Salsa verde con chile guajillo

I was walking through the veggie aisles at our fancy supermarket in town and saw really pretty, big, tomatillos. This is important because usually they are tiny, dirty and not abundant, so if you really want to make a green salsa you're kind of stuck with the sub-par 6 tiny little tomatillos they have.

Of course, since they caught my attention I ended up bringing 3 of them home. The first one I cut up in chunks and had in a salad, and I was surprised at how apple-y it tasted and felt. Green, bitter apples are not my cup of tea, so the other 2 hung out in the fridge for a couple of days until this morning, when I decided I needed to make a salsa or they would go to waste.

So, 7 am. No planning whatsoever. Something magical happened in my just-out-of-bed state because this is possibly my favorite salsa ever (that I have ever made personally).

These are the ingredients I had in the pantry and fridge and threw together:

2 medium-sized tomatillos, peeled and in chunks
1 dried guajillo chile
1/2 medium onion, in 2 parts
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tsp chicken bouillon powder
5 sprigs of cilantro (I only had the one you squeeze out of a tube, and used about 2 tsp, fresh is better though!)
salt and pepper to taste


Bring the tomatillos, guajillo chile and one of the onion parts to a boil. Let boil for 15-20 minutes, until the tomatoes are broken down. Transfer the boiled tomatoes, chile and onion with a slotted spoon into a blender.

Add the other onion part, garlic, chicken bouillon powder, cilantro and about 1/3 cup of the hot water from the pot. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Let everything cool inside the blender for about 5 minutes, otherwise you'll be wiping salsa off the ceiling.

Place the lid on the blender and pulse slowly at first, then finish blending to your desired salsa consistency. For this type of sauce I would recommend to go less chunky.

It was so good! We ate it with our eggs for breakfast, and had it with thin-cut steak (milanesa) for lunch. Eating with salsas this way is very common in Mexico, so it was a nice homey meal to us :) Please note though, it is a little bit spicy, I would say medium, but it depends on the spiciness of the chile you use!

Bruno really liked it too, check the Brunometer out:

8.9 / 10

We'll have it as a snack with chips, and on a quesadilla for dinner. I should cook before 7 am more often!!

Omelette cups

Here's an easy breakfast idea! I woke up this morning with a little extra time so I decided to play a little bit.

And so here are my little omelette breakfast cups:

6 wonton wrappers
3 eggs
1/4 medium onion, minced
1/2 on the vine tomato, in small chunks
1/4 jalapeño pepper, minced
1/8 cup heavy cream
2 strips of bacon, in small chunks
2 slices of swiss cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a bowl, mix all the ingredients except the wonton wrappers and the cheese. Spray 6 openings on a cupcake pan, and push the wonton wrapper in to create a cup shape.

Distribute the egg mixture evenly between the 6 cups, and top with a chunk of the swiss cheese.

Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. The eggs will grow and the cheese will melt. It is awesome!! Feel free to add any ingredients you'd like, I can imagine mushroom, spinach and feta cheese might make an amazing omelette cup :)

Chicken tikka masala

Oh, Indian food. One of our many loves and yet something I rarely venture into. Why? Because I consider it the big leagues.

But today, I was brave. Bruno just loves the India Pavillion's tikka masala. So I wanted to try to create that for him, right here at home.

And behold:

There are many spices involved in the making of this dish, and the ingredients list really is my best approximation of how many of each thing I used. It is not an exact science however, feel free to add or remove quantities or ingredients altogether :)

Chicken tikka masala
Servings: 4
Prep time: 1 h 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min

Marinade
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
3 wooden skewers
2 cups of plain yogurt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cumin
1/4 minced ginger
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
salt to taste

Moisten the skewers in water. Cut the chicken breasts in bite-size chunks or smaller, and assemble one breast per skewer. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients. Place the skewers on a broiler pan and coat liberally with the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap and let marinade for at least 1 hour.


Sauce

1 tbsp butter
1/2 medium onion, minced
1 large garlic clove, minced
1/2 jalapeño pepper, minced
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp yellow curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp minced cilantro
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce

When the chicken is done marinating, heat a cast-iron griddle to high. Cook the chicken on the skewers for about 15 minutes, making sure to cook on each side. Discard the remaining marinade. (An option is to cook them in the oven, I imagine 375 F for 20 minutes will do the trick).

While the chicken is cooking, melt the butter in a deep pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic and jalapeño. Sautee for about 2 minutes, until the onion is a bit translucent. Add all remaining ingredients except the tomato sauce and heavy cream. Stir well to combine and saute for about 1-2 minutes.

Add the tomato and heavy cream and stir well. Taste the sauce, feel free to add anything you'd like. I ended up adding more sugar and garam masala in mine :) Let the sauce come to a boil and lower the heat to low. Simmer on low for about 15 minutes, until the chicken is done cooking.

Remove the chicken from the skewers and add to the sauce. Stir well, making sure to coat every piece. Bring the heat to medium and let everything simmer together for about 10 minutes. Serve with rice and/or naan and enjoooy!

So, I was very nervous about this dish because it is one of Bruno's favorite things. But guess what everyone? It's Top 10!! Despite my less frequent cooking adventures, I still got skills ;)

9.5 / 10

Beefy flädlesuppe (German pancake soup)

These past few weeks have been a weather rollercoaster. I can't decide if I want a frozen cocktail or a warm hearty soup. So, due to the climate's ambiguity, I have had no choice but to consume both ;) Last night was the margarita, and today we have:

This soup is surprisingly simple to make, and perhaps the hardest thing to do is to make the crepes. I am lucky, however, and crepes are Bruno's absolute specialty. They are perfect every time! Check them out here.

German pancake soup
Servings: 4
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 hour

1 lb beef for stew

1 bay leaf
1 whole clove
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
12 cups of water
salt and pepper to taste
2 celery stalks, chopped
4 thin carrots, chopped

1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
1 1/2 beef bouillon cubes
1/8 cup chopped green onion
1/8 cup chopped curly parsley
3 crepes (recipe here).

In a big pot, combine the first 6 ingredients. When you add the salt, try to add less than you normally would since we will be adding bouillon cubes later. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. When it begins to boil, remove the beef residue that will float to the top. Lower the heat to medium and let cook for 20 minutes.

While the beef is cooking, you can prepare the crepes and chop your veggies. When the 20 minutes have passed, add the carrots, mushroom, celery and bouillon cubes to the pot. Crumble the cubes with your fingers as you add them, and stir in well to combine the flavors. Let everything for an additional 25 minutes. If you prefer your veggies to be crunchier, add them in a bit later.

Roll the crepes into tight cylinders and slice them to create long strips. Serve the soup with green onions, parsley and crepe strips on top. Try to get a bit of everything in each spoonful, the combination is amazing!

And the crepe master gives it a:

8.4 / 10