Food is Cynful: Angie's Chimi's

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.

CHIMICHANGA!!! The mere mention of this tasty dish makes my mouth

water and my mind swim with lovely memories of my dear friend Angie. One weekend Angie and I took off to Magic Mountain and the only thing we ate all weekend was these chimi's. They were cold but de-lish! I know the sound of cold chimi's doesn't sound appetizing and maybe it was just being young and silly but we had the best time and downed the whole batch we made. It's true this recipe isn't mine but you blog followers of mine know I am not opposed to putting someone else's recipe as one of my faves. This certainly qualifies! Not only that but my family loved this dish and gobbled it up! IF you have left overs they freeze or refrigerate well. Just wrap them individually in a paper towl and then in a plastic bag. They keep great for another meal, hehe even straight out of the fridge. Here's how Angie does it...

2 packages of burrito flour tortillas 12 count
30 oz can of refried beans.
15 oz can of chili beans - no meat (Hormel)
8 oz box of cream cheese
15 oz can of corn - drained
4 oz can green chilis
8-10 good sloshes of Tapitio hot sauce
Tons of grated cheese , like a mountain on a paper plate amount.

In a large bowl mix together beans, cream cheese, corn, green chilis, and Tapatio. Warm up the tortilla's in a towel for 30 secs so they don't crack when you roll them up. Put about 1/3 cup of filling, sprinkle

with cheese and more hot sauce of desired. Fold in ends, turn and fold in other side ends. Fry on medium high in a pan coated with 1/8 inch oil. You'll need to keep replacing oil. Fry til nice and golden, make sure you fry seam side down first. You don't want filling leaking out in the oil or it will pop and sizzle and burn the crap out of you. Put in a cake pan lined with paper towels and keep warm in oven. Layer towels as needed. Serve with Sour Cream, salsa and chopped lettuce and tomato. This makes a bunch of good sized chimi's. Just add more beans and cream cheese if you want a bigger batch.

1 comment:

Angie Larkin said...: How delightful to find my recipe on your blog! I remember that weekend! I remember listening to phantom in the explorer...Baker...getting lost...the batman roller coaster and all the toots from eating so many chimis! That is still one of my favorite memories!; February 8, 2010 at 11:07 AM

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