Thursday, October 9, 2008

I am SO EMBARRASSED!!!! I meant to add a new post with the expanded recipes for Jared & Erica's fabulous Cafe Rio salad (we found the recipes at the following link and expanded them to serve 50 women, for our Super Saturday last October:

http://jaredanderica.blogspot.com/2007/11/cafe-rio-salad-with-shredded-sweet-pork.html. I hope that linked - I'm having some trouble with that tonight. Here are the recipe breakdowns:

JARED & ERICA’S
CAFÉ RIO SALAD WITH SHREDDED SWEET PORK

http://jaredanderica.blogspot.com/2007/11/cafe-rio-salad-with-shredded-sweet-pork.html

THESE ARE THE RECIPES EXPANDED TO SERVE 50 PEOPLE (hopefully)
(expanded by Geneva Heights 5th Ward, Utah)

SWEET PORK [for 50 people we made 8 batches]16 pounds pork24 cans Coke (NOT diet) [we, the 5th Ward used 7-up instead]10 cups8 dashes garlic salt2 cups water8 cans sliced green chilies6 cans enchilada sauce (I used Old El Paso brand, medium spiciness)8 cups brown sugarPut the pork in several heavy duty ziploc bags to marinade. Add about 12 cans of coke/7-up and about 2 cups of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight.Drain marinade and put pork, 4 cans of coke/7-up, water, and garlic salt in several crock pots or two large meat cookers and cook on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry). Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork.In a food processor or blender, blend cans Coke/7-up, chilies, enchilada sauce and remaining brown sugar (about 8 cups -- you can add a little more or less to taste). If it looks too thick, add more Coke/7-up little by little.Put shredded pork and sauce in crock pot[s] and cook on low for 2 hours. That's it! CILANTRO-LIME RICE [for 50 people we made 9 batches]9 cups uncooked rice3 tablespoons butter or margarine18 cloves garlic, minced3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice9 cans (15 oz) chicken broth9 cups water9 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice6 tablespoons sugar1 & 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantroIn a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 3 tablespoons lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine the 9 tablespoons of lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.
BLACK BEANS [for 50 people we made 13 batches, but it was a little too soupy. We recommend cutting back on the tomato juice – about 1/2 the amount]1 & 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons olive oil26 cloves garlic, minced1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon ground cumin13 cans black beans, rinsed and drained17 cups plus 1/3 cup tomato juice [try something like 8 to 9 cups instead]6 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon salt1 & 1/2 cups plus 2 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantroIn a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro. (**JARED & ERICA NOTE** we added a can of corn, drained, to the beans with a dash of cumin and chili powder, it was AWESOME! We recommend doing this even though it's not "traditional Cafe Rio")CILANTRO RANCH [We made only 2 batches for our 50 people but it wasn’t NEAR enough. Everyone loved the dressing and wanted a lot, and we ran out. We recommend at least doubling and probably tripling the recipe – 6 batches. The calculations below are for 6 batches]6 packets TRADITIONAL Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not BUTTERMILK)6 cups mayonnaise6 cups buttermilk12 tomatillos, remove husk, diced3 bunches of fresh cilantro6 cloves garlicjuice of 6 limes5-6 jalapenos (we like it SPICY so we kept the seeds in it, if you like it mild, just remove the seeds)Mix all ingredients together in the blender. That’s it!JARED & ERICA’S INSTRUCTIONS: ’K so now to make it all PERFECT... Here is how we put it all together: First of all, we bought the aluminum deep-dish pans (they had these at the grocery store, you will know when you see them … they look JUST like the Cafe Rio tins). Lay a tortilla in the bottom of the pan, sprinkle cheese on it, and put in the oven at 375 for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Remove from oven, add beans, rice, pork, then lettuce (we used the leafy green lettuce) and a little scoop of diced tomato and onions (pico de gallo). We made up some guacamole and put some of that on the salad (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). We also added a little spoonful of sour cream. Add some crushed tortilla chips (we have yet to find the little tortilla strips), a shake of Parmesan cheese, and top with a few cilantro leaves. Serve with the cilantro ranch dressing and there you have it!ERICA’S WEBSITE NOTE: It really is easier than it looks. It only took me about an hour to make (after the pork was in the crock pot). The rice and beans are SUPER easy -- you definitely want the beans and rice to get the whole experience! Also, be generous with the cilantro. Try it and let me know what you think! I KNOW you won't be disappointed!

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