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Honey Chipotle Shrimp Skewers

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Grilled Sweet and Spicy Shrimp 2

I don’t know if there is an easier or more delicious seafood than shrimp, seriously. In less than 30 minutes you can grill, bake, sauté, or boil and add to a sauce (or not) of your choice and whoala, insta din din….I am certain you can easily claim chef-hood after any preparation of shrimp….that is, if it matters to you.

In our casa, we have it once a week (at least) and this simple preparation of honey chipotle grilled shrimp ROCKS, especially in the summer served with a guacamole greek yogurt dip as a side (or pop them into your mouth right off the grill like we do!) This way, who needs to even bother with the dipping sauce, just replace it with a crisp white or rose wine and you won’t notice.

Whatever you do, don’t let the soaking of the skewers deter you and if it does, just don’t use them…. instead grill in a metal pan with holes or use metal skewers. I promise these little gems taste the same whether on a skewer or on a grill pan, they are the simply the star of the show.

If you don’t like spice you will love these, the balance of chipotle and honey is perfection. You wouldn’t think a dish with 5 simple ingredients could be so decadent but it is and if you need a quick app, this is a sure winner. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t adore shrimp and if they don’t, maybe you need to question your friends…

So this weekend while the weather is warm and fall is just beginning, break out your favorite wine, fire up the grill, and enjoy these as a starter or a main…you’ll thank me later.

Honey Chipotle Grilled Shrimp Skewers
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Appetizer or Main
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • Shrimp Skewers
  • 1 lb peeled and deveined shrimp
  • 2 chipotles in adobo sauce, minced
  • 2 generous spoonfuls of the adobo sauce
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp honey
  • bunch of cilantro, chopped
  • wooden skewers
Instructions
  1. First, marinate the shrimp and soak the skewers in water. Combine the minced chilis, the adobo sauce, olive oil, and honey in a large bowl, and whisk to combine. Add the peeled and deveined shrimp, and marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, tossing occasionally.
  2. After the shrimp has marinated 30 minutes, thread the shrimp on the skewers, about 4 per skewer, making sure that the skewer pierces through the tail and head portions – this will help ensure that they do not swivel around when grilling. Heat your grill (or grill pan) to high heat, and grill the skewers, flipping halfway through cooking time, until the shrimp are slightly charred on the outside and are just barely opaque on the inside, about 2 minutes per side. Be careful not to overcook the shrimp, and remember they will continue to cook for a minute or so after you pull them off the grill.
  3. Top with cilantro and serve right away!

Grilled Sweet and Spicy Shrimp 1

Delicious Pork Posole!

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posole-pork-and-hominy-soup

Growing up in New Mexico, we ate posole all the time. It is especially popular as a dish during the holiday season, braised pork made from scratch and served with hominy and grandma’s homemade red chile sauce.

One of my favorite memories as a child was going to my friend Kathy’s house during the winter holiday break. She came from Mexican heritage and her grandmother always had the task of making the homemade red chile. Inevitably it would be snowing and after playing outside for hours making snow angels and sledding, we would come in frozen and soaked and sure enough there was always a change of clothes and a bowl of posole with homemade tortillas.

Years later I married my husband who is of Mexican decent and I was SURE he was a connoisseur of posole. Of course, before asking if he even liked it much less if he was a connoisseur, I had decided that I needed to become a master. On went the trials of perfecting the red chile sauce. Researching recipes, talking to grandmothers, I did it all and I was sure I was going to please my new groom.

I don’t remember how many chile pods I soaked and pureed nor how many aprons I stained but I do remember that as the date decended nearer and nearer, I realized I was never going to duplicate the heritage sauce and therefore would have to confess that afterall, I really wasn’t a master of posole….

After my last attempt, I slumped on the floor perplexed, I mean seriously, can it be this hard? There has to be something that the grandmother’s left out, was it an ingredient? Cooking time? Love? What was it? I guess at this point, it was a bit late to figure it out.

With my head down in a bit of shame, I went into my husband and got down on my knees and asked for forgiveness. He looked perplexed and a bit panicked really and then I blurted out that I WASN’T a master of his favorite dish and dropped my head on his knee in despair.

He breathed the biggest sign of relief (I guess I didn’t think he might have thought something WAY worse), he began to giggle and then break out into a belly roar. He announced that he wasn’t either, his mother didn’t make posole, and he didn’t like anything that was hot or spicy. OMG, seriously? I could have saved all those chile pods, aprons, and frustrations if I would have asked? I never would have thought that any person from Mexican heritage wasn’t a master of posole…..First lesson ask, second lesson don’t assume.

I decided in that moment that I had an opportunity. Instead, since I hadn’t perfected the red chile sauce much less even attempted the home made hominy, I was going to CREATE my version of posole and win my husbands heart, forever. Perfect.

With that motivation, this is the recipe I came up with. It is a more of a soup than traditional posole.  It is simple with bold flavors and uses both red and green chile. The only improvement that can be made to this dish is to use homemade stock, which is what I usually do.

Delicious Pork Posole!
 
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This is the simplest but BEST posole recipe, hearty and flavorful and gets better after a day or two.
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Mexican
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 2 lbs pork stew meat
  • 1 sweet onion, diced
  • 8 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 T dried oregano
  • 2 T New Mexico red chile powder
  • 10 ounces New Mexico green chiles, mild or medium, diced (can used canned if can't find fresh)
  • 2 - 28 ounce cans of hominy, white or yellow
  • 4 quarts low sodium chicken broth, preferably home made
  • sea salt and pepper to taste
  • Garnishings:
  • green cabbage
  • scallions
  • radishes
  • queso fresco
  • avocados
  • cilantro
Instructions
  1. Cut up meat, onion, and garlic. Peel, seed, and chop green chiles, if fresh. In a large dutch oven over medium heat, add, pork, onion, garlic, oregano, and red chile. Add 1 cup of chicken broth and cook until pork is a little "charred" and liquid has evaporated, about 30-40 minutes. Stir often and salt and pepper to taste.
  2. Add green chiles, hominy, and rest of chicken broth and bring to boil. Simmer over heat for 2 hours or until pork is really tender. Season more if necessary.
  3. Serve in large bowls and top with desired toppings