I have his "Mexican Kitchen" book and have eatne at Topolobampo and Frontera Grioll on a few occassions. His food is terrific!
My friend Johnny opened the place years ago and recently sold it. He would not have considered it to be "mexican". It was more Nuevo Latin in his opinioo. Good place though. My wife and I had an anniversary dinner there when they had first opened.
(1) Just trying to highlight the importance of Soups in Mexico...and to criticize their absence in Faux Mexicaine. (2) No cut & paste....I write everything in my own words. Even when I reference other people's recipes I usually tweak an ingredient or to.
Many people serve authentic Mexican food and just call it Nuevo Latino so as to avoid the existing stigmas around Mexican food. The stuff at Alma was no different than any of the similar level, urban restaurants in Mexico of the early 90's. Discrediting Mexican cuisine is not a new thing. For example, in the late 90's many of the contemporary restaurants in Mexico City were serving up Sashimi in Italian dressings and calling them Carpaccios. Then a few years back...Mario Batagli goes to Mexico to provide consulting services and when he comes back he starts serving the same thing under the name "Crudo" and all of sudden its a traditional Italian thing in Manhattan
Re: Commercial Break Maybe this will persuade you to give Mezcal another chance: http://www.losdanzantes.com.mx/eng/mezcal.htm http://www.losdanzantes.com.mx/eng/mezcaldanzantes.htm http://www.losdanzantes.com.mx/eng/mescalalipus.htm
Re: Roasted Smooth Salsas Alright, lets get back to where I left off....the next type of Salsa....the Seared Salsas used in Pot Roasts etc., The great thing about Roasted Salsas, is that once you master the process, you are not just making a great condiment, but it unlocks a whole world of culinary possibilities. Basically, when you make a Roasted Salsa...do not add raw chopped onions, cilantro or other fresh herbs. Instead, put some Olive Oil, Peanut Oil, or Lard in a Sauce Pan over medium high until the its quite hot....then you add the Salsa (careful with the splatter) slowly to sear the salsa, and you will cook it down for about 5 to 10 minutes (you want the salsa to thicken & become even more muted in color). Why searing? You sear to meld flavors, to incorporate some fat...and to round out any the rough flavors. What to do with a Seared Salsa? > Add it to cooking greens (Spinach, Mustard, Collards, Chard, Quelites)...roughly 1 cup for every 6oz of greens. Put the raw greens in a pan with the seared salsa....bring up to a boil over medium high...then turn down to simmer...and allow the greens to wilt into the Salsa (about 10 minutes). If you are a vegetarian....serve this with a thick slice of Fresco cheese & corn tortillas. If you are meat eater...these greens go perfectly with a simple Pork dish, like a grilled pork chop or carnitas. These greens also go very well with Shrimp (seared or grilled). You can even save some of the Pre-Seared salsa...to cook with the Shrimp for an interesting progression of flavo > Add it to Mushrooms.....roughly 1/2 cup of Salsa for every cup of cooked Mushrooms. Sautee the Mushrooms with onions, and once they carmelize add the Salsa and simmer for a couple of minutes. > Make a Pot Roast....by adding back water and or broth for the right consistency for simmering. (1) Make a Roasted Green Salsa (instead of cilantros & raw onions add Mexican Oregano) (2) Brown Pork Ribs in a Skillet and remove. (3) Sautee Onions in the leftover fat and remove. (4) Sear the Salsa in the leftover fat. (5) Add water and broth (in equal proportions) to bring the sauce back to its original volume. (6) Add back the Ribs & Onions & simmer on low for about 1 hour. (7) Add chopped greens to the pot & simmer for another 10 minutes I like it with crispy White Beans (drain beans until very dry...then mash, on a hot pan with olive oil or some reserved pork fat...add the mashed beans...and let them crisp on one side....flip over to crisp on the other) The brothy sauce in this technique can also be used with Bake Steamed (Mixiote) foods. A Whole Chicken with Green Beans & a Roasted Tomato-Jalapeno Seared salsa tightly sealed in foil & baked in the over oven or on a grill....is particularly satisfying. > To use as a Rub for grilling meat, add spices like cumin, cloves, cinammon etc.....sear it down until is almost solid & then let it cool. Rub on your favorite cut of meat.
I am just hoping he is smart enough to know that my last post was an absolute joke. He seems it, but sometimes the most brilliant people in the world lack common sense.
Re: Salsas & Sauces We have discussed the first 5 types of Salsa & Salsa variants. Its now time to tackle the Moles, Pipians & Peanut Sauces. What is Mole? Strictly speaking the word Mole comes from the Nahuatl (Aztec) meaning Sauce....plain & simple. To the Aztecs...Guacamole was a Suace made from Avocado (Aguacates). However, in the contemporary sense Mole is used to describe a group of very rich, velvety, complex & unique salsas that are thickened with nuts and/or seeds. What is Pipian? Pipian is basically the same as a Mole but the sauce is mostly thickened with Pumpkin Seeds (Pepitas). Pipian tends to be more common in Southern Mexico....and not surprisingly in Guatemala it is also very popular under the name Pepian. The typical Mole & Pipian is very lush & complex, warping anywhere from 10 to 30 ingredients. Lets start with a specific Mole. Mole Poblano is considered to be the National Mole. This specific concoction, an exemplary fusion dish, was created in the Santa Clara convent in Puebla for some religious dignitary in the 17th century. The same convent is also famous for its Rompope (Spiked Egg Nog) & other sweets...their original cookbooks are still in high demand. Mole Poblano 1 whole garlic (roasted) 5 tablespoons of sesame seeds 500 grams of almonds 2 tablespoons of anís seeds sugar to taste 50 gramos of Ceylon Cinammon 1 tablespoon of dried cilantro leaves 12 pods chile ancho 6 pods of chile chipotle 1 kilogramo of chile mulato 125 gramos of chile pasilla 1/2 bag of chocolate chips 1 tablespoon vanilla 4 blackened tomatoes 4 slices of stale white bread...sauteed 1 tablespoon black pepper salt to taste 1 fried tortilla 1 boiled plantain 500 grams of raisins 13 pounds of Turkey 1 Cup of Water 1 Cup of Broth 1) Toast the Dried Chiles on a Griddle...then submerge in hot water to soften, then blend or mash into a paste & strain 2) Sautee the tomatoes, onions, garlic, almonds bread & tortilla then blend or mash 3) Bring all the ingredients (except Sesame Seeds) together in a pot and bring up to a boil....then reduce heat to a simmer for about 90 minutes 4) Add the Turkey to the pot & simmer until the Turkey is almost cooked (about 1/2 hour)...taste & adjust seasoning. 5) Cook until the Turkey is cooked through under 1/2 hour or so. 6) Serve the Turkey with plenty of sauce & top with toasted Sesame Seeds Now that you have the sample recipe...lets break down the Mole. They typically have three components: 1) Roasted Salsa 2) Nut butter 3) Bread stuffing The three components are brought together over very low heat...and cooked for a couple of hours to thoroughly meld & fuse. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of fundamentally different Mole & Pipian sauces, every state has its own types & every town has its specific recipes....so you can get very creative. Some of the common Moles & Pipianes: Very smokey, glossy & rich Black Mole: Sweet & spicy Red Mole: Tangy & herby Green Mole: In addition to Moles & Pipianes....there are Peanut Salsas which go back thousands of years. Basically, you bring together two cups of very dark red roasted salsa with 2 tablespoons of fresh roasted homemade peanut butter and simmer until integrated....you will have a great, rich salsa for topping tacos or better yet, to quickly simmer shrimp for a classic Shrimp a la Diabla.
I like Salsas & Sauces and lots of beef. Hi Bopper here, Any cookbooks that you can recommend to help me expand my mediocre cooking skills? A book with the classics if you will.
Re: I like Salsas & Sauces and lots of beef. I like Bayless' book....he breaks down the basics, provides a lot of insightful info on ingredients & covers a good range of what we would call real food. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0684800063/sr=1-2/qid=1139375579/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-9199669-1509717?%5Fencoding=UTF8 Once you get better...you can get some of the Susana Palazuelos books: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/000215949X/qid=1139375687/sr=1-15/ref=sr_1_15/102-9199669-1509717?s=books&v=glance&n=283155
Marquez, a very comprehensive thread on mexican cuisine, albeit a little preachy. I especially ejoyed your posts on the types of chilis. But you have ignored some of the most traditional, exotic (to non-mexicans) and popular dishes of Mexico. I'll list a couple of them: 1. Chapulines (grass hoppers)- Most commonly eaten wrapped in a corn tortilla 2 Ecamoles- Ant eggs and/or the larvae of black ants. Also the eggs of the fly swamp (mosco) is a very popular dish. 3. Gusanos (worms) There a few variaties but the most common is the gusano de maguey which is the caterpillar of the maguey plant. It is eaten rolled up in a tortilla or smashed into a paste as a spread of sorts. To wash it all down there is nothing like Pulque This is basically the fermented, unfiltered juice from the agave plant (as you all know is same plant where tequila is distilled from) and it’s sold by street vendors and small restaurants all over Mexico. But the preferred version of this drink is called PULQUE with MUÑECO. And what is muñeco? is a bag made of thin cloth such as cheese cloth or thin paper (like teabags) that is filled with human excrement. It is put in the batch of pulque during the making process. According to mexicans it gives it a “special” flavour. Also, the street vendors hang a little bag of “muñeco” from their carts for good luck and to advertise their product. Mexican cuisine has many more exotic dishes than the ones listed above, I hope Marquez will delve more into them in his next posts.
I WILL get to insect cuisine & pulque but your statements are innaccurate: > Crickets, Escamoles & Gusanos are only traditionally consumed in a few towns and are not all a staple. Crickets, Escamoles & Gusanos ARE the objects of veneration in some of Mexico's most chic gourmet restaurants. > Pulque is not widely consumed....in fact there is a big push to revive it. Further, I have never, ever, ever seen or read any reference to the use of excrement. As far as I understand Pulque Fermentation is always started from other Pulque (that has been overly fermented)
Pulque "100% Agave Pulque is reminiscent of tequila in the nose. The high fructose nectar delivers citrus like nodes and ferments with sherry like qualities that make the flavor distinctive and smooth. $7.99 bottle" * From www.fullcirclebrewing.com Making pulque Unlike tequila and mescal production, where the plant heart is extracted and cooked, in pulque production the maguey heart is tapped while the plant is still alive. This gives many times the volume of sweet sap, called aguamiel (honey water), than if the heart was simply cut out, cooked and crushed. Aguamiel flow lasts for up to six months and can yield 1000 liters over that time. SLIDESHOW: Making pulque Above: the sap of the maguey plant gathers in what remains of the plant's bud. This cement like sap is what is used to make Pulque. The process of selecting a maguey plant and preparing it for aguamiel production is quite involved, the whole process taking nearly a year. When a plant is about to send up its enormous flowering stalk at the end of its 7-15 year lifetime, it is selected for agualmiel tapping. It is at this stage that the plant has conserved large amounts of nutritious sap in order to send its flowering stalk 20 feet in the air. First the protective sheath of leaves around the flower bud are removed. The floral embryo is then killed by puncturing it with a sharp object. This is left for several months, during which time the bud around the dead embryo swells but can’t grow vertically. After this period it is ready to be hollowed out, and the bud is repeatedly punctured again so that its center rots out. After a week the rotted material is cleaned out of the center of the plant, leaving a cavity for the aguamiel to collect. Plant sap fills up the cavity rapidly and must be harvested twice a day. Each time the aguamiel is extracted, the sides of the cavity are scraped clean of scar tissue, and the shavings saved for feeding to animals. The extraction of the aguamiel is done using a long calabash gourd called an acocote. The harvester uses his mouth, placed on a hole at the top of the acocote, to provide suction for the aguamiel to flow up into the gourd, which is then emptied into a bucket. Aguamiel contains about 10% sugar. The fermentation process is started by seeding the aguamiel with “mother of pulque”, a culture containing the right microorganisms. A couple of days of fermentation later a drink of about 3-4% alcohol is obtained. The fermentation process is biochemically a different one than beer or wine. In beer and wine production, the yeast organism Saccharomyces ferments sugars into alcohol. In the pulque fermentation it is another organism, of the genus Zymomonas, which produces alcohol from sugar. Zymomonas is resident on the surfaces of the maguey plant and naturally colonizes the aguamiel. Zymomonas uses an entirely different biochemical pathway for the production of alcohol, called the Entner-Deuderoff pathway, than Saccharomyces. Marciano Solis Calzadia, 76, plants maguey along the border of his crop land, where he has sown criollo corn and beans. Marciano drinks at least a liter of pulque daily. Other unique microbial processes are part of the pulque fermentation. A bacterium of the genus Leuconostoc is partly responsible for pulque’s famous viscosity (Mexicans who do not like pulque joke most about its viscosity). Leuconostoc produces dextrans from sugars, which makes for the viscosity. Lactobacilli, well known for promoting gastrointestinal health, are also active in the fermentation. During the fermentation the vitamin content (milligrams of vitamins per 100g of product) of pulque increases from 5 to 29 for thiamine, 54 to 515 for niacin and 18 to 33 for riboflavin, according to one analysis. * From www.newfarm.org
Valentine's Day Unless you have read or seen Laura Esquivel's 'Like Water for Chocolate' or dined at a romantic restaurant in Mexico (like Hacienda de los Morales in Mexico City): ....you probably don't think of Mexican Cuisine for a sensual setting. But, there is definitely a side of the cuisine, with its aphrodisiacs, intense colors, passionate flavors, floral aromas & slightly sweaty spice that is very sensual. For Valentine's this year my wife asked for a light & spicy dinner....so I cooked for her this past Saturday. On the 5 Course menu: Strawberry Margaritas Oysters on the Half Shell with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa Shrimp in Agua Chile Monte Xanic Sauvignon Blanc (Baja California) Papaya, Blood Orange, Avocado & Roasted Shallot Salad Seared Muscovy Duck with Pumpkin Seed Sauce & Roasted Carrots served over Roasted Nopal Cactus Mango Mousse
good stuff, marquez. but if you think taco bell being mistaken for traditional mexican food is annoying, try being told that mexican tacos are better than cuban tacos.
Strawberry Margaritas Strawberry Margaritas are an extremely easy, tasty cocktail, that is popular with women, and its instense red is perfect for a sensual dinner. I know there are a lot of Margarita mixes out there...but by ALL means stay away from them....making them from scratch is easy and the results are vastly superior. 1 Basket of Strawberries 1/4 Cup of Sugar Water 2 Limes Juiced 1 Lime Thinly Sliced Silver Tequila to Taste 1) Put the washed, trimmed & halved Strawberries & Lime Juice in a Blender 2) Add enough water to cover the Strawberries 3) Blend....Stir, then Chop then Liquify until its finely blended. 4) Add Sugar....mix, taste & adjust 5) At this point you can strain it if you like. For a special event...its nice because otherwise you get strawberry residue leftover. But for a casual event...don't strain (so you don't remove fiber etc.,) 6) Refrigerate the mix & let the flavors meld 7) Prior to serving freeze for about 15 minutes or so 8) Salt the rim of a Martini Glass 9) Add Silver Tequila to Taste (don't waste anything too fancy...Sauza Hornitos is a perfect Margarita Tequila at $20 or so per bottle) & Strawberry juice, then add a couple of floating lime slices. BTW, this Strawberry Smoothie is excellent without the Tequila as well.
Oysters with Salsa Verde This simple dish doesn't require much of an explanation. Oysters are pretty much safe too eat raw through out the year except for months that end in R. Mexican Pacific Oysters are excellent (medium size briny, lemony & cucumber like)...Gulf of Mexico Oysters are also good....watch for Sea of Cortez Oysters....they are extremely large....and need to be cut into three. For those new to oysters...the Pacific Northwest American oysters tend to be small & clean tasting. Roasted Tomatillos Salsa > On a griddle blacken two handfuls of shucked tomatillos & two Serrano chiles. > Once they are blackened on all sides...put in a blender with with a little bit of water & blend until fairly smooth. > Add Chopped Onions...and pulse a couple of times until the onions are finely chopped. > Add Cilantro Leaves & pulse a couple of times > Add Salt to taste > Let the Salsa sit for at least 30 minutes in the fridge Put a little dollop of salsa on each shucked Oyster...squeeze little fresh lime juice & enjoy!