Betzabroad…My personal recipe for tasting our big, fat, wonderful world

Latin American food fiesta featuring…Chiles.  Jalapeños in the guacamole. NM Hatch in the sausage.  Guajillos in the salad dressing.  First try at arepas was surprisingly easy.  I baked mine rather than frying to save some calories.  Only to be completely negated when I topped them with the wonderful hatch chile sausage I recently found at Food Lion !! Of all places!!  Very close to a Mexican style chorizo without as much paprika/annato. Topped with a little cheese and some crema, these little corn pillows are my new faves! 

Here is the recipe:

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal, finely ground in a rocket-type blender

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup grated cheese (cheddar, Mexican blend, mozzarella)

1/2 cup milk

1Tbsp butter + 1Tbsp vegetable oil

Warm milk, butter and oil in a pan or microwave.  Pour over remaining ingredients. Stir well. If too loose add more cornmeal.  Mixture must be thick enough to roll into a ball. Let mixture rest,covered for at least 15 minutes. Roll mixture into approximately 6-8 balls. Flatten balls into 3 inch discs about 1/3 inch thick.  Place on greased pan and bake in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes until puffy and lightly browned on bottoms. Top with chicken, or sausage as mentioned above..or just cheese, if desired. 

 I rounded out the meal with a simple salad dressed with a guajillo dressing that is a knockoff of a recipe from “Pati’s Kitchen” that is simpler and yet so good you’ll want to put it on EVERYTHING you eat! 

My guacamole is a fan favorite around here….Psst…the trade secret for great guacamole….crush 1 clove of garlic for every two avocados with some  coarse salt and pepper in a mocajete or your favorite shallow bowl BEFORE adding the avocado, jalapeños, scallions, lime juice and a pinch each of cumin and chili powder.  

Finally, this most excellent guajillo chile dressing:

Blend together in a  NutriBullet 3-4 guajillo chiles cut into 2-3 pieces, with stems removed

1/2 cup oil (I like to use a blend of olive and vegetable oil)

2Tbsp water

1/8 cup cider vinegar

2tsp turbinado sugar

1/2 clove garlic

1tsp salt

Blend until a beautiful bright orange shade with peppers in tiny pieces

This dressing is good on salad but can be used to top bruschetta, as a drizzle in soups, as a sauce over rice and noodles, over a taco, over mac and cheese, as a bread dip…you get the point,  it’s addictive!