This is my own adaptation of a popular Mexican street food, fried plantains topped with sweetened condensed milk. This dressed-up version — plaintains with vanilla cream — uses whipped cream flavored with vanilla and sherry. Plantains should be nearly black when they are ripe enough to use in a sweet dish. Ingredients 3 large, ripe […]
Continue ReadingI hadn’t been to Boca del Rio in many years, and was surprised to see it transformed from a sleepy fishing village to a gastronomic center. At a fair there, with a friend from Veracruz, just about everyone was drinking the local specialty called a toro – bull – probably because of its potency. It […]
Continue ReadingMexican Kitchen Each year, when February is on the horizon, I find myself thinking about the preparation of homemade treats for Valentine’s Day. Being an incurable romantic, having a wedding anniversary on Valentine’s Day, and living in Mexico, where Valentine motifs are popular not only during this month but throughout the year, all conspire to […]
Continue ReadingIngredients: 4-5 ancho chiles, stems and seeds removed 1/4 onion 2 cloves garlic 4-5 small tomatoes, charred on the comal 4-5 cloves garlic, charred on the comal dried oregano cumin seed thinly sliced meat or whole shrimp olive oil butter 1/2 cup sugar vinegar 1 cup chicken or meat stock Preparation: 1) Cook the chiles […]
Continue ReadingThis Mexican cantaloupe salsa was an invention that we came up with while visiting friends in southern Mexico. We served it with the meal, and ate leftovers later with tortilla chips. The best way to determine the ripeness of a melon is to hold it up to the ear and thump on it — if […]
Continue ReadingRefreshing as a dip in the Carribbean, this is a nice change from the popular spring and summer tequila-orange juice combination. Serve it in a tall, frosted glass, with your choice of garnish- a lime wedge, a cocktail cherry, or a sprig of mint. Each gives the drink a slightly different character. Ingredients: 2 oz. […]
Continue ReadingThis recipe may be made ahead and reheated in the casserole dish just before serving. If made ahead, wait until the casserole is ready to go into the oven before adding the cilantro cream sauce, to avoid the chiles becoming soggy. Ingredients: 6 large ancho chiles 3 sprigs fresh marjoram 3 sprigs fresh thyme 3 […]
Continue ReadingIn the following recipe, crepes are rolled around a squash blossom filling, bathed in a poblano chile cream sauce, and baked. All three elements – crepes, sauce and filling – can be made ahead and assembled just before baking. A perfect example of pre-Hispanic ingredients combined with nouvelle Mexican cooking techniques, these crepes could be […]
Continue ReadingIn this recipe, corn is cut fresh from the cob and used to fill poblano chiles, which are wrapped in fresh cornhusks, eliminating the need for soaking. Although a metate would traditionally be used to grind the corn in southern Puebla, where chiltamales originated, a blender or food processor makes this dish an easy one. Ingredients: 4 cups corn […]
Continue ReadingThis was the course that I prepared during class, and although it is an impressive dessert, it is much easier than it will seem to guests, because the crepes, filling and sauce can all be made ahead. Naturally, we used the delicious requesón that we bought that morning at the Etla market, but farmer cheese […]
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