Fiesta Foodie Cookbook Winner

Aggie, of Aggie's Kitchen, is the winner
of a copy of my new cookbook, Foods
and Flavors of San Antonio. Comment #4
from this post was chosen by random.org. Congratulations, Aggie! Please send me your snail mail address so I can send it to you. I know you're trying to eat healthy and light right now since you're training for a triathlon; there are some seafood recipes in the book which I hope you'll enjoy. :)

The birthday party for
my new cookbook starts tomorrow, and Aggie
is bringing some of her Tex-Mex food to share, including her margaritas. It's a month-long blog party and we'll be featuring lots of great Tex-Mex food every day. You're all invited to the Fiesta!

Chili Cook-Off Champ for February

Rachel, The Crispy Cook, won the chili cook-off this month for her Blasphemous Baked Bean Chili. Congratulations, Rachel, your chili was voted the best. Please send me your snail mail so I can send you your prizes: a copy of my new cookbook, Foods and Flavors of San Antonio, and a chile pepper refrigerator magnet. In the meantime, here's your winner's badge which you can proudly display on your blog.

I think all the chili recipes that were submitted are winners and they're all going into a new chili cookbook I'm writing. Thanks, everyone, for your chili recipes.

We do the Chili Cook-Off Challenge every month. The month-long blog birthday party for my new cookbook starts tomorrow, so for the chili cook-off in March, we're changing the rules a bit. Any recipe, original or not, can be submitted to the March Fiesta of Foods and Flavors Chili Cook-Off Challenge.

If you've posted a chili on your blog--months, or even years, ago--it's okay to submit it for this month's special chili cook-off. Let me know that you'll be participating in a comment. Mention the chili cook-off in a current post, include the badge and a link to this site, then email me at gloriachadwick@gmail.com with links to your chili recipe and your current post. The prize for the best chili in March is a San Antonio chile pepper refrigerator magnet.

Remember the Alamo

Originally named Misión San Antonio de Valero, the Alamo served as home to missionaries and their Indian converts for nearly seventy years. Construction began on the present site in 1724. In 1793, Spanish officials secularized San Antonio's five missions and distributed their lands to the remaining Indian residents. These men and women continued to farm the fields, once the mission's but now their own, and participated in the growing community of San Antonio.

In the early 1800s, the Spanish military stationed a cavalry unit at the former mission. The soldiers referred to the old mission as the Alamo (the Spanish word for "cottonwood") in honor of their hometown Alamo de Parras, Coahuila. The post's commander established the first recorded hospital in Texas in the Long Barrack. The Alamo was home to both Revolutionaries and Royalists during Mexico's ten-year struggle for independence. The military — Spanish, Rebel, and then Mexican — continued to occupy the Alamo until the Texas Revolution.

San Antonio and the Alamo played a critical role in the Texas Revolution. In December 1835, Ben Milam led Texian and Tejano volunteers against Mexican troops quartered in the city. After five days of house-to-house fighting, they forced General Marín Perfecto de Cós and his soldiers to surrender. The victorious volunteers then occupied the Alamo — already fortified prior to the battle by Cós' men — and strengthened its defenses.

On February 23, 1836, the arrival of General Antonio López de Santa Anna's army outside San Antonio nearly caught them by surprise. Undaunted, the Texians and Tejanos prepared to defend the Alamo together. The defenders held out for 13 days against Santa Anna's army. William B. Travis, the commander of the Alamo sent forth couriers carrying pleas for help to communities in Texas. On the eighth day of the siege, a band of 32 volunteers from Gonzales arrived, bringing the number of defenders to nearly two hundred. Legend holds that with the possibility of additional help fading, Colonel Travis drew a line on the ground and asked any man willing to stay and fight to step over — all except one did. As the defenders saw it, the Alamo was the key to the defense of Texas, and they were ready to give their lives rather than surrender their position to General Santa Anna. Among the Alamo's garrison were Jim Bowie, renowned knife fighter, and David Crockett, famed frontiersman and former congressman from Tennessee.

The final assault came before daybreak on the morning of March 6, 1836, as columns of Mexican soldiers emerged from the predawn darkness and headed for the Alamo's walls. Cannon and small arms fire from inside the Alamo beat back several attacks. Regrouping, the Mexicans scaled the walls and rushed into the compound. Once inside, they turned a captured cannon on the Long Barrack and church, blasting open the barricaded doors. The desperate struggle continued until the defenders were overwhelmed. By sunrise, the battle had ended and Santa Anna entered the Alamo compound to survey the scene of his victory.

While the facts surrounding the siege of the Alamo continue to be debated, there is no doubt about what the battle has come to symbolize. People worldwide continue to remember the Alamo as a heroic struggle against impossible odds — a place where men made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. For this reason, the Alamo remains hallowed ground and the Shrine of Texas Liberty. Source: The Alamo website.

San Antonio Living History presents The Alamo Under Siege on Friday, February 27th, 6:30 to 10:30 PM. Tickets are $10.00 for this event which is a museum gallery presentation on the grounds of the Alamo featuring a series of historical vignettes designed to tell the story of the siege of the Alamo.

Saturday, February 28th, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, there is a free event, Glory at The Alamo, which depicts the beginning of the Alamo siege with the arrival of General Santa Anna's forces in Bejar, the attempted truce, and the opening solvos in the siege
and battle of the Alamo.

Remembering the Alamo Weekend, March 6th through 8th at Alamo Plaza, begins with Dawn at the Alamo, Friday, March 6th, 6:00 to 7:00 AM. This free event is a pre-dawn commemorative ceremony honoring the fallen on both sides of the Alamo conflict. The events continue on Saturday, March 7th, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Sunday, March 8th, 12:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with a dramatization of the events concerning the final two days (March 5th and 6th, 1836) of the 13-day Alamo siege by General Santa Anna's Army
of Operations, played out in Alamo Plaza.

Salsa Stuffed Poblano Peppers

I love taking a recipe and spicing it up with a Tex-Mex twist. Stuffed peppers are a favorite recipe in my family. You probably know the basic recipe by heart: Green bell peppers, ground beef, bread crumbs, an egg, chopped onions, and tomato sauce. It
makes a nice dinner... well, nice but a bit boring.

So I took the same recipe and gave it some Southwest style. Instead of bell peppers, I used poblano peppers. Instead of bread crumbs, I used crushed tortilla chips. Instead of tomato sauce, I used salsa. Then I topped it off with Mexican Blend cheese.

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 cup crushed white corn tortilla chips
• 1/2 cup extra sharp Cheddar cheese, cubed
• 1 medium egg
• 1 (16 oz.) jar salsa, divided
• 3 large poblano peppers, cut in half, stemmed and seeded

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, onion, tortilla chips, Cheddar cheese, egg, and 1/2 cup salsa. Mix together and put equal amounts into each poblano pepper half.

Place the peppers in a 13 x 9 glass baking dish and pour the remaining salsa over the top of each pepper.

Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the Mexican Blend cheese. Return the peppers to the oven and bake for 30 more minutes.

Poblano peppers are similar to green bell peppers, both in size and appearance, but poblanos are just a bit spicier with a nice, mild kick.

One of the things I love best about Tex-Mex recipes is that they're so easy to make and they taste so good. You can also use this recipe to make a meatloaf, to make meatballs served over rice, and you can even make it into a chili!

Bolillo Brisket

We Texans love our brisket, cooked long and slow in a barbecue smoker, and saturated with smoky sauce. But what if you have a taste for brisket and don't want to wait that long? Simple solution; let someone else do all the work for you and package it in ready-to-heat-and-eat tubs. Thank you, HEB.

I had some bolillo rolls left from my grocery shopping expedition the other day and thought brisket would taste wonderful in the bolillo, and make a quick, easy lunch.

If you want the real deal, here's a traditional recipe for brisket.
Just in case you don't have a smoker, this recipe for Best Brisket,
from my new cookbook, lets you cook it in the oven:

• 1 (6 pound) trimmed brisket
• 1/3 cup liquid smoke
• 2 tsp. onion powder
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 tsp. celery salt
• 1 T. Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup barbecue sauce

Place the brisket in a broiler pan. Pour the liquid smoke over the brisket, then sprinkle with the onion powder, garlic powder, and celery salt. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Remove
the aluminum foil and sprinkle on the Worcestershire sauce.
Season with salt and pepper.

Place in the oven and cook for 5 - 6 hours.

Remove the brisket from the oven and spread on the barbecue sauce. Return it to the oven and cook for one more hour.

Chili Cook-Off; February Round-Up

We've got some great heart-warming, soul-satisfying chili for you this month. Please visit the foodies for their chili recipes, then come back and vote for your favorite. The winner receives a copy of my new cookbook, Foods and Flavors of San Antonio, which was just published this month, as well as a hot winner's badge for her blog.

Rachel, from the Crispy Cook, is back again, this time with her Blasphemous Bowl of Red, made with baked beans and stirred
with love to warm her family up from the cold weather.

Reeni, from Cinnamon, Spice, and Everything Nice, returns with her Italian Chili, which is big on flavor but mild-mannered on heat, saying that chili and cornbread are a natural together.

Then there's my contribution from Cookbook Cuisine, A Quickie Chunky Chili that only takes 15 minutes from start to finish.

Joan, from Foodalogue, created a colorful White Bean Squash Chili, saying it's a mainly vegetarian chili with a little pork to add flavor.

The Chili Cook-Off Challenge happens once a month, every month. March is going to be a special Fiesta of Foods and Flavors with a day devoted to chili. If you'd like to participate in next month's chili cook-off, please read the rules, make your best original chili, post it on your blog, and send me the link.

Bolillo Black Bean Burgers

I was at the grocery store when the first thing that caught my eye was whole wheat bolillos on sale for 25 cents each. The minute I saw them, they screamed MAKE A HAMBURGER at me. When food screams, I listen. Or maybe it was my stomach growling at me because it was past lunchtime and I was really hungry.

A traditional bolillo is a roll with the doughy filling pulled out from the inside. The rolls that were labeled bolillos didn't really look like bolillos; they looked more like nice, big, sort-of-football-shaped hamburger buns, but who am I to argue? The sign above the fresh bread case said bolillos -- 4 for a $1.00.

After deciding that four of these rolls, or bolillos, had my name on them, I also bought a pound of lean ground beef. I mean, what's a hamburger without ground beef? I had all the other fixins' at home. I was hungry and in the mood for a BIG burger, but not just any burger. I wanted a Texas-sized, Tex-Mex burger. With this on my mind, I headed out of the store and got in my car to drive home, then remembered that the whole reason I went to the grocery store in the first place was to buy more enchilada sauce. They still have the sale with the buy the enchilada sauce, get the corn tortillas free. Good thing the sale runs through the end of the month. I had a Texas-sized hamburger on my mind and was already planning what to put in it and on it. I was thinking black beans and Sazon Goya seasoning, cheddar cheese and diced onion, lettuce and tomato. YUM!

I mixed the ground beef with 1 (15.5 oz.) can black beans, drained, rinsed, and mashed. Then I mixed in one packet of Sazon Goya con culantro y achiote (coriander and annatto) seasoning, along with some crushed red pepper flakes. While the burger was cooking, I chopped up some onions, sliced some extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, and topped it off with Romaine lettuce and sliced tomatoes.

It was sooo good! I ended up with 3 huge burgers. I didn't eat
them all -- just one! The other two are waiting patiently for me in the freezer, whispering to me (at least my food isn't yelling at me anymore) with words like... next time, top me with salsa and sour cream, or maybe some guacamole or chile con queso, or pico de gallo. I'm listening...

Here's what the seasoning packet looks like. It's available in the ethnic aisle of your grocery store. It comes in a 1.41 oz. package with 8 seasoning packets.
If you can't find it, you can buy it on
the Goya Foods website. I use this seasoning in many of my Tex-Mex dishes because it adds a wonderful flavor and spice. My daughter swears by it in her Mexican rice, and it turns a meatloaf into a masterpiece. Even the Sazon Goya people sing its praises: "Inside this box you'll find what good cooks have always dreamed of, an absolutely foolproof way to make everything taste not just good,
or even great, but sensational--every time." I'd have to agree with them.

Easy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas Verde

I love enchiladas. What I don't love is that you're supposed to fry the tortillas in hot oil to soften them. While this is supposed to soften them and add flavor, this adds way too many calories and fat for me. The first time I made enchiladas (a way long time ago), my corn tortillas cracked when I rolled them. The next time, I stacked all eight of them on a plate and warmed them in the microwave. They still cracked. Then I warmed them in a 200 degree oven for 15 minutes. Still cracked. So, determined to learn the secret of how to roll corn tortillas without them cracking, I embarked on a mission to discover how to soften corn tortillas without drowning them in oil.

If you choose not to fry, do your corn tortillas crack when you roll them for enchiladas? Mine always did until I learned the secret. Run them under hot water, then steam those babies in the microwave. Stack four of them on a plate, place a wet paper towel over them, and nuke them for 30 - 45 seconds. Let them sit for a minute or two to steam. Dip them into hot enchilada sauce and you have beautiful, hot, very soft, compliant corn tortillas that roll into the nicest enchiladas you've ever seen or eaten with NO CRACKS.

After steaming and rolling, just look at these
corn tortillas... not one single crack or tear.

Hot out of the oven, and still... no tears or cracks.
The corn tortillas stayed intact. And just wait
till you see them on the plate. These rolled, soft,
round little babies came out of the pan perfectly.

Now that I've shared this secret with you--it's not really a secret, people have known this for ages; it just took me a while to find out--here's a recipe for really Easy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas Verde. I decided to make them because salsa verde was on sale;
it was one of those deals where you buy the sauce, get the corn tortillas free. I love when this happens. Free food is always a
good thing.

I had another dinner planned that I'd gone shopping for, so I thought I'd make enchiladas later in the week, but the thought of creamy, cheesy, enchiladas verde stayed on my mind. When I got home from the grocery store, kicking myself because I hadn't bought all the stuff I would need to make them, I looked in my pantry and had all the makings for the best enchiladas I've ever eaten. I know I've said this before, but every time I eat Tex-Mex,
I say it all over again because I love Tex-Mex food.

• 1 (12.5 oz.) can chunk chicken breast, drained
• A little or a lot of cumin, chili powder, and fajita seasoning (I don't measure; I just sprinkle it on)
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (3 oz.) package cream cheese, cut up
• 1/3 cup cubed, extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 (14. oz.) can salsa verde (I used Hatch Green Chile Enchilada Sauce with Roasted Garlic)
• 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas
• Lots of Mexican Blend cheese, also known as Fiesta cheese
• A few dollops of sour cream
• Chopped tomato
• Several leaves of Romaine lettuce, torn
• Hot cooked rice
• Pinto beans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 13 x 9 baking dish with butter flavored nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.

Shred the chicken on a dinner plate. Season with whatever amounts you want of cumin, chili powder, and fajita seasoning. Set aside.

Spray a 12-inch skillet with butter flavored nonstick cooking spray. Heat to medium, then add the onion, spinkle with some fajita seasoning, and saute for a few minutes until the onions are soft.

Add the garlic and saute for one more minute.

Reduce the heat to low and add the shredded, seasoned chicken, the cream cheese, and the Cheddar cheese. Sprinkle this mixture with cumin, chili powder, and fajita seasoning. Stir to melt the cheese, then stir in a little of the enchilada sauce.

In a separate, 10-inch nonstick skillet, add about 1/3 cup of the enchilada sauce and bring to a simmer.

Rinse the corn tortillas under hot water and steam them in the microwave. When they're nice and hot, and soft, dip them, one
at a time, in the simmering enchilada sauce and place them in the prepared baking dish. Add some of the chicken mixture and roll up. (I promise you they won't crack.) Place seam side down. Repeat until you have 8 perfectly rolled corn tortillas filled with the absolutely delicious chicken mixture.

Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the top and smother with the Mexican Blend cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Then remove the aluminum foil and let them bake for 10 to 15 more minutes until the cheese is really bubbly and starts
to brown.

Remove from the oven and let sit for a few minutes, then scoop them out onto a plate. Garnish with sour cream and chopped tomatoes. Serve the torn lettuce, along with the rice and beans,
on the side, and enjoy your perfectly-rolled, no more cracks, enchiladas.

I've said it before and I know I'll say it again: These were the best enchiladas I've ever eaten. Hope you enjoy them, too.

Salsa Chicken with Black Beans and Corn

This quick, easy Tex-Mex style dinner tastes like you really put a lot of effort into it, but the truth is it practically makes itself with just a little help from you.

• 1-1/4 pounds chicken tenders
• 2 T. chili powder, divided
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 (16 oz.) jar salsa
• 1 (12 oz.) package Steam Fresh Southwestern Corn, prepared according to the package directions
• 1 (15 oz.) can ranch style black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 or 3 cilantro leaves, for garnish
• 2 cups hot cooked rice

Spray a 12-inch chef's saute pan with butter-flavored nonstick cooking spray. Heat over medium-high heat.

Put the chicken tenders and onions into the pan and sprinkle with chili powder. Brown the chicken on the first side. Turn the chicken over, stir the onions, and sprinkle with chili powder on the second side. Brown the second side.

Add the salsa and stir. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the chicken
is cooked through.

Add the prepared corn and the black beans. Return the heat to medium-high and heat through.

Serve over a bed of rice and enjoy!

I discovered, too late, that I was out of rice so that's why there's
no rice in the picture.

My Cookbook Has Arrived

I just heard from my publisher today
that Foods and Flavors of San Antonio
is officially published and the cookbooks are in the publisher's warehouse. They'll
be in bookstores in three to four weeks
and I'll be getting my author copies this week! YAY!!! Woo Hoo!! I'm so happy!! Doing the happy dance here...

We're having a Fiesta of Foods and Flavors foodie blog event in March to celebrate the birth of my cookbook and you're all invited to the party. We'll have lots of food and will be giving away copies of
my new cookbook!

A Fiesta of Foods and Flavors

Get your Tex-Mex recipes ready and get ready to party with
A Fiesta of Foods and Flavors. We're having a month-long,
Texas-sized foodie event
in March to celebrate the publication of my cookbook, Foods and Flavors of San Antonio. There will be lots of food. There will be giveaways. There will be a fiesta of foods and flavors. You're all invited to the birthday party for my new cookbook!

We'll be featuring a round-up of 10 Tex-Mex recipes every day; that's 300 recipes for you to enjoy. Some will be from my new cookbook and some will be from you! The food you bring to the party will be linked to your blog. If you'd like to participate and you have Tex-Mex recipes on your blog, or you want to create some new ones, please send me an email at gloriachadwick@gmail.com with the link to your post. It doesn't have to be a new post; it can be something you've already posted. The foodies who are hosting the blog tour and many other foodies are already coming to the party! Check out the list of my guests on Fiesta Foodies on the sidebar.

Since it's a birthday party for my new cookbook, there will be presents--for
you! My present is having my cookbook published. The presents you could win are a copy of my cookbook, San Antonio T-shirts, and refrigerator magnets. Winners will be chosen at random.

Leave me a comment saying that you'll be participating in this event, then send me your Tex-Mex recipes (don't leave the link in the comment) and you'll also be entered into an early giveaway this month to win a copy of my cookbook. The winner will be chosen at random on February 28th.

For extra chances: (1) Put the event badge on your sidebar with
a link to this blog, then leave a comment; (2) Put the cookbook cover on your sidebar with a link to my blog and leave a comment; (3) Follow this blog and leave me a comment that you're following. If you're already following, that counts! Leave a comment saying you're a follower; (4) Add me to your blogroll and leave a comment. If you already have me on your blogroll, that counts. Leave me a comment to let me know; and (5) Blog about this event with a link to my blog and leave a comment. That's six chances to win this month!

Hope to see you all at my Fiesta of Foods and Flavors to celebrate the birth of my new cookbook, Foods and Flavors of San Antonio.

Chipotle Chicken Chili

When it's cold and snowy outside, and you want something to
warm you up, there's nothing better than a hot bowl of delicious chili. Chef E, of Behind the Wheel Chef, is a transplanted Texan (but a true Texan at heart) and made the Chipotle Chicken Chili recipe from my new cookbook, Foods and Flavors of San Antonio. She changed the recipe to suit her taste and with what she had in her pantry. That's what you're supposed to do with recipes--change them to your liking. I love the way she garnished it with chopped tomatoes and sliced avocados. Please visit her blog for the recipe and to enjoy all the food she creates, both for her family and her clients.

Be sure to come back and visit this blog for more great Tex-Mex recipes. There's going to be a Fiesta of Foods and Flavors event here during March to celebrate the publication of my cookbook.
It's a Texas-sized party and you're all invited!

A Sneak Peek Into My New Cookbook

Want to take a sneak peek into my new cookbook that will be published next month? Hornsfan, of Bytes From Texas, is the first person to make recipes from my new cookbook--Black Bean Caviar and Chicken Empanadas. She was in a Tex-Mex mood yesterday, cooking up munchies for a Super Bowl Party. Visit her blog and
also check out her recipes for Flan Napolitano and the killer Beer Margaritas she made.








Foods and Flavors of San Antonio will be
going on a blog tour starting February 9th, traveling through the foodie blogosphere, sponsored by Pelican Publishing and hosted
by some really wonderful foodies.

Check back in a few days; there's a Texas-
sized foodie Fiesta event coming next month to this blog. More details later.

February Chili Cook-Off -- Sign-Up

Another month, another round of chili. Want to enter your best original chili in the cook-off?

Please take a minute to read the rules, then leave a comment with the name of the chili you'll be making this month. There are prizes for the best chili -- a copy of my new cookbook, Foods and Flavors of San Antonio, and a chile pepper refrigerator magnet, plus your recipe will be published in a new cookbook I'm writing.