Mijo's Lengua

So, right now you are either smiling or gagging. For people who are not familiar the culture, it's almost like a dirty secret when you admit to eating and enjoying menudo (cow stomach and pig's feet), chicharrones (pork skins), sesos (brains) and a number of other interesting parts of an animal's body. Kinda gross, right? Actually they're all quite tasty when cooked and spiced just right.

Beef Tongue is a very soft beef that can be used in many dishes. This is my mother's recipe for the Lengua dinner she prepares for my brother's birthday every year. She told me this off the top of her head so feel free to play with the measurements of the ingredients, as I guessed what they might be as best I could.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 2-3 Lb Beef Tongue
• 1 Large Onion (half chopped)
• 1/4 cp Cilantro
• 1 cp Sliced Mushrooms
• 2 Tbls Chopped Garlic
• 1 14oz can Stewed Tomatoes
• 1 14oz. can Tomato Sauce
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Red Wine (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:
Wash fresh tongue and place in 6 quart pot, cover completely with water and bring to a boil. Add 1/2 onion, salt and pepper. Place on simmer and add more water as it evaporates, keeping the tongue covered until no longer pink, about 45 minutes per pound of tongue. It will be done when it can be easily pierced with a fork.

Remove from water and let rest until cool enough to handle. Peel the skin off the tongue, trim the fat, and cut into 1/2 slices.

In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Saute chopped onions, garlic, mushrooms and cilantro. Add stewed tomatoes and oregano with a little flour to thicken. Add 1/2 cup or more of tomato sauce to make enough to serve over meat. Add 1/3 cup red wine to sauce if desired. Simmer for 5-8 minutes.

Places slices on plate with rice, beans and serve with salad.

!Buen Provecho!

Chipotle Tacos

INGREDIENTS

2 ½ pounds bone-in pork butt
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons chopped canned chipotle chilies
12 small corn tortillas
2 15 oz. ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups chopped green onions
2 avocados, pitted, peeled, diced
Lime wedges
Salsa of your choosing


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place pork on baking sheet, then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast pork until brown and very tender, about two hours.* Once out of the oven, set the pork aside and allow to cool, and then shred. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until tender. Add shredded pork, cilantro, and chopped chipotle chilies with their sauce to the skillet and stir until heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Wrap tortillas in aluminum foil and heat in oven for ten minutes. Meanwhile, stir beans in saucepan over medium-low heat until heated, then mash the beans so that they are still chunky but also creamy. Remove from heat.

To assemble tacos, first spread the mashed beans on each tortilla, top with the pork mixture, then sprinkle with green onions and avocados. Serve with salsa and a lime wedge. *Make sure meat is fully cooked before shredding.

Alma-Rita Cocktail

Hola!
Hispanic Heritage Month kicks off with ALMA awards airing this Friday hosted by Eva Longoria Parker and George Lopez, honorees Salma Hayek and Oscar De La Hoya, as well as a bevy of popular Latino artists including Rita Moreno who will award Ricardo Montalban a posthumous Lifetime Achievement award.This refreshing cocktail is perfect additon to your night of glamour during the Alma Awards.


INGREDIENTS:
1 oz. Tequila*
1 oz. Orange Liqueur*
3 oz. Tropicana Pure Valencia with Mango Juice
Fresh mango slices
Sugar

INSTRUCTIONS:
Rim your margarita glass with sugar. Add some ice to the glass, and shake the tequila, orange liqueur, and Tropicana Pure Valencia Juice in a martini shaker. Pour drink over the ice, and garnish with a slice of mango. Alternatively, you can blend the ice and drink mixture together for a frozen ALMArita!

*Liquor is optional. Simply replace the tequila and orange liqueur with a sparkling citrus beverage, such as Sierra Mist, then mix and enjoy!

Aviation Cocktail

Once you pick up a rare bottle of the Crème de Violette liqueur you'll want to try the Aviation Cocktail as well which became all the rage when man first started to fly at the turn of the century.
INGREDIENTS
2 ounces gin
½ ounce lemon juice
⅓ ounce Maraschino liqueur
⅙ ounce Crème de Violette

DIRECTIONS
Combine the first three ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake to chill well, then strain into a cocktail glass. Drizzle the Crème de Violette into the glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

Blue Moon Cocktail

Hola!
Forty years ago today on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first men to walk on the moon and let's not forget to give kudos to fellow astronaut Michael Collins who was the command module pilot for Apollo 11.

I started thinking about our fascination with the moon and every moon-related product there is. On this occasion you can relive the moment with the many specials on TV tonight or watch a space related movie such as Apollo 13 with a moon pie in one hand and a Blue Moon Cocktail in the other.

Crème de Violette is an elusive lavender-hued liqueur, with the fleeting taste and aroma of spring violets, from which it's made or so I'm told? This liqueur is so difficult to find I have yet to taste this elixir. If you venture to make this drink let me know how it tastes.

INGREDIENTS
2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce Crème de Violette
1/4 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice, strainedcocktails out of this little bottle

DIRECTIONS
Shake or stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass;
Garnish with a twist of lemon.

Tortillas de Harina

This recipe for Tortillas comes from Texas Rolling Pins. It looks like how we make them at home, but of course we don't go by a recipe, so I'm "borrowing" this one to share with you. Check out their website at www.TexasRollingPins.com where you can purchase everything you need to make homemade tortillas.

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups unbleached flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp.  salt
4-6 Tbsp. vegetable shortening or lard
about 1 1/4 cups warm water

INSTRUCTIONS:
Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add vegetable shortening or lard. Or use a combination of half lard, half shortening. 
Use a fork or a pastry cutter to cut in the shortening or just do it the old fashioned
way and use your hands.

Next add warm water a little at a time until your dough is soft and not sticky. You do not need very hot water. Knead the dough for a few minutes.

Now you will pull off pieces of dough to form about 12 small dough balls. Let them rest for at least 10 minutes, longer if you like.

This is a good time to heat up the comal.You will want to set it at medium to high heat. If it is too hot the tortillas will cook too fast.

Now you can roll out the dough with your tortilla rolling pin or palote. It is a good idea to dust each ball with a little flour just before you roll them out. Lay the palote in the center of the dough ball and roll up, center and roll down. It is good to lift the dough and turn it.  Again, rolling pin in the center and roll. Roll them out fairly thin.

Lay your tortilla on the hot comal. It takes just a few seconds to cook. Flip to the other side. When they are done it should have lots of nice brown speckles. Place them in a towel. If you would like you can use a tortilla warmer to keep them warm longer. They are ready to be served!

Grilled Shrimp Piri Piri

The recipes I have included are from Ana Patuleia Ortins' Portuguese Homestyle Cooking which she has collected over the years from relatives and friends.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup hot pepper paste
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp finely chopped cilantro
1/4 cup white wine, lemon juice or wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound extra large shrimp, unpeeled, deveined
Wooden skewers presoaked in water 1/2 hour

DIRECTIONS:
Mix the first five ingredients in a bowl. Toss in the shrimp and give them a turn. Let stand ½ hour. Thread on the soaked skewers.

Place the skewered shrimp over medium coals and grill 1 ½ minutes. Turn over and grill the other side for 1 ½ minutes more, until the shrimp are lightly pink and start to curl.
Serve with tomato rice (see Portuguese Homestyle Cooking) on the side garnished with black Portuguese olives.

Ana's Tip: For this dish, you can sometimes get shrimp that has been deveined but the shells are left intact and are easy to peel. Keeping the shells on during grilling protects the shrimp from drying out.