Sweet Potato & Red Beet Drum with Almond Flakes in a Raw Sugar-Balsamic Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 small sweet potato, peeled and sliced
• 1/4 red beet, cooked and sliced
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 oz. dark brown sugar
• 2 oz. granulated sugar
• the juice of 1 lime
• 3 pieces star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp almond flakes, roasted and chopped
• 1/2 slice pineapple to garnish

Makes 2 Servings

1. Pre-cook the sweet potato in a pot filled with water for 3-5 minutes.
2. Heat the water in a skillet; add the brown sugar and sugar, stirring until it dissolves. Add the star anise, cinnamon stick, lime juice, the sweet potato and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
3. Remove the anise, cinnamon stick and sweet potato from the pan; reserve the pan from the liquid. Make a puree of the sweet potato with some of the liquid that stayed in the pan or some water.
4. For the sauce, add the balsamic vinegar into the pan where the sweet potato was cooked and mix well (reheat of the sauce os too thick).
5. To serve, grab a round cookie cutter and make round beet slices. With the same cookie cutter place one layer of the sweet potato puree and 1 red beet slice ( 2 layers each). Sprinkle the almond flakes on top and garnish witht he pineapple slice and the sauce.

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Note: This recipe is something I learned at the Cocina Cosmopolita Culinary School in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. I never had sweet potato or red beet before and I was anxious to try this. I felt like I was training for Iron Chef America with all the ingredients and tools I was using to make this dish. This dish is considered to be a dessert in Mexico but  I would serve this as a light dinner. I don't consider sweet potatoes or beets to be dessert but they do taste good together. 

Poblano Chili Strips with Corn, Cream and Cheese

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese
• 2 oz. (about 1/4 cup) fresh corn
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat milk
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/2 small onion, finely sliced
• 1 poblano chili, roasted, peeled, seedless, deveined and cut into strips
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Makes 2 Servings

1. Heat oil in a skillet on low heat; saute the onion. Add the corn and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the poblano chili strips.
2. Mix the cream cheese, sour cream and milk into a smooth, thick sauce. Season it with bouillon and mix well.
3. Pour the mixture into the pan with the poblano strips and onions. simmer for about 3 more minutes. Serve hot.

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Note: This recipe is something I learned at the Cocina Cosmopolita Culinary School in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. This is another sauce/side dish that is so delicious and can be served with any dish-chicken, beef, pork and any kind of fish. You can even make little empanadas with this sauce or even serve this sauce on top of a crostini. You will serve this dish again and again after one bite of this sauce because it's so creamy and spicy.

Guacamole

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe avocado, peeled (only the pulp)
• 2 tbsp tomatoes, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp white onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp coriander, finely chopped (1-2 leaves to garnish)
• 1 tbsp jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 tsp fresh lime juice
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Makes 2 Servings

In a mixing bowl, place avocado pulp and smash it all using a fork or potato masher; season with salt and pepper and add lime juice to avoid oxidation. Add the "pico de gallo" sauce: onion, tomato, jalapeno and chopped coriander. Stir well and garnish with cariander leaves. Serve immeadiately.

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Note: This recipe is somethis I learned at the Cocina Cosmopolita Culinray School in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. Guacamole is the official appetizer of Mexico and it's important to master it. Guacamole can also be served as a side dish with chicken, fish, beef and even pork. I also learned that you can serve guacamole without the pico de gallo sauce. The jalapeno is for taste. Take out oall the seeds of the jalapeno to minimize the spiciness. Don't forget to wear gloves because your hands will burn. You can also use serrano or habanero chilies for the jalapenos if you want to turn up the heat.

Salsa Borracha

Ingredients:

• 1/2 garlic clove, roasted
• 1/2 small onion, roasted and diced
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1 tomatillo, roasted and halved
• 1 dried ancho chili, seedless and soaked in hot water for 15 minutes
• 1 dried guajillo chili, seedless and soaked in hot water for 15 minutes
• 2 tbsp dark beer
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Makes 2 Servings

1. Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and heat skillet on medium-low heat. Roast garlic, onion and tomatillo for about 10 minutes.
2. Place chilies, onion, garlic, tomatillo, brown sugar, salt and pepper in a blender and blend it all for 5 seconds or into a chunky consistency sauce. Add beer and stir. Serve immeadiately.

W W POINTS VALUE: Who knows?

Note: This recipe is a dish I learned at the Cocina Cosmopolita Culinary School in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. Making salsa is a very simple thing to do and this salsa goes with anything: chips, beef, chicken, pork, fish, etc. I'm not much of a beer drinker but the taste of Mexican dark beer in the salsa added a nice taste. You can find dried chilies in the Latin section of you local grocery store and they add a wonderful heat  to the salsa. This salsa is better that the jarred salsa you buy in the grocery store. This salsa is also Iron Chef worthy. Bobby Flay, can you hear me know?

Grilled Beef "A La Tampiquena"

Ingredients:

• 8 oz. of any kind of steak
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Makes 2 Servings

1. Marinate the steak with garlic salt and pepper; let it  rest at room temperature for 20 minutes. Cook the the steak on the grill to your desire.
2. Serve steak with one of the following side dishes: poblano chili pepper stripes with cream and cheese, guacamole or  fried beans with tortilla chips

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Note: This recipe was a dish I learned at the Cocina Cosmopolita Culinary School in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. It's a very simple main dish to make and you can add your own other ingredients such as Worcestershire sauce, lime juice or even a dash of red wine for a touch more flavor.

Corn Tortillas

Ingredients:

• 1 cup corn tortilla flour
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup warm water

Makes 2 Servings (?)

1. In a large, bowl, mixx all the ingredients except the water. Gradually add the water and work the mixture into a dough. Mix about 5 minutes.
2. Make small ball about the size of the center of your palm. Grab an iron torilla pressand cover it  with 2 pieces of plastic and put a small ball of dough in between them. Close the iron tortilla press it until the dough gets flat.
3. Carefully remove the tortilla off the plastic bag and put it on the hot skillet. wait about 40 seconds or until the edges get a little dry and steam starts to come out of the tortilla. Flip the tortilla and wait another 40 seconds, flip it once again and press down the edges until bubbly. Repeat with the rest of the dough.
4. Cover the tortillas with a small damp towel to keep them warm or use a tortilla warmer.
 

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Note: This recipe is a dish I learned from the Cocina Cosmopolita Cooking School in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. These corn tortillas were used in the Corn Tortilla Soup. These are very easy to make and you can use any kind of flour with this recipe. If the dough is still sticky after mixed, add more flour to make it more doughy.Iif you don't have a tortilla press, you can use a rolling pin to make the tortilla and a soup can to cut out the size of the tortilla. You can use torillas as an appetizer as well.



Corn Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 1 lime, halved
• 1/2 avocado, finely diced
• 3 ripe tomatoes, cut in quarters
• 1 epazote leaf
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 corn tortillas, slivered and fried
• vegetable oil to deep-fry
• 1 pasilla chili, deveined and seedless
• 2 oz. fresh cheddar, Monterey Jack or any Mexican cheese, diced
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 2 tbsp sour cream
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Makes 2 Servings

1. Heat oil in n a frying pan; add onion, tomatoes, garlic and fry until golden brown. Place ingredients into a blender with 1 cup of chicken broth and blend it all into a puree. Strain the mixture into a bowl until all liquid comes out. Set liquid aside.
2. Place puree in same frying pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Add remaining chicken broth and epazote leaf and simmer for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Make pasilla chili ring slices about 1/4-inch each and fry them in the pot with the oil.
4. To Serve: place fried tortillas, chili rings, avocado, cheese and soup at last.

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Note: This is a recipe I learned at the Cocinca Cosmopolita Culinary School in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico. I was on vacation and I wanted to improve my Mexican culinary skills. I made this dish all by myself and it was really easy to make and it taste delicious in the end. Tortilla soup is the official soup of Mexico. I converted the Mexican recipe into American measurements so it would be easier for me and others. it may look complicated but this dish couldn't be any easier to make. This is a dish that is suitable for everyone, including vegetarians.