Don't Forget the Burros, Grandma

I'll be going down to Phoenix in June. Call me crazy but I love summer in the Valley of the Sun. August is actually the best time to go, especially if you love a good thunderstorm. The monsoons in the Valley are unparalleled. All the thunder and lightening without all the rain.

Anyway, in my family, it is totally unacceptable to be in Phoenix without making at least one stop to a restaurant that is iconic in family fokelore. Jordan's. My dad, grandfather Kent and uncle Steve had a father/son CPA firm going on and they did the books for Jordan's. That and the fact that it was about three blocks from our house on W. Virgina Ave, we went there quite often.

There's one favorite story my mother tells that may shed quite a bit of light into why I love Mexican food. It's in my genes. When I was born in New York, my grandmother Laverne flew out to see little newborn me. On the way to the airport, she stopped at Jordan's and filled her carry-on bag with green chile burros (no, not burritos!). I'm told the smell permeated the entire cabin on the long flight east. To our family, Jordan's is a place that proves that what we consider "Mexican" food is as gringo as it gets. We try to imitate Jordan's at home as much as we can whenever we get the cravings for good Mexican food.

Sadly, the original Jordan's on Central and Virginia has closed because of construction of the light rail line going down Central Ave. But there's still the one on Bethany Home Rd and 7th St.

So, here I am in Utah. Lovely people, but like I've said before, sometimes a little deprived. Luckily, being in the restaurant business, I have access to people who know first hand what Mexican food should be like.

The other day, one of my cooks brought in some stuff to make himself some lunch. He took threemedium sized tomatoes, half a white onion, and a couple cloves of garlic. He boiled all of this in about a pint of water. He then took about a dozen dried red japones chilies (about the size of serranos but milder) and sauteed them in a little olive oil until they started to sweat and get darker. He then toasted some pine nuts and almonds, about 1/4 cup each and a couple tablespoons of sesame seeds. He then drained the tomatoes, onion and garlic and pureed everything together, using a little of the boiling liquid to thin it out a little.

All I could say was,"wow". It was incredible! It was great as a dip or as a mole-type sauce. It would probably be great with huevos ranchero.

I'm going to make it again and try and take pictures so you can see. Also, I'm working on getting videos as well. Next time - St. Patty's Day!