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I understand that the cinnamon used in Mexico is Ceylon cinnamon (not Sri Lanka). I cart big bags of it home every year. It is much more aromatic and with a softer bark than the usual variety available up here, is easily ground. But one thing I have forgotten to ask in the market is whether it is imported from Sri Lanka or is it being grown in Mexico. Anyone know?

Chile Rellenos. Every Mexican or Mexican type restaurant we've ever been in almost, I've chosen Chile Rellenos. I keep thinking I'll pick something different...and then I don't. I've made them. Once. So much trouble. And deep fat frying. And of course in the Far Frozen North where we live, we've been able to get Poblanos (that's it) for only about five years now. Imagine my delight, the appeal to my very lazy side, to discover the following recipe just a few days ago: https://www.homesicktexan.com/2018/09/chile-relleno-casserole-el-paso-style.html . And yesterday I made them and served them to guests with Mexican rice and black beans. Died and gone to heaven. OK. Truth time. I used Poblanos and I did not roast them to remove the skins. In an electric oven, it's not a nice job. And besides the skins have never bothered me or Ed at all. But I did roast the Poblanos in the oven. And then I used commercial salsa because we had one we liked. (Did I say that I can be lazy sometimes?) And I used Pepper Jack cheese. Jack cheese is not always available in the small Ontario city we live outside of and pepper jack is even less common. Buy it when you see it. I defrosted some frozen guacamole I had in the freezer. But by heavens the casserole was delicious and now it's on our menu permanently. So shoot me. But I thought I'd share my joy anyway.

Have recently enjoyed horchata on the streets of PV. Got a recipe for original horchata and any variations?

https://youtu.be/i3IvXgAMDoI Casa Enrique, Michelin Star Mexican restaurant. Looks delicious. Has anyone eaten here?

I am looking for a T&T recipe for Flour tortillas as well as the way to cook them without special equipment (in a simple pan). Is it possible to make the dough with a stand mixer or a food processor ? Help welcomed

Wasn't quite sure where to ask this question, but seeing as I have to buy the answer in Ontario, I decided to go this route. Poblanos. A chile that we love and I use a lot of when I could get them, particularly for a Tex/Mex Chile Relleno casserole that I make. And, of course, cut into rajas which I can add to other recipes like enchiladas and soups. For a few years now, we've been able to buy Poblanos in Sobey's, but recently our local store has chosen not to stock them any more. So now there are not available anywhere in Peterborough, our nearby city. What pepper, available in Ontario grocery stores, would be suitable to use as a substitute? (Just occurred to me...I'm going to grow my own this coming summer if I can. Richter's carries seeds and plug packs. I'm not a gardener, but I can do this.)

Salsa Para Enchiladas 3 ancho chiles 2 New Mexico chiles 2 chipotle chiles 1 clove garlic, sliced 2 TB flour 2 TB vegetable oil 1 tsp vinegar ¾ tsp salt ¼ tsp dried oregano 2 cups broth, stock, or (filtered) chili soaking liquid Rinse, stem and seed chiles. Place in saucepan and cover with water. Bring to boil. Cover and remove from heat and let soften and cool. While the chiles are cooling, gently sauté garlic slices in oil until they are soft and golden brown. Remove the garlic from the oil, with a slotted spoon and reserve. Make a light roux by adding the flour to the oil and sautéing briefly. Drain the chilies and puree them with the garlic slices and half of the liquid. Strain the puree back into the saucepan. Pour the remainder of the liquid through the sieve to loosen any remaining chili pulp. Add the roux to the saucepan and whisk to blend. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan, bring to a boil then and simmer 15-20 minutes. Taste and add additional salt and vinegar if necessary.

At the end of this month there will be two dinners that I'll be preparing. One is a potluck and the other, five days later, is dinner at home with a couple of friends. I was thinking of making a double/triple batch of my chile verde, and am wondering the best way to store the stew for the five-six days necessary. I know stews often are better after a day or so, but what about after five or six days? If I freeze the second batch, how might that effect the texture of the meat. I've never stored my chile verde for more than a day. I am hoping that I can just store the second batch in the fridge in a covered bowl for five days or so. That would make my life very much easier. Thoughts?

I had lunch recently at a Mexican restaurant, and on their buffet, they had a terrific chicken dish. I was told it was chicken adobado, but I think there was some confusion--the adobado recipes have a red sauce, and this dish had a white, creamy sauce that maybe had some mild cheese in it. The dish had chicken chunks, mushrooms and spinach. Ring any bells for anyone?

I was excited to see Bayless publishing a new cookbook this month, More Mexican Everyday. He's one of my favorite chefs both for his cooking and his cookbooks, and I love Mexican food. Plus, living in Oklahoma I have access to pretty much all of the necessary ingredients. Has anyone else ordered this? I'm headed to the local mercado this afternoon to stock up on ingredients. The cookbook arrives tomorrow, but I won't have time to shop later in the week so I'm going to guess at the necessities based on the Table of Contents. I figure masa, crema, and poblanos are a safe bet! Plus some tomatoes and jalapenos. What am I missing?

Has anyone else picked up a copy of Lesley Téllez's new cookbook, Eat Mexico? I've long wanted to take a culinary tour of Mexico City, but I still haven't made it down there; this book is doing nothing to calm that desire! There are quite a few ingredients in it that I am going to have a hard time getting my hands on, but I thought I'd give some of the recipes a try anyway. Is anyone else cooking from it yet?

Over in the Cooking with "Eat Mexico" topic I've posted a about things I've made from Lesley Téllez's recently-published book about street food in Mexico City. I finally had time to go down to "CDMX" (as they are now trying to rebrand themselves) this weekend and went on two of the Eat Mexico food tours. On Friday we went on the street food tour, and on Saturday on the San Juan market tour. The pope was also in town this weekend which made the city crazier than usual and drove the tour selections as we tried to not be where he was, with limited success. Street Food Tour I have limited photos of this one because our hands were usually full! There are ten "normal" stops on the tour plus a couple of optional ones. One of the vendors was closed for the day, but we definitely had no shortage of food. I think the tour lasted something like four hours, and we were basically eating the whole time. Most of it was standing and walking, but we did stop into a local coffee shop and sit down for a short time. Our guide, Arturo, was excellent. He is from the city, has attended culinary school, and is very well versed in both the local street food culture as well as Mexican cuisine overall. While the tour was mostly eating, we did walk through one small neighborhood market just to get the feel for the thing, and we stopped at one local tortilleria: The classic tortilla-delivery vehicle: We chatted up a local store owner who was making "antojitos" ("little cravings") for breakfast: Ate some tamales, walked a bit, then had some tlacoyos: here are the condiments... We also had some fresh juices. They really like their pseudo-medicinal juices.. we had the one that was "anti-flu" (and delicious): For the tlacoyos I had a huitlacoche and my wife has the chicken tinga. The huitlacoche was disappointingly non-descript. The remedy, of course, was to douse it in salsa, which fixes everything. A few blocks down we had carnitas tacos: And then some mango and watermelon with chile powder: Arturo tried to ply us with more food at the nearby burreria, but at this point we were on the verge of exploding: So we stopped for some locally-roasted coffee: Then on to a burrito place (of all things!) -- the guy running the burrito place was hilarious, and totally frank about stealing the burrito thing from Texas and then "fixing it." He's had the stand for something like 20 years. We split a squash blossom burrito (squash blossoms, onions, salsa, and cheese are the only ingredients, no rice or beans) which he makes on the griddle and then covers in a cheese blend and fries until the cheese browns and crisps. Definitely an improved burrito! Yeah, no photos there. Second to last was an absolutely terrific octopus tostada: And then a final stop for dessert (which we took back to the hotel rather than eating it there): ETA: A couple more photos. Also, there was a turkey and pork sandwich of some kind that I have no photos of and can't quite remember where it fit into the tour. Just in case you were worried about us starving.

A friend gifted me a book written by someone I know of but only loosely. The acquaintance is a former missionary who has lived in Oaxaca for 15 years and co-authored this book with Susana Trilling (famous Oaxacan cooking instructor). The book is self published and really surprised me with its quality. The whole thesis is saving the indigenous foods of the area and combatting GMO infiltration of the area. Those of you who know the area might know of one of my hero restaurants - the like-minded Itanoni in Oaxaca City - surely they all travel in the same circles. Recipes are average fare - not fancy - clearly recipes from regular local folk, but very authentic, not fusion. They start with basic fresh masa, run you through all sorts of things including molé and salads and end up with stuff like yucca and egg tacos. The chapters include: Wild Greens (purslane, amaranth, etc), Beans & Squash, Salsa, Nopal and Maguey, Food and Fiesta, Medicinal uses. About 300 pages in all (so figure 150 in English and 150 in Spanish). This book is not available through Amazon. It is bilingual. I highly recommend it. Side note: Quite frankly these guys are goofs. They don't know how important and well produced this book is and aren't marketing it worth crap. Go buy it. Tell them I sent you. And enjoy this book. HERE

The February issue of Sunset Magazine has a great article about the beans of Mexico. And guess who is featured.....our own Steve Sando. Nice write up and lots and lots of recipes. I have been a Sunset subscriber for more than 25 years and I finally :"know" someone in it. Cool Beans as they say. I hope someone with more skills than I have can post a link.

I was catching up on my blog reading, and hit a post about icebox cakes. I've only ever made one icebox cake in my life, and it was delicious, using the classic chocolate wafers and whipped cream but flavored with Red Bird peppermint puffs. (I got the recipe from an article about the company that makes the candy.) Anyway, while the blog post itself was interesting, the first comment (at least as I currently see it) caught my attention, because it described a Mexican icebox cake that looked very different to me because it didn't use whipped cream. The commenter called this icebox cake a carlota de limón, and described it as being made from maria cookies, lime juice, and sweetened condensed milk. I adore limes! So...I can find recipes on line, but has anyone made this cake before? Do you have a tried-and-true recipe that you'd be willing to share? Please? Thanks!

Thinking about putting a chorizo burger on the menu. It would most likely be a 50/50 blend of chorizo and ground chuck. I'm thinking this means I can't do a mid rare burger? Anyone have any experience with this?

What is the best way to execute tamales as an appetizer in a restaurant? I'm looking at 7-10 minute ticket time. I can only think of pre-steaming the tamales and steaming or simmering in sauce to order. Does anyone have any experience with these in the professional kitchen?

Chiles en Nogada are traditionally served only for Mexican Independence Day (16 de Septiembre). Every household and restaurant have their own version. In years past we have eaten as many as 12 different versions in the course of the week long celebration. Certain things about it never change: always poblanos, walnuts, pomegranate seeds and dried fruit (though the types of dried and fresh fruit vary as does the ratio of fruit to meat). And the cream sauce is always room temperature, never heated. Not only is it a tasty dish, it is about the prettiest meal ever put on a plate. I have made them at home (but not for several years). Rick Bayless's recipe is the one I used. http://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/pork-and-fruit-stuffed-chiles-in-white-walnut-sauce/ The history of the dish is one of creating a festive dish on the spur of the moment with limited ingredients. https://www.tripsavvy.com/chiles-en-nogada-1588803

Hey all, What awesome cookware can I get during a visit to Mexico City? I'm not really so keen on clay pottery so what else is there? I'm quite keen on getting a cast iron Comal but not sure what else to look for. Any ideas would be most appreciated. Already have a great tortilla press and lime juicer.

My quesadilla Today I would like to share with you the recipe for a dish which meets holiday requirements. It is easy, and it doesn't need sophisticated ingredients or an oven. A frying pan is enough. Quesadilla, the dish in question, is a tortilla with melted cheese. The rest of the ingredients you choose at your discretion. Red beans, pepper, chorizo or fried meat all work brilliantly. I added fried pieces of turkey leg. Thanks to this, my dish could be a holiday dinner. Ingredients (for 2 people) 4 tortillas 300g of turkey leg half a chili pepper half an onion 1 clove of garlic 2 tablespoons of oil 200g of tinned sweetcorn 200g of tinned red beans fresh pepper 200g of mozzarella cheese salt and pepper Cube the meat. Fry the diced onion, garlic and chili pepper in oil. Add the spiced-up-with-salt-and-pepper meat and fry on a low heat until the meat is soft. Cube the pepper. Drain the sweetcorn and red beans and slice the mozzarella cheese. Put the tortilla into a dry, heated pan. Arrange the meat, sweetcorn and red beans on it. Cover with the slices of the mozzarella cheese and the second tortilla. Fry on a low heat for a while. Turn it and fry a bit more until the cheese has melted. Put it on a plate and cut it into triangles. Enjoy your meal!

I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with a manual tortilla machine / maker. I am not talking about a tortilla press. This machine basically takes a batch of masa dough that is placed on top, through a roller with a cutter, using a hand crank. The machine will flatten and cut uniform size tortillas. I've been looking at the Monarca brand. The reviews seem to be below average. I'm trying to find ways to shave some labor dollars without sacrificing quality. Our restaurant goes through an average of 300 to 500 tortillas a day depending on business. Thanks for your help!

'Our menu is based on Mexican and Latin American flavors, therefor we can't not have fresh guacamole. We fly through the stuff!! One recipe uses 72 avocados which yields about 20 quarts of guacamole. We go through this amount almost every day. On top of having someone (or a couple of) people pressing fresh tortillas, we are spending a lot of time on this menu item. I can't think of any way to make the guacamole less labor intensive without sacrificing the quality. I have considered table side, or to-order made guac. Any thoughts or ideas? Thanks!

In the near future, a friend and I would like to do a Mexican themed dinner party. Any tips for internationally available Mexican cookbooks? I'd like something as "authentic" as possible (whatever that may mean ;-) – I should be able to get various dried chiles and other ingredients at the two Mexican supermarkets here in Vienna. Is Authentic Mexican (20th Anniversary Ed) by Rick Bayless any good? His name does crop here quite often, but judgements regarding authenticity seem to be mixed ...

One of the weekly advertising flyers yesterday included dried seafoods on sale. The market caters to a Hispanic buying base and is bilingual. I was wondering what traditional dishes are made with these and if they were perhaps prepared primarily during Lent. The founders of the chain of markets (Northgate)are from Jalisco. The advert had fish listed as Charal Seca @ $8.99/lb (dry smelt) - whole fish, Robala Seca @ $11.99/lb(dry snook fish - whole fish), and Bacalao Seca @ $9.99/lb (dry cod fish - headless in maybe 12" lengths). They also had Camaron Molida (dry ground shrimp) and Camaron Seca (dry shrimp) @ $9.99 and $19.99 respectively.

Has anyone tried to make the Tortilla Soup variation from Modernist Cuisine at Home? I'm making it for dinner tonight and I've got a question. At the top of the page, it lists a blanket set of directions for all of the soups on this page: The ingredients for the tortilla soup are chicken stock, canned tomatoes, onion, tortilla chips, jalapeño, cilantro, lime juice, and cumin seeds. It seems strange to me to use these ingredients (particularly the tortilla chips) solely as an infusion, then serving the soup as a plain noodles-and-broth affair. Has anyone had success with this?