Chorizo Breakfast Frittata

I was stumbling through the shop of a Cracker Barrel recently (don't ask me why, I don't have a good answer) and picked up the Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook, by Pam Hoenig.  Figuring it would be a shameless way to promote Lodge cookware, I was skeptical at first.  But when the first recipe looked like gold and I tried to take a picture of it with my cellphone camera, I figured I might break down and buy the thing.  And so now I have many more excuses to use my cast iron cookware, which is most assuredly a good thing.

If you don't own any cast iron cookware, then shame on you.  Go down south, eat some country cookin', and then come back up to your posh city chic apartment and order some on Amazon.  You won't regret it, cast iron holds heat better than anything out there and develops great flavor by promoting browning.  And it's practically nonstick, since it's "seasoned" with a perpetual layer of stanky cooking oil that just keeps baking deeper into the metal as you use it.  Traditionally, a bride in many families in the southern United States was given an unseasoned (bare metal) set of cast iron, and it was supposed to last for the life of her marriage.  I suppose if this were one of Kim Kardashian's gifts, the thing would have rusted almost immediately.  But a proper kitchen will not use soap on their cast iron, and it will last for a lifetime of delicious, artery-clogging meals.  And so I present to you one of them...

Chorizo frittata - a one pan meal of epic deliciousness, done proper-like in the cast iron skillet

Breakfast Frittata with Chorizo

from the Lodge Cast Iron Cookbook

• 3/4 pound bulk chorizo sausage (casings removed)
• 6 large eggs
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• 2 large handfuls baby spinach, Swiss chard, or arugula, washed and well dried
• 8 ounces feta, cotija, or any Mexican firm cheese such as queso fresco, crumbled
• 1 large ripe tomato

All of the ingredients, including queso fresco and some homemade bulk chorizo at right

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Brown the sausage in a 10" cast iron skillet over medium heat, until crumbly and no longer pink.  Remove and drain on paper towels.  Drain all of the fat from the skillet, but leave the residue with the sausage-y goodness in the pan for some extra flavor.

'Brown' in the cast iron - don't just grey your meat, make sure you get some flavor through the Maillard reaction by browning it.  Why use the cast iron if you're not going to take advantage of its benefits?

Place the eggs, cream, salt, black pepper, and red pepper in a large bowl, and whisk until foamy.  Add all of the remaining ingredients, including the drained chorizo, and stir to incorporate.  WARNING: this is messy, so be sure to use a larger bowl than you think is necessary.

Get some air into the eggs.  Come on, work those ova!

"...and mix them all together in a big jug."

Pour the egg mixture into the skillet and cook over medium heat until it begins to set and hold together around the outside edge.  Transfer to the oven and bake until the top of the frittata has puffed up and is golden brown, 25-35 minutes.

Let the mixture set up on the bottom slightly, and then throw in the oven.  Not all of the spinach wilted down before baking, as you can see here.

Slice the frittata into 8 wedges and serve immediately.  You don't need to worry about letting it cool, since the cheese won't melt and make a huge mess.  Feel free to garnish with sour cream, sliced scallions, pico de gallo, cilantro, or nothing at all - it doesn't need anything extra!

Going, going, gone.  Leaving a little of the sausage drippings in the pan added to the flavor of the crust that forms on the base of the frittata.  Everything set up nicely, and was very easy to serve given the firmness of the cheese.

Thai Green Papaya Salad (Som Tam)

If you've never tried it, papaya salad is a refreshing (but spicy) first course served in Thailand.  It's got something for everyone's food allergy, too - peanuts, shrimp, and cilantro.  So be careful who you serve this to.  And don't worry if you can't find shrimp paste, since I didn't feel that it added much to the dish, plus it smells... strange.

The recipe provides a fun exercise in taste testing, wherein you get to adjust at the end for sweetness, saltiness, and tartness using three different ingredients.  So even if you abandoned your dreams of culinary school, you can still practice working out each group of your taste buds and feel like a chef for a fleeting moment.

And if you need even MORE reasons to make this, well, let me tell you about papaya.  Did you know that it is a digestive aid?  That it's high in vitamins B and C, dietary fiber, and other minerals?  That it's being studied as a suppressor of liver cancer, and as a contraceptive?  That it has antifungal properties, and its leaves are used to treat malaria?  Or my favorite bizarre 'fact':

"Harrison Ford was treated for a ruptured disc incurred during filming of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom by papain (made from papaya) injections."  -Wikipedia, citing the book Harrison Ford: The Films

This recipe was taken practically verbatim from About.com's Thai food page, which is a really good source of information if you're looking to branch out.

Papaya salad - a good way to wake up your taste buds

Thai Green Papaya Salad (Som Tam)
by Darlene Schmidt

• 1/2 tsp. shrimp paste (if vegetarian, substitute 1/2 Tbsp. Thai golden mountain sauce OR 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce)
• 2 Tbsp. good-tasting oil, such as olive
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce OR 2+1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce for vegetarians
• 3 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1/2 to 1 Tbsp. liquid honey, to taste
• 1 small green papaya, OR 1/2 large (your papaya should be very firm, the flesh white to light orange in color)
• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts, or cashews
• 1-2 cups bean sprouts
• 1 to 2 tomatoes, cut into long thin strips, or 1/2 pound cherry tomatoes
• 1 red chili, minced (seeds removed if you prefer a milder salad)
• 3 spring onions, sliced into long matchstick-like pieces
• 1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped if leaves are large
• handful of fresh cilantro

This is what papaya looks like.  I believe the seeds are black when it's ripe

Most of the remaining ingredients.  The shrimp paste is particularly scary

I used a couple of cherry tomato varieties rather than large tomatoes

Prepare the dressing by mixing together the first five ingredients together in a cup. Make sure shrimp paste (if using) and honey dissolve fully.  Set aside.

Peel the green papaya, then slice it in half and remove all the seeds.  Using the largest grater you have, grate the papaya.  If you have a mandoline, things will be a lot more consistent and will go a lot faster, plus you get the opportunity to get stitches.  Place in a large bowl.

Papaya, after a run through the mandoline.  Note the absence of fingertips from the mandoline blade

Shred the green onions to the same shape as the papaya

Add the sliced tomato, spring onion, chili, bean sprouts, and most of the basil.  Add the dressing, tossing to combine.  Add only as much dressing as you think will be necessary - this makes a bit more than I thought should have been in there, and as a result it became too watery by the end.

Add the peanuts / cashews (I prefer to chop, but you can leave them whole).  Toss again, and taste.  If not sweet enough, add a little more honey.  If not salty enough, add a little more fish sauce.  If too sweet or salty, add more lime juice.  If you prefer it spicier, add more fresh-cut chili or dried crushed chili.

To serve, scoop the salad into individual bowls or onto a serving platter.  Sprinkle with remaining basil leaves plus fresh coriander, and serve immediately.

Agua Fresca de Pepino (Fresh Cucumber Water)

I made this recipe to go with my pollo asado con mojo, and it was great on a hot day.  A good use of cucumbers for a refreshing cocktail, which you can serve leaded or unleaded.  I went with leaded, of course.

Agua Fresca de Pepino
Cooking Light, June 2010

• 3 cups chopped seeded peeled cucumber (about 2 medium)
• ¼ cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/4 serrano pepper, seeded
• 3 cups water
• Ice
• Lime slices (optional)
• Cucumber slices (optional)
• Vodka (optional, but recommended)

Combine first 4 ingredients in a blender, and process until smooth. Add 3 cups water; cover and refrigerate the mixture overnight.

Strain cucumber mixture through a fine sieve over a pitcher; discard solids. Serve over ice; garnish with lime or cucumber slices, if desired.  To make into an alcoholic drink, add 1.5 ounces vodka to each glass.  Or more - it's your party, drink like you mean it.

Pollo Asado con Mojo

If you ever worry that you've lost your mojo, do not worry - there's a way to get it back.  Mojo, after all, is more than a magical charm bag used in hoodoo, it's also a delicious Cuban sauce.  Wikipedia defines mojo (pronounced "mo-ho") as: 

"...the name, or abbreviated name, of several types of sauces, varying in spiciness, that originated in the Canary Islands. It is predominantly either a red (most common), green or orange sauce.... In Cuban cooking mojo applies to any sauce that is made with garlic, olive oil and a citrus juice, traditionally sour orange juice. It is commonly used to flavor the cassava tuber and is also used to marinate roast pork. "

I learned about mojo from my old boss, who was Cuban.  He taught me how to make it to go over yuca, which turned a bland starchy tuber into delicious garlicky exotica.  It's typically the same few core ingredients - garlic, oil, cumin, and a tart citrus juice - conventionally bitter orange, but since this is hard to find usually just orange and lime juice.  And while I've never used it for roast pork, I have used it with roasted chicken in a recipe from the Dinosaur BBQ cookbook (highly recommended, by the way).  So I'm no stranger to this stuff, and have made it a few different ways.  But I wanted to try something a little safer than the last time I made it, which involved heating up a bunch of oil and then adding orange juice, leading to many burns and much less arm hair at the end.  This recipe had some similarities to that, but seemed more appropriate for a Memorial Day cookout and safer to boot, so I gave it a shot.  It did not disappoint, and I came away without permanent scarring.

Pollo asado con mojo, with homemade cole slaw and agua fresca de pepino.  And a little flag - Memorial Day for the win.

Mojo Roast Chicken (Pollo Asado)
Adapted lightly from Allrecipes

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
•  3 tablespoons lime juice 
• 3 tablespoons orange juice 
• 1 (6 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces

Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until very hot.  While the oil heats, mash the cumin, salt, oregano, and garlic together into a paste in a heat-proof bowl; whisk the hot oil into the paste.  Allow the mixture to cool slightly.
 

Crush up your whole cumin - don't use the powdered stuff.  Toast them first for maximum flavor.

Whisk the herbs and hot oil together in a heatproof bowl

Mojo is the perfect combination of aromatic infused oil and tart citrus - use bitter orange if you can find it, or orange and lime if you can't

Add the lime juice and orange juice; stir.  And don't use that nasty lime juice from a bottle, or I will come find you and give you the look of eternal shaming.  Place the chicken in a large sealable bag; pour the marinade over the chicken and shake to assure an even coating. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, up to overnight.

Marinate the chicken for a few hours at least, to break down the fibers with the acidic mojo sauce

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), or grill over low / indirect heat.  Arrange the marinated chicken in a roasting pan if baking.  Bake / grill chicken in the preheated oven until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 1 hour.  If grilling, take the reserved marinade and boil in a small saucepan to sanitize, then bring down and baste over the chicken periodically.  An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone should read 180 degrees F (82 degrees C).

Grill over low heat, basting regularly

This recipe goes great with plantains, rice, fries, yuca, or traditional American picnic sides just the same.

Holy Mole Poblano!

Apparently there's a Mexican tradition to cook a really heavy stew called mole (pronounced mole-ay) and then bring it to picnics, where you feed it to your relatives on a hot day and then they pass out from all of the blood rushing to their stomachs trying to digest it.  I think this is a tradition many of us can get behind, so I present you with a recipe for mole.

Mole is like a Mexican version of chili, or curry.  It's got a whole bunch of varieties, and it's more of a type of dish than a particular recipe.  There are all kinds of interesting versions, many of which I was able to sample at Red Iguana in Salt Lake City, UT of all places - a strawberry mole, an almond-based mole, pumpkin seed-based, red, green, pink, cream-colored, whatever you can imagine.  However, if you ask most people who have had it, they'll tell you that even the most iconic mole - a mole poblano - contains some very interesting ingredients, such as nuts, chocolate, chile peppers, and then some kind of protein.  It does not, contrary to popular belief, contain any moles.

Mole poblano - enough to fell a bull elephant

WARNING: this is another labor of love dish.  Do not attempt this if you're just bored and curious.  You will need time, energy, a few strange ingredients, a big kitchen, and a food processor to do it right.  What?  You're still going to attempt?  Fine, but I tried to stop you.

I will mention before presenting the recipe that I scaled this up by a factor of 5, to feed 9 people.  We ate half of what I made, and still felt full.  I ended up using less than 5x the olive oil (maybe 6 tbsp total), and only about 6 cups of stock to make it the appropriate thickness.  So keep that in mind as you make...

Mole Poblano de Pollo (Chicken in a Poblano pepper Mole sauce)

from: I have no idea where, somewhere on the internet

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 4 chicken pieces, about 6 oz each
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 hot dried red chili such as chipotle, or 2 milder dried chiles such as ancho, reconstituted & finely chopped
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted, plus extra for garnish
• 1 tbsp chopped almonds
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• 3 tomatoes, peeled & chopped
• 2 tbsp raisins
• 1½ cups chicken stock
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 oz/25 g semisweet chocolate with a high cocoa content, grated, plus extra for garnish

So you want to make mole, huh?  Well too bad, you have to spend an hour prepping first.  If you're crazy like me, you started with whole spices, fresh tomatoes and whole chickens, and toasted and ground / peeled / cut them up, respectively.  To see how to peel a tomato, check my other post on chili here.  While you're doing that, soak your chiles in boiling water, then take off the stem and scoop out the seeds, and chop coarsely.  This will ultimately go in the food processor, so feel free to slack on the precision a bit with your chopping.

All of the more interesting ingredients, ready to go.  Chocolate and peanut butter are among them - my cousin said the kitchen smelled like Reese's peanut butter cups

Blanching the tomatoes to remove the skin

Peeled tomatoes, ready for action.  This was surprisingly simple.

Now you're ready to start actually doing things.  Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large skillet.  Add the chicken and cook until browned on all sides.  Really brown it, don't just make it yellow.  And certainly not black, either.  Be sure to have enough fat in the pan, and don't overcrowd.  I did mine in two pans, over about 3 batches each, but I also had 27 pieces of chicken to deal with.  Remove chicken pieces with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Browning the chicken in multiple pans keeps things moving without you overcrowding.  Cast iron is far superior here.

Add the onion, garlic, and chilies and cook for 5 minutes, or until softened.  Add the sesame seeds, almonds, and spices and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.  Add the tomatoes, raisins, stock, peanut butter, and chocolate and stir well.  Add only as much stock as you think will be necessary for stewing the meat you're using - you don't want soup, this should be more like a curry consistency after you blend.  I found that placing each round of ingredients into separate areas helped to idiot-proof my throwing things casually into the pan without double-checking the recipe.  And, if you are hasty and didn't think to chop them up before adding, chop up the tomatoes somewhat with a knife or spoon while they're in the pan.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and let simmer for 5 minutes.

After cooking the onions, garlic and peppers, add the spices and nuts

Then things get really crazy - add the chocolate and peanut butter

Tomatoes could have gone in chopped, but I didn't think this through

Be sure to fill your pan dangerously full, so that stirring is nearly impossible and you make a huge mess.  Or don't.

Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and process until smooth.  Try to put a towel over the top so you don't spray mole all over your kitchen - it is best taken internally, not through the skin and clothes.

Into the food processor for a quick spin

Return the mixture to the skillet, add the chicken, and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat, cover, and let simmer for 1 hour, or until the chicken is very tender, adding more liquid if necessary.  If you're impatient, bust out the pressure cooker and cook for 20 minutes.

Serve garnished with sesame seeds and a little grated chocolate.  We served with homemade tostones and platanos (both plantain dishes), Mexican yellow rice, and tamales.  It was an excellent traditional feast, and well received by everyone.  Slightly sweet, nutty, rich, and just a little spicy.  I also had tons of sauce left over, which I froze to use next time I want to make this.  If that's the case, all you have to do is brown the chicken and then throw it into the ready-made sauce.  And don't forget to bring it to your next family gathering - especially if you are being taken against your will.