November 16, 2011: Guest Post Restaurant Review Sal and Teresa’s

Here’s another review from my secret restaurant reviewer, Sherry. This time she ate at Sal and Teresa’s Mexican food restaurant in Show Low.

Review of Sal and Teresa’s, November 11, 2011

When it comes to Mexican food on the Mountain that is both authentic and reasonably priced, you really can’t beat Sal and Teresa’s. The restaurant moved from a dinky little location off the main drag to their new digs, where Addi J’s used to be, and it’s given them much more room to serve many more diners. Along with the move, Sal and Teresa bought a liquor license so they now serve everything from margaritas to beer.

I’ve eaten some really, really good Mexican food in my time, everywhere from Old Mexico to New Mexico. Comparatively, Sal and Teresa’s ranks somewhere on the middle according to that scale. Let me translate for you: that means the food is still very good.

Just like most Mexican restaurants, the chips and salsa are a free appetizer with your meal. Sal and Teresa’s serves a combination of corn and flour tortilla chips along with two different kinds of salsa, one a mild, fresh pico de gallo and the other a spicier taco sauce in a squeeze bottle. I love them both but tend toward the taco sauce because the spicier the better when it comes to my taste buds! All of it is made there in the restaurant, no cheating here!

Now on to the main dishes. On this visit, I ordered the red cheese enchiladas, a favorite dish of mine. For some reason, these enchiladas were covered in a red chile sauce with chunks of meat…it wasn’t a problem for me but if you’re a vegetarian, you’d better ask about what’s in the sauce before ordering the “cheese” enchiladas. The rice and beans, as always, were very good although the salad on the side was pretty skimpy – a few strands of lettuce and maybe 3 or 4 small chunks of tomatoes.

My husband had a chimichanga, which is his usual order, and according to him it was just as good as usual.

One thing I really enjoy about Sal and Teresa’s is that they serve stuffed sopapillas. Outside of New Mexico, this is a hard-to-find dish.

The service at Sal and Teresa’s is always very good. I’ve never encountered a server who was any less than very friendly and attentive.

As a bonus, on Friday nights the restaurant features live entertainment. Usually it’s the Mountain Saddle Band, which I really love, but this night it was a lone guitar player. It’s not a romantic atmosphere, but it’s a lot of fun for families and small groups.

For the money, it’s hard to beat what you get at Sal and Teresa’s: good food, great service, and live entertainment.

The scores for Sal and Teresa’s are as follows (on a scale from * to *****):

Food: ****

Service: *****

Ambience: ****

October 3, 2011: Spanish Rice

Making Spanish rice is much like making a risotto. The rice is fried first, then bits of liquid are added slowly and absorbed before adding more. It really doesn’t take a whole lot more time than making a box of Rice-a-Roni and this homemade Spanish rice is far tastier!

During the cooking process - this rice still needs to cook a bit longer because it hasn't yet absorbed all the liquid.

Spanish Rice

1 T. olive oil

1 clove garlic, finely minced

½ cup minced yellow or white onion (optional)

½ cup white rice

½ cup peeled and seeded tomato, chopped (about 1 medium sized tomato or use canned tomatoes)

½ t. dried cilantro

½ t. dried sage

1 t. garlic salt blend with parsley

¼ t. black pepper

About 3 cups chicken broth

Heat oil to medium low in a saucepan. Add garlic and sauté for about one minute, being careful not to burn garlic. Add rice and sauté until it just begins to turn golden brown. Add 1 cup of the chicken broth, the tomatoes, and spices, stirring occasionally. When the liquid is almost all absorbed, add another cup of chicken broth. Continue cooking and adding broth until rice is tender, at least 20 – 25 minutes. 

Serves 3 - 4

May 4, 2011: Pork Chimichanga Recipe

The last time I made pork spareribs, they didn’t come out very tender. I was disappointed, but I didn’t want all that meat to go to waste. My solution? Cook it again, this time with moisture and additional spices, and turn it into chimichanga meat. This second-time-around meal was very delicious and even my husband, who doesn’t always like very spicy foods, enjoyed this meal.

Chimichangas are a wonderful dish to serve at a Cinco de Mayo celebration. Try them with this creamy guacamole recipe, Spanish rice, and a green salad. Oh – and margaritas, of course!

Feel free to use any leftover meat you have to make this dish. Pork or beef roast works particularly well.

Pork Chimichangas

Leftover, shredded pork or beef, about 3 cups
1 small Russet potato
1 T. olive oil
½ small white onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. ground cumin
1 chile in adobo sauce, finely minced + 1 T. adobo sauce
1 t. apple cider vinegar
½ cup water
Four burrito size flour tortillas
Oil for frying
Velveeta cheese and milk (for sauce)

Clean the potato and prick it with a fork. Microwave until done. When cool enough to handle, peel the potato and finely chop it.

In a large saucepan heated to medium heat, add the olive oil. Toss in the onion and garlic. Cook for about one minute, until the vegetables start to soften. Add remaining ingredients and turn heat to low. Simmer for up to an hour, stirring occasionally and adding water, if necessary.

Place the tortillas in the microwave and heat on high for 1 minute. Divide the meat mixture among the four tortillas; roll up tightly into burritos.

Heat enough vegetable oil in a heavy saucepan to cover the bottom and come up the sides of the pan about one-half to one inch. Heat to medium high then carefully add the burritos. Cook, turning, just until the burritos brown nicely on each side.

Prepare cheese sauce as directed on the Velveeta box.

To serve, place the chimichangas on a bed of shredded lettuce and top with cheese sauce. Serves four.

March 27, 2011: Red Chile Beef Enchiladas Recipe

Being from New Mexico, I was introduced to hot red chile at a young age. I’ll never forget the first time I ordered red chile enchiladas at a little café in downtown Silver City; one of those places that looks like a hole in the wall from the outside but serves the most fantastic food. I was 11 years old and the only way I could make it through that meal was to drink about a gallon of water! My ears teared and my nose ran but by the time I was done eating, I was hooked by the intense, wonderful flavor of the red chile sauce.

To this day, my all-time favorite meal is red chile enchiladas, New Mexico style, which means the tortillas (my fave is blue corn) are stacked flat on the plate instead of rolled up. The best topping? A fried egg (sometimes referred to as "ranchero style"). Yum, yum, yum!

This recipe for red chile beef enchiladas is casserole style, which is much easier to make, particularly if you are serving a few people (I often make enchiladas for myself for lunch on a whim - cheese only - and those are New Mexico style). It also uses powdered red chile, which is easier to work with, but the sauce could certainly be made with red chile pods soaked in hot water and pureed in a blender, as is traditional.

Red Chile Beef Enchiladas

Red Chile Sauce:
3 T. grease (lard is traditional; bacon grease adds a lot of flavor; olive oil is healthier)
3 T. flour
1 t. salt (or to taste; red chile sauce really needs a lot of salt)
1 t. garlic salt
½ t. ground black pepper
¼ cup red chile powder
2 cups chicken broth
¼ cup water
1 dozen corn tortillas
Cooking spray
4 ounces Monterrey Jack cheese, grated or Mexican cheese, such as cotija

In a medium-sized saucepan, melt the grease over medium heat. Add the flour and stir constantly for one to two minutes. Add the salts, pepper, and chile powder, stirring just to mix. Slowly add the chicken broth, stirring constantly. Turn the heat to low and let it simmer until it comes to a gentle boil. Stir occasionally. If the sauce is too thick, add water. It should be the consistency of tomato sauce.

Beef:
1 lb. ground beef
½ yellow or white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. flour
½ t. cumin
½ t. garlic salt
1 t. red chile powder

In a large skillet, brown the ground beef over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until the veggies are softened. Drain most of the grease, leaving about one tablespoon in the pan. Add the flour and seasonings and mix well.

To prepare the tortillas:
Use a small, microwavable plate. Spray both sides of the first tortilla with cooking spray and put on the plate. Spray the top only of the next tortilla and place it, spray side up, on top of the first tortilla. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 1 – 2 minutes.

Note: Traditionally the tortillas are fried in oil, but this is a much healthier and less greasy alternative. If you’re a purist, go ahead and fry the tortillas in hot oil for a few seconds on each side until just softened; drain on paper towels.

To Assemble:
Use a 13 x 9” pan (I prefer glass but if you are using a metal pan, coat it with cooking spray first). Take about ¼ cup of the red chile sauce and spread it across the bottom of the pan.

Take one softened tortilla and place about 1 tablespoon of the ground beef mixture along one edge. Roll it up and place it, seam side down, in the pan. Continue until all tortillas are filled and rolled. Pour the remaining red chile sauce over the tortillas, then top with grated cheese.


Cover the pan with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 5 minutes more, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

The red chile beef enchiladas served on a plate with homemade refried beans, tortilla chips, and a simple salad of sliced tomatoes and avocados.

February 17, 2011: Neal’s Favorite Tacos Recipe

For me, food equals love. Since the month of February – the shortest month of the year and named after the Latin term for “purification” – is typically associated with love, it just seemed appropriate that I include a recipe that is a favorite of my favorite loved one, my son, Neal.

When Neal was growing up, we never had an excess of money. Did that mean our life was bad or hard? Not in the least. In fact, I think it meant that we were closer than if we’d been rich. We spent a lot of time shopping at yard sales and thrift shops, fixing up our house with elbow grease, and making gifts for special occaions. And I always made a home cooked meal. It was a rare occasion that we went out to eat at a restaurant.

If you ask Neal, he might say that he preferred fast food burgers and Chinese take-out to Mom’s homemade food but I know that deep down inside, he appreciated my efforts. In fact, on most nights I fed not only my son, but two or three or four of his friends. If they wanted frozen pizza they could stay home, but if they wanted a delicious meal of homemade chicken fingers or meatloaf, our house was the place to eat.

No matter how hard I tried to overcome his resistance, I raised a son who is picky when it comes to food. I tried my best to introduce him to new and varied foods, but I soon gave up when he demonstrated that he couldn’t tolerate certain things by “voiding his stomach” (to put it delicately). Oh well. Even though I couldn’t experiment with exotic vegetables and herbs, I still love cooking for him!

There is one dish that Neal craves and requests more than any other and that’s my rolled tacos. It’s an incredibly simple recipe but it pleases me no end that not even the Mexican food chain popular in Phoenix, Filiberto’s, can compete with mom’s rolled tacos. So here’s the recipe that tops my son’s list of all-time favorite foods.

Rolled Tacos

Cooked roast beef, shredded (about half a pound will serve four people)
Cooked russet potato (half to one whole potato)
12 or more corn tortillas
Cooking spray (such as Pam)
Oil for frying
Velveeta cheese
Milk
1 tsp. cumin
1 chopped green chile (optional)

There are no exact measurements included in this recipe because it relies on leftovers and the amount you have available will vary.

Make a pot roast one night and use the leftovers the next to make these tacos – if you have a large family, make a really big roast. If it’s only one or two diners, you can use a smaller roast of about 5 pounds cooked in the crock pot one night and have plenty leftover to make tacos the next night.

Take the leftover beef and shred it. Finely mince the cooked potato (use any leftovers from the previous night’s pot roast if available). Combine the potato with the shredded beef and add a bit of leftover gravy, if available – just enough to make the mixture moist.

You will need to gauge how many tortillas are necessary to use up the meat mixture. Start with a dozen and you can prepare more if needed. Use a small microwaveable plate. Take one corn tortilla and spray it one both sides with Pam. Place it on the plate. For the remaining tortillas, spray with Pam on one side and stack it on the plate, unsprayed side on top of the base tortilla. When all the tortillas are sprayed and stacked, cover the plate with plastic wrap and microwave on high for one to two minutes, until the tortillas are softened.

Take a softened tortilla and place about two tablespoons of the meat/potato mixture on one end. Roll it up tightly like a cigar, then secure with a toothpick. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

Take a heavy saucepan and add oil to about two inches up the sides. Heat it to approximately 375 degrees. Using a pair of tongs, drop in two to three rolled tacos at a time. Fry for a minute or two on one side until the tortillas starts to turn crispy and golden brown, then turn it over and fry for an additional minute or so. Remove to a paper towel lined plate. Continue with the remaining tacos, placing the cooked tacos in a warm oven.

When all the tortillas are cooked, cube Velveeta cheese (about one-fifth of a loaf will be enough for two people) and place in a microwaveable bowl. Add a couple tablespoons of milk along with a dash of cumin and a chopped green chile (if desired; Neal doesn’t like spicy food so I omit the chile for him). Microwave on high for about a minute, stirring halfway through. Cook until all the cheese is just melted.

Serve the rolled tacos over a bed of sliced lettuce and tomato and top with melted cheese sauce. Refried beans and Spanish rice are a great accompaniment.

And that’s how I show love to my son!