March 2010
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March 18, 2010 6:30 PM
18 March 2010
6:30 to 9:00 PM
Cooking demonstration and tasting dinner at the Mexican Cultural Institute.
Enjoy the lingering pre-Hispanic flavors still inherent in exquisite dishes, sauces, desserts, drinks and all sort of concoctions that were prepared in convents to please Mexican royalty in Colonial times. From Mole Poblano to Buñuelos, it will be a meal to remember as you hear entertaining stories of the historical fusions between European and Native ingredients and cooking techniques.
To register and for more information click here.
Chayote, also called chayote squash (it is from the squash family), choko, vegetable pear, mirliton and christophene, is a beautiful pear like shaped vegetable. Ironically, it has a texture similar to a pear that isn't ripe, but less grainy. Yet the chayotes isn't wholly sweet, it just has a sweet hint, barely a whisper, really. Its flavor is more neutral, like a cross between a pear and a cucumber... and zucchini. Well, you just have to give them a try.
Crispy, watery, very low-fat, with a clean and wholesome feel, chayote can be used many ways. Most typically in soups, as a warm vegetable side, a cold salad or very popularly stuffed either with a sweet or savory spin. They are most times cooked and best al dente, unless eaten stuffed (continue for more information and photo).
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Cilantro is also known by many names like culantro, coriander and even Chinese parsley. Although it didn't originate in Mexico, it has grown such strong roots in its cuisine, to the point that its hard to think about Mexican cooking without it.
It has delicate, paper thin leaves and tender stems. Its deep green color tends to be shinny too.
it is used for countless foods including being a key ingredients of many salsas, guacamoles and pico de gallo. It is used to flavor beans, rice, salads, stews amongst some dishes. It is even placed frequently on the table in a bowl, just as an optional garnish for tacos, antojos and soups. In the last couple decades it has even become quite popular for smoothies and juices (continue for more information and photo).
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March 5, 2010 2:00 PM
Though I am no painter, this I know to be true:
Throw in the four primary colors onto a painting palette and mix randomly. Whatever combination you come up with, there will be a Mexican rice that catches the spirit of those tones.
Red rice, cooked in a rich base of tomato puree, onion and garlic, and sometimes chopped vegetables. Depending on the cook and the style, sometimes red rice may end up a bit on the orange side. Green rice, either based on Poblano chile, cilantro, parsley or a combination of those, giving a beautiful range of flavors along those grassy lines. Black rice, seasoned with cooking broth from beans in the pot. White rice, the classic yet flavorful Mexican take that can be an unpretentious yet comforting side to almost anything. And we are not even getting started.
What many people don't know is that Mexico also has its versions of Yellow rice.
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