Jay Francis

I am a fan of the Chocolate Mayordomo mole negro, even though it is the most commercially produced product. I had the opportunity to watch the production of it and it is amazing how, even though everything in the process is mechanized via conveyor belts, they stay true to the mole. Giant bins of toasted bolillos, bins of cleaned chiles, very impressive. And tasting the mole just as it comes off the production line....well, I would put it up against anyone's. On my last trip to Oaxaca, I picked up my mole at Esmeralda (sic) on one of the streets that borders the downtown market. I bought a lot as this was going to be Christmas gift giving. I bought these plastic containers and divided up the mole into them. When I got to the Mexico City airport, at my first luggage inspection at check-in, the guy didn't pass them, since they were now in unmarked plastic tubs and looked very much like plastic explosives. He was really nice about it and I understood his position. Then, I said, "You know, I've got some friends here in Mexico City I can pass these on to, is that okay?" Which it was. So I transferred them to my carry on bag, took them through the second customs checkpoint (the one with the metal detectors) without any further incidences. I am planning to teach a mole class in the next few months here in Houston. To do my research, I put together a spreadsheet for mole negro, in order to compare recipes from Kennedy, Martinez, and others. I don't know how to attach the spreadsheet to this posting, but if anyone wants a copy, email me and I will send it to you. After trying several mole negro recipes, I decided that it would not have as much appeal to my students as a coloradito, so I switched gears. The coloradito was made from one of Zarela's recipes and it was very good. I had the opportunity to recipe test venison/pork tamales for an upcoming cookbook and served the coloradito with the tamales. Jay Oh, by the way. You'll see that some recipes call for reserving the seeds and toasting them. I can confirm that this step is really valuable and helpful for the final flavor. One of the problems I ran across, I think it was with Trilling, is that she said toast them until they are black but not burned. But then she says to set them on fire to finish the process. Well, that is kind of what you do. But it is hard to do and I would just toast the seeds til they are dark brown. Taste them. And then, with one of those lighters like you use for lighting a gas grill, just flame them for a few seconds.

I was in a market in Orizaba and remarked to a vendor how terrific the Mexican cinnamon was. He said, "Well, you know, it's all imported from Ceylon. We don't grow it here."

With my last trip to Oaxaca in November of last year, I realized that as much I love Mexico City, Puebla, Querretaro, and Guanajuato, my future excursions will be solely to Oaxaca. I had gotten into the habit of saving some money by flying into Mexico City, taking the bus from the airport to Puebla for a night and continuing on to Oaxaca the next day. But, factoring in the time (which has always been pleasant) and the hotel cost in Puebla, I think in the future I will bite the bullet and take the direct Houston Oaxaca flight. My last stay was at the Casa Lidia, which, although owned by the same family which owns Posada Chencho is very reasonable. I loved being outside of the main part of town, so I could do more walking. My Spanish classes were convenient. I will probably always stay here. I used to like the Hotel Trebol because it was directly across from Juarez market, but the tiles absorb a lot of heat which then radiates at night and the rooms can be very warm. I had to decide if I was going to do some biking and take some cooking classes or take Spanish classes. Opting for the latter, I did squeeze in one class through the school. But I was very close to the small market that Luisa Cabrera visits and I spent some great hours walking, talking, and shopping there. One of the high points was a night of Lucha Libre which I truly love. Even though this was the quietest time of year, there was still so much activity, including a nightly festival celebrating the music of the west coast of Oaxaca. The zocalo is rebuilt, I approve of the changes they made. Now, I have been coming here since the 80's. These days I buy kilos of chocolate, a few comales, and that's about all. Our house is too full of handicrafts. This time however, I went to Atzompa and bought some ceramic angels which were unique. I am currently teaching two Mexican cooking classes and one is based on Mexican chocolate, including truffles, German chocolate pie a la Mexicana, a bourbon chocolate genoise, etc. The trick with Oaxacan chocolate is, because it has such granularity from the sugar, and since it would be difficult to temper in one's home, you need to dissolve the sugar with just enough liquid to do so, but no more. The organic market is indeed wonderful, the organic jamaica, coffee, and chocolate are first rate. Vanilla. I use the vanilla extract that Susana sells as flavoring whenever heat is not involved. However, based on an article in Cooks Illustrated and my own experimenting I have decided that Adam's Best, which is a blend of natural and artificial results in the most intense vanilla flavor whenever heat is involved. Chocolate, well, for hot chocolate, it is always Chocolate Mayordomo, but I increase the quantity per cup. For baking, I default to one of the lesser chocolates that don't contain almonds, those from the North like Nestle's Abuelita for example. And that big bag of SAF yeast from the convenience store in 2004? I am still using it. Everyone should put this on their shopping list. :>)

Because of this posting, I had the pleasure to discover and enjoy bread from Panetco here in Oaxaca while waiting to go to the Lucha Libre!

This, being my final day of shopping Oaxaca, was the day to buy my comales. From the back of the Abastos market where the cazuelas and comales are sold. I have bought three clay ones from San Marcos Tlapazola and one metal one that has a handle, very nice and a new improvement. These are designed for coal heat sources so they are very thin. I find that a comal lasts about a month or so. My main pottery is in a carry on gym type bag, and I´ve discovered that I can just zip it up and rest my clay comals on top and secure them with the hand straps. They are always visible and I can keep them from getting cracked. I bought 5 plastic jars and transferred my Mole Eugenio to them for the trip. Mole Negro Chocolate Mayordomo is a superior mole and comes in sealed bottles to gurantee freshness, the other brands...well the oil may go bad if they sit on the shelf awhile. However, I liked the Eugenio coloradito because it is less sweet and has a good chile bite. I am heading to Mina street now to videotape the ladies milling their spices, etc. for frijoles (cooked black beans, avocado leaves, and onions) and moles for their fondas or homes. Jay

This was a great posting and I thank you for taking the time to do this one. I look forward to the day when I am technically savvy enough to start posting recipes with photographs. For me, this is the absolute best way to walk someone through a recipe.

Even making risotto in small batches is a pain. I don't even try to be a purist anymore. I just do it in my rice cooker and damn the torpedoes. In my humble opinion, risotto is over-rated anyway, but that's me. Ironically I do have some in the refrigerator that I just made. I was trying out a slow cooker recipe from The Gourmet Slow Cooker cookbook, for risotto with artichoke hearts. The recipe was a failure and I moved it to my rice cooker. I recommend you not attempt risotto on this scale. Why not substitute another rice dish instead?

Just out of curiosity. I've been making my crusts lately using an Alton Brown recipe that is butter with a bit of lard. When everyone is making their Cuisinart dough, are y'all putting all the ingredients in the Cuisinart bowl, including the blade and putting it all in the freezer overnight? I have found that the extra freezing of everything really works well. However, I might have missed this step above, as I read through the posting kind of quick and didn't access all the recipes. But, try chilling everything down overnight sometime. Jay

Welcome to our forum. I for one look very forward to building my own tandoor oven. This is going to be fun!

Tex-Mex Chili Gravy Tex-Mex Chili Gravy Tex-Mex Chili Gravy I have been playing with this recipe. As this happened, I started making a few minor adjustments. I now use an All-Clad 2 quart (8 cup) quart stainless steel saucier and a metal whisk. The All-Clad transmits heat more efficiently and I have reduced the cooking temperatures accordingly. Also, I have given in to three personal biases. First, I tend to under salt my dishes, my philosophy being that one can always add salt at the table. And cheese enchiladas, for which this gravy is used, has a lot of salt from the cheese already. So, since Kosher salt carries less saltiness per teaspoon than table salt (larger flakes), by changing the recipe to call for Kosher salt, the over-all saltiness is reduced. Next, the amount of Mexican oregano called for in the original recipe is true to the gravy made by many restaurants. However, I don’t like the Mexican oregano to overpower the dish, so I have reduced the amount to suit my own personal tastes. Last, although the amount of cumin seems like a lot, most cumin sits on the shelf for a while and loses its potency. If, however, you are grinding fresh cumin, or using a top quality brand, go easy on the cumin. You can always add more later. Cooking times are now based on the All-Clad stainless steel saucier. Makes 1 quart (4 cups) of chili gravy. Ingredients: ½ cup vegetable oil (I use extra light tasting olive oil…these are the olive oils you see in the store that are recommended for frying) but to be more authentic, you can use lard. It will taste better with lard. ½ cup all purpose flour Mix all of the following together and have them ready to toss into the pan. 1 teaspoon ground black pepper (if using freshly ground, you may need to reduce the amount. Start with ½ teaspoon and add more later) 2 teaspoons Kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon table salt) 1 tablespoon powdered garlic (“Powdered” garlic? This is very common in Tex-Mex cooking and perfectly acceptable) 2 teaspoons ground cumin (Again, if you are grinding your own, be sure to reduce the amount by half to start off with) ½ teaspoon of Mexican oregano (Not Mediterranean oregano. Different plant. Well, in a pinch you can substitute) 2 tablespoons Gebhardt’s chili powder (Or home-made, or in a pinch, paprika. You’ll be surprised how many Tex-Mex restaurants just use paprika) 4 cups of water (Or chicken broth, though I prefer water) Tex-Mex Chili Gravy Instructions (Updated for 2005): Heat the oil in the sauce pan or a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the flour with a whisk or wooden spoon and continuously stir for about 3 minutes. What you are looking for is a very light brown roux. You don’t bring the roux any darker because as the roux darkens, the flour loses its thickening ability. What you’re doing is just taking the raw edge off the flour. After 3 minutes or so of stirring (don’t be afraid to go 4 minutes if it doesn’t look right), turn of the heat, continuing to stir. Dump the powdered ingredients into the roux and stir with a whisk for a few seconds to blend. The residual heat from the roux is going to release some flavorful oils in the cumin, Mexican oregano, and chili powder. Stir in the 4 cups of water. Turn the heat back on, this time to the low setting, and simmer for 6 minutes, stirring with the whisk every so often. The gravy will have thickened, and will continue to thicken after it is baked with the enchiladas, so you don’t need to continue thickening it. Taste the gravy (don’t burn your tongue!) and adjust seasonings as needed. Allow to cool and reserve for use in making Tex-Mex Cheese Enchiladas. More Comments: My favorite cookware: I use a large cast iron skillet that has been well seasoned for any high heat applications, such as steaks, fajitas, etc. I use a 2 quart All-Clad stainless steel saucier (comes with a lid) for making gravy, sauces, and candy, mainly because I have one and also because Teflon coated pots can’t handle the higher temperatures needed for most candy-making. I use Teflon coated pots and sauce pans for just about everything else. They are easy to clean, inert to acidic ingredients such as tomatoes, and allow one to use less oil. I’ve had good luck with my Anolon saucier. Additionally, I have a carbon steel wok with a built in handle. My favorite measuring cups are the Oxo brand that have the measurements on the inside. Oxo also makes a terrific garlic press. Keywords: Main Dish, Tex-Mex, Easy, Sauce, Hot and Spicy ( RG1317 )

Tex-Mex Chili Gravy Tex-Mex Chili Gravy Tex-Mex Chili Gravy I have been playing with this recipe. As this happened, I started making a few minor adjustments. I now use an All-Clad 2 quart (8 cup) quart stainless steel saucier and a metal whisk. The All-Clad transmits heat more efficiently and I have reduced the cooking temperatures accordingly. Also, I have given in to three personal biases. First, I tend to under salt my dishes, my philosophy being that one can always add salt at the table. And cheese enchiladas, for which this gravy is used, has a lot of salt from the cheese already. So, since Kosher salt carries less saltiness per teaspoon than table salt (larger flakes), by changing the recipe to call for Kosher salt, the over-all saltiness is reduced. Next, the amount of Mexican oregano called for in the original recipe is true to the gravy made by many restaurants. However, I don’t like the Mexican oregano to overpower the dish, so I have reduced the amount to suit my own personal tastes. Last, although the amount of cumin seems like a lot, most cumin sits on the shelf for a while and loses its potency. If, however, you are grinding fresh cumin, or using a top quality brand, go easy on the cumin. You can always add more later. Cooking times are now based on the All-Clad stainless steel saucier. Makes 1 quart (4 cups) of chili gravy. Ingredients: ½ cup vegetable oil (I use extra light tasting olive oil…these are the olive oils you see in the store that are recommended for frying) but to be more authentic, you can use lard. It will taste better with lard. ½ cup all purpose flour Mix all of the following together and have them ready to toss into the pan. 1 teaspoon ground black pepper (if using freshly ground, you may need to reduce the amount. Start with ½ teaspoon and add more later) 2 teaspoons Kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon table salt) 1 tablespoon powdered garlic (“Powdered” garlic? This is very common in Tex-Mex cooking and perfectly acceptable) 2 teaspoons ground cumin (Again, if you are grinding your own, be sure to reduce the amount by half to start off with) ½ teaspoon of Mexican oregano (Not Mediterranean oregano. Different plant. Well, in a pinch you can substitute) 2 tablespoons Gebhardt’s chili powder (Or home-made, or in a pinch, paprika. You’ll be surprised how many Tex-Mex restaurants just use paprika) 4 cups of water (Or chicken broth, though I prefer water) Tex-Mex Chili Gravy Instructions (Updated for 2005): Heat the oil in the sauce pan or a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the flour with a whisk or wooden spoon and continuously stir for about 3 minutes. What you are looking for is a very light brown roux. You don’t bring the roux any darker because as the roux darkens, the flour loses its thickening ability. What you’re doing is just taking the raw edge off the flour. After 3 minutes or so of stirring (don’t be afraid to go 4 minutes if it doesn’t look right), turn of the heat, continuing to stir. Dump the powdered ingredients into the roux and stir with a whisk for a few seconds to blend. The residual heat from the roux is going to release some flavorful oils in the cumin, Mexican oregano, and chili powder. Stir in the 4 cups of water. Turn the heat back on, this time to the low setting, and simmer for 6 minutes, stirring with the whisk every so often. The gravy will have thickened, and will continue to thicken after it is baked with the enchiladas, so you don’t need to continue thickening it. Taste the gravy (don’t burn your tongue!) and adjust seasonings as needed. Allow to cool and reserve for use in making Tex-Mex Cheese Enchiladas. More Comments: My favorite cookware: I use a large cast iron skillet that has been well seasoned for any high heat applications, such as steaks, fajitas, etc. I use a 2 quart All-Clad stainless steel saucier (comes with a lid) for making gravy, sauces, and candy, mainly because I have one and also because Teflon coated pots can’t handle the higher temperatures needed for most candy-making. I use Teflon coated pots and sauce pans for just about everything else. They are easy to clean, inert to acidic ingredients such as tomatoes, and allow one to use less oil. I’ve had good luck with my Anolon saucier. Additionally, I have a carbon steel wok with a built in handle. My favorite measuring cups are the Oxo brand that have the measurements on the inside. Oxo also makes a terrific garlic press. Keywords: Main Dish, Tex-Mex, Easy, Sauce, Hot and Spicy ( RG1317 )

Tex-Mex Chili Gravy I have been playing with this recipe. As this happened, I started making a few minor adjustments. I now use an All-Clad 2 quart (8 cup) quart stainless steel saucier and a metal whisk. The All-Clad transmits heat more efficiently and I have reduced the cooking temperatures accordingly. Also, I have given in to three personal biases. First, I tend to under salt my dishes, my philosophy being that one can always add salt at the table. And cheese enchiladas, for which this gravy is used, has a lot of salt from the cheese already. So, since Kosher salt carries less saltiness per teaspoon than table salt (larger flakes), by changing the recipe to call for Kosher salt, the over-all saltiness is reduced. Next, the amount of Mexican oregano called for in the original recipe is true to the gravy made by many restaurants. However, I don’t like the Mexican oregano to overpower the dish, so I have reduced the amount to suit my own personal tastes. Last, although the amount of cumin seems like a lot, most cumin sits on the shelf for a while and loses its potency. If, however, you are grinding fresh cumin, or using a top quality brand, go easy on the cumin. You can always add more later. Cooking times are now based on the All-Clad stainless steel saucier. Makes 1 quart (4 cups) of chili gravy. Ingredients: ½ cup vegetable oil (I use extra light tasting olive oil…these are the olive oils you see in the store that are recommended for frying) but to be more authentic, you can use lard. It will taste better with lard. ½ cup all purpose flour Mix all of the following together and have them ready to toss into the pan. 1 teaspoon ground black pepper (if using freshly ground, you may need to reduce the amount. Start with ½ teaspoon and add more later) 2 teaspoons Kosher salt (or 1 teaspoon table salt) 1 tablespoon powdered garlic (“Powdered” garlic? This is very common in Tex-Mex cooking and perfectly acceptable) 2 teaspoons ground cumin (Again, if you are grinding your own, be sure to reduce the amount by half to start off with) ½ teaspoon of Mexican oregano (Not Mediterranean oregano. Different plant. Well, in a pinch you can substitute) 2 tablespoons Gebhardt’s chili powder (Or home-made, or in a pinch, paprika. You’ll be surprised how many Tex-Mex restaurants just use paprika) 4 cups of water (Or chicken broth, though I prefer water) Tex-Mex Chili Gravy Instructions (Updated for 2005): Heat the oil in the sauce pan or a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the flour with a whisk or wooden spoon and continuously stir for about 3 minutes. What you are looking for is a very light brown roux. You don’t bring the roux any darker because as the roux darkens, the flour loses its thickening ability. What you’re doing is just taking the raw edge off the flour. After 3 minutes or so of stirring (don’t be afraid to go 4 minutes if it doesn’t look right), turn of the heat, continuing to stir. Dump the powdered ingredients into the roux and stir with a whisk for a few seconds to blend. The residual heat from the roux is going to release some flavorful oils in the cumin, Mexican oregano, and chili powder. Stir in the 4 cups of water. Turn the heat back on, this time to the low setting, and simmer for 6 minutes, stirring with the whisk every so often. The gravy will have thickened, and will continue to thicken after it is baked with the enchiladas, so you don’t need to continue thickening it. Taste the gravy (don’t burn your tongue!) and adjust seasonings as needed. Allow to cool and reserve for use in making Tex-Mex Cheese Enchiladas. More Comments: My favorite cookware: I use a large cast iron skillet that has been well seasoned for any high heat applications, such as steaks, fajitas, etc. I use a 2 quart All-Clad stainless steel saucier (comes with a lid) for making gravy, sauces, and candy, mainly because I have one and also because Teflon coated pots can’t handle the higher temperatures needed for most candy-making. I use Teflon coated pots and sauce pans for just about everything else. They are easy to clean, inert to acidic ingredients such as tomatoes, and allow one to use less oil. I’ve had good luck with my Anolon saucier. Additionally, I have a carbon steel wok with a built in handle. My favorite measuring cups are the Oxo brand that have the measurements on the inside. Oxo also makes a terrific garlic press.

Are there any Nederlandse readers out there who might have a recipe for the red Shawarma sauce that is served up with Shawarma in the restaurants in Holland? Jay

Years ago in an issue of The Curry Club magazine, Pat Chapman et al concluded that Indian restaurants prepare food on the assembly line and start with a large kettle of boiled onions, water and oil, that is then pureed to have a ready to use base for all British style curries.

I wouldn't drink wine at all. I would stick with aguas frescas.

For those living in Houston, the Fiesta on I-10 at Blalock and quite a few others sell the pork fat in the meat section and it is labelled 'for manteca' . Easiest way to render your own lard is to buy one of these and slow melt it in the oven.

Oops. My mistake. I now see that you did use a mixer.

I noticed that you used a food processor for the masa. If you have access to a Kitchen Aid mixer with a whisk attachment, you can whip more air into the masa. Be careful to run the mixer on your slower speeds. I actually burned up the bearings on my Kitchen Aid making tamales and using high speed. The new Kitchen Aids come with instructions that you should use low speeds for doughs, etc.

Some additional tips. Adding either the chile puree or paprika to the masa will help add color. You can add heat by adding black or white pepper to the filling. Seems like when I was growing up, most tamales got their heat from black pepper. Additionally you can take a little bit of the broth that you will mix the masa in, a simmer it with a bunch of dried hot chili's like the ones you see in Chinese food, Indian food, or Tabasco, or, fresh sliced Serranos. The trick is to add heat to the broth before you blend it with the masa, so that the cooked masa has the chile fire in it. When I make the cornbread tamales, I always put a lot of black pepper into the cornbread mush to add heat to the tamales.

Thank you so much for the kind words on the tamal recipe. Robb and I wanted to be sure that the tamal recipes in the book were good. Also, I wanted to have a recipe that would result in a small portion, 2 dozen or so, and that could use masa harina, that I hoped would be readily available everywhere. For a low fat tamal, don't hesitate to try baking some cornbread, breaking it up and making a mush with a little bit of water. Then use the same filling, husks (or wax paper or aluminum foil wrappings) and steaming method. The flavor is very good. One of the best ways to spread masa is with a plastic scraper, like you use for bread making. You have your mass of masa and you cut off a bit and spread it, just like you were tiling plaster on sheetrock.

Lot's of questions are coming up about the 'red chiles". Guajillo is the way to go. Here in Texas, you may see these misnamed 'cascabel'. For some reason, in some of the Fiesta and other stores they don't call them Guajillo. Cascabel is actually a small roundish dried chile. New Mexico dried red chiles substitute perfectly.

Here are the places that I typically recommend and take outside towners to on their visit to Houston...picking up a Houston Press will help you with addresses etc. Tampico on Airline for grilled red snapper Julia's on Main Street for Latin fusion The original Ninfa's on Navigation for Mexican food and Lopez onWilcrest Hugo's for upscale Mexican food Symposio and Arcodoro for really good Italian food Hickory Hollow for chicken fried steak and bluegrass music

I remember that there were two Mexican restaurants in Den Haag when I was living there. There was one in the walking around area downtown. But the popular one and the really good one was in that circle in Scheveningen on the left hand side as you looked toward the hotel. I really liked that place.

Hello everyone. Robb asked me if I could drop in to say 'Hi' on his behalf. I helped out with the recipe testing for his book, so if there are any questions that I can help with, please don't hesitate to ask. Jay

I can help you here, because I had a similar experience back in 2004. Upon returning from Toluca, I looked everywhere for a source of green Tolucan sausage in Houston. There wasn't any. I decided to make my own. I went to Fiesta (Shepherd) and got some sausage casings from the butcher. Some Fiesta's have them in the cooler section, others, you have to check with the butcher. I went to page 268 of Diana Kennedy The Art of Mexican Cooking, bought all of the ingredients, and with the help of my food processor and Kitchen Aid, I have the grinder and the sausage making attachments, I proceeded to successfully make my sausage. It was a lot of work and there were a lot of green stains around the kitchen area. Then, I realized that short cuts are possible without affecting the over-all quality. For my next batch, I eliminated the casings, since, as you know, in Toluca, they remove the casings and just pan fry the sausage to serve in tacos. We don't have the luxury of allowing our sausage to air dry in a market place like they do and need to refrigerate and then cook the sausage fairly quickly. Then I abbreviated even further. I started with store bought Jimmy Dean pork breakfast sausage, ground up some parsley, cilantro, chile poblano, to mix in with it, added vinegar to taste but didn't mess with the other spices or the Swiss chard leaves. Very quick and easy and a perfectly fine result with less of the work. The trick is to get the ground pork green and this is done with the cilantro, chile, and parsley. Jay By the way, even though there isn't a recipe, there is a photo of the green sausage in From My Mexican Kitchen. Also, my experience is that sausages called Longaniza typically indicate cheaper cuts of meat than Chorizo. Also, the recipe calls for Swiss chard, which I didn't have experience with, but tracked down at Whole Foods. I used organic parsley (I find that using organic carrots, celery, and parsley results in a better food taste as it is a real hassle to wash and wash to get rid of the pesticide taste)