Las Posadas of Christmas!

Las Posadas is a nine-day celebration with origins in Spain, now celebrated chiefly in Mexico, Guatemala and parts of the Southwestern United States, beginning December 16th and ending late Christmas Eve and followed by la Misa de Gallo (Midnight Mass).

Typically, each family in a neighborhood will schedule a night for the Posada to be held at their home, 16th - 24th of December. Every home has a nativity scene and the hosts of the Posada act as the innkeepers. The neighborhood children and adults are the pilgrims (los peregrinos), who go house to house requesting lodging by singing a traditional song about the pilgrims. Most all pilgrims carry lit candles in their hands, yet others carry statuettes of Joseph leading a burro, on which Mary is riding. In small villages a young girl wearing a shawl rides a burro reenacting the story of searching for room at an inn (posada), any inn. Even a manger would do...

Cannella's PIZZA! Two Thumbs Up! Way, Way Up!!!

Cannella's is an old school American-Italian fave in the center of Salt Lake City, Utah. However, currently there's a renaissance happening there. The young Joe Cannella along with Culinary Institute of America grad, Sean Guckian, are shaking up the Out-West Pizza World!

Upon tasting these pies with heady flavor and crispy crust my hard core East Coast friend gasped; "OMG! This is New York, this is New York!" I thought perhaps the style was closer to Pizza Mecca - Napoli. Never one to quibble, it remains best for your taste buds to decide. Fresh & crisp one version is superbly sublime cheese; another sports a fresh salad on top; yet another is perfumed with truffle oil!

These young fellows know well it begins with incredible dough and finishes with the flourishes! And what that will do in your mouth is a matter of getting there and finding out if you can handle all the flavour!!! "OMG, this is New York!" Many thanks to irrepressible New Yorker, Nancy Fillat, for such an apt description and a perfectly quotable line!



Copyright © Mick Huerta 2011. All Rights Reserved
mickhuerta@gmail.com
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Beaner's Breakfast (w/o a bean in sight)!

My brother Roberto gave me a gift of this season's freshly roasted Green Chiles from Hatch, New Mexico! He knew that living in far flung places (where chile peppers are different or nonexistent) would leave me yearning for Green Chile, a flavor and aroma emblematic of our family's Autumn cooking. The gifted quart zip-lock bags were marked XXX-Hot. He's uses this batch with care for he's one of the few who can eat them. Well aware of the incendiary properties, I was eager to stack chiles on Ranch Eggs and steam-fried potatoes accompanied by fresh corn tortillas and a squeeze of lime on it all!

My first morning back in town, he looked at the lone plate in my hand and complained, "Hey, can't a brother get a lil' bit of love? Where's mine, Miguel?" Feeling a little red-faced because of my blind hunger that bordered on the selfish, I gave him the first plate and started another...

Our father always said that the very best Chiles have great flavor but can make you sniffle, hiccup and cry. As for his sons, we enjoy sniffling and hiccuping and crying for more. A Beaner's Breakfast? Perfect! Laughing and serving, we had a second helping stacked high with our childhood fave, roasted Green Chiles. Drinking the blackest coffee dusted with ground cinnamon we felt sated for conjuring memories and having had a little time together as Green Chile fanatics yet again!!!

Copyright © Mick Huerta 2011. All Rights Reserved.
http://mickhuerta.blogspot.com
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The Miracle of Many! Gourmet Deviled Eggs!

'Tis the season of parties and party trays and nibbles galore! Somewhere in there you're sure to find Deviled Eggs. Ho Hum. Mayonnaise and Colman's Dry Mustard come together yet again to deliver a holiday staple.

But really isn't it time to Be-Devil your Eggs. If you're going to take the time make'em POP (with flavor)! How about using a bottle of Ranch Dressing or Habanero Sauce (el Yucateco) and make it happen. Or use the Colman's and augment it with Maille Dijon Mustard! Top with Salmon Roe or Caviar and freeze a bottle of your new favorite vodka, Russian Standard! Add Lobster, Crab or Smoked Salmon to the mix then fill! Just make'em wickedly tempting and wild! You'll prompt laughter and conversation with every bite! The holidays will be better for the all the joy you've brought to loved ones, friends & tag-a-longs! And isn't that all you really wanted to do in the first place? Ho ho ho instead of Ho Hum Drum! Yum!

Copyright © Mick Huerta 2011.
All Rights Reserved.
mickhuerta@gmail.com
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Both Shrimp and Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs photos: http://www.deviledeggs101.com/

Wine Bottle to Wine Glass!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Re-purpose! The concept comes home when you've bought the wine, drink it at dinner and the bottle stares you in the face during clean-up. Throw a garden party and the problem grows one hundred fold! This simple solution requires little skill but provides great satisfaction while doing your part. Truly a great way to end up in your cups!

Step 1: Use a jig to create a score line that runs the circumference of the bottle (the bottle can be scored with a diamond or carbide tipped tool for scoring glass)

Step 2: Use a second jig and blowtorch (as seen in video) to evenly heat bottle, as the bottle is heated the score line created in step 1 will actually crack the glass

Step 3: Use the bucket of water to complete the separation of bottle top from bottle bottom

Step 4: Sand, sand, sand with various grits of paper to smooth drinking edge.

Video by Bruno of Curbly.com
Instructions by moondogdesigns

Red Wine with Fish? Perfectly Delish!

Taking a hint from the Spanish, I say yes to red wine with fish! Now that is not an unqualified proclamation; in keeping with the Spanish sensibility I look for a light, dry, unoaked Red. A slight chill on a simple Tempranillo would readily do. Think of paella bursting with shrimp & saffron. Or entertain thoughts of Camarones al Ajillo with asparagus (as pictured) surely they are best paired with a wine with enough flavour to keep in step with all the subtleties complex dishes have to offer.

When selecting a Tempranillo for fish & seafood look for the cosecha not the crianza, cosecha is the younger more approachable of the two. Also try a Garnacha, a Rosé better known to English & French speakers as Grenache. Dry and crisp, Garnacha will enliven your palate as you share the good life with family and friends. Fish no longer needs to respond only to Chardonnay! And now hasn't life just gotten a bit tastier?

Copyright © Mick Huerta 2012. All Rights Reserved.
http://mickhuerta.blogspot.com
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Autumn - Hearth & Hospitality

Roast chicken is one of those things that converts a house into a home and somehow in the process of learning this well you go from homeowner to host. Not rocket science just one of life's little tasks that requires a bit of patience & practice. Once mastered you'll have friends galore at your door looking to bask in the warm glow of your hearth & hospitality. And they'll be so appreciative they're sure to bring the wine.

The process begins by preheating the oven to 450°F. Rinse the chicken and dry it well. A dry bird results in a crisp bird!

No fuss, I don't truss. I simply cut out the back bone spatchcock style (reserve for the soup pot). Slather both halves with flavour! Recently I conspired to roast two birds. I used Chimichurri Sauce for one and Ajvar (puree of roasted red peppers) mixed with olive oil and lemon juice for the second. Apply ample coarse salt and fresh ground black pepper. Nota Bene: Half chickens roast quicker than their whole counterparts. So pop them into the hot oven and don't touch the door again 'til you check them at 40-45 minutes. In the meantime, get busy with your side dishes; rice, asparagus, salad etc. If you opt for potatoes prep, prick and microwave them for a bit then place in the oven 'long side of the chicken.

As for wine, you'll love Sauvignon Blanc, however, a light Burgundy (pictured above) is rather good as well. Really, the pleasure of gathering loved ones around the table is more timing then culinary skill. And perhaps the only real skill in life worth cultivating is gathering those who are near and dear. And with a roast chicken and good wine the evening will truly be heavenly. 

Foto credit: Mimi Woodbridge

Copyright © Mick Huerta 2011.
All Rights Reserved.
mickhuerta@gmail.com

Wonderlust - Under the Southern Cross!

Won·der·lust (wondr-lst) n. - A very strong or irresistible impulse to travel this world of wonder. 

In a year of wonderlust, I flew to Santiago then on to the south of Chile and there the night sky of Patagonia was graced with the smallest of the eighty-eight modern constellations; small, yes, but one of great distinction. La Cruz is what you’ll hear in Spanish, the Latin would have it as Crux Australis and in English, better known as the Southern Cross.

The Cross is easily visible from the southern hemisphere at most any time of year. It is also visible near the horizon just north of the equator for a few hours every night during winter-spring in the north. For instance, it is visible in Southern Mexico or any other place at latitude 25° N or less at around 10 pm at the end of April. I mention the logistics being the Cross is so eagerly pursued by all Northern visitors to the South.

Once traveling to Puerto Natales, hiking through Torres del Paine National Park and eating my fill of Centolla King Crab in Puntas Arenas, I went down to the water. At the wharf I sought out a boat to sail the Straits of Magellan and make Ushuaia, Argentina & then Porto Williams, Chile from where you can fly over or round Cape Horn by sail. Both cities are enjoyed as the most southerly in the world. The aspect of the land put me in mind of my native Newfoundland and surely the position of both points to their respective poles would produce resemblances in sky and scenery. But my surprise was not the similarities but the emotion provoked by rough land and cold sea; I suffered an attack of nostalgia that I hadn’t known for decades. At the rail watching ragged shores I hummed a favorite folk song (Saltwater Joys) in a rush of salt heavy air and white tips cresting on black water. I had to pull myself into the miraculous present to get clear of the melancholy. Passage through waters renown for being temperamental was that trip unmarred by tempest and high winds. Yet at night the water had its chop and the Cross hung beautifully in the clear nocturnal sky. With a deep cup of Chilean red, I thought of all the sailors who had plied these inhospitable waters; most notably Magellan, de Gamboa, Thomas, Drake and then Darwin and his boat giving name to the Beagle Channel, intrepid all. Coming in from the dark cold, I stood watch long into the night with my reveries and wine at the fore of the craft. Sleep did not come readily that night.

After the flight over the Horn from Porto Williams and taking in the panorama of cold, craggy expanse I kept thinking Antarctica is just down there; Looking south I felt no compulsion to leave. I slowly made Ushuaia and lingered there on its wide bay on the southern coast of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. All the while I’d read the work of Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Mistral. In those environs I felt a kinship with her and was thankful for she helped me sense all I was seeing. Adding to that, the Cross was with me every night and I felt no loneliness only the loveliness of being at the ends of the earth. 

A flight was booked to Buenos Aires (BA) and so there was an imposed limit to my wanderings by rigid itinerary. I’m most inclined to think travel plans should be as soft as a whim, as subtle as caprice but I suppose that would never fly with the airlines of any country, silly me. BA was so far north the afternoons were hot and the evenings cool, perfect for late night carousing. The wine had changed to Malbec in perfect complement to the great commotion and nightly excitement that went on till wee hours. Lamentably light pollution contaminated my view of the Cross but I knew it was there. I could feel it. 

The last day in BA was fidgety & restless, it was as if the road had called. Next morning I was to fly to the Falls of Iguaçu (on the border of Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay) then travel home overland to La Paz, Bolivia by way of Asuncion. And in this way, I was to complete a loop of South American travel adorned by the light of the Cross. 

 For me the Cross is friend, siren and unattainable lover. And it must be so for many, being I’ve seen people's backs and arms tattooed with the constellation and note it embellishing the flags of nations (Australia, Brazil, New Zealand and Samoa). When a land adopts you and you call it home you never suspect you’ll receive the gift of stars. Perhaps that is why you should come south for a visit. You just may find a new home and new cross to call your own.

- Fotos, map and star information compliments of Wikipedia & Wiki Commons


Copyright © Mick Huerta 2011. All Rights Reserved.
mickhuerta@gmail.com
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Vienna Restaurant: Anchotini - New Martini Deserves Respect! La Paz, Bolivia

“Never say never, never say always!” Red faced! I've just had opportunity to learn this lesson anew!

Admittedly I have on many, many occasions pooh-poohed the idea of any Martini Cocktail other than the Classic Dry (and then only with gin). In the face of Choco-tinis & Apple-tinis, I have mocked enthusiastically and freely voiced my disdain. And not long ago I wrote expressing extreme Dry Martini prejudice, subsequently receiving email decrying my rigid stance. Immediately thereafter, I launched into research to prove my position that Euro & Latino bartenders drown perfectly good gin in Vermouth. Granted I was to use a small sample group to tar the aforementioned bartenders but I've traveled internationally three decades (over half my life time) drinking and teaching the Dry Martini. So with all that far-flung experience, I figured I could use my city of residence (La Paz, Bolivia) as the macro in the micro, the world in a grain of sand so to speak.

Presently, there are a little over two million people living here with a good smattering of Europeans in the food and beverage industry. Perfect, Euros and Latinos! Good! I was to drink one Martini in each location and move on to the next, hit it and quite, all in the name of science and statistics. I covered La Comedie, La Guingette, the penthouse Utama/Plaza Hotel, the Radisson Bar, Europa Hotel and Thelonius Jazz Bar. Asking for a DRY, DRY Martini Cocktail, each and every watering-hole delivered a "half & half" mix of Gin to Vermouth. In two nights it was six for six; postulation proven.

Feeling well justified and seeking comfort after an arduous ordeal, I returned to my haven for Martini Cocktails, the Vienna Restaurant. The owner Paul is Austrian and where he learnt the Classic Dry Martini I cannot say. I’m just thankful he did learn and has taught an efficient bar staff to care for road weary travelers and locals suffering shattered city nerves.

Now here is where “Never say never, never say always!” comes in… recounting the tale of long laborious research, Paul shared with me that the Vienna has its own Martini.

“Oh,” was my reply.

“Yes,” Paul said.

“Dry?”

“Yes.”

“May I have one?”

“Yes.”

He turned to the barman and ordered. As you see Paul is very agreeable and makes things happen in a pleasant way. And he does it all in German, Spanish & English when most people can hardly manage to be polite in one language. Bit of a miracle in itself, is it not?...

The glass, tall and chilled, held a seemingly perfect Dry Martini. However, a small variation had been executed by skewering a Caper rolled in an Anchovy Fillet. I sipped heartily not to be put off at all, as it’s well known that Caper & Anchovy in combination mute one and the other and deliver yet another flavor in fusion. One sip and a new fanatic was born.

Yes, I continue to love the Classic! But I am now a fan of the Ancho-tini, as well! The “Never say never, never say always!” lesson learnt once again! I report to you a humbled man with two Dry Martini favorites to his name. And as is often the case when you put away your prejudice, the world becomes bigger in the end!

Restaurant Vienna

Address: Federico Zuazo #1905

Tel: 244.1660

La Paz, Bolivia

Copyright © Mick Huerta 2011. All Rights Reserved.
mickhuerta@gmail.com
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