12 Days of Home for the Holidays Welcomes Kathy Cano-Murillo


 Kathy Cano-Murillo 
CraftyChica.com

Spreading the Spicy: How I mastered my dad’s red chile sauce recipe!

Growing up, one holiday tradition that never wavered was my dad’s tamales.  While everyone else was shopping on Black Friday, my dad was already prepping the masa and red chile for his quest to knock out 30 dozen in a weekend.  This continued all the way into my adulthood, even my kids could see him work his magic and even help.

I never imagined Christmas without my dad’s tamales.  But when he passed away from cancer in summer 2009, such was the case.  But when December rolled around, I had to make a decision to let the season pass and mourn, or do my best to pick up where he left off.  I went for the latter!

One problem. I am a horrible chef. Under my dad’s training, I tried for years to master his method of tamale making, but always failed.  The red chile sauce, I nailed that.  But mixing the masa so that a drop of it floats in a glass of water? Not so much.

My solution was to focus on my strength – the red chile sauce.  I rolled up my sleeves, slid on my plastic gloves, and deseeded dozens of chile pods.  I blasted the music of Mexican songstress Lola Beltran and whipped up sealed jars of my dad’s famous red chile sauce.

Christmas day, I passed them out to my family members so they could use the sauce whatever way they wanted.  I loved the metaphor of us each taking a little part of him and blending his spirit – and yummy recipe – into our food.

While my dad used to tease me about my lack of cooking skills, I know this is one time when he sent me a wink of approval from Heaven!

Dave Cano’s Red Chile Sauce
3 bags of hot New Mexico dried chile pods
3 bags of medium New Mexico dried chile pods
Pot of boiling water
Six cups of beef broth
Blender or food processor
Strainer
Plastic gloves
Flour
Pan and spoon
Salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Wear the gloves and one-by-one, remove the stem of each chile pod, open it and scrape out the seeds into the trash.
2. When you have them all deseeded, put into the pot of boiling water and cook until they are all softened.
3. Set up the blender or food processor and still wearing the gloves, fill the blander ¾ full of the pods. Add in a cup of the beef broth and salt and pepper.
4. Liquefy.
5. Pour the sauce through the strainer into a large bowl or pitcher.
6. In a large sauce pan, add 1./2 cup of flour and a bit of oil and heat on medium low to create a paste. It should be creamy, add more oil if needed. This will thicken the sauce.
7. Slowly add in the red chile sauce and mix thoroughly. You may need to do this step in batches because there will be a lot!
8. Now you can do whatever you want – pour it over tamales, add in shredded beef, etc.

Kathy
CraftyChica.com
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Tip of the Day
Understand your camera…and aperture. The first thing I always tell an aspiring photographer is to read their camera manual. Whatever camera you have to be able to use it to its fullest potential you have to be able to understand what the cameras capabilities are. My favorite setting to adjust is the aperture. Just a note explaining aperture- The larger your aperture (like f/1.4 or f/2.8) the more depth of field you’ll have- meaning your subject will be in focus and background, if it’s farther away in distance from you, will be blurrier. Check it out on your camera. 

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Comments

  1. Great family tradition. Thanks for the recipe

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  2. I read your blog in reader recently. That wrapping paper wreath was cute. Follow u on FB too

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  3. Hi, Kathy. My Dad was also an awesome cook. I enjoyed your story of your Dad. He is is happy that you followed in his footsteps making his sauce. :)

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  4. what a nice tradition for you to continue - sounds yummy, too!

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  5. LOVE! We love to bake goodies from recipes of some of our loved ones that are no longer with us. Love this one, and I bet that sauce is amazing with all the love that goes into it. :)

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  6. Kathy what a lovely tradition. I like that you focuse on your strength. I grew up with tamales and pasteles but I can not make them eather. Cute jars!
    Feliz Navidad!

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  7. Dear Kathy, I "LUV" your "FUNNESS" to your crafting!
    The bright colors really appeal to me! I followed you on all your sites....So FUN!

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  8. Michelle Salazar12:10 PM

    I love this recipe thanks so much for sharing it ! I married into a Mexican family and it took me years and years to figure out how to make those special foods for my DH. Because of course the recipes were all handed down and never written down and not all of us had the same size hands! It was an adventure but one I still treasure to this day!

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  9. Yumm-O Kathy! I'm writing this one down and I'll see if I can make my version edible. lol (I'm a TERRIBLE cook. But I like to try!)

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  10. Anonymous1:26 PM

    My husband loved hot food - the hotter the better. I wish he was still here so I could make this recipe for him. Glad to see traditions being passed down in your family. thanks for sharing.

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  11. Gloria L.1:36 PM

    Lots of love goes in to this recipe! Thanks for sharing!

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  12. When we lose a loved one, we lose so much of what we assumed would always be there. Love the story and recipe. You did your dad proud I am sure

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  13. Your Dad's recipe sounds yummy! I will have to make this for my spice loving hubby! He will be in his glory!! Thanks for sharing it with us!

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  14. I am following Kathy's blog via email!

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  15. I already follow Kathy on Facebook!

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  16. I subscribed to Kathy on youtube!

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  17. I am following Kathy on Pinterest!

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  18. I like and have thanked G45 on Facebook!

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  19. I like and have thanked Hydrangea Hippo on Facebook!

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  20. I like and have thanked May Arts on Facebook!

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  21. I like and have thanked Core'dinations on Facebook!

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  22. I like and have thanked Stampington and Company on Facebook!

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  23. I like and have thanked Darkroom Door on Facebook!

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  24. I like and have thanked Blue Fern Studios on Facebook!

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  25. I like and have thanked X-acto/Elmers on Facebook!

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  26. I like and have thanked Buttons, Galore and More on Facebook!

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  27. Color me crazy! Until today I have thanked each sponsor individually on Facebook(typing a blurb each time) for sponsoring the giveaway. Today I finally got smart and comprehended your info about copy/pasting this~12 Days of Home for the Holidays / D's Paper Studio sent me.~ So today, that is what I did! :-)

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  28. I am sure your dad is very proud of you! What a wonderful recipe and tradition.

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  29. I follow Crafty Chica on Instagram!

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  30. Oh wow, your post had me craving tamales!! What a warm and heartfelt post from you Kathy! Love hearing about family traditions.

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  31. Following Kathy on FB!

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  32. Following Kathy on Pinterest!

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  33. Kathy,I just love your idea of you making your dad's sauce & passing it around to family memebers. What a treasure they recieved. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

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  34. What a fabulous family memory/tradition you have of your dad...and a wonderful way of sharing a part of him over the holiday and with us.

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  35. It's so amazing that you carried on this tradition in memory of your father. :)
    - April W

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  36. I use to be able to make my own tortillas with Masa-but over the years I have lost that skill. I love how you carried on your Dad's tradition in your own way.I hope some of my boys do the same when I am gone.

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  37. I like Cathy on FB.

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  38. I follow Cathy on Pinterest.

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  39. Wonderful recipe! Loved this post!

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  40. I already followed Core-dinations and I thanked them for helping to sponsor D's 12 Days of Christmas on FB.

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  41. awesome tribute to her dad!!!

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  42. Anonymous10:02 AM

    Kathy, may your Christmas be warmed by these beautiful memories.. Becky J abcjones@comcast.net

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  43. I love that you are carrying on your Dad's tradition.

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  44. this recipe sounds great thanks for sharing

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  45. Read?! A Manual?! Yes, I know I should do this and practice more with the manual settings. Thanks for the tip

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  46. Great memory and way to honor your dads tradition.

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