Fideo sangrado (bloody fideo), or when you want hot to look it

Fideo Sangrado

You're looking at spicy. This is more than "kick it up a notch."

It isn't blow out your eardrums and call the fire department hot, but it's in the red zone.

I've been experimenting with beets. I like them. And I can understand why some folks don't. They can be pretty earthy tasting. On the other hand, their pungency is a welcome improvement over dried soybeans that are being marketed as a snack.

Excuse me, but dry roasted edamame (soybeans) isn't a snack. These are capsules of dirt. Dry, tasteless, choke-me-and-die! dirt tablets.

But I digress. I am trying to do with beets what other people try to do with tofu (a slightly more palatable soy-based invention than edamame). But I have more to work with because, guess what?, beets actually taste like something.

Yes, this is a bit radical. And I know, traditionally, fideo is like Mexican chicken soup. It's usually fideo in a chicken broth-based soup. Pardon, for those who may ask, what is fideo?, this is a Hispanic spaghetti, or short-stemmed type of spaghetti.

What I'm aiming for here is a kind of hot, hearty soup - something filling to eat on a cold day. I had a few of those here in south Florida last week; yes, actually inspired me to go out and by a light coat.

I love how beets turn the water a deep purple-red. But I don't want my fideo to taste like beets. I want my fideo to have a more full-bodied taste. Go for it!

Boiling 2 1/2 cups of water (because that's how much water my little package of fideo said to use), adding four cubes of Knorr Cilantro Mini Cubes seasoning, chop a beet (I say a beet because I had a really, really big beet in the fridge; you may want to use two or three), and boil.

Nothing hot about that, yet! We'll have to fix that. Two Kiolbassa smoked beef with jalapeno sausages, one serrano pepper - slice up both and toss them in the soup. Grab the paprika and shake in vigorously; just keep shaking it in there for close to a minute.

And grab the crushed red pepper, shake that in for another minute.

Now, I boiled the fideo for about 12 minutes (as per package instructions), and it didn't look right. I suppose I could have stopped boiling. It was cooked. But the chunks of beets were so much larger, I had a 'presentation' problem. So, I over-boiled and got the fideo a lot thicker than it needed to be.

And that's how I ended up with the picture above. Visually, the fideo sits shoulder-to-shoulder with the beets and sausage, rather than looking like some puny minor ingredient. Well, it is called fideo sangrado!

As it boiled, I tasted it and ended up adding a little extra salt. I always try to be conservative with the salt shaker. It turned out great, to my taste. But you may want to go easier on the heat ingredients; I was trying to peel paint with this stuff.

Buen provecho!

Meat & veggies, meat & veggies, go together like a horse & carriage

In another life, dropping in at a downtown Pik Nik Foods in San Antonio was almost a daily routine.

These hole-in-the-wall convenience stores have kitchens and the cook is always keeping watch over a series of deep, heated serving trays with all kinds of ingredients for tacos to order. One of the standard items is 'pollo con calabasa,' or chicken with squash.

One of the sloppier selections, pollo con calabasa has some soupy water that leaks out of the aluminum foil and makes the brown paper bag sag. But I can live with that!

Mexican food frequently involves mixing vegetables with a meat, or meats with a vegetable. I like to pair a couple of meats, instead of just using one. It makes for a more nuanced flavor.

This dish takes one chayote squash, one poblano pepper and a sliver of cabbage (about 16th section of a head). Chop, chop, chop it all! And throw it in an open pot. Add about a half cup of water, two Knorr Cilantro Mini Cubes for seasoning and some pepper.

Bring this to a boil, stir occasionally and reduce the water until there is barely any left, but don't let it burn.

In a separate pan, drop in your choice of chopped meat sausages (I used two links of Kiolbassa Jalapeño Beef Smoked Sausage from San Antonio), and one link of Mexican chorizo (I used Supremo Pork Chorizo Links from Chicago).

Kiolbassa sausage:

Mash the chorizo and break it up. Stir the jalapeño-infused beef sausage. Once this is all running its grease, toss in the veggies and stir some more. This is a hot dish, spicier than what I usually suggest. If that's a problem for you, replace the poblano with a red or yellow bell pepper.

You should end up with this. The chayote squash looks a little like potato wedges in a photograph, but it tastes like squash. One chorizo link doesn't make much meat for two, and this recipe makes two meals, but that's not the intent. The beef sausage links are what fill you up, and the chorizo adds to the flavor.

I had the first meal with four grilled white corn tortillas. Tortillas come out of the bag semi-cooked. They have too much moisture. I grill them on a comal with a little butter into they have a slight leathery texture to them. That makes them perfect vessels for holding the filling, and they're still soft.

I put the rest in the fridge and had it the following day with an avocado. Costeno cheese was sprinkled lightly on both meals.


Here's the second serving:

Sausages with veggies and avocado

Buen provecho!