Angelina’s cooking course…round 2!

I had signed up for Angelina’s March cooking class when I attended the February one.  When I checked with her a few days ago it turned out the one I’d signed up for on March 8th was overfull but she said she had another one scheduled for Saturday the 11th with less people.  She knew I’d cooked mole and asked what else I was interested in so it sounded like she would do something different.   I prefer a smaller group so I said I’d come on Saturday.

I dashed out to catch the bus at 9am hoping to make it downtown for the 10am class and just missed the green bus.  Darn!  I waited about 15 minutes for the next one and the trip was slow.  It was almost 10am when I got off the bus and by the time I got to Angelina’s the class was already started.

Juan Carlos, Angelina’s sous chef was in the process of making fresh tortillas which is something I have never done. 

The Masa Harina flour was mixed with water and a little salt until it was about the consistency of very soft pastry dough.  He said not to overwork the dough.

Here he shows us how to roll the ball of dough that he will flatten in the tortilla press.  He rolled it between his palms until it looked like a little child’s top!

This dough will be made in to empandalitas, or small empanadas.  They will be stuffed with a mixture of roasted and skinned poblanos, kernal corn and grated cheese and then they will be cooked in this pot of boiling oil.

Today we were all given the opportunity to give it a try.  A small ziplock bag was placed on the press, the small ball of dough on it and then another ziplock bag was placed on top of the dough.  A quick press and ….voila ……a tortilla.  We placed a smalled amount of filling on the tortilla and then used the plastic bag to cover one side with the other, pressed the edges and we had an empanadalita.  It was then dropped into the hot boiling oil to be cooked and browned. 

This young lady was a daughter of one of the older ladies and she gave it a try.  You can see Juan Carlos is a bit anxious about our technique!  He does not speak English and Angelina has to translate for him.  I can tell that he would be a very good teacher if he could communicate with us.  He rules the kitchen and even watches Angelina to make sure she is doing things right!  Funny.

         

Angelina brought out a jar of dried grasshoppers for us to try.  Hmmm….!  A couple of people gave it a go and when I saw their faces I decided to pass.

The empanadalitas are starting to pile up.   Angelina served them with a fresh cooked tomatillo sauce.  The tomatillos were dehusked and poached in chicken broth with a little garlic and onion and then transferred to the blender for a quick buzz.  An easy dipping sauce.

And now for the Mexican rice.  Same procedure as last time.  Fry the rice in a little oil with some onion, garlic and carrots.  Add the peas and chicken broth, bring it to a boil, turn the heat down and let it cook.  Later in the cooking he covered the rice with plastic wrap and after a bit when the moisture was absorbed he turned it off and let it stand.  The proportions are by eye and he always gets it right.  He says the broth should be about one finger above the rice.

Guess what!  Everyone in the class wanted to make mole so….we made mole. 

Gut the dried peppers, toast them with garlic and onions, add chopped fresh tomatoes and chicken broth from the pre- poached chicken.  Toast the nuts and spices and add them along with mashed Maria biscuits and Mexican chocolate.  Keep adding chicken broth until everything is soft and then into the blender to be pulverized until it is of a smooth consistency. 

Toasting the spices and nuts.

Juan Carlos says they are ready and in they go.

He tasted the mole and decided it needed more salt and Angelina said if you add salt you must add sugar to balance it.  Juan Carlos said we should smell the mole and we would know if  it was correct.  Maybe he could tell but I doubt if any of us could!

Fresh margaritas for anyonewho wanted one.

The mole went back in the large clay casserole dish and the chicken was added until the whole thing was full to the brim.

Just about full.  At this point the rice and chicken in mole was served and we all had lunch.  We’d already had the empanadalitas and no one was hugely hungry.  No I’m not a mole fan but it was very good.  The rice was delicious. 

I really liked the empanadalitas and you could fill them with anything you liked.  Chicken, pork, beef, shrimp or whatever mixture you thought would work. 

So….the class was good and many of the people including the two men appeared to be seasoned cooks so there was lots of good discussion.  I may buy a tortilla press and give it a try and I will certainly buy some tomatillos and cook them for a sauce.  All interesting information and nice small group of people. 

The class on Wednesday was fish zarandeado which I would have liked to do….maybe next year.  

                  

The sunny courtyard awaits where we will eat lunch.

One street up from Angelina’s and there is huge road repair underway. 

It was time for me to leave and head back to the mercado to catch a bus home.  I’d thought I would do a bit of shopping but when I went into the market it was so busy I gave up.  Early on a week day would be a better idea than a Saturday morning. 

Home on the green bus by 1:30 pm.

I thought I give you an update on the Hal and Helene’s blue bus.  It just got a facelift and is now creamy white with a light aqua trim.  I had my doubts when they were painting it but….it turned out great.  Helene said she felt the same way until it was done.  Change is always hard!

The weather has warmed up a bit and it was time for a little R&R on the beach.  Life is good!