I am excited to enter the Kitchen Bootcamp Sauce Challenge with my authentic Mexican salsa recipe  for Salsa Verde which is also known as green sauce.  This sauce isn’t covered in the Professional Cook but my green sauce recipe is so simple and tasty I’m sure you’ll be making it for your family.  It’s similar to a French sauce Tomate or Italian marinara sauce in terms of preparation and is based on cilantro, tomatillos, yellow bell pepper, garlic and chicken stock.

Setting about making my green salsa and writing this post took me back to why I started making it.  The thing about being spoiled is that you  don’t know you are spoiled until something changes.  I’m from California.  I grew up not realizing that Mexican food is ethnic food, I just knew it as good food.  I assumed that everyone had access to hand made salsa, tacos, tamales and little off the wall restaurants where the sauces were made fresh using family recipes handed down for generations.  I lived in a version of food paradise and I took it for granted.

Then, I moved to Florida.  Sure, we have “Mexican” restaurants here.  The quotation marks are there to indicate that these restaurants impersonate, possibly even insult real Mexican cooking.  Sauces come in 100 oz cans tortillas in bags.  I searched and searched for a restaurant to become my regular place, but alas it was to no avail.

And so, I learned to cook the foods I craved.  I searched online for people sharing their family secrets and I started making my own sauces.  Living in California, Salsa Rojo was my favorite but now that I make my own, Mexican green sauce is my hands down favorite.  Once you have it on hand it’s perfect for making chicken, pork or cheese enchiladas, chilaquiles, chile verde, green rice, tamales or simply having special chips and salsa.

Making it reminds me of making my Italian red sauce.  I never quite make it the same.  Poblano chili’s have amazing flavor but they aren’t consistent in heat so you have to taste it.  If you want this sauce to be amazing use home made chicken stock you can also slow simmer pork or chicken in it to make the flavor even richer.  Another hint don’t salt it until it’s reduced to the point you want — otherwise you may end up oversalting.   I posted on making turkey stock, the method is the same for chicken.

Mexican Green Salsa Recipe

2 large yellow bell peppers
4 Poblano chilies
2lbs Tomatillos
1 large white onion
6 cloves garlic
2 bunches Cilantro
2 Tbsp Mexican oregano
2 Tbsp Cumin
3 cups Chicken Stock (roughly)
Salt and Pepper to taste.

Optional:
Grill the bell peppers, chilis, tomatillos and onion after lightly coating with vegetable oil this will give you great smoky flavor.

If you choose not to grill them then sweat the vegetables until soft in a large Dutch oven over medium low heat.

When vegetables are soft puree in a food processor, add one bunch of cilantro and garlic.  Return to Dutch Oven and add chicken stock, oregano and cumin.  Simmer for at least 2 hours until it reaches the consistency you desire, I shoot for something similar to spaghetti sauce.  Return some of the sauce to the food processor and puree with the remaining bunch of cilantro.  (I like to add the cilantro in two phases as you get brighter flavor).

Taste and add salt and pepper to your liking.  You can also add sugar.  If your taste buds crave more heat add one or two Jalapeno chillies at the beginning.

Tip: This Salsa freezes well so double the batch and keep some on hand!

I used this last batch for Pork Enchiladas!  I slow cooked a pork but with onions and garlic, shredded it and combined with flour tortilla’s, Monterey Jack Cheese, and baked them until golden brown (about 45 minutes at 375 degrees)

Enchilada Assembly Station

When assembling the enchiladas, coat the base of your pan with green sauce, dip each tortilla in sauce, fill with cheese and meat, roll tightly and place in the pan.  Top with more cheese.

Assembling the enchilada

Ready for the oven!

Unfortunately I got so excited about eating that I forgot to take pictures of the final product!

Inspired by “Just Making Noise”; I decided to enter Foodie Fights.  I knew what I was getting into because for her challenge (which she won!) she had to pair coconut and black beans (Bizarre Love Triangle Brownies – Click for Recipe) talk about requiring creativity!

I signed up and was picked! I received the email telling me I was in the night after our anniversary dinner at Bistro de Paris in Epcot which inspired my inner chef.

The mystery ingredients: Cumin and Pecans.  “Umm — yeah, I always cook dishes with both of those ingredients!”  At first it seemed an impossible task.  But then I started to really think …

My first instinct was to candy the pecans with a spicy sweet mixture that included cumin and orange and then put them in a salad with a sweet vinaigrette.  But considering that the previous winner made brownies out of black beans — I knew salad was not going to cut it.  My next direction was turkey.  I’ve made cornbread stuffing with pecans, and it seemed appropriate for this time of year.  I thought I could bring cumin in using gravy and the dressing.  But honestly, this idea left me uninspired.  I was really liking the marriage of the Cumin and Pecans with Orange and Goats Cheese — I just needed an officiant to bring it together.

My answer was pork chops.  I love a huge bone in pork chop, and bone-in pork chops love orange and cumin. I knew with the proper introduction, they would also love pecans and goat cheese.

I started by seasoning the pork chops and lightly dusting them with cumin.  I used a very light hand here, because if you go too heavy with cumin it will take over, I just wanted to build a layer of flavor.  Next I got my stainless saucier pan screaming hot and browned the chops on each side.

While they were browning I prepared the goat cheese spread.  I coated each pork chop with about 1 Tbsp of the goat cheese mixture (which had cumin and orange zest to build the layers of flavor) and then nestled pecans into the goat cheese and finished it in the oven.

When the chops were done I set them aside to rest and made a pan sauce with orange juice and chicken stock and served with wilted spinach.  Our chief food critic, Bill’s 17 year old son, ate TWO pork chops.  I’d say it was a hit.

UPDATE:
I’ve had a chance to see a couple of other entries — it’s interesting the different directions we each took with the ingredients.  It’s going to be tough competition, I’m happy I’m not judging.  Voting starts Tuesday 10/20 and the winner is announced on Thursday morning.  Please pop over and check out the other entries (you’ll probably even find a new “must read” food blog) and VOTE FOR ME! (working really hard to avoid a “Vote for Pedro and all your dreams will come true” moment)

So, without further adieu, the recipe follows.

4 bone-in pork chops
salt and pepper
1 1/2 tsp cumin divided
2 Tbsp Olive oil
6oz soft goat cheese
zest of one orange
1 cup pecan halves
1/4 cup onion diced
1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1 cup chicken stock
1 tbs apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Season pork chops with salt and pepper and lightly dust with cumin and let them rest for at least 30 minutes. Pat dry with a paper towel. Using a hot, oven proof saute pan, brown the pork chops on each side (3 minutes each side).  Do not crowd the pan or you won’t get a good crust.  I have a 12 inch saucier and I worked in two batches.

While the chops are browning, combine goat cheese, 1/2 tsp cumin and orange zest.

Spread about 1 1/2 Tbsp of goat cheese mixture on each chop about 1/4 inch thick.  You want to take care not to use too much goat cheese, it will overpower the dish.   Nestle pecans in the goat cheese and return to pan.  Bake until the pork is 155 degrees which for 1 inch thick chops was about 30 minutes.  Set aside to rest.  The pork will reach 160 degrees while resting, but if you bring it to 160 in the oven it will dry out before you serve it.

Placing an oven-mit or towel over the pan handle for safety, place the pan on the stove over medium high heat.   Deglaze the pan with orange juice, add chicken stock, remaing 1/2 tsp cumin and vinegar, taste for seasoning.  You may want to add a slurry of corn starch to thicken the sauce.  Strain the sauce before serving.

Enjoy!

So — the other side of the story?  Making my Foodie Fight dinner wasn’t enough for me, so I decided to make brioche at the same time.  During the making of this meal I fielded six phone calls , burned four different places on my arm, and my hand (not me, just my hand) grabbed the handle on the pan I had just removed from the oven and burned itself, I screeched 62 first rate swear words (approximately) and consumed zero glasses of wine before dinner.  As we were doing the dishes I realized that I took exactly ZERO photos of the process.  :sigh:

That said, I had more fun doing this than I ever would have expected.  I spent day’s pondering the recipe and planning the steps.  I hope they let me do it again!  Next time I won’t try making brioche at the same time.

Instead of bacon I used pancetta and I added some white mushrooms to the sauce. I think next time I would cut the Sage by about a third, it was a little stronger than the other flavors. We had it with creamy instant polenta on the side and a nice mild (and inexpensive Merlot)

If you’ve never cooked with Leeks before, they are a great spring time treat. You’ll want to trim the dark green tops off trim the roots and then cut them in half. Starting from what was the top run water through the inside. Leeks grow in sand and if you don’t rinse them you’ll end up with very gritty food. I usually rinse, cut and put them on a paper towel, or you can put them in a large bowl of water (after cutting them), agitate the water then let them rest and float to the top. Then put them in a salad spinner.

Try this recipe — you’ll love it!

Pork Chops with Leeks in Mustard Sauce

Had I written this post yesterday I would have been brimming with confidence. But today is another day. Yesterday I put a meal on the table worthy of any restaurant, what I lack in food styling I own in flavor. Tonight, I assaulted pork chops in a manner so deplorable that I should be incarcerated.

I want to tell you about both of these meals. But my first post is going to be about my horrible desecration of a cut of meat that an animal graciously died for. (a cute animal I might add, I love pigs, if only they looked like a scorpion I would not eat them so what does that say about me? I only eat cute animals!)

There are so many cooking shows and blogs dedicated to marvelous menus; the adaptation of a recipe; the savoring of the meal; that it’s easy to be intimidated into thinking that if you can’t always deliver a perfect result, you can’t cook. I fondly remember the finale of Hell’s Kitchen Season 4, Christina yelling “perfect food every time” the entire episode. It quickly became my mantra, my standard for myself. I demand perfect food when I am paying someone else to cook for me. But the honest truth is that I can’t always deliver it (I would argue nobody can).

Bill, my DH and chief taste tester tells me I’m crazy, tonight’s meal was great — he dutifully had seconds. I’m convinced that act of kindness was only be to make me feel better.

Since you are following a Whineaux — may I suggest you go get a glass of wine now. This may be a mistake for my first blog post, but I’m on a roll and I have some things to say. I’ll wait for you to come back.

So, did you get red or white? For me, it’s almost always red — tonight we are enjoying a good but garden variety Cab Sav.

Back to the topic at hand:

Tonight started with big expectations. I had four beautiful bone-in pork chops waiting for me to dazzle them with my creative brilliance. The problem was, I’ve had a rotten day and my creativity wasn’t there. Suddenly, inspiration hit! I wanted to go “old school” memories of buttery, golden rice pilaf inspired my meal. We’d have the rice pilaf and I wanted to bred and fry the pork chops and make a Marsala and mushroom sauce.

I floured the pork chops (the flour was nicely seasoned with garlic powder, pepper, salt and some paprika) and let them rest. Then I started the pilaf. The smell of sauteed onion and garlic wafted through the kitchen. I was off to a good start.

Then, I heated a saute pan and dipped the pork chops in egg wash and then a second coating of breading, the secret to a good crispy coating. Anticipation flowed.

Once the oil heated, I cooked the pork chops in batches so not to crowd the pan and cool the oil (a carnal sin when frying). Then, I removed excess oil, and cooked some onions and mushrooms in the pan — I was working on a pan sauce. I deglazed with Marsala wine and then added some home made beef stock to the sauce. At the very end I hit it with a small dash of cream.

Doesn’t this sound good?

Sadly, it was a greasy mess. The pork chops were by far greasier than anything I’ve ever had in a diner, the sauce broke. The plate was so ugly that I refused to allow it to be photographed.

I sat at my plate and ate it wondering what I did wrong. I told my husband not to help with the dishes; I deserved punishment for what I did to the pork chops and I needed time to think. “What did I do, where did I go wrong?” I had all the right flavors, a great tasting (though UGLY sauce) why were they greasy?

Then it hit me. You can pan fry thin cutlets because they’ll cook quickly. I should have browned the chops and finished them in the oven. the reduced time in the oil would have kept them from getting greasy and the oven would have finished them evenly.

I tell you this story so you don’t repeat my mistake. Another day I’ll tell you about my perfect Ropa Vieja (It’s a Cuban Beef Stew). Tonight I wanted to tell you that sometimes dinner doesn’t turn out the way you envisioned it, but it’s OK, you’ll cook another day and it will be amazing.

I wish more people would talk about their disasters — we’d all learn more.

Until next time, don’t “whine” just “wine”.

P.S. I read this post to my DH and when I got to the part about him taking seconds, he gave me this inspiring quote; “That’s not true, I was starving. I would have eaten an old shoe!”