Learn how to make Perfect Margaritas, so good you'd think you were in a fine Mexican resort .  And  how to make the original, award winning Bowl o Red with Fixins' 'n Mixins'  plus  the best salsas and much, much more in a half price, full participation cooking school at Jane Butel's Southwestern Cooking School in Corrales, New Mexico.  The ever popular, award winning, full participation cooking weekend March 9 - 11, 2018 of three sessions is now half price at $525.00 each.

You'll learn the complete story about chiles and how they positively compliment great health and interesting and creative ways to cook with them.  The inside secrets to  making perfectly flavorful homemade breads of the region, such as corn and flour tortillas and sopaipillas  will be shared, so you will always make them easily yourself .

Plus,  the amazing, ages old history of corn will be told and how the least little bit of powdered limestone creates posole and is then ground and becomes masa and totally changes the performance of ground corn.

Who ever heard of fluffy, flavorful  tamales that are never greasy or boring?  The tips for making them will be  shown, as well as the secrets for yummy, crispy blue corn crusted chile rellenos.  You will learn how to make the rellenos, so the crust is always perfect and does not fall off.

And, your sweet tooth will be totally satisfied--especially with the creamy, always perfect Flan which garnered a multi-thousand dollar wardrobe for me for press tours for promoting my cookbooks and filming my television shows.  The amazing history of Bizcochitos will be shared along with the secrets for making beautiful Empanadas.  Register now to take advantage of this very special cooking weekend.

Following are two of the featured recipes-- 

Perfect Margaritas

When we first lived in Albuquerque, NM, nearly every Friday evening our neighbors and friends gathered at our house for drinks, a potluck of whatever they wished to bring and lots of conversation and good times. These soirees continued for years until we moved away.

One of our very fun neighbors started calling my margaritas “crawl home” when they were made as directed below. (He had literally almost crawled home one Friday night.) Afterward, if we made them half strength of the tequila, we started calling them “walk home” margaritas and the name stuck among our friends.

Interestingly enough, for our full participation weekend and week long classes, we make them and the students without exception always vote for the Perfect or “crawl home” margaritas.

These are so much better than the margaritas the average American bar serves. They are definitely the best when made with freshly squeezed lime juice and good-quality silver tequila and Triple Sec or Cointreau. These margaritas are strong, so be careful!

Yield: 2 to 3 drinks

Coarse or kosher salt (optional)

2 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice, approximately 2 to 3 limes, save halves after juicing

6 ounces tequila

2 ounces Triple Sec

1 teaspoon raw egg white, lightly whipped, optional*

Ice cubes

1. About an hour before serving, squeeze limes. If salted rims are desired, place salt in a small, dry saucer. Gently rub rind of lime that has been squeezed on the edge of the glass, then lightly crunch into the salt and place glasses in the freezer so they will be frosty.

2. Combine lime juice, tequila, Triple Sec, about 1/2 teaspoon egg white if using and about 8 to 10 ice cubes in a blender or cocktail shaker. Blend or shake well. Taste and add more lime juice or Triple Sec, if desired. Pour into the frosted goblets and serve.

*The egg white sustains a foam on top of each margarita, which is very attractive.

VARIATIONS:

Combine fresh lemon juice and lime juice for a delicious, if unconventional, margarita

Imperfect or “walk home” Margaritas: For less strong margaritas, reduce tequila to 3 ounces.

Frozen Margaritas: Keep adding ice and blending until mixture is somewhat firm or to desired consistency.

FLAN CARAMELISADO

Years ago, my Mexican aunt shared this, her favorite flan recipe. It is fool proof if you carefully follow the instructions and it is so delicious.

Yield: 4 – 6 servings

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided

6 eggs

3 1/2 cups milk

1 cinnamon stick, preferably canela or Mexican cinnamon

1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla

Cold unsalted butter, for buttering custard cups

1. Caramelize ½ cup sugar in a small skillet over medium high heat, stirring constantly until sugar is melted and browned. Pour immediately into the bottoms of 10 to 12 well buttered 4 ounce custard cups.

1. Beat eggs until well mixed with a simple whisk. Gradually add the remaining cup of sugar, beating after each addition to dissolve the sugar. Do not beat until foamy.

1. Heat the milk with the cinnamon stick until warm. Add milk to egg flan mixture, stirring to combine well. Add vanilla and stir to combine.

1. Pour into the caramel-lined custard cups. Set cups on a cloth towel in a 10 x 14 pan(or one large enough to hold the custards) of hot water and bake in a 350 F oven for 35 minutes, or until they are slightly bubbled up and barely jiggle when the water bath pan is shaken a bit. (I prefer to not insert a knife, as it will make a hole. However an inserted knife should come out clean when done.) Overbaking is a popular problem. Do not bake past the point of doneness. Allow to cool for at least three to four hours. To serve, warm slightly in the microwave (about three minutes) or in a moderate oven for about 20 minutes or until the liquid in the bottom has softened and they slide out easily. Then using a table knife, insert it against the side of each bowl and invert onto a small dessert plate.

Notes: One large flan can be made if preferred. It will take longer to cool and must be made one day in advance.

This recipe can be halved successfully.