from Food Network Kitchens:
Cooking Mexican or Southwestern food is easy with these techniques:
1. Making Refried BeansSaute diced onions and garlic in lard or bacon grease. Add cooked (or canned) pinto beans and mash into a paste. Cook over medium heat until soft and creamy.
2.Toasting/Steaming TortillasTortillas taste best when heated until soft and pliable. They can either be toasted or steamed.
To steam:Put tortillas either in a steamer basket or on a rack set above a pot of boiling water. Cover and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until soft. Or, stack tortillas between damp paper towels and microwave for a minute on high.
To toast:Put tortillas directly onto a gas or electric burner . Cook on high heat, flipping with tongs, for a few seconds on either side.
3. Using Spices and Dried Chiles
To toast spices: Heat a dry saute pan over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add spices and cook, stirring often, until spices are fragrant, not allowing spices to burn. Grind, if desired, using either a clean coffee grinder or a mortar and pestle.
4. Blackening Fresh PeppersBlackening fresh peppers (whether bell peppers or chiles) deepens their flavor and makes them easier to peel, if desired. Using tongs, hold a pepper directly over a gas burner, rotating it until all surfaces are evenly blackened (if you don't have a gas burner, broil the peppers, rotating them regularly). Put the pepper into a bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside for 10 minutes. Using a clean kitchen towel, rub off the blackened skin.
(For more information, visit www.foodnetwork.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)
