PASSION SUNDAY: Best Tacos & Fallen Chocolate Cake

Severe thunderstorms most of the day & it was raining & hailing when everyone arrived.  Grandma Jodi & Aunt Sikatina joined us tonight & Monica sat @ the little table with Emma & Sophia.  We really do need that conveyor belt for the middle of the table.

Tinga de Pollo

Ingredients

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 6 garlic cloves (4 minced, 2 smashed)
• 2 cloves
• 2 tomatoes
• 5 chipotle chilies
• ½ cup chicken stock
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 white onions, halved and sliced
• Iceberg lettuce, shredded
• Salt and pepper
• 2 avocados, sliced
• 12 tortillas

Step one
Put chicken in a pot with enough cold water to cover by 1 inch. Add smashed garlic cloves and 2 spice cloves. Simmer until cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove chicken from water, let cool, shred with two forks.

Step two
For the sauce, set the whole tomatoes in a very hot cast-iron skillet and roll slowly around until blackened on all sides. Put tomatoes, chipotles, chicken stock, cumin, and nutmeg in a blender until smooth.

Step three
In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high burner. Add minced garlic, onions, and lettuce. Sauté 2 to 3 minutes, until soft. Add tomato-chili mixture, stir for 3 minutes, add shredded chicken. Simmer uncovered just until you see most of the liquid has cooked off and evaporated. Season with salt and pepper.

Step four
Serve on warm fresh corn tortillas, with sliced avocado topping each taco.

Recipe from chef Armando De La Torre Jr.'s printed in Men's Journal

Poblano Rajas 

with Roasted Corn

Ingredients

• 4 poblano chilies
• 2 ears of corn
• 1 can chipotle chilies in adobo
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 4 oz Cotija (or feta) cheese
• 4 oz sour cream
• 12 tortillas

Step one
Roast the poblanos. "Just set the whole peppers directly on a grill or on a burner grate of your stove, over a high flame," says Morrison. "Let them char all over, so the skin really gets black." Remove poblanos from heat, let cool, peel off charred skin. Remove stem, pith, and seeds; cut chilies into strips.

Step two
Shuck corn and set cobs directly on a medium-hot grill. Rotate until all kernels have browned. Cut kernels off cob.

Step three
Mince 2 chipotles fine, then add to a saucepan with the poblano, corn, cream, and salt and pepper. Simmer.

Step four
Crumble Cotija on top. "Sour cream or crema tones down the heat," says Morrison. "And fresh-squeezed lime brings it all together."

Taco Upgrade: Make Your Own Crema

Mexican grocers sell the tangy cream known as crema in your local taqueria, but you can easily whip some up yourself by stirring buttermilk into regular sour cream, giving it a pourable consistency.

Lime zest, lime juice, salt, or chili powder are high-impact additions.

Recipe from chef Kevin Morrison printed in Men's Journal

Mexican Rice

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 cup long grain rice, uncooked
• 1 tsp. fresh minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 c. tomato sauce
• 1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
• 3 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

• Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the rice and gently stir until rice begins to lightly brown. Add the garlic, salt, and cumin and stir the rice til it looks golden. Add the tomato sauce, chicken broth, and cilantro and turn the heat up to medium high. Bring the mix to a boil then turn the heat to low and cover the pan with a lid. Simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork. Serves 4.

http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/2013/04/restaurant-style-mexican-rice.html

Fallen Chocolate Cake

Bon Appétit  | March 2013

by Alison Roman

ingredients

Cake:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1" pieces, plus more, room temperature, for pan
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided, plus more for pan
• 10 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (61%-72% cacao), coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 6 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Topping:

• 1 cup chilled heavy cream
• 1/2 cup mascarpone
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar

• Special equipment:A 9"-diameter springform pan

preparation

For cake: 
Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter springform pan and dust with sugar, tapping out any excess.

Combine chocolate, oil, and 1/2 cup butter in a large heatproof bowl. Set over a saucepan of simmering water and heat, stirring often, until melted. Remove bowl from saucepan.

Separate 4 eggs, placing whites and yolks in separate medium bowls. Add cocoa powder, vanilla, salt, 1/4 cup sugar, and remaining 2 eggs to bowl with yolks and whisk until mixture is smooth. Gradually whisk yolk mixture into chocolate mixture, blending well.

Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat egg whites until frothy. With mixer running, gradually beat in 1/2 cup sugar; beat until firm peaks form.

Gently fold egg whites into chocolate mixture in 2 additions, folding just until incorporated between additions. Scrape batter into prepared pan; smooth top and sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons sugar.

Bake until top is puffed and starting to crack and cake is pulling away from edge of pan, 35-45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cake cool completely in pan (cake will collapse in the center and crack further as it cools). DO AHEAD: Cake can be made 1 day ahead. Cover in pan and store airtight at room temperature.

For topping:
Using an electric mixer on mediumhigh speed, beat cream, mascarpone, and powdered sugar in a medium bowl until soft peaks form.

Remove sides of springform pan from cake. Mound whipped cream mixture in center of cake.