GUAJILLO CHILE SAUCE WITH CREAM

Steps:

• 1. Put the tomato in a blender. In a dry skillet, toast the chiles, turning, until aromatic and the color looks orange in places. Do not burn. Break the toasted chiles into pieces, discarding the stems and seeds. Grind in a spice grinder to a powdery consistency. (I use a coffee grinder reserved for spices.) Transfer to the blender. 2. In the same dry skillet, pan-roast the garlic until speckled with brown in a few places, about 5 minutes. Peel and put in the blender. In the same skillet, toast the oregano and cumin seeds until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add to the blender with 2/3 cup of water. Process as smooth as possible. Pour through a strainer into a bowl, pressing to extract all the pulp. Discard the bits of skin and debris. 3. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Pour in the sauce and cook, partially covered, stirring frequently, to blend the flavors, 6 to 8 minutes. Stir in the cream and season with salt. Cook over low heat, uncovered, until thick and smooth, 3 to 4 minutes. The sauce is ready to use, or store in a covered container up to 3 days, refrigerated, or frozen for 3 months. From "1,000 Mexican Recipes." Copyright 2001 by Marge Poore. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.