Eva's Kitchen - Eva Longoria Parker [47]
MAKES ABOUT 16 TORTILLAS
2 cups masa harina
¼ teaspoon table salt
1¼ cups hot water, plus more as needed
1. In a large bowl, place the masa harina, salt, and hot water. Mix with a spoon or your hands until a soft but not sticky dough forms, about 2 minutes. If the mixture seems too dry when a small handful is squeezed together, add more water one tablespoon at a time.
2. Scoop out pieces of dough and roll them into balls about the size of a Ping-Pong ball. Place the balls on a baking sheet or large platter and cover them with a damp cloth while you work to keep the dough moist.
3. Line a tortilla press with plastic wrap. Set the press next to the stovetop.
4. Preheat a comal, skillet, or griddle over medium-high heat until hot.
5. Working with one ball at a time, place each ball on the press between the sheets of plastic wrap. Use the handle to press and flatten the ball into a disk 5 to 6 inches in diameter. Open the press and peel the tortilla off the plastic wrap.
6. Place the tortilla on the skillet and cook until the underside is browned in spots, about 1 minute. Flip the tortilla and cook the other side 1 minute; the tortilla should puff up in the center.
7. Transfer to a cloth-lined basket and continue pressing and cooking tortillas, stacking them and keeping them covered, until all are cooked. Serve warm.
aunt elsa’s buttermilk biscuits
Aunt Elsa always had a huge container of biscuit mix in her freezer, so whenever she needed biscuits she would scoop some out, add water or buttermilk, and have a batch baking in just a few minutes. When I was a kid, it seemed like magic. I was an adult when she brought me my first container of mix and I realized that this magic powder was in fact her own version of instant biscuit mix! Sometimes I mix up 3 or 4 times the recipe and store it in the freezer so I, too, can make magic biscuits. Tender and flaky, they are best straight out of the oven. The baked biscuits don’t store well, but I’ve rarely had any leftovers!
MAKES ABOUT 2 DOZEN
5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and rolling
3 tablespoons baking powder
1 heaping tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon table salt
1 cup very cold shortening, cut into ½-inch pieces
2 cups buttermilk, plus more as needed
Butter, for serving (optional)
Honey, for serving (optional)
1. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 425°F.
2. In a large bowl, place the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Whisk together until well blended. Add the shortening and use your hands or a pastry blender to very quickly blend it into the flour until there are some pieces the size of small peas and some twice that size. If desired, you can transfer the mixture to a tightly sealed container and freeze until needed.
3. Add the buttermilk at once and stir just until blended into a sticky dough; if it seems dry, add more buttermilk 1 tablespoon at a time.
4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead with your hands 5 to 10 times, just until a ball forms. Use a floured rolling pin to roll out the dough ½ inch thick. Use a 2- or 2½-inch biscuit cutter to cut out as many biscuits as you can and transfer them to an ungreased cookie sheet; place them close together so that all of the biscuits will fit on one sheet. Gather the scraps together into a ball (handling the dough as little as possible). Roll it out to ½ inch thick and cut out as many biscuits as you can. Place them on the sheet; discard the remaining scraps.
5. Bake until puffed and golden on top, 15 to 18 minutes. Serve hot, and spread with butter and honey if desired.
banana bread
Nothing ever went to waste in my house. If bananas got too brown, we knew banana bread was on its way. In fact, I couldn’t wait for the bananas to go brown! I happily made my family’s recipe for years, until the day I tasted my friend Teri Hatcher’s banana bread on the set of Desperate Housewives. She’s our unofficial