Real Enchilada Sauce Recipe

This is the kind of enchilada sauce that is the real kind and not like the gringo kind that is sweeter with tomatoes. This is the version where you fry the dried chili pods, then rehydrate them ,puree them, strain them and cook them some more. If your still interested here’s the forking recipe.

Chili Pods

Ingredients that makes about 18 ounces and I’d say that is about 8 servings

2 oz. guajillo chili pods – stems removed broken down

2.5 oz. California chili pods – stems removed broken down (New Mexico chili pods would also be good but my store had California so that is what I used)

1 large sweet onion chopped

3 garlic cloves chopped

1 1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon oregano

3 Tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

4 cups water

1 Tablespoon masa flour

2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

pinch cinnamon

pinch cayenne

Directions

In your sauce pan on medium high heat add the dried chili pods, onion, garlic, cumin, oregano, oil, and salt.

Fry about 10 minutes on medium high heat.

Now add water and bring to boil and simmer about an hour.

Blend everything in the pot a stick blender will work best.

Strain and push all you can threw the strainer.

Discard the remaining stuff in the strainer.

Whisk in the masa, vinegar and sugar.

Cook on medium high heat until it boils and then reduce to simmer and let it go about five minutes.

Finish with a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne.

Enjoy!

This is forking good and that’s The Forking Truth

Jalapeño Apple Jam

I enjoyed a scrumptious cilantro lime marinated chicken sandwich recently at The Scottsdale Beer Company and they added jalapeño jam and avocado aioli to the sandwich and it was amazing. Last week I published a Cilantro Lime Chicken Meatloaf recipe that taste very much like the same sandwich. You might want to enjoy some Jalapeño Apple  Jam either on grilled meats, a sandwich with avocado, on the Cilantro Lime Chicken Meatloaf or with cream cheese.

This jam recipe is somewhat reduced in sugar. I used an apple to mellow the jalapeño peppers and to add natural sweetness. The lime juice and apple also added natural pectin so running to the store and buying pectin isn’t necessary.

The First batch I made is the Chunkier Jam on the right. The recipes are very similar except the liquid in the clearer jam on right was water and the blended jalapeño jam was apple cider vinegar. The two jams came out tasting very different to me. The Jam on Left has a more mello jalapeño heat and more apple taste…still spicy and not as sweet. The Jam on right is much hotter and much sweeter.

The jalapeños I used were from the same batch and were nice ones that were fruity with a medium heat.

Ingredients for the sweeter & Hotter Chunky Jam (more preserve like) on the right side. Makes about 10 servings.

1 1/2 cups jalapeños chopped with stem removed

1 apple pealed cored and chopped

3/4 cup water

1 Tablespoon lime juice

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

Directions combine in sauce pan on medium heat and stir occasionally and when thickened remove from heat and put in a sterilized container.

Ingredients for The Jam on left that is blended, less sweet and with less heat and has more of an apple taste  makes about 12 servings

2 cups jalapeno peppers chopped with stems removed

1 apple pealed chopped cored

1 cup apple cider vinegar

2 Tablespoons lime juice

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

Directions

Blend the jalapeño peppers, apple, lime juice and vinegar together.

Get your sauce pot on medium high heat and add everything. Stir occasionally. When the mixture starts to boil turn the heat down to medium. Continue to stir occasionally and your mixture is done when it thickens. (about 20 minutes)

This is GOOD and that’s The Forking Truth

Citrus Salad with Honey Poppy Seed Dressing and Spiced Almonds

This is a very delicious light and refreshing salad that’s different. There are exotic spices in the tasty almonds and the cheese I used is fat free farmers cheese that is light and different. The dressing is so tasty you can almost drink it. My recipe does make slightly more dressing than you need so pour to taste and I slightly added more nuts than you need so feel free to pick at the nuts and save a little dressing for latter. This is a super delicious salad that you will make over and over again.

Ingredients for about 4 servings

1 blood orange that you supreme

1 red grapefruit that you supreme

1 cucumber – pealed, cored and sliced

1 celery rib pealed and sliced

1 cup (packed) red cabbage shredded

1/4 scallions chopped

1/4 cup (loose) fresh basil torn

8 oz fat free farmers cheese (add to salad once plated)

1/2 cup almonds – slivered and blanched or use regular almonds that you boil for a couple minutes and then rub the loose skin off

1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

pinch cardamon

pinch black cardamon

1 Tablespoon garlic confit (garlic roasted till melted tossed with extra virgin olive oil ((I whip mine so it’s smooth like butter))

2 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 Tablespoon poppy seeds

1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika

Fresh ground sea salt to taste

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Set your supremes in a small bowl set a side. In a larger bowl combine the cucumber,celery, cabbage and scallions and set to the side. Mix in most of your torn basil and leave a few leaves for decoration if desired.

Set your oven to 300 degrees F

You need a baking sheet and a small bowl. Put the almonds and oil in the small bowl and mix well. Add the sugar, cayenne and cardamons and mix well and spread out on your baking sheet.  Place in the oven and in about 20 minutes they should be lightly browned and tasty. Pull them out and set to the side.

In a small mixing bowl add the garlic confit and dijon and mix well. Slowly add the oil and keep mixing till it’s emulsified. Don’t clean your 1/2 cup measure and use it for the honey because your honey will slide out clean. Add honey and mix well. slowly add the vinegar and mix well. Now add poppy seeds, paprika and fresh ground sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste to finish the dressing.

Get the salad mixture and mix with dressing till is coated to your liking. You should have about a quarter cup or a little more extra. Plate the salads and carefully add the supremes. Top with small scoops of farmers cheese and top with almonds and serve right away!

Citrus Salad with Honey Poppy Seed Dressing and Spiced Almonds

YOU and your Guest will Forking LOVE This one!

This is Really GREAT and that’s The Forking Truth

Asian Inspired Radish and Carrot Salad

This Asian Inspired Radish and Carrot Salad is light and refreshing and not too acidic or too sweet. This salad is something most people will love. I was inspired to make this salad from remembering tasting a similar salad from some budget Asian Buffets I’ve been too. If you never tried a budget Asian Buffet it’s possible that you’ve never tried this kind of salad because I never have seen this kind of salad at any Asian Restaurant I ate at.

In my area the Budget Asian Buffet is almost a thing of the past. Several years back Budget Asian Buffets were popping up like mushrooms everywhere. For around only $10.00 a head the  budget Asain Buffets offered over a hundred items of foods to pick from and some of these places started out being ok or good for the price. As time pasted most but not all of these buffets seemed to  lower quality of food preparation until they were out of business. The budget buffets I used to go to are all gone now but several are still around.

The one salad that most of these places prepared was a carrot and radish salad that I enjoyed. I think my recipe is very close to what I tried just maybe slightly less sweet. I cut the radish and carrot with a 1.5 strip slicer and a 3mm strip slicer. I cut the carrot into thinner pieces than the radish because the carrot is harder than the radish. At the buffets the radish and carrots were much thicker and possibly cut with a shoe string potato slicer. Cut them however you like. I do note that this salad should be mostly radish and less carrot but my photos picked up the carrot more than there was.

Ingredients for about 4 servings

1 large daikon radish – pealed

1 medium-large carrot pealed

1 Tablespoon  kosher salt

2 garlic cloves (mashed on a garlic plate)

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons rice vinegar

1 scallion – cut in thin slices

pinch shredded red pepper

Directions

Use the 3mm strip slicer and shred up the radish. Use 1.5 strip slicer to shred up the carrot. Add salt and mix well. Add remaining ingredients mix well chill and enjoy!

Asian Inspired Radish and Carrot Salad

This is FORKING GOOD and that’s The Forking Truth

Cilantro Lime Chicken Meatloaf

I had this really delicious Grilled Chicken Breast Sandwich at the Scottsdale Beer Company in Scottsdale AZ so I was inspired to create similar flavors in a meatloaf. The sandwich was made with cilantro lime marinated chicken and was topped with jalapeño jam and avocado aioli. It was just forking scrumptious. I made a jalapeño-apple preserve and a basic guacamole to go with this meatloaf.

Ingredients makes 12 servings

1/2 cup lime juice

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 Tablespoon cumin

1 Tablespoon chili powder

2 Tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 cup cilantro chopped

1/2 medium/large onion chopped

7 garlic cloves sliced thin

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 lbs plus 10oz boneless chicken thighs hand chopped

3 XL eggs beaten

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 cups whole wheat panko

non-stick cooking spray

Directions

Set Oven to 350 degrees F. Blend your first eleven ingredients. (lime juice, extra virgin olive oil, cumin, chili powder, sugar, red pepper flakes, cilantro, onion, garlic black pepper, and salt.) Set to the side. In a large bowl add your chicken, eggs, remaining salt and pepper, panko and blended mixture. Pour into your non-stick sprayed loaf pan and cover with foil. In my oven the meatloaf took one hour to be done.

Cilantro Lime Chicken Meatloaf

This came out FORKING AWSOME.

This is FORKING GREAT and that’s The Forking Truth