Is there or could there be ,

Is there or could there be a new section in the forums created specifically for sharing of recipes, cooking instruction and or tips?
I have been cooking since I was 5 standing on a chair next to my Nana. I have also more or less been raised in a restaurant environment doing everything from washing dishes to running the kitchen and at one point was even the production supervisor for a local Honey Baked hams store.
I love to share what I know with people.
Or should I just ramble when I am in the mood in the OT or General sections?

just go for it, start posting in the "general" section, they better be good recipes and by good I mean tasty, otherwise I won't share my peruvian recipes!

Hey, one of the teachers I worked with for years is from Peru and she brought in this potato dish that was tinted yellow and served on lettuce with tomato and hard boiled egg in a layered patty shape. What is that called?
It was so good.

There are 2 types and they look really similar, Ocopa and papa a la huancaina, I personally LOVE both!!!!!

I think it is called Causa ... something. It was cold and it was just terrific.

No doubt that great potato dishes come from the Meca of the Potato.. Peru.

Here we go Inka.

http://m.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/how-to-make-a-causa-de-atun-palta-y-tomate-or-how-to-make-causa-with-tuna-avocado-and-tomato.html

It was very much like this appears however she did not have the Aji amarillo and used Tumeric to color/flavor the potato.

SOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry I stopped reading at potato and yellow and brought up my two favorite dishes!!!!!! I just got the tomato and layered part!!!!! the POWER of GOOD food in your brain, that is why I have always said that FOOD is my drug of choice!!!! well I do remember something call LSD in high school, that's another story!!

The famous "Causa" in my book it is delish but there are better!!!! in other words no matter what dish of peruvian cuisine you eat you will be amazed by the rainbow of flavors that you get.
Do not get me wrong I have personally tried food for soooo many countries, in their country of origin, and all are very varied and flavorful however, not 'cause I am from Peru, but the most diverse food is found in Peru, for example not only do we have excellent seafood but it is prepare so different from one town to the next, which might only be 20 miles away but it's base from a completely separate culture that lived back on the times of the inkas that recipes were past by word of mouth.
Too many words too little food, something must be done!!!! am getting hungry!!!!!
And yes in Peru be have over 3700 types of potatoes, one for every occasion and they have as many color as there are varieties and the flavors and textures are out of this world!!!!! the same for corn which be like to call CHOCLO!!!! (55 varieties of corn more than anywhere in the world)
AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!! I DO have aji amarillo!!!!!!!

Wow, did you need a tissue or 2 after that? Lol, note to self Inka trigger word "potato".
Thats awesome, food is one of the best thing that we get to do in our lives. Its funny because when we come down to PP the food is basically the same as whats on every corner here. Aside from the Molcajete, i havent had anything there i cant get on every corner here or that i havent been making myself since i was a kid. Although we cook much spicier north of the border Imo...
My salsa rock, actually have sold $100 worth the past 2 days at work. Looking forward to exchanges with gou Inka.

I run to look for my recipe book and guess what???? I forgot it in RP but we'll be there tomorrow and I will put my first recipe for you to try and yes, you guess it, it will involve POTATOES!!!!
However I will, in most cases, be typing in my recipes, I don't cut and paste or send links from internet, not saying that those recipes are bad just that mine are mmmmmmmmm, kind of a family recipes and been tested and tasted many times, with that said lets make this "recetario" more of a proven to be worthy of cooking rather than I can buy that at OXXO at lunch type!!
We have tried this before and did not work, I guess 'cause there was some type of push to make a book??? don't remember, lets just get some recipes here and down the road if there are enough for a book then someone on the book department can worry about it, lets worry about eating good rather than reading!!!

InkaRoads said:

I run to look for my recipe book and guess what???? I forgot it in RP but we'll be there tomorrow and I will put my first recipe for you to try and yes, you guess it, it will involve POTATOES!!!!
However I will, in most cases, be typing in my recipes, I don't cut and paste or send links from internet, not saying that those recipes are bad just that mine are mmmmmmmmm, kind of a family recipes and been tested and tasted many times, with that said lets make this "recetario" more of a proven to be worthy of cooking rather than I can buy that at OXXO at lunch type!!
We have tried this before and did not work, I guess 'cause there was some type of push to make a book??? don't remember, lets just get some recipes here and down the road if there are enough for a book then someone on the book department can worry about it, lets worry about eating good rather than reading!!!

Please post it

Conch Fritters: anyone who has ever hung out in the Florida Keys will remember all the fritter shacks. They are now hard to find since the conch snail is a protected species in USA. But, this is Mexico ! Conch/sea caracol meat is occasionally found in some markets, regardless of how many remain in the sea. Over the last 10 years we have tried many recipes, but this one seems to be the most foolproof ( read simple ):
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/conch-fritters/
Variations: skim milk makes no difference, egg substitute is unperceivable, whole wheat flour adds some character, and more garlic is always a good idea! Deep fry if you want, but oven baking with no oil works well if you add a tablespoon of olive oil to the mixture before forming the patties. Pan frying with almost no oil also provides a crispy exterior. Add more finely chopped veggies as you wish. Extra batter keeps for several days in a cold fridge and the cooked patties reheat easily. NOTE: Choose an honest fish merchant with an accurate scale when you buy. This will make the fritters taste much better.

You replaced all the good stuff! lol, j/k, looks good.

I am going to start simple and what I will be posting will be to some unconventional ways of making some old standards. Please be patient and hang in there because this will all lead to something fantastic.

Lets start by making and perfecting a few core elements.

First a roux.
A improperly made roux can make or break your run of the mill gravies. This may seem obvious but, I thicken my "Chili Colorado" with a roux instead of the standard way of coating your meat with flour which makes for a very lumpy or loose sauce. If you learn to make your roux properly you will have the silkiest red chili sauce you have ever had.

Roux,
1 stick of unsalted butter and 1/4 cup of all purpose flour. Use a small sauce pan. Some people bake them, I have found this to be more of a hassle.
Slowly melt the butter, add flour and mix. I use chop sticks to mix. Low and slow is the name of the game. There are two purposes to this process. 1 is to cook the "raw" flavor of the flour out and the other is to cook off the water in the butter.

Here is the deal, the lighter the roux the more thickening power it has. The darker it is the better it tastes. I have found that a light tan colored roux works best and tastes great. You do not want to walk away for long periods of time, mix often.

Time is irrelevant, you will know when it is done when the frothy bubbles (water) are no longer present, the texture is that of warm peanut butter and it will often smell like buttered popcorn.

Once it is done remove from heat and let it cool, not cold but room temperature. When thickening anything you always add cool to hot or hot to cool. Never add hot to hot. I always add cool roux when I am thickening. I often remove the roux from the pan and put it into a large coffee mug. It cools faster than leaving it in the pan. Set aside.





Next, Red chili Puree.
Let me start by saying, NEVER EVER EVER use red chili powder for anything, ever. They are bitter, and this is most likely because they contain stem pieces and certainly contain the seeds.

Red Chili Puree, Spiciness is subjective, hot to one person is not to another.
4 to 5 (8-10 total)of each mild and hot red chili pods depending on size. 4 to 5 whole garlic cloves peeled. Again depending on size. 3 tsp kosher salt, 2 tsp ground black pepper and 3 or 4 tsp of ground cumin(cumin can loose it's ooomf over time so a fresh batch will be stronger than older cumin therefore 3-4). Enough water to cover the chili's in the pot.

Now why not just use medium chili? Because they have different flavors and this way will get you the best of both.

Take the chili pods and break off the stems and shake out as many of the seeds as possible. Add chili and garlic to the pot with enough water to cover +1 inch. Bring to a simmer. Once in a while stir and push chilis in the water, they sometimes tend to float and this way you make sure the chili pods hydrate evenly.
Cook until the water has reduced by half and the chili's flesh tears easily with a fork or you can poke hole in the sides. If you need to add water during this process do it. The softer the chili's the better.

Note;
This part can be done in tandem with making your roux because once the ingredient are heating in the pot you just need to check them once in a while to make sure the chili pods are submerged.

When chili's are ready carefully add contents of pot to a blender and add the dry ingredients. Blend on High for as long as it takes so that the puree has no Grittiness to it. For me this is around 5-7 minutes. Be patient, it makes a difference.

Taste the puree, adjust salt and cumin as needed. If the puree tastes good full strength it will taste terrific in anything you use it in. Set aside.

End of part 1: Core

Part 2: Meat preparation and assembly.

Beef.
Roughly 2lbs. trimmed.
If I can find some good looking stew meat that requires very little sizing and trimming that's what I get. But if there are some good looking well priced London broils on the shelf and you have time to cut then that is a great way to go also.

After many years I have come up with a full proof way of getting tender tasty beef done in the shortest amount of time I can. After all, after work who has the time to slow cook a roast, trim and shred it right.

Add 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil or Lard if you wife will allow ;), and stew meat to large pot, lightly season with salt and pepper. Cook on medium high heat just until all the meat is evenly browned.
Using a slotted spoon remove meat from pan leaving liquid behind. Set aside.

Here's the deal, when you cook a steak or any other meat for that matter you are supposed to let the meat sit before serving. This relaxes the meat and makes it tender! This ends up being a short cut for slow cooking the meat for the same purpose. Let the meat cool on the counter.

Assembly;
Add 2 cups of water and 1 cube of Knorr beef bullion to the remaining liquid in the pot. Bring to a simmer. Add the Red Chili Puree. Bring back to a simmer.
Stir the roux as the contents will have settled. Once mixed the roux will have a honey like texture. Slowly whisk the roux into the simmering broth/puree mix. Once all roux has been incorporated lower the heat and add the meat to the pot.
Cook for an additional 30 minutes or more making sure to stir periodically.

Bam, Chili Colorado.

This should make roughly 2/3 of a gallon of very saucy meat. And once you get your timing down this will only take 30-40 minutes to have everything incorporated.

You can serve this just as a straight up red chili burrito. How my family likes to do it is, using beans and strained meat(cheese if you like of course), make a burrito and smother the burrito with extra sauce. Enchilada style. Sprinkle some cheese, chopped green onion and cilantro on top. The sauce is like velvet.

How I prefer to serve it is laydaled in a bowl with rice and beans on the side served with flour or corn tortillas. This is how most people used to order it at the restaurant.

End part 2.

I will have more recipes that use this same puree including;
Enchilada sauce, can you say Chila Quilas!
This sauce makes the best red chili Tamales,
And the best Texas style chili.

Hillbertoe, I meant the book will be at a later time not right away!!!!!! AQF

Plz no potatoes or veggies in the tamales like they do it here in Penasco. Can someone direct me to someone that makes good homemade tamales, menudo and bunuelos, Tks in advance.

Sorry Inka, it's just the way I am. I love to cook. And me being an OCD Scorpio I know no other way to do things.
If I didn't lay it out that way my mind would have just kept spinning.
I do everything the way I do for a reason and hopefully by the time you were done reading my post you already had a mental picture and possibly a watering mouth. I hope you all try it, I know you will never make it any other way again.
Alacrane, while I can appreciate variation in Tamales, up here in Phoenix, it's all about meat and masa.
For those of you in Mesa, I found a place a few years ago dont even know the name but it is on the north west corner of Brown and Horne. Great Tamles period. Its one of those kids running in the kitchen while moms makin the tamales places.

Their is a guy that sells tamales on the side of the church on the road to Ace very Good and clean little truck he sells from.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Hillbeartoe is a definite asset to this forum ! I hope he has some recipes that us resident Penasco foodophiles, accessing the locally available fresh produce, sea food, pork, beef and poultry, can hope to recreate. Please, Hillguy, puts names to the chilies you recommend so we can try to get it right.

JWT said:

Hillbeartoe is a definite asset to this forum ! I hope he has some recipes that us resident Penasco foodophiles, accessing the locally available fresh produce, sea food, pork, beef and poultry, can hope to recreate. Please, Hillguy, puts names to the chilies you recommend so we can try to get it right.

I thought I might get that question. I grew up using Barkers chilis up here. We will be down in 4 days and I will check super Ley to see if they have them though I don't think so. I will snap a picture tomorrow and edit it into this response.

Someday I will go into what the U.S. did to chili's but, the chilis I use are the mature Green chilis. They categorize them as different chilis but they are from the same plant, Green immature/red mature. Not the Ancho/Pablano or pasilla. Those chilis are best used for moles and tamale meat in my opinion.

However, I grew my own Sandias and omg they are so good. If you like I will bring some down so you can get them and seed them to grow your own.

I really appreciate your comment, thank you very much.

Edit 1:
I am having a hard time finding the documentation I read many years ago but it detailed how the US agriculture department went about categorizing the chilis being sold in the United states. Naturally they screwed everything up. By the time they were done they eliminated something like 80% of the varieties through selectively cultivating different varieties for thin skin, thick meat and heat type factors.
I can not remember exactly what year it was, late 1800's, but what started it was the debate of what is the difference between red and green chili's.
In the end they determined that even though they come from the same plant they will give them their own classification. Most of these were created at New Mexico State University .... I personally prefer Red and think Hatch Green is over rated. Anneheim are much better, and more or less came straight from Mexico. However my Sandias that I love so much are a product of this cross breading as well.
This may help, Ristras with the long, 5" or longer, chili is what kind we are talking about.

Hillbeartoe said:

Sorry Inka, it's just the way I am. I love to cook. And me being an OCD Scorpio I know no other way to do things.
If I didn't lay it out that way my mind would have just kept spinning.
I do everything the way I do for a reason and hopefully by the time you were done reading my post you already had a mental picture and possibly a watering mouth. I hope you all try it, I know you will never make it any other way again.
Alacrane, while I can appreciate variation in Tamales, up here in Phoenix, it's all about meat and masa.
For those of you in Mesa, I found a place a few years ago dont even know the name but it is on the north west corner of Brown and Horne. Great Tamles period. Its one of those kids running in the kitchen while moms makin the tamales places.

Just kidding, I know exactly what you mean!!!

Ocopa Antigua (Ocopa old recipe) this is a dish that dates back to the Inca days, there are as many variations as there are cooks in Peru, however this is the recipe that goes back many generations and as per grandma is the closest she has ever try to the real thing as far as she knows. This dish originally from the central-south area of Peru, Arequipa calling dips as its birth place.
Unfortunately there are a couple of the ingredients that you will not find in USA or Mexico, however substitute can be found and the taste is not lost completely and if you know a latino markets in PHX or LA you will find almost all of them.

As Hillbertoe mentions about the peppers, in this case is the same, Aji Verde, green in color and Aji Mirasol, orange in color (Capsicum baccatum) come from the same plant the difference is that they are picked at different stages of maturation and therefore the difference in color and slight in taste too, if you can't find it fresh you can buy the "Aji Amarillo" paste common in many latino markets to substitute both in this case and then you will have to add as much as you like taking in consideration that it does get a little hot once you add more than 1 teaspoon.

The other ingredient you might have problems finding is the Huacatay (tagates minuta) or peruvian black mint, well I know what you want to hear but sorry never been able to find it in USA the closest is marigold but I have not even dare to try it as a substitute. donno why must be my 9th sense!!! AQF

Ingredients: Serves 8 people

2 pounds of potatoes
1 pound yellow onions
6 ajies verdes with out seeds
1 branch of huacatay
1 pound of queso fresco
1 cup of milk
200 grm of roasted peanuts
4 ajies mirasol
salt
oil

Preparation:


boil potatoes, preferably mid to small size, fried the aji mirasol and roasted thru and the same with the onion finally chopped and the aji verde, be careful to toast everything to a golden color, DO NOT USE TO MUCH OIL TO GOLDEN, when done blend all this adding the cheese and thin it out with the milk, crush the peanuts in small pieces and mix everything then add the huacatay, salt and oil to your liking then blend for a few seconds, should be a mid to thin paste.

Once the potatoes are done you can peel or leave skin for better nutritional POW!!!! depending on papa size you leave it whole or cut in half, I serve it in a plate with a leaf of lettuce of your liking as a bed then set the potato or potatoes on lettuce, pour some ocopa on top of potatoes, cut on half a hard boil egg and set it on top of sauce and potatoes and if you like you can add sliced black olives on top, mainly for colorful looks.

This dish is served as a first plate in lunch or dinner but you can have 5 potatoes and fill yourself, it is entirely up to you!!

I hope you enjoy it!!!

Sounds good Inka. With the Huacatay does it taste minty or is it just reffered to as a mint. If you could describe the flavor I may be able to find something similar at the Asian market, because things they call mint taste nothing like what Americans consider "Minty".

Ty for your recipe I look forward to trying it out.

Edit: Sorry Inka my OCD is kickn in.
The peanuts, Dry roasted in the shell with or with out salt or raw peanuts roasted in a pan?

The Huacatay, although called "black mint" has no mint or very little, if any, minty flavor as you say, to tell you the true it has been so long since I have tried the plant by itself that I have no recollection of its flavor, it was so hard to find back a few years ago that I gave up looking for it, I have family in LA and they could not find it even in the peruvian markets, it is a touchy plant and does not grow here well, however there are species of the same family as all the marigold seem to be part of it but the flavors might be very different.

In regards to the peanuts it depends how you like it most, you can use the already roasted, no salt for better control of saltines, or you can roast your own in the pan

Yes, that is what I thought.
There are several Herbs at the Asian market that look similar to mint, that they call mint that are more Savory than minty. I destroyed a dish one time because I was impressed with the size of the Asian mint Leaves.... lol. Tasted nothing like "minty".
Ok Inka, ty again for the clarifications.

Puerto Penasco Clam (mussel) Chowder:

Prepare core ingredient Roux.

1 cup chopped carrot.
1 cup chopped onion.
2 large potatoes pealed and cubed or slice for quicker cooking.
2 cups broth, chicken or vegetable.
1.5 cups of milk.
1 cup of steamed clams (mussels) or more (thats all we collected, first timers, lol)
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Assembly;
Sate' onion in enuff olive oil just to keep from sticking till translucent.
Add carrot and potato stir for 2 minutes.
Add broth and milk. Bring to simmer.
Stir roux, wisk in.
Bring back to simmer.
Chop clam (mussels) rough and add to pot. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Serve with good crusty bread. It was freakin fantastic.
It was enough to feed 7 people, dad had 3 bowls lol.

Hillbeartoe said:

Puerto Penasco Clam (mussel) Chowder:

Prepare core ingredient Roux.

1 cup chopped carrot.
1 cup chopped onion.
2 large potatoes pealed and cubed or slice for quicker cooking.
2 cups broth, chicken or vegetable.
1.5 cups of milk.
1 cup of steamed clams (mussels) or more (thats all we collected, first timers, lol)
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Assembly;
Sate' onion in enuff olive oil just to keep from sticking till translucent.
Add carrot and potato stir for 2 minutes.
Add broth and milk. Bring to simmer.
Stir roux, wisk in.
Bring back to simmer.
Chop clam (mussels) rough and add to pot. Simmer for 15 minutes.
Serve with good crusty bread. It was freakin fantastic.
It was enough to feed 7 people, dad had 3 bowls lol.

http://rs842.pbsrc.com/albums/zz341/GandLShep/Mobile Uploads/1227142003.jpg~320x480
http://rs842.pbsrc.com/albums/zz341/GandLShep/Mobile Uploads/1227141906.jpg~320x480

Awesome recipe, always wanted a recipe for clam chowder! Thanks Hillbeartoe!

No problemo.
We went out to Cholla and could not find any of the manilla clams but found a lot of the Mussels. They worked out great.
Just remember, it's all about the core. A good Roux can make anything awesome.
You can make the same thing with just Corn and Potato and it's ridiculous good.

Hillbeartoe said:

Sounds good Inka. With the Huacatay does it taste minty or is it just reffered to as a mint. If you could describe the flavor I may be able to find something similar at the Asian market, because things they call mint taste nothing like what Americans consider "Minty".?

Here's how Mike Falkowitz of the "Spice Hunting" blog describes it (and apparently a combination of mint and coriander comes closest as a substitute):
Meet the curiously strong black mint. It's the mint you never knew you needed.
It's a mint-lover's mint, the Chuck Norris of refreshing herbs.
No mint I know has the fresh, clean aroma of granny smith apples and a deep, nose-clearing bite almost akin to cilantro. Black mint is sharper and mintier than garden-variety mint, cold and clean without all that fussy floral stuff on the side. It's a mint-lover's mint, the Chuck Norris of refreshing herbs.

Very interesting. Good find, and will have to try it out.

To keep up with the cold weather another peruvian dish than not only will warm you up but will definitely be liked by your taste buds plus is shrimp season!!
Taste wise might be little different as in Peru we use fresh water camaron to make this dish but since most of you have not taste the real thing it will just be glorious anyway!!!

How about a little lesson in spanish, here we go



CHUPE DE CAMARON


Ingredientes:/ Ingredients:

1 kg. camarones limpios / 2lbs of clean shrimp

1/2 kg. pescado en cubos / 1 lb cubed fish (any for those that must know what type of fish)

4 cdas. aceite vegetal / 4 Tbsp of vegetable oil

1 tz. cebolla picada / 1 cup chopped onion

4 dientes ajo / 4 cloves of garlic

1 1/2 cda. ají panca molido / 1.5 Tbsp of mashed aji panca (if you do not have omit, it is for flavor not heat!!!!!)

1 cda. orégano / 1 Tbsp oregano

1 cda. rocoto sin venas ni pepas, picado / 1 Tbsp of devain and chopped rocoto ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capsicum_pubescens )

1/2 kg. tomate sin piel ni pepas, picado / 1lb deseeded, peeled and chopped tomatoes

1 choclo desgranado / 1 ear of corn kernels or cut corn in 1 to 1.5 thick wheels

1/2 kg. alverjas 1 lbs green peas

1/2 tz. arroz / 1/2 cup of rice

4 papas amarillas / 4 yellow potatoes ( in Peru we categorize the potatoes by color, its just easier!!!) yellow potatoes tent to be softer and very flavorful, extremely expensive potatoe as you will have to either drive or fly to a far away place from where you are to get the real thing!!!!

1/2 kg. habas / 1/2 lb lima beans (already cooked)

1 ají mirasol tostado / 1 aji mirasol tostado (same as aji panca, or yellow potatoes above)

huacatay / as you will find out this herb is used a lot in peruvian cuisine, although it is not available in USA or Mexico simple omit from recipe and keep going.

hierbabuena / peppermint ( for those not very familiar with cooking, when you do not have an amount attached to the item it only means one thing "USE A LITTLE BIT" like a leaf or 2

300 g queso fresco / three hundred grms of queso fresco ( queso fresco can be substitute with queso fresco)

1 tz. leche evaporada / 1 cup of evaporated milk

4 huevos / 4 blanquillos (in Mexico although "huevos" are used also "blanquillos" is a better way to call them as Huevos are as what many USA natives call them "drawers" = cajones, there is a huge difference between cAjones and cOjones!!!!! AQF



Preparacion: Preparation:

En una olla de barro haga un aderezo con aceite, cebolla, ajo, ají panca, orégano y tomate sin piel ni pepas. Rehogue y sazone. Incluya rocoto, choclo, alverjas y arroz y cocine 20 minutos. Incorpore papas, espere a que se cocinen (sin deshacerse) y agregue las habas. Una vez a punto, retire del fuego y añada las hierbas, ají mirasol, queso fresco desmenuzado y leche. Agregue los camarones, que sólo necesitan cocinarse un minuto.

It calls for a mud pan, however you can use a regular pan, in this pan you are going to mix the oil, onions, garlic, aji panca, kind of fry them for a little bit for the flavors to meld add tomatoes, water, rocoto, corn, green peas, rice and potatoes, boil the mix, let the potatoes cook but not falling apart cook!!! add the lima beans, aji mirasol, queso fresco broken in small pieces, milk and shrimp, which will only need a minute to cook.