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George, Dawn, Zachary, Megan, Danny, and Harley.

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

To celebrate this day of Mexican independence, we had a Mexican fiesta for Sunday dinner. Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures as I was too busy making the meal. However when I show you the pictures, please pretend that you see them as totally appetizing. Do it for me, please? Trust me, they are so good, my kids said we never have to go out for Mexican again!

Anyway, the recipes are below.

Easy Guacamole
 
Ingredients:
 
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 Serrano chile, stem removed
2 ripe avocados, preferably the black-skinned Hass
A couple of tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 small white onion, finely chopped
Salt
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 medium tomato, seeds and juice removed, then diced
A little crumbled Mexican fresh cheese (queso fresco) for garnish

Directions

Peel the garlic, finely chop the garlic and green chile (taking the seeds out of the chile if you don't want the heat), and scoop them into a bowl.
Chop the onion, and scoop into a separate bowl. Cover the onion with water. Set aside. One at a time, run a knife down through each avocado, starting at the top, until you reach the pit; continue cutting around the pit until you reach the point you started.
Twist the two halves of the avocado apart. Remove the pit and discard. Scoop the flesh into the bowl with the chiles. Mash coarsely with a potato masher.
Add the herbs, tomato and onion, stir to combine, then taste. Season with salt and lime juice. Scoop into a serving dish and garnish with cheese.

The next recipe, for roasted tomatillo salsa, is slightly more difficult, but you definitely don't have to be a chef to make it. Here it is.


Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
 
Ingredients:
 
3 to 4 medium tomatillos, husked and rinsed 
1 serrano chile, stemmed
3 large garlic cloves with peels left on
6 sprigs of fresh cilantro (thick bottom stems cut off), roughly chopped
1/4 small white onion, finely chopped
Salt

Directions

Roast the tomatillos, chile and garlic on a rimmed baking sheet 4 inches below a very hot broiler, until the tomatillos are blotchy black and softening and turning from lime green to olive, about 5 minutes.  Flip the tomatillos, pepper and garlic over and roast the other side. 
Cool, then peel the garlic and transfer everything to a blender, including all the juice the tomatillos have exuded during roasting.
Add the cilantro and 1/4 cup water, then blend to a coarse puree. Pour into a serving dish. Cover the onion with cold water, then strain to remove excess moisture.  Stir into the salsa and season with salt.
 
Happy Cinco de Mayo!

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