Come cook with us this Thursday evening, September  7 at 5 PM, which I am placing on a special price of $95.00. We will be featuring traditional New Mexican/Mexican  dishes with a bit of a tasty twist.  Instead of the predictable rolled enchiladas, we will be preparing my award winning flat enchiladas--with tips on Green Chile Parching as well as the best way to create very flavorful Red Chile Beef Enchiladas   When you make flat enchiladas, the best feature is that you get much more flavorful sauce in proportion to the tortilla, making them more yummy than the rolled ones.  

In addition to the two types of enchiladas, we will be making Sopaipillas, which are credited with having been made the very first time in the courtyard in front of the San Francisco de Neri church in Old Town Albuquerque.  In the 1600's    each Sunday, the women of the church made special treats  for serving after the service to entice people to come to church.  The history of their having  made sopapillas for the first time was on a "warm balmy Sunday afternoon in 1640 in front of the church they made a special deep fried bread for the first time."  They called them Sopaipillas, which are not to be found in Spain,  but a deep fried bread was known then, so some clever souls created the name of Sopaillas over here.

And...there's more to the history lesson.  We will be making Bizcochitos as they made them back in the 1860''s.  The history of the first Bizcochito is that  the "rag-a-muffin" army of Mexican men  who were not allowed to wear uniforms due to the French rule, defeated Napoleon's army.  The Mexican men were under the direction of General Ignacio Zaragoza.  What happened was the Mexicans had decided to revolt from French rule, so they were forcing Maximmillian and Carlotta out of Mexico City to the Port of Vera Cruz to go home to France.

Since this victory was so huge, the "powers to be" created the idea of making a commerative cookie to celebrate this victory.  That cookie was the Bizcochito, which is fundamentally a lard short bread that is not the same if made without lard.  We will be making the original recipe which features anise seeds and a dusting of cinnamon sugar and will be made the traditional way,in the shape of the fleur de lis, a symbol in the French flag, which they were stamping out,  

To go along with the Bizcochitos, I will be sharing the best Flan--Flan Caramelisado, taught to me by my Mexican Aunt who studied at the Sorbonne and the Cordon Bleu in Paris.  I always say that recipe garnered me a wonderful wardrobe of beautiful Souithwestern clothes fashioned by Double D.  (I will share the story in class.)

And of course to finish the celebration, we will be making Perfect Margaritas.

I would love to have you come this Thursday evening. 

The next day class will not be until September 28, where I will be creating a brand new class.  Also, on September 22 - 24, we will be conducting a weekend class.  Our next week long class is October 23 - 27.   Otherwise, I will be sponsoring the International Competition at the State Fair and giving private classes.

Here's are some grilled fresh corn recipes to try now with all the fresh corn--

MEXICAN-STYLE GRILLED CORN WITH TOPPINGS 

In Old Mexico, grilling corn is generally the preferred way to prepare corn on the cob. The flavors are enhanced by the caramelization of the corn as it grills to a “brown flecked perfection”. Try the toppings for a real sizzling taste sensation! Watch out, you’ll likely to get “hooked” on the amazing flavor. 

You can grill corn this way on an outdoror grill, under the broiler, or on a stovetop grill. The various toppings really make it fun. 

Cooking Time: 12 to 15 servings 

Yield: 4 servings 

4 large ears fresh, sweet corn

Select fresh corn by pressing a finger nail into the kernels. If they squirt a milky like substance, the corn is very fresh. The green husk should also look fresh, not wilted. 

Preheat the cooking surface. Husk the corn and remove the silk.  Then place on the grill and cook until the kernels, when pierced, are firm and not milky. The outside edges of the kernels should be a bit blackened. Serve with your choice of the following toppings. 

Per Serving: Calories 103, Protein 3 g., Carbohydrates 19 g., Fiber 2 g., Fat 3 g., Saturated Fat 0 g., Cholesterol 0 mg., Sodium 13 mg. (Analyzed without the toppings.)

TOPPINGS

Fresh Lime and Caribe Chile

1 lime, cut into wedges

4 teaspoons crushed red caribe chile 

Serve lime wedges—2 per person per ear—along with a small bowl of the chile. 

Per Serving: Calories 8, Protein 0g., Carbohydrates 2 g., Fiber 1 g., Fat 0 g., Saturated Fat 0 g., Cholesterol 0 mg., Sodium 0 mg. 

New Mexican Herbs

2 Tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon ground Mexican Oregano

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon crushed pequin quebrado chiles 

Before grilling the corn, combine the oil, oregano, cumin and chiles. Sere with the hot corn. This topping can alos be used for dipping bread. It will keep for several days at room temperature. 

Per Serving: Calories 62, Protein 0 g., Carbohydrates 0 g., Fiber 0 g., Fat 7 g., Saturated Fat 1 g., Cholesterol 0 mg., Sodium 1 mg. 

Mexican Hot Mayonnaise 

4 Tablespoons (1/4 cup) mayonnaise

1 small jalapeno, minced (or ¼ teaspoon pequin, chipotle, caribe or other chile to taste) 

Combine the mayonnaise with the chile. Serve hot with the hot corn. 

Per Serving: Calories 103 g., Protein 0 g., Carbohydrates 1 g., Fiber 0 g., Fat 11g., Saturated Fat 2 g., Cholesterol 10 mg., Sodium 76 mg. 

Reprinted with permission from Jane Butel’s Quick and Easy Southwestern Cookbook.