Posole stew with black beans

Posole is a cool and healthy alternative to plain old corn - it's been treated to make it all plumped up. You can get it canned or dried, in blue or white varieties.

In a heavy pan, brown 2 chicken thighs, diced, in 3 T oil, remove then:
Saute 2 medium onions, chopped until golden
Add 1 smoked ham hock and the browned chicken thighs
1 T Mexican oregano
1 T cumin
2 t coriander
3 chipotles, dried or canned
1 ancho chile
Juice of 1 lime
1 1/2 cups dried posole (from a latin market, health food or specialty store)
1 bottle of fume blanc or sauvignon blanc
6 cans of chicken broth or equivalent home made if you're ambitious

Bring it to a boil and simmer for 2 hours. Remove the ham hock and retrieve the bit of ham under all that fat - shred the meat and add back into the stew - it's worth the effort. Add 2 cans of black beans (if using dried beans, soak overnight and add those with the posole) and simmer another 1/2 hour.

It's done when the posole is al dente - firm but yielding, and the chicken is completely shredded.

Can one eat healthy outside of the home?

This site helps answer that question. Search for restaurants in your area that offer healthier choices.

Francesco in Miami

On the way down to Chile we took an early flight to Miami and rented a car so we could bomb around and eat a decent meal before the grueling overnight flight to Santiago. The semi-squalid Latin American that we go to was shut down, so we had to figure out where we could get a decent meal in an unpretentious setting. Geoff did a little homework and came up with Francesco at 325 Alcazar Avenue in Coral Gables. It's a small place with fantastic Peruvian-Italian cuisine. We split the Ceviche 3-sauce sampler; I'm not sure which three sauces we got, but they had Francesco style sauce, mild aji amarillo sauce and spicy rocoto sauce, and traditional Peruvian Style sauce. Geoff got the Riso Nero Con Fruitti Di Mare: rice,scallops and shrimp with squid ink sauce. I got the Corvina Con Pulpo A La Piedra: grilled corvina (sea bass, but not what we think of as "Chilean" sea bass) filled with sauteed octopus topped with sesame-oyster sauce, with potato souffle. We ate very early, so service was good - it got a little slower as the place filled up, but they were always gracious. All the desserts looked really good, but I picked the Suspiro de Limeña (A Lima Sigh), a dessert that I enjoyed in Chile several times as well. I found this recipe at Peru Mucho Gusto and it looks pretty close, but I haven't tried it out - I'll let you know, or you can try it:

As in every art of love, a sigh will be got by he who knows how to prepare a Lima Sigh, sweet and tempting. A yoke of cooked sweetened and condensed milk is covered with a mixture of meringue, port wine, and a touch of cinnamon.


Suspiro a la Limeña (serves 4 people)

Ingredients:
1 can of sweetened, condensed milk
1 can of evaporated milk
3 egg yokes
3 egg whites
¼ cup of Port wine
¾ cup of sugar
Cinnamon powder
Vanilla

Preparations:
Make manjarblanco (caramelized milk paste) with the two types of milk constantly stirring them until it reaches the desired consistency. Then, remove from the heat. Next, add the yokes and stir to avoiding curdling. Then, add the vanilla. Make syrup with the sugar and the Port wine. Make a meringue by beating the egg whites until they are stiff. Then, pour a very thin stream of the hot syrup into the egg whites. Beat until it is cool. Serve the manjarblanco with a covering of meringue in a dessert bowl. Sprinkle with cinnamon powder.

View of Iglesia de San Francisco from the hotel

Santiago, an old, beautiful city with great food, magnificent sights, wine and danger around every corner. I almost prefer avalanches. Can't wait to go back.

Food gives me the Blues

Howard and the White Boys played up in Franklin last night, and it was a fabulous, fabulous performance. Fantastic, outstanding guitars. One of their songs, Booty and Barbecue is going on my food song playlist as soon as I track it down. If Franklin (north of Concord) isn't too much of a haul for you, and you love good blues, check out the schedule at House Rockin Productions; major acts in a small venue - it's not advertised, and the club is very small - there were about 100+/- people there last night. It was a blast. The Asylum Street Spankers are playing up there November 18th, another cool band with a food song on my playlist, Hot Lunch. Their recent most recent cd, Mommy Says No! features the song You Only Love Me for My Lunchbox. I can relate. They do a cover of Nine Inch Nails' Closer that I'd like to hear.

Recipes for Lamers

If you're lame at cooking like I am, and recipe cards and books don't cut the mustard, this is the site for you. It's visual recipes, photos taken step by step. It's chef show & tell.