The Other Side of the Tortilla

Chicago

Wordless Wednesday: Tortillería El Milagro Mural in Pilsen

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Pilsen Tortillería El Milagro mural in ChicagoFor many years while living in Chicago, I bought my tortillas each Saturday morning from Tortilleria El Milagro on South Blue Island Avenue in Pilsen. It was also the only place where I would ever buy ensalada de nopales, for which I’d have to wake up extra early because they always ran out quickly. On the back side of the building is this beautiful mural I often stopped to admire when picking up my tortillas. The neighborhood, located on the Lower West Side, is one of the city’s two Mexican enclaves, and is one of the things I most miss about living in Chicago. My weekly trips to the market, tortilleria and panaderia were like briefly stepping out of Chicago and into Mexico for a few hours at a time.

You can read more about the history of Chicago’s Mexican neighborhoods and the murals of Pilsen here.

  • Does your city have something special that transports you to Mexico?

Alambre de la Patrona

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This taco de alambre recipe is a Mexico City-style taco made with thinly sliced pork, bacon, chile poblano, onion and cheese.

I haven’t written much here about my favorite taquería in Chicago, La Lagartija, but have always widely recommended the place to anyone who asked me in person, on Facebook or Twitter about where to get an authentic Mexican meal in my hometown. I wasn’t exactly trying to keep it a secret, but it’s definitely a gem and I always appreciated the neighborhood charm and the way that the meseras and owners always remembered us and greeted us like family. I have so many photos of memorable meals we ate there, and it was the only place in Chicago where we’d regularly eat tacos al pastor.

RELATED RECIPE: Slow-cooker carnitas

But one of my favorite standby meals there, the alambre, is both succulent and super easy to recreate at home. This recipe is my own spin on one of their alambres. The owners are from Mexico City, and the dish on their menu is actually a version of a popular dish at one of our favorite taquerías in Mexico City, El Charco de las Ranas. This dish is also sometimes known as alambre de chuleta and is best served with warm tortillas, but you can skip the tortillas if you like and just eat it with a fork.

alambre_de_la_patrona_tacos…

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Wordless Wednesday: Farmers market chiles

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Farmers markets here in Chicago are kind of like a yuppie version of a Mexican tianguis. Despite the strollers and dogs and people yammering away on their bluetooth device or headphones while they stroll the aisles, I put up with it because I love fresh, locally grown fruits and veggies, and I especially love the variety of chiles at the farmers markets here! I got there extra early last week and snapped this photo of the sunshine peeking through the top of the tented produce stand, illuminating the chiles. The thing I love most about farmers market chiles is that they’re all different sizes and shapes, and there are never any mega-chiles that look like they were pumped with steriods. Ahhh, organic!

  • What’s your favorite vegetable to buy at the farmers market?

Flores de calabaza at the farmers market

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I’ve been stalking visiting my local farmers markets lately looking for flor de calabaza. And every week since they started bringing them three weeks ago, I’ve arrived too late because they sold out before 9 or 10 A.M. So this past weekend, I got up early on Saturday hoping to get my hands on some, only to discover I’d arrived just a bit too late.

But my lovely friends at Nichols Farm advised me to show up at another market location they visit on Sunday mornings in Wicker Park and to arrive just before they opened. I got there just before 8 A.M. and was able to get a big bunch (15 flowers!) as well as snap these photos with the bucket still full of florecitas!…

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Wordless Wednesday: quesadilla de huitlacoche

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Over the weekend José and I had dinner at Fogón, an upscale Mexican restaurant that opened this spring in a neighborhood near where we live. I’ll write more about it another time, but I had to share a photo of this earthy-tasting, perfectly over-stuffed quesadilla I ate as an appetizer—it had cheese and huitlacoche (also known as corn smut or corn truffle), epazote, salsa rustica with black beans and was topped with a small dollop of creme fraiche and light greens. It’s the culinary equivalent of black gold! (More on the topic of huitlacoche soon, I promise!)

  • How do you like to eat huitlacoche? Have you ever had it before?

Wordless Wednesday: Salsa taquera

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I’ve always been fascinated by the different salsas served alongside my meal at any taquería. I ate all three of these (rojo con chile de árbol; verde con chile serrano y aguacate; cebolla roja con habanero) at my favorite taquería in Chicago, La Lagartija, this past weekend. They were just too pretty to not take a picture! One of the things I love about eating at taquerías is that each one has different salsas, and often the salsas are just as important as what goes in the taco.

  • What’s your favorite kind of salsa?

Wordless Wednesday: Taco de cecina

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I ate this incredible taco de cecina last week at La Lagartija Taquería here in Chicago, our favorite changarro. With a homemade tortilla, a light smear of frijoles and a perfectly salted cut of cecina, I was in taco heaven. I topped it with cebolla, cilantro and a drizzle of salsa roja. It’s not on the everyday menu (it was off the daily specials list), but it most definitely should be! If you haven’t had cecina before, it’s a salted and partially dried thin cut of beef (kind of like how some steak houses serve dry-aged steaks).

  • What’s the best taco you’ve eaten recently? We want details!

¡Feliz cumpleaños, Benito Juárez!

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Feliz cumpleaños to one of Mexico’s most famous presidents, Benito Juárez, who was born on this day in 1806. This monument pictured above, gifted to the city of Chicago in 1977 by Mexican president José López Portillo, stands along Michigan Avenue in the Plaza of the Americas next door to the Wrigley Building and across the street from the Chicago Tribune.

Often regarded as Mexico’s greatest and most-loved leader, Juárez died of a heart attack in 1872. If you need to brush up on your Mexican history, read about Benito Juárez and what he did for the Mexican people both before and during his presidency. You might also be surprised to know that he spent a short time living in New Orleans from 1853-1854. Juárez came from a Zapotec family in Oaxaca and served in a variety of political positions during his career. Today, there are numerous monuments and locations dedicated or named in his honor. In Mexico City, the international airport is just one of many, many locations named after Juárez.

Check out some additional photos and details about the Chicago monument on the Public Art in Chicago blog.

  • Do you know of a monument or location dedicated to Benito Juárez? Leave a comment with where it’s located!

Nacimientos: The tradition of the nativity scene

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La Navidad has come and gone but Día de Los Reyes is only a few days away and I realized that we’ve never talked about nacimientos, or nativity scenes, here before! And every nativity scene has Los Reyes Magos, the three kings who brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh to the baby Jesus on the Epiphany, 12 days after Christmas.

Displaying a nativity scene at home is a storied tradition in Mexico, but nacimientos actually originated in Italy, thanks to Saint Francis of Assisi.

Here are two nacimientos belonging to our family. The figurines on the left are made from hojas de maiz, or corn husks, and belong to my suegra; the one on the right is made of wood with clay figurines and belongs to our Tía Leda.

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Cooking Combat at the Kenmore Live Studio: Chilaquiles

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Back in November, I did a cooking show with a live studio audience at the Kenmore Live Studio in Chicago. It was so much fun, I can’t wait to do another! For those who may have missed the show in person or couldn’t watch the live stream online, Kenmore was kind enough to put the show on YouTube so I could share with all of you.

¡Buen provecho!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_8wf4HcK-Y[/youtube]

Mexique: Celebrating Mexican Cuisine with a French Twist

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A few weeks ago I attended a dinner given by the Mexico Tourism Board and Chef Carlos Gaytan at his restaurant, Mexique, in honor of the recent UNESCO designation of Mexican cuisine as an Intangible Cultural Heritage. The Tourism Board over the last several weeks has hosted authentic Mexican dinners in a number of major North American cities to celebrate, including Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Miami, Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver, so I was thrilled to receive the invitation.

Did you know that French recipes and cooking techniques during the French occupation of Mexico in the 1860s became an important element in the evolution of modern Mexican gastronomy?

Gaytan’s concept behind Mexique is modern Mexican food with French influence. Hailing from Huitzuco, Guerrero, Gaytan’s love of food helped him rise from pantry cook to executive chef. He trained with French chef Dominique Tougne of Bistro 110 (Gold Coast) and has also spent time in the kitchens at Bistrot Margo (Old Town) and the Union League Club (Loop), all in Chicago. If you live in Chicago or are visiting, I highly recommend you visit Mexique for a meal.

One thing that left an impression on me at the dinner was when Carlos explained why he doesn’t serve mixed drinks in his restaurant: they take away from the palate and so instead, he serves wine and tequila. And God bless him for telling everyone in the dining room that tequila should be sipped. Someone at a table near me chimed in that “only heathens drink tequila shooters,” which caused an eruption of laughter at my table.

And I can’t end without showing you what we ate. It was a lovely four-course tasting meal with excellent wines and ended with tequila. I can’t wait to return to Mexique for another meal!

PRIMERO: Ceviche

Ahi tuna, avocado mousse, chipotle aioli, mango habanero galette…

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¿Verde de envidia?

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This weekend I’ll be off galavanting around Cuernavaca to visit friends with my suegra, but so as not to leave you too verde de envidia (especially if I end up eating at El Faisán before returning to Mexico City on Sunday), I thought I’d give you a few events going on in a few of my favorite U.S. cities that will make you feel like you’re in Mexico – at least for a few hours.

If you know anything about Mexican music from the 1980s, then you know the Mexico City guacarrock band, Botellita de Jerez. True story: we played the Botellita de Jerez song “Abuelita de Batman” at our wedding in Mexico and it was a hit with all our guests! For a blast from the past, watch the music video of the song below.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4F3ttV9Avs[/youtube]

Now, there’s a film, “basada en hechos más o menos reales” as they say about the true story of Botellita de Jerez, and it’s called “Naco es Chido.” I’ve been dying to see the film but haven’t had the opportunity to view it yet because I was out of town when it screened in Chicago this summer during the Hola México Film Festival. Botellita de Jerez will be in San Diego and Los Angeles this weekend, with a special screening of the film in Los Angeles followed by a performance by the band….

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Chicago’s own Mercado Navideño

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This past weekend I attended the Mercado Navideño at the National Museum of Mexican Art here in Chicago with my friend, Daniela. It’s been awhile since my last visit so I was eager to see the new exhibits as well. But I loved all the gifts, decorations and crafts that remind me so much of the Museo de Arte Popular (of which I have only ever visited the gift shop) in Mexico City. I sent a picture message from my iPhone of the beautiful paper maché piggy bank to my suegra because she collects all kinds of puerquitos (little piggies). She loved it and said when I arrive, we’ll make plans to go visit the museum since she couldn’t remember ever taking me there before.

If you live in Chicago or are visiting during the Thanksgiving holiday next year, check out the mercado – it’s typically the Friday through Sunday right after Thanksgiving. Some of the items were pricey (compared to purchasing the same item in Mexico) but for the most part, they had a lot of beautiful gifts at reasonable prices. And you can’t visit the National Museum of Mexican Art without also making a stop in the gift shop on your way out! I loved the mini papel picado, juguetes and all kinds of books about Mexican art and culture. I may go back soon for some books on regional art and food!

    • What’s your favorite kind of Mexican popular art?

 

The photos in this post were taken with my iPhone 3Gs using the Polarize app by Christopher Comair.

The Salsa Showdown is tomorrow! And we’ve got a {GIVEAWAY}!

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I’ve been receiving lots of encouragement here on the blog, on our Facebook fan page, via Twitter and email from all of you about my Salsa Showdown at the Kenmore Live Studio! Thanks for all your support!

Don’t forget: the showdown starts tomorrow night at 7 p.m. CST! You can attend in person in Chicago or watch from home live over the internet via the Kenmore Facebook fan page’s Live Studio tab. Watch our promotional video for the show and click on the Kenmore Live Studio button below the video to reserve your free tickets to attend the show in person tomorrow. We had lots of fun shooting the promo video, and I assure you that Chuy’s very nice despite all the tough-guy acting in the video. And if you come to the show, please introduce yourself afterward! I love meeting fans of The Other Side of The Tortilla!

No chefs were harmed in the filming of this video.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXKMxmyWDvc[/youtube]

To reserve your FREE ticket and get details with the studio address and directions, please click the Live Studio button below:

{GIVEAWAY/SORTEO}

And, we’ve got a very special giveaway this month!

Head over to our Facebook fan page and click “LIKE” for a chance to win a 2011 culinary calendar from our good friends at Muy Bueno Cookbook. The calendar, beautifully photographed by Jeanine Thurston, has a sneak preview of what will be in Muy Bueno’s cookbook, which I’m hearing will be out later next year. We’ll be posting some instructions on Facebook on how to win starting today. We’ll choose one lucky fan of The Other Side of The Tortilla as a winner once we hit 250 fans, so hurry and tell your friends about us!


Muy Bueno has partnered with The Denver Foundation to donate a portion of the proceeds from each calendar sale to their Strengthening Neighborhoods (SN) program. It’s a grant program that helps residents in 10 struggling Denver neighborhoods improve their communities “from the inside out.” The Grants help pay for resident leadership training, and community projects such as food pantries, tutoring programs, neighborhood gardens and school safety patrols. They have also helped with park and school cleanup, among other projects. If you are interested in learning more about this innovative program, please visit their website at www.denverfoundation.org and click on Strengthening Neighborhoods.

You can also try your hand at winning a calendar through Muy Bueno’s site and submitting a recipe. If you win, they’ll also photograph your recipe and post it on their blog.

  • ¡Suerte! Let me know what you think of the video in the comments.

Spotted in Chicago: Hojas de Maguey

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Just when I’m missing Mexico and checking my calendar to see how many days are left until I leave for my holiday trip next month, I find something amazing and unexpected in the grocery store that makes me feel relieved that a little piece of Mexico is never too far away. Thanks to the fact that there are more than 1.5 million Mexicans in Chicago, and therefore no shortage of Mexican grocers, I can often find foods or other Mexican things I’m missing within a 10 or 15-minute drive from our apartment.

These leaves, called hojas or pencas de maguey, from the maguey plant (also known as agave) are often used as an envoltorio, or wrapper, to cook barbacoa. Seeing them at the grocery store this week reminded me of a recent trip to Querétaro with my suegros, while we were en route from Mexico City to Aguascalientes to celebrate José’s abuelita’s 90th birthday.

More on that trip (and barbacoa) later this coming week – I just couldn’t resist sharing the highlight of my day!