This week on You Gotta Do This! I’m takin’ ya to my turf. The kitchen at El Gato Azul. Now, I’ve had El Gato for the past eight years or so, and I have to admit that I and most of our customers feel that we have the best Posole around. Don’t believe me? - Just ask my kids!

Posole is a great Southwestern holiday tradition for a lot of folks, hailing from New Mexico where it is traditionally served on Christmas Eve. Posole is a hearty soup, almost a stew I guess you could say, with rather simple and easy to find ingredients. It’s the combination of flavors - not the complexity of this dish that makes it so great.

Chicken, pork, red and green chiles and cilantro are the base, but hominy is what makes Posole... well … Posole. Hominy is a late harvest field corn that has been soaked in lye mixture. This treatment gives Hominy its’ distinct nutty flavor and hearty texture that holds up well in broth soups.

El Gato Azul Posole

Starting with a Medium Sized Stock Pot heat 3 T Olive Oil with:
¼ C roasted garlic cloves (I like the roasted garlic because of the sweetness it brings to dishes)
1 T fresh crushed garlic

- Sauté the above until heated and add:

8 oz grilled chicken – diced (I like the grilled chicken ‘cuz it adds more flavor to the dish)
8 oz pork carnita meat (You can use ham, but again, I like the texture and flavor of prepared carnitas)

- Sauté to heat through and add:

3 T diced roasted red peppers
3 T diced green chiles
1 T cilantro
2 T blackening mixture (we use our house blend, but it is basically a combination of oregano, cayenne, salt & pepper and cumin)

Next add:
1 quart hominy (You can find this at your local grocers)
2 quarts chicken stock (Do not add Water – use Veggie or Chicken Stock)

Heat to a boil and simmer before adjusting flavors for personal preference. If you taste and season too early, or before the flavors have blended, you're gonna end up with a soup that is either too salty, too spicy or too something else. Be patient.

When you are ready to serve your Posole, garnish with fresh finely chopped green cabbage.

You’re gonna love it!

Next, I’m gonna give you a great finish to your holiday dinner!

Banana Crepes with Dark Rum Caramel Sauce

Now, crepes are actually pretty simple, but … “you gotta be patient”.

For the batter:
In a medium sized bowl, combine:
1 C plus 1 T flour (Yeah I feel the 1 T is stupid, but trust me – it works)
3 eggs
½ C ½ & ½ or milk
- whisk until smooth and let it sit a few moments before adding:

1 additional C ½ & ½

- Whisk again until all the lumps are gone, and let it sit about ½ hour

Once you are ready to make your crepes, add 3 T melted butter to the batter

While your batter is resting, it’s time to make the Dark Rum Caramel Sauce. Now this part is actually pretty simple also, you just need to be patient and careful not to burn the sugar, or yourself.

Take heavy sauce pan, and add ½ C sugar – heating over medium heat.
Once the sugar begins to brown on the edges, begin moving the sauce pan in a circular mostion, finally mixing it together until melted with a wooden spoon.

Be sure to adjust the temperature to keep the sugar from burning.

Once e the sugar has melted and it is a nice brown color, remove it from the heat, and add:
2 T dark Rum

Be careful at this point to remove the pan from the heat before adding the alcohol so it doesn’t flame up and burn you. Once the Rum is added, the sugar will seize up and become hard again – continue stirring over medium heat until it dissolves again.

Once the sugar is liquid again add:
½ C heavy cream

Again the sauce will seize up again, but continue stirring once again until it is liquid.

Once your sauce is completed, store it in a pyrex or metal container and keep at room temperature until ready for service.

Now .. we’re on to the making the crepes (This seems like a lot of work, but it really goes quickly.)

Place a non stick sauté pan over a medium heat and heat evenly.

Add a bit of melted butter to the pan just to coat the bottom and pour off any excess. If the butter sizzles and begins to brown, your pan is too hot. Remove the pan from the heat, wipe the butter off with a paper towel and repeat the process.

Now add about 3oz of the prepared batter to the pan tilt the pan in a circular motion to coat the bottom of the pan. Begin moving the pan in a circular motion, and the crepe should begin to kind of “float” in the pan and lightly brown on the edges. Once this has happened – flip the crepe and continue to cook for a just a few moments before removing the crepe and stacking it between layers of paper towels.

You may lose the first couple of crepes until you get the heat correct – but once you do – the process goes rather quickly.

This recipe will yield approximately 15 – 18 crepes.

Now… the Banana Filling (We’re almost to the best part .. eating!) Simple, simple, simple.

Sauté Pan – heat moderately high heat
Add: 1 T Butter and melt
Add: 1 Sliced Fresh Banana
Sauté and then dust with 2 T Cinnamon Sugar Mixture
Sauté and removing from the heat, add 2 T spiced Rum and return the mixture to the heat to flame off the alcohol (be careful).

Continue to cook just a few minutes longer until the sugar begins to coat the bananas and the outside of the bananas get crisp – but they are still firm.

Lay our Crepe out flat on a plate, counter or paper towel and place the filling on the lower ¼ of the crepe. Now gently roll the crepe and place it on your serving plate. Drizzle with your caramel sauce, garnish with whipped cream and powdered sugar and … You are the hero! Congrats!

The crepes are really easier then the recipe may appear. But I wanted to give you a step by step build of the dish, not just the ingredients. After all, if you have never made crepes … An ingredients list will do you no good.

The above is considered either a MOP (method of prep) or Build Sheet. A build sheet is a recipe with all the details to combining ingredients and flavors, as well as tips on presenting the dish and things to look for while cooking.

The Posole recipe is fast, easy and delicious. The Crepes are easy and out of this world tasty. Both are something you gotta learn how to do and share with your friends and family this holiday season.

The only way it could be easier is if you came down to El Gato Azul at 316 West Goodwin, and let me make it for ya!

Have a great Thanksgiving!