Results tagged “Tomato”
August 12, 2010 2:00 PM
With a soft, crumbly and almost sweet dough that embraces a moist, tasty and meaty filling, it is hard not to eat one after the other. These Empanadas do have a curious name though. Especially when you consider their addicting nature.
I didn't choose their name. No.
The nuns from the Mexican Convent of our Lady of the Immaculate Conception are to blame.
It all began with Beatriz da Silva, the Portuguese woman who founded the order in Toledo, Spain. Known to be shockingly beautiful, although destined to be the companion to Queen Isabel from Spain, she was locked up because of the Queen's jealousy and alleged admiration from the King. Legend goes, that when Beatriz managed to flee, she was more beautiful and had a new found strength she used to establish a new Conceptionist order.
The three Conceptionist nuns who arrived in Mexico City around the 1540's, were also known to be strong. If not as pretty. Aside from trying to evangelize the population, they combined Spanish and Mexican ingredients in their kitchens, as most Spanish nuns, with an intense passion and a ton of imagination.
As most Spanish nuns, as well, their cooking instincts were led by an insatiable sweet tooth. That may explain the sweet elements both in the dough and the filling of these Empanadas, that were served time and again to entertain guests in this convent.
And now you know, where the name comes from...
Continue reading Empanadas of the "Immaculate Conception"
|
COMMENTS (8)
April 2, 2010 11:15 AM
Yesterday, right after my blog turned 1 year old, I added a new category under Ingredients: Cheese.
This site is a continuous work in progress. As my husband notes, it is very time consuming, but as I always respond, it is immensely rewarding. Truth is, I can't wait to keep on adding more. One of the things I have loved the most has been getting your requests, so please, keep them coming! Which brings me back to Mexican cheese, a topic I have gotten many requests for.
The first kind I added is the widely available Queso Fresco. A deeply white, mild, fresh, light, barely salty, gently tangy and versatile cheese that crumbles right in your mouth the moment you take a bite. Yet, it also holds its shape beautifully if you dice it or cut it into sticks. So it lets you play with it in many ways.
Continue reading Queso Fresco: Tri-Color Salad with a Lime-Honey Vinaigrette
|
COMMENTS (8)
March 25, 2010 10:00 PM
The showcase of last week's class was one of Mexico's most famous and delicious moles, the Poblano, which originated in the kitchen of the Convent of Santa Rosa, in Puebla. After seeing how much guests enjoyed it, I can't wait to share it with you.
I know, the word Mole sounds exciting to eat yet intimidating to prepare. As the root of the word describes, from the náhuatl mulli, Mole is a thick sauce or paste made by grinding ingredients together in a molcajete or communal mill. A food processor works as well. This sauce can be thinned out with broth or water when ready to use.
The Poblano with its long ingredients list and its laborious process, is not the best way to introduce Moles. There are some simple Moles with no more than 4 or 5 ingredients that are easier to prepare and just as tasty.
But here I am! I adore the Poblano and I know you will too...
I tested many ways to find the easiest route to make it without compromising its authenticity and flavor. As long as you prep your ingredients and have them in place before you start throwing them in the pot -what the French call Mise en Place and Mexicans Estate Listo!-, it's a manageable task that takes about an hour. Trust me. Here we go.
Continue reading Mole Poblano: Yes You Can!
|
COMMENTS (22)
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.
Continue reading Old World and New World: Yellow Rice
|
COMMENTS (4)
November 5, 2009 11:05 AM
You know how some people become attached to a certain dish? They try it somewhere once and then want to go back to eat it again and again, or they make it at home repeatedly in an until-death-do-us-part kind of vow? Well, I am one of those people, and I have made that vow with quite a few dishes from the Mexican state of Michoacan.
It surprises me how Michoacan's cuisine has remained such a well-kept secret. It has a defined personality and a complex layering of delicious flavors like the more popular cuisines from Oaxaca and Puebla, but its dishes seem to be a bit more comforting and use fewer ingredients.
Article written for and published by National Public Radio's Kitchen Window. To read entire article and to get recipes for Tarascan Bean and Tomato Soup, Brisket in a Tomatillo and Pasilla Chili Sauce and Guava Cheesecake, click here in Kitchen Window.
September 30, 2009 3:00 PM
I have been humbled, time and again, by how one never stops learning from other cooks in the kitchen. That has especially been the case with my cooking team at the Mexican Cultural Institute. We are all from different parts of Mexico, with our peculiar twists and spins, influences and very strong opinions, which we love to scream out loud when trying to make what we serve at each event be the best it can possibly be.
Though we get a bit stressed when cooking for kitchen outsiders, we really let loose when making lunch for ourselves. We take turns and last week Julio, a former Mexican taquería cook, made his albóndigas. I had been dying to try them since not only he, but his aunt Maricruz, had been raving about them for over two years. "De veras, de veritas Pati" (Maricruz said, which means really, REALLY) "he makes the most delicious albóndigas of them all".
Continue reading Dreaming of Julio's Albóndigas with Chipotle and Mint
|
COMMENTS (13)
August 26, 2009 4:00 PM
26 August 2009
4:30 PM to 6:00 PM at Foggy Bottom Market (I St, between New Hampshire and 24th St, NW)
It is tomato week at Freshfarm Markets! This will be a cooking demonstration and sampling of two easy, delicious and versatile ways to use ripe tomatoes.
For more information click here.
August 25, 2009 12:16 PM
"All I want is a hamburger, a hot dog, a Pizza, a nice big steak, some Texas style bar-b-q and a big plate of pancakes... no tacos or anything Mexican ok?" My dad said, after devouring the welcoming meal I prepared for him, which happened to be Tacos de Guisado.
Guisados are Mexican style stews, which can be ladled into warm corn tortillas. There are plenty of Fondas or small restaurants that specialize in them throughout Mexico. Since my dad loves them, I received him with three of his favorites: Chicken Tinga heavy on the chipotle, beef cooked in a green salsa with cubed potatoes and nopalitos, or cactus paddles, sauteed with onion, Guajillo Chilies and corn. There were also refried beans and white rice, as they are such friendly sides to tacos.
After he made it clear that he didn't want anything Mexican for the next three days, making me laugh so hard along the way, we set off to satisfy his cravings.
Continue reading Mexican style eggs: A la Papi
|
COMMENTS (7)
August 5, 2009 8:40 AM
As I delightfully accepted (jumping up and down) the invitation to come cook Mexican with Paula, I told her producer, we love her show at home. Not only does it make my boys want to jump into the kitchen but her accent completely cracks them up. That last bit made her producer burst in laughter. Patriz-z-zia, he said, her accent cracks them up? What about yours?
Mine?
Sometimes we are the last ones to notice some of our most obvious traits and talents. Growing up in Mexico I used to think I was tall, then I moved to Texas. After years of studying to become a political analyst, here I am, cooking my life away.
A couple months after the invitation to visit Paula, guess what started to happen? Even my little gringo boys at home started cracking up at my accent too. "Mami, you don't say feesh, you say fish, not like bee... you know, like dish." Oh well... I am not tall, I am not a political analyst anymore and I do have an accent.
Accents included and all, visiting Paula's kitchen in Savannah was some of the best fun I've ever had. Thinking about it makes me smile so wide, my eyes barely get the chance to see what's in front of them. She is hilarious.
This I can say: I am amazed by Paula. She is as scrumptious, funny and generous in person as she is on screen. As real as real can get, and its even better live. I don't know that many people who enjoy food as much as Paula. She just dives into it, the whole thing, the preparing, the cooking and the savoring. So before deciding the menu, I knew the food had to be as yummy as she is. Now that's a challenge.
Continue reading The crunchiest and tastiest tacos for Paula Deen
|
COMMENTS (23)
June 11, 2009 12:09 PM
Some people get motion sickness when they travel. Some people get hungry. I am among the latter.
The minute I step on whatever will transport me from one place to another, my mind swims through related food memories... and I just have to eat. So since I know I will have a craving for something other than a moist, soggy, chewy and never-ever crunchy baguette from the Amtrak train, and after being so spoiled with the food from El Chepe Train, I am packing my own Torta.
Torta (according to me...): A satisfying and delicious, self contained, easy to transport, edible package filled with tasty ingredients that just love to schmooze together.
Continue reading I am packing my own Torta...
|
COMMENTS (6)
Charring/roasting ingredients is a way to concentrate and deepen their flavor. It also somehow gives the dishes where they are being used an interesting and rustic feel.
Continue reading Charring ingredients
|
COMMENTS (0)
April 27, 2009 5:33 AM
While most of us in DC have stacked our winter clothes up in the attic or inside a trunk, the truth is, it's still a bit chilly. So today I made this mushroom soup, yet again. I should be tired of it already, since I just cooked 100 portions of it for last Friday's cooking class at the Institute and I had tested it for weeks... But here I go.. It is just too good!
It is not your typical soup at all. It has the woody and earthy feel of the mushrooms, but their flavor is somehow enhanced by the Chile de Árbol. It may sound strange, since one would think that chiles mask the flavor of ingredients. But depending on how you use them, they can pronounce rather than overpower other flavors.
Continue reading A comfy soup for the still chilly nights
|
COMMENTS (2)
