gulfporter

In the last slice of Tres Reyes cake this morning, I found a second Baby Jesus. Don't recall Mary having twins. But I didn't pay much attention in Catechism class.

This morning mi esposo found the Baby Jesus in his slice of the Couronne. It is hidden in the cake to symbolize when Mary and Joseph hid the baby. The person who finds is considered the 'godparent' this year and has to throw a party on Candlemas, Feb. 2nd. Candlemas is the day on which the baby was taken to the temple to be baptized. We aren't religious but I appreciate food-related traditions and the reasons behind them. I'm gonna let my DH off the hook for the Candlemas party as his Hip Replacement Surgery is scheduled for Feb. 1st.

It's Three Kings Day here; used to be date when Mexican children got their gifts. There are a lot of festivities planned on the Plaza later. Hot dogs and cake for the kids, after they bust open the humongous piñatas that have been hung in the Plaza trees. Afterward there is a free mariachi concert. We committed heresy and instead of the traditional Mexican Rosca, we bought a Couronne from a French patisserie, mostly because they offered a small size.

@liuzhou Wow, those are beautiful! Mushrooms aren't used much in MEX cuisine compared to Asian, Italian, French. There are a few exceptions which occur in isolated areas but never make it to our backwater village. Friends who go to the main market in nearby Guadalajara say they rarely see any fresh shrooms of interest, maybe an imported pack of shiitakes. There are psilocybin mushrooms in MEX, originally (and still) used by indigenous peoples in religious ceremonies and to treat health issues. There are also people here who use them purely as recreational 'magic mushrooms.' A few years ago on a road trip a few hours from home, we saw street vendors selling outrageously orange mushrooms. I was tempted but declined. Back home I mentioned them to a local chef friend. He was so sad we didn't buy them. Said they were excellent and from a volcanic field and their season is very limited. Dang!

Thx @heidih Have bought oyster shrooms here in past...they've always had white tops, no color at all. And no flavor, frankly. But I don't know King ones or any other than the Plain Jane whites. Panfried one just now. You are right, the stem are not same texture as tops. I will slice and fry tops to use in sauce; maybe experiment with stems another day.

I bought yesterday at Walmart Mexico. The labeling is no help. Tasting raw, they are stronger than a white or a Portobello. Almost like a raw shiitake in strength of flavor (though it been years since I tried a raw shiitake). The top is very tender (again raw) but not sure if the stems should be cooked and eaten or discarded?? They are a bronzy gray and the color in picture is accurate. My plan is to make into a mushroom sauce for our splurge meal today, a Wagyu steak.

Trader Joe's pfeffernuesse. This is 2nd Christmas I am bereft of these. Had stalked TJ's for these every November since I first discovered them. fyi, I asked on local social media if there was perhaps a German bakery in Guadalajara (an hour away) that made them. No dice. Then I got a message from a Brit living here who said she'd never made them, but baked for other expats and said she'd make for me. They aren't the prettiest I've ever seen (a little flat) but flavors are spot on. Funny and heartwarming. Looking for German cookies in Central Mexico and a Brit comes to this gringa's rescue.

Chamorros (pork shanks) were falling off the bone after 80 minutes in the Instant Pot. Sauce was a variety of dried chilies, onions, tomatoes and tequila (!). fyi, I learned late last night that putting alcohol in an Instant Pot could be risky as well as too prominent since it doesn't evaporate as it would in other methods. So I boiled it on the stove in the chicken stock that I used to rehydrate the dried chilies, before all went into the Instant Pot. Our meal was simple, some baked camotes (yams), a lot of gravy from the sauce (I stick blended it after shanks were done, adding a tablespoon of tomato paste). Pickled onions are de rigueur with pork here.

I am doing chamorros (pork shanks) in the Instantpot. Worried on timing as the recipe is for slow cooker at high for 7 1/2 hours. These are BIG shanks. Googled it....thinking 1.25 hours under pressure?? Today I bought camotes cocidos (cooked yams) at the weekly market today....Gloria does an excellent job on these, sweet and soft.

DH made our 🦃-Day dessert today so it can chill overnight Burnt Basque Cheesecake. I didn't even know that was a 'thing.'

I had to look that up! The waiter called it Mole' Rosa and did say it had chocolate' blanco (white chocolate) in it. It was mild, yet had good flavor, I could taste the nuts, etc. I kinda thought it was a gimmick, but turns out Pink Mole' is from Taxco. Here's a recipe that "reads" well to me. Whether it is same/similar to what I had, not sure. https://mealthy.com/recipes/2104/pressure-cooker-authentic-pink-mole-with-pork

Yes for steaks, beef, pork, almost always. This place attracts mostly young people, many in the growing tech industry. A few small older business groups, too. Sharing items and serving small plates are somewhat new here in upscale places like this. I think showing grams or a count gives the diners some insight into how much to order, what's shareable.

We combined our back-to-back Birthday Meals into a splurge dinner in downtown Guadalajara at Bruna Restaurante. Started with a mojito....it was wrapped in what I thought was Saran Wrap...but was actually sweetened gelatin. Not sure why, but it was interesting and tasty. Beautiful evening on terrace overlooking jardín. Very hip spot, pricey but worth it. NYC or SFO quality, service, ambiance. Still a bargain compared to those cities. With drinks, wine and dessert it came to just under $100 USD equivalent with tax and tip. Translation courtesy of Google Translate. PIGGY BABY ROSE 250gr. Lechón de 21 días de edad, confitado por 12 horas, montado sobre mole rosa de la casa con arroz negro silvestre y elotes baby horneados, espolvoreado con tierra de mole dulce y ceniza de cebolla. Servido con tortillas azul recién hechas. 21-day-old suckling pig, confit for 12 hours, mounted on house pink mole with wild black rice and baked baby corn, sprinkled with sweet mole soil and onion ash. Served with freshly made blue tortillas. MEJILLONES THAI 36 piezas de mejillones en salsa cremosa de curry con un toque de coco y vino blanco, acompañado de pan con ajo tostado. 36 pieces of mussels in a creamy curry sauce with a touch of coconut and white wine, accompanied by toasted garlic bread. SEIS TEXTURAS DE CHOCOLATE Encuentro entre el viejo y el nuevo mundo, chocolate belga y chocolate Oaxaqueño en 6 texturas de chocolate. Encounter between the old and the new world, Belgian chocolate and Oaxacan chocolate in 6 chocolate textures.

And they said it wouldn't last.... Decided to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary at home. I remade the recipe we liked best this year.....Grilled Moroccan Chicken with Pecan Couscous (both with green olives and prunes). Mi esposo tackled a new (to us) dessert, Bête Noir. Wow! He added a chipotle glazed cherry on top (es Mexico!). Both accompanied by Mexican sparkling wine, Freixenet which is bottled in nearby state of Queretaro.

@btbyrd The NC problem is governmental. The Chair of the ABC board just resigned. The distribution contractor whose contract began in July implemented new software for ordering and inventory which coincides with the mess that started around that time. The NC legislature held a hearing recently but didn't get a lot of answers, per this article. https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/north-carolina/articles/2021-09-30/liquor-shortages-on-nc-shelves-gets-legislatures-attention

Lunch at a nearby seafood...high quality ingredients, low prices. Entire meal with 1 beer and 1 agua mineral was 208 pesos (under 10 USDs). The NOT a corndog is a huge banana pepper stuffed with smoked marlin; blue shrimp were inside a fried flour tortilla; I always have their battered and fried avocado taco. Nice ambiance, too...you can see palapa bar seating and the open kitchen in the back.

@shain We were also in a pasta mood last night. Quick and easy; angel hair with hot Italian sausage, onions and peppers, goat cheese and basil. "Sauce" was white wine and chicken broth reduced with the sausage.

Don't see many painted skulls, but the pan de muerte is everywhere. Street vendors will be selling bunuelos de viento, by far my favorite Mexican treat.

Put on your sunglasses 😎

It's actually in a clear Pyrex pie pan. It's my tiled counter that is showing thru the Pyrex.

My first attempt at a Far Breton. Came out rather pale. I will conveniently blame my Mexican oven 👩‍🍳 Tasty though! I used orange liqueur to steep the prunes.

Not technically a Farmers' Market, but the young disabled man who collects parking fees at a pop-up lot on weekends was selling ciruelas that he and his brother plucked out of the plum trees on our street. For 10 pesos (50 cents, US) I got a large container. They were a mix of ripe and green; the green ones are turning nicely. These are not cultivated plums, though we wonder if there was an orchard here long ago. Across the street from my house is a large former hacienda named La Ciruela and the plum trees are in neat rows on our street and 2 adjacent streets. The fruit is extremely sweet--surprise! Not much edible fruit as the pit is about 75% of each plum. Most of the trees are quite tall, though locals manage to pick them using make-shift baskets on bamboo poles, some use swimming pool skimmers. Many stand on the roofs of their cars to pick, have seen some horseman stand on their saddles!

Eggplant 'ragu' with Indian spices served with garbanzos topped with cilantro and preserved lemon yogurt.