The Hot Sauce Cookbook Read Online Free PDF

6 minutes. Add the serrano, garlic, tomatillos, anchos, guajillos, and chicken stock. Lower the heat and simmer until the chiles are soft, 5 to 7 minutes.
    Transfer the mixture to a blender, add the cilantro, and purée until smooth. Strain and add salt to taste.
    In another skillet over high heat, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and carefully pour the sauce from the blender into the skillet; bring to a boil, 1 to 2 minutes.
    Use immediately as a sauce for tacos or chicken enchiladas, or chill and serve as a table sauce. This sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.

MOLCAJETE SAUCE
    ——— Makes 2 to 3 cups ———
    The recipe for this sauce originated in Northern Mexico where mesquite grilling has been the preferred cooking method since prehistoric times—tomatoes and chile peppers get a lovely char on the grill. As the name implies, this table sauce is traditionally made in the three-legged stone mortar and pestle called a molcajete . The stone mortar is considered superior to modern appliances for making salsas, guacamole, and other blended mixtures that need to retain some of their chunkiness. It’s also an attractive serving dish.    +   Molcajetes must be seasoned before use as the porous lava rock usually contains a lot of grit. To season a molcajete , first rinse as much of the grit out as you can, then grind a couple of fresh chile peppers in it. Discard the pepper mash and put the molcajete in a hot oven or out in the sun until it dries it out. The molcajete always retains a little of the flavor of the last thing you ground up in it.
    3 large tomatoes, quartered
    ½ onion, sliced in rings
    2 cloves garlic, peeled
    2 jalapeño chiles, stemmed and halved lengthwise
    1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
    ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
    Salt
    Prepare a fire in a grill using mesquite charcoal.
    Place the tomatoes, onions, garlic, and jalapeños in a grill basket and grill for at least 10 minutes, turning several times until wilted and well charred. (Or alternately char in a dry skillet on the stove top.) Remove some of the charred skin from the tomatoes and chile peppers, then transfer the tomatoes, onions. and jalapeños to a molcajete or food processor. Add the lemon juice and grind or process so the mixture remains chunky. Transfer to a bowl and add the cilantro. Season with salt and stir. Use immediately as a table sauce or tortilla chip dip, or refrigerate for up to a week.

PICO DE GALLO
    ——— Makes 2½ cups ———
    Salsa cruda is usually made in a blender or molcajete , while pico de gallo is chopped by hand. To take this recipe to the next level, use heirloom tomatoes, very sweet onions (such as Texas 1015, Walla Walla, or Vidalia), and the very best sea salt. Soaking the onions in the lime juice “cooks” them the same way it cooks the fish in ceviche.
    3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
    ½ cup chopped sweet onion
    2 cups chopped, very ripe tomatoes
    2 tablespoons minced jalapeño chiles , serrano chiles , chile pequíns , or poblano rajas
    ½ teaspoon salt (preferably good-quality sea salt), plus more as needed
    ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
    2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
    Dash of olive oil
    Combine the lime juice and onions in a bowl and allow to marinate for 20 minutes or up to an hour.
    Combine the tomatoes, onion mixture, chiles, salt, pepper, cilantro, and olive oil in a mixing bowl and mix well. Adjust the seasonings to taste. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Serve cold.

MEXICAN SHRIMP COCKTAIL
    ——— Serves 2 ———
    Shrimp cocktails have all but disappeared from American restaurant menus, but they are as popular as ever in Mexico. If you’ve ever vacationed at a seaside resort in Cancún or Acapulco, you are probably already a fan of this famous appetizer. Known as coctel de camarones on the Pacific Coast and coctel de Campechana on the Gulf Coast, this is everybody’s favorite Mexican seafood