Mexican Christmas Traditions

Wordless Wednesday: Xochimilco

1 · Jan 26, 2011 · 7 Comments

I love this photo that my dear friend, Ana Flores, took of me capturing memories of Xochimilco with my little point and shoot camera on my most recent trip to Mexico City in December 2010. I had so much fun spending the day with Ana and her family while we floated down the canals listening to live mariachi music, eating botanitas, drinking refrescos and enjoying the scenery.

I'm working on editing some video footage into a short film to share with you soon about what it's like to visit these ancient waterways that were once very important to Mexico City's agricultural transport system. I can't wait to share it because it brings back such wonderful, warm memories of Mexico City for me. There's nothing like sharing these cultural traditions with the people you love.

Have you been to Xochimilco or are you hoping to go someday? Tell us what you know about it, or what you'd like to know about it!

CROCK-POT COCHINITA PIBIL

70 · Jan 24, 2011 · 27 Comments

Cochinita pibil is a traditional dish from the state of Yucatán that's cooked in an oven made inside a hole in the ground (called a pib). But did you know you can make a really good version of this dish in a slow-cooker?

When I found out that January was National Slow-Cooking Month, I knew exactly what recipe I was going to adapt for Crock-Pot cooking. I've always wanted to test my theory that cochinita pibil can be done in a slow-cooker, so the fact that it was a nationally recognized month-long culinary holiday-of-sorts was the perfect chance to take on the challenge.

Yes, we've posted a recipe here before for cochinita, but let me tell you why this one is different. We're using a different cut of meat (boneless country-style pork ribs), an easy spice mix made from scratch (no achiote paste in brick-form here), and as with most slow-cooker recipes, you can set it and forget it, making it relatively hassle-free compared to the traditional method of making cochinita pibil.

If you're making it for guests, you can still serve it wrapped in warm banana leaves to impress them. Just check out our original recipe for cochinita pibil for directions on how to heat the banana leaves so they're pliable.

And finally, we're not going to serve our cochinita pibil as a taco like you might expect–we're going to serve them on tostadas.

This dish can also be served as panuchos by putting the refried black beans inside little tortillas, frying before adding the meat, salsa and any garnishes on top, but trust me when I say store-bought tostadas are going to save you a lot of time. Plus, this recipe is a bit healthier because we're leaving the frying out. If you can't find small tostadas or picaditas at your grocery store, you can make your own by either heating corn tortillas in the oven until they're dry and crispy, or you can get the same result by cooking them longer on your comal.

But before we move on to the recipe, let's talk a little about what a slow-cooker (or Crock-Pot) actually is so there's no confusion because I often get asked if a slow cooker is the same as a pressure cooker. (The answer is no. In fact, they're opposites.) A slow-cooker is a counter-top electric device that you plug in and usually has a removable glazed ceramic or porcelain pot, surrounded by a heat-conducting housing. They typically have two cooking settings: low or high, and a keep warm setting. Some of the more expensive slow-cookers have more options for controlling the heat as well as a timer with an automatic-shut off.

The point of a slow cooker is to cook things with steady low, moist heat which makes it ideal for soups, stews and cooking meats that you want to be fork-tender, but without all the fuss of watching it constantly. The lid of the slow cooker typically has a small vent in order to let some of the steam escape and can be removed during the cooking process to stir the ingredients if needed.

So now that you know the difference, let's get slow-cooking.

What marinating the meat looks like:

Crock-Pot Cochinita Pibil

Yield: 3 ½ cups of meat

Use your Crock-Pot or slow-cooker for a no-fuss, easy-cleanup variation of a classic Yucatan favorite, cochinita pibil. Tip: Serve on mini tostadas for a perfect party-treat!

Ingredients

Meat and marinade:
1 ½ pounds country-style boneless pork ribs
1 cup fresh lime juice (about 10 medium-large limes)
¾ cup fresh orange juice
3 cloves garlic, crushed
½ of a large red onion, cut into ¼ inch slices
Spices:
3 tablespoons white vinegar
1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 ½ teaspoon ground achiote
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
½ tablespoon olive oil
1 to 1 ½ teaspoon whole Mexican oregano
Salsa:
½ of a large red onion, sliced into small strips
juice of 1 large orange
juice of 2 large limes
1 roasted habanero chile, finely chopped
For tostadas:
1 package of small tostadas or picaditas
1 cup refried black beans

Instructions

THE NIGHT BEFORE: MARINATING THE MEAT - Start by squeezing the fresh lime juice and orange juice. Once you have the juice, put it in a medium to large glass bowl and add the crushed garlic. It's important to use glass rather than metal/stainless steel or plastic because glass is non-reactive and non-corrosive.
Combine all the dry spices and mix well; then add vinegar and olive oil. Stir to incorporate the liquids and add to the glass bowl with the citrus juices and garlic. Stir well and add the pork to the bowl, making sure it’s completely covered by the juice. Cover and allow it to marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
Making the salsa: Slice ½ of a large red onion into small strips and mix it with the juice of 1 orange and 2 limes. Roast one habanero on your comal or in a skillet, remove the stem (and seeds if you want to reduce some of the heat), and finely chop. Add the habanero to the salsa. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight.
THE DAY OF: Slice the remaining half onion into quarter-inch thick slices and place them on the bottom of the crock-pot. Remove the meat and marinade from the refrigerator and place the meat over the onions. Pour all the juice over the meat.
Place the lid on the crock-pot and cook on high for 5 hours (or on low for 8-9 hours). You should NOT rush and cook this recipe on high heat for half the time - it doesn't work that way! You'll end up with tough meat.
You’ll know it’s finished cooking when you remove a piece of meat from the crock-pot and can shred it with a fork without much effort. Shred all the pork. Place the meat in a bowl and add a little juice from the Crock-Pot to keep the meat moist.
Heat the tostadas in the oven at 200º F for a few minutes. Spread warm refried black beans on the tostadas. Add the shredded pork on top of the beans and spoon some of the habanero salsa and onions on top of the pork.

https://theothersideofthetortilla.com/2011/01/crock-pot-cochinita-pibil-panuchos-yucatecos/

How to Make Garibaldi like El Globo

60 · Jan 21, 2011 · 39 Comments

By now, you all know about my deeply rooted love for pan dulce, especially for a particular chochito-covered panque from El Globo called el garibaldi. In fact, El Globo is credited as the original maker of garibaldi, a little pound cake bathed in apricot jam and covered in white nonpareils. Many bakeries in Mexico try to emulate these little magical cakes, but nobody makes them quite like El Globo.

During our trips to Mexico City, we've always purchased them fresh to eat for breakfast. With a little café con leche, I can't imagine a better way to start a day. On one occasion, we carefully wrapped a few to bring home with us to Chicago, but sadly they got slightly smashed in our carry-on luggage and from then on, we decided they didn't travel well. And after eating garibaldi on countless visits to Mexico City, I returned from our most recent trip with a serious mission: to spend time in the test kitchen trying to recreate them so I wouldn't have to wait until my next trip to Mexico to eat them. Looking at my calendar, five months is a long time – too long, if you ask me – to deny myself one of my favorite sweet treats.

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Wordless Wednesday: In memory of Ciprigar

1 · Jan 19, 2011 · 6 Comments

Today's post is in memory of our friend, TV chef Ciprigar (Cipriano Garcia), who passed away earlier this week. Cipri was only 33. I had the privilege of hanging out with him on the set of his show at the VMe studios in Florida in October last year and we had some really great heart-to-heart conversation about the importance of cooking to culture and Latin American comfort foods. We talked about how home cooking being passed from generation to generation is so important to a family's culinary history as well as the similarities in the cuisine from his native country, Venezuela, and Mexico.

Your energy and passion for food and teaching others the joys of the kitchen will be missed, Cipri.

Watch the short tribute video from his co-workers and friends at the VMe Network. You can also check out some of the memories people have posted (mostly in Spanish) about Cipri on the VMe Cocina Facebook fan page.

Back to basics with breakfast: avena y té de manzanilla

8 · Jan 15, 2011 · 3 Comments

Since we've been back from Mexico, we've been very busy in the Tortilla Test Kitchen testing new recipes and having fun shooting new videos we'll be sharing soon. But while we were in Mexico, we ate and ate...and ate and, well, you get the picture. I think I may have finally earned the affectionate nickname I'm sometimes called at home – Gordita, or Gordis, for short.

We decided we needed to bring a little order to our daily habits after eating to our hearts' content for nearly a whole month. That's not to say that healthy Mexican food doesn't exist, because it definitely does and you will see more new examples of that on The Tortilla this year. However, it's sometimes harder to make those healthy choices when most of the year I live in Chicago and can't get some of my favorite Mexican foods.

It's a bit like letting a kid loose in a candy store, only instead of a candy store, you're dropping me off in a city full of taquerías that serve my favorite things like chicharrón de queso, tacos al pastor and Sidral Mundet apple-flavored soda. It's hard to say no to all of that, knowing that in a short time, I'll be back in Chicago without access to these things again until my next trip. There's nothing wrong with eating or drinking all of those things if you do it in moderation, but sometimes we need a reminder that moderation is the key in order to stay healthy.

This year, we've decided to bring some good habits back from Mexico, such as eating breakfast daily. We started every day with a good breakfast during our visit and now I crave breakfast as soon as I wake up in the morning. In the past, I've been known to rush out the door in the morning without eating breakfast because I'm crunched for time, but I'm vowing to break that bad habit in 2011.

And for breakfast, there are so many healthy options. One of my suegro's favorites is avena con nueces o fruta y azúcar moreno, or oatmeal with nuts, fruit and a little brown sugar. I'm a huge fan of oatmeal, but truth be told, I don't like the instant stuff with the artificial flavors. Since I'm usually on the go in the morning during the week, I often have to prepare something the night before to take with me to assure that I get a good, healthy choice....