FORGOTTEN RECIPE FRIDAY

I did not post a Friday Recipe last week since I was at First Monday in Canton. However, I have a special treat for this week. As I mentioned in my last post, I did find a few cookbooks in Canton to add to my collection. I was very excited to find "The El Chico Cookbook". Now there are still a few El Chico Restaurants around, but they can be hard to find. Let me give you some background information so that you can understand why El Chico holds a place in my heart.

My husband and I hated Mexican food of any kind when we were children. We connected Mexican food to our Mother's tacos. Both of our mothers bought those hard shell tacos that came in a package, added ground beef to them and baked them in the oven. Can you say gross? As teens, Monterey House was as good as it got for us. Then El Chico came on the scene. It was Tex-Mex at it's finest. They featured Quesadillas, Chilies Relleno, Mole Sauce, Empanadas and Flan before there was a Pappasitos.

I dug this El Chico cookbook out of a pile of books on a shelf from a vendor that had tables full of, well, junk. This cookbook is from the 1970's. Since I missed posting a recipe last Friday, I will post two today.

The first recipe is for regular cheese nachos. My husband and I recently were complaining that Mexican Food restaurants seem to have forgotten how to make plain, old fashioned nachos. They pile them high with meats and Guacamole. There is nothing better than the simple nachos from the 1970's. Simple can be better.  Here is El Chico's recipe.

REGULAR CHEESE NACHOS

Grated Cheddar Cheese
Corn or Flour Tortillas

Spread grated cheddar cheese over tortillas cut into the shape of triangles. Place in oven at 375 degrees until cheese is melted. It takes 3 to 5 minutes. Place a small jalapeno pepper atop each nacho once the cheese has melted.

The next recipe is a favorite of my husband. It may sound different but it really is good.

MOLE SAUCE

2 cups Enchilada sauce
3 cloves garlic chopped very fine
1/4 cup chopped almonds
3 Tbs. peanut butter
1/4 cup cooking oil
3 tbs. chocolate syrup
2 tbs. sesame seed, pureed
2 tbs. coriander of fresh cilantro
Salt to taste

Saute the almonds in the oil. Mix all the other ingredients and add sauteed almonds. Serve over chicken or enchiladas.

Enjoy!