Cookaholics Bulletin Board

I want to eat at Dave's.

Amy,

Thanks for recommending this cookbook!

I got it out of the library this week, and just made the "Simple Pepitas" recipe, with snapper and shrimp. It was great, and surprisingly easy.

The one problem was that I didn't put the lid on my food grinder quite right, and as a result had to clean about 1/3 of the sauce off the wall ...

I've made a couple of the adobos out of this book, and they're outstanding. Last night I made his Mole Poblano..omg, it was fantastic! I served it with roasted chicken, my black beans, rice and garlic collard greens. My nephew later told me I should live with them. lol...

Amy

Tried something that sounded interesting from this book today - the Guacamole with Chicharrón, p. 114. The author stated that it was his favorite of all the recipes he had tried, and I love chicharrónes, so I had to try it. Turns out, the chicharrón was almost unnoticeable, except for the stuff put on top for crunch. I was expecting much more flavor to come through. It was also somewhat dry, due to the fact that the chicharrónes stirred in absorbed a lot of moisture. Not bad, but a waste of chicharrón, IMO.

However, I also made another dish last week that turned out great - the Burnt Chipotle Chile Salsa - a.k.a. Salsa Negra - p. 82. Similar to Bayless' Salsa Negra in his Mexican Kitchen book, but made with Meco rather than morita chipotles, less sweet (though not considerable less, probably due to the onion), plus a touch of vinegar, which does not come through as such, just a slight tartness. It is also less hot, having less peppers/cup than the Bayless version. It cooked down to just under a cup, compared to 1 3/4 c, to get the same consistency.

We found it more useful than the Bayless version as a condiment; that is, spreading on a corn tortilla, then adding a simple taco filling, and maybe another salsa. I also tried it in one of my favorite recipes using the other, from the same Mexican kitchen book: Shrimp in Chipotle Sauce. Since this was slightly milder, I used the max. - 4 tb. - and it was delicious. Not sure if we liked it better - one friend suggested we have this again soon, and make it with both, so we can compare. I wonder if he really wanted to compare, or just have two more recipes of shrimp!

I'm lying in bed feeling too lazy to go down to my bookshelves, so I googled "Roberto Santibanez salsa verde" as I want to make some today and wanted to see his take on it.

Um, the man has a virtual cooking school (well, kind of) on YouTube. Kinda basic stuff, but good for those who are not really familiar with Mexican cooking.

Check it out.

Amy

Hello All,
I'm reviving this thread becuse I finally decided to order this book after some hesitation. My cooking has gone so stale lately. I really want to change it up and try something new. My experience with mexican cooking is very, very limited (CI Enchiladas Verdes), so I took the plunge. My step son just returned from doing a college exchange year in Mexico, so that also inspired mt to take on a challenge. He just loved the food down there. I was thinking about starting with the picture on the cover of the book, but I cannot seem to find a reference to that photo. I am thinking Adobo-Marinated Shrimp. Does that seem right to you guys????? Thanks and wish me luck.

Bored with my food, Karen

Yes, it's adobo-marinated shrimp. Take the plunge...it's a great book.

Have fun experimenting Karen!

Amy

OK,dumb question. Are the Chiles in the Adobo recipes supposed to be dried?

Yes, they are.

Amy

Jaxallie,

In the front section of the book, there's 5 pages of information on chiles, how to buy them and how to prepare them.