Creamy Salsa Verde

This stuff is ridiculous. Make it today. That is all I have to say.

2 ½ lbs. tomatillos, husked and rinsed

2 large onions

10 cloves garlic

4 jalapenos

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

4 teaspoons ground cumin

2-4 teaspoons salt

1 cup packed cilantro

3 avocados

1 lime (optional)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Peel and chop the onions into quarters. Place the tomatillos, onions, garlic and jalapenos on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with oil.

Roast in the oven for 15 minutes—until the exteriors are blistered but the insides are still slightly raw.

Meanwhile, half the avocados, remove the seeds, and scoop out the flesh. (Cut the jalapenos in half and scrape out the seeds if you don't want it too hot.) Place HALF of the tomatillos, onions, jalapenos and garlic in a food processor. Pulse until mostly smooth.

Add HALF of the cumin, salt, cilantro and avocado. Pulse until the avocado is pureed into the mixture. Taste for salt. (I ended up adding about 4 teaspoons of salt but that was because I kept tasting it and something still missing. Cilantro. Cilantro was missing. It ended up fine with all 4 teaspoons of salt.) Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Pour into a large bowl, squeeze the lime over all and stir.

Number of servings (yield): 4 quarts According to the website below, this freezes well. But, if you don't want so much, you can always just make half the recipe.

From: http://aspicyperspective.com/2011/08/creamy-avocado-salsa-verde.html

My Big Brother's Salsa

My big brother Brian is quite the cook. In addition to this salsa, he smokes a mean brisket and can probably cook just about anything my mom or I can. I would imagine his culinary abilities developed partly out of necessity. My mom was a single mom when we were growing up and if we wanted to eat dinner at a decent time any night of the week, my mom often counted on Brian to get supper started while she was on her way home. Plus, my brother really likes to eat. Really likes to eat. As a snack, he once ate 3/4 of a casserole my mom had prepared for at least 5 of us to eat for dinner. Yeah, I think those two things made him the cook he is today.

4 cans stewed tomatoes
4 medium sized jalapenos (you can use less if you like it mild)
1 small yellow or purple onion
2 cloves garlic
1 bunch fresh cilantro
Kosher salt (to taste)

Pull the stems off and heat the peppers in a skillet with just a touch of olive oil, rolling them around till they get just a little bubbly brown patch or two.



I put the peppers, garlic, onions, cilantro and one can of the tomatoes in a food processor or blender (mine isn't that big but if yours is, you can throw everything in there and blend away).











(This first batch looks a little orangey and not too appetizing but it's because it's only one can of tomatoes with all the other vegetables, so the color is off. It'll look better soon, I promise.)

Add the blended mix to a 2 quart saucepan. If your food processor is tiny like mine, continue to blend the tomatoes and add them to the sauce pan until you've done them all.



(See? Doesn't it look better?)

Heat over medium low. Be careful not to scorch it, it won't boil like spaghetti sauce, but you'll just see a few places where bubbles are coming up, that's when you know it's hot. We're not looking for it to cook here, just to be heated through.

Add kosher salt to taste (with kosher salt it's harder to over salt it).

Once it tastes right, take it off the heat and enjoy.

For the best snacking experience, heat it up in the microwave before you eat.

Curtis' Spinach Dip

Matt and I have this friend from College Station who just so happened to move up to Ft. Worth our last year to attend seminary. We love Curtis. He has a great voice, a contagious laugh, and I love his teeth. They're very white. Anyway, Curtis can cook. He came to our house one night and made grilled pork steaks, rosemary potatoes, and spinach dip (all heavenly!). I've never been able to match any of them. I can get pretty close with the dip, though, and that is why it is the only dish of Curtis' that will be making an appearance here. Anyway, the recipe is so simple and versatile. You can add to the basic recipe all you want to make it your own (like artichoke hearts). Here goes.

1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp olive oil
1 10-oz package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 8-oz package cream cheese or about 450 grams (I use light sometimes but never fat free)

Saute the garlic in oil until just soft.



Add spinach then cream cheese.





Serve with carrot and celery sticks or tortilla chips or crackers or bread or toast or, well you get the point.

Green Chile Enchilada Sauce

1 1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cup diced white onion
1-2 jalapeños, diced less seeds and membrane (if you're a sissy like me)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 7-oz can diced green chiles (or about 2 cups) - Anaheim or New Mexico green chiles
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon red pepper sauce (Tabasco)
2 tablespoons olive oil

These are kind of what the green chiles should look like. They should be more green and not so yellow, but this was the best I could find at the moment.



In water in small saucepan, add onions, garlic and jalapeño pepper. Heat over medium flame. Bring to a boil; simmer 5 minutes; remove from heat.



In blender, puree vegetables.



Add green chilies and puree.



Add all remaining ingredients and process to blend.



Return to saucepan. Heat to boiling; reduce heat and simmer until desired consistency.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

1 lb ground sirloin (optional)
1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
1/2 cup chopped green sweet pepper
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon cooking oil
4 cups chopped, peeled tomato (6 large) or two 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes, undrained
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon snipped fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
1 tablespoon snipped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
2 teaspoons snipped fresh marjoram or 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram, crushed
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Brown ground beef in a dutch oven. Add sweet pepper, celery, and garlic in hot oil until vegetables are tender.



Stir in the tomato, tomato paste, water, parsley, dried herbs (if using), sugar, salt, and black pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes.



Uncover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes more or to desired consistency, stirring occasionally. Stir in fresh herbs, if using.



Serve over your favorite pasta or inside lasagna.

Homemade Barbecue Sauce *Updated!

*UPDATE: After some taste-testing, I have added and nixed some ingredients to make this recipe even better!

I have been craving barbecue lately. Funny thing is, I never used to crave it before. I guess when something is just so available like barbecue is in Texas, you don't ever get a hankerin' for it. I'm not quite ready, though, to go all out with a beef brisket. Maybe it's the outrageous price of beef here. Maybe it's my fear of having to talk to the man at the meat counter in Czech. Maybe. Anyway, I came across a recipe for pulled pork sandwiches (Emeril's to be exact - we're on a first-name basis, you know) and decided to try it. The only problem was I wasn't crazy about the barbecue sauce recipe he had paired with the pork. It seemed a little too vinegar-y for me. So I poked around a little more on Food Network's website and found another recipe of Emeril's for barbecue sauce. This recipe was created to be paired with Texas style beef brisket and called for molasses and a lot less vinegar. That's more like it. The only problem was I had no idea where to get molasses in this city or on this continent for that matter. So I went to this site, my saving grace for the last 4 months. It's a thesaurus for cooks and it offers every food substitution imaginable. I thought maybe, just maybe they'd have something that could sub for molasses to get my barbecue sauce close. I never expected the actual thing. It turns out that Black Treacle is the British version of American blackstrap molasses. Perfect!



And Golden Syrup (Light Treacle) is the same thing as cane syrup! Hot dog! What's even better is there just happens to be a British specialty foods store here in Prague and they just happen to carry both kinds of Treacle (as well as Dr. Pepper, Doritos, Campbell's soup, Oreos, and many other American treats - for a pretty penny). Well I'll be! Here I come cornbread and cane syrup!

And now back to the barbecue sauce. It may not be Kraft Spicy Honey (Matt's favorite) but it's pretty dang good. And it'll go just perfect with those pulled pork sandwiches I'm making this weekend. The only thing I would have done differently is to pulse the onions in a food processor before cooking to get a smoother sauce.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 medium yellow onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon dry mustard
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce (Tabasco)



In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until soft, stirring, for 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.



Please pretend that these onions are minced. Thank you.

Add the ketchup, brown sugar, molasses, vinegar, lemon juice, mustard, paprika, Worcestershire and hot sauce, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon and the flavors marry, 15 to 20 minutes.



Remove from the heat and let cool slightly before serving.



Yield: about 1 1/2 cups

*Adapted from Emeril's and Tyler Florence's recipes on foodnetwork.com.

Salsa Fresca

This is a great recipe because it is so versatile. If you like it hotter, add more peppers. If you like it more saucy, add some tomato sauce. If you like pico de gallo, leave it kind of chunky. It's one of those you can tweak until it's just right for you.



5-6 medium red tomatoes (seeds removed and finely diced)
1/4 to 1/2 cup onion, finely diced
1 jalapeno peppers, finely diced
1/3 to 1/2 serrano pepper, finely diced
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp lime juice
1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Mix all ingredients in a bowl or, if you like smooth salsa, place all ingredients in food processor and blend to desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste. For the best flavor, let stand for 1 hour before serving.

Number of Servings: 12

*This salsa can be frozen, but it does change the consistency some. After thawing, it may be a little watery, but you can add diced tomatoes (seeds removed) to give it a boost of flavor.