The restaurant chain Rio Bravo (now owned by Chevys) prides itself on never using anything canned in their kitchen--everything is made from scratch, everyday. As a result, the food is very fresh, very tasty, and one of my favorite places to eat. So, I was very excited to see last week that they have come out with a cookbook--lively writing and colorful graphics really caught my eye as I skimmed it during dinner, so I took a copy home. Ron and I invited a couple of friends to come over for Saturday night dinner to enjoy a Rio meal prepared in our kitchen. (Carnitas, Frijoles Refritos, Sweet Corn Tomalitos, Rio Bravo Red Rice, Salsa and Chips, Tortillas, and Flan--or, in translation, pork roast, refried beans, corn pudding, and caramel custard). We didn't make the tortillas, although Ron wanted to. I figured that we had quite enough to cook as it was.
Trial by Fire
We had decided to be organized (for a change) and get some of the cooking done the night before. The flan recipe said to prepare the night before, and the carnitas needed to marinate overnight anyway. I thought the beans could be cooked on Friday, then refried on Saturday. We went to the farmer's market and a Mexican grocery for the ingredients (including home-made tortillas) and cheerfully came home with grocery bags filled with goodiesBut, the best-laid plans...
The recipe for the caramel sauce specifies that you heat one cup of sugar and a sprinkle of cinnamon in a pan until the sugar becomes caramel, then add three tablespoons of water. I'd never seen a caramel recipe like this--usually you add the water (and more than a few spoonfuls), so I was a little hesitant. Which was wise, because after stirring and stirring to prevent burning, I had little lumps of hard caramel, and still uncooked sugar. A few more seconds, and I had a pan filled with burnt, unusable sugar. Determined not to let this ruin the experience, I put that pan in to soak, and started again. Meanwhile, Ron checked recipes in Julia Child's The Way to Cook, and chatted with his grandmother. Neither one thought that the Rio Bravo way was right. By this point, my sugar wouldn't do anything at all and I had gone beyond caring, so I cleared things away. Ron had set up the marinade for the pork, and spent an exhausting amount of time trimming off the fat. The beans needed to be soaked overnight before cooking, so they sat in water. Tired and frustrated, we called it a night.
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