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With Cinco de Mayo Yesterday - Hope You Had a Happy One! Cinco Sunset, Moon Rise and Dinner

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

With Cinco de Mayo Yesterday - Hope You Had a Happy One! Cinco Sunset, Moon Rise and Dinner

we thought we would publish our masa recipe that folks seems to love more than others.  It is a little different and just plain delicious. Once you make your own masa, tortillas and tamales, and they don't have to be this fancy, you just won't want to buy them - even though you will.

 

For a dry mix, we swear by Minsa Corn Masa Harina for Tamales (make sure it is for tamales and not tortillas) made in Muleshoe, Texas - but any will do.  Dry mix may be the most available across the USA so this recipe will use it even though some Brownman have been known to make fresh from hominy on occasion, or buy fresh from the Mexican Mercado.

Masa for Tamales and Tortillas

1 C dry masa harina

3/4 C home made chicken stock - have a little extra in case it is dry - I used 7/8 C total

1/4 C  fat.  (use 1/3 bacon and sausage dripping, 1/3 butter and 1/3 lard)

1/2 tsp salt

2 T of chopped very fine Swiss chard - I grow my own

1/8 tsp each dry peppers; mole, chipotle, arbol, ancho, smoked paprika

1/8 tsp each dried oregano, cumin, coriander

1/4 tsp baking powder

Directions - Mix the fat with the harina by cutting it in with a pasrty cutter.  Add the chicken stock, peppers and spices and mix with a spoon until well combined.  Refrigerate for 1 hour.  For tortillas I use the bottom of 1 qt sauce pan to smash down a golf ball sized ball of masa into a 1/8" thick tortilla.  Do this between two oiled sheets of plastic wrap  if you don't want get mad and want to harm your baking apprentice.  Then gently peel off the top plastic and then peel off the tortilla with the pal side of your hand making sure to overlap only 50% of the tortilla.  Then lay the other 50% of the tortilla in a small dry Teflon pan heated to medium low while releasing the other 50% from your hand.  I make my tamales in banana leaves, corn husks or parchment paper.  These were made in parchment.

With this masa you can make, tacos, tamales, chips and quesadillas - some of which follow in pictures.  Salmon tacos, pork carnitas tamales and chicken  quesadillas.  All were served with; crema and yogurt chipotle roulade, home made; pico de geudo with corn, guacamole, chili tomatillo verde sauce, red pepper sause, mole sauce, chipotle sauce, seasoned cabbage, Mexican dirty green rice  and puerano, pinto, and black beans with smoked pork jowl.

And a little huevos rancheros for breakfast in the morning with chorizo, chipotle roulade and fake YW pretzel bread after sleeping on typical AZ sunset. 

Cinco de mayo sunset, moonrise and dinner.

    

 

 

Comments

gmabaking's picture
gmabaking

Each picture was better than the previous one and then... the Arizona sunset ! Fantastic. Our family has been fortunate to live in many areas but nowhere were sunsets like those in Arizona.

I've never tried making tamales at home but yours look so good, I plan to take your recipe grocery shopping with me tomorrow and see if I can find enough of the ingredients to give it a try. Thanks for both the recipe and the memories of Arizona.

Barb

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

set you back.  Just don't put them in - you need masa harina,  fat and some kind of sauce though :-) The meat filling can be anything too.  I have some left over masa that I will be making tamales with today from last night's grilled Oriental chicken.

You are most welcome for the recipes.  Enjoy!

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

dabrownman,

Another blog of yours to drool over.  These look delicious and the all the food you have pictured look soooo good!  Who were the lucky recipients?  Surely you and your assistant didn't devour it all on your own?  I always wonder how you have time to put these fantastic creations together and I also can't help but wonder who ends up with dish duty?  My goal in life is to make lots of bread with the minimum amount of dishes at the end of the day.  Thus far I am no where near my goal....  :-)  lots of bread, yes but also lots of dishes....

Thanks for the blog and the reminder of what tomorrow is!

Take Care,

Janet

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

drool if you must :-)  My assistant refuses to go near water so dish duty is out.  My daughter was home from college on Thursday, why I don't know and she always requests fish tacos, salmon is her favorite, for dinner the first day she is home.  Finals next week.  When I make beans I make enough for an army and freeze them - same with tamales. I usually have some chicken, pork and beef - red and green in the freezer.   Same for the red chili, mole, chipotle and green chili tomatillo sauces - made in bulk and frozen.    The Pico de Guedo (Spanish for White Boy), guacamole and now named Pink Sauce are made fresh all at the same time but will last 24 hours if there are any left over.  Mexican food does have many serving dishes and spoons to clean.

So it was huevos Friday morning  for breakfast, pork carnitas tamales for lunch and chicken quesadillas for dinner last night  all for me and my bride. 

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

whip up some great meals!

 My husband and myself both love 'good' mexican food.

 Your salsa's all look mouthwatering delicious and I especially love the use of raw cabbage...fish taco's are very popular here in San Diego...but my very favorite is a poblano chili riliano and I know I spelled that wrong.  I just picked some up the other day for wfo fire roasting.  A mexican lady/family resturant that's been around Las Vegas, NV  'my former home' for years makes them..they have a white, green onion and garlic sauce..yumm.  Mike loves good flour tortillas.  He spent many of his younger years in mexico with his mother..he's not mexican but can speak it like a native and loves the food.  So your photos have us drooling.  Very nicely done and Happy Cinco De Mayo!

One of the things I miss most about growing up in the desert is the sunset's, especially in October.  Lovely photo of your AZ sunset.

Could you include the recipe for the 'pink' sauce you have topped on your mexican dish..it looks so delicious.

Sylvia

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Mexican food is served at least 2 times a week  here.  Mexican Granny's make the best tortillas - and Mexican food in general.  I'm always running in the house to grab who ever is there to have them come see the sunset.

Pink Sauce (it's new name) was originally conceived for fish tacos but now we put it on everything.

2 T plain yogurt

2 T sour cream (Mexican Crema is better)

1 T minced green onion

1 tsp diced fine fresh poblano pepper

1/2 tsp diced freshjalapeno pepper

1 T chopped fine fresh cilantro

1 - 2 tsp canned chopped chipotle pepper (or 1/2 tsp dried chipotle -ground)

1/2 Mexican key lime - juice ot 1 tsp fres lime juice.

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Mexican food is served at least 2 times a week  here.  Mexican Granny's make the best tortillas - and Mexican food in general.  I'm always running in the house to grab who ever is there to have them come see the sunset.

Pink Sauce (it's new name) was originally conceived for fish tacos but now we put it on everything.

2 T plain yogurt

2 T sour cream (Mexican Crema is better)

1 T minced green onion

1 tsp diced fine fresh poblano pepper

1/2 tsp diced freshjalapeno pepper

1 T chopped fine fresh cilantro

1 - 2 tsp canned chopped chipotle pepper (or 1/2 tsp dried chipotle -ground)

1/2 Mexican key lime - juice ot 1 tsp fres lime juice.

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

Thank you for the 'Pink Sauce' recipe..love the new name!  I knew it wasn't thousand island dressing : )  I especially like that it has poblano pepper..I just love them.

Your right about eating a home made tamale..they are the best.  We have lot's of ladies giving classes for making them locally and I can also purchase them at a little local tamale kitchen and farmers market...tamales around here are pretty good.  But, I have to say the best ones I ever ate were my late mother and father n law's, they used to can their own beef tamales..the recipe was kept a secret :/ I do remember them saying the masa had to have just the right portion of flour to corn ratio mix.  I think they must have added a little flour to the corn flour but, then I'm not sure.  They were in a delicious chili type sauce, wrapped in corn husks and pressure sealed in tin cans..just delicious!  My very favorite tamales were made for me by a cuban girlfriend years ago.  Cuban tamales have pork and green chilies and steamed in beer...fabulous.

I'll be making your 'pink sauce' next fish taco dinner.  Thank you, dabrownman!

Sylvia 

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

Tonight at moonrise and moonset, have your camera and your background horizons ready!   :)

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

to see a big moon.  If we knew where the moon comes up (or possibly a margarita) would help   :-)

Now if we could get the moon with the sunset.........

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

otherwise the only way to combine a sunset (sun sinking in the west) with a full moon (rising in the east) is with a mirror or other reflective surface or on another planet.  I suppose you might get that combo orbiting the earth.   Water comes to play or light reflecting windows or buildings...  watching the sunset as the moon rises behind you reflected in perhaps a window of the building between you and the sunset.  Car window or shiny building would work too.  Might have to hang something inside the car to block the light from the sun.  Another method would be a double exposure, first the sunset, and then the moon.  Or  photo shop it.

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

clouds about 20 degress off the east horizon and the sun setting 5 minutes later.  The sky wsas pink in the east but the moon wasn't up yet.  uy the time it was up the sky was blue again.  With some higher clouds that would have still been lit pink it would have been unusual to see sunset clouds with a rising full moon.  If only.......well there still is photo shop !

Isand66's picture
Isand66

DA, I have not eaten breakfast yet....can you beam some of your over to me!  I just ate at a Mexican restaurant yesterday, but I can tell you it doesn't hold a candle to  Casa de Brownman!

Thanks for sharing another great creation.

Best...Ian

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

with my laptop today for some reason.  Had to run a virus scan that took 8 hours.  Since you can't eat at Casa de Brownman  - how about a margarita?

1 shot Dabrownman's Arancello (or orange liquor of your choice)

the juice of 1 Mexican Key lime or 1 T of lime juice

2 shots of tequila of your choice

6 oz of simple syrup.

Shaken with crushed ice and poured over rocks in a salt rimmed glass.  I skip the salt.

A few of those and you won't need dinner.

Enjoy!

 

Isand66's picture
Isand66

I think I have a buzz from just reading your description!

Send me over a bottle of your Arancello so it can be authentic please!

Ian

hanseata's picture
hanseata

An upcoming Margarita always helps! And I'm not too keen on the salt rim, either.

Your array of foods is really mouth watering. We spend about 2 weeks in December in the Yucatan peninsula, and I do love the food.

Actually, I made something Mexican this weekend, but a - very unseasonal - Pan de Muerto. I wanted to try it out, and, though my decoration skills need improving (instead of having a bone pattern, the bread looked like an octopus hugging a ball), it turned out very nice.

Karin

 

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

the combination of anise seed and orange juice in this Bread - of the Dead or as some say Dead Bread.  Yours, with an octopus as decoration must have been stunning.  Very nice.  And lucky you to be in Mayan territory for 2 weeks a year too.  I love the ruins from an architectural point of view.

hanseata's picture
hanseata

water warm enough to swim, and Chichen Itza - what can you ask for more. When our Maine winter drags on and on, we can be there within a half a day (we are not the Florida types). We liked to go to Vietnam or Singapore, but the flight is so excrutiating long, much worse than going to Europe.

The only thing they didn't have in good quality there was bread, all these pretty looking breads and rolls were just sweetish and rather tasteless. I want to make Conchas, though, and hopefully can improve them.

Karin

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

find some French bread,  Would love to see your take on Conchas.  We prefer pink or green ones :-)  Sorry the reply was 4 months late too.

FlourChild's picture
FlourChild

Yum. Just. Yum.  :)

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Sorry I missed your post from so long ago.  We do try to provide a Thanksgiving buffet for Cinco de Mayo.  The moon rise was supposed to be the largest the moon will appear for the next so many hundred years beacuse of a coincidental oddity in the earth's and Moon's orbit that brings it closer than normal.