Birthday Dinner Recipes for Our Lady Guadalupe

Ingredients:

2 - 1 ½  pound butternut squash, peeled, cubed and roasted soft
½  red onion, cut into thin strips
3 tablespoons olive oil
¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder or chipotle puree
½ teaspoon thyme, fresh or dry
1 tablespoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup fresh baby spinach, cleaned
8 crispy tostadas
½ cup queso fresco
¼  cup pumpkin seeds, roasted
2 cups purple cabbage, very thinly sliced, washed and strained dry
3 tablespoons pickled jalapeños, small dice
3 tablespoons pickling juice, vinegar from the jalapeños

The juice of ½ a lime

To prepare:

In a nonreactive (glass or ceramic) bowl, mix the purple cabbage with the pickled jalapeños, pickling juice, lime juice, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

Heat up the remaining olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, sauté the onion until soft 1-2 minutes, and add the roasted squash and garlic. Season with salt, thyme, and chili powder. Remove from the heat and mix in the spinach. On a large platter arrange the tostadas, top with the squash mix evenly divided. Top with queso fresco and the toasted pumpkin seeds. Top with jalapeño slaw.

Serve with a side of rice and refried beans.

Serves 4 - 6

Ingredients:

4 cups cooked black beans, reserve 1 ½ cups of their cooking liquid and discard the rest
2/3 cup olive oil
2 cups white onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, about 3 tablespoons chopped
2 tablespoons epazote or cilantro
½  teaspoon of ground coriander
½  teaspoon kosher salt

To prepare:
In a medium saucepan heat the olive oil over medium-high heat, carefully add the onion and garlic, reduce the heat and let them cook until golden brown 4-5 minutes. Add the epazote and coriander cook just enough to make them fragrant. Add the cooked black beans and 1 cup of the reserved bean liquid. Let them boil for 5-6 minutes until the liquid has become thick and the beans very soft. Remove from the heat, let them cool down, and puree with an immersion blender or by hand with a potato masher.

Serve with Queso Fresco or Cotija as a complement to any meal.

Makes 8 - 10 servings

Ingredients:

3 large tomatillos washed and husk removed, cut in half
3 large avocados, ripe
1 serrano, chopped; one more if you like spicy
1 bunch cilantro, washed and chopped with large stems removed
1.5 teaspoons kosher salt, or more to taste
Juice of 1 lime, about 3 tablespoons
¼ cup white onion, small dice and rinsed out

To prepare:
When cleaning and chopping the cilantro reserve, a ¼ cup of chopped leaves and set aside.

Place the tomatillos, serrano, lime juice, salt, and cilantro in the bowl of your food processor, blend until smooth then add the avocados and blend until you have a smooth puree, season with more salt if necessary. With a spatula transfer to a bowl, mix in the onions and reserved cilantro. Serve with crispy totopos (corn tortilla chips) or on top of your favorite taco.

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients:

Melons: Watermelon, Cantaloupe, and Honey Dew
Pineapple
Orange (supreme)
Jicama
Radish (sliced thinly on a mandolin)
Cotija Cheese (1 tablespoon)
Tajin (1 teaspoon)
Orange Juice (freshly squeezed, 1 tablespoon)

To prepare:

1. Medium dice all fruit

2. Place fruit in a bowl

3. Drizzle orange juice over the top

4. Place radishes over fruit

5. Sprinkle with cotija cheese and Tajin

Ingredients:

Fresh ears of corn in husks
Butter
Mayonnaise
Cotija Cheese
Paprika

To prepare:

1. With the husks attached, cut the corn in pieces small enough to fit your pan or leave whole if you are preparing them on a grill or griddle

2. Cook corn in a sauté pan, grill, or griddle on medium-low heat for 3 – 5 minutes on each side

3. Carefully peel husks, removing as much corn silk as possible then return to the pan (grill or griddle) for another 3 – 5 minutes on each side

4. Once fully cooked, rub with butter and sprinkle with salt

5. Cover with mayonnaise, cotija cheese, and paprika

New York Strip Steak
Chef’s tips:

• Allow steak to reach room temperature before cooking (about 30 minutes)

• Cook in a hot pan – the pan’s ready when the oil begins to smoke

• Use canola oil – olive oil is best for salads and finishing

• Season from a point high above the food, as if from the heavens to season evenly

• Sear the fat cap first, cook to desired wellness – 5 to 8 minutes per side

Chimichurri
Ingredients:
          Parsley (1 cup)
          Cilantro (1 cup)
          Mint (1 cup)
          Extra Virgin Olive Oil (3/4 cup)
          Lemon Juice (1/4 cup)
          Red Onion (3 tablespoons)
          Dried Oregano (2 teaspoons)
          Red Pepper Flakes (1/2 teaspoon)
          Black Pepper (1/2 teaspoon)
To prepare:

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor

2. Process to desired consistency

Ingredients:

Plantains (ripe, two per serving)

Strawberries (sliced, two per serving)
Sweetened Condensed Milk (2 tablespoons per serving)
Mexican Crema Fresca (2 tablespoons per serving)
Toasted sesame seeds (1 teaspoon per serving)

Canola Oil (1 quart)

To prepare:

1. Cut plantains into bite sized pieces, removing peel

2. Heat a pot of canola oil to approximately 350 degrees (we used a quart of Canola oil)

3. Fry the plantains until a golden brown

4. Carefully remove the plantains from the oil, allow to drain on paper towels and pat dry to remove excess oil

5. Place plantains and fresh strawberry slices in a bowl

6. Drizzle with Sweetened Condensed Milk and Crema Fresca over the top them finish with a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds