once they are assembled, steam them in a large pot for about 45 minutes.  Enjoy!

Grilled Corn with Spiced Butter

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend! I made a last minute decision to fly out to Seattle and go to Chelan which was amazing. It was a short trip but now that I have been there it feels like summer has officially started. My family doesn’t really eat a lot of red meat but we always make burgers for the 4th. Since I make them so infrequently, I am not an expert and I usually adopt a different approach for the meat each year. This year my mom talked me into keeping things simple and not adding anything to the ground beef (in the past I have added egg, onion, garlic, etc.). The result was delicious. I think the key is to handle the meat as little as possible, otherwise it will get tough. Of course, even if you completely mess up the burgers, they will still taste good if you cover them in goat cheese and caramelized onions!
As a side dish I decided to make some grilled corn. The recipe appealed to me because so much of the preparation can be done ahead of time. Our barbeque is pretty small and we have to grill things in shifts, so usually the corn gets cold while we wait for the burgers to cook. The corn in this recipe can be grilled up to a day in advance, then warmed with the spiced butter at the last minute. The original recipe calls for tasso (smoked Cajun pork) but I substituted pancetta because the two grocery stores in Chelan do not tend to carry exotic items. The corn was also very very spicy- I have cut down on the amount of cayenne in my adaptation below but you can adjust according to your preferences.

Grilled Corn with Spiced Butter
recipe from Fine Cooking
2 oz. (4 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened
1 oz. tasso (smoked Cajun pork)(or pancetta), minced (1/4 cup)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. sweet pimentón (smoked paprika)
1/2 tsp. honey
1/4 tsp. ground mace
1/4 tsp. dried sage
1/8 tsp. cayenne
1/8 tsp. dried thyme
8 medium ears corn, shucked
Kosher salt
In a small bowl, mix the butter, tasso, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, honey, mace, sage, cayenne, and thyme until well combined.  If using pancetta, cook it over medium heat for about 10 minutes until crispy.  Let it cool before adding it to the butter.

Prepare a gas or charcoal grill fire for direct cooking over medium (450°F) heat. Grill the corn, turning occasionally, until tender and browned in spots, about 20 minutes. (The corn can be grilled 1 day ahead.)

Cut the corn kernels from the cobs. In a 12-inch skillet over medium heat, melt 2 Tbs. of the tasso butter. Add the corn and toss until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Transfer to a warm serving bowl, garnish with a dollop of the remaining butter, and serve immediately.

Mandy and her best friend Fudge sleeping in the middle of the kitchen while I was trying to cook dinner

Cousin Watson was wide awake

Carnitas and Sopes

This recipe is perfect for a crowd- it is very easy to make in large quantities ahead of time and it smells delicious all day.  This is by no means a healthy recipe (which is blatantly obvious as you cut the fatty chunks of pork).  But sometimes dinners don’t have to be healthy.  Especially in the summer.  We used the carnitas to top nachos and I also made some sopas (thick tortillas) that I used as a base.  There are quite a few variations for carnitas out there so feel free to experiment.  The original recipe that I referenced actually uses water as the braising liquid but I have found that using beef stock helps the meat become caramelized and boosts flavor.  Also, the longer it braises the better, so start it early in the morning.  

It is also obviously important to get a really good piece of pork.  We got ours from Bill the Butcher in Redmond, WA.  He supports local, sustainable, humane farming and all of his vendors raise animals without steroids, hormones, or genetically modified feed.  I haven't been able to bring myself to read Eating Animals yet but I have heard grotesque stories about the treatment of pigs in big slaughterhouses.  At least the pigs from Bill the Butcher are happy up until the end of their lives.  And on that note, enjoy the carnitas! 

Carnitas

Adapted from David Lebovitz 

makes 8 servings

4-5-pounds boneless pork should, cut into 5-inch chunks, trimmed of excess fat
1 tablespoon coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons canola or neutral vegetable oil
kitchen basics beef stock (my favorite brand of stock)
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon chile powder
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
2 bay leaves
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly-sliced


Rub the pieces of pork shoulder all over with salt. Refrigerate for 1- to 3-days. (You can skip this step if you want. Just be sure to salt the pork before searing the meat in the next step.)
Heat the oil in a roasting pan set on the stovetop. Cook the pieces of pork shoulder in a single layer until very well-browned, turning them as little as possible so they get nice and dark before flipping them around. If your cooking vessel is too small to cook them in a single-layer, cook them in two batches.

browning in the pan

Once all the pork is browned, remove from the pot and blot away any excess fat with a paper towel, then pour in about a cup of stock, scraping the bottom of the pan with a flat-edged utensil to release all the tasty brown bits.
Heat the oven to 350F degrees.
Add the pork back to the pan and add enough stock so the pork pieces are 2/3rd's submerged in liquid. Add the cinnamon stick and stir in the chile powders, bay leaves, cumin and garlic.

Braise in the oven with the lid on for 3½ hours, turning the pork a few times during cooking, until much of the liquid is evaporated and the pork is falling apart. Remove the pan from the oven and lift the pork pieces out of the liquid and set them on a platter.

Once the pork pieces are cool enough to handle, shred them into bite-sized pieces, about 2-inches , discarding any obvious big chunks of fat if you wish. I used a fork to do this since they stayed hot for a while.

Return the pork pieces back to the roasting pan and cook in the oven, turning occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and the pork is crispy and caramelized. It will depend on how much liquid the pork gave off, and how golden and crackly you want them.

Sopes

2 cups masa harina (finely ground corn flour- you can find it in the Mexican foods section of the grocery store)

4 tablespoons all purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups warm water

Canola oil- for the pan

Toppings: avocado, onions, cilantro, tomatoes, pinto or black beans

Mix the dry ingredients together then slowly add the warm water, stirring until combined.  Use your hands to knead the dough until it becomes a ball. 

Form the sopes by rolling the dough into a small ball and flattening it between a folded piece of plastic wrap.  Keep covered with a damp paper towel while you form all of them.  Heat a griddle or skillet (ideally cast iron) over medium heat, and coat with oil.  Cook the sopes on the griddle until they are lightly browned on each side.  Top with beans, carnitas, avocado, onions, cilantro, and tomatoes.

Vegetable Burrito- and stories of authentic Mexican food

There is a farm stand about a mile from my house that sells local produce, bread, eggs, etc.  This past week, a woman started coming each day to sell Mexican food that she prepares as you order it.  The menu includes tamales, sopes, enchiladas, quesadillas, and gorditas.  I ate there two days in a row for lunch and we just gave her a huge order for dinner tomorrow night because we will have a crowd eating at our house.  My favorite meal from her so far has been quesadillas with squash blossoms and mushrooms.  After I ordered it, she took a ball of dough, made it into a tortilla, put it on the griddle and filled it with the vegetables and some cheese.  She then topped it with her homemade mole sauce that she dispensed from a Tupperware.  It had a consistency similar to a pupusa and it was so much more flavorful than the typical quesadilla that most people imagine.  The best part is that the woman is adorable and gets so excited when I tell her how much I love her food. Yesterday after I finished eating and thanked her, she gave me another dish (I forget the name of it, I had never heard of it before) and refused to let me pay!  She doesn’t really speak English so it is hard to communicate.  Her son translates for her but I really wish I spoke better Spanish.  French seems incredibly useless in this setting. 

I will take some pictures of her food (although I’m sure they won’t do her justice) and I will try to maybe ask her for some recipes later in the summer.  In the meantime, I have a recipe for vegetable burritos that are not nearly as authentic but still pretty yummy and an easy meal to prepare.  The vegetables make it slightly healthier than a typical burrito since they replace rice and meat.

Vegetable Burritos

Makes 4 servings

Filling and Sauce:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 yellow onion, medium dice

6 ounces cremini mushrooms, medium dice

3 zucchini or summer squash, medium dice

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper

1 can pinto or black beans

~1 cup cojita queso, shredded (depending how much cheese you like)

4 flour tortillas

Salsa or enchilada sauce (El Pato is a decent brand), Tomatillo salsa would also be excellent

~ 1 cup jack cheese

Garnish:

½ cup cilantro, chopped

½ cup yellow onion, chopped

½ cup tomatoes, chopped

1 avacado, sliced

Sour cream (optional)

To prepare the filling, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and cook until they begin to soften.  Season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, then add mushrooms to the pan.  If it looks dry, add a bit more olive oil.  Cook until mushrooms release their liquid and onions are softened but still slightly crunchy in the middle.  Set aside mushrooms and onions and return skillet to medium-high heat with another tablespoon of olive oil.  Add zucchini and summer squash and season with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Cook until the vegetables just begin to soften.  They will continue to cook inside the burrito and overcooked squash is icky.  Once they are done, add them to the plate with the mushrooms and onions.

To prepare the garnishes, simply combine the onion, cilantro, and tomato and set aside.  To assemble the burritos, I usually set up a burrito bar and let people add their own fillings.  I didn’t include rice in this recipe because I think it is kind of unnecessary.  But feel free to add any Mexican or Spanish rice to the filling options.  Inside my burritos, I like to put pinto beans, vegetables, cojita queso, and some salsa.  I then top them with enchilada sauce and lots of jack cheese.  To make life easier, I usually just microwave them at this point to get all of the cheese melted.  If you wanted to prepare a whole pan, you could put them in the oven at 350 for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese melts.  When they are hot, top them generously with all the garnishes.  I put sour cream as an optional topping since I don’t usually include it.  Omitting it makes the dish slightly healthier although I’m sure that is somewhat negated by the amount of cheese I like to use.