Merry Christmas Everyone!  We decided to put this webisode together to help anyone out who is anxious to start making tamales this holiday season or just wondered how it’s done.  Without further ado…. Here’s our Christmas Special (Everyone loves a Christmas Special, right!?)

Tamale Tips:

Buy your masa prepared from your local Mexican/Latin Market or use Maseca Masa for Tamale flour.  For those of you that live in Los Angeles, I buy my masa at a place called “La Favorita,” and have been buying from them for YEARS!  They are located at 600 N. Brannick Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90063.  The best in Los Angeles. 🙂

I wrap my tamales in corn husks but take it a step further and wrap them additionally in a grease resistant 12 x 12 sandwich wrap paper.

A friend asked where do you pour the water when you are steaming your tamales and want to replenish the water?  You pour it right on the side of the tamale pot.  The tamales are covered in corn husks on top and damp towels.  The water is NOT going to disturb them at all.

If you are looking to be less stressed right before the holidays, make your tamales in advanced and freeze them in a ziplock raw (make sure to mark them so you know which side is the opening). Then the day you are ready to enjoy them, take them directly from the freezer and straight into the steamer and steam them for 5 1/2 to 6 hours.

If you are unable to find a tamale steamer pot, you can always make your own.  Use a smaller pot with a vegetable steamer basket placed at the bottom or flipped upside down.  Place enough water and a penny at the bottom of the pot, when you hear the penny bouncing that means the water level is low and time to replenish.  Make note, the water level will go low.  Also, you don’t want the water level to ever surpass the vegetable steamer.  Then follow the directions in the video. Make sure to cover in corn husks on top and a damp towel.

Place the Idaho potato in the tamale raw, it will cook as the tamale steams.  The potato is the perfect addition to a meat tamale or a vegetarian one.

In the vegetarian tamales on the video, I used green anaheim chile strips, but I personally use jalapenos in place of the green chile strips for more heat. Feel free to swap them out if you love the heat or don’t at all.

I usually season my masa with green chile for the vegetarian tamales and for my green chile pork tamales.  For my red chile beef tamales (which were not featured in this video) I season the masa with the red chile.  I also use the red chile inside the vegetarian tamales.  I am adding the recipes for both chiles below.

I make my chiles the day before I’m going to make my tamales.  I also chop everything I’ll need and cook my meat in the crock pot. For the pork, I use the pork shoulder.

Feel free to leave me any questions and I will follow up with you right away.  This is a very traditional recipe but also a very ambitious one….. but heck, give it a whirl.  This is such a fun recipe to attempt.

Here is my green chile recipe:

• 9 – tomatillos
• 6 – guero chiles (yellow chiles)
• 8 – serrano chiles
• 7 – jalapeno chiles
• 5 – garlic cloves (browned/fried)
• 3 – cups of water (from water chiles boiled in)
• 1 – teaspoon of vinegar
• 2 – teaspoons chicken bouillon (I use Knorr)
• 1 – teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 – teaspoon black pepper

Fill two pots halfway with water and place over a medium high flame.  Bring water to a boil.  Then put tomatillos in one pot and in the other put all chiles.  Boil tomatillos for 15 minutes, you will know they are ready when they go from light green to a greenish yellow color.  Remove from flame and set to the side.

Boil chiles for 30 minutes or until soft and a bit limp.  While chiles are boiling place garlic cloves in a frying pan with a little oil and fry till browned.  Set to the side.  Once chiles are boiled remove from flame but DO NOT discard water… you will need it to blend chile.

You will have to work in batches.  In a blender add chiles (discard stem), browned garlic cloves, water from the pot the chiles boiled in, vinegar, chicken bouillon, oregano, black pepper and tomatillos.  Blend until smooth about 1 minute.  Pour into a bowl.  Set to the side.

Here is my red chile recipe:

• 1 – large onion peeled
• 5 – garlic cloves peeled
• 3 – ounces new mexico dried chile (I use Don Enrique)
• 3 – ounces california dried chile (I use Don Enrique)
• 1 – large dried pasilla chile (I use Don Enrique)
• 3 – tablespoons salt
• 7 – cups water

In a big pot add water, 2 tablespoons of salt, all chiles, onion, and garlic cloves. Bring to a boil.  Boil for 30 minutes. Water will turn dark brown.

Remove chiles and garlic cloves from water.  Discard onion.  Do not discard water, you will be using it in the next step.  Remove stems from chiles, then add to a blender along with 1 cup of water from the pot, garlic cloves, and a tablespoon of salt.  Blend for 2 minutes.

Once blended get a big bowl and add 1/2 cup of water from pot into the bowl, then take the blended chile and put through a strainer. It will be thick.  Add a little bit of water from pot to chile strainer and scrape with a spoon.  Use up to 1 3/4 cups of water for the entire process. It’s time consuming but your red chile will be clean and super tasty.  Set to the side.

A hundred hugs to my crew for all the hard work we put in together!  A special thank you to the Idaho Potato Commission for believing in us! Thank you to the Zardeneta Family for being the best! xoxoxox! Love you guys and Merry Christmas!

My Grandpa always made calabacitas. They were probably my first introduction into the vegetable world. This is exciting news for me to share…. I just posted my calabacitas recipe on Babble’s The Family Kitchen. I am proud to announce I am their new food contributor and the first Latina they have ever hired in the kitchen! 🙂 Jump over to the Babble site for my recipe. 

Welcome to September, National Potato Month and Latino Heritage Month.  I am a proud Latina who loves to eat papas and found this to be the perfect time to have my celebratory hat on for this Picadillo recipe.  It is a dish my family has cherished for years and now I am proudly sharing it with you. Watch the video for a quick how to, and if you like what you see….. subscribe to my You Tube channel by clicking here.

Ingredients for Picadillo:

3 – anaheim chiles

2 – huerito chiles

3 – Idaho Potatoes

2 – medium sized tomatoes

1 – yellow onion

2 – pounds ground beef (70/30)

1 – teaspoon Lawry’s seasoning salt

1/2 – teaspoon ground cumin

1 – teaspoon black pepper

a pinch of oregano

4 – garlic cloves

1 – cup beef broth

Char chiles on a comal (grill) until skin is completely burned. Then place in a ziplock bag to soften in their own moisture for about 30 minutes. Remove from bag and peel charred skin completely off. Then slice and chop chile. Set to the side

Peel, chop into big cubes, and boil Idaho Potatoes for 10 minutes. Drain and set to the side.

In a large frying pan over a medium high flame add 2 tablespoons of oil and allow to get hot for about 3 minutes. Then add in boiled potatoes and fry until crisp and golden brown for about 10 minutes. Once your potatoes are nice and crisp add in your chopped chiles, chopped tomato and onion. Let all the veggies get to know each other by cooking them for about 5 to 7 minutes. Set to the side.

In a different large frying pan over a medium high flame cook ground beef. Make sure to break up the beef into small pieces…. then add in the spice with Lawry, cumin, black pepper, oregano, and garlic. Cook until all ground beef is brown. If there is an excess of oil in the pan, now would be the time to drain most of it. Then add in potato mixture and beef broth. Cover pan with lid and lower flame to a simmer. Let picadillo simmer for 20 minutes. Serve hot with a corn or flour tortilla and let your meat and potato dreams come true.

Thank you with my entire heart and gratitude to my amazing crew! I Love you guys.

Directors:  Mando Lopez and James Ford

Director of Photography:  Tony Molina

Producer:  Lacey Reilly

 Editor:  James Ford

Set Design:  Mando Lopez

Still photos and camera assistant :  Max Azpiazu

On-set morale booster: Kristen Warren

Sound:  Evan Kendra

Equipment: Paul Hopkins

Opening Music: Anger Bros

Musicians: Andrea Bulletti and Mando Lopez

Vocals: Nicole Presley

Music Engineer: Manny Nieto

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Idaho Potato Commission. The recipe and opinions are my own. 

Is there a dish that your Grandma use to make you when you were little?  Something special that your Momma has learned from her Mom and will now pass it down to you?  For me it’s Avocado Tacos.  The simplicity of these tacos is the beauty of it.  You can taste the creamy-ness of the avocado, the tang of the cheese and the tasty salsa all wrapped in a crispy corn tortilla shell…. and that’s all you need.

Avocados from Mexico is sending me to Blogher in New York City in less then a week to find out what other bloggers think when they hear the words Avocados and Abuelita (Grandma) together?  What a fun trip.  I can’t wait to hear what people have to say.  In the meantime I will savor what comes to mind when I hear the words Avocados and Abuelita together ….. Avocado Tacos with a Red Salsa!

 All photos taken by: Nicole Presley

Ingredients for Avocado Tacos:

10 – corn tortillas

2 – ripe Avocados from Mexico (sliced 1 inch thick)

1 – round of jalapeno queso quesadilla (sliced 1/2 inch thick)

toothpicks

1 – cup vegetable oil

Ingredients for simple red salsa:

water

4 – tomatoes

7 – chile de arbol

3 – garlic cloves

1 – tablespoon salt

Let’s start with the simple red salsa.  Fill a medium pot halfway with water and place over a medium high flame. Bring to a boil and add tomatoes and chile de arbol. Boil for 30 minutes. Remove from flame. With a slotted spoon, remove tomatoes and chile de arbol (remove stem from chiles) and place in a blender. Add 1 cup of the water the chiles boiled in to blender as well. Then add garlic and salt. Cover and blend till smooth. Pour into a bowl and set to the side until tacos are ready. This portion can be made the day before if desired.

Taco time! Over an open flame heat corn tortillas till warm and pliable. Remove from flame and stuff with a piece of Avocado and cheese. Fold in half and close with a toothpick. Repeat until done with all tortillas.

Pour vegetable oil in a frying pan over a medium high flame and allow to get hot.  Then add tacos and fry on each side for 3 to 5 minutes or until crisp.

Then remove tacos from oil and let drain on a paper towel lined plate.

Remove toothpicks. Dress your tacos with red salsa, and eat one of the most incredible tacos of all time.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Avocados from Mexico . The recipe and opinions are completely my own!  Yes, and without a doubt #ILoveAvocados #AmoLosAguacates

Chile Colorado brings the familiar taste of my childhood rushing back to me. Flooding my mouth with my heritage and reminding me of my Mexican-American upbringing.  My Grandfather made it for our dinner time and time again.  He cooked his chile colorado in a cast iron pan and made his chile from scratch.  To this day he loves his steak chopped into cubes and drenched in red chile.  This dish had become so sacred in my mind that I had never even attempted to make it myself.  I wanted to leave it perfect in my memory  the way my Grandfather had always prepared it.  Well last week I was craving a plate of Chile Colorado and with my Grandfather now being 88 years old, I didn’t have the audacity to request he make it for me, knowing darn well that I would be able to get in the kitchen myself and bust it out.  That was it, I made Chile Colorado for the first time with the few tidbits I remember from my Grandfather and I was so proud of my final product.  It tasted just like I remember and maybe even a little better.  Is that awful of me to say?  Sorry Grandpa.

Ingredients for Chile Colorado:

1 – onion (peeled)

1 – package of New Mexico Chile (use entire bag 2oz.)

1 – package of California Chile (use entire bag 2oz.)

2 – dried pasilla chiles (reserve the rest for the next time you make this)

4 – garlic cloves (peeled)

1 – tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 – teaspoon dried oregano

1 – teaspoon garlic salt

salt and pepper to your liking

vegetable oil

4 – tenderlion steaks (about 1 1/2 pounds)

1 – heaping tablespoon of flour

garlic powder

3 – large Idaho Potatoes

Let’s start by making the chile.  Fill a large pot half way with water and add 3 tablespoons of salt and the entire onion.  Then place over a medium high flame and bring to a boil.  Once boiling add New Mexico Chile, California Chile and Pasilla Chile to water and cover with a lid.  Let boil for 30 minutes.

Then remove from flame. DO NOT DISCARD the water.  Save it.  Take all the chiles and place in a blender.  Remove stems from chiles.  You may have to do this in two batches.  Pour a cup and a half  –  two cups of the water (use the water you boiled the chiles in) into the blender along with garlic cloves, red wine vinegar, oregano, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Blend on high till smooth.

   It will be a bright red color.

Then place a sieve over a bowl and pour chile in.  This step will collect all the skin and seeds. Mix with a spoon till there is no liquid in the sieve.  Collect chile in bowl and set to the side.

Next take your steak.  Trim any fat (you may want to leave a little bit) and cube into 1 1/2 inch cubes.  Then in a dutch oven or cast iron pan over a medium flame pour a 1/2 of tablespoon of oil and allow to heat to hot.  Then add in steak cubes.

Cook just until browned.  About 3 to 5 minutes.  Then add a little salt, pepper, garlic powder…. Mix well.  Lastly add in flour and mix well to absorb any moisture in pan.

Next add in chile. You should have about 2 to 3 cups.

Lower the flame to low, cover with a lid and let chile and meat cook for about 45 minutes to an hour. Stir every 10 to 15 minutes.

While chile and meat are cooking….  Peel potatoes and cut into 2 inch cubes.  Boil some water in a medium pan and add potatoes.  Boil for 10 minutes.  Then remove from water.  In a large frying pan add a tablespoon and a half of vegetable oil and allow to get hot. Then add potatoes and fry on both sides for 7 minutes or until crisp. Then remove from flame and set to the side.

Once the chile and meat are almost done ( the sauce should look a little on the thick side) add the fried potatoes in.  Mmmmmm, my mouth just watered.

Mix well, serve in a bowl or plate.  Heat a side of corn or flour tortillas and shake your head in disbelief at how good your food is!  🙂  Enjoy!

Not only is February the month for sweet amor,  it’s Potato Lovers Month too.  In addition to the many potato dishes that we all know and love (e.g. baked potatoes, hash browns or mashed), let’s celebrate other courses made with delicious Idaho Potatoes too.  Let’s not forget Beef and Potato Tacos, Potato and Chorizo Enchiladas, Chile Verde with Potatoes and all the wonderful caldos (soups) made with spuds.

As you may know I like to jump outside of the box or as I say “scribble beyond the lines”, so here is a recipe called Casuelitas.  It’s a very unique recipe made of masa and left-over mashed potatoes.  For those of you who have never had the enjoyment of sinking your teeth into one…. it taste like a cross between a gordita and a potato croquette…. seriously UNFORGETTABLE.  Ever since The Idaho Potato Commission introduced these lovely delights into my life,  I’ve been craving them non- stop.  This is my homage to Casuelitas …. take a look.

Ingredients for Casuelitas:

• 2 – cups masa flour for tamales
• 2 – teaspoons table salt
• 1 – teaspoon baking soda
• 4 – tablespoons lard
• 1 – cup hot water
• 2 – cups queso quesadilla  cheese grated
• 2 – cups mashed Idaho Potatoes
• 1 – teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 – teaspoon chipotle powder
• 3/4 – teaspoon lime salt

Garnish:

• Carnitas (recipe below)
• grated cotija cheese
• salsa
• cilantro
• avocado
• crema

Ingredients for Carnitas:

 Disclosure: This post is sponsored by the Idaho Potato Commission. All opinions are my own. 

It’s almost impossible to find delicious chilaquiles in this town, unless you are making them at home.  I am a chilaquiles lover and I’m always ready with fork in hand to eat a good batch.  Sometimes I don’t feel like cooking but still want to satisfy my Mexican breakfast craving with chilaquiles, well my prayers have been answered in spades. La Casita Mexicana makes the most delicious chilaquiles I have ever tasted in my life.   They offer a variety of different preparations/sauces to choose from.  Everything from a spicy red chile to roasted green chile to a smokey mole sauce.  I settled on ordering the “divorciados” half green chile and half red chile.  Perfectly crunchy corn tortilla pieces emerged in a bath of two chiles then covered in crumbled queso fresco, red onion, and cilantro.  A wall of sour cream divorces the two.  These heavenly chilaquiles are accompanied by a homemade corn tortilla quesadilla, and a mound of creamy refried pinto beans topped with a roasted chile de arbol.  The deliciousness didn’t stop there.  I enjoyed the finest cup of cafe de olla spiced with cinnamon sweetened with piloncillo and swirled with cream.  We finished our breakfast perfection with a cactus tuna (prickly pear) flan topped with a gorgeous pomegranate sauce.  It was exactly like flan should be dense and similar to custard with a sweetness unlike anything I have ever tried.

I’m thrilled when I say La Casita Mexicana makes the BEST Mexican breakfast in Los Angeles.  Not to mention they have a million write ups from respected publications hailing them for their dinner menu, but we’re talking breakfast right now. 🙂  Plain and simple: I advise you to visit as soon as possible.  Here are a few photos from an unforgettable breakfast.

All photos taken by: Nicole Presley

La Casita Mexicana

4030 East Gage Ave.

Bell, CA 90201

323. 773.1898