Everything for tamales.. and baluts, too!

Boy howdy! I’ve been seeing how easy it is to procure tamale-making materials and hardware here in Kansas City. The tiendas and carnicerias in the barrio where I live have several models of tamale steamers for sale. Here’s the bucket version, which probably works well on a cajun Cooker.

Bucket type tamale steamer

Of course, there are several options for masa, from the Maseca & Masa Harina commercial brands and the stores sell five-pound plastic bags of fresh tamale masa.

prepared masa

And the hojas de maiz are readily available nearly everywhere. I was at the big Asian supermarket downtown a few days before Christmas and Latinas were buying scads of packaged frozen banana leaves “para tamales de Navidad”. Just down the aisle I found a display of baluts (a Filipino bar snack of unborn duck eggs) right next to the durians. Nummers.

durian

So fill up your steamers with tamales, folks!

In the steamer.

Buen provecho, y’all. Y un prospero año nuevo!

Chorizo from Carniceria El Torito #1, KCMO

Hijole! El Torito makes some of the best chorizo mejicano I have ever had. Just made some breakfast tacos with aigs, taters, serranos and their chorizo. Que rrrrico!

Carniceria El Torito
4901 Saint John Ave, Kansas City, MO 64123-1842
(816) 920-5307 ‎

Pepin Orchard’s Cider.

Some of you may read the New Yorker. Before Thanksgiving, there was an article in one issue on apples and their culture and marketing. The area around Pepin, MN was discussed at some length as per their work in producing new apple cultivars. It’s a pretty interesting article..

But my wife found that cider from the Pepin Orchards is available here in Kansas City. And it is the best cider that I have ever had..

JoeBob says check it out!

Bringing the KitchenAid to KCMO

Yes. It’s been decided. I will bring the KitchenAid to our new home in Kansas City, Missouri. It will save those of us afflicted with carpal tunnel and I will be able to make sausages. Hurrah!

From the Christmas decorations in the foyer of the Nelson-Atkins Museum

From a traditional Neapolitan presipio. I can’t find the caganer, though.

Let the revels commence!

Pozole 101

Before I left for Thanksgiving, I made pozole.

I used:

Stock

~3/4 lb pork bones from Belmont. (the pork neck bones you get at the regular store are often full of bone chips, which can be a PITA)
1 small onion un-peeled, cut in quarters
6 smashed cloves of garlic
2 bay leaves
some salt

simmer for ~3 hours, making 1 1/2 quarts of stock. Strain. Take meat off bones and reserve.

3/4 cup dried Los Chileros white corn pozole; soaked overnight.
1 1/2 cubed pork (with some fat) 1/2″ cubes
2 tbs oil or lard or bacon fat
1 1/2 cup chopped onion
2 smashed cloves of garlic.
2 chopped Roma tomatoes
1 tbs mexican oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbs chile caribe (or real ground chiles)
half a jar of La Frontera guajillo sauce.
salt to taste
juice of half a lime

Cook the pozole in water or stock until it’s nearly reconstituted.

Sauté pork in fat, until browned nicely
add onions & garlic, saute until translucent, add tomatoes, oregano, cumin, chile, the reserved pork from stock making, and some stock. Cook this down a bit.

Add pozole, guajillo sauce, a bit of salt and the rest of the simmering stock. Stir. If you need more fluid, add beer, chicken stock or water.

Bring to a simmer and cover allowing it to cook for 1-2 hours.

Que rico!

Serve with fresh corn tortillas, a squirt of limón, chopped onion & chopped cilantro.

Lamb for Thanksgiving in KCMO

No turkey for us. One of our familials really can’t abide turkey. I went shopping the day before Thanksgiving and got half a leg of lamb that they cut for me at a fine market called McGonigle’s. No waiting, no crowding. I was pleased at how well behaved folks were. I was noticing pre-holiday nuttiness and angst the weekend before in RVA in the grocery stores.

I took the lamb out Thanksgiving morning to get it to room temperature. A few hours later, I slivered up a bunch of fresh garlic and cut some fresh rosemary off the stems. I poked a bunch of holes into the fat side of the lamb and stuffed garlic slivers and rosemary into them.

Legolamb prepped for the oven with garlic & rosemary

I had the oven set at 450F and placed the lamb pan in the oven and then dropped the temp to 350F. We figured the lamb would take 2 hours & 20 minutes. I took a quick nap and found that the oven had only gone down to 400F. I figured I should check it at an hour and a half. The lamb appeared to be ready after two hours. I cut the oven off and let it set in the oven for another 15 minutes. I yanked it out and here is what we had.

roast lamb

It was wonderful.

Be still my heart!

And here is what it looked like on the inside.

A really fine pie.

Other dishes included a rice casserole, brussels sprouts, and pumpkin pie.

The lamb fond and the lamb bones made a lovely barley soup that we had for several days afterwards.

test

I couldn’t post since before Thanksgiving.. now I can..

Canned beans are for feebs…

Use dried beans. Please. Here’s how, from Ruhlman.

Make the time for dried beans. Relax.

Frijoles rosados

Bourdain on the Simpsons Nov 13, 2011

And something on waiters from Houston..

I missed the food..

It got cold, but the food smelled great and I had a cup of Mexican chocolate to see if it would warm me up after I put on my jacket.  It didn’t but here are some photos of La Milpa’s Dia  de los Muertos celebration.

Altar for Dia de los Muertos at La Milpa on Hull Street

Here’s more

Una calaca

Here’s a dancer

Danzante

Here’s some comida

Que rico!

More comida.

Mas comida!

Tamales..

Be still my heart, tamales..

There were some Colombians serving arepas. I had one, but I was still cold. So I went home.