Christmas Eve, family and friends get together to have dinner and exchange a few love notes and gifts.
Abby made Posole for the buffet table. Even though she was a bit late, the stew is completely gone since everyone wanted to take some home. Excellent.Â
 Ingredients
2 pounds boneless pork loin or pork roast, cubed
1 tablespoon salt
2 (15 ounce) cans white hominy, drained
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons chopped onion
4 dried hot red chile pepper pods, seeded and diced or use red enchilada sauceÂ
Directions
Place meat in a large kettle and add about 5 quarts of water and the enchilada sauce, enough to cover meat. (Abby says she cubes the meat after it has cooked, but you can start by cubing it first.)  Add approximately 1 tablespoon salt and bring to a boil. Cook over medium heat for about 1 1/2 hours.
Remove excess grease and set aside. Reserve liquid.
Wash the posole very carefully until the water is clear so as to remove lime from kernels. Put in large kettle and cover with water. Boil until posole has popped.
Mix meat, posole. Add oregano, garlic, onion, and chile pods. Let simmer for about 1/2 hour.
Abby was up at 2:00 am this morning making the chile colorado that would become magnificent tamales. She was at my house at 4:00 and she was ready to show me how to make tamales. (Her beautiful Chili Colorado was made with three different chili – another cooking adventure for another day.)
I had my filling ideas, I had asked Abby to help me make some tamales, and specifically sweet tamales, I was craving them when I was having my detoxgreen smoothie. She said she would come to my house early. She ordered me to “Get corn husks and have them soaking in water overnight, and also be ready with fillings you want to try.” She would bring everything else. Abby purchased 15 pounds of premade masa. She said it was not complete – we would need to “play with it”.
And play with it we did. She melted 1 pound of lard and kneaded it into the masa, added about 3 Tablespoons of Baking Powder. She also revealed her secret incredient in making the masa lighter – she added rice she had steamed, about 3 cups. By the way, she measures nothing, it is all about this much, about that much. The masa was right when it resembled the feel of mashed potatoes. “Are you feeling the love?”
For sweet or dessert tamales, we added brown sugar, to about 5 pounds of the masa.
In another 5 pound batch, we added chopped spinach and about 1 Tablespoon of salt.
In another 5 pound batch, we just added salt.
The masas were ready!
My fillings were ready. I wanted to try.
Onion marmalade with pulled pork (Both recipes are on this site.)
Apricot Jam with Pepper Jack Cheese
1/2 cup Chardonnay, Diced apples (2), currants (1 cup), brown sugar (1/4 cup) cooked on the stovetop until the apples are fork tender. Then when cool, add 1/2 cup of chopped pecans. (This is my take on mincemeat.)
Chocolate chips with Pecans
Chocolate chips with Chipolte Adobe Sauce
Sort thru the corn husks and the real thick one, are great to use as the stings to tie.
The largest are great for standard meat tamales. The small and lighter weight husks are perfect for dessert tamales. The lighter thinner husks allow you to shape the tamale easier – better for beginners.
We spread a big spoonful of masa on the corn husk and then added the filling to the center, and then rolled the tamale.
The top half, the small end, should not have masa, and is used to fold and close the tamale.
For the small dessert tamales we used ties made from the ugly husks, and tied them together like candy kisses, or you can also tie them on both ends, a bit of work if you ask me, so they look like a candy. I do like quick and easy.
This is pulled pork and onion marmalade on spinach masa.
Abby’s hands were moving so fast, I had to have her slow down so I could take a quick snap shot.
For Abby this is an endeavor of love. Kneading the masa, she kept saying, “Do you feel the love?” Of course I feel the love. I get it. This is what women have been giving to their families for years. This is their labor of love.
Once we had the tamales packaged up, we ensured the tamales were tilted and standing tops up and loaded them into a steamer for about 45 minutes. You can take a few out and let them cool to check for doneness. You will see that the masa has the perfect texture, and will pull away from the husk.
What’s for dinner? You guessed it. Lots of love.
Try your favorite combinations of ingredients!
I haven’t been able to try all the flavors, and already, I do know the diced apple mincemeat may be my favorite.
A small place out on silver strand beach sold fish tacos and I had them about 25 years ago. They weren’t very fashionable back then, but they have gotten to be more and more so. Most places you get your choice grilled or breaded.Â
Grilled is definately healthier, so here you go.
I like white fish, like tuna but  Sea Bass and Talipia Halibut work well also.  Tuna and Thresher Shark taste like steak with a lot less fat.Â
Typically I make my “Spanked Tuna”, slice it, and then layout a display of sides for the buffet.
Or fire up the grill. Â
Marinade:
2 cups chopped white onion, divided
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
1/4 cup olive oil
3Â tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
1 pound white fish: tuna, tilapia, striped bass, or sturgeon fillet, sea bass, swordfish, thresher shark
Marinade: Stir 1 cup onion, 1/4 cup cilantro, oil, 3 tablespoons lime juice, orange juice, garlic, and oregano in medium bowl. Sprinkle fish with coarse salt and pepper. Spread half of onion mixture over bottom of 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange fish atop onion mixture. Spoon remaining onion mixture over fish. Cover and chill 30 minutes. Turn fish; cover and chill 30 minutes longer.
Lime Mayonnaise:
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon milk
2 tablespoons lime juice
Whisk mayonnaise, milk, and lime juice in small bowl.
Brush grill grate with oil; prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Grill fish with some marinade still clinging until just opaque in center, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Grill tortillas until slightly charred, about 10 seconds per side.
Coarsely chop fish; place on platter. Serve with lime mayonnaise, tortillas, remaining 1 cup chopped onion, remaining 1/2 cup cilantro, avocados, cabbage, Salsa Verde, and lime wedges.
 Rice and Beans go well with this meal.
Serve with fried corn or flour tortillas or fire grilled corn or flour tortillas.
Just got back from vacation. We rented a boat in the Virgin Islands.Â
I made chili on one of the quiet days.Â
First 5 days aboard Fuego was peaceful. Then all of a sudden, we ran into a storm, ran aground, had to find our way into St Croix at night, lost the boat – she slipped her mooring, met Harvey who found our boat, and in the last hour of turning the boat back into the charter company, we fouled the prop! Over 100 years of sailing experience onboard, imagine if we were new at this! Life is always an adventure!Â
While in a safe harbor,made a bit of Chili
Ingredients:Â
2 Cans Chili Beans – (I know, you think I am cheating, but I was on a boat, and have you ever tried to boil beans on a small propane stovetop?)Â I like beans in my Chili, so I use canned, or at home, you can boil some in a pressure cooker – no problemo.Â
Leftovers: Diced onion, green peppers, chili peppers, spaghetti sauce, meatballs, steak cut into cubes from the night before. Â
Process:Â
In the stock pot, saute the onions and the other raw veggies that are hanging out in your refrigerator, add leftover meats making sure they are diced and broken into small pieces.Â
Then it is time to add the liquid ingredients: the cans of beans, can of spaghetti sauce or tomatoes – whatever you have on hand. You will need enough liquid to make it consistence of a thick soup and then allow it to simmer reducing down by at least a third.Â
Season:Â Chili pepper flakes, chili powder, cumin, thyme and salt and pepper.Â
Go easy on the heat until you are near serving time, and adjust as you like.Â
One of my friends used to call his Chili, refrigerator chili since he made it when he was cleaning out the refrigerator. Norris made excellent Chili!Â
 Â
Enjoy on top of a hot dog, on the side of an open face hamburger or on its own with diced onions, cheese and corn chips. Hmmm good.
I have my family well trained. You can ask any of them, “what follows a roast chicken dinner?” And they will all scream out – “Enchiladas”! Yes, bake two chickens and you are now prepared and ready for wonderful enchiladas.
1 baked chicken (mine was 6 pounds. You could buy 2 baked from Vons.)
2 cans enchilada sauce (1 hot, 1 mild – I mix them)Â
   Red or Green Sauce
2 cups Mexican grated cheese or mild cheddar
36 Corn Tortilla Shells
1 can of black olives
4 green onions chopped finely. (I use the white and the green)
Shred the chicken and soak in half the sauce. Warm, then let it cool as you prepare the shells.
Warm the other half of the enchilada sauce in a separate pan. Fry the shells, then dip them in the the sauce allowing the tortilla to soak up the flavor. Soak one at a time. (If you leave it in too long, it will fall apart.)
Fill the soaked tortilla shell with sauced chicken, crumble an olive into it, spread some cheese over the top, and
sprinkle a few onions. Then roll the tortilla, placing the opening on the bottom side so it stays closed. Assemble and arrange in your pan. (My pan will hold 2 deep, and 16 each layer.) Use your left over enchilada sauce to pour over the top, sprinkle with the last of the olives, cheese, and onion.
Bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.
A salsa this simple lives or dies by the quality of the ingredients—ripe avocado, luscious tomato, and a sweet, crunchy ear of corn. Most of my corn salsa recipes call for grilled corn. This one features the succulent crunch of raw corn to reinforce the sweetness of the fresh avocado.Â
Ingredients
1 ripe avocado, cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 ripe red tomato, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 ear sweet corn, shucked
1 scallion, both white and green parts, trimmed and finely chopped, or 3 tablespoons diced sweet onion
1 to 2 jalapeño peppers or serrano peppers, seeded and minced (for a hotter salsa, leave the seeds in)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Coarse salt (kosher or sea) and freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
1. Place the avocado in the bottom of a nonreactive mixing bowl and gently toss it with 2 tablespoons of the lime juice. Spoon the tomato on top of the avocado.
2. Cut the kernels off the corn. The easiest way to do this is to lay the cob flat on a cutting board and remove the kernels using lengthwise strokes of a chef’s knife. Add the corn kernels to the mixing bowl. The salsa can be prepared to this stage up to 2 hours ahead. Refrigerate it, covered.
3. Just before serving, add the jalapeño(s) and cilantro to the mixing bowl and gently toss to mix. Taste for seasoning, adding more lime juice as necessary and season with salt and pepper to taste; the salsa should be highly seasoned.
Have ready a bowl of ice water. In a small saucepan of boiling water blanch cilantro and parsley 10 seconds and drain in a sieve. Refresh herbs in ice water and drain in sieve. Chop shallots and garlic.
