pistachio

There is a publisher specializing in gastronomy books, called Matthaes. You might wanna browse through the online offerings: http://www.matthaes.de/buchshop/modules/inhalt.php Under "Baeckerei und Konditorei" there are 4 categories which you can browse. Each offers a variety of specialized books. Hope that helps. Alles Liebe, Pistachio.

Hi Sandra, thank you very much for your response and information. i found it hard to get information on the internet where the various meals originate from, since so many sources contradict each other. The agua loca might not be traditional, but it was a standard drink for parties prepared by our former Mexican exchange students - not so fancy, but ok for the occassion: It is a mix of 3-4 different alcoholic beverages (e.g. Tequila, Vodka, Rum - a bottle each) and about 15-20 liters of water. Effervescent powder of your favourite taste is to be stirred in (they told me Mango - but we don't get that here - we took orange etc.) and several cans of fruit cocktail should be added (or fresh fruits). It tastes primarily like water with a light fruity flavour - not too sweet, which is nice. Alternatively I could make a sangria. (?) As for the food listed above, I have a rough idea about the quantities, but if someone could give me advice how to estimate it, I would be very happy. besito, pistachio

Of course we have a wide variety of ethnic specialty stores - even in smaller towns, but rather from Asian/South or Eastern European/African countries. On our international campus many students get their spices sent directly from their home countries. In the big cities the choice is better - but I don't think I gonna make such a grocery trip for my little birthday celebration

Even though - or just for the sake of risking heavy critique I would like to give you my "buffet list". It would be nice if you could comment on it. Having a couple of authentic items will be nice - but i don't mind to offer some others too. I need to feed around 30 people (international mix) more or less on a student budget ---------- Platillos principales ---------- *Chili con carne (ground beef, jalapenos:I don't get many other kinds, vegetables,..) *Empanadas with spinach and cheese (cottage or cream) - are they rather from Argentina? i also read some articles about Mexican empanadas; that's why I thought it might be ok and I need a vegetarian dish which can be served cold and be prepared in advanced *Chicken legs (lower part - don't know the technical term in English) with chili-honey salsa / dip +Salad, Tacco Chips, Guacamole ----------- POSTRES ----------- *Mexican Flan (maybe chocolate/cinnamon version ?) *Fruit salad We also have very "light" muffins. What do you think of a variation of the "tres leches" cake. Mini-sponge cakes (baked in muffin shape), soaked with the three milk mixture? This way I could still make the sombreros... And people could eat it as finger food. ---------- DRINKS ---------- * Margaritas * Agua loco (crazy water - got the recipe from a Mexican girl) * Softdrinks ----------- ----------- ----------- Comments? Outrage? Suggestions? Thank you very much for every input! Pistachio

Thank you very much for your response, Sinclair. I come from Germany and in my region there are no Mexican specialty stores available. I still can get nice decorations, but as for the food I will have to do it by myself. I was aware of the fact that it wasn't an authentic dessert - just thought it might be a funny eye-catcher. I also wanted to serve Mexican brownies with a Tequila-Vanilla sauce. Is that not original either? The frozen cake sounds good. I looked up a recipe which mentions several kinds of milk. Both consensed and evaporated milk are listed as ingredients. What is the difference? (i looked it up in the dictionary - but both translated to the same) hasta luego, bine.

Good morning! For my upcoming birthday I would like to have a little Mexican-style party with around 25 guests. Since there is a lot of food to cook I would like to prepare a part of the dessert a bit in advance. Here is my idea: I thought Sombrero-shaped muffins might be a cute idea. I would like to bake fruit muffins (e.g. with rum or tequila), cut the top off, scratch a bit of the dough out and partly fill them with a flavoured pudding. On top I would put a strawberry. Here is my dilemma: If I cut the top off the edges of the hat/muffin will dry up. If I put in the pudding filling the middle part of the muffin will get soggy. I thought about putting a sugar or jam glaze on top of the muffin (after cutting before filling in the pudding) to prevent both at once. Do you think this could help? Do you have any better/other/additional ideas concerning this problem or for the party in general? How much in advance could I prepare this dessert? Yours, Bine.