Northern Mexican Dinner

[Varmint]

I somehow have agreed to host a very small get-together of NC eGulleteers (Thread Here), and it looks like we'll be focusing on the cuisine of Northern Mexico.

OK, I need help. Please tell me what I gotta do. It's only 9 days away!!!!

[guajolote]

could you provide us with an idea of where "southern" Mexico ends and "Northern" Mexico begins. If your dividing line is D.F. I can help you out.

[Varmint]

could you provide us with an idea of where "southern" Mexico ends and "Northern" Mexico begins. If your dividing line is D.F. I can help you out.

Seeing I don't have a clue of what D.F. is, and I'm not really going to get concerned about what distinguishes "North" from "South", please help!!!!

[guajolote]

D.F is "de effe" (?), or Mexico City.

I would make pozole, with some side dishes. pozole is a pork (or chicken), chile, and hominy stew.

[Varmint]

OK, is it in one of the Bayless cookbooks, as that's ALL I have to go by.

Can you just come on down, Dean? I need you here, man!

[guajolote]

do you have the first one? the red cover and the picture of RB pre-plastic surgery?

[Varmint]

No, I have One Plate at a Time and Mexican Kitchen.

[sandra]

Typical dishes from the North as follows:

Baja California = Sopa de Caguama (turtle soup)

Sonora = Menudo (tripe stew)

Chihuahua = Mochomos (shredded pork with guacamole)

Durango = Dulces de Pasta de Almendra (sweet almond paste candies)

Nuevo Leon = Cabrito en su sangre (kid goat)

Sinaloa = Ostiones en Escabeche (pickled oysters)

Here is a map of Mexico so you can take a look at the states mentioned above

Mexico

Pozole is from Guadalajara, Jalisco, which is in the middle on the west coast, so not technically Northern, but it is very tasty and good for a lot of people...

If you like any of the recipes, let me know and I'll post them...

[ExtraMSG]

One thing you should do is make homemade flour tortillas. Flour tortillas are from northnern Mexico/Sonora and are so much more wonderful than store bought.

Some of the dishes from One Plate at a Time you can try:

Queso Fundido (serve it with the homemade flour tortillas)

Sopes

Carne Asada

Tamales

Tortilla Soup

Beef ala Mexicana

All these dishes are truly ubiquitous in Mexico, though they often change by region, such as tamales in the south using banana leaves instead of corn husks. One Plate at a Time isn't the best book for regional Mexican. There are several books out there that take that approach. I have another book by this guy and like it. His may be a good one:

Northern Mexican Cookbook

You might want to call around if you want to do something more specific.

[Squeat Mungry]

If you can track down a copy, I'd recommend A Cook's Tour of Mexico by Nancy Zaslavsky. A very informative book, arranged by regions, with great details and reliable recipes.

Cheers,

Squeat

[ExtraMSG]

I have A Cook's Tour, but it almost entirely ignores Northern Mexico, unless you consider San Miguel and Guanajuato northern Mexico.

[Squeat Mungry]

I have A Cook's Tour, but it almost entirely ignores Northern Mexico, unless you consider San Miguel and Guanajuato northern Mexico.

Come to think of it, you're right! Ignore previous post.

Carry on.

Squeat

[Jaymes]

could you provide us with an idea of where "southern" Mexico ends and "Northern" Mexico begins. If your dividing line is D.F. I can help you out.

Seeing I don't have a clue of what D.F. is, and I'm not really going to get concerned about what distinguishes "North" from "South", please help!!!!

DF stands for Distrito Federal.

The "real" name for the city we all call Mexico City is Mexico Distrito Federal. That obviously means "Federal District."

It's like Washington DC, which folks usually call either "Washington," or "DC."

Same with Mexico City. Mexicans call it either "Mexico," or "DF."

Edited November 15, 2003 by Jaymes (log)

[fifi]

If you have any leftover smoked meat of any kind, check out my posole recipe in the recipe archive. It is dynamite. I have actually smoked something just to make this. (Note: It really isn't "my" recipe but something I put together as best I could from a discussion I had with a chef in Queretero.)

[=Mark]

Mole.

[Jaymes]

Typical dishes from the North as follows:

Baja California = Sopa de Caguama (turtle soup)

Sonora = Menudo (tripe stew)

Chihuahua = Mochomos (shredded pork with guacamole)

Durango = Dulces de Pasta de Almendra (sweet almond paste candies)

Nuevo Leon = Cabrito en su sangre (kid goat)

Sinaloa = Ostiones en Escabeche (pickled oysters)

Excellent list.

And really, Varmint, you can't "do" authentic northern Mexico without the cabrito. It's practically the national dish. It's usually served up with a big bowl of soupy beans, either "charro" or "boracho" beans, and some flour tortillas and jalapenos to go with.

[Jaymes]

Varmint --

It occurs to me that Mrs. Varmint is a vegetarian. Here's a good recipe for a Mexican vegetable.

Mexicans love squash. It goes all the way back to the days of the Indians, before the conquest.

This is a great recipe. You can make it with all fresh ingredients (green chiles, corn, tomatoes), or with canned. I'll just give the ingredient list using canned. It's simpler, because I don't have to worry about telling you how to prepare the fresh ingredients. I'm sure you can work it out. Fresh ingredients are marinally better in this, but it is still absolutely wonderful with canned. My children loved this recipe. It was the only squash recipe they actually ASKED for. Some nights, dinner was a big baked potato, ladled with this squash. Terrific for a vegetarian meal.

I take this dish to "Mexican potlucks" quite often. It's a nice accompaniment (not to mention a welcome change) for the usual beans and dips and tamales and casseroles that you find at those things.

Calabacitas (in Spanish - when you add "ito/a" to a word, that makes it the diminutive; so "calabasas" is squash and "calabacitas" means "little squash" and refers to the fact that in this recipe, you cube the squash)

2 lbs summer squash, cut into generous bite-sized pieces (yellow, zucchini, etc.)

1 T butter

1/2 small yellow onion, chopped

3 tomatoes, chopped (can use canned)

1 C cheese, grated (this part is kind of tricky; if you have access to good Mexican cheeses, use a favorite - if not, use a mild cheddar or longhorn - and in the interest of full disclosure, I should add that my kids actually preferred the cheddar to the Mexican)

1 8-oz can yellow corn, drained

1 small can whole green mild chiles, drained, torn into bite-sized pieces

S&P to taste

In lightly-salted water, boil squash pieces until just tender - 10-15 minutes or so. Do not overcook. Drain squash and set aside.

In pan, put butter, onion and tomatoes and saute until onions are clear and mixture is "mushy." To the pan, add squash, chiles and corn and toss to combine thoroughly and heat through. When mixture is hot and squash is fork tender, add cheese and stir. Correct seasonings. As soon as cheese melts, serve immediately.

[Varmint]

Phlawless, have a good source for cabrito? I don't know if we can roast it over an open fire, but we could certainly braise it. I can get a whole cabrito from Wade Cole (the guy who raised my pig for the pig pickin'), but I'm not going to do that. No whole carcasses for this feast, thank you very much.

I'd really like to hear more about the beans, however. That's something that we'll want to start well in advance, I assume.

[sladeums]

There's an ok article and a few recipes here:

click here for Cooking of Northern Mexico article and recipes

[Mayhaw Man]

For Baja Influence you could also add Fish Tacos (mmmmmm, fish tacos) and Cockateles, the individually brined ceviche type dish that you pretty much only see in the Ensenada Bufadora, Rosarita area. They are wonderful.

[Varmint]

More info on cockateles, please!!!!

[guajolote]

varmint, why did you say ceviche was spanish? i think of it being peruvian, but i think i remeber hearing a story that the aztec emporers used to get fish from the ocean preserved in citrus juice.

[Jaymes]

Not one hundred percent sure that this is what Mayhaw Man is talking about, but all over Mexico they serve shrimp and seafood cocktails.

They call them 'cocteles.'

Unlike our "shrimp cocktails," they are in a soupy, cold, tomato-based broth, and you eat them with a spoon. Think "seafood gazpacho."

In addition to the "cocteles" word, you'll see "camarones" (shrimp), or "pescado" (fish), or "del mar," which means "of the sea." Obviously the latter two will contain seafood other than just shrimp. Another very popular name for the mixed-seafood version is "Coctele Campechana." Campeche is a state down along the seacoast, and "Campechana" means a woman from Campeche. So, Coctele Campechana means a cocktail in the manner that women from Campeche make it. They can have any types of seafood in them, with shrimp and squid being popular.

They are served many ways, but most typically, in a "copa" or large, heavy goblet. They will come with accompanying crackers, several slices of lime, and some hot sauce, like Tapatia, or other regional favorite to shake in. There are always several slices of avocado arranged on top.

Assuming this is what Mayhaw Man is talking about, I make them all the time. They are my standard "opener" for Mexican meals.

You can find lots of recipes on the internet. I don't know that I have an exact "recipe," because I usually just kind of wing it. Basically, it's chopped fresh tomatoes, tomato juice, lime juice, minced onions, little olive oil. I have notes at home, but I am currently in Missouri with my parents and my notes are not handy.

Varmint -- google "cocteles" and "cocteles camarones" and you'll get plenty of hits to peruse. This would be a good "opener," and you can serve them in large wine glasses or something similar, if you don't have the traditional "copas." I also have served them in Pilsner glasses, large parfait glasses, and brandy snifters.

Edited November 17, 2003 by Jaymes (log)

[Varmint]

varmint, why did you say ceviche was spanish? i think of it being peruvian, but i think i remeber hearing a story that the aztec emporers used to get fish from the ocean preserved in citrus juice.

I may have misunderstood something from Bayless, where he stated that ceviche didn't become a Mexican dish untile "the Spaniards or Portuguese brought limes to this land back in the mid-sixteenth century."

My bad.

[Mayhaw Man]

More info on cockateles, please!!!!

Ugghh, what she said

Actually they are easy to do and most places that serve them in Baja (where I used to live in Valle Guadalupe between Tecate and Ensenada) have the tomato soup as a base and you order the ingredients individually, much like you would add toppings to a pizza. They are incredibly delicious and "seafood gazpacho" is a very accurate description as to the consistancy and ingredients in the soup.

Generally they are served in a beer schooner if it is a sit down place. My wife develpoed a great relationship with a vendor at El Pulpito (a great seafood stand) in Tecate, BC and they were selling the stuff to her by the quart. It is a great thing to have in the fridge on a hot evening (as they tend to be there) when you don't want to heat up the tile in the kitchen by cooking dinner.

A "make your own" fish taco stand might be fun to do as well.