Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce, Baby Spinach Salad, and Garlic-Cheese Bread

I know what you're thinking... What is spaghetti doing on a Tex-Mex foodie blog?

I can explain... HEB had a special combo loco deal today: Buy two pounds hamburger, get pasta, marinara sauce, baby spinach salad, Parmesan cheese, and a 2-foot baquette FREE!! I love when that happens! I love free food!

All in all, it's been a really great day, aside from the nail in the road that decided to make friends with my front left tire and caused a slow leak... but even that turned out okay. The really nice guys at Discount Tire (near Thousand Oaks) fixed it... for FREE!!

Before spaghetti, before the almost-flat tire, and somewhere between the rain and the drizzle, I went Christmas shopping and found wonderful gifts for everyone. I can't tell you what they are, just in case my daughters decide to read my blog, but I can tell you about my dinner... especially my garlic-cheese bread, which is one of my specialties.

I cut the bread into 3 manageable portions, then sliced the bread (almost to the bottom... don't cut all the way through), buttered it on both sides of all the insides, sprinkled dried minced garlic, dried oregano, and dried Parmesan cheese (yes, the kind in the green can) on each slice, then wrapped it up in aluminum foil, warmed
it in a 250 degree oven for 20 minutes, and served it with my almost-free spaghetti dinner.

The best part is that I was planning to make spaghetti anyway and went to the grocery store to buy all the ingredients, and then got most of them for FREE. It's just like Christmas!!

Silver Bells in the City

Just got my electric bill and was reading the newsletter-blurby thing that accompanies it and discovered that CPS Energy has invited me (and everyone in San Antonio) to Main Plaza on Saturday, December 5th, from 4 pm to 8 pm to celebrate Silver Bells in the City.

They're offering cookies and hot chocolate while we're serenaded by a variety of holiday music performances, including the River City Ringers hand-bell choir. If you have kids, bring them for a photo with Santa. But the highlight of the evening is the Christmas tree lighting ceremony.

Photo Credit: My San Antonio

Chunky Chicken Enchilada Verde Casserole

It was a cold and stormy night in San Antonio. And what does one do on a cold and stormy night in San Antonio? Make enchiladas of course! But not just any old regular kind of rolled enchiladas... no--stacked enchiladas, and chunky ones at that.

• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into chunks and poached (I used scissors to cut the chicken.)
• 1 chicken bouillon cube (to flavor the poaching chicken)
• 1 (16 oz.) jar Sydney's Enchilada Verde Sauce (I used the last jar of my stash. Sydney's is no longer making this sauce :( and their website has disappeared, so I'm now in search of a new favorite enchilada sauce.)
• 6 (6-inch) white corn tortillas (no need to roll when you stack your enchiladas!)
• 1/2 small onion, finely chopped (I had some leftover chopped onion from my ham 'n' cheese omelet this morning, so I used that... no tears when chopping onions cause I'd already been there, done that this morning.)
• 1 (8 oz.) package finely shredded Fiesta blend cheese (I totally love cheese, especially when it gets all melty and gooey.)
• 1/3 cup chopped Asadero cheese (I had some left over from when I made my Hatch Chile Cheesy Chicken Cutlets... and I'm still not sharing the recipe.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Poach your chicken chunks in gently simmering water, along with the bouillon cube, for 15 minutes or so, until the chicken is cooked through.

Pour a little sauce into an 8-inch round casserole dish. Lay one tortilla on top of the sauce. Top with onions, some chunky chicken, and both kinds of cheese. Pour a little sauce on top of this.

Lay another tortilla on top of this and repeat as many times as necessary, ending with a tortilla generously topped with the cheeses (no chicken on the top tortilla). Pour the remaining sauce over the edges of the top tortilla.

Put into the oven and bake for 30 minutes or so, until it's heated through and the cheese is all melty and brown. Let it stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Then just enjoy your cheesy, chunky chicken enchiladas. It was the perfect comfort food on a cold and stormy night. Not much to look at cause the cheese went everywhere and the chicken came out around the sides, but that's the way I like it, and it was absolutely delicious. The messier it looks, the better it tastes.

Wonderful Wine and Best Brisket

I was at the New World Wine and Food Festival yesterday at the Totally Tejas event and I had a totally great time!! It was my first time there so I didn't know what to expect. What I found was the most wonderful wine (so many to choose from, but my favorite was the New Age Tincho Rose... which
I was told is available at HEB for under $10, and the best brisket I've ever eaten from Two Bros. BBQ, which was served with a side of potato salad. BTW, they won the brisket cook-off.

I was supposed to be selling and signing copies of my cookbook, which I did, but I also walked around sampling the wines (well... everyone else was doing it), munching the food, talking with the other vendors, and mingling with the people there. My table was next to the Knork people, who very kindly watched my table while
I wandered.

Everyone was given their own wine glass for all the wine tastings. My best guess was there were about 20 wine vendors all sharing their wonderful wine. You just simply walked over to their table, said hi, and held out your wine glass in which they poured their wine. After a few samples, I was a really happy girl.

HEB was one of the sponsors of this event and gave everyone a re-usable green tote bag for all the goodies that were given away (and which can also be used for groceries), as well as hosting a HUGE spread of really good food--everything from cheese and grapes and crackers to sushi and chicken wellington.

There were also plenty of other foods to sample from local restaurants--shypoke eggs (really good), pulled pork sandwiches (really good), brisket, chicken, ribs (all really good), plus lots of cheeses and some chocolate truffles (really, really, good).

I had a really wonderful time and can't wait to do it again next
year.

New World Wine & Food Festival

The New World Wine & Food Festival is happening this week, November 10th through the 15th with lots of wine and food events to enjoy. Check out their schedule of events. They have something for everyone, from Burgers and Beer at BIN 555 to the Texas Vitner Cruise at Hotel Valencia, to wine tastings and food pairings, to strolling the River Walk and enjoying a high-end evening of food and wine.

The festival culminates with Totally Tejas, Sunday, Nov. 15th, 1:00 pm to 6:00 pm at Rio Cibolo Ranch, $35 per person, kids under 5 free. Here's the blurb from their site: Bring the family and spend a fun afternoon discovering exotic recipes and sampling cuisines from some of the most exciting restaurants. Culinary, Wine, and Lifestyle seminars are offered throughout the day for those who want to know more. Beer and Barbecue play a large role too!

All ages are welcome with family friendly activities like hayrides, barge rides, storytelling, and more. A new event this year is the Texas Regional Barbecue Showdown which will pit San Antonio restaurants against amateur barbecue teams. They will battle it out for bragging rights for the best brisket, ribs, and chicken. Totally Tejas attendees will get to sample as these grillmasters cook! Live entertainment keeps things festive as Texas vendors join in to celebrate the unique and amazing products Texas has to offer. It’s the perfect finale to the festival where the beauty of a Texas ranch serves as the backdrop to sample all the best food and wines we have to offer.

I'll be there, signing and selling copies of my cookbook, Foods and Flavors of San Antonio.

The New World Wine & Food Festival is
a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the growth and education
of San Antonio students in culinary arts through scholarships and supporting local food related charities.

Come on out and have a great time! And be sure to stop by my booth and say hi.

It's My Blogoversary!

WooHoo! It's my blogoversary today.

I started this blog a year ago to promote my cookbook, Foods and Flavors of San Antonio, and to share the "foods" and "flavors" of San Antonio. It's been a fun year, especially when my cookbook was published in March and I did a month-long Fiesta of Foods and Flavors foodie event to celebrate.

And now, a year after beginning this blog, my publisher is considering my new cookbook, A Fiesta of Foods and Flavors. WooHoo!

I'm looking forward to another year of blogging and bringing you a Fiesta of Foods and Flavors. :)

Hatch Chile Cookbook Winner

When I posted the Hatch Chile Recipe Round-Up, I asked everyone to choose the winner by voting for your favorite recipe. Well... some of you liked one recipe and some of you liked another recipe, but none of you liked the SAME recipe!

So, even though I loved all the recipes (and will be including them in my Hatch cookbook that I'm writing), I've decided to award The First Ever Un-Edited & Un-Tested Hatch Chile Pepper Recipe Book to Hornsfan of Bytes from Texas because she posted seven Hatch recipes during her Hatch Chile week and she obviously loves Hatch chiles and I know she'll enjoy and make good use of the cookbook. :)

Hatch Chile Contest... Recipe Round-Up

Who loves Hatch Chiles? A while ago, I thought it would be fun
to have a Hatch Chile Contest and Cookbook Giveaway and asked other Hatch Chile lovers to create recipes using Hatch chiles. If you love Hatch chiles, you'll love this round-up. And be sure to vote for your favorite because your vote determines the winner.

Dee, Texas-to-Mexico, is totally in love with Hatch chiles, maybe even more than me, and she's hatched up some spicy food for all of us to enjoy. In fact, she was the very first visitor to my new Hatch Chile Heaven blog that I created and left a comment that shows she's in Hatch Chile Heaven... Be still my heart, Gloria!! I have been stalking the Hatch Chile Roasting team in our town at the local HEB Plus. I can't wait to post the recipes we've been trying! I've been in Chili Pepper heaven. (sigh....). She's made three really delicious recipes with her stash.

First on the table is her Hatch Green Chile Stew, made with
pork loin, red bell pepper, apples, and of course Hatch Chiles!

To go along with her stew, she made
Hatch Green Chile Corn Bread.

A few days later, Dee made Crockpot Roasted Chicken
and Vegetables with spicy hot Hatch chiles to warm her
for the cold days to come. She also made Green Chile
Mashed Potatoes to serve with her chicken.

As they say, "like mother, like daughter." Hornsfan, Bytes From Texas, who many of you know is Dee's daughter, totally loves
Hatch chiles and decided to have a Hatch Chile Week, featuring
a new Hatch chile recipe every day. To start off the week, she made Hatch 'al Pastor' Tacos. She also included some Hatch history and info with each post.

On the second day, she made Hatch Mac 'n' Cheese, a true
comfort food to warm the Hatch chile lover's heart. It was
so good that everyone had second helpings.

The third day, Hornsfan offered us Hatch Chicken Stew, another comfort food that should be eaten during the cold winter months, but she loves Hatch chiles so much that she braved the heat from the chiles in 100 degree weather.

The fourth day, she presented us with Beer Braised Pork
Chops and Hatch Chile Stuffing, explaining that stuffing
isn't just for holidays.

The fifth day, Hornsfan made Cream Cheese Hatch Enchiladas and Calabacitas, stuffing the enchiladas with fajita chicken.

Day six, she brought back an oldie but a goodie:
Hatch-Hefewisen Chile.

To end her Hatch Chile Week, which I totally loved--her blog
was the first one I visited every day to see what she'd cooked up--she presented us with Hatch Chilaquiles.

Natasha, Five Star Foodie, had never heard of Hatch chiles
until she read about them in an earlier post I made. Being a 5-star foodie, of course she had to get some. Her first entry into Hatch chile cooking was a Hatch Chile Gazpacho.

She enjoyed the Hatch chiles so much, she also made
Hatch Chile and White Cheddar Mini Corn Muffins,
which became an instant family favorite.

Gaby, What's Gaby Cooking, made Southwestern Turkey Burgers with Hatch Chiles and Queso, using green, red, and orange chiles.

Alex, Recession Recipes, scored more than a bushel of Hatch chiles from his local grocery store. He was so excited about finding them, he rushed right home and made Hatch Chile Huevos Rancheros.

David, My Year on the Grill, made one of his favorite appetizers, Crispy Garlic Pepper Parmesan Cheese Appetizer, using a poblano pepper cause he wasn't lucky enough to find Hatch
chiles. David... you have got to get yourself some Hatch!

I only discovered Hatch chiles in August when Central Market
sent me a press release about the Hatch Chile Festival they were having for two weekends. The first time I ate a Hatch chile, I was in heaven and professed my love for them. I love them so much that I created a Hatch Chile Heaven blog and a Hatch Chile Heaven Facebook page. If you've ever eaten Hatch chiles, then
you know that this was a very reasonable thing to do... not a going overboard, crazy type of thing. I have 20 pounds of roasted Hatch chiles in my freezer (well, a bit less than that because I've been using them in lots of recipes) which should hold me for a few months.

To celebrate the Hatch, I made
Hatch Chile Cheesy Chicken Fajitas.

When the first cold weather hit here in San Antonio about
two weeks ago, I made Hatch Chile Chili and Cornbread.

All these recipes were entered in the Hatch Chile Contest; the winner receives a copy of Central Market's The First Ever Un-Edited and Un-Tested Hatch Chile Pepper Recipe Book.

You're going to choose the winner! Please vote for your favorite recipe by leaving
a comment. (No anonymous comments allowed.) If you've submitted a recipe, ask all your friends and blog visitors to vote for your recipe. The winner will be announced on October 20th, so you have two weeks to choose your favorite. May the best Hatch Chile Recipe win!!

I'm Ba-a-a-a-ck!!

Just wanted to let all you foodies know that I didn't disappear.
I've been writing books and beginning to set up sites for my publishing imprints: Riverstone Publishing (focused on writing
and self-publishing), Pueblo Publishing (focused on Southwest food and folklore), and Morpheus Books (focused on New Age/
New Thought books), as well as updating my website, Mystical Mindscapes, which offers information about and excerpts of
my books. Between doing all that, I've been babysitting my
four grandchildren while my daughters work.

I have some news about the Tex-Mex cookbook I'm writing in connection with the month-long Fiesta of Foods and Flavors event I posted in March to celebrate the birth of Foods
and Flavors of San Antonio. My publisher, Pelican Publishing, is interested and
has requested
a proposal for my new cookbook--A Fiesta of Foods and Flavors. I'll let you know what happens. If you have Tex-Mex recipes you'd like to share, there's still time to get
them into the cookbook.

I know you're here for the food and
I promised to post the Hatch Chile Contest and Cookbook Giveaway round-up, so check back early next
week and vote for your favorite Hatch recipe. I hope to have the post up by Tuesday. The winner receives a copy
of Central Market's The First Ever Un-Edited & Un-Tested Hatch Chile Pepper Recipe Book.

We'll also be picking up Second Sunday San Antonio next month where we left off, so if you'd like to cook along with us and make a recipe from my Foods and Flavors of San Antonio cookbook, the selection is Huevos Rancheros. Please click the link for details and the recipe.