Cream Cheese Frosting

Most cream cheese frosting recipes that I have found start out by calling for a half cup of butter and a cup of cream cheese. For me, this just makes way too much frosting that is way too rich. I am still working on making the smallest amount of frosting possible, because I don't like it to be spread too thickly and I don't like frosting leftovers. 

1 tbl. butter

2 tbl. cream cheese

1/2 to 1 cup powdered sugar

Tiny pinch of salt

1 tsp. vanilla

Just enough milk to make the frosting the right consistency

I just whip the butter, cream cheese, salt, and vanilla together in the mixer bowl, then add enough powdered sugar to make it look right, alternating with small bits of milk. I wish I could be more exact for you, but that's the kind of cook that I am.

Meatloaf Muffins with BBQ Sauce

Dang you, Rachael Ray, appearing on every box in the supermarket! How can I stay mad at you when you invented this recipe? Individual meatloaf servings ARE brilliant, after all. This was a favorite dinner of mine and Marsha's.

--1 2/3 to 1 3/4 pounds ground sirloin
--1 medium yellow onion, chopped fine
--2 ribs of celery, chopped fine
--1 green bell pepper, chopped fine
--1 large egg plus a splash of milk, beaten
--1 cup plain bread crumbs
--2 tablespoons grill seasoning (recommended: Montreal Steak Seasoning by McCormick)
--1 cup BBQ sauce
--1/2 cup mild tomato salsa
--1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
--Non-Stick Spray or Olive Oil to grease 12-muffin tin

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Put beef, onion, celery, green pepper, beaten egg with milk, and bread crumbs in a bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix together the BBQ sauce, salsa and the Worcestershire sauce. Pour half the sauce mixture into the meat mixture. Mix together with your hands. Fill greased muffin tin with the meatloaf mixture. Spoon the remaining sauce over each of the individual meatloafs. Bake about 20 minutes, until the meat is cooked through.

A Note on Red Chile Powder

Here in New Mexico we can buy big one pound bags of red chile powder in any grocery store--they come in several "heat levels" from mild to extra hot. I have also made my own chile powder from the dry red chiles in my edible ristra (string of dried red chile pods) by putting them in the blender, but you have to be careful. The powder can get into the air and then you are sneezing and sneezing. And some ristras are made to be decorative only, and have some kind of coating on them--obviously those chiles are non-edible.

Most grocery stores everywhere sell small bags of dried red chiles. You could use those to make a powder. Of course, you could also order your own bags of fresh red New Mexican chile powder from these sources: Made in New Mexico or from Hatch, New Mexico.

On the other hand, you could just take a trip to New Mexico and stock up on all your chile needs, but some people have trouble leaving. See the discussion on the City-Data Forum called "Caution/Warning to People Visiting New Mexico! You May Not Want to Leave!"

Whole Wheat Bread

1 tbl. dry yeast

1/4 cup warm water

2 1/2 cups hot water

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 tsp. salt

1/4 cup oil

3 cups stirred whole wheat flour

5 cups sifted all purpose white flour

Soften yeast in warm water. Combine hot water, sugar, salt, and oil; cool to lukewarm. 

Stir in whole wheat flour, one cup of the white flour, and the yeast mixture; beat well. Add enough of the remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough. Turn out onto floured surface and knead well. 

Shape dough into a ball, place in lightly greased bowl, cover, let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 1 1/2 hours). Shape into 2 loaves, place in greased loaf pans, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 1 1/4 hours). 

Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes. Cover with foil for the last 20 minutes if the top is getting too brown. 

Meg's Red Chile Sauce

I'll leave it up to my mom to talk about the many uses for chile sauces. I can only pretend to be knowledgeable about New Mexico cooking.

This recipe was handwritten for Marsha (a Santa Fe native) by her mother Maria Elena (Meg). Marsha says that she can't quite make it right, though it always tasted great to me. I just don't think anything can ever taste as good as the memory of a mom's cooking.

--3 tbsp red chile powder*
--1 tbsp wheat or oat flour
--3 tbsp olive oil
--Water
--Salt
--Garlic powder

Heat olive oil in a small saucepan on low heat. Add chile powder** and flour. Mix thoroughly "until cooked aroma is reached" (about one to one-and-a-half minutes). Slowly add water until the sauce reaches whatever consistancy you desire. Add salt and garlic powder to your taste. Simmer for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool to desired temperature.

*Use REAL red chile powder, something freshly ground. Mom? A little help?
** When cooking with hot peppers, be careful not to breathe in the fumes. I would recommend wearing a mask. And don't touch your eyes!

Homemade Vanilla

Vanilla extract can be seen in the grocery store these days for over $20 a bottle! At those prices it will be well worth your time to make a relatively inexpensive batch of homemade vanilla. 

1 bottle cheap vodka 

Several vanilla beans, split lengthwise

Simply put the beans into the vodka, shake well, and store for a few weeks, shaking every once in a while. When the color darkens, you've got some great vanilla for cooking and baking. 

I add fresh beans every once in a while, but I leave the old ones in. Top up with fresh vodka from time to time. 

Chicken Diablo Sandwich

Coral Diner in Washington Heights NYC used to serve this sandwich. It's not for the faint of heart. My stomach can't handle hot foods like it used to, but if it could I'd eat this sandwich right now.

--2 chicken breasts
--Salt and Pepper
--1 green pepper, coarsely chopped
--1 small yellow onion, coarsely chopped
--3 cloves garlic, chopped
--1 jalapeño pepper, seeds removed and sliced in rings
--Olive Oil
--Small pat of Butter
--2 sandwich rolls, toasted and spread with mayonnaise

Season the chicken breasts with a little salt and pepper, then pan-fry in a little olive oil until cooked through. Set the chicken aside. Add a little more olive oil and the pat of butter to the pan. When the butter has melted, add the pepper, onion, garlic, and jalapeño pepper and saute until the vegetables have cooked. Turn off the heat and add the chicken back to the pan, just to coat it in the juices. Place a chicken breast and some of the veggies onto each of the toasted and mayonnaised sandwich rolls.

Makes 2 sandwiches.

Brown Sugar Syrup

We used to live in maple sugar country. Every spring at just about this time, the days get above freezing, while the nights stay below freezing. This temperature pattern makes the sap rise in the sugar maples, and we would begin to see the old buckets appear on each old sugar tree.

The more modern sugar people use a purple plastic tubing that brings the sap from each tree to a central collection point. No matter how the sap is gathered, it is slowly simmered in the sugar house, usually over a wood fire. It takes 20 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup.

Well, we are far away from those maple trees now, and the syrup imported from back east is very expensive here. Even though our good friends, Jon and Gale, brought us this pitcher as a gift from New Hampshire (it comes from Great Bay Pottery, by the way), I'm afraid it rarely contains the real thing here at our home in New Mexico.

This brown sugar syrup, though not as complex in flavor, makes an acceptable substitute. It goes well with pancakes and waffles.

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup water

Tiny pinch of salt

1 tsp. vanilla

Stir the sugar, water, and pinch of salt in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, watching it carefully so it doesn't boil over. Turn the heat down and simmer the syrup for five minutes or so. Remove pan from heat, stir in the vanilla.

Makes about 1 cup.

Tomoe Bean Sprouts

For 10 years I've observed the ever-present line outside the tiny Tomoe Sushi in Greenwich Village, NYC. I'd always heard that it serves some of the best sushi in New York, but could never bring myself to stand in line (impatient New Yorker that I am). Last fall, my friend Jessi and I passed by the restaurant on a slow night and stepped inside for dinner. Now we'll happily wait in a very long line to eat there.

After seating you, the waiter brings a hot rolled-up towel for your hands and a tiny plate. Here is my version of what's on the plate (a larger portion, of course):

--2 cups of fresh bean sprouts, well rinsed and shaken dry
--4 tbsp rice vinegar
--1 tbsp light soy sauce
--1 tsp sesame oil
--1 tbsp fine sugar

Poach the bean sprouts for 1 minute by putting them in rapidly boiling water. Strain and rinse with cold water. Drain well.

Whisk rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar together. Toss mixture with the bean sprouts and serve.