Cafe Rio Salad, Blackberry Cobbler

Erik and Carissa chose Cafe Rio for their wedding lunch. I had been to the restaurant once before in Utah, but unfortunately they don't have them in Oregon. After the festivities, I decided to go online and see if I could round up some of the recipes. There were SO many variations! We were having the missionaries over for dinner, so I decided to try. We all really enjoyed how the salads turned out. Last night we even used leftovers like wraps, and took them on the road as we headed to the beautiful Columbia River Gorge for a hike. 

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Serve your copy cat Cafe Rio Salad in the following order:
tortillas*
shredded cheese, mexican mix
shredded chicken* or pork*
black* or pinto beans
cilantro lime rice*
shredded red and green leaf lettuce [Cafe Rio said they used romaine, after trying both I liked it better]
fresh Parmesan cheese [use crumbled Mexican cheese, like Cotija]
pico de gallo*
guacamole
fresh cilantro
fresh lime slice
tomatillo dressing*
tortilla strips*

Sweet Pork

1-2 lb. pork tenderloin or inexpensive pork carnitas [we used tenderloin]
1 c. brown sugar [I added an extra 1/4 c. later as it wasn't sweet enough]
2 c. fresh salsa [I used peach salsa brought to us from Georgia...Yum! Thanks Morgan and Jason!]
1 T. cumin
1 clove garlic, minced
Mix sugar and salsa, pour over pork. Cook in crock pot for 8 hrs. on low. When done shred with two forks and return to juice in crock pot and allow liquid to absorb. Serve with tortillas and all the fixins! [I had to add a little more liquid to this at the end.]



Black Beans
2 T. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced

1 t. ground cumin

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1-1/3 c. tomato juice
1-1/2 t. salt [I used less]
2 T. fresh chopped cilantro
In a nonstick skillet, cook garlic and cumin in olive oil over medium heat until you can smell it. Add beans, tomato juice, and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving stir in the cilantro.

[this was way too juicy, i had to drain it. I'd use less juice next time]

Shredded Chicken
5 lbs. chicken breast, boneless, skinless
1 sm. bottle zesty italian dressing
1 T. chili powder
1 T. cumin
3 cloves garlic, minced
Mix all ingred together in a large crock pot. Cook on high for 5-7 hours. Remove chicken and shred. Reserve a small amount of juice and pour over shredded chicken. Keep warm.

Cilantro Lime Rice
In a saucepan, saute:
2 T. butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
In a large pot, bring to a boil the following:
6 2/3 c. water
8 t chicken bouillon
1/2 bunch cilantro chopped
2 t. cumin
2 sm cans diced green chilies [I used one can]
1 T. lime juice
1/2 t. pepper
3 c. rice [use long grain, not sticky rice]
In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15–20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice.

Pico de Gallo
4 fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 white onion, chopped
1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t. lime juice
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
Mix and serve.

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing
1 pkg Ranch Dressing mix
1 c. buttermilk [I soured milk with lemon juice]
1 c. mayonnaise [can you believe i put this in Mom?!]
1 to 2 tomatillos
1/2 to 1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 to 1/3 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 t. lime juice
1/2 to 1 small jalapeno, seeds removed
Combine in blender.

Flour Tortillas

• 3 c. flour

• 1-1/2 t. salt

• 
  

  2 t. baking powder

  3/4 c. shortening
  3/4 c. very hot water
  
  

• In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder together. Cut in the shortening with your fingers or pastry cutter until the flour is crumbly. Add the water and mix until the dough comes together. Place on a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes until smooth and elastic. Place in bowl, cover with a slightly damp dishtowel and let sit for an hour. Divide the dough into 5-6 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball (if you are making soft taco sized tortillas, divide it into 10-12 pieces).
Preheat a large skillet or pan to medium-high heat. Use a well-floured rolling pin to roll a dough ball into a thin, round tortilla (if you want it perfectly round, get a large round plate or serving platter, flip it upside down over the dough and cut out the circle). Place into the hot skillet, and cook until bubbly, golden, and no appearance of doughy-ness, about 1 minute (DON'T OVERCOOK.. remember these are supposed to be soft flour tortillas, you don't want them to be crispy); flip and continue cooking until golden on the other side. Place the cooked tortilla in a tortilla warmer or on a large plate, covering with a slightly damp towel. Repeat with remaining dough.

Tortilla Strips
10-12 corn tortillas

oil for frying

Kosher salt


Cut tortillas into strips using a pizza cutter. You can cut 2–3 at a time pretty easily. Heat oil in a large frying pan. Place strips into hot oil and fry until they become crispy. When nice and crispy, remove from oil and place on a paper towel. Sprinkle with salt after each batch.



Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette [I have not tried this yet, but want to]
2 tomatillos
1/2 bunch cilantro
2 cloves garlic
1 T. diced jalepeno (canned )(use less if you don't like it spicy at all)
Juice of 2 limes
1 T. sugar
1 c. balsamic vinaigrette (we used Kraft)
In a food processor or blender, combine tamatillos, cilantro, garlic, jalapeno, lime juice, and sugar. After it is all blended up well combine with balsamic vinaigrette in an airtight container and refrigerate for at least 2 hours (overnight is best).

(comments in parenthesis are from the original recipe)
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I haven't posted any pictures of the Oregon reception yet on our family blog, but here is the recipe we used to serve with vanilla ice cream at the party. It's more like a buttery cake with berries on top. We used half blueberries and half blackberries, all picked fresh locally by us or friends. And here's a darling picture of Carissa for a treat too!


9.28.2010 update: You can click here to see Oregon reception pictures. And there are links to the rest of the [posted!] wedding pictures at the bottom of that post.

Blackberry Cobbler
1 stick butter
1-1/4 c. sugar
1 c. self-rising flour

(or substitute 1 c. flour,1-1/4 t. baking powder, 1/8 t. salt)
1 c. milk
2 generous cups blackberries (frozen or fresh)

Melt butter in a microwavable dish. Pour 1 cup of sugar and flour into a mixing bowl, whisking in milk. Mix well. Then, pour in melted butter and whisk it all well together. Butter a baking dish. Rinse and pat dry the blackberries. Pour the batter into the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle blackberries over the top of the batter; distributing evenly. Sprinkle 1/4 cup sugar over the top. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until golden and bubbly. (one of my wedding bakers said 1 hr. 14 min. was the perfect time for her oven for the double—9x13" pan). If you desire, sprinkle an additional teaspoon of sugar over the cobbler 10 minutes before it’s done. 8 servings. (makes approximately 8x8" pan or round tart pan/casserole; double for 9x13" pan)

by Dee, wife of Barbara's son Scott,

for Carissa, wife of Barbara's grandson Erik