Rick Bayless

appetizer main entree dessert the bowl





RICKbayless

Rick Bayless, through his writings, television series and acclaimed Chicago restaurants, has given Americans a special appreciation for Mexican cuisine, and his recipes are now enjoyed in L.A. at Red O. This coming week, the Hollywood Bowl celebrates the music and culture of the mariachis, providing a soulful complement to Rick Bayless’ cooking.

“Entertaining goes way beyond what’s on the plate
or the table, and the trick is to create the perfect vibe in an organic way. Besides having the right mix of people, I find that music is the only way to really set the tone of a party.”

—Rick Bayless

For more information visit:

www.rickbayless.com


[+click here] for our weekend entertainment guide

Performances Magazine PRESENTS THIS WEEK’S RECIPES:

MEXICAN-STYLE SHRIMP COCKTAIL

GRILLED CHICKEN SALAD WITH RUSTIC GUACAMOLE, ROMAINE AND QUESO AÑEJO

FRESH CORN CAKE, VERACRUZ-STYLE

[print_link]



MEXICAN-STYLE SHRIMP COCKTAIL

(CÓCTEL DE CAMARÓN)

Serves 6-8

Working Ahead: Note that the sauce can be made, covered and refrigerated
for several days before serving. Just finish the cocktail within an hour or so of serving.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 pound (71 to 90 pieces per pound) peeled, cooked small shrimp
  • 3/4 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup Mexican hot sauce (such as Valentina or Tamazula)
  • 1/2 cup (loosely packed) chopped fresh cilantro (thick bottom stems cut off)
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 1 small white onion, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
  • 3/4 cup clam juice, shellfish stock or water
  • Salt
  • 1 ripe avocado, pitted, flesh scooped from the skin and sliced
  • 2 to 3 dozen crackers (standard-issue saltines or artisanal crackers) OR 8 to 12 ounces of tortilla chips
  • 2 limes, cut into wedges

PROCEDURE

  1. In a large bowl, combine the shrimp, ketchup, hot sauce, cilantro, lime juice and onion.
  2. Stir in the clam juice, stock or water.
  3. Taste and season with salt if you think it needs it.
  4. Refrigerate until you’re ready to serve.

PLATING SUGGESTION

Serve the cocktail in small bowls topped with slices of avocado, accompanied by saltine
crackers (for a very authentic touch) or tortilla chips, and lime wedges for your guests
to squeeze on.

CHEF’S NOTE

Unexpected as it may be for many Americans, market stalls and street vendors
all over Mexico put together shrimp cocktails for hungry crowds every day and
serve them up with packets of soda crackers. And not just on the beaches.
Honestly, one of my favorite street-stall shrimp cocktails is at Mexico City’s
El Caguamo, which follows the pretty traditional pattern of making
“cocktail” sauce from ketchup, Mexican hot sauce and fresh-squeezed
lime, then mixing in the shrimp, avocado, cilantro and onion. Elemental satisfaction.



GRILLED CHICKEN SALAD WITH RUSTIC GUACAMOLE, ROMAINE AND QUESO AÑEJO

(ENSALADA DE POLLO A LA PARILLA CON GUACAMOLE RÚSTICO, LECHUGA OREJONA Y QUESO AÑEJO)

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 cup vegetable or olive oil, plus a little more for the onion
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
  • Fresh hot green chiles to taste (I like 2 serranos or 1 large jalapeño), stemmed and halved
  • 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
  • 3/4 cup (loosely packed) roughly chopped cilantro
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • Salt
  • 4 medium (about 1-1/4 pounds total) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
  • 1 medium white onion, cut into 1/2-inch slices
  • 2 ripe avocados
  • 2 medium romaine hearts, sliced crosswise at 1/2-inch thick ribbons (you’ll need about 8 cups)
  • About 1/3 cup grated Mexican queso añejo or other garnishing cheese like Romano or Parmesan

PROCEDURE

  1. Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and chiles and cook,
    stirring frequently, until the garlic is soft and lightly browned, usually 1 to 2
    minutes. Pour oil, garlic and chiles into a blender or food processor. Add the lime
    juice, cilantro, black pepper and 1 scant teaspoon salt. Process until smooth.
  2. Place the chicken breasts in a bowl and pour one-third of the garlic dressing over
    them, spreading it evenly over all sides.
  3. Heat a grill pan or gas grill over medium to medium-high heat (or start a charcoal
    fire and let it burn until the coals are medium hot and covered with white ash).
    Lightly brush or spray the onion slices with oil; sprinkle with salt. Lay the chicken
    and onion on to the grill pan or grill. Cook until the chicken is just cooked through
    and the onion is well browned, 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Chop the onion into small
    pieces and scoop into a bowl.
  4. Pit the avocados and scoop the flesh in with the onion. Add another one-third of the
    garlic dressing, then coarsely mash everything together with an old-fashioned potato
    masher, large fork or back of spoon. Taste and season with salt, usually about 1/2
    teaspoon.
  5. Scoop the sliced romaine into a large bowl. Drizzle on the remaining garlic dressing
    and toss to combine. Divide between 4 dinner plates. Scoop a portion of the guacamole
    into the center of each plate. Cut each breast into cubes and arrange over the guacamole.
    Sprinkle each plate with queso añejo (or its substitute) and you’re ready to serve.
CHEF’S NOTE

Here’s an offering to entice folks out of the “grilled chicken Caesar”
rut. True, it starts with grilled chicken, but chicken that’s redolent of roasted
garlic, green chile, cilantro and lime, chicken that dances the cumbia
with guacamole, crisp romaine and nutty aged cheese. The flavors are so captivating
that you can even get away without firing up the grill—this is a perfect
place to put the grill pan to work.



FRESH CORN CAKE, VERACRUZ-STYLE

(TORTA DE ELOTE A LA VERACRUZANA)

Serves 8-10

Production Notes: If you use a Vitamix blender, you’ll get the smoothest
texture and the size of the blender jar will allow you to add the condensed milk, corn meal,
baking powder and cinnamon and use the machine to mix them in. The torta is easiest
to cut when it has cooled completely (even been refrigerated); if the torta is at
room temperature, we cut it with a knife heated under hot tap water.

Working Ahead: The finished cake keeps well in the refrigerator, well-wrapped,
for several days. Bring to room temperature or warm it in a 350°F oven before serving.

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 ears fresh sweet corn, husk and silk removed
  • 6 ounces (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 6 pieces, softened to room temperature
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/4 cup white corn meal (preferably coarse-ground, polenta style)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, preferably freshly ground Mexican canela
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

PROCEDURE

    Preparing the Batter:

  1. Turn on the oven to 350°F and position the rack in the middle.
  2. Cut the corn kernels from the cob, measure 3 cups and scoop into a blender or food processor.
  3. Add the butter and eggs.
  4. Process until smooth, then scrape into a large bowl.
  5. Measure in 1 cup of the sweetened condensed milk, along with the corn meal, cinnamon
    and baking powder. Whisk to combine.
    Baking the Cake:

  1. Butter (or spray with oil) the bottom and sides of a 9-inch cake pan.
  2. Cut a circle of parchment to fit the bottom and press it firmly in place.
  3. Pour the batter into the pan (it will be full to the top) and slide into the oven.
  4. Bake until richly golden and set (no longer jiggly) in the middle, 45 to 50 minutes.
  5. Remove from the oven, let cool 10 minutes, then turn out on a rack.
  6. Immediately flip the cake over (the top is the prettiest side) and let cool completely.
CHEF’S NOTE

If you’ve ever sat at a table on the patio of the famous old Gran Parroquia coffee
shop overlooking the Veracruz wharf, you’ve likely snacked on torta de elote
as you sipped your tall glass of cafe con leche, the milk for which was
steaming from a huge kettle just moments before. A bite of the rough-textured, sweetish,
denseness takes you to a new appreciation of corn. Or at least a different one:
torta de elote in Mexico is made from milk-stage (often called “green”)
field corn—the starchy grain corn that’s grown for drying and grinding into corn meal.

Some Americans don’t like it, smitten as we are with super-sweet, super-tender varieties
of vegetable corn (which is exactly what most Mexicans say the first time they taste
our favorite sweet varieties). But the torta is really good—worth translating
north-of-the-border, worth working into a sweet corn version that captures some of
the rustic textures of the original. Here’s my take, based on an original recipe from
Veracruzana Doña Hilda, the mother of Patricia Madrid, a longtime server at Topolobampo.

Torta de elote is one of those Mexican desserts that typically combines sweet
and salty—classically served with a drizzling of Mexican crema (tangy like
crème fraîche) and salty fresh cheese (queso fresco).



HAVE YOU BOUGHT YOUR TICKETS TO THE BOWL? DON’T MISS:

Mötley Crüe

Tuesday, June 14, 2011, 7:00PM

With Poison and New York Dolls.

[for tickets]

Opening Night at the Bowl Hall of Fame Concert

Friday, June 17, 2011, 8:30PM

This star-studded evening features performances by 2011 Hall of Fame inductees Harry Connick, Jr.
and Gloria Estefan, plus an exclusive live sneak preview of Cirque du Soleil‘s first
Hollywood production, IRIS — A Journey Through the World of Cinema. With Dame Helen
Mirren, host and Hilary Swank, presenter and benefitting the LA Phil and its education programs.

[for tickets]

Mariachi USA Festival

Saturday, June 18, 2011, 6:00PM

Mariachis from around the world plus fireworks!

[for tickets]

All content within this email is ©2011 by Southern California Magazine Group. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.