CB Cooks: Frijoles Borrachos (Drunk Beans)

Beans + bacon + tequila = awesome

This is not a "receta auténtico" by any means, it's more of a CB recipe based on some Mexican recipes and Rick Bayless' one by the same name. As I understand it, the general idea behind any type of frijoles borrachos (drunk beans) is to cook beans, then right before serving splash some tequila in them. Sometimes "borrachos" refers to cooking the beans in beer. Either way, sounds great, right? I've found cooking beans in beer makes them taste a little better, but adding some tequila right before serving makes them taste A LOT better.


As things get colder and we finally start making our way into winter, I thought this would be a great dish after a long day out on the cold water.


WHAT YOU NEED

Mayacoba aka peruano beans
they cook up big, yellow, and very creamy

- Beans - I used yellowish mayacoba beans; also known as peruano beans in some places. No matter what they're called, they cook up big and soft, much creamier than pintos or black beans.
- Onion - about half a white onion
- Garlic - 4-6 cloves
- Bacon - I used 3 long strips
- Green chiles - the name "green chile" really refers to any chile (aka "pepper" for us gringos) that is in it's green stage of ripeness. Although that's true, normally "green chile" refers to a mild green chile like anaheim or new mexico. I used a combination of poblano (the green fresh version of ancho) and jalapeño
-  Tomatos - I used a can of diced tomatoes, the ones at the store didn't look so nice (which is often the case)
- Salt, pepper, cumin
- Tequila (optional..?)
- Water

- Crock pot (or dutch over, or a pan or something)

HOW YOU MAKE IT
1) Fry the bacon, get it crispy, remove from pan, cut up, and add to crock pot

2) Add diced onions and green chiles to bacon fat, get them nice and golden

Mmmmmmm smells so good

3) Add minced garlic for 2-3 minutes, but don't burn it!

4) Add contents of pan to the crock pot

5) Add dry beans to crock pot (Some people swear by soaking beans overnight- I almost never do that, and they always turn out just fine. It may take longer to cook them, but if you're using a crockpot, who cares?)

6) Add the tomatoes and seasonings (salt, pepper, cumin, whatever else) and fill with water (or stock, or beer) generously

7) Crockpot: cook on low for a long time (8 hours?)
     Stovetop: bring to a boil, then simmer for a long time (2-3 hours?)

8) Once the beans are cooked (pick one out with a spoon and blow on it- if the skin wrinkles and peels back, it's done!) add a splash (a tablespoon or more) of tequila (or mezcal if you're daring)

9) Top with minced raw white onion, chopped cilantro and serve! Even better the next day, like most long-cooked dishes. The combination of bacon/cilantro/onion/tequila is pretty awesome- it's hard to imagine until you try it- it's delicious!

WHAT ELSE YOU COULD DO
- Almost anything! This is barely even a recipe...
- Substitute any smoked pork product for the bacon
- Use dried chiles instead of or in addition to fresh green chiles
- Use any other kind of bean (pinto, negro, great northern, etc.)
- Don't use tomatoes, or use tomatillos, or just splash with some vinegar, or lime juice
- More seasonings (like bay leaf, oregano, smoked paprika, anything good!)
- Cook the beans in beer (light beer like Corona or even dark beer like Negro Modelo)
- Cook the beans in stock (like chicken stock, beef stock, pork stock, veggie stock, whatever)
- Add more veggies like carrots, celery, etc.

CB Cooks: Pan fried trout with baconed mustard greens

Although at the beginning one of the main appeals of fishing was catching food to eat, I haven't done that so much. I rarely keep any fish I catch, mostly because the places I'm fishing are somewhat polluted, or because I don't have any way to get my catch home (especially if I'm fishing downtown before work). I'd like to combine my fishing skills and cooking skills more... To that end, I've been practicing some fish-cooking techniques so when I catch some fish worthy for the plate, I'll be ready!


I'm a total newbie at cooking fish, but I thought this turned out so great I wanted to share it with you. I'm sure many of you anglers have better recipes, if you have any tips leave them in the comments!


Full disclosure: I got the whole idea from the always great Serious Eats and this recipe

WHAT YOU NEED
- Some fish (filet). I caught mine at Meijer, using a credit card
- Corn meal
- Butter/olive oil/stuff like that
- Greens
- Bacon
- Onion
- Garlic
- Salt, pepper, crushed red pepper
- Cast iron skillet - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!


HOW YOU MAKE IT
For the fish:

1) Cover the fish with corn meal, covering as much as possible

2) Plop the filet(s), flesh-side down, into a hot cast iron skillet that has hot oil/butter/whatever in it

3) Leave it for about 5 minutes (don't move it)

4) Flip, then cook for a couple more










For the greens:
1) Put the bacon in a pan, get some of that bacon fat happening

2) Dump in some minced onions and get them nice

3) Throw in some garlic, and while you're at it remove the bacon, chop it up, and return it to the pan

4) When all that stuff is real nice, add salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and the greens (torn into bigger than bite-sized pieces)

5) Cook for a couple minutes- the greens will turn super bright green and shrink a lot

CB Cooks: Falafel and pita bread

Falafel sammie with onions, poblanos, carrots, and tahini

One of my all time favorite foods is falafel, which is basically fried balls of some combination of chickpeas and/or fava beans. You might know I love anything involving beans, and the combination of beans and frying is a total winner. I'm pretty sure the healthiness of the beans and veggies totally outweighs any downside of frying stuff in oil. I tried for YEARS - literally - to make them at home, but they failed every time, falling apart in the oil, turning into fried hummus.


I think it was about a year ago I found another way, a method somehow I'd missed in my research. Don't use cooked beans! I found some recipe somewhere that suggested soaking the beans overnight, then grinding up the RAW beans for use in falafel. For whatever reason, this makes it much easier to keep the bean balls in one piece, and makes for a deliciously textured falafel.


I've also dabbled in bread baking (I love the book Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a day) and tried making some pita bread for my falafel. It didn't really turn out like the super thin pita "pockets" found in many Lebanese restaurants, but it was still pretty awesome. It's more like normal soft bread, without a hard crust, kind of like hamburger buns or torta bread. 


There aren't too many things better than freshly baked homemade bread.


WHAT YOU NEED
For the CB falafel:
A bunch of chickpeas and/or fava beans, soaked in water overnight (I think I used 1 pound of beans, which yielded 11-12 big falafels)
Tahini (sesame paste- it's like a more liquidy peanut butter, but made out of sesame seeds)
1/2 big white onion
5-6 cloves garlic
Handful cilantro
Jalapeño
Cumin, salt, pepper, any other seasonings you like
A little bit of flour

For the bread:
1.5 cups flour
1 teaspoon dry active yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
Water
Cornmeal for dusting (optional, but helpful)

HOW YOU MAKE IT
The bread:
1) Mix the flour, yeast and salt in a big bowl

2) Add about 1 cup water, mix

3) With your hands, divide up the dough ball into 4 little balls, then hand-roll them out into little circles

4) Put them on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal (so they don't stick as much) and preheat the oven to as close to 500°F you can get. If you don't want to bake them immediately, cover them with a clean kitchen towel so they don't dry out

Ready for the oven

5) Bake for ~3-10 minutes- but watch closely! Once they puff up, they're pretty much done!

Doesn't that just look magical!?

The falafel:
1) In a food processor, process the beans, onion, garlic, cilantro, jalapeño (you might have to do it in batches)

2) In a big bowl, add about a tablespoon of tahini, a tablespoon of flour, and your seasonings. Mix well!

3) Grab a clump of the mixture, smush it together in your hand- if it seems like it will stay together, you're good to go! If not, add some more flour.

4) Form little balls in your hands, pressing them to make sure they won't fall apart. Place on a cookie sheet or something. I've found it helps to put the balls in the fridge for a while before frying.

Ready for the fridge, or the oil

5) Get 1-2 inches of oil hot in a pan, then fry the balls. Because it's not deep frying, they turn out to be more like patties instead of balls... But I think that's better for sandwiches anyway.

6) As soon as both sides of the patties are nice and brown, remove from oil and place on some paper towel to absorb residual oil. Immediately sprinkle with salt; repeat for remaining patties.

When you first drop the falafel in the pan, DON'T MOVE IT for at least a minute! You want to form a nice crust, which will help the ball stay together. Don't worry about it sticking to the pan- once the crust forms, it will become unstuck.

WARNING: Don't crowd the pan! You want to fry these guys, not steam them. 
SUGGESTION: If you have any cast iron cookware, this is an ideal time to use it! It will thank you later.

Mmmmm so crispy, salty, and chickpea-y

7) Serve immediately in your fresh "pita" bread!

WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO:
- I like my falafel in bread, with lots of toppings. This time I used sliced onions, raw poblano strips, and thin carrot strips I cut with a peeler. If I had any, cucumbers and tomato are great additions.
- Tahini alone makes a great sauce- I tried making a lime-garlic-tahini sauce for this, but it tasted like messed up candy...
- Falafel burger!

Apparently in Egypt or Lebanon (or both?) McDonald's has a McFalafel
I wonder if this tastes better than that...