La Cantera Resort & Spa temporarily closed Resort operations on Friday, March 20 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Resort continues to monitor information and guidance from a host of sources. With Easter coming up, Chefs Carr, Hinojosa, Silva and Proa at SweetFire Kitchen, Grille 254 and Primero Cantina, La Cantera Resort & Spa, share recipes for Family Easter Feast at Home. (La Cantera Resort & Spa, 2020)

Chef Robert Carr, executive chef, La Cantera Resort & Spa, started his journey to culinary excellence at the age of 13. Inspired by cooking lessons from his grandmother, Chef Carr learned the art of perfectionist, made-from-scratch cooking as a young apprentice under the tutelage of an English chef at the Wichita Country Club in Kansas. Below he shares a recipe that is a family favorite that he will make for his family this Easter.

Warm Butter Mochi

Mochiko Flour	4	cups
Baking Powder	3	t
Granulated Sugar	3	cups
Butter, melted & cooled	1/2	cup
Whole eggs	4	each
Coconut milk	12	oz
Evaporated milk	12	oz
Vanilla extract	2	t

 

o   Combine all dry ingredients together

o   Combine all wet ingredients together

o   Mix dry mixture into the wet mixture

o   Mix until homogeneous. Mix thoroughly

o   Pour batter into baking dish and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees or until cake is golden and just browned o   Serve warm with vanilla ice cream and berries

Gabriela Hinojosa, Chef de Cuisine, SweetFire Kitchen, La Cantera Resort & Spa, grew up in Monterrey, Mexico, spending summers on her grandmother’s farm where she helped pick fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs used for family meals. That experience helped shape her love of cooking, which she pursued at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York and then through an internship under the tutelage of master chef Peter Timmins at The Everglades Club in Palm Beach, Florida. Below Gabriela shares one of her Grandma’s recipes, a popular dessert at most Mexican Family Easter Feasts.

Capirotada (Mexican bread pudding)

7 Bolillo bread slices

1/2 lb. Butter

1/2 cup Raisins

1 ½ cups Milk

1 ½ 5 cup Piloncillo (Mexican brown sugar cone)

2 Cloves

1 Cinnamon stick

½ cup Panela cheese

½ cup Peanuts

½ cup Coconut flakes

• Preheat oven 350F
• In a pot place milk, piloncillo, cinnamon stick and cloves to make a caramel
• While making caramel
• Slice bolillo and start toasting with butter until golden brown
• Start assembling bread on a deep oven pot- slices of bread- some caramel peanuts, cheese, raisins, and coconut flakes – another layer of bread and repeat process until all ingredients are used

Make sure you use enough garnish on top, then cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.  Serve warm and enjoy.

Giovanni Silva, Chef de Cuisine, Grille 254, La Cantera Resort & Spa, grew up working at his parents’ restaurant in Mexico. He went to culinary schools in Colorado and California and finished formal training at Colegio Gastgronomico de Guadalajara in Mexico. Silva then embarked on his cooking career on the ocean, working first as a chef on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship and later as chef de cuisine for an Italian specialty restaurant on a Holland America ship. Below, Chef Gio shares one of his Mother’s favorite vegetarian dishes.

Potato cakes with cabbage and carrot salad

Ingredients Potato pancakes:

4 Idaho potatoes

1 egg

1 cup flour divided in two

¼ cup Canola oil

Pinch of Salt and pepper to taste

• Boil the potatoes in water until tender, about 45 minutes
• Once soft and cooled, peel and mash; then season with salt and pepper
• Add the egg and half of the flour until it forms a moldable paste
• Heat half of the oil in a sauté pan at medium heat
• Form little discs of potato paste and dust them with the rest of the flour
• Pan fry in the heated oil until golden brown

Ingredients for salad:

¼ head of green cabbage sliced thinly

1 carrot sliced thinly

½ yellow onion sliced thinly

2 tbsp mayo

1 tbsp sour cream

1 tsp mustard

Pinch of Salt and pepper to taste

• Mix all ingredients, season with salt and pepper and refrigerate for one hour.

Abraham Proa, Chef de Cuisine, Primero Cantina, La Cantera Resort & Spa, spent time under the mentorship of famed Chef Andrew Weismann at both Signature at La Cantera Resort and Spa and at the former Il Sogno at The Pearl before taking on his current role heading Primero Cantina. The Mexico native said he did not see becoming a chef as a career until the restaurant boom of the 2000s, when he recognized the opportunity. He moved to Las Vegas and worked at the French restaurant at The Cosmopolitan when it was named the Best Restaurant in Las Vegas.  Below Proa shares one of his family’s favorite Easter recipes.

Migas Casserole

8             Large eggs

¼ cup   Milk or half-and-half

1 tsp      Kosher salt

½ tsp    Black pepper

⅓ cup   Canola oil

4             Corn tortillas cut in trips or triangles

½            Medium yellow onion, diced

4             Jalapeño peppers, seeded and diced

1 cup     Shredded cheddar or Monterey jack cheese

1½ cup Salsa, for topping

¼ cup   Cilantro, for garnish

• In a bowl, whisk eggs with milk. Stir in the salt and pepper.
• In a large iron skillet, beat up oil on medium high, and place tortilla strips into the skillet, cooking for about 3 minutes, turning once. Remove the tortilla strips with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate. Drain the oil from the skillet leaving 2 tablespoons in the skillet.
• Add the onions and jalapeno to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes.
• Add the egg mixture and tortilla strips to the skillet and let the eggs sit for about one minute or until set on the bottom and then gently stir. Sprinkle cheese on top of eggs and continue to cook until melted.
• Top eggs with salsa and cilantro. Serve with flour tortillas and refried beans.