Editorial
Front Page - Friday, July 31, 2009
Kay's Cooking Corner
Kay Bona
Don and I just returned from Los Cabos, Mexico, also known as Baja Sur, Calif., to some of you. Los Cabos is down on the Pacific coastline where the Sea of Cortez meets the Pacific Ocean – just a really beautiful place.
When we tell people where we were going or had been the usual response is something about how dangerous it is because of the drug trafficking. However, we stayed on our resort, and when we did go anywhere like sightseeing, or shopping, we took a taxi, did only what we intended to do, and then went back to the resort. We had no problems at all this way, and everyone we met was friendly and helpful.
One thing we did was to charter a four-hour sailing cruise, which is something we have never done before, and it was wonderful. Nothing but the sun, the breeze, the waves, and Don and I relaxing at the bow of the boat. It was extremely peaceful and beautiful, and a perfect way to spend a Sunday morning and commune with God.
However, mostly what we did was eat and lay around beachside listening to the waves crash in on the shore. The resort was not too busy, so there were not a whole lot of people.
The food was excellent! You know, there are always one or two foods on a vacation that are memorable. The one thing I ate (actually two, considering Don’s order) was a fantastic dish called Volcanes. Sounds hot, but it wasn’t, and Don’s pepperoni pizza.
If you’re thinking blah pizza – this wasn’t an ordinary pizza as we picture them. With this one, the dough, which was made from scratch, tossed, twisted, thrown and stretched as we sat and watched, and then baked in an outdoor wood-burning brick oven. Fernando handled that dough as well as any Italian could ever hope to do! Oh my goodness! This was absolutely the best tasting pizza I have ever had! The crust was perfectly crispy and had such a wonderful campfire, toasted flavor!
I had the volcanes, small flour tortillas topped with marinated beef and Monterey Jack cheese, and then placed over the open flames and cooked until crispy, and the cheese melted. These were served with pico de gallo, avocado and Mexican salsa. Actually, this is nothing more than a tostada, but if you cook them in an open-flamed, brick oven, you have volcanes!
Tostadas are colorful, festive, and easy to make; perfect for a casual Mexican dinner. To assemble, marinate and cook the beef. Pile some on the tortilla, and top with cheese. Place in oven and bake until crispy and cheese has melted. Serve with pico de gallo, avocado and salsa. Buen Provecho!
Pico De Gallo
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 medium avocado, diced
2 tablespoon fresh cilantro, diced
1-2 medium limes, juiced
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper, to taste
1 serrano or jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced finely
1 small red onion, diced
Toss avocados, tomatoes, cilantro, lime juice, salt, and pepper, in medium bowl. Set aside. Finely dice small red onion and add to bowl. Carefully slice pepper in half under cool running water. Remove seeds and stem. Dice very fine on cutting board. Stir into other vegetables and chill.
Marinade for Beef
1/4 cup oil
1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice
1 tablespoons salt, kosher
1 tablespoons black pepper, coarse ground
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin
Mix all ingredients together. Place in bag with flank steak and allow to marinate 8 hours or overnight. Grill steak, allow to rest 5-10 minutes, then either shred, slice or dice meat. Serve on tacos or tostados, or use in fajitas.
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