Chef Bobo's Mexican Fiesta

Chef Bobo wants you to have fun and enjoy planning your dinner party. He offers some tips designed to help you smoothly plan your dinner party.

Getting Started:

• First decide when you want to have the dinner party. Usually a Saturday night is best.
• How many people do you want to invite? Remember that most recipes are for 4 people. If you are inviting 6 or 8, you need to double amount of each ingredient in the recipe.
  
• It would be fun to make invitations to give to the people you want to invite. You can use colored paper, index cards, photos, etc. You can even paste pictures that indicate the theme of the party on the invitation.
• Decide if you would like a theme for the party. For instance, the recipes below would be good to make for a “Mexican Fiesta” dinner party.
  
• Gather all of your recipes for the dinner party and make a list of ingredients. Check to see if you already have the ingredients. Put a check mark by each of the ingredients that you already have.
  
• Make a shopping list from all the ingredients that you need to buy. Add any other items you might need. For instance, for easy clean-up you might want to buy some colorful paper plates and napkins to make the dinner table look festive. For the “Mexican Fiesta” party you may want to pick up some salsa and tortilla chips as an appetizer.
  
• Decide on the beverages for the party. It may be water or iced tea or lemonade. Add any items you need to the shopping list.
  
• Do your shopping either the day before or early on the day of your dinner party.
  
• On the day before the party be sure to study your recipes to see what steps (if any) need to be done in advance. Do a last minute check for ingredients and decide which pots and pans you will use to prepare each recipe. Also decide which serving dishes you want to use.
  

The Party:

• On the day of the party gather the ingredients for each recipe and put them in one place along with a copy of the recipe. We chefs call this “mise en place” which means “everything in its place.” Measure the ingredients and put them in little bowls or cups. This saves a lot of time when you are preparing the recipe. You can chop the vegetables or fruit or garlic in advance. (This also provides another check that you have all the ingredients you need for each recipe. You don’t want to start preparing a recipe and realize you forgot to get one of the ingredients.)
  
• Prepare as much of the dinner as you can ahead of time so that you can enjoy being with your guests. Many recipes can be kept warm in a warm oven if the food is covered with aluminum foil or a lid.
  
• Set your table. You may want to add some decorations to make the table look festive.
  
• An hour before the guests arrive finish cooking all the recipes. Make sure your beverages are ready.
  
• Since everything is ready you can sit down with your guests and enjoy the dinner!!!
  

Recipes for a Mexican Fiesta:

Chef Bobo’s Simple & Delicious Guacamole (serves 4)

Chef’s Note: To me guacamole is one of the most delicious party foods you can make. It seems everyone loves it. The key is to keep it simple and to make it fresh. If you want it really hot, add chopped habanero peppers instead of jalapenos. Thinly sliced raw vegetables, like carrots, celery, parsnips and daikon radish, are great to scoop the guacamole up with.

4 ripe avocadoes, peeled and pitted (save the pits)
1/4 cup red onion, very finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, very finely chopped
2 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeds removed, finely chopped*
juice of 1 fresh lime
Tabasco sauce
salt & pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Using a fork or a potato masher, mash the avocados leaving them chunky.

2. Stir in the red onion, cilantro leaves and jalapeno peppers.

3. Add the lime juice and Tabasco to taste. Mix it all in well.

4. Taste the mixture to see that there is a good balance of flavors. Then add salt and pepper to taste. It should taste so good that you want to eat it all yourself.

5. If the guacamole has to sit for a few hours, push some of the pits down into it. This will help keep the guacamole from oxidizing and turning brown. Cover with plastic wrap or put in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.

6. Serve with tortilla chips, or as I mention in my note above with fresh, thinly sliced vegetables.

Nutrition facts per tablespoon: 39 calories, 4 g total fat (1 g saturated fat)
0 mg cholesterol, 8 mg sodium, 2 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 1 g protein
Daily values: 42% vitamin A, 4% vitamin C, 1% calcium, 2% iron

Mexican Tomato Rice (serves 4)

This flavorful, easy recipe is great because it includes vegetables in the rice and it is all cooked ahead of time.

1-1/2 cups jasmine rice
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 28 oz can plum tomatoes
1 small yellow onion, diced small
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 Tablespoon finely minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1-1/2 cups cooked red kidney beans or black beans (canned organic beans are good for this. If you use them be sure to drain the juice from the can)
1 bay leaf
2 Tablespoons cilantro, washed, picked, and minced
Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF

2. Blend the tomatoes and their juices in a blender until liquified. Add these to enough water to yield 3 cups of liquid. This will be the cooking liquid. Add the bay leaf and bring the liquid to a boil, season with salt and pepper.

3. Sauté the onions in a 2-quart saucepan with the olive oil over medium heat until onions are transparent. Add the chopped peppers and cook until the liquid has evaporated. Add the minced garlic, turmeric and cumin, cook for five minutes. Add rice, stirring frequently, scraping the bottom with a large spatula to prevent burning. Add the tomato liquid and the beans. Stir together and bring to a boil. Taste, add salt if needed. Cover and place in the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes, until rice is done.

4. Discard bay leaf. Serve

Note: After the rice is cooked you can sprinkle some mild cheese (like Monterey Jack) on top and return to the oven to melt.

Nutritional facts per serving: 323 Calories, 7 g total fat (1 g saturated fat) 0 mg cholesterol, 446 mg sodium, 55 g carbohydrates, 10 g fiber, 11 G PROTEIN
Daily Values: 59% vitamin A, 137% vitamin C, 12% calcium, 22% iron

Chicken Fajitas(serves 4)

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 teaspoon ground chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon finely ground Sea Salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons safflower oil
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
8 flour tortillas (8” size)

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 250ºF

2. Remove flour tortillas from the package, wrap them in aluminum foil which has been sprinkled with water. Place in the oven to heat and keep warm.
3. Wash the chicken thighs and pat them dry with a paper towel. Cut them lengthwise in to thin slices.

4. Rub the chicken thigh slices with the cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper and safflower oil. Make sure they are fully coated with seasonings and oil.

5. In a sauté pan heat the olive oil and when hot add the onions, red pepper and garlic. Sauté until they are soft and just beginning to caramelize. Transfer mixture to a warm plate and keep it in the warm oven.

6. Heat a clean nonstick sauté pan over high heat until hot. Add all the sliced chicken thigh meat and sauté until golden brown and fully cooked. Remove from the heat and toss lightly with the lime juice.

7. Remove the tortillas and onions and peppers from the oven.

8. In a tortilla place a few of the slices of chicken along with some of the onions and peppers and roll up. Do this with as many tortillas as you have chicken to fill them.

9. Serve

Nutritional facts per serving: 382 Calories, 15 g total fat (1 g saturated fat) 90 mg cholesterol, 772 mg sodium, 33 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 27 g protein
Daily Values: 22% vitamin A, 52% vitamin C, 9% calcium, 19% iron

Note: These are even better when served with Chef Bobo’s Simple & Delicious Fresh Guacamole

And for a quick and easy, delicious dessert –

Frozen Banana Sorbet (serves 4)
(Note: the bananas should be peeled and frozen the day before your dinner party)

This recipe is perhaps the simplest of all and it is amazing how much it tastes like rich, delicious ice cream!

4 ripe bananas
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 Tablespoon honey

Procedure:

1. Peel the bananas and cut them in chunks about 1” long. Put them in a plastic bag and seal the top. Freeze them.

2. When you are ready to serve the dessert remove the bananas from the freezer. Put the frozen bananas chunks, lime juice and honey in a food processor and process by pulsing until they are pureed but are still thick.

3. Spoon into individual serving dishes and serve.

Note: A little chocolate sauce and chopped nuts are good on top of each serving.

Nutritional facts per serving: 83 Calories, 0 g total fat (0 g saturated fat) 0 mg cholesterol, 1 mg sodium, 21 g carbohydrates, 2 g fiber, 1 g protein
Daily Values: 1% vitamin A, 12% vitamin C, 1% calcium, 1% iron

From Chef Bobo's Good Food Cookbook, Smart Recipes for Happy Healthy Kids, by Robert Surles