Arizona Daily Star from Tucson, Arizona • Page 45

Tucson, Wednesday, February 23, 2000 rou(Q)Cf(S ..4 Section Page Seven-NW It WaUk lW nn7rrA7 iwvav. I I Charlotte Lowe-Bailey cradles a bowl of Photos by Chris Richards, Tne Arizona Daily Star Blue Corn Crusted Cabrilla that Janos Wilder prepared. Artwork by Theresa Smith hangs behind her at Wilder's Bar Here are some recipes from "Tucson Cooks! 60 Tucson Restaurants Share Their Favorite Recipes and Stories to Benefit the Primavera Foundation." It is available at the Primavera Foundation office, 702 S. Sixth Tucson, AZ 85701. Phone (520) 623-5111 BLUE CORN CRUSTED CABRILLA WITH RAINBOW POSOLE BROTH 4-7 ounce cabrilla fillets (may substitute sea bass) 12 ounces blue corn chips, ground 3 ounces chili powder (Janos recommends Hatch chili powder) Salt and pepper, to taste Clarified butter Rainbow posole broth 1 cup medium carrots, diced 1 cup medium onions, diced 1 cup medium celery, diced 1 quart rich chicken stock 4 ounces Mexican oregano 3 tablespoons fresh garlic 4 ounces each, red, blue and white posole, cooked Salt and pepper, to taste Garnish: Salsa fresca Lime wedges Cilantro leaves Nopalitos Serves 4.

Mix corn chips with chili powder, salt and pepper and roll fish fillets in mix, coating each fillet thoroughly. Sear all sides of fish in very hot skillet coated with clarified butter. Finish fish for about 7 minutes in a 400-degree' oven until fish is cooked to desired temperature. For broth: Saute" carrots, onion and celery until softened. Add garlic and oregano.

Cook a minute longer and add chicken stock. Add cooked posole, and nopalitos. Season with salt and pepper. Assembly: Serve fish in a bowl with about 6 ounces of posole broth. Garnish with salsa fresca, lime segments and cilantro leaves.

FOUR ONION BROWN BUTTER 1 small red onion, sliced Yi small yellow onion, sliced 3 large shallots, sliced 3-4 scallions, sliced Olive oil 1 pound butter, at room temperature Salt and pepper to taste Yields a 1-pound log of butter. Saute or grill onions, shallots and scallions in small amount of oil. Allow to cool. Finely chop. Brown xh butter in heavy pan over medium heat.

Solids in bottom of pan should be brown, not black. Strain butter and refrigerate until cool enough to work with. Blend brown butter with grilled onions and remaining butter. Mix by hand, or use mixer (not food processor) so that onions will stay chunky. Season and roll mixture into a log in parchment or waxed paper.

Chill. Unwrap and serve along with bread. The Dish Restaurant serves this butter with its selection of home-baked breads. See RECIPES, Page 8NW -air VmA Inn, asd rM I fenf I IdmmI um rA Kfn I 1 ft 1 By Charlotte Lowe-Bailey The Arizona Daily Star ooking with chef Janos Wilder is easy if Janos is showing i you what to do. Owner of the much-honored Janos restaurant and his new Bar, Janos offered to guide us you and me, Dear Reader, through his recipe for Blue Corn Crusted Cabrilla with Rainbow Posole Broth, found in "Tucson Cooks!" Janos, along with 59 other Tucson chefs and restaurant owners, shared a few favorite recipes in this new cookbook, the proceeds from which benefit the Primavara Foundation for the Homeless.

WeVe always wondered: What do chefs leave out of their recipes? What shortcuts and methods do they automatically use and assume the rest of us simply know? Work beside Janos and we shall see. First, we note that most of the ingredients are all waiting in little bowls and plates. The blue corn chips are already ground; the nopalitos already julienned; the three different kinds of posole already boiled. err11-1" 1 1 mrrroT? 4THE- PRIMAVEiM EVENT What: A fund-raiser for the Primavera Foundation for the Homeless, celebrating the publication of "Tucson Cooks! 60 Tucson Restaurants Share Their Favorite Recipes and Stories to Benefit the Primavera Foundation." Cookbooks: The book (University of Arizona Press, softcover, $22, limited-edition hardcover, $100) will be available for purchase. Dishes made from recipes in the book will be served.

Where: Pastiche Modern Eatery, 3025 N. Campbell Ave. How much: $25. Reservations necessary. Call 325-3333.

All proceeds go to the Primavera Foundation for the Homeless. These are the perks of having others to do the prep work. But already there are questions: Are the nopalitos (prickly pear cactus pads) roasted, canned? They re available in many local grocery stores, said Janos, and, for this dish, he uses the ones pickled in a little vinegar. Can you use blue cornmeal instead of corn chips? "No," he says, cornmeal will be too fine for the crust. The corn chips (that they fry up at the restaurant, from Mission tortillas), are ground coarsely in a food processor.

Coarse is defined by feeling the ground chips. No big chunks, but quite uniform (thanks to the food processor) bits of chip slightly bigger than coarse cornmeal. The three different posole, or hominy, broths were the inspiration for this dish that Janos invented for a dinner benefiting the Tucson-based Native Seed Search, which sells, among other desert-friendly foods and seeds, this product. He wanted to use the red, blue and the more conventional yellowish-white posole in a dish that he paired with cabrilla, a variety of sea bass from the nearby Sea of Cortez. Hominy isnt born in cans.

It comes dry and you boil it in water for one to two hours, Janos says. Just water, and salt, but remember to add salt toward the end. Otherwise, he says, "If you add it too early, the hominy will absorb the salt and become hard." A good tip for beans, as well. 1 Citrus reminder Chef Janos Wilder ladles Rainbow Posole Broth Now it's time for making the dish, starting with the salsa fresca, or fresh salsa, one of the five dozen used in his restaurant. This is their most basic salsa and often is added to make other versions.

Where does he get good tomatoes? His source is Harlequin Gardens, near Arivaca, in the summer months. In winter, he just gets the best available in mar kets. But fresh is always better than canned. The tomatoes are coarsely chopped, with skins and seeds. "I tried making it without the seeds, but it just didnt taste right for salsa," says Janos.

"This isn't FY-ench cooking. You're allowed. This is just glorified home See JANOS, Page 8NW 2L I Did you know? Brown sugar is a mixture of molasses and white sugar. Unless specified in a recipe, brown and white sugar may be used interchangeably. "550 Dark brown sugar is generally used for gingerbread, ginger cookies, baked beans and other dishes that call between the ages of 9 and 1 1 who excel in "mental strength, physical strength and strength of character." Sunny Delight will choose 25 from among the nominees to compete in a "TRY-athalon" in New York City in May, and one winner will get a $10,000 college scholarship (a savings bond that matures when the winner reaches college age).

Runners-up will get prizes, too, and all 25 will be able to convert points they earn in the TRY-athalon into cash for their schools. To enter a sterling example in the competition, an adult must compose a 150-word essay on the candidate's qualifications, put that together with a picture of the kid and official entry form and send them to Sunny Delight Strongest Kid in America Contest, co ARS, 43 N. Canal St, Chicago, IL 60606. Sandal English, former food editor at the Star, reminds us that ornamental or sour oranges are ripe for the picking. They are not, as you might have thought, purely for decoration.

There are a number of edible things you can do with them, to wit: Ornamental orange pie 1 baked pie shell Juice of 3 or 4 sour oranges QA cup) 2 eggs, separated 1 cup sugar Dash salt 2 tablespoons cornstarch Va teaspoon cream of tartar lA cup sugar To the strained juice, add enough hot water to make 2 cups liquid. Combine egg yolks, 1 cup sugar, salt and cornstarch mixed with a small amount of cold water. Then add the hot water-sour orange mixture. Bring to a boil. Let cool, pour into baked crust and top with meringue.

To make meringue, beat whites with cream of tartar until frothy. Add lA cup sugar slowly, beating continuously until egg whites reach the stiff-peak stage. Spread on filling, sealing edges, and bake at 400 degrees until light brown (about 10 minutes). This recipe is from English's book, "Fruits of the Desert," still available for $15.95 from the gift shops at Tohono Chul and Tucson Botanical Gardens. Or you can call Sandal at 795-3413.

Strongest Kid contest Makers of Sunny Delight juices are looking for a few super-kids. These would, be boys and girls Entry forms are available by calling (877) 543-7464 or visit the Web (www.sunnyd.com). 'Kids Balanced' drinks American Natural Snacks of St. i Augustine, is out with what it calls "the first-ever nutrition-packed, all-natural drinks created specifically for children ages 3-13." They call them "Kids Balanced" drinks. They look like milk, but aren't They taste like a milkshake, but aren't They are, according to their maker, "all natural, lactose-free, 99 percent fat-free and cholesterol-free" and conr tain 24 vitamins and minerals, soy protein, calcium, fiber and iron.

Kids Balanced drinks should be available soon at your favorite food store, in the fruit juice section. By torn Turner, food editor I tor a ncn, deep coior ana ncn moiasses navor. I The more subtle light brown sugar is better suited for I frostings, chocolate chip cookies and spice cake. Brown sugar may now be purchased as a granulated type. It is easy to use when needed for sprinkling on foods.

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