Food is Cynful: Posole' (A Mexican Soup)

About the Cyn

As I have added more and more recipe's to this blog I've realized that these are such sweet tender memories for me. Just as a photograph or childhood story will bring back memories, food floods me with tons of remembrances of happy times in the past! From family dinners and times with friends to Grandma making toast in the frying pan, food has brought about a way to record my family history. Food has always been and remains a huge part of our gatherings and I feel so very blessed to be able to share my memories and such terrific recipe's with my family and anyone out there who has a few minutes to spare. It is my hope that someday my children and grandchildren will prepare these recipe's and know they were special to someone!

Cynful Explanations

Al dente – An Italian expression applied in all western kitchens to pasta cooked just until enough resistance is left in it to be felt “by the tooth.” Fresh pasta can never by cooked al dente as it is too soft. The expression is also applied to vegetables that have been cooked crisp by steaming, boiling, or stir-frying.
Baste – To moisten food during cooking with pan drippings, sauce, or other liquid. Basting prevents foods from drying out.
Bias-cut - To slice food at a steep angle increasing the surface area, makes a thinner cut easier and looks better.
Butterfly- To split a food (such as shrimp) down the center, cutting almost but not completely through. The two halves are then opened flat to resemble a butterfly shape.
Caramelize – The flavor of many foods, including vegetables, meats, and seafood, is often enhanced by a gentle browning that caramelizes natural sugars and other compounds and intensifies their flavor. Meats for stews, for example, are usually browned to caramelize juices that if not caramelized are much less flavorful. Chopped vegetables, especially aromatic ones such as carrots and onions, are often caramelized—sometimes with cubes of meat—in a small amount of fat before liquid is added to enhance the flavor of soups, stews, and sauces.
Dice – To cut into cubes (unlike chopping, which cuts foods into irregular pieces).
Dredge – To coat a food with flour, any finely crumbled ingredient, or, in pastry, with fine sugar.
Egg wash – A mixture of egg or egg white, oil, and water brushed over floured items, which are then deep-fried or pan-fried in clarified butter or oil.
Fold – To incorporate an egg-white foam into an egg yolk foam or a flour batter without deflating it so that it retains its full leavening power.
Julienne – To cut into long thin matchstick size strips.
Marinade – A mixture of ingredients used to flavor and moisten foods. May be liquid of dry. Liquid marinades are usually acidic based and dry marinades are usually salt based.
Mince – To chop very fine.
Piping - To force a food (typically frosting or whipped cream) through a pastry tip to use as a decoration or garnish, or to shape dough, such as that for éclairs.
Poach – To cook completely submerged in barely simmering liquid.
Puree – To work or strain foods until they are completely smooth.
Ramekin – A small, ovenproof dish, usually ceramic.
Render - To melt animal fat over low heat so that it separates from any connective pieces of tissue, which, during rendering, turn brown and crisp.
Resting – Roasted meats should not be served straight out of the over, but should be allowed to rest in a warm place for 20 to 30 minutes, loosely covered with aluminum foil. (The foil keeps the meat warm; loose wrapping ensures that the outside of the meat doesn’t steam and lose its crispness.) Resting allows the meat to relax so the juices become redistributed in the meat and aren’t squeezed out onto the platter during carving.
Sauté – To cook over high heat in a small amount of fat in a sauté pan or skillet.
Scald – To heat milk just below the boiling point. Or, to immerse a vegetable or fruit in boiling water in order to remove its skin easily.
Sear – To brown the surface of pieces of meats and or fish by submitting them to intense initial heat.
Simmer – To maintain the temperature of a liquid just below boiling.
Steam – To cook in steam by suspending foods over (not in) boiling water, in a covered pot or steamer.
Stew – A cooking method nearly identical to braising but generally involving smaller pieces of meat, and hence a shorter cooking time. Also, the dish prepared by using this method of preparation.
Stir-fry – Chinese technique of cooking think slivers of meat, shellfish, and vegetables in hot oil.
Sweat – To cook foods over gentle heat, usually covered or partly covered, until they release their moisture. Vegetables, meats, and seafood are often sweated when making soups, stews, and sauces so that the foods release their juices into the pan and surrounding liquid. Sweating is the opposite of sautéing.
Tempura – A Japanese method of cooking vegetables and shellfish. They are coated with a light cornstarch batter and deep-fried.
Wok – A round-bottomed pan, usually made of rolled steel, used for virtually all Chinese cooking methods.
Zest – The thin, brightly colored outer part of the rind of citrus fruits. The oils make it ideal for use as a flavoring. Remove the zest with a grater, citrus zester, or vegetable peeler. Be careful to remove only the colored layer, not the bitter-white pith beneath it.

osole' (Po as in the Dragon Warrior Panda, sol like soul food, "e" sounds like lay - like lay me down in a bowl of Posole', all with a Spanish accent!) Brent and I first had this dish at a little boy's birthday party whose family were straight out of Mexico. We either had bad instructions or knew not what we were doing because our first attempt was pretty bland. Since then we've tweaked it here and there, had it from other people and in restaurants and now it's truly our own. We love the way it turns out. We REALLY love the way it turns out. The thought of making this especially during the winter and especially when we get to have it with friends, AND especially when it's our friends first time trying makes me go around saying stuff like, "Ah, Posole!" and "Ole' ole', ole' ole' ole'!" It's one of my favorite things to watch as my friends take that first bite of meat and hominy with the little taste of the corn tortilla chip and some cilantro and the zing from the lime and then the heat from the pepper jack cheese and the chile de arbole sauce, oh boy I'm salivating just writing about it! Guess I need to stop writing and tell you how it goes:

1 Whole Chicken cut up
1 Large Pork Roast
1 #10 (very large) can of Hominy, drained
1 Head Cabbage cut into ¾ inch squares
2 Bunches Cilantro, chopped medium fine
2 Bunches Green Onions, chopped medium fine
6 Cubes Chicken Bullion
1 Block Pepper Jack Cheese Shredded
1 Bag Tortilla Strips
4 Limes, 2 for juice and 2 wedged
Chili de Arbol Sauce

Cook chicken and pork the day before in a crock pot until meat is falling off the bone (at least eight hours on low). Skim stock and fat. Save stock for later. Cool and shred meat. Next morning in a very large pot combine chicken, pork, hominy, 1 bunch of cilantro, 1 bunch of green onions, chicken bullion, saved stock and the juice of two limes. Cover with water almost to top of pot; bring to a boil then lower to simmer. Let simmer for at least two hours but longer is better. We try to let it simmer all day. Serve in soup bowls and let each person add which condiments they prefer to the soup. This is a labor intensive recipe and makes enough to probably feed ten adults. It’s full of flavor and good for two or three days worth of left- over’s if you are just cooking for your family.

Condiments
1 Bunch of Cilantro
1 Bunch of green onions
Cabbage
Pepper Jack Cheese
Tortilla Chips
2 Limes wedged
Chili de Arbol Sauce

By the way we served this to a huge group recently and figured out that one batch makes enough for 12 adults, 5 teenagers, and 4 kids!

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Posole' (A Mexican Soup)

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