Antojitos Mexicanos

Best translated as "Mexican Snacks," the Spanish word "Antojitos" literally means "little cravings." When I lived in Mexico, I used to eat antojitos every Sunday night. I'd enjoy them with a cold tequila or Tecate Rojo beer, and the experience was always very comforting to me and got me ready for the work week.

I guess in my mind, antojitos are sort of like tapas (but think more fried, and less healthy) in that they come in any number of varieties and differ greatly by region.

Pedro made these antojitos as an appetizer, but they were so yummy that we just kept eating and skipped dinner.

Here's what you do for this particular antojito. Buy instant corn masa from your local Mexican grocer. The great thing about this flour is that all you have to do is add water until you achieve the desired consistency. Add salt to taste. Then form small golf-ball sized pieces and press them with a tortilla press to make a corn tortilla.

Trick: use ziplock bags for the perfect nonstick surface.

Stuff the tortilla with sharp white cheddar, bacon pieces and mozzarella. Fold the tortilla on itself like an empanada or pot sticker. Pan fry in olive oil until golden brown on both sides.

Enjoy plain or with your favorite salsa, and tell me that salty warm crunch isn't addictive.

2014 Wine Season

Pedro and I look forward to wine season every year. We typically wake up extra early on a Saturday and head down to Consumer's Produce in Pittsburgh's Strip district. 

Ron Castletano is Consumer Produce's Italian wine guy. He's notoriously difficult to get ahold of, but always friendly once you find him. On Saturday, Sept. 27, Pedro and I ventured downtown for our grapes. The California harvest was a little late this year. We bought ~110 lbs of Sangiovese (red Italian variety) from Lanza Musto vineyards on California's North Coast. We bought this grape in honor of our recent trip to Italy where we learned about the Chianti wine-making process (must contain at least 80% Sangiovese). We also bought two buckets of Chardonay juice.

In the Consumer's Produce warehouse, bees hum around the sweet grapes, Ron takes customer orders from atop a wine barrel, old Italian men discuss wine-making secrets passed to them from their fathers, and free home made Italian sausages, cured meats and cheeses are available to those who rise early enough to beat the crowds.

This year, Pedro built and ingenious destemmer with a perforated metal sheet, cutting the grape prep time down to one hour exactly including destemming and crushing. Last year destemming alone took about three hours. Quite an improvement in process efficiency!

While we finished up the crushing, Pedro opened a bottle of 2013 Cabernet (we think! - lots of bottles got shifted around during my move in and so we're not entirely sure which vintage is which in some bottles now). That wine tastes VERY promising.

After killing the natural yeasts in the grapes on Saturday Pedro added the red wine yeast to the three buckets last night. I will be in charge of punching the caps this week while Pedro is in Chicago.

Hope this year's vintage is a good one! It was made with lots of love (and a little quality control from Taco Garcia since we were dog-sitting him for the weekend).

Grilled Baby Portobello Sandwich

An early fall treat for your taste buds. Remove the mushroom caps and marinate them in a cup of red wine with 3 tbsp of soy sauce, 5 tbsp of red or cider vinegars, pepper flakes, 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, crushed thai basil and olive oil.

Grill the caps for 3 minutes per side. Place approx 3 caps on a toasted bun with light smear of Dijon mustard, lettuce, tomato and a thin slice of sharp, hard cheddar.

Enjoy this earthy, vegetarian friendly masterpiece.

Bell Pepper Slaw

A delightful side dish raw or cooked. Use a food processor to slice up a variety of colors of bell peppers. You may want to consider adding chopped celery and or a few thinly sliced sweet onions to the mix.

In a separate bowl mix the dressing. 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp white vinegar, dash of salt and pepper. Dash of dried chives and dried oregano.

Once you incorporate the dressing, add the desired amount of bell peppers and serve room temperature.

For an excellent left-over snack, leave remaining bell peppers to marinate in the dressing and sautee the next day for a warm version of this salad.

I served last night with chicken and a bed of white rice. Yum!

Pan-tossed asparagus spears

I know this seems too easy. It's cause it is.

Grab a bunch of fresh asparagus and snap of the bottom ends at their natural breaking point, one stalk at a time. Toss in a pan over medium heat with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Let cook until just slightly tender, but still with a fresh, firm snap when you bite into them (roughly 10 min). I share this recipe because I used to be a victim of the mistakenly held believe that you had to blanch asparagus before grilling or sautéing them. 

Thanks to a recent trip to Michigan to visit Pedro's sister Viviana Maiz, I learned that this is by far the most delicious way to prepare asparagus. 

Top with a balsamic reduction drizzle for added interest.

Blue cheese basil hand tossed pizza

I'll mess with explaining the dough in a different post (Pedro is the bread master in this house!), but for anyone out there making their own pizzas, this topping combo is to die for.

Start with a can of Italian whole tomatoes (la Valle is one of our favorites - we buy this brand at Penn Mac in Pittsbuegh's strip district). Blend the tomatoes with fresh crushed garlic, a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Use this very thin sauce as a base.

On top of the marinara base, add about 3/4 c. shredded mozzarella. Bake until crust starts to bubble. While still hot, cover the pizza with fresh basil and blue cheese crumbles. Adding the blue cheese before popping the pizza into the oven really takes the blue cheese stinkiness away. And I mean, who wants to add blue cheese to anything unless it's gonna stink? (In that delicious way that only cheese can)

Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies

The extent to which I bake. And the humidity made them flat like pancakes. Pedro ate them anyway. :)