lt's Good to Give!

It's the Season of Giving! Every year, month, day and hour we get to so caught up on our self's but the start of the a New Year is a great  moment to reflect on what we can do different in a bigger better way. To Give is a great way to do good not only monetary but with love, laughter and kindness. To give Peace is FREE and oh so rewarding. So this New Year just give a little and give it good.

On a side note, here a list of our favorite charities and programs that do good.

• HSTJ, humane society of Tijuana
• Change.org
• Red Cross
• Humane Society 
• Unicef

Annual X-Mas Break

Hello Porteños,

Just a gentle reminder that...
Café Olé will be closed from the 23th of December to the 3rd of January. We will gladly return Monday, January 6th. Hopefully you can keep checking our blog for new recipes, coffee and everything México. As well as our facebook and twitter account! Have a Happy & Safe Holiday Season. 

Best regards,
Yan & Haydee

Pecan-Sugar Cookies

This cookies are becoming our got to cookies for the Holiday Season. So easy to make, basic delicious ingredients and tons of flavor. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients
Original recipe makes 4 dozen

• 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/4 cup of ground pecans
• pecans to decorate

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl, stir together flour, ground pecans, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg, vanilla and almond extract. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls, and place onto ungreased cookie sheets and decorate with a pecan on top.
3. Bake 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden. Let stand on cookie sheet two minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

image via: google search

Mexican Punch

Hello everybody! Its been a long time since we did a post. We been working hard at the shop during this Holiday Season and other projects like school, catering and family but we are here to celebrate the season by sharing a recipe of one the most traditional and iconic Mexican drinks: Mexican Punch or Ponche.

This a a warm and inviting cocktail that we drink during the Holiday Season. A go to for Posadas with a delicious Tamal. Here's the recipe:

Ponche
Adapted from Fany Gerson’s My Sweet Mexico
Makes about 3 1/2 quarts

Note: You shouldn’t feel wedded to any ponche recipe, as the ratios can be tweaked for your specific tastes. Fany’s version includes tamarind, raisins and prunes, but I found the original quantities to be a little too tangy, so I lessened them and added more water. In the future I may leave out the prunes all together.

If you don’t have piloncillo, you can substitute brown sugar. If you can’t find sugar cane, just leave it out.

The amount of water depends on how thick you like your ponche. Once the fruit starts to cook, the mixture will thicken — feel free to add more water to thin it out. Ponche also reheats beautifully on the stove, thinned with a little water. It will keep in the fridge in an air-tight container for at least a week.

To cut piloncillo: Grab the thick end of cone and slice with a knife. It’ll require some force on your end, but it should work. (The piloncillo should not be so hard that you can’t cut it.) You could also try scraping it along a box grater. Don’t put the cone in the food processor, or it might break your machine.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 to 3 quarts water* (see note)
• 2 cinnamon sticks, about 6 inches long
• 8 ounces tejocotes, left whole
• 6 guavas, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 mild-flavored apples (not Granny Smith), peeled, cored and cut into bite-size pieces
• 2 four-inch pieces of sugar cane, peeled and cut into thin strips
• 1/2 cup pitted prunes, halved lengthwise
• 1/2 cup dark raisins
• 5 long tamarind pods, peeled and seeded, or three tablespoons of tamarind pulp without seeds
• 6 to 8 ounces piloncillo or dark brown sugar (this equals about one average cone)
• Rum, brandy or tequila (optional)

Directions

1. Bring water and cinnamon sticks to a boil in a large pot. Add the tejocotes and lower the flame. Cook over a slow, rolling boil until the tejocotes are soft, about five minutes.
2. Remove the fruit from the pot, let cool and then peel the skin off with your fingers. (It should come off easily.) Cut the tejocotes in half, and remove and discard the seeds.
3. Once they’ve been peeled and de-seeded, place the tejocotes back into your pot of cinnamon-water and add the remaining ponche ingredients. Stir to combine and let simmer for at least 30 minutes. If you’re adding alcohol, pour it into the pot right before serving time.
4. To serve the ponche, remove the cinnamon sticks and ladle directly into mugs, making sure to include the chunks of cooked fruit. The strips of sugar cane can be served directly into the cup, to suck on after you’re finished drinking.

image via: mija chronicles

Argentinian Feast

Roasted Vegetables

White Bean Salad

Roasted Chicken

During the Labor Day weekend we celebrated my Mom's Birthday and because she does SO much for us we wanted to throw her a delicious Argentinian feast. We all decided to bring a dish and because my dad wanted to get some empanadas from an Argentinian bakery I decided to plan my menu around them.

Argentina is know for their grilled roasted flavors so no matter what I decided the base has to be that smokey-herby signature flavor. After looking for some recipes I went with a white bean and roasted vegetable salad and my juicy herb grilled chicken with roasted finger potatoes. Here are the recipes:

White Bean Salad with Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients
2 cans white beans, rinsed and drained

1 bag of mixed greens.
1/2 cup small diced roasted red pepper
1/2 cup small roasted baby heirloom tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped, fresh oregano
1 tablespoon chopped, fresh parsley

Dressing

1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil

1 shallot

1 lemons (zest & juice)
kosher salt, and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. In a cookie sheet roast bell peppers and baby heirloom tomatoes at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Once finish let it cool before combine.
2. In a medium bowl, combine beans, peppers, tomatoes, and mixed greens.
3. In a small Tupperware or jar (with a lid), combine garlic, shallot, oregano, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Cover with lid and shake well.
4. Pour dressing over beans. Eat immediately, or store covered, in the fridge for later.

Perfect Roast Chicken

Ingredients:
1 six-pound roasting chicken
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium onions, peeled and sliced crosswise 1/2 inch thick
1 lemon
3 large cloves garlic, peeled
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup , or canned low-sodium chicken broth, skimmed of fat Homemade Chicken Stock

Directions:

1. Let chicken and 1 tablespoon butter stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove and discard the plastic pop-up timer from chicken if there is one. Remove the giblets and excess fat from the chicken cavity. Rinse chicken inside and out under cold running water. Dry chicken thoroughly with paper towels. Tuck the wing tips under the body. Sprinkle the cavity of the chicken liberally with salt and pepper, and set aside.
2. In the center of a heavy-duty roasting pan, place onion slices in two rows, touching. Place the palm of your hand on top of lemon and, pressing down, roll lemon back and forth several times. This softens the lemon and allows the juice to flow more freely. Pierce entire surface of lemon with a fork. Using the side of a large knife, gently press on garlic cloves to open slightly. Insert garlic cloves, thyme sprigs, and lemon into cavity. Place chicken in pan, on onion slices. Cut about 18 inches of kitchen twine, bring chicken legs forward, cross them, and tie together.
3. Spread the softened butter over entire surface of chicken, and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Place in the oven, and roast until skin is deep golden brown and crisp and the juices run clear when pierced, about 1 1/2 hours. When chicken seems done, insert an instant-read thermometer into the breast, then the thigh. The breast temperature should read 180 degrees and the thigh 190 degrees.
4. Remove chicken from oven, and transfer to a cutting board with a well. Let chicken stand 10 to 15 minutes so the juices settle. Meanwhile, pour the pan drippings into a shallow bowl or fat separator, and leave onions in the pan. Leave any brown baked-on bits in the bottom of the roasting pan, and remove and discard any blackened bits. Using a large spoon or fat separator, skim off and discard as much fat as possible. Pour the remaining drippings and the juices that have collected under the resting chicken back into the roasting pan. Place on the stove over medium-high heat to cook, about 1 minute. Add chicken stock, raise heat to high, and, using a wooden spoon, stir up and combine the brown bits with the stock until the liquid is reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Strain the gravy into a small bowl, pressing on onions to extract any liquid. Discard onions, and stir in the remaining tablespoon of cold butter until melted and incorporated. Untie the legs, and remove and discard garlic, thyme, and lemon. Carve, and serve gravy on the side.
5. Garnish with roasted finger potatoes and roasted red onions (350 degrees for 15 minutes), mint and lemon wedges.

images via: hayanarts 

recipe via: chicken by martha stewart

Valentines for Foodies

We confess...Valentine's Day is one of our least favorite Holidays! All these week people have been asking us if we have any plans for V-Day and to be honest the answer is NO. We haven't celebrated this Holidays in forever and is not that we are not romantic but we don't need a holiday to tell us how to feel and this is why...We usually do a date night once a week and although we do low key dates (movies, museums, dinners) we really enjoy it. Here are some of our favorites things that we do:

uno.cooking / dos.drinks / tres.cinema / cuatro.exhibitions / cinco.dessert / seis.dinner

Here's a link to one our favorite episodes of TopChef Masters dedicated to the art of seduction... foodie style! 

image via: hayanarts

Mardi Gras

Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

Banana Foster

Mardi Gras is just a couple of days away and the festivities already started in our neighborhood (Hillcrest). Here are two of our favorites dishes to eat during this colorful celebration.

Chicken & Sausage Gumbo (serves 6-8)

INGREDIENTS
½ cup canola oil
2 lb. bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
8 oz. andouille sausage, cut into ½" pieces
4 slices bacon, cut into ½" pieces
1 cup flour
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 small green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. cayenne
6 canned, whole peeled tomatoes in juice, drained and crushed by hand
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
10 oz. okra, trimmed and cut into ½" slices
4 cups chicken stock
Cooked white rice, for serving
Hot sauce and filé powder, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat ¼ cup oil in an 8-qt. Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in two batches, season chicken with salt and pepper, and add chicken to pot; cook, turning once, until lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add sausage and bacon, and cook, stirring, until their fat renders and bacon is browned, about 5 minutes; transfer to plate with chicken.
2. Add remaining oil, and reduce heat to medium-low; stir in flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until this mixture (called a roux) is the color of dark, reddish caramel, about 8 minutes. Add celery, onion, and pepper, and cook until soft, about 6 minutes. Add thyme, cayenne, tomatoes, garlic, and bay leaf, and cook for 3 minutes. Return chicken, sausage, and bacon to pot along with okra and stock, and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, okra is tender, and gumbo is thickened, about 30 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove and shred meat, and discard bones and skin; stir meat back into gumbo. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with white rice on the side. Serve with hot sauce and filé powder for sprinkling over each serving.

Banana Foster (serves 4)

INGREDIENTS
1½ cups light brown sugar
8 tbsp. unsalted butter
½ tsp. kosher salt
1 stick cinnamon, broken in half
6 underripe bananas, halved lengthwise, and then halved crosswise
¾ cup dark rum
Vanilla ice cream, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS
Heat sugar, butter, salt, and cinnamon in a 12" skillet over medium-low heat, and cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves in butter. Add bananas, and cook, stirring gently, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add rum, and using a match or lighter, ignite to flambé, and cook until flame dies out. To serve, spoon bananas and sauce over scoops of ice cream in bowls.

recipes via: savour

Rosca de Reyes

The Holidays aren't over yet...at least in Mexico. There's still one Holiday day left and that is "Dia de Reyes"

The celebration of Epiphany to enjoy the Rosca de Reyes is a Mexican tradition that takes place, 12 days after Christmas, each year in social reunions with family, friends or colleagues in offices or homes. This meeting is usually done a few days before or after January 6 at the offices or places outside the home, however for the family reunions they are normally held in homes on the sixth day of January in the evening, Epiphany Day or the appearance of the Wise Men or Magic Kings: Balthazar, Melchior and Caspar.

This tradition of eating together and sharing a rosca de reyes bread with a hot chocolate to remember the Holy Kings, is made as a snack or pre-dinner at an early hour in the late evening, so that children are present and can participate in the tradition of getting together to enjoy and share a slice of rosca de reyes and it is important when you cut a slice, that on both sides of the rosca, does not appear the figure of the infant Jesus (plastic doll symbolizing Jesus newborn). It is worth to mention that also a small showing inside may bearly appear in the sweet bread. Now in days another figure of a Wise Men of plastic may be hidden inside the bread, so that two people who are to split the party cost. It is said that the person who finds the baby Jesus, should put the house for a party on Candlemas Day on February 2. On this day your guest are expecting to eat tamales and Mexican appetizers, so it is important to re-join the same group that was present when the rosca was cut. Incidentally, the person who finds the plastic wise man or Magi King in his or hers slice, normally must pay the costs of the party, in reality the expenses of the party is shared by both persons. It is considered to have good luck and that you are fortunate if you find the baby Jesus and/or the Wise Man.

The tradition of holding the reunion to celebrate the Day of the Epiphany comes from the middle ages in Europe, mainly from Spain and France. This tradition came to Mexico at the time of the early years of the viceroys.

After that...the diet will start!

X-Mas Break!

Hello Porteños,

Café Olé will be closed from the 24th of December to the 1st of January. We will gladly return Tuesday, January 2nd. Hopefully you can keep checking our blog for new recipes, coffee and everything México! Have a Happy & Safe Holiday Season. 

 Best regards,
Yan & Haydee

photo by: slim aarons

Gifts for Coffee Lovers!

Having a coffee shop we truly love anything related to coffee...from desserts to books to documentaries. For the Holidays season we created a wish list of some our favorite coffee gadgets for the last couple of years. On the last post you previously saw our picks for foodies now is time for the coffee lovers! Here are our picks:

uno.black coffee / dos.uncommon grounds / tres.mini travel espresso / cuatro.lens travel mug / cinco.yama siphon pot / seis.bean grinder / siete.percolator 

image via: hayanarts

OUR HOLIDAY PICKS!

Hello friends, we apologized for the lack of posting but lately our days have become extremely hectic. We appreciated each and one of you for supporting us all these years with your comments and encouragement and we wish you all the best for the new year to come. Like last years (here, here and here) we have put together a few of our favorite items to give this holiday season. Here are our picks:

uno.cooking classes / dos.baja culinary trip / tres.coffee siphon pot / cuatro.tequila valladolid / cinco.bottlestopper / seis.knife skills / siete.mexican chocolate kit  / ocho..flavour-thesaurus

image via: hayanarts

Halloween Food

Martha Stewart always bringing it when it comes to Halloween. Most of the menus dedicated to this Holiday are always cute but I love how gores she gets sometimes with here themes. Here are more recipes to see.

images via: ms

Piñata Cookies!

Piñata Cookies!! A fun and festive recipe to celebrate cinco de mayo.These multi-striped, burro piñata sugar cookies come complete with hollow centers that you can fill with a secret stash of your favorite candies. Break open or bite into these festive treats and be greeted with a sugary surprise.Here is the recipe:

 

Ingredients: This recipe will make six to eight piñata cookies.

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 5 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• Mini M&M candies
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar (frosting)
• 2 teaspoons milk (frosting)

 

Directions to make piñata sugar cookies:

Make the dough

Cream sugars with butter. Beat in eggs. Add oil. Combine dry ingredients together, and then gradually add them to the mixture. Mix in vanilla and almond extract.

Color the dough

Split dough into five, even-sized balls and one smaller ball (this will be the black one). Add food coloring to each of the dough balls until desired color is achieved. Gel food coloring gives you more intense colors than liquid.
Layer the dough
Use a container the same approximate width of your donkey/burro piñata cookie cutter, and line it with plastic food wrap. Split all of your colored dough balls in half (except the black) and begin layering the dough in the container, starting with the black dough on the bottom. Alternate the colors so that you end up with two layers of each color by the time you're done.

Wait

Cover the layered dough and freeze for four hours or overnight. This is the perfect time to conserve your creative juices for what lies ahead.

Bake the cookies

Remove the dough from the container and unwrap from the plastic. Cut slices, approximately 1/4-inch wide. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake them at 350 degrees F for 12 minutes.
Cut the cookies
Immediately after you take them out of the oven, use your burro piñata cookie cutter to cut the cookie shapes. Working in sets of three, be sure to cut two burro piñata cookies in one direction and one burro piñata cookie in the opposite direction. (Just flip your cookie cutter over.) That way, when you go to assemble them, the finished cookie will look "pretty" on both sides -- because the baked, bottom sides will be hidden.
Create the hidden pocket
For the middle cookies in each set, cut off the ears and legs, and cut out the center where the M&Ms will go. I used a small square cutter, and made three cuts to get a narrow rectangle. Try to work quickly, because as the cookies cool, they are more likely to crumble or break. Let them cool on the baking sheet before you move them and remove the excess, outer cookie.
Assembling the piñata cookies
To assemble, take the first piñata cookie and lay it upside down so that the baked bottom is facing up. Outline the center of the piñata body with a "frosting glue" mixture of milk and powdered sugar. (I used 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and two teaspoons of milk. If you put it inside a Ziploc bag and cut off a tiny tip of the bag's corner, you can pipe it onto the cookie easily.)
Put the middle cookie on top of the frosting glue and add the M&Ms to the open center. Put another outline of frosting glue on the middle cookie and place the opposite-cut piñata cookie on top (so that the pretty side is facing out). Let these sit and harden for at least 30 minutes before you stand them upright.

Show off your finished piñata cookie

 

For step by step images click here!

Pizzelle

 

One of my favorite gifts this holiday season was from The Capanos. They were so kind to give a bag full of delicious Pizzelle Cookies. It was my first time eating this cookies and let me tell you they didn't disappoint. The anise flavor went so well with an espresso. They were so good that I didn't even share with the hubby! I still dream about them. I found a similar recipe to make:

Pizzelles
Makes 60 pizzelles.
This recipe makes a thicker, firmer pizzelle.

6 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 pound butter (2 sticks), melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (or 2) teaspoons anise seed**
1 tablespoon anise extract
4 tablespoons baking powder
7 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat pizzelle iron. Coat with cooking spray and wipe off excess with a paper towel. You do not have to re-apply.

Beat eggs and sugar. Add cooled melted butter, vanilla extract, anise seeds, and anise extract. Sift flour and baking powder in a bowl and add to the egg mixture. Beat for a few minutes, or until the batter becomes thick. It will have a dough-like consistency. Knead with your hands for a couple of minutes until dough is smooth and has a sheen. With your hands, roll into one-inch round balls and place in the center of the pizzelle iron grids. Close the cover of the iron and bake for about 45 seconds, or until golden brown. Remove from iron and place on a cookie rack to cool.

Dust with confectioner's before serving, if desired.

Pizzelles will last for a couple of weeks if stored in an air-tight container and kept in a cool area.

**The original recipe calls for 1 teaspoon anise seed.

I also found this whole wheat pizzelle recipe. Enjoy!

recipe via: food blogga

Gift Giving!

Is the thought that counts...not! Although I am grateful that somebody thought of me this holiday season sometimes is not always the case. This year I received the most random gifts ever! Stuff that are not my taste and that I will never ever used. I'm not gonna lie I was really disappointed with the selection but most of all was shock that somebody wasted there hard earn money on something useless or the fact that really nobody knows me/or what I liked. So before you are a victim of the gift giving blues think about this:

10 Golden Rules of Gift Giving

1. Set a Budget
The budget depends on how money you can afford to spend, how many people are pitching in to get the gift, the type of event being celebrated, and how important the gift-recipient is to you. When you set a budget it makes it easier to define the sort of gift you need to buy.

2. Consider the Event’s Importance
Particularly its importance to the person being honored. Some people go all out to celebrate a birthday; while others place more importance on Christmas... some even celebrate certain saint’s days. But there’s no need to wait for a special event to buy a gift; it’s always nice to get unexpected, spontaneous gifts.

3. Respect Your Friend’s Taste
Before you buy anything, keep in mind your friend or family member’s tastes. Take note of the sorts of things your friend tends to buy, their favorite colors, what their house looks like, their pastimes... If it’s someone you know well, buying a gift should not be too difficult. If you don’t know them very well, do some research, ask questions and find out as much as you can about them.


4. Take Notes All Year Round
If you often surf the Internet and you find a gift idea for a friend or family member, make sure you use the bookmarks on your browser to keep track of that page so you won’t forget it. Sites such as amazon.com that manage a personalize wish list of your family or friend and allow you to organize and check them out using any computer are also quite helpful. When that birthday or holiday rolls around, all you’ll have to do is consult your friends/family wish list: it’s like a letter to Santa, only the gift-giver writes it.

5. Look for Ideas: Brainstorming + Internet
Prepare a meeting with anyone else who’ll be pitching in for the gift so you can brainstorm gift ideas. Let each person make suggestions, and make sure you take notes. Then buy whatever you like. You can also get ideas from the Internet. There are specialized gift sites such as uncommon goods or red envelope, where you can find gifts for everyone (girlfriend, kids, ex, grandparents, mom...) and for any occasion (Christmas, Valentine’s, Father’s Day...).

6. Nothing Too Practical
Your gift shouldn’t be something practical: they’ve probably got that sorted. Socks, photo albums, tablecloths... Save yourself the trouble. Generally, most people take care of their own needs and when your birthday comes around you expect to get a treat, the sort of thing you’d never buy for yourself or simply can’t afford.

7. No Decorative Accessories
None. Even if you think you know your friend perfectly well, home decor is very personal. A picture, some cushions, a wall calendar, a clock... don’t risk it. If they don’t like it, they’ll have to hang it one the wall every time you visit, and will end up resenting you. It could ruin the friendship.

8. Ask Them What They’d Like
This is an extreme option you should only pursue if you’re desperate and aren’t very sure of yourself. Advantages: you’ll get something they like. Disadvantages: there’s no surprise factor and your friend will quickly forget who got them that great gift.

9. Make Creative Gifts
Gifts don’t always have to be something material. You can also design them yourself, buy theater tickets, organize a surprise party, a trip, or offer to be someone’s slave for a day. The best gifts are creative.

10. All-Purpose Gifts
These gifts may not be very original, but they’re sure to be a hit:
-For gals: candles and soaps.
-For guys: gadgets and their favorite TV series on DVD.
-For moms: flowers and theater tickets.
-For dads: films and technology.
-For people who have it all: something totally useless. It’s something they’re not likely to have already.
-For people who never buy anything: essential basics such as personalized towels, journal or a mug.
-Never Fail: movie tickets, spa certificate, favorite restaurant gift card, a good book and a staycation in their favorite hotel.

Also is your heart is not in it don't give anything. It's better that way, a bad gift can ruin everything.

Perfect X-Mas

So pretty much we had the perfect X-Mas. We woke up late and I mean late (1:30 p.m. anyone?) with the hubby and the dogs in bed, had a nice walk in the neighborhood, went to see Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (it's awesome...now I want to bleach my eyebrows) and we end the night with pizza (delivered of course) and Elf. Happy Holidays!!

Mexican Christmas!

Christmas is almost here! Me and my mom are starting to look for produce and sea food to make our traditional Christmas Dinner on Christmas Eve. We call it NocheBuena (for the Poinsettia flower). Here are some of the dishes we are working on, it's a combination of the traditional indigenous food as well as Spanish delights and after that we are ready for the Posadas!

Christmas Salad:

Ingredients  

• 4 big beets
• ½ lettuce, chopped
• 3 pieces of sugar cane
• 4 oranges with skin
• 3 plantains with skin
• 3 apples
• 3 limes with skin
• 3 clean and peeled jicamas
• 3 royal lemons with skin
• 1 cup peanuts
• 1 cup colacion (sugar candy)

Preparation:
Slice the oranges, limes, plantains, lemons, apples and jicamas. Peel the sugar cane and make strips.
Cook the beets with a little sugar in 7 cups of water. Keep the stock. Slice the beets.
In a salad bowl, mix the fruit slices with the sugar cane strips and the beet slices. Pour one part of the stock in which the beets were cooked. Cool.
When you serve it, cover it with chopped lettuce, peanuts and sugar candy.

Romeritos:

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cleaned romeritos
• ¼ kilo dry shrimp
• 100 grams breadcrumbs
• 6 fresh eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ kilo small potatoes
• 10 cooked nopales cut in strips
• 3 spoons toasted sesame seeds
• ¼ cup toasted almonds
• 7 chiles anchos
• 3 chiles pasilla
• 3 chiles mulatos
• one little piece of fried tortilla
• one little piece of fried bread
• pork lard or olive oil
• one stick of cinnamon
• salt as needed

Preparation:
Clean and wash the romeritos with plenty of water to remove the soil from them.
Cook them in boiling water with salt and drain. Shell the shrimp and ground them with the bread until they are a fine powder.
Beat the egg whites and then add the yolks, ground shrimp and baking powder. Form a paste taking spoons of it and fry them in very hot oil on low heat so they don’t burn and they rise. Fry golden brown and drain.
Clean and cook the nopales in boiling water with salt and a piece of onion. Drain and let them cool.
Toast and seed the chilies and soak them in hot water.
Toast and ground the sesame seeds with cinnamon, tortilla, bread, almonds and salt.
When everything is ground, add a little cold water so it is not so thick and add the rest of the ingredients. Season with salt and let it boil on low heat for about half an hour until everything is incorporated and the broth has lightly consumed.

It is a very common dish in Mexico served with tortillas. In province houses tortillas are still made on comales and are served warm. 

ROMERITOS: the plant grows wild, it is not cultivated. It has that name for the resemblance it has with rosemary and it is only eaten mixed with pipian and potatoes, nopales, shrimp and torta de aguahutle.

Bacalao (Cod Fish with Potatoes):

To prepare bacalao for this recipe you will have to soak the fish for several hours to remove the salt.  

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds deboned, salted codfish (soaked to remove salt)
• 3/4 pound potatoes (peeled and quartered)
• 1 green bell pepper (large size, chopped)
• 1 red onion (small size, chopped)
• 3 roma (plum) tomatoes (cut into quarters)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)
• Water
• Salt and Pepper to taste

 Preparation:
Boil the salted codfish and potatoes in a pot of water until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove any foam that forms during boiling.
Remove the potatoes and set aside.
Remove the codfish and flake it with two forks. Set aside.
Discard the water from the pot then heat the olive oil in the pot. Sauté the onions, tomatoes, and peppers until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute.
Add the flaked codfish and 1 cup of water. Bring the mixture to a simmer and allow to simmer over medium low heat for 3 minutes.
Add another 1 cup of water, the cooked potatoes, and tomato paste.
Continue to simmer over low heat for another 10 minutes. Add salt to taste.

 Cod Fish with Potatoes

Capirotada:

Ingredients

• 4 sliced bolillos (Mexican rolls)
• 2 brown sugar cones
• ½ cup peeled peanuts
• ½ cup raisins
• 1 cup añejo cheese diced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 spoon color sprinkles
• frying oil

Preparation:
Boil the brown sugar with cinnamon in 2 cups of water to make syrup. Fry the slices of bread in oil and remove the grease excess placing them on a paper napkin.
Put one layer of bread slices in a pot, cover it with raisins, peanuts and pieces of cheese. Then put another layer of bread, raisins, peanuts, etc. Pour syrup on it.
Put the pot in a double boiler for half an hour to soften the bread. Decorate with color sprinkles.

 

Mexican Bread Pudding (NEW TRADITION!)

Rompope:

Ingredients:

• 4 egg yolks
• 6 cups milk
• 1 cup sugar 
• ½ cup almonds
• rum

Preparation:
Soak the almonds in boiling water, peel them and blend with some milk until it does not have any lumps.
Boil the milk and add sugar and the blended almonds. Move it constantly with a wooden spoon until it gets a little thick. Take it away from the heat.
Beat the yolks with the rum and add little by little without stopping moving until they are completely incorporated to the milk. Let it cool and put in a glass bottle.
Serve it in wine glasses with a Poinsetta flower.

Christmas Punch:

Ingredients:

• 25 tejocotes
• 15 guava apples
• 3 oranges
• ½ cup raisins
• 4 apples
• ½ bottle red wine
• 6 sticks cinnamon
• 2 cloves
• brown sugar

Elaboration:
Wash the fruit, slice the apples and guava apples, cut the tejocotes (if you want you can peel them, they taste better).
Boil 25 cups of water with sugar and cinnamon in a pot (it is better if it is a clay one). Add the fruit. When the fruit is cooked, take the pot away from heat and add the wine. It is served hot in a cup with a slice of orange at the bottom, if you wish, you may add some rum.
To peel the tejocotes, heat some water, when it boils put the tejocotes in, turn off the heat and when the skin is softened peel them. The water you use in this can be added to the punch. 

For more traditional Mexican Christmas Eve recipe click here! Also Mija Chronicles has great recipes. Feliz Navidad y Prospero Año Nuevo!  Also this is what we did a couple of years ago.

Holiday Menu

 Fruit Cous Cous Salad

Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches

We recently cater a Holiday party for one of our customers. The plan was something easy to served and eat, effortless and fresh. The menu was two salads and two options of tea sandwiches. For salads we served a cold pesto pasta with cherry tomatoes, chunks of grilles chicken and shaved parmessano regiano as well as a cous-cous salad with toasted walnuts, dried cranberries and fresh gorgonzola cheese. For the tea sandwiches we made smoked salmon with an herb butter in whole grain bread plus an apple and brie cheese sandwich in a rosemary bun. We are happy to say that the food was a success and guests even asked for the recipe (good sign!). So here are two of the recipes:


FRUITY COUS-COUS SALAD: 
(serves 8)
Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups dry couscous
• 2/3 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup packed dried apricots, chopped
• 2/3 cup Craisins (sweetened, dried cranberries) or raisins, microwaved in
• 1 cup water for 1 minute
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced with greens
• 1 pinch Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

Prepare couscous according to package directions. Combine all ingredients; toss. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

SMOKED SALMON TEA SANDWICHES:
(serves 32 sandwiches) 
Ingredients

Herb butter:

• 1/2 pound unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced scallions (white and green parts)
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 
  

Sandwiches:

• 1 loaf dense 7-grain or health bread, unsliced
• 8 slices smoked salmon

Directions

For the herb butter, combine all the butter ingredients in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat until mixed, but do not whip.

For the sandwiches, have the store slice the bread lengthwise on a meat slicer into 1/4-inch-thick slices. (If that isn't possible, you can slice it crosswise with a very sharp knife.)

Lay out 8 slices of bread and spread them all with a thin layer of herb butter. Place smoked salmon on 4 of the slices. Top with the other 4 slices of bread, butter side down. Place the sandwiches on a baking sheet and wrap with plastic. Refrigerate until the butter is very cold. Place the sandwiches on a cutting board. With a very sharp knife, cut off the crusts, cut each large sandwich in half crosswise, and then cut each half diagonally twice to make a total of 8 small triangles. (If the bread was cut crosswise, follow the assembly directions, then cut off the crusts and cut diagonally, twice, to make 4 small triangles.) Serve chilled. 

All the recipes went well with the white sangria that they were serving.Cheers!

 

Mexa Cocoa Bread Pudding

Can't wait to make this treat for the Holiday Season! The first time I tried this dessert was at the book signing of Chef Marcelas's new book "Mexican Made Easy", while we were waiting for the staff to set up the event (cause she came in 15 minutes early) they treated us with Horchata con Canela and Mexican Chocolate Bread Pudding. Every year my mom and I plan the Christmas dinner and besides our traditional Tiramisu we are definitive making this yummy goodness with a spike of Kahlua!

image via: a chica bakes, recipe via: mme

a VoltaggiosThankgiving

Ever since we saw them in Top Chef (best season EVER) we been huge fans of the (Bryan & Michael) Voltaggio brothers. There so good and talented each on a unique way that is hard to choose who is the best! Recently they team up with William Sonoma and the Cooking Channel to tape a Thanksgiving special. What I love about the episode is that each brother has a unique and different approach to the Thanksgiving meal, the recipes are delicious and I cannot have enough of the Brussels sprouts recipe ( I been cooking it every week).

images via: cooking channel tv