Lunch at Mary and Tito's

Mary and Tito's Cafe is an old style family restaurant located on 4th Street NW a little bit north of downtown and the I-40 freeway.

The original route 66 (from 1926 to 1937) came west from Texas into New Mexico but turned north at Santa Rosa (east of Albuquerque) to go through Santa Fe before heading south to Albuquerque and entered the town on 4th Street.

Although many of the tourist related businesses from that era like motels have closed down, the street still has a lot of local businesses including some very good restaurants.

Mary & Tito's has been going for 50 years now with good food and very reasonable prices in a cozy atnosphere. Tito died several years ago and Mary just died this year, but the family continue to run an excellent cafe.

Jukebox by the front door

Main Dining Room

 We arrived at 11:30 on a Saturday and the cafe quickly filled up with the Saturday lunch crowd including a family group that enjoyed this table for 6.

Checkout counter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hadn't enjoyed a tamale yet for the Christmas holiday, so I chose this large combination plate with a tamale, cheese and onion enchilada (hiding under the green chile) and taco. As part of the excellent service we received, the taco which often gets wet in the sauce on a combination plate was served on a separate plate!

Large Combo Plate with Tamale, Enchilada and Taco

 The food was all delicious and the green chile was tasty and spicy although the carne adovada filling for the tamale was a little under marinated.

Carne Adovada Stuffed Sopaipilla

Honey enjoyed the Carne Adovada Mexican Turnover, also known as a stuffed sopaipilla. The carne adovada in the stuffed sopaipilla, on the other hand, was thoroughly marinated and was quite good!

Sopaipillas are a New Mexico specialty, made from rolled strips of dough that are deep fried and bubble up when they fry. They're delicious when you tear open the bubble and add honey!

Or, as in this case, you can stuff a filling into the sopaipilla.

Usually they are served as a side dish with a meal. Size varies but I've never seen sopaipillas this large as a side dish!

Prices are quite reasonable with the most expensive item being only $8.75. Breakfast is served until 11:30.

The Essential Great Steak Sauce Challenge

Sometimes, it's fun to mimic the sort of food testing done in a more serious way by shows like Cook's Country/America's Test Kitchen or long established magazines like Consumer Reports. So, when we were out shopping a couple days ago we decided to test A-1, our sons' favorite steak sauce against house brands from Wal Mart (Great Value) and Albertson's (Essential Everyday).

Our sons definitely prefer A-1 and almost soak their steaks in it when we serve them (which isn't that often). But, we bought 3 bone-in New York strip steaks to use for the test (7 minutes each side under High broil one rack down from the top).

Three sauces in bowls for blind testing

 I set up for the test by pouring sauce in three bowls and taking this picture to identify which sauce was in which bowl.

Essential Everyday, A-1, and Great Value

 Then I prepared a large batch of mashed potatoes (which the boys really like) and broiling the steaks.

Dinner for Four

After heating some left-over gravy and vegetables, we were ready for dinner.

One son wasn't feeling well and didn't do the taste challenge. The other son correctly identified the A-1 sauce and didn't like the other two sauces.

My assessment was a little closer. The Essential Everyday has more raisin paste than corn syrup and a little more carb's. It also adds tamarinds! That may be why it has a slightly redder color and more tomato taste compared to the spice.

The Wal Mart Great Value sauce had about the same balance of spice and tomato taste as A-1. But, A-1 definitely has a spicier taste. If I were choosing a substitute for A-1, I would pick the Great Value. 


Any of them would be acceptable for casual dining. But, it's easy to see why Kraft's A-1 is the preferred brand.

I began my holiday cooking this afternoon by preparing a batch of Fantasy Fudge.

Hope you all enjoy the holidays!

Holiday Cranberry Relish

This is really just a basic cranberry sauce with a couple additions, but I've found I really like this combination.

1 12 oz bag fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp cinnamon
2 medium apples, cored and chopped
1 navel orange, cut and shredded in a blender or food processor

1. Rinse the cranberries in water and pick out any bad or soft ones. Drain the cranberries.

2. Heat the cranberries in a 1 1/2 quart saucepan over medium high heat with the sugar, water and cinnamon till it boils. Stir frequently and boil for about 5 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and stir in the orange and apples.

4. Refrigerate for at least one hour and serve.

Alqud's Middle East Grocery Restaurant

During the 70's and 80's, small convenience stores with gas stations like 7-11 and Circle-K gradually displaced full service gas stations like the Texaco station shown in one of the early scenes in the first Back To The Future movie. (I don't remember ever seeing that many people providing service at once at a real station.) The United States passed its peak oil production and the Yom Kippur war in 1973 and the accompanying oil embargo caused gas prices to skyrocket and people were less willing to pay extra for "full service".

In the last twenty years, though, most of these small locations with just a dual pump island have abandoned as gas stations in favor of newer, larger facilities that can handle eight or more cars at once. But the buildings survive in a new guise as stores for a variety of products such as fireplace inserts, pellet stoves and spas. Or, as in this case some of them have become small restaurants.

Alqud's has been operating for a couple years as a small grocery/convenience store specializing in Mediterranean food imports with a small dining area to enjoy the baked on location pita bread and Middle Eastern food specialties such as kabobs, shawarma and tawook. Shawarmas are roasted from a variety of meats and shaved into strips for serving. Tawook (according to Wikipedia) is the English pronunciation of taouk or tavuk, which means chicken in Turkish. These are cut into cubes and grilled on a spit, hence the "shish".

The formula has proven successful and since our last visit several months ago, they have expanded the dining area with a second small area of seats and these have been lined with hanging rugs that add to the Middle Eastern atmosphere as well providing extra insulation against the late autumn and winter chill.

Original Dining Area, now Redecorated

Expanded Dining Area

Lamb Shawarma with Hummus and Tahini Salad on the side

Beef Kabob Platter with Rice, Hummus and Tabbouli Salad

Fresh Baked Pita

Honey wanted something that wasn't easy to find and opted for the lamb shawarma platter with hummus with a tahini salad on the side. I chose the beef kabob platter with tabbouli salad served with rice on a large plate. Both meats were seasoned wonderfully and the hummus has a nice texture and flavor that makes it better than at another similar restaurant we have tried.

Of course, we took home a bag of pita from the bakery window to make our own sandwiches at home. We seasoned chicken with shawarma seasoning from a previous visit, but skipped the traditional roasting process and just broiled it in the oven. It still tasted good!

We poked through the aisles shopping, but will have to wait for a later visit to try the gyros!

Cajun Crab and Shrimp Boil

Cajun Crab and Shrimp Boil

Cajun Crab and Shrimp Boil

This was inspired by a couple visits to Joe's Crab Shack.
This is an almost nationwide chain of slightly upscale seafood restaurants (they're not in New Mexico or several other states) that offers a more extensive menu than Red Lobster, for instance, with the emphasis on the "fun atmosphere" which the Google Maps entry refers to.

Joe's in Amarillo, Texas

Fun Atmosphere ??

 In this Garden Grove location, the staff put on a little group dance to entertain the guests during our evening meal.

Joe's in Garden Grove, California

One of the prominent additions to the usual seafood restaurant menu is their Steampots, which offer a variety of ingredients boiled up in a pot. You get plenty to eat, but I thought they failed a little bit in the execution, providing seafood, whole potatoes, corn on the cob, etc. without pulling it all together into a satisfying whole.

So, after finding some snow crab clusters on sale for a reasonable price, I decided to try my own version and came up with my version. It uses the classic Cajun vegetables of onion, celery and bell pepper with coarsely chopped potatoes still in the skin for quicker cooking and easier eating. The shrimp bouillon powder combined with cooking the shrimp in their shells gives the broth a wonderful seafood taste. Start easy on the cayenne and add a little to season to taste so you don't overwhelm the flavor of the crab and shrimp.

For a less hands-on presentation, shell the crab and shrimp and add the seafood back into the broth before serving.

Ingredients

2 Snow Crab clusters, about 1 pound
Whole uncooked shrimp, about 1 pound (28-32 count)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp shrimp bouillon powder
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
 1 red bell pepper, cut into medium length slices
1 14 1/2 ounce can diced tomatoes
4 red potatoes, washed and cut into chunks
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
4 cups water

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes, until the onions soften and start to brown.

Saute onions in oil with garlic

 2. Add the celery and saute for 2-3 minutes.

Add celery

3. Add the bell pepper and saute for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and 2 cups of water, using some water to rinse the can of tomatoes. Heat to a boil, add the potatoes, reduce heat to medium and boil for about 15 minutes.

Add bell pepper, tomatoes and 2 cups of water

Add potatoes and boil for about 15 minutes

 4. Add the snow crab clusters. Add more water, turn up the heat and boil for five minutes.

Add snow crab clusters

 5. Add the whole shrimp, stir into the mixture and boil for another 5 minutes, just until the shrimp turn pink and are done. Don't overcook the shrimp or they will get tough.

Add whole shrimp

6. Serve the crab on the side with some shrimp in the soup.

Cazuela de Vaca (Beef and Butternut Squash Stew)

Cazuela de Vaca

As temperatures cool and the autumn sets in, we look for new ways to enjoy the summer's bounty. So, this recipe for Cazuela de Vaca (Beef and Pumpkin Stew) which showed up in my email a few days ago looked worth checking out.

Since we had a butternut squash already, I decided to use that instead of the pumpkin. And, instead of the one large chunk of each ingredient in the recipe, we chopped the ingredients a bit smaller. And, I skipped the polenta and reduced the number of potatoes to keep the starch down. Normally I would buy a roast or some round or sirloin steak and cut it myself, but since the butcher at the grocery had some already cut for the same price, I was lazy and bought that.

Here is my version.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds beef roast
1 (32 ounce) carton beef broth
2 cups water
5 red potatoes, cut in small chunks
1 1/2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 pounds chopped butternut squash
1 ear fresh corn, cut into four sections
1 carrot, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 stalks celery, cut into small chunks
3 green onions, chopped coarsely
1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp paprika
 1/2 cup coarsely chpped cilantro leaves

Directions:

1. Cut the beef into small chunks. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add the beef chunks and brown briefly. Add the garlic, onions, and celery chunks and cook until the onions are partly cooked and begin to soften. Pour in the beef broth and water. Heat to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer about one hour or until tender.

2. Add the potatoes and cook for 15 minutes.

3, Add the squash, corn, carrot, bell pepper, and green onions. Add the dried oregano also. Simmer about 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Sprinkle the paprika on the stew and stir thoroughly. Heat for 5 more minutes.

4. Ladle into serving bowls, and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

Enjoy!
We served it with some small multigrain crackers.

Baked Parmesan Salmon

Baked Parmesan Salmon

Grand Openings are a good time to find some special deals on food. So, when our local grocery store had a big re-opening sale after a major remodeling and offered pink salmon for only $0.02 a pound more than ground beef, how could I resist?

Salmon split in half to finish broiling

But, I wanted to do something a little different with the salmon this time, so my honey suggested this recipe for Broiled Tilapia Parmesan.

It needed a little adjustment though, since I was using a whole fish (about 2.8 pounds) instead of the 2 pounds of filets in the recipe. Rather than filet the salmon and then cook according to the recipe, I decided to bake it first.

So, I lined a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and sprayed it with cooking spray. Then I set the salmon on the cookie sheet upright with the small outward sides spread apart to hold it upright. I baked it at 350F for 30 minutes, then removed the salmon. I split it down the middle and it sliced off the center bones fairly easily. I laid the two halves side by side back on the foil-lined sheet.

Salmon with parmesan sauce spread on top

Then I switched the broiler to low and broiled it for five minutes to finish cooking the darker center parts. I then covered it with the parmesan cheese mixture and broiled it for another 3 minutes till the top was lightly browned.

Parmesan sauce is lightly browned

We served it with a cole slaw made with boiled vinegar and oil dressing for a light and heart healthy dinner!

Salmon and cole slaw

Peach Crisp Ramekin with Vanilla Ice Cream

We had earlier baked 4 ramekins of peach crisp and one of those with a small scoop of ice cream made a great dessert!

Parmesan Cheese Mixture

Ingredients

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon celery salt

Instructions

In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Add the seasonings and mix thoroughly. Set aside in the refrigerator until you're ready to spread it on the salmon.

.....edited addition 8/27/13 ......

Parmesan Tilapia

We returned today hoping to catch another salmon, but they were sold out. Fortunately, we found some tilapia that were even cheaper than the salmon! So, we decided to follow the original recipe.

Adding some fresh sweet corn on sale and more cole slaw gave us a great meal for less than $5.

Parmesan Tilapia with Sweet Corn and Cole Slaw

Chicken Stroganoff

After my last recipe, the Five Spice Chicken, I was looking for something else to cook with the noodles. When the August issue of Diabetes Forecast showed up with a recipe for Turkey Stroganoff by Robyn Webb, I knew it would work well with the rest of the boneless chicken thighs I had. I used the oriental noodles instead of the traditional egg noodles, but of course this will work with either. I often like stroganoff served over rice because it absorbs the sauce better than noodles. I made a few changes to her recipe because of available ingredients so here is my version. Guten appetite!

Chicken Stroganoff with Oriental Noodles

Ingredients
8 oz Oriental noodles
1-2 Tbsp canola or olive oil to toss with the noodles
cooking spray
12-16 oz fresh boneless chicken cut into thin strips (I used 3 boneless thighs)
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 1/2 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 tsp beef bouillon
2 cups water
1 cup reduced-fat or light sour cream
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp dried parsley

1. Cook the noodles in boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain and toss with the oil so the noodles won't stick together. Set them aside in a boil.
2. Coat a large skillet with cooking spray. Add the chicken slices and saute for about 3-5 minutes until they start to brown and turn less pink. (I cooked mine a bit longer because they were frozen and I only partially thawed them in a microwave before slicing them.)

Saute the chicken slices

3. Add the sliced onions, sprinkle with the salt and pepper and saute them for 3 minutes.

Add the onions and stir frequently

4. Add the mushrooms and saute for about 3-4 minutes until the mushrooms are soft and the chicken is cooked through. Transfer the chicken and vegetable mixture to a bowl and set aside.

5. Heat the canola oil in the skillet or a heavy pot. Add the flour and bouillon powder and stir to make a roux.Gradually add the water, stirring often to blend into the roux to make a smooth mixture. Add any leftover liquid from the chicken-vegetable mixture. Heat to a slow boil, reduce heat and stir until the sauce starts to thicken.
6. Reduce the heat to low. Blend in the sour cream and mustard. I had more trouble with the sour cream clumping than I usually do with regular sour cream. So, I suggest blending a little of the sauce into the sour cream in a separate container in two or three stages to form a smooth mixture. Then add this to the sauce.

Broth and sour cream

7. Stir in the chicken and vegetable mixture and the dried parsley and cook until heated through. Do not boil!
8. Serve over the noodles.

Notes and suggestions:
After stirring the sauce with the other ingredients, the sour cream clumps smoothed out.
I liked the result. It had a mild flavor, but a good chicken and mushroom taste.
You might want to try adding a fresh or dried herb like basil or marjoram to perk it up just a bit.