Category: Visiting Chefs

Restaurante Azul/Condesa: Chef Ricardo Muñoz Zurita in La Condesa, Mexico City

The latest restaurant news from Mexico City's leafy, gentrified Colonia La Condesa is Chef Ricardo Muñoz Zurita's Azul/Condesa at Nuevo León #68, almost at the corner of Calle Laredo–and walking distance from Mexico Cooks!' house. This eagerly awaited joint venture between Chef Muñoz and restauranteurs Gonzalo Serrano Orozco and Salomé Álvarez (formerly of Restaurante/Bar Ligaya) opened in late January 2011. Mexico Cooks! photo.

Just as Mexico Cooks! was in the process of renting an apartment in La Condesa, our good friend (that's the disclaimer, everyone) Chef Ricardo Muñoz Zurita announced that his newest baby, Restaurante Azul/Condesa, was about to open right here in the neighborhood. After having made–and several times–the lengthy but worthwhile trek to the far-southern Ciudad Universitaria (UNAM campus) site of Chef Muñoz's first restaurant, Azul y Oro, the news that his menus would be available within walking distance of us produced an ecstasy of anticipatory drool.

The ambience in all of Azul/Condesa's dining spaces–downstairs, upstairs, and in the garden–is conducive to enjoying a relaxing drink, a fine meal from the fixed or festival menus, and a changing gallery of art. Photo courtesy Azul/Condesa.

Start with a straight-up tequila, limones, and a chaser of terrific, flavorful, and picante house-made sangrita. Another option, served in typical jícaras (carved half-gourds), is a mezcal from Azul/Condesa's excellent tasting list. Mexico Cooks!' particular favorite is Oaxaca's mezcal Amores. Mexico Cooks! photo.

Something less than a year ago, Gonzalo Serrano and Salomé Álvarez approached Ricardo Muñoz with the idea of opening a new restaurant in the Ligaya building. After fourteen highly successful years at Ligaya, the Serrano/Álvarez partnership wanted to offer something new to its public. Gonzalo Serrano said, "We believe that it was time to offer a discerning clientele a taste of Mexico that goes beyond the Vitamina T choices that are most common in this neighborhood." (Vitamina T refers to a steady diet of tacos, tortas, tamales, and other standard fonda (small restaurant) or street food fare that starts with the letter 't'). The three restauranteurs hit it off immediately and Restaurante Azul/Condesa was in the works.

Before opening, the new partners collaborated in making changes to the interior spaces as well as the menu. The kitchen underwent a complete renovation, as did the restaurant furnishings. Tables, chairs, linen, and dishware were re-designed for the new venture. Upstairs, a new cantera (stone) floor was installed. Everything was planned for the comfort and enjoyment of the client, as well as for a different style but equally professional use of the kitchen. Photo courtesy Azul/Condesa.

From Azul/Condesa's fixed menu, a salad of arrugula, pear, roquefort cheese, and cashew nut dressed with balsamic vinegar. Each dish on the menus is a work of art as well as an incredible explosion of flavor on your palate. Photo courtesy Azul/Condesa.

The Azul/Condesa menu concept divides between fixed and festival menus. Some menu offerings stay the same, ranging from salads to desserts. The festival menus change each month. The initial festival was Alma Jarocha (the soul of Veracruz), featuring dishes from that eastern coastal state. The main courses of the festival menu featured predominately seafood specialties such as Veracruz-style octopus, a fish in green pipián (in this case, a thick pumpkin-seed based sauce), and Boca del Río-style shrimp in a sauce of white wine and smoky chile chipotle en adobo. In addition, the Veracruz dessert menu showcased vanilla, mamey, guanábana, and other products from the state.

Buñuelos rellenos de pato rostizado (roast duck stuffed into wee packets and deep-fried, similar to fried wontons) are served with Oaxacan black mole, thin slices of steamed calabacita (zucchini), and fresh blackberries. This dish is on the menu as a main course for one person, but it also makes a marvelous appetizer for a table of three or four diners. Mexico Cooks! photo.

During the month of March, we were in love with the menu called Festival de Moles y Pipianes. The menu was set up in two parts: one side offered a selection of twelve moles and pipianes–just the sauces–and the other side offered a selection of eleven different meats, birds, and fish. The possibilities were endless: for example, almendrado huasteco, an almond mole from Veracruz, combined equally well with imported pheasant as with breast of turkey medallions or New Zealand lamb ribs. Chichilo negro, a Oaxacan black mole flavored with avocado leaves, made the kitchen's perfectly cooked medium-rare filete de res (filet of beef) a spectacular choice.

A vegetarian appetizer from the fixed menu: tamalitos de acelgas, bañadas en caldillo de jitomate (little swiss chard tamales, bathed with a thin tomato sauce), from the state of Tabasco. Photo courtesy Azul/Condesa.

Traditional Yucatecan cochinita pibil (pit-roasted pork), cooked in a banana leaf and garnished with pickled red onions. Photo courtesy Azul/Condesa.

During the month of April, the festival menu was called MMMM…Mango!, to celebrate the onset of that fruit's season in Mexico. Everything from salads to desserts included mango: diced into guacamole, garnishing your steak or shrimp, fresh-frozen into ice cream, or served as a simple bowl of the king of fruits, mango made your perfect choice of dinner even better.

Sautéed shrimp covered with mango salsa–delicioso! Mexico Cooks! photo.

Have you bought your plane tickets yet? Just wait! Desserts are as marvelous as everything else on the menu at Azul/Condesa. Your choices range from the simplest bowl of ice cream to the outrageously delicious–well, I truly don't know what I prefer. You look:

Espuma de guanábana is a light-as-a-breath refreshing soursop (I know, a terrible English name for a fabulous fruit) mousse served with your choice of salsas: the red fruits that you see in the photo, black zapote, or chocolate. Photo courtesy Azul/Condesa.

Tamalito de chocolate (little chocolate tamal), accompanied with a custard sauce, chocolate sauce, AND a mixed-berry sauce, then topped with slivered almonds and whipped cream. Oh man… Photo courtesy Azul/Condesa.

Last, pastel de tres leches (three milks cake), served with a generous pour of rompope (Mexico's eggnog–this devilishly good liqueur has its origins in a convent) and presented with fresh fruit and a variety of sauces. Photo courtesy Mexico Cooks!' dear friend from Guadalajara, Tim Welch.

We've tried to capture a photo of the dessert that Mexico Cooks! prefers, but somebody has always snitched a forkful before we can take the picture. Triángulo de café pluma is a multi-layered coffee-flavored cake, filled with coffee butter cream and covered with dark chocolate and is well worth snitching.

Beautiful in concept and extraordinary in execution, Azul/Condesa fills a niche in this Mexico City neighborhood that has been vacant until now. The fixed menu is marvelous, the festival menus are filled with regional and seasonal treats that you will love. Prices? Moderate.

Go. When you're visiting Mexico City, just go.

Azul/Condesa
Nuevo León #68
Colonia La Condesa
Mexico, D.F.
Telephone 5286-6380 or 5286-6268 for reservations
Monday through Saturday from 1:30PM until 1:30AM, Sundays 1:30PM until 6:30PM.

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14 de May de 2011
Breakfast with Mexico Cooks!: Yoghurt con Fresa y Chía (Yogurt with Strawberries and Chia)

Strawberry season in Mexico! This 70-year-old mixing bowl holds one and a half kilos of sweet, ripe fruit. At the tianguis (street market) where Mexico Cooks! shops, the price per kilo of strawberries is usually 25 pesos, or approximately $1.00 USD per pound.

A couple of weeks ago, Mexico Cooks! was tickled to receive a phone call from our old friend Steve Sando, red-hot heirloom bean empresario Rancho Gordo. "Hey, I'm in town for the day on my way to Mérida–you busy?" Of course we are never too busy for a visit from Steve and we immediately made plans for a long visit over midday comida (the main meal of the day in Mexico).

During the course of our table conversation, we somehow got around to the topic of chía, a product that's fairly newly available from Rancho Gordo. Chía, a species of mint, is grown for its seeds. If you've been around as long as Mexico Cooks! has, you'll remember the chía pet: spread dampened chía seeds all over a little clay animal filled with water and in just a few days, bingo, you have an animal covered with pretty green living fur–the chía plant. Our first memory of one of these novelties was called Paddy O'Hair.

However, chía has been around far longer than Paddy O'Hair or the current chía pet. The ancient peoples of what is now Mexico discovered its extraordinary health properties thousands of years ago. Chía seed may be eaten raw as a whole seed, providing protein, fiber, and fats (including Omega 3), as well as certain essential minerals. Ground chía seed is sometimes added to pinole, a coarse flour made from toasted corn kernels. Chía seeds placed in water or fruit juice are consumed in Mexico and known as chía fresca. The soaked seeds are gelatinous in texture and are used in combination with other cereals. Ground chía seed is often used in baked goods, including some commercially produced breads and cakes.

This week, one of the tianguis vendors offered big-as-the-ball-of-my-thumb, sweet, fresh Michoacán-grown zarzamora (blackberries) for only 20 pesos per kilo–that works out to slightly over 9 pesos per pound. That's about 75 cents per pound. Blackberries are my absolute favorite fruit to add to yoghurt, so you can guess what I bought. I prepare them exactly as I do strawberries.

A year or so ago, Mexico Cooks! decided to add chía seeds to our morning breakfast yoghurt. Most yoghurt in Mexico is heavily sweetened with sugar, artificially flavored, and is nearly a drinkable consistency. I prefer a product that starts out sugar-free, is naturally flavored, and is thick enough to eat with a spoon. I started experimenting and came up with the following recipe.

Alpura brand yoghurt is available almost everywhere in central Mexico. Many Mexican yoghurt brands are labeled "all natural", but even those without added flavorings contain a lot of sugar. Alpura is, as far as Mexico Cooks! knows, the only national brand yoghurt that contains no sugar or artificial flavorings. In the United States, Canada, and other countries, you'll be able to choose from several brands. Or, of course, you can make your own plain yoghurt.

Mexico Cooks!-Style Yoghurt with Fresh Strawberries and Chía

Ingredients
2 quarts plain (unsweetened and unflavored) yoghurt
1 kilo (2.2 pounds) fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
Sweetener to taste (Rancho Gordo piloncillo, granulated sugar, or artificial sweetener)
1/2 cup chía seeds

Procedure
Cut the strawberries in half and place in a large bowl. Add the sweetener of your choice to the strawberries. Mexico Cooks! uses artificial sweetener due to dietary restrictions, but Rancho Gordo piloncillo would be far tastier. Mash the berries (I use that heavy-duty metal bean masher in the photo) until some of the juice comes up, but leave most of the berry halves whole or nearly whole.

Add the salt and the yoghurt and stir until well-mixed.

Mix thoroughly.

Add the chía seeds and mix again.

Finished!

I package the finished yoghurt in recycled 900-gram Alpura containers. This recipe yields three filled containers plus 2 cups, or approximately 3 liters of strawberry/chía yoghurt. Once the yoghurt is packaged, allow it to rest overnight so that the chía will develop its gelatinous consistency and thicken the yoghurt.

Approximate nutritional information for a one-cup serving sweetened with artificial sweetener
Calories…………….110
Protein……………..5 grams
Fats………………..6 grams
Calcium…………….120 mg
Sodium………………60 mg
Carbohydrates……….12 grams

Breakfast: approximately one cup of yoghurt, strawberries, and chía. After resting overnight, the chía has become gelatinous and gives substantial thickness to the yoghurt. Three kilos plus two cups of this mixture is enough for about two weeks worth of breakfasts.

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7 de May de 2011
Mexico Cooks! in Mexico City, Our New Base of Operation

Our apartment building in Mexico City's leafy, bohemian colonia Hipódromo La Condesa. This newly gentrified old neighborhood is full of hip restaurants, trees, parks, and stylish people walking stylish dogs. Mexico Cooks! fits right in–well, at least our two stylish little dogs fit right in!

Our extremely stylish Papillon, Olive, is flirting with you. Desi, the male, is equally stylish but shy.

If you've been reading Mexico Cooks! for any length of time, you know how deeply in love Mexico Cooks! has always been with the state of Michoacán and all its wonders. From my very first visit in 1982, Michoacán has been home to my soul. That love has not changed.

Nevertheless, about eight months ago, my partner and I reluctantly began talking about moving elsewhere. The current problems in Michoacán are serious, as are the problems we experienced in Morelia. Mexico Cooks! has always been primarily about the joyous beauty of Michoacán; that physical beauty hasn't changed, but life there has been deeply affected by what we all hope are the temporary difficulties of living in a city and state where narcotraficantes (drug traffickers) cause big and frequent trouble.

I have been loathe to write about these problems and have believed that surely their end is near, but our personal life in Morelia–and my professional life as Mexico Cooks!–continued to be gravely impacted by the ongoing situation there. Recurrent and very real narcoviolencia all over Michoacán made it all but impossible to take visiting tour groups out into the hinterlands to visit small-town fairs and festivals. Mexico Cooks! would never put you at risk, nor would I choose to be at risk myself. In addition, traffic problems and constant road blockages made it increasingly difficult to travel even the short distance from our Morelia home to Morelia's historic center.

Ultimately, we decided to move to Mexico City. Before, during, and since the move I have repeated, "In more than 30 years in Mexico, it never would have occurred to me that life is more secure in Mexico City than it is in the provinces. But life in Mexico has changed, and my knowledge about security has also changed."

Our new home when we first saw it in January 2011. The gray paths are heavy paper, put down as temporary protection for the newly varnished 60-year-old hardwood floors. This long room measures about 40 feet from the front door to the French doors leading to the balcony.

We spent part of December and part of January apartment-hunting in the big city–its current population estimate is something above twenty million. After searching in several neighborhoods, we narrowed our choice to La Condesa, where several of our friends already live.

In mid-January, we found what we were looking for: a large, quiet apartment in a building with an elevator, within walking distance to public transportation and at a rent we could afford. After having seen any number of apartments that were definitely not 'the one', it was love at first sight when we opened the door to this one. In mid-February, we moved. The moving company estimated that they packed and transported seven tons of our household goods, and when moving-in day arrived, the building's elevator was not working. All seven tons of furniture and moving boxes came up the stairs on the backs of the moving crew. Ay ay ay!

The same room, post-move, looking toward the French doors.

Another view, this time looking toward our front door.

The Mexico Cooks! kitchen. Long and skinny with a door on either end, the kitchen is convenient for both cooking and serving meals. The apartment measures very nearly 1900 square feet.

The Mexico Cooks! office, where I write the articles and process the photos. All of the rooms have marvelous floor-to-ceiling windows for lots of light and air. One of the fringe benefits of moving to this part of the city is ease of getting around: we parked our car in the building's garage and have not moved it since mid-February. We walk everywhere, take the Mexico City metro or the MetroBus if we're going a longer distance, and will only use the car for trips outside the city–that is, if we don't take one of Mexico's superb long-distance buses.

We're lucky to have twice-weekly tianguis (street markets) within three blocks of our apartment. Every Tuesday and Friday, we stroll over to buy fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, fish, poultry, eggs and many staples. The neighborhood supermarket is handy (and also within easy walking distance) for needs the tianguis can't meet.

Street food is everywhere around us. This stand, Tortas y sincronizadas Los Cuñados (the brothers-in-law) is on a corner less than half a block from our building. The owner opens every day except Sunday, from about 9:00 AM until early evening. The first few weeks we were here, we bought sincronizadas (think flour tortillas stuffed with ham, egg, cheese, and chiles, then grilled till the cheese oozes out the sides) or tortas (sandwiches made on a soft telera roll) for breakfast nearly every morning.

Leaving Michoacán has been very difficult for me. Don't get me wrong: I love our beautiful apartment, I love our neighborhood, and I love Mexico City. I think it's the most exciting city in this part of the world. There may come a time when my soul moves here to join my physical self, but just for now a huge part of my heart is still in residence in the mountains of Michoacán.

Art Deco era building, Avenida Amsterdam, La Condesa.

Mexico Cooks! is taking a new direction starting this week; I think you'll enjoy the places we go and the things we bring you. Stay tuned every Saturday morning: we'll be right here. Let us know what you think as you explore this incredibly vibrant, totally electric, cosmopolitan and crazy city with us.

Looking for a tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours.

30 de April de 2011
Una Muestra de Gastronomía in Michoacán: A Food Fair in Michoacán

The Purhépecha woman in the foreground pats out tortillas while her companion sorts through a plate of golden, freshly cut flor de calabaza (squash blossoms).

The first two mornings of the huge annual artisans' crafts fair in Michoacán begin with a food fair: una muestra de gastronomía. Fifteen or so outdoor kitchens, set up around a charming plaza just a block from the crafts booths, offer cooking demonstrations and inexpensive meals of representative Purhépecha dishes. The food, rustic and rarely seen outside a Purhépecha home kitchen, is, in a word, heavenly. The Mexico Cooks! group trooped into the food fair just in time for Saturday breakfast. They could have known who we were by the way our mouths were watering with anticipation.

Corn is the basis for the indigenous Mexican kitchen, and the tortilla is the lowest common denominator. On the table in front of this woman, you can see the metate (three-legged rectangular grinding stone) and the mano (similar to a rolling pin) resting on it, along with the prepared masa from which tortillas are made. Both the metate and the mano are hand-carved from volcanic rock.

To your left of the table is the clay comal (similar to a griddle) that in this instance rests loosely on top of a metal drum in which the wood cook fire is built. Prior to use, the comal is cured with cal (builders' lime). The cal serves two purposes: it gives the comal a non-stick surface and it adds nutrients to the masa as it toasts.

In the past, all of Mexico's women prepared dried corn for masa by soaking and simmering it in a solution of water and cal. The name of the prepared corn is nixtamal. Once it's processed, it's ready to be ground into masa for tortillas, tamales, and other corn-dough preparations. Some rural women still grind nixtamal-ized corn by hand using the metate and mano. Some take the prepared corn to their neighborhood tortillería (tortilla vendor's shop) for grinding, and some prepare their masa using commercial dried corn flour. In urban areas, the majority of Mexican families buy tortillas hot off the tortilla baker at the tortillería and carry them home, wrapped in a special hand-embroidered towel, just in time for a meal.

This woman prepares her stove, made of part of a metal drum with an opening cut away for firewood. She's spreading a paste made of wood ash and cal on and around the top of the the drum to hold the comal in place. The white streaks on the red clay comal are cal. The volcanic rock metate and mano are on the bench in the background. Her well-used clay cooking pot is visible to your left.

This joyous woman is patting out blue corn tortillas. The masa and mano are on the metate in front of her. She's toasting the tortillas and roasting tomatoes and chiles on her clay comal. The comal is set into a clay stove fired by wood. The haze that you see is woodsmoke.

The Purhépecha kitchen repertoire includes numerous atápakuas (literally, a type of thick, soup-like salsa served plentifully over prepared food). The Purhépecha word atápakua has meaning deeper than its simple definition. Its connotation is food that is picante (spicy), nutritious, and life-sustaining in a spiritual sense. Mexican culinary historians agree that the preparation of atápakuas dates from as long as 400 years before the Spanish Conquest, around 1100 AD, when the Purhépecha were strong rulers in the area of Mexico that is now Michoacán.

An atápakua can be made from the ingredients that are easily found in the region. The specialty of one tiny village of the Meseta Purhépecha is atápakua del talpanal (wasp larvae). Another town's specialty is xururi atápakua, the principal ingredient of which is cotton seeds. More commonly, indigenous cooks prepare their atápakuas of seasonal and readily available vegetables, wild herbs and greens, and a bit of meat, poultry, or fish.

We of Mexico Cooks! didn't eat wasp larvae or cotton seeds. We inhaled bowls of atápakua de flor de calabaza (thick, soupy salsa served over squash flowers, fresh corn kernels, and chunks of corundas de ceniza (unfilled tamales made with masa and wood ash).

In the closeup of the atápakua you can clearly see the corn kernels (closest to the bowl of the spoon), small pieces of calabacita (similar to zucchini), orange squash flowers, and a piece of white corunda. For flavor and color, chiles serrano and cilantro are blended into the cooking liquid. The thin, soupy salsa is then thickened by blending a small ball of masa into the hot liquid. This atápakua is deliciously spicy and tastes as fresh as the garden. I finished my portion and wanted another bowl.

Here are Susan, Steve, and Gayla, all part of the Mexico Cooks! breakfast crew. We had already gobbled our atápakua (witness the empty bowls) and had moved on to snarfing down the jahuácatas we're holding. Jahuácatas are similar to gorditas. Purhépecha women prepare the jahuácatas by folding freshly patted tortillas and refried beans into multiple thin layers, then toasting the finished product on the comal.

Churipo, shown above, is one of my favorite Purhépecha specialties. Churipo is a hearty soup, the delicious broth flavored by long cooking with beef, cabbage, calabacitas, xoconostle (the sour fruit of a specific nopal cactus), onion, chile, and other ingredients. Served with a squeeze of limón (Mexican lime), a sprinkle of coarse sea salt, tortillas hot off the comal and corundas de ceniza broken up in the bowl, it's a wonderful meal in one dish. If your palate will take the heat, eat some raw chiles serrano along with your bowl of churipo. Remember that the tip of any chile is less picante than the stem end, where most of the seeds are. Photo courtesy Steve Sando, www.ranchogordo.com

Late in the afternoon, after we'd investigated as many of the crafts booths as we could, we were all in need of something very light and fresh for our comida (middday meal). We ordered a fruit plate and a plate of guacamole with totopos (triangular fried tortilla chips) at a local restaurant.

For dessert we found limones, with the pulp scraped away, candied and stuffed with cocada (coconut candy). Half of one of these is plenty!

This was such a sweet finish to a fascinating day in Michoacán. If you'd like to travel to this event in 2012, be sure to email Mexico Cooks! in time to save your place for adventure.

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23 de April de 2011
Carne de Cerdo en Salsa Verde (Pork in Green Sauce): Mexico Cooks! Favorite Main Dish for Parties

Tomatillos with their husks and fresh chiles serrano.

If you are like most cooks–Mexico Cooks! included–there are times when you want to astonish your guests with your intricate culinary skills by preparing the most complicated and time-consuming recipes you know. A seven-course Szechuan dinner that I prepared a year or so ago comes immediately to mind; it took me several days to recover just from the preparations.

Then there are other times when you want to prepare something relatively quick but still completely delicious and which will inevitably win raves from your companions at table. This recipe for pork in green salsa completely satisfies both requirements. It's my never-fail dish for many company dinners.

Carne de Cerdo en Salsa Verde (Pork in Green Chile Sauce)
Six generous servings

Ingredients
Salsa verde (Green sauce)
1 pound tomatillos (known in Mexico as tomate verde), husks removed
4 or 5 whole chiles serrano, depending on your tolerance for picante (spiciness)
1/2 medium white onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic (optional)
1 medium bunch fresh cilantro, largest stems removed
Sea salt to taste

Fresh cilantro.

Carne de cerdo (Pork Meat)
1 kilo (2.2 pounds) very lean fresh pork butt, cut into 2" cubes
White flour
Salt
Oil or lard sufficient for frying the pork

Preparation
Salsa verde
In a large pot of water over high heat, bring the tomatillos and chiles (and garlic, if you choose to use it) to a full rolling boil. Boil just until the tomatillos begin to crack; watch them closely or they will disintegrate in the water.

Let the tomatillos and chiles (and garlic, if you like) boil until the tomatillos begin to crack.

Using a slotted spoon, scoop the cooked tomatillos, salt, and chiles into your blender jar. There's no need to add liquid at first, but reserve the liquid in which the vegetables boiled until you see the thickness of your sauce. You might want to thin it slightly and the cooking liquid will not dilute the flavor. Set the vegetables aside to cool for about half an hour. Once they are cool, cover the blender, hold the blender cap on, and blend all the vegetables, including the chopped onion, until you have a smooth sauce.

Be careful to allow the tomatillos and chiles to cool before you blend them; blending them while they are fresh from the boiling water could easily cause you to burn yourself, the hot mixture tends to react like molten lava in the blender. (Note: don't ask me how I know this.)

In the blender, the boiled and cooled tomatillos and chiles. The cilantro goes in last.

While the blender is running, remove the center of its cap and, little by little, push the cilantro into the whizzing sauce. Blend just until smooth; you should still see big flecks of dark green cilantro in the lighter green sauce. Test the salt and correct if necessary. Reserve the sauce for later use.

Golden brown pork cubes.

Carne de Cerdo (Pork Meat)
Preheat oven to 170°C or 350°F.

Pat the 2" pork cubes as dry as possible with paper towels.

Put about 1/4 cup flour in a plastic grocery-size bag. Add 1/2 tsp salt. Melt the lard over high heat in a large heavy oven-proof casserole. While the lard is melting, shake about 1/4 of the cubed pork in the salted flour. When the oil or lard begins to smoke, add the floured pork cubes, being careful not to dump the flour into the pan. Cover the pan. As the pork cubes brown, shake another 1/4 of the pork cubes in flour and salt. Turn the pork cubes until all sides are golden brown. Remove browned cubes to a bowl and reserve. Add more floured pork to the hot lard. You may need more oil or lard as well as more salted flour. Repeat until all pork cubes are well browned. Reserve the browned pork in the same pan, scraping the crispy bits from the bottom.

Add the sauce to the pork cubes in the casserole, making sure that all the cubes are immersed in sauce. Cover and put the casserole into the oven, reducing the heat to 160°C or 325°F. Bake for two hours. Add cooking liquid from the vegetables if necessary to keep the sauce relatively thick but not sticking to the casserole. The pork will be fork-tender and the green sauce will take on a rich, deep, pork-y flavor and color.

The browned pork cubes and green sauce, ready to be baked. This particular batch of carne de cerdo en salsa verde was a little more than double the recipe included here. The recipe is very forgiving and can easily be doubled or tripled to fit the number of guests on your dinner party list. If a whole recipe is too much for your needs, make it anyway: it freezes very well.

Serve with arroz blanco (steamed white rice) or arroz a la mexicana (red rice), refried beans, a colorful, contrasting vegetable, and fresh, hot tortillas. Mexico Cooks!' money-back guarantee: everyone will come back for seconds.

Provecho!

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26 de February de 2011
Jello Shots, Mexican Style

Mexico Cooks! originally published this article in June 2007, in a slightly different form.

Sra. Abundis, a Guadalajara friend, prepared this clear gelatina (gelatin). It's approximately 15" in diameter and stuffed with fresh red and green grapes, canned pineapple, and duraznos en almíbar (peaches canned in syrup).

Whether you're having a midday meal at a traditional Mexican restaurant anywhere in the República or celebrating at a private party at the home of Mexican friends, you can be almost 100% sure that a prominent item on the dessert menu will be gelatin. As you browse the produce at any town's tianguis (street market) or elbow your way through the crowds at a fiesta patronal (patron saint's celebration), you'll see vendors selling plastic cups and glasses of jewel-colored gelatin desserts. Gelatina is a shimmering sweet fact of life in Mexico, popular with young and old alike.

What is this Mexican obsession with a food that smacks of 1950s Middle America? Delight in gelatin desserts has been prevalent in Mexico for years; marketing experts here report that it's eaten daily in nearly 90% of Mexican homes. Mexicans consume more gelatin desserts than nearly any other country in the world—three times the quantity of gelatin consumed in the United States alone. In restaurants, the dessert tray will almost always include a variety of gelatin desserts. When Señora Fulana (Mrs. So-and-So) is invited to a party at the home of her best friend, it's very traditional for her to take along a gelatin dessert, all fancied-up and ready for the admiration of the rest of the attendees. At a birthday party, the dessert of preference is rarely cake and ice cream. It's almost always a plate of cake and a jiggling serving of gelatin, which requires no refrigeration to maintain its shape.

There are far more ways to prepare gelatin desserts in Mexico than your mother's Jell-O mixed with fruit cocktail or shredded celery and carrots. Some of the desserts are prepared with water, some with milk, and some are prepared as a layered combination of both. Some are major productions involving hours of labor intensive preparation time. And trust me when I tell you that housewives closely guard their recipes for gelatin desserts, not sharing among themselves unless the recipient of a recipe swears on her life that she will never take that dessert to a party where the other lady is also invited.

Sra. Abundis and her daughter Cristina prepared and painted this marvelous tiger gelatina for a child's birthday party.

Several months ago it was my task to prepare individual serving cups of gelatin for a two-year-old neighbor's birthday party—it seemed like I made hundreds. I thought it would be a complicated and difficult project, but it turned out to be quite a lot of fun. After asking another neighbor's advice, I learned that it's possible to buy powdered gelatin at any dulcería (candy store) or grocery store. The variety of available flavors is amazing: in addition to the ordinary strawberry, lime, and orange, I also found pistachio, almond, tamarindo, jerez (sherry), and peach.

While I could have kept my project simple, I decided instead to get fancy. No single-flavor cups of gelatin for this party! I read the directions printed on each bag and learned to prepare this flavor with water, that one with milk. I combined a layer of strawberry (prepared with water) with a layer of pistachio (prepared with milk). Recklessly, I disregarded the instructions to use water to prepare the peach flavor and used milk instead, combining an opaque peach-flavored, pale layer with a clear, bright orange-flavored layer.

Commercially made in Guadalajara for sale in Mexico's supermarkets, this three-layer single-serving gelatina includes a clear-gelatin fruit layer (complete with a prune and its pit), a milk-based layer, and a clear layer. The gelatina comes with its own tiny yellow plastic spoon. These 200 gram gelatins are prepared with preservatives and artificial coloring. Each one costs about 8 pesos, or 70 cents US.

It's so simple. Of course you can do this at home, even north of the border. Just buy two different flavors of your favorite brand of gelatin dessert powder, some four-ounce plastic glasses, and have at it. Prepare one flavor and fill each glass to the half-way point. Refrigerate and allow that flavor to set. Prepare the second flavor, using either milk or water, pour it on top of the already jelled flavor, and refrigerate until set. For me, this was fancy–but reader, read on!

The preparation of gelatin desserts has been raised to a fine art in Mexico. Special classes in gelatin preparation fascinate housewives and give rise to thriving cottage industry here. Recipes metamorphose from the relatively simple preparations like mine to the most elaborate of flavor and design combinations. A few years back, the craze for making individual clear gelatin desserts which contain flowers also made of gelatin has hit Mexico like a bombshell.

Flower gelatins like this one, made and copywrited by the Abundis family, are called gelatinas encapsuladas. The flowers are made by injecting colors of gelatin and flower designs with a syringe into clear or transparent gelatins. Neither Sra. Abundis nor Cristina took classes in making the flowers, although many handicrafts schools and individuals offer those courses.

This week I was fortunate to spend some time with Sra. Abundis and her daughter, Cristina, who operate a small home-based business in Guadalajara. The Abundis family invited me to come watch and take pictures as they prepared special gelatinas for a child's birthday party. Mother and daughter have worked together for the last two to three years, preparing made-to-order gelatins for birthdays, baptisms, girls' fifteenth birthday parties, baby showers, engagement parties, and weddings.

The gelatina personality of the day was Spiderman. Cristina explained that the gelatin for the Spiderman mold and many more are milk-based, while other gelatins are water-based. Milk gives the gelatina a more nutritious aspect than does plain water and also makes Spiderman's features show up better after they're painted.

In the Abundis kitchen, Spiderman is fresh out of the mold. A selection of milk ingredients is lined up behind him, along with a small plate full of individual-serving Spiderman heads.

Sra. Abundis showed me the basic ingredients for the dessert; once the basics are assembled, they're flavored with vanilla. Spiderman is prepared with powdered milk. Other gelatinas are made with sweetened condensed milk or with evaporated milk. The Abundis family uses pure cane sugar and unflavored gelatin for its desserts. No preservatives are added. These home-prepared gelatinas must be consumed within 48 hours of their preparation.

Many fancy gelatinas are painted once they're chilled and set. Spiderman is no exception. The paints are special vegetable food coloring gel, manufactured in Guadalajara.

Sra. Abundis watches closely as Cristina paints Spiderman's red base coat.

While Cristina painted, Sra. Abundis told me that when her relatives moved from Mexico City to Guadalajara in 1940, there was no powdered, flavored gelatina available in the city. Finally the relatives found a source–one stall at the Mercado Corona in Guadalajara's Centro Histórico sold it.

Cristina starts the initial work with black gel food coloring, outlining Spiderman's eyes. She holds a licenciatura (bachelor of arts) in graphic design from the University of Guadalajara.

"The gelatina has to be very cold in order to paint it," Cristina commented. "If it's not as cold and firm as possible, the paint will run." Spiderman stayed briefly in the freezer between coats of food coloring gel.

Spiderman's intricate thread work is complete.

I asked Sra. Abundis and Cristina which molds are most popular for parties. "Right now, Spiderman is the one all the kids want. Of course they also like Buzz Lightyear, Sponge Bob, all the Disney princesses, and Barbie. The old favorites like Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse, and Tweetie Bird are always popular."

Josua Isai Abundis Linares, Cristina's now nearly nine year old nephew, participated eagerly in the time I spent with his family. He and I both anticipated our dessert: one of the individual Spiderman heads.

Cristina added, "For adult parties like weddings and baby showers, people want gelatinas encapsuladas, the ones with the flowers, to accompany their special cakes. And it's funny, the kids gobble down their gelatinas, but the adults want to save theirs. The flowers are so beautiful."

Cristina shows off the finished product: Spiderman in person! Sra. Abundis painted the blue base. The cost of this fantastic super hero is 130 pesos, approximately $11.50 USD.

"The people who ordered this Spiderman for their child's party will pick it up late this afternoon. The party is tomorrow." Cristina was happy that she finished the painting with no smears.

One traditional recipe is for Mousse de Rompope (eggnog-flavored gelatin dessert). This preparation is appropriate for dessert at any party for adults. It is so delicious that it bears repeating now.

Rompope (Eggnog) Mousse with Strawberry Sauce
Ten to twelve servings

Ingredients

Mousse
2 envelopes of unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup water
1 cup heavy cream
2 cups rompope (Mexican eggnog flavored liqueur)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 egg whites

Strawberry Sauce
1 pound strawberries, stems removed
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon almond extract, anisette or Frangelica (hazelnut flavored liqueur)

Preparation

In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin onto the water and let stand until absorbed, about five minutes. Meanwhile, heat the cream slightly in a small saucepan. (Do not boil.) Remove from heat and stir in the gelatin, mixing well to dissolve. Strain into a bowl; add the rompope and vanilla and mix well. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. Fold in the eggnog mixture, and then pour into a lightly greased 1.5 quart ring-mold, bowl or specialty-shape pan. Refrigerate at least four hours, preferably overnight.

Place strawberries, sugar and flavoring in a bowl and let stand for two hours. Purée in a blender, strain and set aside.

Just before serving, remove the mousse from its mold and drizzle with strawberry sauce. Garnish with slightly sweetened whipped cream. If desired, the mousse can be molded with a graham cracker crust.

Provecho!

For dessert after your comida (midday main meal), for a snack or for a light supper, sweet wiggly gelatina satisfies every time. Cooling and slithery, a gelatina is just the ticket when you need a little something, but you don't want too much. They knew what they were talking about, way back then, when they said, "There's always room for…"

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19 de February de 2011
Dreams, Reality, and the Future (Sueños, Realidades, y el Porvenir): Restaurante San Miguelito, Morelia

One of Mexico Cooks!' favorite English-language sayings is, "Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first." With that in mind, let's start at the finish. This traditional pastel de elote (corn cake) is deservedly the most popular sweet end-of-a-meal treat at Restaurante San Miguelito. Photo courtesy San Miguelito.

Restaurante San Miguelito, open in Morelia since May of 1995, started life as a piano bar in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. Servando and Erik Canela, the father and son team who started the venture, soon decided that offering an all-in-one restaurant, artisans' gallery and museum to Michoacán's capital city residents and visitors would be a wiser use of their time. They would incorporate Don Servando's forty years' experience as an art and antiques dealer, his son Erik's experience, and his daughter Cynthia Martínez's extraordinary culinary talents and business acumen into a highly unusual endeavor. Today, Restaurante San Miguelito continues its evolution as one of the most beautiful, most delicious, most spiritual, and most frequented restaurants in central Mexico.

The charming and multi-talented Cynthia Martínez of Restaurante San Miguelito.

Walk through the door at San Miguelito and your attention is drawn first by the decor, then by the maitre d' who warmly welcomes you, and then by the artesanía (Mexican arts and crafts) that fills every nook and niche. Even after a score of visits to the restaurant, I still spend as long exclaiming over the latest Noche de Muertos (Night of the Dead) skeletons, the newest finely hand-woven Michoacán rebozos (long rectangular shawls), and the proudly displayed alebrijes (hand-carved and hand-painted wooden fantasy animals) from Oaxaca as I do studying the wine list and the menu. What beautifully tempting thing to buy! What delicious tempting thing to eat! What a wonderful dilemma!

Salón de las Conspiraciones (the Conspiracies Room), Restaurante San Miguelito. Photo courtesy Guillermo Martínez Acebo. Each section of the restaurant has a theme, and almost every item in the restaurant is for sale. If you like the table and chairs, the glassware, or the plates that you and your guests are using, ask the price: you can treasure them in your own home. Click on any of the photos for a more detailed look.

Mexico Cooks! recently spent a leisurely evening talking with Cynthia Martínez about her philosophical relationship with food, especially Mexican food. Her knowledge of the traditional Mexican kitchen comes honestly: her Oaxacan grandmother taught her recipes and culinary legends while she was a young girl helping out at home. "Growing up in Oaxaca, I milked cows, caught the grasshoppers we seasoned and ate, and nourished a passion for the kitchen. My grandmother always said that behind every cultural tradition you find gastronomy, and I still believe that. The motivation to open San Miguelito was my father's desire to put together a fusion of Mexico's artisan and culinary traditions; my grandfather had the initial dream, and my father kept it alive. He and my brother Erik and I have brought that dream to fruition in Morelia."

El Rincón de las Solteronas (the Old Maid's Corner), Restaurante San Miguelito. Photo courtesy Alejandro Canela.

Arguably the best-known of San Miguelito's several dining rooms is el Rincón de las Solteronas. Dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua, patron saint of old maids single women, the room contains over 500 images of him–every image hanging by its feet. From the ceiling, from wall niches, from mantelpieces and window frames, these upside-down St. Anthonys exist only to hear the pleas for a mate from women of all ages. There's a book to write your prayer (including, if you like, all the characteristics you seek in a mate): the longest petition runs to twenty-five pages!

Ensalada Azteca (Aztec Salad), Restaurante San Miguelito. The salad is a beautifully presented mixture of lettuces, zucchini-type squash, roasted sweet red peppers, tender corn kernels, queso fresco (fresh Mexican cheese), and cilantro vinaigrette. Photo courtesy San Miguelito.

"Until very recently–within the last three to five years–it was unusual in Mexico to find a chef in a restaurant. A chef has studied at a culinary school or under a great master of the kitchen, and easily 90% of people working in restaurants here have had no opportunity to study their profession. We Mexicans have usually known to frequent restaurants offering the best food, but until lately, we have not known 'name' chefs. Our restaurant cooks have traditionally been las mayoras, women whose school-of-life experience and whose individual sazón (unique taste in preparing dishes) made them natural leaders in the kitchen. We ate at restaurants where we knew we would have a delicious meal, but we didn't know who was responsible for preparing that meal. Now we have culinary-school graduate chefs whose names are well-recognized and to whose restaurants we flock simply because they are there. But you can't learn sazón in school. Techniques, yes, but sazón? As the saying goes, 'El buen cantante ya tiene voz' (the good singer already has a voice)."

El Altar de las Conversaciones (the Altar of Conversations), Restaurante San Miguelito. Photo courtesy Guillermo Martínez Acebo.

"For us at San Miguelito, the challenge today and every day is consistency. Our clients expect that the meal that they remember eating five days or five years ago, the dish that remains alive on the palate as a fond memory, will look and taste the same now as it did then. We have guests who dine with us as often as two or three times a week, guests who know immediately if we change the brand of cheese in a dish or if we've changed meat purveyors–because the food tastes just a little different. Many of our clients know our staff by name, expect to be seated at 'their' table, and know by instinct if anything from table service to the presentation of a dish is slightly different from the last time they dined with us. Our daily aim is to provide each diner with a delicious meal in beautiful surroundings."

Pescado en Hoja de Plátano (Fish Cooked in Banana Leaf). Photo courtesy San Miguelito. Everything served to you at the restaurant, from the marvelous small bolillos (traditional crusty rolls) to the wine you enjoy with your meal, is chosen with strict attention to quality and consistency.

"Because traditional culture and traditional gastronomy are so closely linked, San Miguelito plans a number of events every year that offer opportunities to enjoy and learn more about both. One of our very popular evenings is a marvelous night that includes the history and uses of Mexico's traditional rebozo (long rectangular shawl). For that event, we showcase weavers and traditional as well as contemporary styles of wearing the rebozo.

"The next event on our 2011 calendar is an evening with Martha Ortiz Chapa, one of Mexico City's most prominent chefs. She'll be at San Miguelito on February 19, preparing a seductive and romantic menu in her own inimitable style. Just in time for el mes de San Valentín (Valentine's month), this evening promises to be extraordinary. If you haven't made reservations yet, don't wait too long; we expect the house to be filled."

Salón con Mural del Lago de Pátzcuaro (room with mural of Lake Pátzcuaro). Photo courtesy Guillermo Martínez Acebo. Tiny lights embedded in the mural create a twinkling illusion of an evening overlooking the lake.

"Aside from the daily challenges of running the restaurant, we also face the challenge of caring for the future of our traditional foods. The advent in Mexico of genetically altered corn would devastate a milennia-old way of eating; globalization has already brought immense quantities of previously unknown 'convenience' foods to this country, and we're asking ourselves who in the new generations will maintain or rescue the old ways. Who will take the time to learn and prepare a grandmother's recipes and write them down for the future?

"Right now, chefs and restaurant owners are in the vanguard of revitalizing the traditional kitchen. But unless today's young people commit to keeping traditions alive in their own homes, Mexico's culinary glories will exist only in our memories and as restaurant-produced curiosities. It's time to put our home kitchens to the test and rescue Mexico's food heritage."

Restaurante San Miguelito
Av. Camelinas at Av. Ventura Puente (across from the Convention Center)
Fracc. La Loma
Morelia, Michoacán, México
Tels: 52.443.324.4411 and 52.443.324.2300

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12 de February de 2011
Mexico Cooks! Best Flan Ever: Flan de Naranja y Coco (Coconut and Orange Flan)

The major ingredients for Mexico Cooks!' best flan ever–clockwise from the bottom: fresh oranges, cream of coconut, whole milk, real Mexican vanilla, fresh eggs, and sal del mar (sea salt, in the little red hen salt cellar). You'll also need some sugar.

This is a Mexican flanera (flan pan). It's made of aluminum; the lid fastens down with a hinged clamp. If you have one, use it. If you don't, you can use any kind of oven-proof pan that holds about two liters. It need not have a lid. That's San Pascual Baylón, the patron saint of the kitchen, in the background. He can be especially helpful at the moment you turn the chilled flan onto the serving platter.

Start by caramelizing the sugar in a heavy pan. This is an 8" enameled cast iron omelet pan; it's been in the pantry for nearly 20 years and, for this purpose, works better than any other pan in the kitchen. Just dump the sugar into your pan over very low heat; when you see that the sugar begins to melt a bit around the edges, move the pan a little to redistribute the sugar so that it caramelizes as evenly as possible.

When the sugar is fully caramelized, it will look like this photo. Caveat: this process seems to take forever, but you can't hurry it. And no matter how tempted you are, do not stir the sugar! Just move the pan little by little, tipping the uncaramelized sugar into the melted mass.

As soon as all the sugar is caramelized–while it is still boiling hot–pour it into the flanera or whatever pan you are using. Tip and turn the flanera so that the sugar evenly coats the bottom and sides. Be very careful not to burn yourself. Set the flanera aside and complete the recipe.

Mexico Cooks! Flan de Coco y Naranja a la Antigua (Old-Style Coconut and Orange Flan)
8 servings

Make the flan one day ahead of the time you want to serve it. Once baked, it needs to chill for about 18 hours.

Move the oven rack to its lowest position. Pre-heat the oven to 165-170°C or 325°F.

Ingredients
Caramelized Sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
4 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice

Flan
3 cups whole milk
1 cup cream of coconut
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 Tbsp freshly grated orange peel
4 eggs
6 additional egg yolks
pinch sea salt

Garnish as shown in photo
3 perfect strawberries with their leaves
4 1/4" slices carambola (star fruit)
2 to 4 Tbsp grated fresh coconut, toasted

Preparation

Caramelized Sugar
Over a low fire, pour one cup of granulated sugar into a small, heavy skillet. Do not stir the sugar. When the sugar begins to melt, move the skillet a little, tipping and turning it so that all of the sugar caramelizes evenly. Allow the sugar to boil until it is a deep caramel color. Add the orange juice and tip gently until the juice is fully incorporated into the sugar. Immediately pour the boiling caramelized sugar/juice mixture into the flanera or other pan, tipping the flanera until the sugar fully coats the bottom and sides.

Flan
In a 2-quart pot, combine the milk, 3/4 cup granulated sugar, the cream of coconut, vanilla, grated orange rind, and salt. With a wooden spoon, stir the ingredients over a medium fire until they are well-heated. Raise the fire to high and allow the mixture to boil, but don't let it boil over. Continue to boil the mixture until it has reduced by nearly one cup. Set aside and allow to cool slightly.

The milk mixture needs to boil until it has reduced by about one cup. Be sure to set it aside to cool when the reduction is finished.

To easily separate six of the eggs so that you can use just their yolks, crack each egg into your open hand and allow the white to run through your fingers into a container.

With an electric hand beater, beat the eggs together with the additional yolks until they are light and foamy. Add the cooled mixture of milks. Pour the entire mixture into the flanera or prepared pan. If it is a flanera, cover it and fasten the latch. If it is another type pan, do not cover. Whichever you are using, put the recipient into a baño maría (bainmarie) and then into the pre-heated oven.

The milk mixture in the flanera; the caramelized sugar is at the bottom.

The flanera in the baño maría, just going into the oven. The baño maría can be any kind of pan; use enough water to come about one and a half to two inches up the side of the flanera or other pan.

Bake the flan for approximately two hours. At the end of two hours, take the top off the flanera and test the flan by inserting a thin knife or metal skewer into the middle; if it comes out completely clean, the flan is done. If some of the egg mixture clings to the knife or skewer, bake the flan about fifteen minutes longer, being careful not to over-cook it.

Once the flan is cooked, take it AND the baño maría out of the oven. On a cooling rack, let the flan rest in the baño maría about fifteen minutes more. Then remove the flanera (still covered) or other pan from the baño maría and allow the flan to cool at room temperature until the pan is cool to the touch.

Once the flan is cool, put the flanera (still covered) or other pan in the refrigerator and allow to chill until the following day.

To remove the flan from its mold, uncover and run a thin table knife around the entire outer edge. To ensure ease of release from the pan, dip the bottom of the flanera or other pan into very hot water so that the caramelized sugar liquifies a little. VERY CAREFULLY turn the flan out onto a platter. Mexico Cooks! puts the platter (one with a lip) on top of the open flan mold, calls on San Pascual Baylón, and quickly turns the platter and the mold so that the flan slips out easily. The caramelized sugar will run onto the top of the flan and make a pool in the bottom of the platter.

Approximate preparation time: 30 minutes
Approximate baking time: 2 hours

The finished product, ready to be taken to the dinner table.

Just prior to serving, decorate the flan however you like. In the photo, you see that I put one large strawberry in the center of the flan. I carefully made a border of toasted coconut and then cut the two remaining strawberries in half, leaving the leaves attached to each half, and placed one half at north, south, east, and west on top of the coconut. I then placed four slices of carambola between the strawberry halves. You could also use fresh red raspberries, thinly sliced twists of orange, and fresh mint leaves for a garnish, or any other seasonal fruit, or use no garnish at all.

Provecho!

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29 de January de 2011
Viva la Vida: Mexico Cooks! Looks Back at 2010

Fruit stand with mango and papaya, Paracho, Michoacán. A large cup of fruit, served with fresh-squeezed limón, salt, and chile if you like, costs 10 pesos (about 80 cents US at today's exchange rate). The bees are always free.

Artisans from Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán, prepared papel picado (cut paper) banners for a Semana Santa (Holy Week) exhibition of antique religious art in Morelia.

Menta (in this case, apple mint–menta sauveolens) growing against old bricks at the Colegio Culinario de Morelia. It was planted several years ago by Guillermo Lara Góngora, the English-language teacher at the CCM.

Devil dance mask, Tocuaro, Michoacán.

Caldo de pollo (Mexican-style chicken soup), on the hoof. The butcher will use his machete to cut off all the claws for you; the well-washed feet add color and flavor to your chicken broth.

Flowers float in a Morelia fountain at twilight.

Detail of hand-embroidered rebozo (long rectangular shawl) from Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán.

Creating a basket from huinumo (pine needles), Opopeo, Michoacán.

Two colors of masa (corn dough), one metate (grinding stone). Uruapan, Michoacán.

Two beautiful young women from Paracho, Michoacán show off the hand-cross stitched guanengos (blouses) they created for a wedding.

Michoacán, for the joy of life.

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22 de January de 2011
VII Encuentro de Cocina Tradicional de Michoacán: Michoacán’s Seventh Annual Festival of Traditional Cuisine

In Uruapan, Michoacán, on December 3, 2010, multicolored papel picado (cut paper streamers) billowed in the evening breeze to announce our tremendous pride in the VII Encuentro de Cocina Tradicional de Michoacán (Seventh Annual Michoacán Traditional Food Festival).

A sumptuous and traditional mole con pollo (mole with chicken) as prepared by Antonina González Leandro of Tarerio, Michoacán. Sra. González participated in the concurso de la Zona Lacustre (Lake Pátzcuaro region competition) that took place this year in Pátzcuaro. In addition to this mole, she prepared pozole de elote con conejo (fresh-corn stew with rabbit), several other savory dishes, and a wonderful sweet dried-corn snack called ponteduro.

In Pátzcuaro on December 4, 2010, Sra. Antonina González paused at her booth to pose with Cynthia Martínez, in charge of Morelia's Restaurante San Miguelito.

Each of the last several years, Mexico Cooks! has been privileged to be included on the teams of speakers, judges, and hosts for Michoacán's annual traditional cuisine spectacular. This year, our joyous cup of participation in the festival was filled to overflowing by the two-week-prior notice that Mexico's cuisine, and especially the cuisine of Michoacán, had been designated as a UNESCO Intangible Heritage of Humanity–the first cuisine in the world to be so honored. Three cities in central Michoacán (Morelia, Uruapan, and Pátzcuaro) were named to host this year's food festival, and all three went completely overboard in welcoming every participant: host committees, notable chefs and food writers from all parts of Mexico and other countries, hundreds of proud and happy local and regional eaters, and the people without whom there would be no reason to have the party: the stupendous traditional cooks from the Purhépecha communities throughout this part of the state.

In Morelia on December 5, 2010, Dra. Gloria López Morales, president of the Conservatorio de la Cultura Gastronómica Mexicana, shares her views on topics related to Mexico's November triumph at UNESCO.

In Pátzcuaro, Mexico Cooks! talks about Michoacán cuisine with (left) Christian Plotzcyk and (right) David Suárez of the New York restaurant group Rosa Mexicano.

A number of internationally known chefs and food writers attended the festival this year. Among them were Patricia Quintana, Alicia Gironella d'Angeli, Rubén Hernández, Roberto González Guzmán, Sol Rubín de Borbolla, Cristina Palacio, and Gabriel Gutiérrez García, all from Mexico City; Cynthia Martínez, Alma Cervantes, and Joaquín Bonilla of Morelia; and Susana Trilling of Oaxaca. In addition, David Suárez and Christian Plotzcyk of the Rosa Mexicano restaurant group based in New York City and Iliana de la Vega of the Culinary Institute of America, San Antonio, Texas represented the interest of the United States. The festival also counted on the participation of internationally renowned Michoacán chefs Rubí Silva Figueroa (Restaurante Los Mirasoles, Morelia), Lucero Soto Arriaga (Restaurante LU, Morelia), and Blanca Estela Vidales (Restaurante La Mesa de Blanca, Ziracuaretiro, Michoacán), who, along with teams of cooks and assistants, prepared several banquets for specially invited festival participants and guests.

In Uruapan, we tasted delicious jahuacatas (corundas created using layers of frijoles molidos (beans ground on the traditional metate) and fresh masa (corn dough), as prepared by Sra. Juanita Bravo Lázaro from Angahuan, Michoacán. Sra. Bravo served these marvelous jahuacatas with an atápakua de calabaza (thick squash sauce). This preparation won the prize for the best traditional dish. Click on the photograph to enlarge the picture for a better view of the layers.

None of the judges had previously heard of–much less tasted–these incredibly delicious yurucurindas. Once we tasted them in Uruapan, we couldn't stop recommending them to everyone in earshot. "Hurry, get one before they're gone!" we mumbled with our mouths full. Similar in size to but a bit thicker than a standard corn tortilla, the yurucurindas are made from blue corn masa, piloncillo (Mexican raw sugar cones), and canela molida (ground cinnamon), and then baked on a traditional comal de barro (clay griddle). Even this long after the festival, the photo still makes my mouth water at the memory!

Señora Benedicta Alejo Vargas of San Lorenzo, Michoacán is one of the greatest traditional cooks in the Uruapan area. The internationally known Sra. Alejo won the prize for best rescued dish with churipo de carne seca (dried beef soup in the Purhépecha style). Rescued dishes include traditional preparations that are not usually prepared today and are on the verge of extinction. Photo courtesy Gabriel Gutiérrez García.

Mexico Cooks! noticed this basket of fresh green leaves on the table at Sra. Alejo's booth and asked what purpose they served. Sra. Alejo smiled and said, "When I was a little girl, my grandmother always put a basket of leaves on the table to use as napkins. It's part of my family's tradition." In addition to her prize-winning traditional churipo, Sra. Alejo prepared mole de conejo (rabbit mole), mole de queso (cheese mole), and tzirita, a botana (appetizer) made of finely ground chile seeds and other savory ingredients.

For the first time, acclaimed chef (she's the owner of Mexico City's restaurant Izote) and author Patricia Quintana attended the Encuentro de Cocina Tradicional. She happily served as a judge.

Absolutely gorgeous: hot-off-the-comal tortillas, made with two colors of corn masa.

Thick and delicious atole de chaqueta is a corn-based hot drink flavored, in this instance, with the toasted and ground outer shells of the cacao (chocolate) bean. Nothing is wasted here in Michoacán's kitchens: imagine that such delicious things are made from what you might discard: chile seeds and the hulls of cocoa beans!

In addition to the wonderful food competition, the festival organization treated the Uruapan public to a marvelous evening of traditional music and dance.

At the December 5, 2010 Morelia closure of the VII Encuentro de Cocina Tradicional de Michoacán, the prize-winning cocineras (cooks) and other dignitaries posed with (left foreground) Sra. Alicia Gironella d'Angeli, First Lady of Mexico's food world and chef/owner at Restaurante El Tajín in Mexico City and Dr. Genovevo Figueroa, secretary of tourism for the state of Michoacán. Both Sra. Gironella and Dr. Figueroa are long-time supporters of this annual Michoacán festival. Photo courtesy Rubén Hernández.

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15 de January de 2011