Happy 2008! And a recipe . . .
New Year's Eve was pretty quiet around our house. We did do some skiing at Lapham Peak, we worked on some home projects and watched a movie (Waitress). However, the exciting part of the evening was definitely the cooking.
Tamale Pie and Mexican Succotash (using a recipe from one of the owners of my favorite restaurant ever, the Gila Monster . . . all these years later and I still dream of it reopening).
Roasting the chilies (straight from the ski trails to the kitchen!)
A close-up of roasting the chili (this was super fun as it isn't something that you get to do every day and makes you glad you have a gas cooktop)
The very yummy final product -
The succotash has chayote (a kind of squash), corn, roasted chilies, cilantro, toasted pumpkin seeds, lots of garlic and lime juice.
The tamale pie has green beans, potato and sweet potato for filling. Also incredibly tasty.
Here's the Mexican Succotash Recipe for those of you feeling creative. It's from Jill Watson who owned the Taqueria Gila Monster which was a little place on King Street here in Madison. It was THE BEST place ever. I miss it dearly. I used to go there even more than I now go to Pasquals.
4 chayote (or zucchini)
5 Tbl raw pumpkin seeds
1 bunch cilantro
1/4 cup garlic cloves
2 Tbl vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 c. fresh corn kernels (I used frozen)
3 poblano chilies
1 Tbl salt
1 1/2 Tbl lime juice
Cook chayote in boiling water until crisp tender. Cut into small cubes. Toast pumpkin seeds over medium low flame until they all pop. Stem cilantro and place in a food processor with pumpkin seeds and garlic, process to a coarse paste. Heat oil over medium heat; add sliced onion and saute until translucent. Add pumpkin seed mixture, saute until fragrant. Add chayote and corn, cook over medium heat. Roast chilies over flame until skins blister and blacken somewhat. Place in a sealed plastic bag to steam a few minutes. When chiles are cooked peel, seed and cut into fine strips. Add to mixture and season with salt and lime juice.
I had it on the side for New Year's Eve dinner and then tonight I had leftovers in burritos. I highly recommend this recipe! You can find chayote at a Mexican grocery store or probably other specialty grocery store (I think my local Mexican grocery was thrilled to see us branch out from our normal purchase of tortillas, cactus and queso fresco).
If you like that you can find another Taqueria Gila Monster recipe online at The Daily Page. I think I may have to have a Gila Monster party at my house in the near future and make all the recipes that have survived.
Happy 2008!
Oh yeah, and don't forget to register for the Wisconsin Cycling Association Cyclocross Banquet. It is going to be a really fun evening.
Tamale Pie and Mexican Succotash (using a recipe from one of the owners of my favorite restaurant ever, the Gila Monster . . . all these years later and I still dream of it reopening).
Roasting the chilies (straight from the ski trails to the kitchen!)
A close-up of roasting the chili (this was super fun as it isn't something that you get to do every day and makes you glad you have a gas cooktop)
The very yummy final product -
The succotash has chayote (a kind of squash), corn, roasted chilies, cilantro, toasted pumpkin seeds, lots of garlic and lime juice.
The tamale pie has green beans, potato and sweet potato for filling. Also incredibly tasty.
Here's the Mexican Succotash Recipe for those of you feeling creative. It's from Jill Watson who owned the Taqueria Gila Monster which was a little place on King Street here in Madison. It was THE BEST place ever. I miss it dearly. I used to go there even more than I now go to Pasquals.
4 chayote (or zucchini)
5 Tbl raw pumpkin seeds
1 bunch cilantro
1/4 cup garlic cloves
2 Tbl vegetable oil
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 c. fresh corn kernels (I used frozen)
3 poblano chilies
1 Tbl salt
1 1/2 Tbl lime juice
Cook chayote in boiling water until crisp tender. Cut into small cubes. Toast pumpkin seeds over medium low flame until they all pop. Stem cilantro and place in a food processor with pumpkin seeds and garlic, process to a coarse paste. Heat oil over medium heat; add sliced onion and saute until translucent. Add pumpkin seed mixture, saute until fragrant. Add chayote and corn, cook over medium heat. Roast chilies over flame until skins blister and blacken somewhat. Place in a sealed plastic bag to steam a few minutes. When chiles are cooked peel, seed and cut into fine strips. Add to mixture and season with salt and lime juice.
I had it on the side for New Year's Eve dinner and then tonight I had leftovers in burritos. I highly recommend this recipe! You can find chayote at a Mexican grocery store or probably other specialty grocery store (I think my local Mexican grocery was thrilled to see us branch out from our normal purchase of tortillas, cactus and queso fresco).
If you like that you can find another Taqueria Gila Monster recipe online at The Daily Page. I think I may have to have a Gila Monster party at my house in the near future and make all the recipes that have survived.
Happy 2008!
Oh yeah, and don't forget to register for the Wisconsin Cycling Association Cyclocross Banquet. It is going to be a really fun evening.
posted by MadCross at 9:46 PM
2 Comments:
This brings back good memories, I have family (dad's side) in Mexico and my grandmother used to make a mean succotash recipe similar to this one. We used to go there every year at Christmastime... MMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ;-) Renee V
Jane was asking "When is Renee going to have a party? Because is was about this time last year..."
I told her "What about the CX Banquet?"
She said "Of course, but what about the party?"
I'm afraid the days of distracting the kid with a simple diversion are gone. We miss you guys!
Post a Comment
<< Home