Angela, Ivan and baby Kerana
I enjoy making new friends and so when my friend, Frankie, told me that her college friend was hosting her niece and husband from Bulgaria for a few weeks, I invited all of them to our house for dinner. Angela is doing graduate work on Bulgarian music and is even in a band in Bulgaria. Here is a link to her website:Gologan Music. For more information about Bulgaria, click here.
Wanting to serve something All-American or at least some foods that they couldn’t easily get in Bulgaria, I paged through recipe magazines until I came up with a Southwestern/Mexican theme. (I do love theme-based dinners! )
Two of the recipes I decided to serve, came from the April/May 2006 issue of Fine Cooking magazine.
Grilled Spice-Rubbed Pork Tenderloin Steaks with Honey-Chipotle Barbecue Sauce
Serves four to six.
2 large pork tenderloins (2 to 2 ½ pounds total)
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
2 teaspoons garlic powder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup honey
¼ cup apple cider vinegar 3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 chipotle, minced, plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce (from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce)
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Trim the pork of any silverskin and excess fat, and cut each tenderloin on diagonal in to four pieces about 2 inches thick.
In a small bowl, mix the chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, garlic powder, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Rub this spice mixture all over the pork and let it sit for at least 15 minutes at room temperature or refrigerate for up to 2 hours.
Heat a gas grill to medium-high or prepare a medium charcoal fire. When the grill is ready, cook the pork, covered, until it forms nice grill marks, about 3 minutes. Flip and continue cooking until just firm to the touch but still a little pink in the center ( an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of each steak should register 140⁰F), 3 to 4 more minutes.
Transfer the pork to a large serving platter and let rest, tented with aluminum foil. Meanwhile, stir together the honey, vinegar, tomato paste, chipotle and adobe sauce, and mustard; season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the sauce over the pork.
Chopped Mexican Salad with Roasted Peppers, Corn, Tomatoes & Avocado
Serves eight
For the peppers and corn:
2 large orange or red bell peppers
2 ears fresh corn
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the honey- lime- cumin vinaigrette:
1 small clove garlic
Kosher salt
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (I added grated lime peel from the fesh lime)
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons finely chopped shallot
1 tablespoon honey; more to taste
¾ teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted and finely ground
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil (I doubled the oil because the dressing was too tart)
Freshly ground black pepper
To assemble:
2 large firm- ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded, and cut into ¼ inch dice (about 1 ¾ cup)
1 small jicama, peeled and cut into ¼-inch dice (2 cups)
2 large firm- ripe avocadoes, peeled, pitted, and cut into ¼-inch dice (about 2 ½ cups)
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed (or 1 ½ cups home- cooked black beans)
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
(I skipped this step to save time) Roast the peppers and corn:
Position a rack in the center or the oven and hat the oven to 425⁰F. Line a heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet with foil. Cut the peppers in half lengthwise and remove the stem, seed core, and ribs. Put the pepper halves on the baking sheet cut side down. Husk the corn and put the ears on the baking sheet. Drizzle the oil over the peppers and corn and rub it around to coat the pepper skins and corn kernels evenly. Sprinkle the corn with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until the peppers are soft and slightly shriveled and browned and the corn kernels are lightly browned in a few spots, about 20 minutes (rotate the corn occasionally as it roasts.)
When the vegetables are done, let them rest until cool enough to handle. Scrape away the pepper skin and cut the flesh into ½-inch dice. Cut the corn kernels from the cob. You should have about 1 ½ cups kernels.
Make the vinaigrette:
Mince and mash the garlic to a pasted with ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. In a medium bowl, whisk the garlic paste with the lime and orange juices, shallot, honey, and toasted ground cumin. Slowly add the oil in a thin stream, whisking until well blended. Season to taste with black pepper and more salt and honey, if you like.
Assemble the salad: artfully arrange the corn, tomatoes, peppers, jicama, avocado, and black beans in strips or piles on a smaller platter or other wide, shallow serving dish. Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro. Serve the vinaigrette in a pitcher. Encourage guests to spoon elements of the salad onto their plates and drizzle on some of the vinaigrette. Or drizzle the vinaigrette over the salad platter just before serving.
Southwestern Potato Salad
10 to 12 new potatoes (1 1/2 pounds)
3/4 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
2 tablespoons canned chopped green chilies
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 medium stalks celery, sliced (1 cup)
1 small red bell pepper, chopped (1/2 cup)
1. Heat 1 inch water to boiling in 2-quart saucepan. Add potatoes. Cover and heat toboiling; reduce heat to medium-low. Cook 20 to 25 minutes or until tender; drainand cool. Cut potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes.
2. Mix mayonnaise, chilies, lemon juice, cumin and salt in large glass or plastic bowl.Add potatoes and remaining ingredients; toss. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hoursto blend flavors.
6 servings