RANCH STYLE Cinco DE Mayo :...

Great stretches of open range; cattle quietly grazing; rolling, brush-covered hills; a cluster of red barns and low, wood-frame buildings shaded by oaks and sycamores. This is Rancho Sisquoc, a Spanish land grant that survives virtually intact in the Santa Maria Valley in northern Santa Barbara County.

Although operated as a modern business dealing in cattle, wheat, dry lima beans, seed beans, wine and wine grapes, the 37,000-acre ranch looks today as it must have for generations. Because the land is rugged, the cattle are worked on horseback; wild boar thrive, and quail is plentiful too--Sisquoc is the Chumash Indian word for quail.

After you branch sharply off Foxen Canyon Road, the road to the century-old ranch house bumps over cattle guards and passes walnut trees that add to the rich bounty of ranch-grown foods.

Wine production is up to 6,000 cases a year, most of it sold on the premises. Recently, sacks of newly harvested limas were also set out in the tasting room. This is where you might meet Julietta Aros, a tiny, friendly woman who has worked at Sisquoc for 28 years.

Aros pours wines and also cooks Mexican dishes for special events at the ranch. Born in Los Angeles but raised in Baja California, she draws on plenty of tradition. In April, Aros made pots of chile verde , zesty beans and guacamole for open houses celebrating the annual Santa Barbara County Vintners’ Festival.

Once she collaborated with wine maker Stephan Bedford on a full-scale Mexican dinner matched to Rancho Sisquoc wines. For that party, she even made the tortillas--soft, tender flour tortillas that bore no resemblance to what you can buy in the market. Explaining that it’s the technique that counts, not the ingredients, Aros says, “I’ve tried to teach a lot of people to make flour tortillas, but they just can’t do it.”

Small pink beans from a nearby field became refried beans, cooked to emphasize their natural flavor. “You ruin them if you put in too many spices,” Aros says. And she turned a few simple ingredients into rosy rice bright with flavor.

The main dish was pipian de gallina --shredded chicken in an earthy sauce blending ground sesame and pumpkin seeds with spinach and chiles. For dessert, Aros made a lavish bread pudding-- capirotada . She layered the bread with dried fruit, peanuts, almonds and cheese, soaked it with brown sugar syrup simmered with cinnamon and cloves and topped it with whipped cream. “In the real, real Mexican capirotada ,” she says, “they put cilantro, onions, tomatoes and all kinds of sweet things.”

For appetizers, there were bowls of green olives and empanadas stuffed with potato, bacon and cheese and with pork and olives. Aros made tamales too, filling them with Jack cheese and roasted red and yellow peppers. These were served with fresh salsa. And when the dinner ended, guests lingered over Mexican coffee made from beans roasted with cinnamon.

Aros says she plans to retire in June but will continue to live on the ranch. Here, for Cinco de Mayo, is a dinner composed of her recipes. If wines are served, a Cabernet Sauvignon should go with the chicken and a late-harvest Johannisberg Riesling with the dessert.

MEXICAN DINNER ON THE RANCH Pipian de Gallina Arroz Julietta Frijoles Tortillas de Harina Salsa Sisquoc Capirotada Wine Coffee PIPIAN DE GALLINA

1 (4-pound) chicken, cut up

Salt

2 dried ancho chiles

4 fresh poblano chiles

1/2 cup blanched almonds

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1/2 corn tortilla

2 cloves garlic

1/2 cup spinach leaves

Place chicken in large saucepan. Cover with water and add salt to taste. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, until chicken is tender, about 1 hour. Drain chicken, reserving broth. There should be at least 3 cups broth.

When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove meat in large shreds. Soak ancho chiles in hot water until softened. Drain and discard stems and seeds. Remove stems and seeds from poblano chiles.

On griddle or in large skillet, toast almonds, pumpkin seeds and sesame seeds until lightly browned, being careful not to burn. Toast tortilla lightly. Combine almonds, seeds, ancho and poblano chiles, tortilla, garlic and spinach in blender and blend until mixture is finely ground, adding broth as needed to facilitate grinding.

Turn mixture into large saucepan. Add remaining broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened to sauce consistency. Stir in chicken and cook until heated through. Taste and add salt if needed. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

ARROZ JULIETTA

1 large clove garlic

1/3 cup chopped onion

2 cups chicken broth

1 1/4 cups canned peeled whole tomatoes, drained

Oil

2 cups long-grain rice

Salt, pepper

Combine garlic and onion in blender with about 1/2 cup chicken broth and blend to puree. Turn tomatoes into bowl and mash with potato masher.

Heat oil in Dutch oven. Add rice and saute until lightly browned. Add garlic-onion mixture, tomatoes and remaining broth and season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to full boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Makes 8 servings.

FRIJOLES

2 cups dried pinto beans

Water

Salt

1/2 cup oil

Shredded Longhorn cheese

Do not soak beans. Place beans in large saucepan or Dutch oven. Cover generously with water. Bring to full boil. Lower heat slightly, cover and cook until tender and most of liquid is gone, 2 to 3 hours. Season to taste with salt when beans are half cooked.

Heat oil in large skillet. Add beans and fry, mashing beans almost to paste. Serve topped with cheese. Makes 8 servings.

TORTILLAS DE HARINA

5 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter or margarine

1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk

Additional flour

Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Work in butter with hands. Add milk gradually to make soft, light dough. Let stand, covered, 10 minutes.

Break off small piece of dough, about 1/3 cup. Flatten to round patty. Dip in flour. Pull around edges to stretch slightly. Roll out to 7-inch circle. Remove from work surface and pat back and forth between hands to stretch further. Correct shape if necessary by pulling lightly at edges.

Place tortilla on medium-hot griddle. Bake until bubbles form on upper surface. Turn over and cook until bottom is well-browned. Turn again. Press down with spatula to press out bubbles. Continue cooking, turning as needed, until tortilla is thoroughly cooked and spotted with brown. Stack in container and cover with towel to keep warm. Makes 14 to 16.

SALSA SISQUOC

1 pound tomatoes, roasted and peeled

2 whole canned mild green chiles, finely chopped

2 green onions, finely chopped

3 or 4 sprigs cilantro, chopped

Dash garlic powder

Salt, pepper

Mash tomatoes with potato masher. Add chiles, green onions and cilantro. Season to taste with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Makes about 2 cups.

CAPIROTADA

3 2/3 cups dark-brown sugar, packed

1 quart water

1 long stick cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 (1-pound) loaf Vienna French bread or other French bread

1/4 pound butter, softened

1 pound Jack cheese, shredded

1 (6-ounce) package tropical medley dried fruit mix.

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1/2 cup roasted peanuts

Whipped cream

Set aside 1/3 cup brown sugar. Combine water, remaining sugar, cinnamon stick and cloves in large saucepan. Bring to boil and boil, uncovered, until syrup has absorbed cinnamon flavor, 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside 1/2 cup syrup.

Toast bread, then spread with butter. Place 1/3 of bread in layer in shallow 4-quart baking dish. Top with 1/3 cheese, fruit mix, almonds and peanuts. Make 2 more layers in same fashion. Carefully pour syrup over layers. Sprinkle reserved dark-brown sugar over top.

Cover and bake at 300 degrees until puffed and thoroughly heated, about 35 minutes. During baking, sprinkle reserved syrup over top to keep pudding moist. Serve topped with whipped cream. Makes 10 to 12 servings.

Food Styling by Minnie Bernardino and Donna Deane. Props from Freehand.