Black Bean Sauce

this sauce goes well with chiles rellenos or as a dip for tortilla chips.

2 tbl spoons oil
1/2 medium onion
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 jalapeno minced
1 can black beans
1 cup chicken stock
1 tbl spoon cumin seeds
1 medium tomato coarsely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

In a medium sauce pan over medium high heat, heat the oil and sautee the onion until clear. add the garlic and jalapeno and cook for roughly 5 minutes stirring often. reduce the heat and add the black beans and chicken stock. simmer for 30 minutes. add the cumin and salt and pepper. place in a food processor and process until smooth. add the tomatoes and stir until well combined.

cornmeal-coated chiles rellenos

i've been a fan of chiles rellenos for years. my favorite for ages came from a whole in the wall restaurant in midtown memphis, TN. then i stumbled upon these and well...the ones from memphis took second place.

1 1/2 cup cornmeal (i prefer the blue cornmeal when i can find it)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 large egg
2 tbl spoons of milk
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 poblano peppers roasted, seeded (optional...i like the additional heat), and peeled
4 tbl spoons of crumbled goat cheese
4 tbl spoons of grated monteray jack
3 cups of oil

to roast peppers
preheat oven to 350F. rub peppers with olive oil, place on a baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes. remove from the oven and place in a brown paper bag for 5 minutes to steam. cut a slit down one side of the pepper to remove the seedsand peel off outer skin.

In a mixing bowl combine cornmeal, flour, and salt & pepper. in another small bowl lightly beat the egg and milk until just combined. in a third bowl mix together the goat cheese and monteray jack.

Stuff each pepper with the cheese mixture. roll each pepper in the cornmeal then dip in the egg mixture and then roll again in the cornmeal.

In a large frying pan heat the oil until a drop of batter sizzles. fry the peppers, turning until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. remove from oil and place on paper towels to absorb excess grease. serve hot. goes well with black bean sauce.

chinese chicken salad

the ingredients in the salad are approximate measurements. you can add more of some and less of others as you prefer. also you can add any other ingredients that you'd like such as snow peas, shredded carrot, bean sprouts, celery etc. Experiment and find out what you like.



Dressing:

1/2 tsp. dry mustard, dissolved in 1/2 tsp. water
1 tbl. Soy sauce
3 tbl. Rice wine vinegar
2 tbl. Hoisin sauce
1 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. sugar
2 tbl. Oriental sesame oil
1/4 cup of corn or canola oil

Salad:

1 1/2 cups of cooked, shredded chicken or turkey
1 cup of fresh cilantro leaves
2 to 3 cups of mixed baby lettuces
1/2 red pepper, seeded and juilienned
3 scallions, sliced on the diagonal
3/4 of a cup of chow mein noodles
1/4 cup of cashews, roughly chopped