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This move opened up a whole new culinary world for me, Mexican Food. My good friends, Doreen and Bud Sims, had moved to Phoenix in 1969. When I came out to Arizona to visit them in Feb of 1977 I fell in love with it. We were having a very bad winter in New Jersey. Snow was piled up into the middle of the street by the snow plows, I kid you not. When I got out of work the locks would be frozen on the car door but in Arizona it was 90 degrees in Feb.
Doreen introduced me to Salsa, Guacamole with Chips and all other exciting dishes of Mexican Food. I fell in love with Tacos, Chilies Rellenos, Cheese Crisp, which I like to call Mexican Pizza, and Green Corn Tamales. Nothing is better than a homemade tamale. Making Tamales on Christmas Eve is a tradition Mexicans hold dear. And if you are as lucky as I was, you have Mexican friends who will share them with you. Oh, and I can’t forget dessert, creamy and rich Mexican Flan. It’s a good thing for me that I loved these new culinary delight because you could not get Italian Food in Arizona. Nor could you get the right ingredients to make. It was culture shock for me. They had nothing in the grocery stores except Ragu and some off brand pastas. I am not kidding either. If you wanted a sandwich with Genoea Salami, Provolone Cheese, Hot Ham or even Taylor pork roll, you could forget about it.
You could not even get a Thomas English muffin, Drakes cakes not even a veal cutlet. When my parents would come to visit I would have them bring me these items and I stocked my freezer. I don’t think the people who lived in Arizona ever heard of a Bagel or Provolone in the 70's. I had to go through withdrawal. Thank god things have changed and around 20 years ago we started getting real food (Italian food and other ethnic foods) available to us. Now we have everything just like real people on the East Coast. Except you can’t get good fresh sea food here. And I have not found a Pizza or Chinese Food in Arizona that can hold a candle to the East Coast, believe me I have tried. I had to force myself to stop at every Chinese and Pizza Restaurant between my home and my job looking for the "one" and after eating hundreds I still haven't found the "one" yet. I guess I will just have to keep tasting. Oh the Hell of it all.
So what the hell 'when in Rome', I knew nothing about making Mexican Food in 1978 but I was determined to learn. I bought many Mexican food cookbooks but the best recipes I found were from a Mexican woman I worked with back in the 80’s. Even my Mexican friends enjoy the food thatI have learned to make. Mama and Papa came for a visit and Mama fell in love with the Chili Rellenos.
The recipe for shredded beef that I put in tacos and burritos also came from a Mexican lady that I worked with. I was suprised how easy it was to make and it had right seasoning and flavor. I am sharing some of these recipes with you right here and now. I have so many I can’t share them all at once but I will give you a few to get started. If you want a specific recipe let me know and I will be glad to email it to you if I have it.
Salsa
2 cups of canned chopped tomatoes do not drain ( Honestly I use fresh Roma tomatoes of which I remove the seeds and chop) I think it makes for a better taste.
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, Minced
1 can of diced green chilies (4 ounces)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon Wine vinegar
1 green pepper, diced
1 teaspoon chili powder
3 teaspoons hot sauce, you can choose the degree of hot you want
4 tablespoons of chopped fresh cilantro, don't leave this out
Mix all ingredients together and cover and refrigerate over night so all the flaors blend together.
I like my Salsa chunky but if you want it to be a finer texture put in blender for a few seconds. Serve with Corn Chips.
Guacamole Dip
2 large avocadoes
1 large tomato, chopped
¼ cup onion, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon tabasco sauce
½ cup sour cream
Peel and remove pit from avocados. Mash them with a fork. In bowl combine the avocados with all other ingredients. Do not leave out the lemon juice it not only adds flavor but it is a must to keep the avocado from turning black. Cover and chill for several house or overnight. Serve with corn chips.
Cheese Crisp
Large Flour Tortillas ( you choose how many you wish to make)
Melted butter
Grated Medium Cheddar cheese shredded
Chopped Green Onions
Warm the flour tortillas under broiler for one minute. Remove and brush the tortillas with melted butter. Sprinkle generously with grated cheddar cheese. Place under broiler just until cheese melts. Remove from broiler and sprinkle with green onions. Serve immediately with Salas on the side.
Shredded Beef
1 Bottom Round Roast (approx. 3 lbs)
2 cups water
4 garlic cloves
Salt and Pepper
1 package of Taco Seasoning
Put Roast in large pot or Dutch oven. Add water salt pepper and garlic. Bring to boil and then let simmer for 3 hours. Take meat out of pot and shred it. Do not drain off the water. Put meat back in the pot with the water and add the Taco seasoning. Mix well. It is now ready to use as taco filling or to make Burritos or Enchalads.
Mexican Flan
8 eggs
2/3 cup of granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
3 ½ cups evaporated milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
½ cup light brown sugar
Beat eggs until well blended, add sugar and salt. Beat in evaporated milk and vanilla.
Sprinkle brown sugar into bottom of a loaf pan and gently pour in the custard mixture. Place pan in shallow baking pan filled with hot water. Just enough to come about ½ of an inch on the loaf pan.
Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Refrigerate overnight. To remove the flan from pan run a knife around the edges and turn out onto a pretty serving platter.
To make this dessert even better when serving place a layer of light brown sugar over the top and put under broiler and lightly brown it and serve immediately. Yum O
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