Category: San Luis Obispo

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Rogelio’s Tamale Pie

The best thing about Tamale Pie is the left overs!

Laura grew up with a wonderful Tamale Pie and I wanted to recreate it for her!

           Rogelio’s Tamale Pie!

There are two parts to a Tamale Pie: the topping and the filling! I have always thought of a Tamale Pie as a way to make a bunch of Tamales without all of the detailed preparation. For hungry people this is the answer.

Some time ago, I did the same thing by making a   BULK recipe of  chili relleno.

 

           The Topping!

You might have to play around with the moisture ( adding more cream or a little milk) to have the right texture ( to be able to spread the mixture over the  filling)… so here is what worked for me:

2 cups corn meal

Around 24 ounces cream

2 cups of your favorite cheeses ( I have three favorite Mexican Cheeses)

Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

Cook over low heat until thickened… add ½ – 1 cup chopped Cilantro

 

A little extra time makes it perfect!

     The Filling

          Task 1

This is the time consuming part for me as I like to sauté everything completely.

cook until done: 1 pound diced steak & 1 pound ground sausage with 1 teaspoon each of:   salt, black pepper and garlic powder

dice and sauté until ‘clear’ one large sweet onion and about 3 tablespoons chopped garlic

set aside

 

          Task 2

Combine the following in a large pan:

12 ounce creamed corn
28-30 ounces of tomato sauce
3 teaspoons Spanish Paprika
1 teaspoon Chipotle powder ( or sauce)
8 fire roasted peppers (sliced and chopped)

½ cup sliced olives

2 tablespoons Baker’s sugar
add 1 cup of the topping
1 cup Mozzarella cheese( or more!)
add salt , pepper  and garlic powder to taste

Cook over a low heat about 10- 15 minutes

Fold in 3 cups of Hominy and add the meat and onions

 

          Task 3

Pour filling into baking dish and spread topping over the top of the filling

Bake at 350 degrees for around 40 minutes

 

I hope you enjoy this as much as Laura did!

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yummy hawaiian style bread

Consistently wonderful Hawaiian style Bread

Well, I have be trying to deconstruct various types of so-called Hawaiian style breads without satisfaction. So, I decided to start off from scratch and make the bread to my own tastes and I came up with the following recipe:

MAKING THE DOUGH

1) To be frank, I have manually kneaded dough too many times to mention and I short cut the process using a bread machine for getting the dough ready for baking. I don’t like the results of baking the bread with the machine… but mixing is a wonder.

2) Place 2 eggs in a measuring cup and add enough water to reach the 1 1/2 cup line. Pour into bread machine mixing container.

3) Add 1 tsp salt ( I used Iodized for health reasons)

4) Add a heaping cup of powdered sugar

5) Add 4 cups of bread flower

6) top off with 2 teaspoons of dry yeast ( 2 packages)

7) set bread machine to make 2lbs of dough

8) After machine completes its cycle, divide dough and place in 2 butter greased bread pans  and allow to rise for 1 hour. Brush the top of the bread with a beaten egg mixed with a small amount of water.

9) Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

My daughter Karla is the most demanding of bread connoisseurs … but this is her favorite.

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twice cooked leg of lamb with black rice and crouton stuffing

the secret is cooking it 'twice'

One of the little secrets I have found in having a larger cut of lamb taste terrific is to boil it prior to baking, grilling or barbecuing it! Boiling ( or simmering)  and a little physical treatment is a much better tenderizer than acid treatments ( like citrus) or enzyme pastes ( like pineapple, kiwi or papaya ) which reduce lamb to mush.

Have you ever wondered why you must sear your meat? Most people like to claim it ‘locks in the juices’ of the meat prior to inclusion in a stew, which is partially true. However, in the history of culinary science there is a much better reason… the seared meat becomes more flavorful in what is referred to as the Maillard Reaction. (In 1912, chemist Louis-Camille Maillard in an attempt to reproduce biological protein synthesis discovered the reaction. The flavor is determined by the type of amino acid affected at about 309 degrees, which is significantly above boiling… which is why we sear meat prior to placing meat into a stew… or the meat is virtually flavorless.).

The nice thing about searing a boneless leg of lamb is that you can sear both sides. Having the inside seared has a big advantage in transmitting additional flavors to the stuffing!  I also sear the meat prior to boiling, then stuff the leg of lamb, ti it off , then roast!

the right stuffing sets off the dish perfectly and adds its own flavors to the course.

You may find that your stuffing might be too large for the leg of lamb, or the meat has shrunk a bit… well, place the stuffing in a ‘soup sock’ and wrap the meat around it as best you can. One advantage of the soup sock is that you can dip it into a liquid mixture of your choosing… chicken broth, butter and rosemary is one option.

Tender, moist and delicious with a nice spicy honey glaze on this wonderful lamb from Superior Farms.

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does ann coulter make you hot?

Click on the picture to read the article on Cal Coast News

I think it was Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev who said something about “placing a porcupine in someone’s pants.” If you haven’t tried it, it is such great fun! That is, fun for you , but not for them!

Bringing Ann Coulter into the heartland of radical academia is just like that. Although I am not sure that Osama Bin Laden ever spoke at Cal Poly (at least officially), I do remember seeing a disturbingly high number of pictures of him there.

In any event, Ann is coming to Cal Poly!

READ MORE HERE