Saturday, January 31, 2009

Super Soup Bowl Weekend!



I'm not standing up & screaming about a team this Super Bowl Sunday...the reasons are simple. A.)The Cowboys~aka: Americas Team, will not be playing (next season,please?? I might have to start a letter writing campaign to Cowboys owner Jerry Jones!!) B.) Don't have the patience to listen to a Super Bowl game here in Mexico with Spanish voice over. For the Cowboys yes... but that is about the limit for me. Imagine Latin Soccer game style sportscasters. I did it 2 years ago & never again. Podcast are less painful here South of the Border. C.) I just don't care this year, no halftime show(hopefully, minus a clothing malfunctioning) or quarterbacks I really care about; so there! The game will be going on regardless & I can enjoy a slow weekend here of warm soups. We are experiencing a cold snap here in Northern Mexico & warm, nourishing meals are fine fare for our rather slow introspective weekend. At my kitchen it's the Super Soup Bowl weekend. In the spirit of cross cultural dining & pleasing a crowd try out the recipes for Italian Ciabotta, Hot Chicken Salad Sandwiches or the Mexican Green Chili Posole Soup.

Broccoli & Zucchini Ciambotta
2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 med. onion, diced
5 stalks celery, sliced on diagonal
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 28 oz. can of tomatoes, undrained
3 med. zucchini, sliced
small head broccoli, cut into small florets, slicing some stems very thin
3 cups vegetable stock
1 Tbsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
Salt & Pepper to taste
In Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, pepper, celery; saute until vegetables are lightly browned & tender. Add tomatoes, zucchini, broccoli florets, stem slices, vegetable stock. Bring to simmer over medium heat & add oregano, fennel seeds, salt & pepper. Reduce to medium low heat & simmer 25 to 30 minutes or till the vegetables are tender. Serve with garnish of fresh sliced basil leaves.





















Hot Chicken Salad Sandwich
2 large cans Chicken, drained & shredded with fork
1 can artichoke hearts, drained & chopped
3 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup diced onion
Mayonnaise, Tabasco sauce, Salt & Pepper
Manchego or White Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Mix Chicken, artichokes & parsley. Mix in an amount of mayonnaise to bind the ingredients together but not mask the flavors or make overly moist. Add Tabasco, salt & pepper to taste. Toast Bolillo halves then place a mound of Chicken Salad on the bread, top with Manchego cheese & broil till bubbly & serve immediatly.



















Green Chili Posole

2 large cans of Hominy (Juanita's) or fresh bagged from Latin market* yield approx 4 cups of hominy.
1 large yellow onion, sliced and cut up
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dry oregano (Mexican oregano if you can get it)
3 Tbsp. menudo spice seasoning, Bolner's Fiesta brand is my favorite
*See above photo of my favorite San Antonio Texas spice brand.
3 canned green chiles, diced, preferably hot or medium strength
1, 2 to 3 lb. pork tenderloin, trimmed & cut into cubes.
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper to taste

In a large stock pot combine the hominy, onions, garlic, oregano, and green chile. Fill with water to cover the ingredients. Salt and pepper the heck out of it, and plan to do so again later. Turn on the heat and bring to a boil while preparing the meat.

Cut the pork up & heat a small amount of olive oil and brown the pork slowly, adding some salt and pepper to the meat.

After browning the pork, add it to the stock pot and stir the meat in.Once it boils, turn the heat back to simmer the stuff. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stir, and boil again. Do this twice, then simmer again on low heat.

Stir about every 30 minutes. Keep it on low heat, just at a simmer, keep stirring now & again. Continue to cook down, hominy will get softened. Add some water as needed to keep the stock covered. It will thicken & broth will become richer. Add salt and pepper to taste, adjust after the Posole cooks, salt might be needed again as the hominy soaks up the salt.
Serve with tortillas, I serve with diced avocado, lime, cilantro & onion. Buen Provecho!
**Total cook time on this dish is 2-3 hours. Do not rush, the hominy must not retain a crunchy texture. My husband had eaten crunchy Posole...not recommended!

18 comments:

Chef E said...

I saw someone else post this a long while back and am intrigued by posole now! Yours looks like a good duo for me!

Many of us are not into the game anyway...I am sure I will be busy making some healthy food for the day!

Dee said...

The Posole is one of those soups in Mexico they say "either you like Menudo or Posole". I choose Posole! It has the same spices but I don't like the texture of tripe so much.

Joie de vivre said...

I am skipping the Super Bowl too. I have just never gotten into football and the idea of watching football for 3 or 4 hours just makes me want to cringe. We can both enjoy our nice days without it!

Anonymous said...

The hot chicken sandwich looks really yummy. The combo of cheese, mayo, chicken, and artichokes is great.

I confess to originally planning to make a posole with my bison for superbowl but I didn't have all of the necessary ingredients so entirely changed the concept of the dish :)

Hornsfan said...

Wow - Mom, have to say, I never thought I'd see Menudo spice as a featured item for you :) I was a little concerned that you'd have tripe coming up next after seeing the Menudo spices, luckily you've come to your senses and didn't cross over!

ClaudiaH said...

Not even a little curious to watch The Boss? Maybe save dessert and sit in front of halftime with it? Rock 'n Roll history will be made...

Dee said...

Joie de vivre~it will be a long evening at that!
5 Star~yes, it would be a very good Super Bowl Posole in keeping with the theme.
Horsnsfan~I believe you know me better than that...the spice mix is just my favorite brand. You know me & Bolner's. ha!
Claudia~Okay...the boss could no doubt make me tune into the halftime show unless there is Spanish voice over or game play,by play talk here all through the halftime. There are no guarantees here in Mexico:(

Gloria Chadwick said...

The only Super Bowl I enjoy is a Super Bowl of Soup or Chili, and I like your version of Super Soup Bowl much better than football.
Lauren just sent me an email saying you'd be participating in my Tex-Mex event next month. Thanks! :)

Reeni said...

I love Gloria's comment! The Posole seems to be calling out to me. Yumminess all around!

Tangled Noodle said...

These all look good but I'm a posole fan! Thanks for the recipe!

Dee said...

Gloria~thank you, looking forward to the Tex-Mex event. Soup is wonderful stuff isn't it? even if the game isn't what we ant it to be.
Reeni & Tangled Noodle~A good Posole is hard to beat.

Meg said...

It all looks so yummy, especially the posole.

Snooky doodle said...

never thought that broccoli could look so inviting :) yummy

Abby said...

When I was 4 I told my mom I was going to be a Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. I'm kinda glad that didn't turn out to be the case!

We're a Steelers fam so you know we're happy. In fact, Brad kind of hates the Cowboys and the fact that they're called "America's Team." He always says, "America's Team - what is that supposed to mean?!"

HA.

I'd love one of those hot chicken-salad sandwiches for lunch today!

Genie said...

How are you and your precious children not ENORMOUS!

I wish I had fur like your precious cat, then I'd be cute and cuddly and everyone would want to look at me and touch me. Why can't humans be cutely furry? Fat is always cute on a cat.

Some tasty looking grub there, woman, you are so talented. In many ways.

Dewi said...

OMG, your meal looks so delicious. Especially that green chili posole.
Cheers,
Elra

Shayne said...

I enjoyed the super bowl even with the Spanish voice over. I was bummed; however, that I did not get to see the $3 Million commercials

Dee said...

Meg, Snooky Doodle, Abby, Genie, Elra & Shayne. Thanks, the soups were far better than the coverage down here South of the Border for the Super Bowl. Abby~the whole Dallas Cowboy cheerleader dream, very over rated, ha! But I have to say if you know anything about my home state if the moniker of America's team stuck it was due in large part to our not so small egos in Texas! ha,ha! We do things in a big way. Glad the Steelers won even though I haven't been a fan since the days of Terry Bradshaw. (who last time I heard lives not far from Dallas, odd but true!)