sladeums

Yes. It's fairly thorough - as you would expect a textbook to be - and covers a lot of ground that you might not find useful (or maybe you would) - - things like meat fabrication, some restaurant economics and other topics which are really geared toward a professional kitchen. But the pictures are really nice and it's a fun book to leaf through. Depending on how humble you are being when referring to yourself as "...a humble home cook..", Pepin's book may be better. It gives a really nice explanation of a lot of the fundamentals...the only thing that could make it better are color pics. But if it was me I'd get both...the CIA book can be attractively priced at times on eBay and it is a great tome to pick up and browse when you have nothing else to do.

You got the tourist menu... ..ask the chef to cook for you, you'll have a much better meal.

Saw two more new candy bars this weekend. Snickers with almonds and Crunch with caramel The Snickers was good, very much like a Mars bar - definitely to my liking as I subjectively prefer almonds to peanuts. The Crunch was ok. Better than the regular ones (I mean, it can't hurt to add caramel to something can it?) - there is a thin layer of caramel running down the middle of the bar and they are more a Snickers-type shape than the usual Hershey-type shape. I don't care much for Crunch bars...but of course, I had to try it.

I have a couple darks and a white in the freeze at home...I'll have one tonight in your honor after work. Them darks is pretty good.

Freeze 'em...they kick ass frozen. The dark choc that is - - don't care for the white choc, since it's not choc.

Here's the recipe I use for a red enchilada sauce: 4 large Anchos, stemmed, seeded and deveined 2 cups whole milk 2 cloves garlic, chopped lard / oil for frying 1 Tb sugar (or to taste) salt to taste Soak the cleaned chiles in hot water for 15 minutes, drain, tear chiles apart and drop in a blender and blend with the milk and garlic until smooth. Heat enough fat to cover the bottom of a frying pan - when thoroughly heated add the sauce and sugar, cook over med to med-high stirring regularly until thickened and somewhat reduced. Correct seasonings...set aside and keep warm until ready to fill enchiladas.

Posole is a quite common dish in Mexico. Made with stock, chiles, onion, garlic, herbs, chunks of pork, sometimes chicken, and whole hominy. Tomatillos can be added to make a Posole Verde. Ideally the pedicel at the base of the corn kernel (hominy) is removed so the corn 'flowers' as it cooks. Posole is usually served with several garnishes alongside for the diner to add as they see fit. Some common garnishes would be: cabbage or lettuce, limes, chiles, diced onion, oregano or whatever you enjoy. Most posole I've encountered has more of a pork than chicken character to me...but it is still a wonderful soup, great for cold weather days, sick days and a wonderful post-hangover breakfast. Lye is added to whole corn kernels to remove the tough outer husk, resulting in hominy...which I think is the initial steps to making grits.

Thus the name pepper water, eh? Actually, my wife had wanted me to try to obtain a recipe similar to what is traditionally served in Indian restaurants in the US. I was quite surprised at the diversity of recipes out there, in particular the fact that not very many seemed to be what we knew as Muligatawny from our restaurant experiences. Country Captain, isn't that a type of sweet/savory curry? I've never associated that w/ a high liquid content dish such as soup. Please clarify.

Zapata's 'Fire Roasted Green' and Frontera Kitchens (Bayless) 'Tomatillo Salsa' and 'Rustic Guajillo Salsa' are also very good substitutions. Try any of these on a grilled steak, you'll never have to buy A-1 again. Seriously. Zapata's may be more widely available in some regions...but anywhere w/ even a smattering of Hispanic population should have Herdez. Most all of the Sabroza brand salsa's are very good as well.

I guess you could say they range in size from a quarter in diamater on up to large-ish plum-size...I usually pick the medium to larger looking sized ones as opposed to the teeny ones - I think I have seen somewhere comments on taste differences in size bit don't distinctly recall what or where. You want them to be firm, if there are mushy spots it's no good...watch for any obvious moldl...the husks peel back easily so you can look inside if you feel the need to. And yes, they are rather sticky, remove and discard the husk and rinse them under water (temp is not an issue). It is not necessary to scrub or be overly aggressive about getting off all of the outside coating...a light rinse w/ casual rubbing between your hands is sufficient. I usually do this with a colander or whatever next to me...as each is rinsed toss 'em in your colander and proceed as normal when I'm done. They are a wonderful item to work with...a unique flavor and very easy to use.

I would agree with the Sopa de Lima. The recipe I use is near the top of this thread: click for Sopa de Lima (and more hot soup action) I also love Tom Kha Gai, but my wife has a sensitivity to coconut so I only have it when we go out for Thai...not often enough.

My choice here for green chiles would probably be the ones you are already using, either Poblano or Anaheim. Flavor-wise the Poblano is preferable...if you have access to them (I don't) Chilacas would be very good as well, probably better than the Anaheim. As for the mildness issue, instead of the heat level dictating what chile to use, use whatever chile you like and by restraint decide how hot the finished dish will be. Also, you can substitute a standard bell, if pressed, for some of the other chiles mentioned, particularly if you are using Anaheims. The usual standby enchilada sauce I use contains no tomatoes, just anchos, garlic, salt and milk. Whenever I make it a little too hot for my children I usually just add more milk to cut the heat. If you get something really too far out of your league you can just make a double batch ignoring the chiles the second time around. Jaymes, I initially thought that the second recipe you posted was for Enchilades Verde...but after re-reading it, I'm not sure. Does the sauce come out more green or red? When I think of Enchiladas Verde, the sauce that I would use would derive it's color from tomatillos and not from the chiles. Here's an example: 1 lb tomatillos, husks removed, well rinsed 2 serranos (or to taste). stalks removed 1 clove garlic peeled, roughly chopped 1 Tb lard / oil 1/3 cp chicken broth Roast tomatillos and serranos under a broiler or in a dry pan over med-high heat, turning occasioally. The tomatillos should soften up quite a bit and everything will get some blackened charred bits here and there...and that's a good thing. (Alternately if you do not wish to mess w/ roasting the tomatillos and chiles you can simply simmer them in water to cover for approx 10 min or until the tomatillas have softened) Throw the tomatillos, chiles and garlic in a blender and blend until somoth. Heat fat in frying pan until fully hot...add sauce and cook over med heat stirring occasionally. Add broth, correct seasoning and cook and reduce about another 5 min. Set aside and keep hot. My opinions as to enchiladas in general... The word enchilada derives from 'enchilar' which means to either season with chile or coat/cover with chile. There are generally two different methods of making them: either a corn tortilla is lightly fried to warm through and soften but not crisp, then dipped in chile sauce and arranged as called for - - or the other way around, the tortilla is dipped in chile sauce and then quickly fried to seal the sauce to the tortilla and arranged as called for. Most enchiladas are considered pan to mouth food and should be eaten as soon as possible from completion as the tortillas can break down quickly and get mushy...occasionally they are baked - but usually for short periods of time (10-15 min in a 350 oven) just to heat through or melt a cheese topping. Flour tortillas are occasionally used and they are much more amenable to baking. The enchiladas we usually see here in the US are more akin to what we call burritos but with sauce on them. Traditionally enchiladas will be much smaller - usually using a tortilla from 3 - 6 inches in diamater and filled sparingly. As an example I would say that the average size of an enchilada should be similar to the size and shape of, say a pre-packaged Italian sausage link from the grocery - or maybe about a Twinkie and a half...this would be in contrast to many of the enchiladas you see in the US which can range up to a manly forearm . As mentioned there are many different ways of forming enchiladas. Rolled is the most common, but they can also be folded in halves, folded in quarters or simply open faced tortillas stacked one upon the other. 'Fillings' can be present in, on or around the enchilada. The fillings for enchiladas are open to your imagination...some of my preferences are chicken poached in chicken broth, queso fresco, some of the various potato fillings, salpicon or chorizo and eggs. The real part that makes the enchilada, the chile sauce, likewise are numerous. Any kind of chile can be utilized, tomatoes may or may not be used and the sauces can be super simple all the way up to some of the more intricate moles made for enchiladas. I tend to prefer either enchilada sauce w/o tomatoes or else a tomatillo/verde sauce made with serranos or pasillas. Actually, just about any 'salsa' (I'm thinking authentic salsa) recipe you can find can be utilized as an enchilada sauce by simply frying and reducing the sauce a bit...that is within reason, I'm not sure how excited I'd be about a mango/pineapple enchilada or something like that. Enchilada sauces are fairly forgiving and open to interpertation...some nice ways of experimenting to find what you like: -alter the chiles, try different varieties both dried and fresh. -use spices that generally go well w/ chiles or Mexican food: canela, peppercorns, allspice, cumin, mexican oregano, cilantro, epazote etc...toss a little something in, see what happens. -toss in a chipotle en adobo (rinsed and seeded if you're sensitive to the heat) or just a little bit of the adobo sauce from the can -stirring in a couple of lightly broken eggs into your enchilada sauce and cook in the second manner described above (sauced then fried). There are also many other tortilla variations which are similar to enchiladas: Enfrijolada - the chile sauce is replaced by a sauce of well mashed/pureed slightly thinned out beans Entomatada - the chile sauce is replaced by a tomato based sauce, and they are usually milder in heat level Enjococado - the chile sauce is replaced by a fresh cream sauce

That's what I thought...so rustic and almost slum-ish...that's at least the feel I got - please correct as necessary. Could you maybe have done as well hittin' the right Taqueria, w/ maybe even a better meal? Again, I am not very knowledgeable and am also totally jealous of the meal you enjoyed...the pictures were absolutely splendid. I just thought if you really wanted to be 'rustic', it was out there, and you could get rustic w/o a price tag...and if you wanted to be a little haute-er, you could have that as well...anyway, I doubt I'm making sense (apparently friends DO let friend post drunk) _ _ But does anyone in Chi-Town have an opinion on Ixcapuzalco? There are a few things I've seen which would lean me towards that restaurant even knowing Rick's background. I might be there some day, please help me!!!!

I may have missed something, but do you mean Poblanos? Or do you also use Anchos interchangebly w/ the fresh green chile? I'm not sure, let me know. Do you mean the Las Palmas that comes in the big jars like spaghetti sauce? I believe so...and it is a HUGE step over Old El Paso and it's ilk. Not too bad....not the best, but definitely do-able in a pinch.

I'm slightly curious...why did you not go to Topolobampo instead of Frontera? Keep in mind, I'm totally out of touch w/ the Chicago scene, but given this crowd and it's usual stomping grounds, I would think that Topolobamo would have been more fitting than Frontera...is it just because it is Bayless' flagship? Besides, the mentioned two Bayless resturants, can anyone comment on other Mexican restaurants in the area, such as Ixcapuzalco? Their menu looks quite good to me, but I have not seen much about them on this site, or in other 'dispassionate' reviews. I don't know - I'm an idiot, help me out.

Both excellent choices, I don't think you'll be disappointed. 'The Essential Cuisines..' will provide you recipes for just about any dish you could want and is an excellent resource. My only misgivings was the newer layout, there is something about the whole graphic presentation that I just don't care for - certainly not distracting, though. As a previously mentioned 'My Mexico' has somewhat of a a travelogue-lean to it, w/ reminisces of dishes of particular interest that she has run into, and is broken down by geographical region. This makes it more interesting than just a cookbook if you are interested in learning some of the culture. There is one particular recipe in this book that is one of my faves that I would encourage you to check out called, I believe, Chuletas de Puerco en Agridulce (pork chops in a sweet and sour sauce). It's rather easy to make and consists of pork chops in a sauce made from orange juice, pineapple, onion, canela and plenty of guajillos. Makes a very nice satisfying meal w/ a pile of beans or one of the potato dishes (I think there's a very good Papas con Poblano in 'My Mexico' if I recall correctly) out of either book and pleeenty of corn tortillas. Let me know what you think of the books.

Yes, after you become familar w/ the chiles the differences are very, very obvious. I'm not in any condition to demand need of the Field Horsetail, so I may pass on that as well. As to your previous question in regards to cookbooks, I own: The Art of Mexican Cooking, Diana Kennedy The Cuisines of Mexico, Diana Kennedy Food From My Heart, Zarela Martinez Mexico The Beautiful, Susanna Palazuelos, Marilyn Tausend, et al Of all those I own, the one that I am least pleased with is 'Food From My Heart'....the rest are must owns. I have read many more (beware of the self-indulgent list, I scrolled thorugh every book in the appropriate category on Amazon) - most of them are available at my public library, so I don't feel driven to buy them: all of Diana Kennedy's, all of Rick Bayless', all of Zarela's book - except for her most recent 'Veracruz', all of Patricia Quintana's, '1,000 Mexican Recipes' which I earlier mentioned by Marge Poore, 'Cocina de la Familia' by Marilyn Tausend, 'The Complete Book of Mexican Cooking' and 'The Festive Food of Mexico' by Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz, 'Recipe of Memory: Five Generations of Mexican Cuisine' by Victor M. Valle (this one is very much worh checking out because it's one of the very few Mexican cookbooks I've seen presented with a male's recipes), 'A Cook's Tour of Mexico: Authentic Recipes from the Country's Best Open-Air Markets, City Fondas, and Home Kitchens' by Nancy Zaslavsky, 'Rosa Mexicano' by Josefina Howard...and quite a few more that may have not been listed on Amazon. There are also many, many more I've paged through - but after doing so I was not real interested in them. All of the Milliken/Fenniger books meet this criteria...basically, if the book was not obviously using traditional ingredients and was too forgiving with modern updates, I bypassed it. I was more interested in understanding the roots of Mexican cuisine and not as interested in how to recreate standards in the modern kitchen and pantry. All of the books above are worthwhile...but as I previously stated, the (somewhat)-newly issued 'The Essential Cuisines of Mexico' by Diana Kennedy (over 300 recipes) is a must buy - especially if you are just starting to feel your way around this genre of food...IMO any book by Diana Kennedy is worth owning - I noticed on Amazon that she has a book slated for release in 2003 titled, 'Techniques and Ingredients of the Mexican Kitchen'. My second recommendation would be '1,000 Mexican Recipes' by Marge Poore - especially if you are familar w/ how to deal w/ the standard ingredients and because of the fact that on perusal, the wealth of recipes is just outstanding - - please note, though, I haven't actually tested any of these, I am judging it solely on the way the recipes read. Don't forget, if you link through the Amazon logo at the bottom of the page you are supporting eGullet, which should give you ample excuse to pitch off $25.00. On my personal wishlist, there are a few cookbooks that I have been able to page through in bookstores, but they are not available in my public library, and for me their price is prohibitive. If anyone has access to them, let me know. They are: The Mexican Gourmet - Maria Dolores Torrez Yzabal Seasons of My Heart: A Culinary Journey Through Oaxaca, Mexico - Susana Trilling Frida's Fiestas: Recipes and Reminiscences of Life With Frida Kahlo - Guadalupe Rivera Marin

Mole is said to have originated in Puebla in the late 1600's. There are various tales regarading it's birth, but the majority of them agree on the dish first being served at the Santa Rosa Convent in Puebla City. Sources disagree as to which specific nun it was, who the dish was created to honor and what the rationale was behind the choice of ingredients. This dish, Mole Poblano (literally of or from Puebla) is the most frequently served mole in the Americas. Oaxaca, though, is the self-proclaimed "Land of the Seven Moles" and mostly gets it's fame from the fact that there are all of these regional variations on the dish throughout the state. There are even some people that believe that maybe that nun who originally made Mole Poblano cribbed some of the idea from a Mole Negro of peasant folk in Oaxaca. I'm not sure why, maybe ease of growth or because they are so frequently used in Tex-Mex and New-Mex cooking, but from my experience regardless of where you are in this country the dried chiles you are most likely to see are the California or New Mexico varities...I believe they are the same chile actually. In Mexico it might be a toss up as to which chile is used more: Ancho or Guajillo. I might give the edge to Guajillo as the standard workaday chile. As we discussed earlier, identifying some of the chiles can be difficult because of the naming problems. What is most commonly referred to in recipes as Pasilla (fresh it's a chilaca) can also appear as Chile Negro (fresh it's a Pasilla). What is most commonly referred to as Ancho (fresh a Poblano) can also appear as Pasilla (fresh a Pasilla as well).....Got it? This naming inconsistency is supposedly most prevalant on the West Coast from what I've read. The main thing you need to be concerned w/ though is being able to identify them on sight so you can get past this Ancho/Pasilla thing. The pictures on both of the websites we linked earlier have pretty decent represantations of the chiles and the main way you're going to be able to tell is looking at the stem end. The Pasilla will be long and fairly uniformly narrow. The Ancho will be much wider at the top and look like a rounded off triangle. Also, get a look at the colors - - the Pasilla is going to look more brown to brownish black on the surface and the color won't change a whole lot when held up to the light. The Ancho will look quite brown with maybe red or brickish tinges on the surface. When held up to the light it will have a very distinct reddish purplish hue that you don't pick up quite so clearly on the surface. Maybe try looking at this site...here's their index, just scroll down to the dried chile section to check 'em out - some of the pictures are bigger and more obvious I think than our earlier links: click me for yet more Chile pix The Cola de Caballo you got is known as Field Horsetail. Traditionally it was prescribed as a tea for treating kidney stones, prostate or urinary tract issues and dysentery...or as an exteranl treatment for hemorrhoids or open wounds...some other info is here: click me for Equisetum arvense link I'll check back in later on the cookbooks....I have to get something done at work today.

Very true...if you look at what the translation of the word(s?) is (are?) it seems pretty obvious that this is just another generalized term to deal with a universal prep of ingredients. Almost a standard casserole of sorts, imagine being that gourmand in Mexico who thinks, when referring to the corporate pot luck, "...oh, God - just wonderful, I'm going to get to try everyone's chilaquiles tomorrow (again) - - I can't wait..." All things being said, it's just basically a way to use up day old tortillas w/ whatever kind of salsa is on hand....and maybe an addition of meat. The meat usually added is chicken. There are a few recipes I've seen that call for pork, but usually most call for either: veg only / chicken only / or both. The most satisfying though, regardless of what else is there, are those which involve copious amounts of cheese....very soul (food) satisfying Mexican cooking, when that grip of nice fatty cheese gets melted on top of a decent salsa and maybe some meat...ummmm - what could go wrong? I'll try to toss out my favored chilaquiles prep tomorrow...

either and/or both - depends on the recipe Typically, though, strips of fried corn tortillas are dumped in a bowl than topped w/ the soup or added at the very end of cooking to just warm through - the tortillas end up having a pasta-like texture. A few recipes call for fried tortilla strips to be added while the soup is cooking (this basically acts as a masa thickener) and then topped w/ additional tortilla strips upon service. Additional fried tortillas strips may be passed to further garnish in any preparation.

Thanks for the post memesuze, I have 'Food From My Heart' and have checked out the Oaxaca book many times from the library...I think the latter is a very good addition to any Mexican cookbook collection.

Yes, correct, we should have established that earlier. Just don't tell a Oaxacan that Mole Poblano is the mole of default Is there a default mole there? Or is it always the seven basics? Thanks for the Bayliss recipe too. It looks great. And I love the name. Right, in Oaxaca there are the seven basics: Rojo, Negro, Coloradito, Amarillo, Verde, Chichilo and Manchamanteles (or Mancha Manteles). Mole Poblano, of course, originates in Puebla. There can be variations within those, though, to come up with moles like Mole Cacahuate (peanut) or Mole Almendrado (almond), among many others, depending on what specific ingredient is being leaned on. I don't think there is really any default when speaking of mole in Oaxaca. Probably the most hightly esteemed (and maybe even the most common) would be Mole Negro....one of the few moles I've not had the guts to make. It involves the longest list of ingredients of all the moles - up to 6 different chiles, almonds, raisins, pumpkin seeds, peanuts, tomato, garlic and onions, plantains, chocolate, spices, bread and chile seeds, among many other possible ingredients. Most all ingredients are darkly toasted or charred (a very fine line to walk between toasted and bitterly burnt) - this can be difficult to produce in a home kitchen due to the choking fumes that are produced from the toasting chiles. I saw some program on the Food Network where Susana Trilling made this, all of the toasting, roasting etc leading up to the dish was all done outdoors. The finished product just looked phenomenal - a daunting task, though. Mole is fun to experiment with, though. I've made some really nice ones - and also some that were pretty borderline. As you saw, letting them ripen overnight will frequently cause a dramatic change to the characteristics of the taste. I have in fact, seen some recipes that will suggest making it the day ahead and then combining with whatever meat you're using. Also, don't forget another great way to use mole is as an enchilada sauce...so always save any extra sauce! If you were considering getting one of Diana Kennedy's books, for economy sake I would suggest the newly released 'The Essential Cuisines of Mexico'. This is a compilation of her first three books 'The Cuisines of Mexico', 'The Tortilla Book', and 'Mexican Regional Cooking'; with some updating of the recipes and an additional 30 new recipes. Nice book, don't like the design, but the contents are excellent. My personal favorite, though, is 'My Mexico'...it's part travelogue and has recipes by individual regions, so it's not laid out like your standard cookbook - great read, though. I also came across a book at my library that surprised me, '1,000 Mexican Recipes' by Marge Poore (another Anglo!). I didn't have much expectation for this, but there was some really good stuff in this book. She covers a lot of the basic building blocks, traditional preps and then also some contemporary Mexican recipes. I had not heard of the author before, but she apparently has taught cooking classes in Mexico for around 20 years and has led culinary tours there around 30 years. You won't find a lot of technique discussed, though, so a background in how to deal with the most common ingredients is recommended. Both of these books are available from Amazon for $24.50, hardcover and would definitely give you some ideas.

The following link gives a basic tortilla soup recipe (in my opinion the more basic the better): click for Tortilla Soup recipe Myself, I favor Sopa de de Lima (Lime Soup) which is generally made in a simalar manner to Tortilla Soup, but the tomato is chopped/diced as opposed to blended into the base. I've used the following recipe adapted from Mexico: The Beautiful and find it quite satisfying...very much a Mexican Chicken Noodle/Pho type of thing (IMO): 2 bone-in chicken breasts (about 12 oz each) 10 cups water 3 cloves garlic 1/2 onion 3 sprigs cilantro 1 Tb salt 5 day old corn tortillas (CORN, and that's 5 individual day-old tortillas not 5-day old tortillas. Let them sit out 1/2 day to overnight, you may want to place them between a couple of plates, or at least turn every few hours, to avoid excessive curling as they dry) oil for frying 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1-inch stick canela (if using cinnamon, use 1/2 this) 1 clove 1 tsp dried Mexican oregano (1/2 tsp if not Mexican) 1 tsp oil/lard/fat 1/2 cup chopped onion (your variety of choice) 1/2 cup finely chopped Poblano chile pepper (can sub Green Bell or Anaheim) 2 cups peeled and chopped tomato (if using canned drain before measuring) juice of 2 limes (do not use bottled) Bring chicken, water, garlic, onion, cilantro and salt to a boil. Cook covered over low heat 35-40 min or until tender. Strain, reserve stock, shred chicken and set aside. While this is cooking cut your CORN tortillas into 1/2 inch wide long strips, heat 1/2 inch of oil in a skillet and when hot fry the tortilla strips in batches w/o crowding until lightly browned. Turn the tortilla strips throughout cooking, it should take around 3 minutes. Remove the fried tortilla strips and drain. Toast cumin, canela, clove and oregano in a small skillet over low-medium heat...don't burn, you should just smell some of the fragrance of the spices being released. Puree the toasted spices w/ 1/2 cup of reserved stock. Saute onion in the oil/lard/fat just until transparent, add chile pepper and saute another couple minutes, then add tomatoes and cook on med heat for 6-8 minutes stirring constantly to prevent sticking or burning. Add remaing stock and pureed spices and crank up the heat, when boiling add the lime juice and chicken, cover and cook for up to a half hour over medium heat. To serve toss a small handful of the fried tortilla strips in a bowl and top with the soup. You can (and should) pass with condiments of lime quarters, chopped cilantro, chiles of choice and extra fried tortillas strips. Sliced avocodo can also be available to garnish, if you like. Another particularly nice garnish (gives a bit of crunch and heat) you can use is lightly fried 1/2-inch wide rings of dried Pasilla. good stuff...

Yes, correct, we should have established that earlier. Just don't tell a Oaxacan that Mole Poblano is the mole of default

Grant, look at this link for a picture of the chiles: click for an Ancho click for a Pasilla Those are the best pix I could find in a pinchh. The pasilla in coloration looks very dark...the anchos appears to be dark/med dark tobacco brown on the surface, but when held up to the light yields lovely reddish-purplish hues - - the main differention is in that very triangular shape, they are usually fairly easy to scope out from the other dried chiles you mentioned because of that squat triangle shape. It is hard to tell by packaging because, yes the pasilla (dried) is sometimes used interchangebly w/ ancho, and sometimes pasilla (fresh) is sometimes used interchangebly w/ poblano (which dried is an ancho). So what do you think you had?