gulfporter

I disagree: the worst candy concoction ever is Tootsie Rolls. When I lived in US I would buy 4 or 5 packs of Easter Peeps and poke the cellophane several times with a pencil. I'd let each pack sit a minimum of 2 weeks up to 6 weeks Try it and maybe you'll agree that Peeps are best when aged and a tad dry around the edges.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/father-of-peeps-innovator-of-marshmallow-candies-bob-born-dies-at-98#:~:text=Ira “Bob” Born%2C a,had died peacefully on Sunday.

Potato, bacon, onions and peppers hash, topped with burrata.

Was this Meal 5 or Meal 6 of leftover rotisserie chicken?? Went with a lighter salad. Besides the never-ending chicken: arugula, toasted pepitas (they popped and flew all over the kitchen!), caramelized shallots with a minute dollop of burrata. Dressing a lemon and Dijon vinaigrette.

Using up a large rotisserie chicken. Chicken salad with green apple, toasted pecans tossed with mayo, yogurt and a healthy dose of chipotle. Topped with cilantro.

Mi esposo made this cake again. It's fast become our favorite for both taste and easy prep. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023485-chocolate-self-saucing-cake

Arugula salad with toasted pecans and cranberries, topped with burrata. Dressing a simple lemon-garlic vinaigrette.

Forgot to plan ahead for a Lunar New Year recipe. Had grilled shrimp leftover in fridge and some nice toasted peanuts (MX peanuts are great!). Mixed up a sauce of various Asian shelf products....sesame oil, rice vinegar, chili-garlic sauce, soy, yuzu, hoisin then added grated ginger, fresh lime juice. To thicken a bit I made 1 tsp. corn starch slurry. Heated briefly to get the starch to take effect. Added the shrimp then a small bag of well-rinsed pre-cooked udon noodles. Cooled to just above room temperature. Plated and sprinkled with peanuts. Would have been better with green onions, but alas my intent to grow them from the bulbs remains, well, an intent 😎 Sorry no pic, but would make again. Happy Year of the Rabbit!

I also buy Idahoan instant here in Central Mexico. I don't use them often since mi esposo thinks carbs are the work of el diablo. I find they're best if you cut back the liquid and get as close to 'lumpy' as you can (without them being dry). I don't serve as a side per se, I use as a base for a "wet" dish. This week I am making an oxtail recipe in instant pot that comes out with a lot of gravy.

Grilled shrimp with fresh corn off cob, caramelized shallots and arugula over angel hair.

Thanks to all. The Munavalgekook looks great, but bake time is up to 40 minutes; my MX oven won't consistently hold temp that long. Similar issue with pavlova which takes an hour. But pavlovas are at a low temperature and have no baking soda or powder in the mix. I would give it a try. The Italian pistachio cookies may be a good choice as we have better luck with cookies than cakes. Cookies seem to be more forgiving than a cake which needs a more controlled temperature to rise and lift.

Mi esposo discovered a new crème brulee recipe that he is making pretty often. Consequently we are amassing great quantities of egg whites in our freezer. Angel food cake is an obvious choice, but my Mexican gas oven isn't the venue for anything that needs a stable temperature for more than 20 minutes. He tried a recipe called Ooey Gooey Brownies with egg whites only....way too ooey, way too gooey. Suggestions appreciated!

Eggs here sold by weight at most places, but the organic farms sell their eggs by the dozen. I paid 52 pesos for a dozen brown organic yesterday; they were uniformly large size. About 2.75 USD. My guess is they are considerably less at local fruterías when sold by kilo. Eggs are not graded here by size; you just go through the large cartons on display and pick the ones you want. Eggs are not refrigerated here.

Eggs over new red potatoes, bacon, onions, peppers and poblanos.

Sorry no pic, but mi esposo made this recipe for a self-saucing cake. He cut the sugar in the 'sauce' part in half and used regular Hershey's cocoa. He made this 2 days ago and while the sauce part soaked into the cake, it remains extremely moist and delicious. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023485-chocolate-self-saucing-cake

No, for tortas ahogados all the seasoning is in the dipping broth which is quite spicy and orange. It's the only torta I buy...hooked on them.

Here, carnitas are braised. They are used in tortas. Extremely tender. Chicharrones are fried in oil in large vats, often on street corners.

Birotes saltados are the super crusty ones, shown here. They are the ones used in tortas ahogadas; they need to be super dry to soak up the liquid (ahogada means 'drowned.' Mi esposo says he can drive a nail into the wall with a birote salado.

@Tropicalsenior Sorry I don't have a carnitas recipe; probably others on e-gullet do. I can walk to a half dozen tortas places and I let them do the work. Lazy me, happy me. I have bought rolls labeled "bolillos" in Tucson, a city with large Mexican population. Tried a number of Latino places...they were uniformly awful...soft crust and the inside was fluffy. They reminded me of the sandwich rolls from Puebla (cemitas). In fact the pictures in your link look very much like cemita rolls. When I am in US and want to make a torta ahogado, I start with a proper French baguette. Our local bolillos look like this....notice the 'waist' on them....you can buy whole ( a doble) or break in half if that's all you want.

The type and availability of bread in MEX varies by region. I was surprised when we first came here here that there were any breads! Then I learned about the French Connections. The Battle of Puebla (Cinco de Mayo 1862 ) was against the French, as was the skirmish referred to as the Pastry War (1838). https://www.britannica.com/event/Pastry-War Bolillos vary as well; the local birote salado (salted) is as crusty as any baguette from Paris. It is used in our locally famous Tortas Ahogados (drowned sandwich). https://theguadalajarareporter.net/index.php/featured/31241-birote-bread-the-unique-taste-of-jalisco Enjoy your trip...buen viaje!

Cajun shrimp eggs bennies. Over toasted bolillos (local MX bread that is sourdough-ish).

Pasta with tomatoes confit, parm, toasted pine nuts, fresh basil.

Found these at a local deli that is MXN owned and run. The owner's wife makes a really great mango chutney as well as pickles. This was her first attempt at tomatoes....and it was a success! Wonderful condiment on a cold plate. Tonight I will mix with pasta, heat it a bit then top with fresh basil, toasted local pine nuts and a great parm.