Authentic Enchiladas

Enmoladas, enchiladas, enfrijoladas, en-anything-adas. This is a common word structure in Mexican cuisine, and simply means a lightly fried corn tortilla, dipped or covered in whatever the root word is (mole, chile and frijoles, respectively). Authentic Mexican enchiladas can be as simple as the name (and the above picture) suggests, but the true genius of the enchilada comes out as you build the plate up with raw onions, cheese, shredded chicken, lettuce and crema.

I resisted going authentic on the enchilada subject for a long time. One of my favorite meals, in flavor, ease and good time memories, is American style enchiladas from a recipe off of the Kraft Mexican blend cheese bag. I absolutely love those flour tortillas wrapped around supermarket rotisserie chicken, topped with canned salsa and baked with melty yellow and white cheeses. Eventually, I was won over and tried the real thing...and was happy that I did. While I'm still unsure if they reach the same high opinion of American enchiladas in my mind, they are still delicious, just a little different.

Ingerdients
16 corn tortillas
vegetable oil, for frying
2 cups salsa roja
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 cups shredded chicken
2 cups shredded lettuce
1 cup mexican crema (or sour cream)
1 cup queso fresco (or another crumbly white cheese)

Directions

1 - Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a medium saute pan over low heat. Lightly fry the tortillas, less than 30 seconds on each side (NOT crispy!)

2 - After removing each tortilla from oil, immediately dip the tortillas into warm salsa. Remove with a spatula and carefully roll up on a plate.

3 - With four enchiladas to a plate, top the enchiladas with an extra spoonful of leftover salsa.

4 - Add onion slices, shredded chicken, lettuce, crema and cheese (in that order).

5 - Dig in! (With a spoon, ideally - a fork will be messy.)

Great Fried Bananas

I don't know how to categorize these, and I'm not necessarily sure that they belong on my Mexican food blog. But, the more that I think about it, the more I am certain that these should be on every blog, whether it's based on food or on politics. I first (and only) sampled these crunchy, warm bananas for dessert at a Brazilian rodizio here in Mexico City. I've never had them in another churrascaria (and I've been to quite a few), so I don't think they're a Brazilian thing, and I've never had them anywhere else in Mexico, so I don't think it's a Mexican thing. Maybe it's a very specific and wonderful Brazilian-Mexican thing, like Giovani Dos Santos. It doesn't really matter, though; they're delicious.

OK, maybe I'm gushing a bit, but these were just such an unexpected delight for a self-proclaimed "fruit for dessert" hater. It's ultimately just a fried banana, but the crunchy cereal coating, the warm, ripe banana and the cool, creamy Lechera come together to offer a seriously pleasing dessert experience. (Future plans include a pumped up banana split sundae, but that idea is still untested.)

Ingredients
4 ripe bananas
1 cup Frosted Flakes (or Zucaritas, as they call them down here)
1 egg
vegetable oil, for frying
1 can sweetened, condensed milk (La Lechera)

Directions

1 - Peel the bananas and cut each one into three pieces (just a suggestion, you can leave them whole or cut them into several discs, or anything in between).

2 - Crush the frosted flakes in a food processor or by hand in a ziploc bag. Set aside.

3 - Beat the egg well to make an egg wash.

4 - Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat.

5 - While the oil is heating, brush the egg wash onto the banana pieces, and roll them in the crushed Frosted Flakes until completely covered.

6 - Fry the coated banana pieces, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from pan to drain briefly on a paper towel.

7 - Serve warm with a heavy drizzle of Lechera on top.

Happy Birthday Horchata

Today is my best friend's birthday, and, although I'm not shelling out the big bucks to send her a package (or even a card), I thought that there must be something I can do. Yes, next time I go home, I'm going to bring her some microwavable caramel popcorn and a Sponch, of course, but that won't be for several months. Today, acting on a query she made a few months ago, I will provide her with the best horchata recipe ever! (Or at least, the best recipe that I know.) This particular recipe is birthday horchata, which is just like regular horchata, but made with festive birthday spirit.

Horchata is a very popular rice-based drink (yes, rice) in Mexico and throughout Central America; it is another one of Mexico's most popular agua de sabores. Served cold, this is always a refreshing drink, but because of its milkiness, I like to drink it on its own or accompanying something sweet...or at least not something too spicy (they will sit weird together in your stomach).

Ingredients
1/2 cup rice
2 cups water
1/2 cup milk
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup sugar
6 cups water
1/4 cup lechera

Directions

1 - In a small pot over low heat, cook the rice in the milk and the 2 cups of water with the cinnamon stick. Cook for about 20 - 25 minutes - the rice should be underdone with a bite to it. The rice should not consume all of the liquid.

2 - Put 3 cups of water into a blender. Add the rice mixture with all of the leftover liquid and half of the cinnamon stick. Puree very well, at least 2 minutes.

3 - Place a cheese cloth (or something similar) on top of a pitcher, and pass the blended mixture through to get out any chunks of rice.

4 - Add 3 more cups of water, the sugar and the lechera. Stir well.

5 - Chill well in the refrigerator or serve over ice. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday to my rice-loving best friend!!

Queso Fundido

Queso Fundido simply means melted cheese, which, for me, is enough said about how fabulous this dish is, but I guess I'll elaborate a bit more. As much as I love fake, yellow, liquid nacho cheese, the melted cheese in authentic Mexican cuisine is much more sophisticated, rarely yellow...and actually cheese. The most common melting cheese here are queso asadero, quesillo and manchego, if you can find them stateside. If not, monterrey jack is the most popular substitute.

While this meal isn't exactly pretty or fancy, the process is very simple and the results are delicious. This particular recipe comes from my favorite Top Chef Master, Rick Bayless, with a few small changes. This dish is great as a snack or as a casual dinner and it definitely has it's place (and puts everything else to shame) at any sort of sport watching event.

Ingredients
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 jalapeño, seeded and thinly sliced
1 chile poblano, roasted, peeled, seeded and thinly sliced
1/2 lb. chorizo
1/2 lb. melting cheese
flour tortillas
vegetable oil

Directions

1 - Put an 8-inch dish or 5-inch bowl (both oven-safe!) in a 350* oven.

2 - Heat a bit of vegetable oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Crumble the chorizo out of its casing and into the pan.

3 - Cook the chorizo, making sure to break it up into very small pieces with a spatula or a wooden spoon. Cook about 10 minutes.

4 - Remove the chorizo from the pan. Add a bit more oil and allow to heat again over low heat.

5 - Add the onion slices and cook for 10 to 12 minutes. Add the poblanos and the jalapeños and cook for another 5 minutes.

6 - Remove the plate (carefully!!) from the oven and add the cheese to it. Return to the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is nice and melty.

7 - Add the onions, chiles and chorizo to the cheese, return to the oven and cook for another 5 minutes.

8 - Serve with a spoon and a nice, thick stack of warm, flour tortillas.

Jamaica (not the country)

Here in Mexico, we have two types of water (no, not tap and bottled - tap does not even count here) - agua simple and agua de sabor. Contrary to what makes sense, when ordering or offering simply "agua", this does not refer to agua simple. When wanting water like Poland Spring or Ciel (the most popular bottled water down here), you must specify the simple kind or the assumption upon hearing the word is the flavored water, our agua de sabor.

Frequently these aguas are made from fruit (although not very much), sugar (quite a bit) and as much water as you need to quench the thirst of everyone around the table (which is about 14 nephews and nieces in my case). Jamaica (pronounced ha-my-ka) is actually not made from a piddling amount of juice, but from brewing hibiscus flowers - although the sugar and water rules remain the same. Jamaica goes great with Mexican street favorites, like tacos and tortas, and is one of the most delicious, popular and easy to make of all the aguas (except, of course, for agua simple).

(Sadly, I have no idea where to get hibiscus flowers in the United States...a florist?)

Ingredients
8 cups water
2 cups hibiscus flowers
1 1/2 cup sugar
4 cups ice

Directions

1 - Bring the water to a boil.

2 - Add the hibiscus flowers and 1 cup of sugar, and cook for 1 - 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

3 - Remove from heat and allow flowers to steep for 2 hours.

4 - Pass the mixture through a strainer to remove the flowers. (and you can save the flowers in the fridge for one more use; we do!)

5 - Put the jamaica in a pitcher and check the sugar, add more if necessary.

6 - Add the ice cubes, stir and serve nice and cold (bien frio)!