Mexico: Food, Drinks & More!!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Stick butter
• 6 Garlic cloves, minced
• 3 Guajillo chile peppers, stem and seeds removed and thinly sliced
• 2 Chiles de arbol, minced
• 1 Pound (450 Grams) mushrooms, cleaned with stems trimmed
• 1/4 Cup white wine
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Salt to taste
• 1-2 Green onions, finely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons parsley, finely chopped

Directions:

In a medium heavy-bottomed pot set over medium heat, melt the butter and saute garlic 1-2 minutes.

Add the chile peppers cook until tender, stirring occasionally.

Add the mushrooms and saute about 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. add the wine, black pepper, salt, green onions, and parsley and reduce heat to low. Simmer another 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.

You can serve the mushrooms as an appetizer with some crusty bread (thus more traditionally like the Spanish tapas), or serve them as a taste side dish to arrachera steak, rice, and warm tortillas.

Recipe Posted by Lindsay

Pineapple Salsa Ingredients:

• 1 Small pineapple, rind removed and sliced
• 1/2 Small onion, sliced
• 2 Garlic cloves
• 4 Habanero chile peppers, or to taste
• 1 Cup fresh cilantro, or to taste, coarsely chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Salt to taste

Tuna Cakes Ingredients:

• 2 Cans tuna, drained (canned tuna in oil seems to work better than in water)
• 1/3 Cup onion, finely chopped
• 1 Garlic clove, minced
• 1 Egg beaten
• 2 Tablespoons bread crumbs
• 1 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsely, or dried parsely
• 1 Teaspoon dill, or to taste
• Cayenne pepper, to taste
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• Salt to taste
• 1/4 Cup flour
• 3/4 Cup bread crumbs
• 1/3 Cup vegetable oil, for frying

Pineapple Salsa Directions:

In a blender, combine pineapple, onion, garlic, and habanero peppers and blend until smooth. Add cilantro, pepper and salt, and blend briefly to finely chop the cilantro. Pour into a bowl and set aside, letting the flavors meld nicely while you prepare the tuna cakes.

Tuna Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine tuna, onion, garlic, egg, and 2 tablespoons bread crumbs together. Add the parsely, dill, cayenne, black pepper, and salt, and mix well.

Combine flour and 3/4 cup bread crumbs and, if desired, season to taste with parsely, cayenne, black pepper, and salt.

Form the tuna mixture into small cakes, or patties. Thoroughly coat each cake in the flour and bread  crumb mixture and shake off excess.

Heat oil in a large skillet set over medium heat until hot. Place the tuna cakes in the skillet and saute until golden brown on each side, turning every 2-3 minutes.

Drain cakes on a plate lined with paper towels.

Serve tuna cakes hot with the pineapple salsa drizzled on top. A light salad and white rice make nice accompaniments. Enjoy!

Recipe Posted by Lindsay

Ingredients:

• 4 Cups fresh corn kernels
• 1/2 Cup chopped onion
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 2 Cups chicken broth
• 2 Cups milk or cream
• 1 Cup cheddar cheese
• 1 Can chopped green chiles
• 1/2 Cup crumpled crisp bacon
• Salt to taste
• Tortilla chips

Directions:

Saute corn and onion in the butter. Cook over medium heat until onion has softened. Stir in flour.

Gradually add in broth and milk and stir until thickened. Do not let boil. Stir in cheddar cheese and green chiles. Cook until cheese melts over low heat.

To serve, add 4 or 5 tortilla chips and sprinkle with bacon.

Recipe posted by Lindsay

Picture by Lorenia Flickr

A traditional coffee that it´s a must drink to start the day´s activities. But we are not talking about regular coffee, this cafe de olla is unique because is sweetened with piloncillo and it has to be prepared in a clay bowl. Here the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 4 Cups of water
• 4 Tablespoons ground coffee (of your choice, but not decaf)
• 4 Cinnamon sticks
• Piloncillo to to taste

Directions:

Pour the 4 cups of water into the clay bowl, the 4 cinnamon sticks and some of the piloncillo and set over medium-high heat. Stir the water frequently so the piloncillo dissolves and don´t stick to the bowl. (try the water as you add some of the piloncillo so is not too sweet).

When the water is boiling and the piloncillo is well dissolved, use a strainer to remove all the cinnamon residues and keep boiling for another 2 minutes now in low heat.

Add the 4 tablespoons of the ground coffee and keep boiling for 5 more minutes with a lid on the bowl. Let the coffe settle and use the strainer one more time if necessary.

Serve hot on a clay cup and enjoy with sweet bread.

Recipe Posted by Magdiel.

Ingredients:

• 1 Box grape flavored jello
• 1 Box strawberry flavored jello
• 1 Box lemon flavored jello
• 1 box pineapple flavored jello
• 1 Can condensed milk
• 3 cups of water
• 4 Envelopes unflavored gelatin
• 1/2 Cup cold water
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Prepare the jello one by one with 2 cups of water less than what the package calls for.

Pour the mixture into a square or rectangular mold and let stand until firm.

Cut the jello in cubes and set aside.

Pour the condensed milk into a small sauce pan and set over medium low heat. Remove when the milk is hot.

Combine the vanilla with the cold water in a small bowl. Add the unflavored gelatin and mix until dissolved.

Place it in the refrigerator until well-chilled.

Combine the flavored jello in cubes in a large mold or multiple small ones.

Add the vanilla gelatin from the condensed milk.

Refrigerate until well set.

Recipe Posted by Magdiel.

Ingredients:

• 1 Kilo Pork Loin
• 1 Tablespoon Cumin
• 2 Tablespoons Oregano
• 1 Tablespoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• 2 Tablespoons Chili-Lime Powder, or Chili Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Chicken Bouillon Powder
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper, to taste
• Salt to Taste
• 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
• 1 Large Onion
• 2 Habanero Chile Peppers, Minced
• 2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 2 Cups Orange Juice
• Freshly Squeezed Juice of 1 Lime
• 2 Cups Milk
• 1/2 Cup Butter, or Lard
• 1/2-1 Cup Water

Directions:

Lay the pork loin fat-side down. Cut it through to the fat in about 1-2″ wide strips. Be careful not to cut all the way through the fat! The “strips” must still be attached by the fat.

Mix the cumin, oregano, red pepper flakes, chili-lime powder, chicken bouillon, black pepper, salt in a small bowl. Coat the pork loin with spice mixture, including the fat side and down into all the cuts.

Put the pork loin fat-side down in a large heavy-bottomed pot set over medium heat. Pour the vegetable oil into the pot around the pork loin. Cut the ends off the onion, peel off its skin, cut the onion in half. Then cut it into wedges. Arrange the onion wedges in the pot around the pork loin. Add the habanero peppers, garlic, and bay leaf to the pot.

Pour the orange juice into the pot surrounding the pork loin, being careful not to wash the spices off it. Add the lime juice and milk, again trying not to wash the spices off the pork loin. Cut the butter into smaller slices and add to the broth.

Add enough water to just cover the pork loin, about 1/2 to 1 cup.

Reduce heat to low and simmer covered for about 3 hours. Remove the pork loin from the pot. It should be falling apart at this point.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Using a large fork, press the meat apart into smaller bite-size pieces. This will be very easy to do as the meat should be very tender and easily fall apart.

Put the pulled pork (carnitas) into an oven dish and add the onions. Spoon some of the broth from the pot over the meat. Toss the meat to cover it thoroughly with the broth. Discard the remaining broth in the pot, or freeze it to serve as a base for another dish.

Bake the carnitas for about 15 minutes until the broth cooks off and the tips of the meat are a bit crispy. If there´s still broth in the dish, remove it from the oven, toss the meat in the juice again, put it back in the oven for another 5-10 minutes or so, and then remove.

Enjoy the carnitas with warmed corn tortillas, beans, and pico de gallo.

Recipe Posted by Lindsay

Ingredients:

• 3 Eggs
• 1 Cup fine sugar
• 1/4 Tablespoon salt, to taste
• 1/3 Cup cornstarch
• 2 Cups of water
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/3 Cup lime juice
• 1 Tablespoon grated lime peel
• Green food color
• 1 Baked 9-inch pie shell

Directions:

To start beat first the egg yolks and set them aside.

Then Combine the sugar, salt and cornstrach in a saucepan. Add some of the water, stir well and bring to a boil stirring constantly for about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add a quarter of the mixture to the egg yolks and stir to prevent the eggs from cooking. Return to hot the mixture and add some butter and lime juice stirring it well. Return the saucepan to stove and boil for 2 minutes. Remove it from heat and now add the peel and food coloring. Pour into pie shell. Put the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in a medium bowl and beat until get s foamy.  Include to the mixture the 1/4 cup sugar and continue beating until the sugar dissolves and merengue is stiff. Cover pie filling with merengue, spreading it to the crush. Bake at 350 degrees for only 12 minutes or til is brown. Cool and serve.

Recipe posted by Lindsay

Ingredients:

• 1 Large onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 Garlic cloves, finely diced
• 2 Lbs. Boneless chicken breasts or chuck roast
• 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 Large onions, sliced into rings
• 3-4 Chipotle chiles (canned in adobo sauce), or to taste
• 2 Tomatoes, coarsely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 T. Chicken bouillon powder
• 1 Teaspoon salt
• Tostadas or large flour or corn tortillas
• Sour cream
• Iceberg lettuce, shredded
• Parmesan cheese
• Avocado salsa (optional)

Directions:

Bring salted water to a boil in a large pot. Add half of the large coarsely chopped onion and the two finely diced garlic cloves. If using chuck roast, add the meat and reduce heat to low. Simmer for several hours until tender. Remove the meat, allow it to cool, then shred. If using chicken, add the meat to the boiling water and reduce heat to low. Simmer until just cooked through. Remove the chicken, allow it to cool, then shred.

In a heavy-bottomed pot set over medium heat, add oil and saute the sliced onions until softened but not brown.

In a blender, combine the chipotle chiles to taste, the adobo sauce from the can, the tomatoes, the remaining half of the chopped onion, the two garlic cloves, chicken bouillon powder, and salt. Puree until smooth.

Add the puree to the sauteed onions in the pot and simmer 5 minutes.

Add the shredded meat. Stir and cook until heated through, another 5 minutes or so.

If making tostadas, add some tinga mixture, and top with some lettuce, sour cream, and parmesan cheese.

If making quesadillas, add a flour or corn tortilla to a large pan set over medium heat. Flip when hot and add some tinga mixture to half of the tortilla. Fold the tortilla in half. Flip after a minute or so. When hot, remove from pan and add sour cream, parmesan, and avocado salsa.

Recipe Posted by Lindsay

Ingredients:

• Freshly squeezed lime juice from 6-8 limes
• 1 Pound jumbo shrimp, peeled and de-veined (chopped or whole, according to taste)
• 1 White onion, finely chopped
• 5 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 1 Cucumber, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/3 Cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 2 Cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Jalapeño chile peppers, minced
• 1 Bunch radishes, diced
• 1/2 Cup green olives, finely chopped (optional)
• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 2 Avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
• Salt to taste
• Pinch of oregano
• Tortilla chips or crackers

Directions:

Place shrimp in a bowl and pour the lime juice over them, covering the shrimp completely. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour, or until slightly firm and opaque.

Add onion, tomatoes, cucumber, cilantro, garlic, jalapeños, radishes, green olives, and olive oil. Toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour. When ready to serve, add avocados and salt and oregano as desired. Serve chilled with tortilla chips or crackers and garnish with lime slices.

Recipe Posted by Lindsay

Ingredients:

• 4 Cups strawberries, cored and sliced
• 1/2 Cup White Sugar, or to taste
• 7-8 Cups Cold Water
• 8 Fresh Mint Sprigs (optional)
• 1 Lime, cut into 8 wedges (optional)

Directions:

Dissolve sugar in 4 cups of water. Stir to dissolve completely.

Combine the strawberries and the sugar water mixture in a blender, and puree until smooth.

Pour the mixture through a wire mesh strainer set over a large pitcher. Discard the seeds and pulp.

Add the remaining 3-4 cups cold water to the pureed strawberries and mix well. Refrigerate until well chilled or pour over ice and serve immediately.

Garnish with lime slices and mint leaves.

Recipe Posted by Lindsay