Mexican : Pati's Mexican Table

December 8, 2011

Mexican Fiestas: Pozole, Ponches & Piñatas

8 DECEMBER 2011
6:30 to 9:00 PM

Cooking demonstration and tasting dinner at the Mexican Cultural Institute.

In December, festivities in Mexico usually include Piñatas, Pozole and Ponche. You will learn the history behind the piñata tradition while savoring two of the most popular versions of Pozole throughout Mexico: Green from Guerrero and Red from Jalisco. A whole meal on a plate, Pozole is one of Mexico’s most well-known and loved dishes. Accompanying dessert will be a mug of sweet Ponche, a warm and delicious concoction made with sugar cane sticks and both fresh and dried fruits.

To register and for more information click here.

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Mexican Fiestas: Pozole, Ponches & Piñatas

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November 19, 2011

Going Nuts and Bananas for Capirotada

Sliced bread brushed with melted butter, toasted until golden, layered with handfuls of nuts and dried fruits, drenched in Piloncillo syrup, topped with crumbled salty cheese and baked until it all comes together…. Once out of the oven, it tastes like a cross between French Toast and Bread Pudding. Crisp-on-the-top and moist-in-the-center, every spoonful a delightful mess.

That is Mexico’s most well known version of Capirotada. Being a lover of delicious Mexican style food messes, I am one big fan of it. But some newcomers to the dish are taken aback by the salty cheese on top. What -you may ask like many do- is the need for the cheese on top? Well, that salty tease makes the thick feel and sweet taste of the dish come out in bold strokes in your mouth.

It reminds me of how my father loves to slice sweet bananas over his savory lentil soup; or how my family goes crazy over piling ates (fruit pastes) with Manchego cheese, as so many Mexicans do; or how I used to love eating a handful of chocolate covered raisins right after a handful salty pop corn, and then repeat it again and again at the movies growing up, as long as the movie lasted. Capirotada has that same wild mix.

Once you finish your piece, I bet you will beg for a bit more of that addicting combination. That’s probably why I have received so many requests for a recipe.

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Going Nuts and Bananas for Capirotada

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October 13, 2011

The Cacao Route

13 OCTOBER 2011
6:30 to 9:00 PM

Cooking demonstration and tasting dinner at the Mexican Cultural Institute.

For this session, we are delighted to welcome Chef Jose Ramon Castillo, considered to be one of the top chocolatiers in Mexico and has done extensive research and cooking with cacao-based products. The menu will use only local ingredients paired with cacao. From soup to dessert, you will learn how cacao is processed and experience its surprising versatile flavor.

To register and for more information click here.

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The Cacao Route

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September 23, 2011

Mushroom-Jalapeño Matzo Ball Soup

My grandfather on my mother’s side, Francisco, whom we called “Yeye,” was wild about chiles. Not very common in his native Bratislava, I guess. He used to say that what he loved the most about his new country was the predictable weather (especially the bright sunny winters), the colorful markets, and most of all, the chiles. All of them.

He was oh so very crazy about them that my grandmother used to hide them from him. She complained about him having no boundaries, no sense of measure, when eating them. He simply would not stop.

But he knew all the tricks, discover all the hide outs, and stuff them in his pockets. Seriously. Not only fresh jalapeños or serranos but also wet pickled jalapeños... Those must have been some messy pockets to wash…

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Mushroom-Jalapeño Matzo Ball Soup

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September 9, 2011

Pozole: Try It Green!

Red pozole, or Pozole Rojo, Jalisco style, has been my favorite pozole of all time. It is bold and gorgeous in every possible way. I am so attached to it, we even served it at our wedding.

For decades now, I’ve refused to replace it with another… And then, I tried a unique green version, Pozole Verde, Guerrero style. It has not surpassed my Pozole Rojo, but it is attempting to tie with it at my table. And that is a lot to say.

Treasured all around Mexico, pozole has many variations, mainly green, red and white. Each distinct and beautiful, and coincidentally, represent the colors of the Mexican flag. Since September is the month of Mexican independence and The Day of El Grito is just around the corner, there is no excuse not to find an excuse to celebrate! And in my mental Mexican dictionary, pozole equals celebration.

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Pozole: Try It Green!

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July 30, 2011

Summertime Watermelon & Tomatillo Salad: Beat the Heat!

This year I promised my boys we would plant goodies in the backyard to harvest ourselves. At the nursery, jumping up and down as in a candy shop, they dragged so many plants to the counter, I had to give an absolute NO to half of them.

We ended up with thyme, oregano, bay leaves, rosemary, mint, parsley, and cilantro. Ok, and tomatoes, cherry and roma. Fine… corn too, don’t know what I was thinking. And wait! We couldn’t leave without jalapeños, which led me to run for some tomatillos. And scallions. I stopped there. I did.

Then Sami came back with a little watermelon plant. That was the wildest idea, oh, that monster of mine. We’ve no room to grow watermelon. I told him about the big wide fields in Northern Mexico, in states like Sonora, Chihuahua, Jalisco and Sinaloa where watermelon is grown extensively. Our backyard is… not so big.

Beats me.

We brought home Sami’s watermelon plant.

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Summertime Watermelon & Tomatillo Salad: Beat the Heat!

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July 24, 2011

Living Earth Festival 2011

24 JULY 2011
2:00 to 5:00 PM

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian will be hosting the second annual Living Earth Festival this July.

On July 24th, from 2 pm to 5 pm, there will be an Iron Chef-style cooking competition at the museum’s outdoor amphitheater between Mitsitam Cafe’s executive chef, Richard Hetzler, and Don McClellan, the executive chef at Atria Vista del Rio in Albuquerque, N.M.

I am honored to have been invited as a guest judge for the competition along with Scott Drewno, of The Source by Wolfgang Puck and Brian Patterson, chef instructor at L’Academie de Cuisine.

Come join us for the competition! You will also learn to create American Indian dishes and see live food demonstrations with farmers and artisans from the Hopi, Tesuque Pueblo and Tuscarora tribes!

For more information click here.

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Living Earth Festival 2011

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July 22, 2011

Chia Seeds

With a metallic dark color and mottled skin, Chia seeds are delightfully crunchy. Once you rehydrate them in water, as the popular Lime based Agua Fresca, they become covered in an irresistible gelatinous layer. No wonder the word chia comes from the náhuatl name chian, which means oily.

Scientifically, Salvia Hispanica, they come from a flowering plant from the mint family. Some new wave health oriented groups, call it “the Miracle seed”. They are indeed miraculous for good digestion and some say weight loss.

In Mexico they have been used for centuries. In Aztec times, aside from eating, they were one of the main means of exchange and also used for religious rituals (continue for more information and photos).

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Chia Seeds

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July 10, 2011

Fancy Food Show

10-12 JULY 2011
10:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Come join me at the Summer Fancy Food Show 2011! Located in the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C. is North America’s largest specialty food and beverage event. I will be running the kitchen for the Mexico Pavilion and offering many appetizers for you all to try, I hope to see you there!

For more information click here.

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Fancy Food Show

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June 29, 2011

Go Wild, Munch On Your Crazy Corn!

The Mexican way to wildly dress simply cooked corn drives me wild:

Crunchy sweet corn on a stick, brushed with butter and mayo, coated in tangy and salty crumbled queso fresco, sprinkled with chile powder, typically chile piquín or tajin, coarse salt and a liberal squeeze of lime juice…

It doesn’t matter if I am hungry. The mere site of a street food corn stand makes me stop dead in my tracks and zoom over for one. Like a wild woman. I need one. Well, the truth is one is not enough, ever.

In Mexico you find corn stands all over, in little towns and big cities. Locals know what day of the week and at what times they show up. If you are not from there, it takes a while to figure it out.

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Go Wild, Munch On Your Crazy Corn!

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