Monday, February 16, 2009

Café Rio knockoffs - Pork, rice, beans, dressing


There's a popular restaurant chain called Café Rio which has some really great dishes. I've received several knock-off recipes - here are my favorites.

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

3 Tomatillos
1 c. cilantro, Minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. sour cream
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 pkt ranch buttermilk dressing mix

Husk and cut the tomatillos into quarters, put under a broiler for 7 minutes, then chop or mince. Mix together all ingredients in blender and chill.
My brother says he could drink this stuff by the quart!
Also yummy served on top of chicken breast salad.


BBQ Pork
2-3 lb boneless pork roast
1 bottle (4-5 oz) A1 Steak Sauce
1-2 c. chunky salsa
3/4 c. brown sugar
juice of 2 limes (6 T)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Blend all ingredients (except pork of course.)
Cook in crock pot for a very very long time. You can either cook pork first, and then add sauce for the last couple of hours, or cook entire thing together all at one time. I haven't noticed a difference between the two methods.


Lime Rice
1 c. white rice
2 T. chicken broth + broth to cook rice
1 T. fresh lime juice
1 T. garlic powder
1 T. dried minced onion
pinch of salt
1/2-1 c. chopped cilantro
1 T. fresh lime juice
1 c. green enchilada sauce

Combine first 6 ingredients in sauce pan, substituting broth for water, and cook rice according to package directions. When rice is done, stir in cilantro, lime juice and enchilada sauce.

Black Beans - Double or triple (etc) according to size of crowd
1 can black beans
1/3 c. tomato juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp cumin
2 T. oil
1/2 t. salt
2 T. chopped cilantro

In sauce pan, heat oil, cumin, and garlic. Throw in rest until warm.


To make the 'official' Café Rio salad:
One very large tortilla toasted with cheese and filled with: chopped romaine, lime rice, black beans, BBQ pork, pico de gallo, guacamole, chopped cilantro, lime wedge, Cotija cheese, tortilla strips (fried crisp,) and creamy tomatillo dressing.

No comments:

Post a Comment