May 18th - Nopales night

When Julie Caran suggested nopales for Cafe Davis, I had never heard of them. When she told me that they were cactus pads, that didn't really help. I put them on the menu without scouting the local grocery stores to see if I could even buy nopales in Harrisonburg. Luckily, they are available in jars at all of the grocery chains. I specifically chose recipes that would work well with canned or jarred nopales, but I was still holding on to the hope of finding some fresh ones... at least for tonight's salad recipe. So, Mike and I headed to the Oriental Food Market in search of nopal pads. (The Oriental Food Market, by the way, specializes in both Latino and Asian fare. I know the name is misleading.)  We wandered in, and I was immediately transported back to one of my favorite places - the International Farmer's Market in Chamblee, Georgia. The last time I was in Atlanta, I did a drive-by to reminisce, only to find that the farmer's market is now closed. My theory is that the new Walmart across the street drove it out of business. Stupid mega-stores. I digress, but if you want to read about the magical place that  used to be conveniently located around the corner from my house, go back in the archives on this blog to 2006. International fare - that was a fun Cafe Davis year.


Back to the Oriental Food Market. At the end of the first row, there was a section of refrigerated cases. I peered in and saw a cardboard box filled with fleshy succulent pads. Score! I grabbed what looked like a pound and a half of them, and after wandering the rest of the aisles, we checked out. I came home, put the succulent pads in the refrigerator, and sat down to dissertate for a while. Only something was bothering me about my purchase - they just didn't look like what I thought cactus pads should. I took a glance of the receipt and realized my terrible mistake:

Yep. That there is aloe. NOT nopales. You'd think I'd know that since I grow aloe in my sunroom. Oh well. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, I guess. But now I have a pound and a half of fresh aloe on my hands. What should I do with it? That question occupied the next hour or so of my time. The internet is replete with aloe recipes - juice, smoothies, poached aloe cubes in yogurt. None of that sounds particularly good to me. But this recipe does:

Aloe Vera Night Cream

Place in a blender equal amounts of aloe vera gel, peeled and chopped cucumber, and distilled water. Blend until the mixture is smooth. Store this night cream in your refrigerator for up to a week. To use this natural, healthy night cream, smooth it over your face at bedtime and leave it on overnight, rinsing it off with warm water in the morning. 

I plan to whip up the night cream in the next few days. I'll report back on how radiant my face looks in a week or so.

I never did find the fresh nopales, but the jarred variety made for one terrific meal. The menu was cactus salad; nopalitos with tomatoes and onions; nopalitos with pork loin ribs with chile coronado; and Spanish rice.   I think tonight's offerings may have been my favorite so far - particularly the salad and the ribs. That's quite a statement, too, since I generally harbor great disdain for meat with bones in it. 

First, the ribs - Here's a picture of them early in the cooking process. Obviously, I cut the rack into serving-size pieces so it would fit in my skillet.

Nopalitos with Pork Loin Ribs with Chile Coronado

(from http://www.mexgrocer.com/533-nopalitos-with-pork-loin.html)

2 Tbsp oil

1 large onion, chopped 

2 cloves garlic, chopped

2 pounds pork loin back ribs

32 ounces jar of nopalitos

28 ounce can of Red Chile Sauce*

1/2 cup water

Season to taste

Instructions

In a large skillet, heat oil. Fry ribs until golden brown. Add onions and garlic to mixture and saute for 2 minutes. Pour in red chile sauce, water, and seasoning to taste. Continue to cook over medium to low heat for 35-40 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add nopalitos and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. 

* Again, I was unsure what red chile sauce was. After some sleuthing on his phone while standing in Kroger, Mike figured out that red enchilada sauce is the same thing. Or, you can make it yourself with a bunch of dried ancho chiles and some garlic. 

Here's a picture of the finished product. It doesn't look as appetizing here as it did on our plates. Oh, I also slow-cooked this for way longer than the recipe called for - maybe 2 hours or so. The meat was really tender, so I don't think that was a bad call.

In a remarkable change of events, I was way ahead schedule preparing tonight's dinner. Here's a pic of me cooling my heels in the kitchen, enjoying some seltzer and waiting for the busy stove to work its magic.

Busy stove:

The one recipe not on the stove was the cactus salad. It was so delicious that I absolutely must share. For anyone who lives in the 'Burg and enjoys the coleslaw at Jalisco, I think this is a satisfactory and much healthier alternative. (It's not the same, mind you... so don't get all worked up if you make this and still think the coleslaw crack at Jalisco is better. I'm just saying that if you want to keep your tortilla chip indulgence under 2000 calories, this might be a good way to go.)


Cactus Salad
(from the Morsels & Musings blog - follow the link for lots of interesting info on nopales. Did you know, for instance, that they are featured on the Mexican coat of arms?)


Ingredients
1 jar nopalitos
1/2 head of cabbage, thinly shredded
1 Tbsp cilantro
4 pickled jalapenos, chopped
1 Tbsp lime juice
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper


Directions
1. Drain and rinse the nopalitos. Soak in water bowl for 2 minutes to remove any slime/gel residue.
2. In a bowl, whisk together lime juice, vinegar, and olive oil.
3. Drain the nopalitos and pat dry.
4. Toss together all the ingredients with the dressing, season and serve.




Now on to the guests this evening. Tonight we were graced with Ken and Jillian Young, Toni Whitfield and Scott DeVoe, and Louise and Fritz Temple. The conversation was lively, and spanned a wide range of topics. And, despite the fact that the majority of these folks are associated with JMU, there was surprisingly little "shop talk." I also want to thank everyone for the amazing desserts - a cheesecake sampler, chess pie, and lemon cookies. Wow. All around this was a great meal, and I want to thank Julie for suggesting an ingredient I would likely never use on my own. I don't know if I'll go so far to say that nopales will be a staple in my diet, but it will definitely make more appearances in the future. 

From left to right: Toni, Louise, Fritz, Scott, Jillian, and Ken.


Cafe Davis is entering into its final stretch - only about a week and a half left! Be sure to make your reservations today if you haven't yet done so!