Last 2011 DInner Party

So, this is the last dinner that I made from the cookbook The New Southwest Cookbook. It has been a year of very good food and I have learned a lot about flavors, spices, ingredients and techniques. Our friends and family seem to have enjoyed it as well. I have to be honest about this one- the plan was to have the dinner on New Year’s Eve to end 2011 with good food, but I was so tired after cooking all day and being 7 months pregnant that we ended just relaxing and ringing in the new year with pizza. But it was worth the wait, because this was a pretty good meal once I put it all together!

Appetizer- Sonoran Cactus Fries with Black Bean Caramel Gravy (from Cowboy Club in Sedona, AZ- p. 73)


This was really interesting, because Andrew and I have actually eaten this appetizer in Sedona on the trip when I bought the cookbook that began this whole thing. It had been over a year, but neither of us remembered the fries or the sauce tasting much like what I made. The gravy was made with the juice from cooking black beans (not the actual beans) and sugar and spices, so it was oddly sweet and somewhat chocolaty. Some people at dinner liked it, but I was not a big fan. Have you ever cleaned a cactus pad? Not the easiest thing in the world to do! And I should have cut the cactus much narrower- it was a bit chewy. But overall, it was pretty good.

Soup- Monte Vista Tortilla Soup (from Monte Vista Fire Station in Albuquerque, NM, p. 93)





This was a pretty intense soup. It was a tomato- garlic broth poured over caramelized onions, roasted poblano and red bell peppers and sautéed shrimp, topped with fried tortilla strips and avocados. Many components= lots of work. It was a good soup, but not one of my favorites, and probably not worth all that work.

Entrée- Santa Fe Rib eye with Tobasco Onion Straws (from Zion Lodge, Zion National Park in Springdale, UT, p. 143)
Side- Green Chile Macaroni (from Roaring Fork in Scottsdale, AZ, p.204)



The steak was reaaaaaaally good. Grilled rib eye (a good way to start) topped with homemade pico de gallo, blue cheese and crispy onion straws. The onion straws were soaked in Tobasco before flour and they had the best flavor. I want to make these on a weekly basis just for a snack. Really good steak!
The macaroni was also fantastic. It has sautéed onion, corn and red pepper, a puree of roasted poblano peppers and pepper jack cheese. It had great flavor and texture. And who doesn’t love macaroni and cheese with steak?

Dessert- Prickly Pear “Martini” and Cornmeal Lime Cookies (from De La Tierra, El Monte Sagrado Living Resort in Taos, NM- p.224)



Much like cleaning the cactus pad, peeling the prickly pear (the fruit the cactus makes) was not much fun either. And it is full of seeds, so I had to cut it up and cook it to soften it so I could strain it through a mesh strainer to get the seeds out. Then I made the sorbet base with the puree and some sugar and port wine, and froze all that in my ice cream machine. The cornmeal lime cookies were pretty yummy- a buttery shortbread cookie with a hint of lime.