Dinner Party: New New Mexican Fiesta

My husband grew up in Los Alamos, NM, so when we host dinner parties, we often go straight to New Mexican fare, as it lends itself well to groups and gives my husband a chance to shine in the kitchen. Over the years, our menu has evolved and we have put a California/Tex-Mex spin to the menu. Hence the title New New Mexican. Tonight’s guest list included our friends Jen and Bharat, Donia and Mitchell, and Lisa and Mike, along with their offspring. We wanted to develop a menu that would offer many options for our many different guests. Tonight we offered:

• Prickly Pear Cactus Mojito
• Half Moon Bay Halibut with cilantro pesto
• Black bean and cheese enchiladas with green chile salsa
• Posole as a vegetable
• Refried beans
• Ensalada de Noche Buena
• Brown rice
• Tortillas

Following a recipe from Feed Your Vegetarian, I pulled together a Prickly Pear Cactus Mojito. I could not resist the prickly pear cacti in the store, they were so beautiful – and once I had peeled them and whirled them in the hand blender, I mixed the juice with sugar to create a simple syrup, and followed the rest of the recipe. Our guests gave this a universal thumbs up!

I made the cilantro pesto a week ago, from fresh cilantro in our CSA box. I adapted the recipe I usually use for basil pesto, from Marcella Hazen’s book. A bunch of cilantro leaves, 2 garlic cloves, 2 TBS pine nuts, 1/4 cup olive oil, S&P, whirled in my hand blender. Spread over the top of the halibut (or salmon) fillets, then baked at 400F for 15 minutes.

The black bean and cheese enchiladas were a creation of our own. Mix together one can of refried black beans with 2 cups cheese (jack or a Mexican blend). Spread about 1/4 cup of the bean mixture inside a whole wheat flour tortilla, gordito size, roll up and place into

a 9″x13″ casserole. Repeat with 11 more tortillas. I made a green enchilada salsa with some roasted tomatoes from my garden, and poured about 2 cups over the top. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes.

On Simply Recipes, I found the recipe for refried beans (kitchen gadgets used: pressure cooker, strainer, cast iron pan and potato masher). Because several of tonight’s guests are foodies, I decided to make the beans from scratch, rather than buying them in a can. And, I toyed with making them black, but decided to give the pinto a try, as according to the USDA Nutrient Lab, they are about equally good for you.

The Ensalada de Noche Buena comes from Cooking Light magazine – I tried it last December, when I hosted a Tamale Making-Cookie Exchange Party (yes, we had a lot going on!), and it was very tasty. Check out Simply Recipes for a easy tutorial on cutting and de-seeding a pomegranate.

Posole as a vegetable (as opposed to soup, which is the way it is usually served around here) comes straight out of The Feast of Santa Fe, by Huntley Dent:

Posole as a Vegetable

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• pinch oregano
• 2 tablespoons red chili powder
• 4 ounces canned green chilies, chopped
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 – 3 cups canned hominy, drained

Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil over low heat, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Raise heat to medium, add spices (cumin through chili powder), and cook for 1 minute to develop spices. Add remaining ingredients, bring to boil, and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. The liquid should be only slightly thickened, add a little water if it seems to thick.