Part 12 Mexican (Quesadillas) Cuisine

"Quesadillas" are an old snack item from Mexico.  In central and southern regions of Mexico they used "Corn Tortillas" for making the quesadillas.  They were folded over a simple filling of cheese.  They later were also filled with potatoes and chorizo.  The cheese filled ones would also have a few strips of Poblano chile and fresh epazote leaves.  The cheese used was braided Oaxaca cheese.

Up north in Mexico and in the southwestern USA, the flour tortilla was used mostly.  Typically cooked on a "Comal" (also used to prepare tortillas) in Mexico, they like using a stringy cheese.  Up north it is usually Chihuahua cheese that is used.  Again a stringy cheese that melts well.

Another dish they made was a "Sincronizada" which used 2 tortillas.  A popular one had ham and cheese between the tortillas.  These were then cut into wedges and served.

In the southwest USA, the popular cheeses were Monterey Jack, Colby Jack and Cheddar.  Which is how it is now throughout the whole USA today.

Today in the states you can find quesadillas filled with almost anything.  Tradition still has them cut into wedges.  They are now traditionally served with salsa (all types), guacamole and sour cream,

So you're only limited by your imagination and available ingredients as to what quesadillas you will make and/or consume.  Have fun creating or even just trying those offered in restaurants.  Remember that I started by saying they were a snack in the beginning.  Today they can be a snack, an appetizer or even a full meal.

The recipe tomorrow is for "Classic Cheese Quesadillas" and you can expand them from there.  Thursday's is for "Oaxaca Mushroom & Cheese Quesadillas" to give you something different.

So "Happy Cooking" and enjoy them until next week.

Mongolian Beef

Mongolian Beef

(4 servings)

 

Ingredients:

1 tbsp. Canola Oil

1 tsp. Fresh Ginger, grated

2 cloves Fresh Garlic, minced

2/3 cup Soy Sauce

2/3 cup Water

1 cup Dark Brown Sugar

1 cup Canola Oil, for frying (more or less)

1 piece (1½ - 1¾ lb.) Flank Steak, sliced on bias across grain a ¼ inch thick

½ cup Cornstarch

4 large Green Onions, sliced on diagonal (1 inch length)

3 cups Warm Cooked Rice (steamed or fried-your choice)

Directions:

Using a wok, wok pan or skillet, heat oil in pan over medium-low.  When heated add ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant (about 1-2 minutes).  Add soy sauce, water and brown sugar to pan.  Dissolve brown sugar as you bring mixture to a boil and cook 2-3 minutes or until thickened.  Remove sauce from pan to a bowl and set aside.  Place cornstarch in another bowl and coat flank steak in it.  Shake off excess, place pieces on a plate and let sit 10 minutes (this can be done before making sauce).  Heat cup of oil in pan over medium heat.  When heated, fry steak in oil adding one piece at a time May need to be done in batches).  Remove steak once they start to darken on edges (about 2 minutes) to a paper towel lined plate.  Once all the steak is cooked, remove oil from pan carefully.  Return steak to pan and cook for 1 minute then add the sauce back to pan.  Combine well for 1 minute and add green onions.  Continue 1 minute more and remove using a slotted spoon to a serving dish and serve over warm rice.  Leave excess sauce in pan unless you like it saucier.

Note:               If you use gluten-free soy sauce in this recipe, you have a gluten-free dish to serve.

Ideas for Future Efforts

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General Tso's Chicken

General Tso’s Chicken

(4 servings)

 

Ingredients:

1½ tsp. Toasted Sesame Oil

1 large Fresh Egg, white only

¼ cup plus 1 tbsp. Soy Sauce

¼ cup plus 3 tbsp. Cornstarch

1 lb. boneless skinless Chicken Thighs, cut into 1-1½ inch pieces

1 cup Chicken Broth, low-sodium

1 tsp. Chinese Chile-Garlic Sauce

3 tbsp. Sugar

1 tbsp. Canola Oil (plus more for frying)

2 tbsp. Fresh Ginger, finely chopped

2 cloves Fresh Garlic, minced

4 medium scallions, thinly sliced

Steamed Broccoli (for serving)

Steamed Rice (for serving)

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine sesame oil with egg white, 1 tbsp. soy sauce and ¼ cup plus 2 tbsp. of cornstarch.  Add the chicken and coat.  Let stand at room temperature for 20 minutes.  While waiting, mix broth, chile-garlic sauce, sugar and remaining ¼ cup plus 1 tbsp. of cornstarch.  In a large saucepan, heat the 1 tbsp. of canola oil over high heat.  Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 1 minute or until fragrant (don’t burn).  Stir in the broth mixture (be sure to stir mixture before adding) and cook until thickened and glossy (about 3 minutes).  Lower heat and keep warm until needed.  In a large deep skillet, heat ½ inch of canola oil until shimmering over high heat.  Carefully add chicken one piece at a time.  Fry, turning once or twice, until very brown and crispy (about 4 minutes).  Drain chicken on paper towels and immediately add to sauce along with the scallions.  Cook until just coated (30 seconds) and serve with the steamed broccoli and rice.

Note:               I personally prefer chicken breast to thigh meat.  You can use chicken breast in this recipe but be careful not to overcook the chicken.

New                 You can add red pepper flakes to increase the heat (spice) of this dish if you wish.

Ideas for Future Efforts

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Year of the Sheep, Goat or Ram (Chinese New Year)

February 19, 2015 is the start of the "Chinese New Year."  That is 4712 if you keep count using the Chinese Lunar Calendar.  Depending on where you see it mentioned, it will be referred to as the "Year of the Sheep" or "Year of the Goat" or "Year of the Ram."  It's all the same but can be confusing.

Celebrating the Chinese New Year starts on New Year's Eve and goes until the "Lantern Festival" (March 5th) which is on the 15th day of the new year.  Tradition starts with a reunion meal on New Year's Eve. where family gathers and celebrate together.

If you haven't looked at your February calendar yet, you might want to for some planning.  February 17th is "Fat Tuesday" of Mardi Gras.  That is the night before "Ash Wednesday" (18th) which start the Lenten season for Christians around the world.

Then comes the Chinese New Year on Thursday.  So if you are into celebrating this event, you would have your meal on the night of Ash Wednesday.  The celebrating would continue then to Thursday, March 5th.  There is something designated for celebration on each day from New Year's Eve to the Lantern Festival.  If you're interested, do a little research on the internet.

To help you out with some food choices, I have 2 recipes again this week.  Tomorrow is a recipe for "General Tso's Chicken" that I'm sure you will enjoy.  On Thursday, I have a recipe for "Mongolian Beef" for you to try.

Both recipes are relatively simple to make so don't fear trying to cook Chinese.  Even if you don't use these dishes for celebrating the Chinese New Year, they will work well for you anytime.

Until next week, "Happy Cooking" and "Happy Chinese New Year" to all.

Gluten-Free Flour Blend (GF)

Gluten-Free Flour Blend (GF)

(just over 42 oz. or 9 cups)

 

Ingredients:

24 oz. (4 5/6 cups) White Rice Flour

7½ oz. (1 2/3 cups) Brown Rice Flour

7 oz. (1 1/3 cups) Potato Starch

3 oz. (3/4 cup) Tapioca Starch

¾ oz. (3 tbsp.) Nonfat Milk Powder (dry milk)

Directions:

Put all the ingredients in a large metal bowl and using a whisk, mix until well combined.  Store in an airtight container.  Place in refrigerator to keep fresh and use within 3 months.

Note:               It is truly best to weigh the flour blend for use in recipes.  The reason for this is different flours and/or ingredients settle differently.  It is recommended that you use Bob’s Red Mill rice flours.  They seem to be ground differently and because of it work better.

Note:               Don’t just scoop up the flour if using measuring cups.  It packs differently too.  Use a spoon to put flour in the measuring cup.  Overfill the cup and then level off using a straight edge of some type.  Backside of a table knife works well.  Be sure to do this over wax paper so you don’t lose any excess flour blend.  This GF flour blend is expensive so don’t waste.

Ideas for Future Efforts

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GF (Cross-Contamination) Continued

Eating out at a restaurant for someone who must be "Gluten-Free" is a challenge.  First, you probably can't find a completely GF restaurant.  However, many more restaurants are offering GF foods.  Some even have dedicated kitchens for their GF menu.

Every day and every year your options are improving.  But you still have to be diligent when you eat out.  It is best to ask a lot of questions of the establishment when you do go out.  If your server doesn't make you comfortable than always ask to speak to the manager.

Even if the place has a GF menu, ask about how they make sure there is no cross-contamination with their processes.  If they have GF food that is deep fried.  Ask what else gets fried in that oil.  Breaded onion rings, for example, would contaminate the oil if flour coating is used on them.

A couple of restaurants or types of service to avoid would include salad bars, buffets or cafeterias.  I'm not saying it is impossible to eat at them, but you need to be very careful because of cross-contamination possibilities.

Be sure to ask about ingredients they use in their food preparations.  They may have a soup, for example, that appears to be GF but the chicken or beef base may not be GF.  This is where label reading will come in handy.  Most restaurants and their staffs are more than willing to be helpful.  They want you and your connections to come back because it is good for business.

Going to a friends home for something involving food.  It might be for a dinner or a party.  Whatever it is, be sure to let them know right when you are asked that you have gluten problem.  They may be able to adjust the food menu or accommodate you with different food than the others are having.  You can always offer to bring something too.  That is especially true with young people having stay-over for a night.

Going back to invites for a minute.  Anytime you are asked to an event, party or whatever, it's your responsibility to let them know you have a food issue.  I'm not just talking a gluten problem now.  If you have any type of food problem whether it is allergy, diet or even a religious reason, you need to let them know in advance.  This way they can make the necessary adjustments and not embarrass anyone.

There is a lot more to be said on the subject of "Cross-contamination" in regards to gluten.  But much of it is for each person to learn through their experiences.  Circumstances will be different for each individual even though much is the same.  If you have questions, please don't hesitate to ask by using the comment section in the blog post.

This week's recipe is for a "Gluten-Free Flour Blend" that I have faith in for giving you the chance for your best baking products.  It comes from the "American Test Kitchens" and has been well tested.  You could also just use "King Arthur" GF Multi-Purpose Flour or "Bob's Red Mill" GF All-Purpose Flour.  If using either of these, my preference goes to King Arthur.

Please spread the link to my food blog "Cabana Boy Cooks" and "Happy Cooking" until next week.

Glute-Free Info (Cross-Contamination) Continued

"Celiac" is a serious disease and can cause many other problems with your health.  Because of that, a person must eliminate "Gluten" from the foods they eat.  Even the smallest amount of gluten is harmful to them.  The same holds true for those who are "Gluten Sensitive" too.

So that sounds relatively simple to do.  But it is not.  Not all foods sold are labeled "Gluten-Free" and so you have to read and understand package labeling.  It doesn't stop there either.  Whether you are cooking and/or eating at home or at a friends, eating at a restaurant or bringing take-out home, you have to be careful.  In these situations, you have to worry about "Cross-Contamination" with gluten.

In this week's series, I will be talking about "Cross-Contamination" and what you need to be aware of both as the one eating and the one doing the cooking.

In the next series in 4 weeks on "GF" I will get into to "Label Reading" and how to approach it.

Let's start by identifying what "Cross-Contamination" is and how it can effect you.  I do cover this in my cookbook (More That Your First Cookbook) in the chapter on "Sanitation (Food and Personal)", page 53.  In general, cross-contamination can happen when you do two different things without cleaning in between.  An example would be cutting chicken on a cutting board with a knife and then cutting up a lettuce salad on the same cutting board using the same knife.  Because you didn't clean the board and knife in between uses, the chicken can contaminate the salad with it's bacteria.

The same holds true with gluten.  If you, for example, make sandwiches on the counter using wheat bread.  Then you make something for the GF person on that same counter without cleaning it.  The GF person will most likely pickup gluten in their food.  Even this small amount is damaging to them.

Again using the example in the previous paragraph.  What makes better sense is to make things for the GF person first.  Then make the gluten including food for others.  Of course, you want to clean the area before making the GF food too.

But that is only part of the problem.  Let's start in the home first.  Simple things like buttering your toast, adding jelly or peanut butter to it.  That knife that goes into the butter, jelly or peanut butter than spreads onto gluten containing toast.  You put the knife back in any of these items and you have contaminated them for a GF person.  That little bit can cause a GF person BIG problems.

What about equipment in the kitchen?  You use the same toaster, BIG problem.  Wooden utensils, wooden cutting boards, colanders, oven racks, toaster ovens are all items to consider.  Wood absorbs and therefore shouldn't be used for both gluten and gluten-free items.  Colanders used for pasta should probably not be used for gluten-free items.  If you cook pizzas directly on the rack in an oven, I wouldn't use the rack for gluten free items.  The toaster oven is similar to a toaster.  If you have used it for gluten items than don't use it for gluten-free items.

Do you see where this is going?  If you are not a "Gluten-Free Household", you have to be very careful.  You need to have storage, equipment, etc. for GF items to be safe for those people with a gluten intolerance.

As you are maybe starting to see, it is difficult for everyone involved in a household with a gluten problem.  What you need to do is decide if you are to become a "Gluten-Free Household" or a shared one.  It is a difficult decision and expensive too.  Either way, you than have to determine how you are going to approach it in regards to foods in the house, equipment used with foods, etc.  Either way you go, those not effected by gluten will have to adjust as much as those with the intolerance.

Enough for today.  Tomorrow I will address eating out at restaurants and other people's homes.  I hope this has been helpful to you or that you may be able to pass this information on to someone you know it could help.  Thank you for doing that too.