Enjoy these recipes from the kitchen of Casa del Rio Bed and Breakfast in Abiquiu, NM, including some of our inn favorites and variations of traditional Mexican food and cocina Espanola.

Quesadilla (a Bed and Breakfast Recipe)

4 flour tortilla
1 cup refried beans*
(may use canned)
1 sm. cooked potato, cubed
1 cup cooked meat (may be ground,
cubed, or shredded beef, elk,
deer, pork, or sausage).
2 eggs well scrambled
2 cups grated longhorn cheese
1 cup red chili sauce* or
1 cup green chili sauce*
1 sliced jalapeno
Sour cream

* Recipes follow.

Preheat oven to 350°.
Arrange one tortilla on each ovenproof plate.
Carefully spread 2 tablespoons of refried beans on each tortilla. Sprinkle small cubes of potatoes over the beans and follow with meat and eggs. Spoon red or green chile over all and top with grated cheese. Bake in preheated oven until heated through, about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from oven and garnish with 1 tablespoon sour cream and a slice of jalapeno. Serve at once.

Serves 4

Refried Beans (a Bed and Breakfast Recipe)

1 pound pinto beans
1 medium onion peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon oil
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
Water to cover

Carefully pick over the beans to remove any rocks, rinse in water. Place beans in pot with baking soda, garlic, and enough water to cover the beans with about 3" of headroom. Soak over night. In the morning drain and wash the beans wash the pot and return the beans and the clove of garlic to the pot along with the onion and fresh water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 2 hours or until the beans are tender. Add salt during last half-hour of cooking. Heat oil in large frying pan. Ladle some beans into pan and mash with a potato masher, continue this process until you have as many beans as you wish to refry, (or you may ladle the beans into a processor container and process until smooth). Turn the heat low and heat until the beans are of a medium dry consistency. The beans are now ready for use. Refried beans may be used alone or with meat as a filling for burritos or they may be used as a side dish along with vegetables and salad or as a base for many New Mexican dishes.

Serves 6

The above sauce can also be made with meat. Brown about ¾ pound of cubed or ground beef, pork, elk, lamb, turkey, or antelope in a small amount of oil, drain excess fat, and proceed as above.

Red Chile Sauce (a Bed and Breakfast Recipe)

3 heaping tablespoons New Mexico pure ground red chili
2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
1-tablespoon oil
2 cups boiling water
1 tps cornstarch dissolved in
3 tps cold water
1 tps beef bouillon or miso
Pinch of sugar
Salt to taste

Have water boiling in a kettle. Heat oil in a heavy frying pan add minced garlic and fry lightly, remove pan from heat and stir in the chili powder (chili burns quickly, so be careful and watch closely). Return pan to heat and add the boiling water stirring all the while. Slowly bring to a boil, add a pinch of sugar, the beef bouillon or miso, the cornstarch and water, continue stirring until the chili thickens slightly, salt to taste. The chili is now ready to use. Red chili may be added directly to beans and eaten with tortillas. It may be used as enchilada sauce or served with fried eggs. As a soup it is referred to as a Bowl of Red.

Serves 4

The above sauce can also be made with meat. Brown about ¾ pound of cubed or ground beef, pork, elk, lamb, turkey, or antelope in a small amount of oil, drain excess fat, and proceed as above.

Green Chile Sauce (a Bed and Breakfast Recipe)

8 large fresh green chilies
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt to taste

Heat oven to 500°. Place chilies directly on oven racks and roast until the skins brown. Turn chilies over and roast the other side, being careful not to let them burn. Remove from the oven and place in a large bowl, cover with wet dish towel and let steam for about 45 minutes. Slip the skins off and remove as many seeds as possible. Place the chilies on a cutting board and dice; mix in the garlic and salt to taste. BE CAREFUL NOT TO TOUCH YOUR EYES WITHOUT FIRST WASHING YOUR HANDS AS THE CHILI JUICE CAN BURN YOUR EYES. The green chili is now ready to use as a relish for hamburgers or sandwiches. It may be heated and used on burritos, quesadillas, or tostadas. As soup it is referred to as a Bowl Of Green.

Serves 6

The above sauce can also be made with meat. Brown about ¾ pound of cubed or ground beef, pork, elk, lamb, turkey, or antelope in a small amount of oil, drain excess fat, and proceed as above. A small amount of water or broth would be added, and the whole simmered for about 10 minutes.

Pumpkin cake (a Bed and Breakfast Recipe)

2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 #303 can pumpkin
1-cup oil
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a large tube
pan, or 2 medium loaf pans.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer whip the first four
Ingredients well. Sift second four ingredients into bowl and mix.
Pour into pan and bake 30 to 45 minutes, until tooth pick inserted
into cake comes out clean. Remove from oven. Cool slightly and turn out onto a rack to cool completely before icing.

Cream cheese icing (a Bed and Breakfast Recipe)

8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 tbs milk
1 1 lb box powdered sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Mix first two ingredients together until smooth add sugar and mix well. Ice cake and sprinkle with chopped walnuts.

Sugar icing (a Bed and Breakfast Recipe)

1-cup confectioner's sugar
1 tbs water
1 tps cooking oil
½ tps almond extract

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Mix first four ingredients together until smooth. Ice cake and Sprinkle with walnuts.

Makes 1 large or 2 medium cakes

2 cups garbanzo beans (chick peas)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup garbanzo cooking water
1 to 4 cloves of garlic
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
Paprika or hot red chili powder
Cumin and olive oil

Soak 2 cups of cleaned and sorted garbanzo beans (chick peas) in water to cover overnight.

Cook in soaking water until tender. Reserve about 1 1/2 cups of cooking water and 1 cup of beans, drain the beans. Put drained beans in processors or mash with potato masher. Add 1 cup tahini and mix well. Stir in 1 cup of cooking water, 1 cup lemon juice, garlic and salt. If the hummous seems too thick slowly add water until you have the consistency that you like. Pour into flat bowl, decorate with reserved beans, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with cumin and paprika or red chili powder. Serve with fresh Pita bread.

Greek Mountain Salad (a Bed and Breakfast Recipe)

1 large or 2 medium tomatoes, sliced
1 Spanish onion (red), thinly sliced
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
3/4 cup cubed feta cheese
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup or more calamata olives

Arrange tomatoes, onion, and cucumber in a nice design on plate. Sprinkle feta, mint and olives over all. Mix olive oil and lemon juice together and drizzle on top or use only olive oil.