Sugary treats, bread and tamales -- the dead have it so good! The Day of the Dead, orDía de los Muertos, is actually two days that combine Aztec traditions with Christianity's All Saints and All Souls Days on Nov. 1 and 2. It is by no means a somber holiday. In fact the Day of the Dead is a joyous time during which the dead re-join the living and are honored by their families.
Ancestors are memorialized with visits to cemeteries and homemade altars adorned with ofrendas(offerings). These include items belonging to the dead, candles, flowers, a bowl of water, incense and food, of which the dead are believed to consume the essence prior to the living's meal.
The food most closely associated with the Day of the Dead is pan de muerto (bread of the dead). It varies regionally, and is baked in many shapes, including skulls, human figures, crosses and teardrops, then sprinkled with colored sugar.
'Fresh Mexico: 100 Simple Recipes for True Mexican Flavor' By Marcela Valladolid Photos by Amy Kalyn Sims Clarkson Potter -- 2009 Buy it on Amazon
Marcela Valladolid may seem familiar to fans of the short-lived "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart." She made it through 11 weeks of the show before Martha bid her "goodbye."
A former recipe tester for Bon Appétit, Valladolid landed on her feet, hosting a Discovery Familia TV show "Relatos con Sabor," and penning her first cookbook, "Fresh Mexico."
It is here that Valladolid shares family recipes from her childhood in Tijuana and San Diego, Calif., and does her best to debunk the notion that Mexican food is heaps of yellow cheese melted on tortilla chips. There is a taco recipe in "Fresh Mexico," but overall this is Mexican fare way outside the box.
Caesar's, the restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico, credited with creating the now-mainstream Caesar salad, closed last week over a rent dispute.
"I showed up for work on Monday and I found all the furniture outside," Miguel Angel Ventura Oros, a waiter at the restaurant, told the Associated Press. "The manager told us there was an eviction for not paying the rent."
Xoco's churros are hard to get. Photo: ehfisher/flicker.
Would you wait three days for a "Top Chef" churro?
Rick Bayless, one of Chicago's top chefs and the winner of Bravo's "Top Chef Masters," is extending his gourmet Mexican empire to street food. Last week, he added XOCO (pronounced "Sho-Co") to his string of Windy City hot spots including Frontera Grill and Topolobampo. The latest aims to bring authentic Mexican tortas and caldos (sandwiches and soups) to the masses. How did it go over with the locals? The line snaked out the door.
When Slashfood swung by for after-dinner churros -- the delectable fried-dough treats sprinkled with sugar and spices -- it took three nights of trying to get in.
Chicago's own Rick Bayless may be the king of Mexican cuisine in America, but his win on "Top Chef Masters" proved the chef could also cook through the canon of other world cuisines.
Margaritas are lovely, yes, but sometimes the liver needs a break. And Mexico, of course, is no one-trick culinary pony. In fact, while ambling through the famously taco- and torta-laden neighborhood of Sunset Park, Brooklyn, last weekend, a compadre proselytized wildly about a maple-walnut popsicle right before running into traffic to lead us to the deli where it lived.
Traditionally no friend to the walnut unless it is candied, we were inclined to pass. Then we noticed that in this popsicle, walnuts were a minor player relegated to the stick end of the treat. We politely accepted a small bite. And then another.
And then we turned on our heel and ran back to the deli to rummage frantically through the cooler gleaming on the sidewalk: mango-lime, pistachio, egg nog. Egg nog?! Walnut! Where was it? Pops flew everywhere as, like a dog frantically chasing a mole burrowing underground, we went shoulder-deep into the icy cooler. Thank the stars, a lone, innocuous "nuez" pop remained.
These gorgeous, golden-brown churros look so enticing we can practically feel their crinkly, sugar-studded skins melting on our tongues. Though their shape deviates from that of tubular churros -- traditional Mexican treats of deep-fried dough rolled in cinnamon and sugar -- we can't really say that we care. What matters is that they look sweet, crunchy goodness personified ... or like history's most gloriously demonic matzoh balls.
The Amateur Gourmet's Adam Roberts describes these beauties as "The Churros That Saved The Dinner Party." We think he's being too modest. These look like the churros that could save the world, or at least a small principality.
What would happen if one crossed the rich sweetness of northern-style corn bread with the fun shape of a pancake? We're not sure, but it would probably look a lot like an arepa. Simple and hearty, the rich Venezuelan cornmeal patties -- often sliced open and stuffed for a cool-looking sandwich -- are here topped to make an open-faced snack.
Sara of Sara's Kitchen whipped up this intriguing combo of fresh arepa, black beans, a savory avocado salsa and just a touch of queso blanco. A mix of bright flavors and fun textures, it has us intrigued -- and mulling over a few salsa notions of our own!
Before I moved to New York, I generally thought that the proper cheese for most Latin American foods was Monterey Jack. While my local Mexican restaurant occasionally sprinkled a feta-like concoction on top of my beans, I assumed that it was some sort of seasoning, more or less used in the same way that a sprinkle of parmesan, romano or peccorino is the traditional accent for Italian food.
I quickly realized that things are a bit different in Latin American communities. Outside Super Mundo, my local department store, the "Sabor de Mexico" taco truck is more or less permanently parked. While not as good as the "Miraveles de Mexico" restaurant a few blocks up, the taco truck serves some of the best burritos, tacos and flautas I've ever had. As I became a regular customer, I noticed that every dish had a nice smattering of crumbled cheese on top.
For a long time now, I've been dreaming of guacamole on pizza. I've done the meats, seafood, and vegetables, the spicy and mild, the thick, crust-crumbling toppings and the less-is-more toppings, and I've even subbed pestos for tomato sauce, but I never got around to the other creamy green. A lot of this had to do with price -- I didn't want to spend a lot, or potentially waste the delicious avocado, on a pizza that might not turn out well. But then I saw a guac-centric pizza at a restaurant last week, and I rue my hemming and hawing.
If you love pizza, and you love Central American dishes, you must try fusing the two. The guacamole offers a great twist on the classic tomato sauce, and it teams well with sauteed veggies, pork (Cuban-style!), and a nice sprinkling of cilantro. It's like a larger and more diverse taco, and the tomato doesn't even have to be forgotten. Rather than the sauce, try adding some tomatoes broiled with spicy seasoning, or even a little bit of salsa.
Just like a towering pile of nachos, the South of the Border pizza is up for almost anything.
There are many dishes in which the sauce can overwhelm the rest of the meal. But mole is not just a sauce; it's also the focal point of the dish. The meat that accompanies the mole plays a secondary role. Mole consists of nuts, chilies, and spices that are toasted and ground to release their spicy-sweet aroma. Mole poblano from the state of Puebla is also made with chocolate. Hence, its nickname chocolate sauce.
The word "mole" derives from the Náhuatl (language that dates back to the Aztecs) word "molli". The process of making mole is lengthy and it usually involves toasting ingredients, slow-roasting, pureeing, and frying fresh herbs. But, at the end, you have a dish full of deliciously complex tastes, a rollercoaster of flavors. And, if you're looking for the most thrilling gastronomic ride, head to the city of Oaxaca, known as the "Land of Seven Moles."
In Zarela Martinez's book "Food & Life of Oaxaca", renowned Mexican chef shares an incredible recipe for Teotitlan-style black mole. Another recipe to try out is turkey enchiladas with mole sauce. I have just recently been exposed to this fascinating sauce, and I cannot stop thinking about its richness and the fact that there are so many more for versions for me to try.
There's something quite sweet about watching kids working with food, so I thought you might enjoy a trip back to old-school Sesame Street.
Above, two tykes talk about their family's Mexican restaurant, and how they make a few dishes. Since this is a children's show, the kids are involved in all of it, from the grating of the cheese (with a healthy dose of cheese eating and finger-licking) to serving the meal.
And to get even more hands-on, hit the jump to watch another little one make a fruit salad. From start to finish, he slices and dices until he has a bowl full of fruit -- which his friends instantly devour. ...if only we saw that more often on the television! Personally, this one jets me back to my youth and the large fruit compotes my father would always make -- just about the one way my parents could always get me to eat fruit!
I hope you enjoy, and if you know of any other great retro SS food videos, share them in the comments!
In a world where we're inundated with super-sized flavor, it's easy to forget how delicious simplicity can be -- the one exercise in restraint that makes life all the sweeter. It never fails to astound me how delicious a piece of toast with butter is, and the same can definitely be said for tortilla chips.
These days, we've got a whole variety of powdery flavors to up the junk food ante, but while many of them are tasty, nothing compares to the simplicity of a homemade tortilla chip. Simply make some tortillas (I use the Robert Rodriguez recipe), rip or cut them into the shapes and sizes you prefer, and then bake them on a low heat until sufficiently crisp.
A homemade tortilla chip with salsa is like a fine, rustic bread with your favorite cheese. That simple combination of ingredients makes the perfect pairing for salsa, helping and emphasizing the spicy tomato flavors rather than overpowering them. Try it -- there's nothing quite like it.
I grew up on Swiss Miss hot chocolate - cocoa powder and hot water, as simple as that. While living in Paris, I tried rich thick hot chocolates that made my Swiss Miss alternative seem overly watery and lacking in flavor and texture. So, when I returned to NY, I became intrigued by the many different ways to make this simple drink more exquisite. Mexican hot chocolate is probably my favorite.
If you're looking to spice up your hot chocolate, you don't necessarily have to add anything to the combination besides water, milk, and chocolate. Think about using different kinds of chocolates. For example, a Mexican hot chocolate is made from chocolate that has often been blended with sugar, vanilla and spices, like cinnamon. Taza Chocolate in Somerville, Massachusetts produces a particularly delicious Mexican chocolate that you can purchase online. It's amazing what cinnamon does for hot chocolate.
Of course, you can also create different hot chocolates by adding some rum and a variety of creams. Check out these 8 remarkable hot chocolate recipes below and let us know which ones are your favorite:
After purchasing dried chiles de arbol at the San Angel market, I couldn't wait to make a deliciously spicy and savory salsa. While in Bucerias, my boyfriend and I learned firsthand from Sergio, a chef specializng in Mexican cuisine. The recipe simply includes 11 tomatillos, 15 to 20 chiles de arbol (depending on your desired level of spiciness), quarter of one onion, cilantro, and salt.
The first step involves sautéing the chiles de arbol in olive oil. This releases the juices from the peppers. Afterwards, you will immerse the peppers and tomatillos in a pot of water. Boil these ingredients until the tomatillos are soft - approximately 20 to 25 minutes. While they are boiling, chop a handful of cilantro. Take about one quarter of an onion and slice it. You do not have to worry about finely chopping the cilantro and the size of the sliced onions, because all these ingredients will eventually be placed in a blender.
Once the tomatillos and chiles de arbol are finished boiling, empty most of the water from the pot. Retain some of the water, about an inch. Now, place all the ingredients into the blender. After blending these ingredients, your salsa will be ready to serve. Add salt according to taste. Since, I am a fan of hot salsas, this is one of my favorites. If you prefer a more mild salsa, you should consider decreasing the amount of chiles de arbol or trying a different pepper.
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