Fajitas, an Authentic Mexican Dish?

The answer to that is sort of yes, and sort of no. The Spanish word “faja” means belt or girdle; and refers to the cut of meat known as “skirt steak”. The word “fajita” means a smaller version of the skirt steak itself, or the thin strips cut to create the fajita filling. Grilling meat was not a new style of cooking for the Mexican culture, nor for America; but Mexican vaqueros (cowboys) introduced their American counterparts to their style. Many parts of cattle were discarded, such as the skirt, or given to the ranch hands in lieu of monetary compensation for their work. The meat needed to be grilled to remove the membrane, or “silver skin”, from both sides; it helped keep juices in, but was still too tough to ingest.  Even today, many cuts of beef from the market retain the “silver skin” under that layer of fat left attached.  That price per pound you just paid for includes the section you’re going to throw away.  Marinating the meat all day, or night, guarantees tough beef will be tender and flavorful, but that came later on in culinary history.

A historical piece called “Fajitas, South Texas Style”, done at Texas A&M University by Mary K. Sweeten and Homer Recio, established that this could be traced as far back as the 1930’s in Texas; hence the beginning of what is called “Tex-Mex” cuisine.  (Go to: https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/bitstream/handle/1969.1/147901/Bull1500a.pdf?sequence=9&isAllowed=y for the full story.)

While the fajita originally contained beef, nowadays it can contain chicken, pork, seafood, or a combination of these items. Other typical ingredients served with the fajita are onions, shredded lettuce, bell and/or hot peppers, Spanish rice, refried beans, cheese and condiments such as sour cream, salsa and guacamole. Wrapped in warm tortillas, the fajita becomes the perfect little type of sandwich; packed with food and flavors.  Personally, I’m a minimalist, I want to taste the grilled meat, chicken or seafood, and vegetables; so I typically add a little cheese and sour cream.  However some fajitas I’ve seen have been so packed with extras, the tortilla could barely have the ends meet.  Hmm, does that make it a “taco” now, instead of a fajita?

While delving into the history of cuisines might be a bore to most, I see it as knowledge gained.  With all the stories I write, about San Juan County, in my travel blog; many residents have outright stated that I’ve become a bit of a historian in my own right.  Basically, I’m keeping the knowledge of history, whether food or geographically related, alive; and we all know that knowledge is power.

 

Fajitas

 

Ingredients:

2 lbs. sirloin or round steak, cut into 2” x ¼” strips

2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2” x ¼ “strips
2 large onions, cut into ¼” strips
1 large each red, yellow and green bell peppers, cut into ¼” strips
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1 dozen 8” tortillas (corn or flour)

Marinade:

½ cup canola oil

½ cup white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
1 ½ Tbsp. minced fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 tsp ground black pepper

Garnish:

Salsa

Refried Beans
Sour Cream
Shredded Mexican Blend or Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preparation:

Put steak and chicken strips in two separate sealable plastic bags. Prepare marinade by placing all ingredients listed under Marinade into small bowl and whisking together. Divide marinade between the two bags; seal and refrigerate overnight. In a third plastic bag, place the onion and pepper strips, black pepper, garlic powder, 2 Tbsp. oil inside; gently shake to mix together and also refrigerate overnight with steak and chicken.

 

When ready to make fajitas, separately cook steak, chicken and vegetables in a medium skillet on medium-high heat. Cook steak and chicken until no pink is showing; cook vegetables until tender. For the tortillas, heat a 10” skillet or stove top griddle on medium-high heat; warm tortillas for 30 seconds on each side.

Serve steak, chicken, vegetables and tortillas with items listed under Garnish, so each serving can be made as desired.

Makes 12 servings.

Mary Cokenour

 

Better Than the Box Macaroni and Cheese.

As much as I enjoy making recipes from scratch, time constraints necessitate using boxed, canned, frozen or prepackaged food sources.  When it comes to macaroni and cheese, my recipe for Creamy Macaroni and Cheese is better than any packaged brand.  Four different cheeses melted into a heavy cream mixture before drenching perfectly cooked elbow macaroni...heavenly!  But, it takes time to create, and sometimes that isn't convenient, so I go to the box.  We prefer the Velveeta Shells and Cheese; it's the "rather have liquid cheese than powdered" principle.  As to whether Velveeta is really a cheese, I'll leave that to those who have the free time for this debate.

I made meatloaf to go with my Shells and Cheese casserole.  As a joke, I took a photo of my meal next to the picture on the box.  Personally, I think my meal photo looks much more appetizing.

Shells and Cheese Casserole

 

Ingredients:

1 (24 oz.) box Velveeta Shells and Cheese

1 (10 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (12 oz.) package frozen corn, thawed
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained
½ cup diced onion
½ tsp ground black pepper
¾  cup crumbled bacon

Preparation:

Prepare Velveeta Shells and Cheese according to package directions.

Preheat oven to 350F; grease 3 quart baking dish with butter.

In a large bowl, mix remaining ingredients, except bacon, with the prepared shells and cheese.  Spread evenly into butter baking dish; sprinkle bacon over top.

 

Bake for 30-40 minutes; top will be browned and firm to touch.

Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour

 

Sugar and Spice Makes Cookies So Nice.

Snickerdoodle, a whimsical name for a cookie laden with sugar and cinnamon.  Depending on the recipe, this light cookie can be crunchy with a crackled top, or soft like a thin cake.  Now the question is, why the name Snickerdoodle?  “The Joy of Cooking” (in print since 1936) claims it is of German descent; corruption of the word Schneckennudel meaning "snail noodles". Then there are the Dutch with their word “snekrad” which also means “snail”.  The only thing I see similar to a snail is the round, sticky dough balls rolled in the sugar/cinnamon coating. 

Personally I lean towards the third theory of origin, 19^th century New England, and the habit of giving whimsical names.  Geography lesson time!  New England is a geographical region which comprises six states of the northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont.  It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and south which leads to Utah.  If you are looking at a United States map right now, you’ve done a double take on what I have just written, and I’ve totally lost you.  Let’s follow my disjointed logic; Brigham Young  and Joseph Smith were born and raised Vermont; however, they developed their Mormon following in New York which eventually traveled to the Midwestern states, and finally to Utah.  So it shouldn’t be a wonder for the love of Snickerdoodles by Utahns.

Here is the recipe from The Joy of Cooking.

Snickerdoodles

Ingredients:

Flour -- 2 cups

Cream of tartar -- 2 teaspoons
Baking soda -- 1 teaspoon
Salt -- 1/4 teaspoon
Unsalted butter, cut into chunks, room temperature -- 1/2 pound, or 2 sticks
Sugar -- 1 1/2 cups plus 1/4 cup
Eggs -- 2
Cinnamon -- 4 teaspoons

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl.

2. Add the butter and 1 1/2 cups of sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer and cream together on medium speed until the butter is light and fluffy and the sugar is well incorporated. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the egg, beating until it is incorporated.

3. Remove the bowl from the mixer and mix in the dry ingredients with a spatula until well blended. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.

4. Mix together the 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl. Form walnut-sized balls out of the cookie dough and roll the balls in the cinnamon-sugar. Place the balls on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, spaced about 2 inches apart.

5. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, turning the pan once for even baking. Cool 5 to 10 minutes on the pan, and then remove to a rack and cool completely.

About 2 dozen cookies.

A month or so ago, I was shopping at Walmart and came upon “Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies” in the bakery department.  Now while we love pumpkin cookies, the incorporation of Snickerdoodles was tempting to taste test.  Primarily they were regular pumpkin cookies with an extra sugary topping, and a slight crispness around the edges.  While not impressed, it did give me the inspiration to create my own version.  My wonderful “guinea pigs” from the Monticello City Office, San Juan Record and Monticello Welcome Center were pretty much in agreement; soft cookie with a slight pumpkin taste, more of the Snickerdoodle coming out in my version.

Especially at this time of the year when pumpkins are being carved into Halloween décor; “the guts” being converted into roasted pumpkin seeds; the meat going into pies and breads, now you have another type of pumpkin cookie to make!  Serve them up next to the Thanksgiving desserts; place a few on Santa’s plate for that extra good girl/boy gift in your stocking.  Then again, a few on your own little plate, a steaming hot mug of cocoa, a good book to lose yourself in, now that’s cozy comfort time!

 

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies

 Ingredients:

3 and ¼ cups all-purpose flour

3 and ½ tsp cornstarch
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (golden for light coloring; dark for darker coloring of cookies)
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled.
1 large egg yolk
1 (15 oz.) canned pure pumpkin  
1 and ½ tsp vanilla extract

For rolling:

¼ cup granulated sugar

1 and ½ tsp ground cinnamon

 

Preparation:

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, cream of tartar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg; set aside. 



 

In a large bowl, cream together butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar, but only to combine, not to the pale and fluffy stage.   Mix in egg yolk, pumpkin and vanilla extract thoroughly.  

Still Use My Tupperward Egg Separator.

Set mixer on low; slowly add in dry ingredients until combined; scrape down sides to incorporate all ingredients.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap, chill in refrigerator for 1 hour; dough will be slightly sticky, but manageable for rolling.

  
 
 
 
 
 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

 











In a small bowl, whisk together sugar and cinnamon. Scoop dough out 1 tablespoon at a time, roll into a ball; roll dough ball in cinnamon sugar mixture to coat evenly.  

Space cookies 2-inches apart; bake for 15 -17 minutes (they should look just slightly under-baked as they'll cook slightly once removed from oven). Cool on cookie sheets 5 minutes, transfer to wire racks to cool completely; outside of cookies will become crispier while inside will remain soft and cake-like.

 Makes 4 dozen cookies.

  Mary Cokenour

Cast Iron Skillets and Elk Burgers.

The last time I had made Elk Burgers was on July 4^th, on the grill outside, along with my hot and sweet pork ribs.  Here I was again planning to make them for dinner, but Roy was going to be home late.  I always make something special for when he returns home; he has to live and work in Moab all week.  He’s another victim of the lack of full time employment in San Juan County; staying in Moab saves on fuel costs.  While making them on the grill is great, I had no intention of standing outside in the dark, with a flashlight, flipping burgers.  So, the question was, how to make them hot, fresh and quickly without using the outdoor grill?

Done up in the oven?  Just wouldn't get the caramelization that we liked, and would leach the juices right out of the meat.  The stove top was the last option.  Stove top burgers require the ultimate in a skillet...the cast iron skillet.  These little beauties cook evenly, retain high heat and last forever if taken cared of properly. I have had my skillets for over 30 years, they're still going strong; a bit beat up, but they do the job right.

 

Cast iron skillets do not come pre-seasoned, so prepare to do this before any attempt at cooking in them. Set the oven temperature to 450F, give the inside of the skillet a light coating of vegetable oil, and leave it in the oven for 30 minutes. Turn off the oven and let the skillet cool down. Hold on though, you're not done yet; repeat this process two more times. Why? The baked on oil is sealing up pores in the skillet and developing its own nonstick surface.

 

 

Every time you use your seasoned skillet, clean-up is basically hot water and paper towels. Using soapy water, steel wool pads or scrubbing pads will just take off that seasoned coating and allow rust to form in the skillet. Clean up with hot water, use paper towels to scrape off any stuck food bits, dry thoroughly and then smear on a light coating of oil with a paper towel. When storing, place a paper towel inside the skillet to keep dust particles from sticking to the coating, and when stacking pans.  I might be redundant, but paper towels are a best friend for your cast iron skillets.  A tip I learned the hard way, don’t store a wet pan on top of the cast iron; the water will soak through the paper and rust will form.

By the way, cast iron skillets can be used for baking.  I can attest to the fact that it creates the most fantastic honey cornbread; but that story is for another day.

Time to make some Elk Burgers...

 

Cast Iron Skillet Elk Burgers

 

Ingredients:

3/4 lb. ground Elk meat

1/4 lb. lean ground beef
1 cup diced tomatoes
1/4 tsp each sea salt, ground black pepper, garlic powder and chili powder
3 Tbsp. butter
1 medium red onion, cut into strips
1 large green bell pepper, cut into strips

Preparation:

In a medium bowl, mix together the Elk, ground beef, tomatoes and seasonings. Form 4 patties which will be one inch thick.

On medium-high heat, melt butter in skillet and put in the onion and bell peppers strips. Place the patties on top of the vegetables. Cook for 12 minutes on one side, lift up burger, mix vegetables up underneath and flip uncooked side of burger down on vegetables. Do this for each burger and continue to cook for another 12 minutes each. This will allow the vegetables and the meat to caramelize, and the meat will be cooked well, but still juicy.

Remove to plate and let rest 5 minutes before putting burgers on buns with a serving of vegetables. Serve with lettuce, cheese and condiments if desired.

Makes 4 burgers.

 

Mary Cokenour

 

 

 

Appeal to All Readers.

 On the side bar of this blog page are two GoFundMe advertisements; one for me, and one for my husband.

Due to living in an area where employment is slim to none; we are having great difficulties. 

I'm asking you to please click on those accounts and give.  Figure it this way, you enjoy reading my posts, my restaurant reviews, our travels throughout the Southwest.  We can't do this unless we receive monetary help.

Simple request...please help us.

Thank you so much.

The Cokenours

Italian Trilogy Ends with Meatballs.

I like trilogies; the beginning which sets the stage; middle expanding the story; the ending which completes.  I also believe in the number 3; in math it is classified as a real number; in faith, it is a power number.  The Grecian 3 Fates deciding when life will end; The Triple Crossroads of birth, life, death; The Holy Trinity; The 9 Levels of Hell, and the square root of 9 is 3…a perfect number.  I am ending my trilogy with an all-time favorite at any Italian dinner table, meatballs; let me set the stage.

A favorite show on the Food Network Channel is Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives"; I find new places to try, but also recipes to try out in my own kitchen.  I like Guy too; he's funny, ridiculous at times, and knows how to draw you in to enjoy the show.  Many of the places he features does Italian food, so I pay particular attention to those, since Italian is one of my favorite cuisines.  One diner owner prepared meatballs, using fresh sliced, white bread soaked in milk as the binder for the meat.    

Growing up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn; I learned in my family, and other families, to use bread crumbs, mainly from loaves of Italian bread that had gone stale, ground into fine crumbs and then added to the meat mixture.  In my first marriage, I learned that was the way his family, who were Italian, also did it, so who was I to question the norm?  Then again, I've become a lot more adventurous in the kitchen since those days, and was going to try this other method of bread soaked in milk.  Another reason, where I live now, you cannot find real, authentic Italian bread made with Semolina flour; it's all made with "enriched white flour" which, to me, is basically plain, old white bread.

Instead of the dried Italian seasoned crumbs, I broke up slices of white bread, about 6, and soaked them in 1 cup of milk instead of the 3/4 cup called for in my recipe.  I also increased my Italian seasoning mixture to 1/4 cup.  Adding this to the rest of the ingredients, I found that you had to work the soaked bread into the meat more, making sure to break up any large clumps. Baking time was the same, but I only got 18 meatballs instead of the usual 20; not a big deal though.

After cooking these in sauce came the taste testing; besides hubby and myself, I asked a couple of other folks to try them out against my regularly made meatballs, without telling them which was which.  The conclusion: While the bread soaked in milk meatball had a firmer texture, the overall taste was the same as my original style meatball. Everyone liked both types and would willingly eat both without a problem; they were delicious, they were authentically homemade; not those rubber ones sold in the freezer department of the grocery.  One comment I especially liked was, “These are the most tender meatballs I have ever eaten!” so there you go.

Overall conclusion: it comes down to basically what you grew up on, are comfortable making, and eating.  However, by trying a new idea, I know now, that if I'm out of dried bread crumbs, I can use the milk soaked bread, still get a decent result, and not a disaster.

Here’s my Original Meatball Recipe:

 

Lean ground beef (90% or more) is best for meatballs, since they are finished off cooking in sauce.  If a lesser lean meat is used, the fat would seep into the sauce, making it oily and unappetizing.  The meatballs are first baked in an oven to remove any excess grease.  These meatballs are the typical New York Italian style, about the size of a tennis ball, and while great with a pasta dish, they can also be used for meatball sandwiches (subs, heroes, grinders, or whatever they are called in an area).

Ingredients:

4 lbs. lean ground beef (90% or more)

2 lbs. ground pork (NOT ground breakfast sausage!)
1 ½ cups Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/8 cup Italian seasoning mix
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 cup diced onion
¾ cup milk
2 eggs, beaten

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray jelly roll pans with nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients together thoroughly; making sure all dry ingredients are mixed well with wet ingredients.  Form the meat mixture into balls, about 2 ¾” (size of a tennis ball); place on jelly roll pans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bake meatballs for 20 minutes; dab on paper towels to remove any grease and immerse into sauce.  Allow meatballs to cook in sauce until sauce is ready; 4-6 hours depending on cooking technique (crock pot or stove top) being used. 

 

 

 

 

 

Serve with pasta, or use meatballs for a sandwich.

Makes about 20 meatballs.

 

Mary Cokenour

 

 

Scents of Fall in the Air.

The time of final harvest has begun; the Fall Equinox occurred on September 22^nd.  How fitting was it then to see snow on the lovely Abajo Mountains the next morning?  The Horse Head outlined for all to see clearly; surrounded by warm colors of gold, red and orange from the changing leaves.  The temperatures have begun to change also with 30s during the night, 60s during the day, and maybe a 70 trying hard to hang on to summer.  Windows may be closed at night, but during the day opened to catch those clean breezes before the bitterness of winter winds. 

But wait, what are those scents that come upon those breezes?  It is not just the aromas coming from canning; peaches, apples, pears ready to be made into cobblers, pies and other tasty pastries during winter.  There are the last of the green beans, squash of yellow and green; tomatoes being made into sauces.  No, no, it’s something more; scents that have a heady aroma, a bite at the back of the tongue…cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves.  It’s pumpkin time!  Pies, cakes, breads, cookies and soups; all spiced up and ready to be devoured with joy.

When I decided to do a pumpkin recipe for an article, I went through “The Mormon Pioneers Cookbook”, but only found one recipe, that being for Pumpkin Pie.  Now I had to do some thinking about the pioneers coming to Utah from the Eastern and Midwestern states, and the only recipe was for pumpkin pie?  Then it hit me, the San Juan County pioneers came from the western side of Utah much later than the Salt Lake City pioneers.  Growing pumpkins out there, even from seeds was probably not a picnic in the least.  Bringing seeds, using the waters from the San Juan River, or runoff from the Abajo Mountains; it still would have been many years before the soil was properly cultivated for good crop yields.  Now the one recipe made more sense, but I sort of feel sorry for all the good pumpkin eating these folks missed out on.

Never fear though, according to an article, “Pumpkins in the Garden” by Rick Heflebower and Dan Drost, Vegetable Specialists (Utah State University), “Autumn Gold, Connecticut Field, and Spirit Hybrid are large (18-25 lb.) fruited orange pumpkins that can be used for pies and carving. Jack Be Little, Wee-B-Little and Baby Bear are small (0.5-1.5 lb.) orange fruited types suited for small children. Lumina is a medium (8-14 lb.) white skinned pumpkin used for painting. Big Max and Big Moon can produce fruits that weigh in excess of 200 pounds. There are many other good pumpkin varieties for sale at local gardening outlets and through seed catalogs. Most grow well in Utah.” (http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1279&context=extension_curall  for the full article.)

In these modern times, driving to the local supermarket and purchasing canned pure pumpkin makes it all so easy.  Then again, seeing those dark green leaves shading white, orange and yellow pumpkins kind of brings a sigh to the heart.  It’s beautiful, it’s fall, and it’s pumpkin time.

 

 

Pumpkin Bread

 

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked pumpkin puree or 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree

4 eggs
1 cup canola oil
2/3 cup water
3 cups sugar
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp each ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and allspice
½ tsp ground cloves

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350; lightly butter and flour (or use baking spray) three loaf pans.

In a large bowl, mix together well the pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar.

 

 

In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices; add 1/3 of dry mixture into pumpkin mixture and mix well; repeat until all dry ingredients have been incorporated into the wet mixture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Divide batter between prepared loaf pans; use a soup ladle to get three full cups into each loaf pan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out cleanly. Let loaves cool before inverting and removing.

Makes 3 loaves.

Mary Cokenour