Cinco de Mayo

Chile Verde Roasted Pork Stew

September 18, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Since I had several pounds of shredded pork, I decided to make a stew out of the leftovers. This stew is an interpretation of a chile verde pork stew but with an addition of red chili flavors. Chile verde with pork is usually green and looks a lot like salsa verde. This stew has the flavors of a green chili with the addition of red chili flavors like paprika, chili powder, and ancho chilis. It turned out really well and I enjoyed all the layers of flavor this stew had. The recipe isn’t too difficult to throw together and it is a great way to use leftover pork roast. I recommend saving the bone from the pork shoulder and throwing it in this stew for added flavor.

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Chile Verde Pork Quesadillas

September 11, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I am lucky to live in an area with such a wide availability of ingredients used in tex-mex recipes. My local grocery store, for example, has a 4 ft deep box full of tomatillos, tomatoes, and every pepper both fresh and dried on display. Ever since I tried salsa verde I have been a huge fan of its sweet and sour flavor and how good it tastes on pork, chicken, fish, etc. Because of its versatility I can enjoy it on a lot of different Mexican dishes. My favorite cut of meat lately has been pork shoulder, which cooks so nicely on low heat over a few hours. I buy a larger weight and double my salsa verde recipe so I can have lots of leftovers too! The quesadillas were super tasty and not too difficult to throw together.

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Chile Verde Tamales de Pollo

July 15, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Tamales are a Mexican food made of masa (corn flour) and stuffed with any number of fillings. Tamales are an old food, meaning that it was probably eaten by Aztecs and Mayans as early as 8000 BC. Making them is a pretty involved process and it requires some time to get everything prepared and cooked–about 3-4 hours. I had a lot of fun making these, and when I was forming the dough into the corn husk I could picture someone from a different time and background doing this very same activity (which was pretty cool). The tamales turned out really well. The dough had a nice fluffy texture and the filling had a spicy, savory flavor. The filling was a tex-mex style shredded chicken and sweet corn. I seasoned the dough with cumin, paprika, and cinnamon. The chile verde was tasty and pretty simple to make too. I topped the tamales with a little monterey jack cheese and sour cream.

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Roasted Corn and Red Pepper Salsa

July 9, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

This corn salsa is perfect for the summer sweet corn season. I made this to go with some Chile Verde Chicken Tamales and the pairing went together well. The salsa was mostly sweet with just the right amount of heat. It would go nicely on burritos and tacos too.

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Mole Chili con Carne

May 20, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Since I enjoyed the pork mole negro I made a while ago I thought I would try it in a chili. Originally I started with a basic recipe for meat chili and it eventually evolved into both a mole and a chili recipe. I’ve always thought the flavors in mole would go well in a chili and it turns out I was right because this was very tasty! The flavors of the chili were multi-layered and complex (probably because of the 20+ ingredients in it). This recipe is ideal for a large slow cooker but a sauce pot on low heat would work fine too.

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Salsa Verde Carnitas

February 16, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I had a 3 lb. pork butt roast in the freezer and thought it would be put to good use as Carnitas. Carnitas, or “Little Meat,” is a kind of roasted pork used in Mexican food as a filling for burritos, tacos, and tamales. A great dish is all about the contrasting flavors and textures and I was very happy with how this recipe turned out. The pork was tender, yet crispy since it roasted in the oven. The sour salsa and the savory pork was a great contrast of flavors too. I filled the tacos with a little monterey jack cheese, sour cream, pico de gallo, and guacamole. Luckily, I have a lot of leftovers so I look forward to having this again!

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Pork with Mole Negro Sauce

February 11, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Making a mole sauce is a bit time consuming and some ingredients are difficult to find. I knew it would be a fun challenge so I decided to give it a shot. The mole turned out well and I liked the nutty, spicy chocolate flavor of the sauce. The pork was excellent with those flavors. A lot of mole recipes are super complex and involved so I’ll try to make this one a little easier to follow.

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Chicken Quesadilla with Caramelized Onions

December 24, 2010 by The Partial Ingredients

I had two leftover chicken thighs from the roasted Cajun chicken so I thought I would use them for chicken quesadillas. I once ordered a quesadilla at this great restaurant that used Manchego cheese and caramelized onions. It was really good so I thought I would try to recreate it. Although I only had cheddar cheese the quesadilla turned out pretty well. I would like to try this recipe out with some of the more tasty Mexican cheeses instead of just plain cheddar.

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Chipotle Corn Chowder

November 21, 2010 by The Partial Ingredients

This is not the typical creamy corn chowder but a spicier, smokier corn stew. Unfortunately the season for good, fresh ears of corn has passed so I settled with store-bought bags of sweet corn. This recipe is perfect for sweet corn season and makes a great summer/fall soup. A fresh jalapeno is a good flavor addition to the smokey chipotle chili powder. I had some green bell peppers so I added those in for some extra veggies. I balanced the spiciness by adding sour cream and cilantro for garnish.

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Chicken Fajitas

November 13, 2010 by The Partial Ingredients

What can be said about chicken fajitas besides the fact they are so good? Well, apparently the name ‘chicken fajita’ makes no sense. I learned today that the word ‘fajita’ actually refers to a cut of beef called a skirt steak. So, what else can be said about chicken steaks? Well, they are versatile and a bit different than burritos, which usually do not have the grilled peppers and onions. To me that is what makes a fajita, not what kind of meat is in it (said the gringo). I usually grill the chicken but this time I decided to broil it and I was pretty happy with the results. The chicken was extra tender since I only broiled it for maybe 7 minutes. Next time I will try this out with the more linguistically correct grilled skirt steak.

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