Happy Patrick's Day! Irish Boxty

In honor of my Irish heritage and about a thousand years of family tradition, we are celebrating the lovely holiday of St. Patrick's Day! Scott, Anya, and I are all wearing green and for dinner we are having a traditional Irish-American dinner, corned beef and cabbage (one of my favorite meals), and some genuinely Irish boxty (bacstaí or arán bocht tí in Irish meaning "poor house bread"). I spruced up the corned beef and cabbage with some other Irish staples: potatoes, carrots, and onions.

St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, used to be honored by people wearing blue instead of green. That has changed, obviously. He preached Catholicism to the native pagan Irish and used the three-leafed clover to depict how the Holy Trinity is. Pretty clever, I think. While I believe that the godhead is made up of three distinct personages, they all do have one purpose, and I think that the clover depicts an LDS view of the Godhead just fine too.

Irish Boxty Recipe

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups grated raw potatoes

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup leftover mashed potatoes

1 egg

1 tablespoon skim milk

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup olive oil

Procedure

1. Toss the grated potatoes with flour in a large bowl. Stir in mashed potatoes until combined.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg and skim milk; mix into the potatoes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drop in the potato mixture, forming patties about 2 inches in diameter. Fry on both sides until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Serve warm.

I have also read that there are zillions of different ways to prepare these, from using different sorts of potatoes (garlic mashed potatoes, cheese mashed potatoes, etc.) to making them flatter like crepes and filling them with stuff (like beef and onions, lemon shrimp with a sauce) or just like this recipe except with stuff on top (one lady said that she always served them with ground beef and onions on top with chicken gravy). The main point is that there are tons of different ways to make this dish, but as far as I can tell, it's the Irish people themselves offering the recipes for the variations.

This particular recipe has been vouched for by MANY Irish people as "just like my mother/grandmother used to make" so I figure it's about as close as any to the real thing. It was found in a 1937 Irish textbook along with the poem:

"Boxty on the griddle,
boxty on the pan,
If you can't bake boxty
sure you'll never get a man."

Pretty fun, eh?

Beignets Recipe by Our Best Bites

Happy Mardi Gras! While Scott probably wouldn't ever let me cook up some crawdads (he's not a seafood sort of person), I would love to try these Mardi Gras pastries! Ever since seeing The Princess and the Frog, I have been on the hunt for some indication that these things are real. Last year, I stumbled upon more than just proof--I found the recipe! Thanks to Our Best Bites blog, I now have the recipe for these insanely simple and delicious puffs!

Beignets Recipe by Our Best Bites 
http://www.ourbestbites.com/2011/03/beignets-happy-mardi-gras/

Ingredients
 
1 c. whole milk
1/4 c. + 1 Tbsp. sugar, divided
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 tsp. table salt
3 1/2-4 c. all-purpose flour
1 scant tablespoon dry active yeast
1/2 c. warm (about 105 degrees) water
1 egg
Peanut oil for frying

Procedure 

1. In a small saucepan, combine the milk, 1/4 c. sugar, vegetable oil, and salt.  Heat over medium heat until small bubbles form around the edges of the pan.  Remove from heat.

2. While the milk is heating, combine the yeast and 1 Tbsp. of sugar with 1/2 c. water.  Allow to stand for 10 minutes or until it’s very bubbly.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the heated milk and 2 c. flour.  Mix, scraping the bowl occasionally, until smooth (about 2-3 minutes).  Add the egg and mix until well-combined.  Add the yeast mixture.  Add enough flour to make a soft dough that slightly sticks to your finger.

 
4. At this point, you can either place the dough in a bowl sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and cover with a piece of sprayed plastic wrap and refrigerate the dough up to 1 day or you can roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface.  Either way, when you roll it out, roll it into a large rectangle about 1/4″ thick.  Using a pizza wheel, cut the dough into about 3″x4″ rectangles.  Slightly separate the dough pieces and cover with a clean cloth.  Allow to rise for 30 minutes.

5. When the dough has about 15 minutes left to go, heat 2-3 inches of peanut oil in a large skillet or saucepan to 325 degrees (just use a candy thermometer).  When the oil is heated, fry the dough pieces for about 90 seconds-2 minutes per side or until they are golden.  Carefully remove from the oil and allow to drain on a paper towel-lined baking sheet.

6. Place some powdered sugar in a fine-mesh strainer and sprinkle the powdered sugar generously over the beignets.  Serve immediately.  Makes about 24-30 beignets.

Mamma Rosie's Apple Pie

"Okay so you finally harassed me and made me feel guilty....haha...just kidding!  Love you."

--Mom, in her email containing this recipe

I give you Rosie's Apple Pie! It is a bit different than your traditional apple pie, as it calls for golden delicious apples and cranraisins. Start out by preparing the pastry crust, and then move on to the filling.

Rosie’s Apple Pie

Pastry 9-inch Two-Crust Pie

Ingredients

2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening.

2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour

½ teaspoon salt

5 tablespoons or until pliable, Ice water

Procedure

1. Measure out the flour.  Cut the shortening into the flour and salt mixture.  

2. Add ice water in 1 tablespoon increments tossing after each tablespoon until dough makes a ball. 

3. Split in half.  Place half of the pastry on the board.  Roll out. 

4. Repeat with second crust. Bake as directed below (with filling).

Pie Filling

Ingredients

¾ cup brown sugar

¼ cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

6 cups thinly sliced golden delicious apples (about 6 medium apples)

½ cup cranraisens (optional but for a true Rosie pie they must be added)

2 tablespoons butter

Procedure

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees.   

2. Prepare the pastry as directed above.   

3. Mix sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.  Stir in the apples.   

4. Place apples into mixture and toss to coat evenly.  Let stand till the juices from the apples forms a sauce for the apples (5 min. approx.).

5. Line pie plate with bottom crust.  Place apples into the plate.  Dot with butter.   

6. Cover with top crust.  Cut slits into to allow steam to escape while baking.   

7. Bake until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble 40 to 50 minutes. 

8. Enjoy!

Two Hour Turkey

Don't have a full four hours to roast your turkey? That's ok. In this recipe, you treat a turkey more like a roasting chicken--don't stuff it, and cook it for a shorter amount of time at a higher temperature.

Two Hour Turkey

Ingredients
1 whole turkey, completely thawed if frozen
olive oil
salt
pepper


Procedure
1. Crop the neck of the bird, the wingtips, the tail, and any other bits of skin or fat that are hanging off the bird.
2. Rub a little olive oil over the bird, then add salt and pepper inside and out.
3. Put your bird on its side in the baking pan on a rack.
4. Roast at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour, then remove from oven and flip the bird so it is laying on its other side. Return to oven for another hour until bird is done. Turkey is done when the thermometer reads 180 degrees Fahrenheit and legs move easily when lifted and twisted.
5. Remove the turkey, then let the turkey rest for 15-20 minutes before carving. You can put a foil tent over it to keep the juices from evaporating.

Lemon Meringue Pie (with tips)

Probably the most difficult pie to make out of my three family favorites is the lemon meringue pie. If you miss a step, do a step wrong, or fudge it, the whole pie will flop. For instance, trying to skimp on sugar, or using something other than honest-to-goodness sugar (Splenda is a definite no-no), you will end up with soup. If you are not careful when getting the lemon zest and you get some of the pith (the white stuff), even a little bit will make your pie bitter and give you stomach aches. I HIGHLY recommend that you read this recipe thoroughly and be prepared before you begin. On the other hand, if you perfect this pie, you will have a mouth-watering, deliciously tangy pie that beats the pants off of any pathetic lemon-pie-impostor. So here we go!
Lemon Meringue Pie

Pie Shell

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose or unbleached flour

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoon shortening

4 to 6 tablespoons cold water

Procedure

1. In medium bowl, mix flour and salt. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost leaves side of bowl.

2. Gather pastry into a ball and divide into two parts, and shape into two flattened rounds on a lightly floured surface. Wrap flattened round of pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.

3. Roll pastry on lightly floured surface, using floured rolling pin, into circle 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate or 3 inches larger than a 10- or 11- inch tart pan. Fold pastry into fourths and place in pie plate; or roll pastry loosely around rolling pin and transfer to pie plate. Unfold or unroll pastry and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side and being careful not to stretch pastry, which will cause it to shrink when baked.

4. Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1 inch from rim of plate. Fold and roll pastry under, even with plate; flute. 5. Bake pie shell at 475 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Set aside.

6. Lower oven temperature to 400 degrees and proceed to the filling.

*Crust recipe and directions courtesy of Betty Crocker Cookbook, 10th Edition.

Pie Filling
Ingredients
For two pies, use the doubled measurements in red.
1 1/2 cup white granulated sugar (3 cups)
1/3 cup plus 1 heaping tablespoon cornstarch (2/3 cup plus 2 heaping tablespoons)
     Note: Don't skimp or you will end up with soup.
1/2 cup water (1 cup)
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten (6 egg yolks)
3 tablespoons butter (6 tablespoons)
about 2 tsp grated lemon peel (4 tsp)
     Note: You must have this for the right flavor. Use a microplane zester for best results, and finely zest the lemon before you squeeze it. Will probably take about three (six) lemons, which is about how many you will need for the juice.
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 cup)
     Note: Approx. 3 (6) lemons. Must be fresh.

Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a 1 1/2 quart saucepan, mix--NOT over heat--sugar and cornstarch first, then gradually stir in water.
3. Cook mixture over medium heat (not high), stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils, turning translucent. Takes about a half hour. Be careful, as it will be hot and popping.
4. Boil mixture for 1 minute while stirring.
5. For this next part, you need two people. Stir half of the hot mixture into your lightly beaten egg yolks. Spoon it in SLOWLY while stirring constantly. Keep the pot on the stove and KEEP STIRRING!
6. Take your new egg yolk mixture and spoon it all into the pot, slowly.
7. Boil and stir for 1 minute, then remove from stove.
8. QUICKLY, stir in the butter.
9. Add lemon zest and lemon juice, and keep stirring. Mixture will start to harden if you do this all too slowly and it won't be smooth, so stir, stir, STIR!
10. Pour mixture into prepared pie shells.

Meringue
Your meringue ingredients and tools should be measured out and ready before you even begin the filling.

Ingredients
For a 9-inch meringue. For two pies, use the doubled measurements in red.
4 egg whites (8 egg whites)
     Note: Egg whites must be at room temperature. If you get any yolk in the white at all, it won't work at all.
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (1/2 tsp)
6 tablespoon white sugar (12 tablespoons)
1/2 tsp vanilla (1 tsp)

Procedure
1. Beat egg and cream of tartar with electric mixer until foamy.
2. Beat in sugar, one tablespoon at a time (meringue will be gritty if you don't).
3. Add vanilla, then beat until mixture is thick and glossy. Don't overdo it as it will be dry, but don't underdo it either. Peaks must be stiff, but able to curl over a bit.
4. Spoon meringue onto pie, putting meringue up against the crust to seal the pie so that the meringue doesn't pull away from the crust when it cools.
5. Bake for 10 minutes.
6. Cool away from drafts or else the meringue will shrink, pulling away from the crust.

After all this work, enjoy your masterpiece! Or, if you didn't get it right the first time, try, try again. My mom spent an entire summer making pies til they were coming out of her ears so that she could become a master at making this pie.

Pumpkin Pie a la Peterson

What are the holidays without some pie? Our family has three different pies that we love: pumpkin, apple, and lemon meringue. This first post has the recipe for my mom's (and Grandma Peterson's) fabulous pumpkin pie, which has won all sorts of blue ribbons and whatnot. I must say, it truly is the best pumpkin pie I have ever tasted, probably because it tastes more like a light, pumpkin-y custard in a light, flaky crust than the dense, squash-y pies that most pumpkin pies are.

Pumpkin Pie a la Peterson

Crust

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose or unbleached flour

1 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoon shortening

4 to 6 tablespoons cold water

Procedure

1. In medium bowl, mix flour and salt. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost leaves side of bowl.

2. Gather pastry into a ball and divide into two parts, and shape into two flattened rounds on a lightly floured surface. Wrap flattened round of pastry in plastic wrap and refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.

3. Roll pastry on lightly floured surface, using floured rolling pin, into circle 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate or 3 inches larger than a 10- or 11- inch tart pan. Fold pastry into fourths and place in pie plate; or roll pastry loosely around rolling pin and transfer to pie plate. Unfold or unroll pastry and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side and being careful not to stretch pastry, which will cause it to shrink when baked.

4. Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1 inch from rim of plate. Fold and roll pastry under, even with plate; flute. Crust is now ready for the filling.

*Crust recipe and directions courtesy of Betty Crocker Cookbook, 10th Edition.

Filling

Ingredients

1 large can of pumpkin or 3 cups cooked fresh pumpkin

1 C Sugar

1 C Brown Sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

dash of ginger

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon allspice

5 large eggs

1 can evaporated milk

2 C + milk

Procedure
1. Prepare single crust for three pies.  Do not pre-bake the crust.

2. Mix all ingredients together in a extra large mixing bowl.  Cook at 400 degrees for 10 minutes then turn down temperature to 350 degrees and cook for another 50 minutes.

3. Pie will be done when butter knife is inserted in the middle of the pie and comes out clean.

4. Let cool in draft-free place, top with whipped cream, and serve.

Dad's Fabulous Thanksgiving Stuffing

Dad's Fabulous Stuffing

Pretty much anybody who has had my dad's stuffing agrees that there's nothing quite like it. No one makes stuffing like my dad. And the real kicker? It's totally different every year. According to Dad, he's had plenty of successes, but he's also had one or two flops, like the year he decided to do dressing like the real pilgrims would have eaten, with oysters and cornbread. But I cannot remember a year when the stuffing wasn't amazing.

I have asked my dad in the past to give me the recipe for his stuffing, and he just told me that there is no recipe. That's so ridiculously true that I don't know how I can do it justice here, but I'm going to try.

Ingredients

Bread, cut into cubes and dried
     Note: Don't do sourdough (stuffing turns out strange). Cornbread makes crumbly stuffing. French bread is good, as is challah egg bread. Sandwich and wheat bread works good too; but all wheat is heavy, and all white is mushy. A mix is best.
Onions
Celery/fennel (bulb)
Melted butter
About a pound of Italian sausage
     Note: Dad usually does some sweet Italian sausage and a couple hot Italian sausage, removed from casing. All hot is usually too hot for most people. He uses about 5 of the large links. Bear sausage is amazing, Dad says.
Herbs
     Note: Try one of these combinations: Poultry seasoning and bottled (dried) sage; garden herbs like fennel seads (toasted and crushed) and rosemary (chopped finely); fresh sage and rosemary; Herbs du Provence; oregano.
Other ingredients
     Note: Such as dried cranberries (Dad does this a lot), chestnuts, waterchestnuts, walnuts and raisins (a favorite of Grandma Peterson), pecans, dried cherries, other dried fruit, pinenuts. One year, Dad did Challah egg bread, sweet Italian sausage, roasted chestnuts, pecans, parsley, sage, chicken stock, butter, onion, salt, pepper, celery. This year, we did a specialty French bread with a bit of sandwich bread, fennel seeds (toasted and crushed), rosemary, sweet and hot Italian sausage, dried cranberries, chicken stock, butter, onion, salt, pepper, and fennel (bulb).
A couple of eggs
Chicken or turkey stock--more than you would think
Salt and pepper, to taste 

Procedure

1. Cube and dry the bread overnight.
2. Saute the onions and celery/fennel (bulb), then cook the sausage.
3. To your dried bread, add your miscellaneous ingredients, chicken or turkey stock, herbs, and salt/pepper. Taste it to get the right flavor.
4. Then add the eggs. Make sure that the stuffing is a bit moist when you put it in the bird so it doesn't dry out.
5. Add to the bird. Make sure it is hot enough when you pull it out of the turkey. If not, you will have to put it in a pan and bake it until it is done. Otherwise, it'll still have bacteria from the raw bird in it. 

Fennel Gratin

Dad has been experimenting with fennel, and I have to say that it's really an unsung hero of the vegetable world. It's like having a non-eye-watering onion and celery rolled up into one vegetable. Here is my favorite recipe that my dad has come up with so far.

Fennel Gratin

Ingredients

Fennel
Olive oil
Garlic
Onions
Water or chicken stock
Cream
Bread crumbs
Gruyere and/or parmesan cheese
Pancetta (optional)
Pine nuts (optional)
Parsley or basil or whatever

Procedure 

1. Slice the fennel into quarter inch slices, then saute in olive oil with garlic and onion. Pour in water or chicken stock, then put the lid on and let it steam.
2. For the bread crumbs, take a piece of dried bread, parsley, and the cheese and process them in a food processor until the mixture is crumbly--but not too small.
3. Put in baking dish mixed with a little cream and the pancetta or pine nuts if desired, and cover with bread crumbs. Sprinkle with gruyere and/or parmesan cheese.
4. Bake at 375 degrees until crispy brown and delicious.

Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta and Pine Nuts

This recipe is for brussel sprouts with pancetta and pine nuts, a dish that my family and I have grown quite fond of after a very long search for a brussel sprout recipe that we could handle. My dad has always loved brussel sprouts for Thanksgiving dinner, but the traditional sprouts in mustard turned everyone else's stomach. This recipe brings out the fresh, lively flavor of the sprouts without the sulfuric smells usually associated with them, and dresses it up for the holidays. I thought that I had already written this recipe down someplace, but just in case, here it is!

If you can find a stalk with sprouts still attached, get that. Brussel sprouts are best the fresher they are, and the stalk lets you practically have them straight from the plant.

Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta and Pine Nuts

Ingredients

Brussel sprouts, one stalk from Trader Joes

Pancetta

Pine nuts

Garlic

Onions

Olive oil

Procedure

1. To prepare the brussel sprouts, remove from stalk. Cut off the bottom of the sprout, then cut sprout in half. Cut out the triangle of white bitter stuff from each half. Then peel the leaves off and rinse with water.

2. Saute the chopped pancetta, garlic, onions, and pine nuts in a bit of olive oil.

3. Add the brussel sprout leaves and coat with the sauteed mixture. Cook until leaves are bright green and tender.

4. Serve hot or refrigerate for more of a salad (I prefer hot!).

Persimmon Pudding

My dad has been making this traditional English pudding for as long as I can remember, and I have fond memories of the spicy aroma wafting through the house around the start of the holidays. This last year, my dad's little persimmon tree started to bear fruit, and we made this pudding as a steamed pudding for the first time. Excellent! Both ways are great, but the baked pudding is more like brownies while the steamed pudding is lighter and more moist.

 

Persimmon Pudding

 

Ingredients

1 cup ripe pulp

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 cup chopped nuts

pinch of salt

 

Procedure

Dissolve soda in pulp. Add sugar. Sift flour with baking powder. Add to pulp alternately with milk. Add butter, vanilla, nuts, and salt. Put into greased baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or it can be steamed for 1 1/2 hours.

 

Vanilla Sauce for Pudding

 

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons corn starch

2 cups hot water

2 tablespoons butter

pinch of salt

About 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

nutmeg

 

Procedure

Stir corn starch into sugar thoroughly. Pour hot water into mixture slowly stirring constantly to keep from lumping. Add all other ingredients and bring to boil.

Grilled Lobster Tails

My dad loves food, and he loves grilled food even more. So one year, my mom, my sister, and I decided that we'd grill lobster tails for my dad on Father's Day. That was by far the most memorable Father's Day meal that we've ever done! Make sure that you leave the lobster tails alone and let them be until they release themselves from the grill before turning so you don't under cook them and make a mess.

Grilled Lobster Tails

Ingredients

4 7-ounce lobster tails
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons chives, chopped
1 tablespoon tarragon leaves, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Dash hot sauce, your choice
Olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Kosher salt
Lemon wedges
Chive sprigs, for garnish

Procedure

1. Preheat your grill to direct medium-high heat.
2. In a small bowl blend butter, chives, tarragon, minced garlic, hot sauce, and black pepper. Blend thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
3. Using kitchen shears, butterfly the lobster tails straight down the middle of the softer underside of the shell. Cut the meat down the center without cutting all the way through. Brush the tails with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
4. Grill lobsters cut side down over medium high heat about 5 minutes, until the shells are bright in color and lobster releases from the grill.
5. Turn the tails over and spoon a generous tablespoon of herb butter onto the butterflied meat. Grill for another 4 minutes, or until the lobster meat is an opaque white color.
6. Remove lobster tails from the grill and serve with more herb butter and lemon wedges. Garnish with chive sprigs.

Ideas for a meal:
Roast some red potatoes at the same time as the lobster tails, and spread herb butter on them. Serve with a walnut-apple green salad.

Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo! In celebration, here are two mouth-watering recipes from the Mexican Yucatan, around Merida.

Xnipek Salsa (Dog's Snout Salsa)

Pronounced roughly "schnee-peck," this salsa supposedly gets its name because it's so hot that it can make your nose run like a dog's snout. This fresh, fiery hot salsa or a close variation appears on most Yucatecan dining tables. Its flavor is best if eaten on the same day that it is prepared.  This salsa will keep for two to three days, if the cilantro is added at the time you serve the salsa.

Ingredients
2 fresh habanero chiles, stem and seeds removed, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 medium onion, either purple or white, chopped
1/3 cup bitter orange juice (see recipe below) or substitute 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Procedure
Combine all of the ingredients except the cilantro in a food processor and pulse. Set aside for a couple of hours to blend the flavors. Add the cilantro before serving.

Yield: 2 cups
Heat Scale: Hot

Pollo Pibil (Chicken Cooked in the Pibil Method)

This uniquely Yucatecan dish is available in nearly every restaurant that features local cuisine. Originally cooked over coals in pits dug in the ground, pollo pibil is most often baked in ovens these days. Some people have had great success in duplicating the pit method by using an inexpensive backyard smoker. Don't add any wood chips for smoke, but use a pan of water between the coals and the wrapped chicken to keep the chicken juicy.

Look for xcatic chiles, guero chiles and epazote at Latin markets or Internet retailers. The bitter orange is a rough skinned Yucatecan fruit that tastes somewhat like grapefruit with a hint of orange. A suitable substitute can be made by using this recipe. I find that using fresh squeezed juices produces the best results.  

Note: This recipe requires advance preparation.

Ingredients

Recado Rojo (Red Seasoning Paste)
1/8 cup ground annatto seeds
1 1/2 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
5 whole black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick canela (about 1/2")
2 whole cloves
1 whole allspice berry
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

Bitter Orange Juice Substitute
1/2 cup grapefruit juice
1/4 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons lime juice

Pollo Pibil
1 recipe Recado Rojo
1/2 cup bitter orange juice or substitute
4 chicken breasts, skin removed
1 medium onion, sliced
3 fresh xcatic chiles, stems and seeds removed, chopped or substitute fresh banana or guero chiles
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Banana leaves or aluminum foil
4 sprigs fresh epazote or substitute 1 tablespoon dried epazote

Procedure 

Recado Rojo (Red Seasoning Paste)
1. Place the annatto, oregano, peppercorns, salt, canela, cloves, allspice and cumin in a spice grinder or clean coffee grinder and process to a fine powder. Add the remaining ingredients and grind to a thick paste, adding a little water if the mixture is too thick.
2. Allow the mixture to sit for an hour or overnight to blend the flavors.

Bitter Orange Juice
1. Mix all of the ingredients in a non-reactive bowl and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours. Use within 24 hours.

Pollo Pibil
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Mix the Recado Rojo with 1/2 cup of the bitter orange juice in a bowl. Prick the chicken breasts with a fork and pour the marinade over the chicken. Marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 hours or overnight.
3. Saute the onion and chiles in the oil until soft.
4. Line a roasting pan with the banana leaves, place the chicken on the leaves, pour over the remaining marinade, and top with the onions and chiles. Place a little epazote on each breast.
5. Fold the leaves over, cover the pan and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
6. Serve this dish black beans and Xnipek (habanero salsa) for a truly authentic meal.

Yield: 4 servings
Heat Scale: Mild