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Collectors Corner!

 Ed Sandoval Gallery's Newsletter


102-B Paseo Del Pueblo Norte, Taos, NM 87571
edsandovalart@gmail.com
(575) 770-6360
Making Chile Caribe - New Mexico Style
In New Mexico, you probably see chile ristras hanging outside of adobe buildings. Often they are decorative, but in the old days they were NOT. They were meant to be cooked! Let me begin by saying this recipe is not for the faint of heart... It will take days, and you will cough, and sneeze, and if you don't wear gloves, your skin will burn... But, no pain, no culinary gain! This is how grandma made her Chile Caribe, and I'm sharing the secret.
Step One: Buy a Ristra and Hang It

This is VERY important: Make sure you buy a ristra that is NOT treated with any kind of preservative! In other words, make sure it has not been coated with any kind of spray or varnish, which they do if you just want to hang ristras as decoration.

For cooking, you need a FRESH ristra with plump, meaty, red chile peppers. I buy mine from a woman in Chimayo. Hang it outside to dry - three months or so. Look at it often and talk to it. Say it is a special ristra...with a delightful, delicious purpose...
Step Two: Pluck Chiles and Clean Out the Seeds

This is the most physically challenging part. It is deceptive how much these innocent looking red chiles will get you! Take my advice - wear rubber gloves and do this outside if you can (or wear a mask...).

Personal taste tip: The seeds are what makes any caribe HOT. If you want a milder caribe, remove all or almost all of the seeds. If you want a HOT caribe (be careful what you wish for), leave in a few or a lot, depending on what your palate can handle. Clean each chile in water and put in a tub. When you're done, call it a day. Have a drink.
Step Three: Start Cleaning Garlic

Buy a LOT of garlic and start cleaning the little darlings. You can do this at home or even in a parking lot! LOL. The point is that you are going to need a lot of garlic, if you like garlic, which I assume everyone does.

Caribe is basically just chile peppers, garlic, water and a bit of salt all ground together. Don't try to make enchiladas with ground chile powder. Yuck! You want the real thing, trust me.
Step Four: Clean Even MORE Garlic

Did I mention the importance of garlic? This step is a bit of trial and error because you may not know how much garlic to add, and I can't tell you (or I'd have to kill you LOL). I love garlic. For one ristra, I cleaned about 15 to 20 heads of garlic. You know how sticky garlic skins are and how it's almost impossible to peel them off of a clove? Yeah, there is no help for it. You'll just have to put in a few hours... but your sinuses will thank you! And the vampires will stay away from your home, so it's all good.
Step Five: Blend Garlic and Water

You will soak the cleaned chile peppers in garlic water for at least a night. Here's the trick: If you BLEND the garlic in water, and then pour the water over the chiles in your tub, they will soak in all that garlic goodness much better. You need to do this in batches because 20 heads of garlic cloves won't fit in a blender. So just wing it! Throw some water in that blender with some cloves, and pulse, pulse, pulse your way to a frothy, emulsified garlic-water thing.

Pour it all over the chiles in your tub and add a bit of salt. Leave it there for about 24 hours. Soak soak soak those yummy chiles! Do not be alarmed! It will be delicious!
Step Six: Bake Wet Chiles in Oven

In batches, take out some of your wet chiles and put them in a baking dish. Do NOT discard your garlic water... you will need that later. Bake each pan in the oven (350 degrees) for NO MORE THAN FIVE MINUTES. Why? It will intensify the flavor - sort of seals that garlic goodness in the chiles. An odd step, but it is worth the time.
Step Seven: Blend Chiles and Garlic Water

Now, again in batches, scoop up some chiles and garlic water and put in a blender. My grandma didn't have a blender so she did this part by hand, which I can't imagine. Let's be real and say that a blender is a wondrous invention! Use it. When you are done blending a batch, put ALL of your blended batches in a large tub and stir them around. That way all of your bags of caribe will be the same, and you won't have to worry if you put more garlic in one, or not enough garlic in one. Get the idea? Consistency my friends.
Step Eight: Put in Quart Freezer Bags

Your chile caribe is complete! Now you just need to divvy up your red, lusciousness and put it into freezer bags. Do you cook for just two people normally? Then maybe put a cup into each bag. Want to have bigger bags for dinner parties? Then maybe put two or even more cups per bag. There is no wrong answer. Maybe do some of both! The point here is that you want them to lay flat on something while they freeze (in your freezer) so they will take up less room. I stick mine in a box and freeze immediately.
Now the Grand Finale! Enchilada Recipe
Get out a bag of red deliciousness and thaw. Meanwhile, saute garlic (yes...garlic again!) along with diced onion (1/2 of a bulb) in some olive oil. Add 1-2 pounds of hamburger (or ground elk) depending on how much caribe you're using. Brown and drain the grease. Add your chile caribe and mix thoroughly.

Next, take masa (corn flour used to make tamales, etc.), blend the masa (1/4 cup or so) with water and add it to your caribe. The corn flour helps to thicken it, but it also adds a hint of corn flavor and helps to "smooth out" the spice if your batch is a bit hot. Your caribe shouldn't be too thick or too watery...add masa and/or water as needed to get it just right.

Prepare corn tortillas (need 3 for each person) by heating oil in a sauce pan and gently but QUICKLY fry on each side. Literally, only let them sizzle in the oil for 5-8 seconds on each side...just enough to get them soft and greasy. This will keep the corn tortilla from being "mealy" and dry... Place each one on a paper towel. Layer the tortillas and paper towels.

Assemble: Put two tortillas on a plate, and spoon on chile caribe (about 1/2 cup). Sprinkle with diced onion and cover with a lot of cheese...LOTS of cheese. I use a blend of Colby and Monterey Jack. Next, place the third tortilla on top, and press down with a spoon to make a dent. Repeat the steps by adding more caribe, onions and cheese! Put the plate in a warm/hot oven to melt all the cheese and get it bubbling hot.

For how to properly garnish (ha ha ha), watch my cooking video! CLICK HERE .
Pub Crawl - Some of My Favorite Bars
There are many wonderful bars in New Mexico, especially modern ones, but I'm drawn to the older, authentic, out-of-the-way, been-around-forever bars that are truly unique.

I've been in some cool bars in my life, but the Buckhorn tops them all hands down! It's no contest! Opened in the 1860's, you'd swear from the outside that it's abandoned and part of a ghost town. But walk inside....and you'll be transported back in time at least two centuries.
The ambiance of an old-time saloon and parlor is absolutely overwhelming, with an original bar, wood floor, velvet curtains hung in wooden cornice boards, a huge brick fireplace and boudoir paintings galore that line the walls.

And the live music and food are awesome too. We just kept looking around thinking "How cool is this place???" It almost felt like we were whisked away to Westworld. Truly historic, authentic and charming.

If you’re ever in Albuquerque and want to get to Santa Fe, do yourself a favor and take the Turquoise Trail Scenic Byway! This scenic drive (Highway 14) passes through the heart of central New Mexico. When I taught art at Los Alamos, I took my students on the trail to search for turquoise. Even today, you’ll see people stopped on the side of the road looking around on the ground. No, they didn’t lose their dog – they are looking for turquoise and finding it! 
Make sure you stop in Madrid because my #2 bar pick is The Mine Shaft Tavern. Madrid was a coal mining town, and right next to the bar you can also take an indoor/outdoor tour of the old coal-mining buildings and equipment. Gwen toured the place a few years ago (and loved it) because she's written about coal-mining literature in England and Wales.
The original tavern was built by the mining company around the 1890s. It burned down on Christmas Day in 1945 and was rebuilt in 1946. Lots of history here folks! You’ve got to see it. 

In fact, you may have already seen footage of this bar without realizing it…if you are a Longmire fan. The pilot episode was shot here! CLICK HERE for a short video showing Walt and Henry at the Red Pony (a.k.a. Mine Shaft Tavern). 

Jemez Springs is just beautiful. My family used to go camping there way back in the day. And as an added treat, you can visit the Los Ojos Restaurant & Saloon for an authentic western experience. Once again, when you enter this old building it feels like you are walking into a 19th century bar, which is not surprising since it has been in operation since then! Belly up to the bar for a local ice-cold brew.
The ceiling has those really old tin/metal squares complete with a couple of bullet holes. On the adobe walls you will see a vast array of heads (buffalo, elk, deer, etc.) along with antique guns, bear hides, bull horns, an old piano and other western trappings. There’s great food and even a stage for live music. I wish I could remember the name of the father-son musical team we saw…they were so good! This rustic western bar is worth the trip!
I have so many other favorites, and I know there are more out there to discover! I'll stop now, but here are a few other unique "honorable mentions" that I want to highlight.
La Posta de Mesilla: Mesilla, NM. This place is HUGE with over 17,000 square feet of shops, public and private dining, two Cantinas and a courtyard with outdoor seating.The La Posta Compound, originally dating back to the 1840's, is on the National Register of Historic Buildings.
The Owl Bar and Cafe: San Antonio, NM (near Secorro). If you want a green chile cheeseburger, this is the place to be! The Owl opened in the 1940s, and some early diners were scientists working on the Manhattan Project. It has a fabulous 25-foot mahogany bar and a wall of dollars pinned by customers and donated to charity each year.
The Gorge Bar & Grill, Taos NM. My only shout out to a modern bar is The Gorge, which is right across the street from my gallery. I go there pretty much every afternoon for a break from painting. Giant bar and super friendly staff (that's bartender Dale in the photo)!
Have You Ever Wanted a BIG Painting?

If you follow my Facebook Page , you know I'm dedicating 2020 to smaller paintings, and I'm even going to have a miniature show in late summer or early fall. But my walls are absolutely FULL! I literally do not have space to hang an 11" x 14" piece right now.

If you've ever thought about owning a big painting, call and we'll chat about a fabulous price! In addition to the ones below, other big paintings are posted on my website . You can contact me at 575-770-6360 or  edsandovalart@gmail.com . Thanks!
"Taos Mountain" (72" x 48")
"La Fonda de Taos" (56" x 44")
"The Dog Walker" (36" x 60")
"La Cueva Flour Mill" (48" x 48")
"Ranchos Winter" (39" x 63")
Hoeing the Garden (36" x 60")
Coyote Distrust
It has been snowing a lot this winter, for which I'm thankful, but I feel sorry for the coyotes that I hear (but rarely see) around our home. What can they possibly find to eat? What is out there besides maybe one stray rabbit?

I felt so badly that I have been putting leftovers out near the edge of the snow in the evenings, but the little guys don't trust my humanitarian intentions! They dance all around the plate of food, but won't eat it. Just look at all those footprints! They obviously don't trust me (or the food) and must think it's a trap!

I've decided to try leaving food without the plate - maybe it's the paper plate that is freaking them out? Maybe they will come back and give the scraps a try... Stay tuned.
Would you like to be a featured collector? If so, please send your personal story and photo(s) to edsandovalart@gmail.com.
Contact
Ed Sandoval Gallery  
 102-B Paseo Del Pueblo, Taos, NM 87571
www.edsandovalgallery.com | (575) 770-6360 | edsandovalart@gmail.com