# Mexican Food



## declanuk (Feb 17, 2013)

Hey.. 

I am currently doing a project a school which involves having to make 2 dishes (with accompaniments) from an international country. 

I was thinking of doing Mexican and was wondering if any of you could possibly make any suggestions of what to make? 

I know there are things like burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas etc but I want to make something more traditional/less popular? 

Thanks


----------



## GotGarlic (Feb 17, 2013)

Hi. One of my favorite Mexican dishes is posole - a pork and hominy stew. It takes some time to make but it's delicious. You can serve it out of a slow cooker, too.

Another good dish is tamales. Here's an easy recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/marcela-valladolid/easy-corn-tamales-recipe/index.html They can be cooled and then reheated before serving.


----------



## no mayonnaise (Feb 17, 2013)

^^^ So asking a cooking forum isn't figuring out how to use resources?  Chances are, with only having one post, they found this site through a Google search in an attempt to locate resources... I say, good job OP use every resource available.

Anyway, I'd suggest if you want Mexico maybe look into carne guisada since it can hold well in a catering-like situation.  Menudo is also a great option for something that will hold well and it's very traditional, especially for curing hangovers.
Want to really do it up?  Make some barbacoa de cabeza de res.


----------



## Whiskadoodle (Feb 17, 2013)

Hi,

Guacamole.  

I thnk Arroz con pollo ( chicken with rice) is good. You can cut up the chicken into bite size pieces, if you are going to share with a class.

Jicama( prounced HeeKama) is a raw vegetable served in salads. As a snack, peel it and cut into thin sticks, eat like carrots. Sprinkle with lime juice before serving and have a bowl of salt heavily laced with chile pepper powder for dipping. 

Flan, a caramel pudding, makes a cool dessert.

Good luck with your class project.


----------



## Dawgluver (Feb 17, 2013)

Mexican cuisine is really diverse!  There are many regional favorites.  Some of our faves from the Yucatan: Cochinita pibil (slow roasted pulled pork) with pickled onions, fish or shrimp ceviche, shrimp cocktail (where we go, orange soda is the key ingredient in the cocktail sauce), fish tacos, flan (try it made with Kahlua), frijoles charro (bean soup, delish!), whole fried fish, all kinds of salsas, mole chicken.

Here's a menu from a very old Yucatan restaurant:

http://www.casadenis.com/menu.htm


----------



## LindaZ (Feb 17, 2013)

I'm tackling Pork Carnitas today. I'll serve them with flour tortillas, lettuce, tomato and salsa and add a side of Southern Brown rice - (white rice, butter, mushrooms, onions and cooked in beef broth.) Since my DH keeps saying he doesn't like Mexican food, we'll see how he likes this.


----------



## Dawgluver (Feb 17, 2013)

LindaZ said:


> I'm tackling Pork Carnitas today. I'll serve them with flour tortillas, lettuce, tomato and salsa and add a side of Southern Brown rice - (white rice, butter, mushrooms, onions and cooked in beef broth.) Since my DH keeps saying he doesn't like Mexican food, we'll see how he likes this.



Sounds great!  IMHO, saying you don't like Mexican food is like saying you don't like American food.  There is such huge variety.


----------



## CraigC (Feb 18, 2013)

Homemade chorizo. Maybe a torta (sandwich). Chili rellenos or tamales. These are all typical, everyday items that aren't very envolved. If you really feel adventurous, try your hand at a mole.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Feb 18, 2013)

Here are two tamale sites that feature sweet tamales.  I have had these, when I lived in San Diego area.  They were made by an elderly lady who I, and a companion visited.  It was part of a church function that we did.  We'd clean her bird cage, and visit with her, find out other household maintenance needs that she had, and she'd make wonderful Mexican foods to keep us coming back every month.  Once of the outstanding things she made was sweet tamales.  

Dessert tamales make a great holiday tradition

Mexican Sweet Tamales Recipe - CHOW

As others have said, there is such a variety of food in Mexico.  One of my favorites is Carne Asada, a filling for tacos, burritos, and enchiladas.  I'd serve the stuff over rice too.  It is so flavorful and delicious.  Here's the re3cipe I use:
 Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. flank or round steak
1 fresh onion, peeled and diced
1 green bell pepper, seeded, washed, and diced
2 jalapeno peppers, washed, seeded and diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbs. freshly minced cilantro
juice of two limes
salt to taste.

Cook the steak over hot charcoal until medium rare.  Remove and let cool.
Dice the meat into small dice, and add remaining ingredients, with the meat, into a heavy pan, with a little lard, or cooking oil (just enough to coat the pan bottom).  Cook until the veggies are partially cooked through.  There should be a mild crunch to them.  Serve with fresh corn tortillas, softened in hot oil, with salsa or whatever you like in  your tacos.  Or, wrap in a flour tortilla with cheese and refried beans.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## kirbyburt (Apr 20, 2013)

*Traditional Mexican Cooking*

You should try making some authentic traditional mexican recipes. And making your own taco shells and tortillas.


----------



## Aunt Bea (Apr 20, 2013)

How about chicken soup?

Caldo De Pollo

The ingredients should be easily available in any grocery store.  It is really just a basic chicken and rice soup with some additional flavor elements.  You will find many traditional recipes on the internet!


----------



## jharris (Apr 21, 2013)

Hello and ...



http://www.rickbayless.com/recipes/

Good luck with your assignment.

Please let us know how it goes. We'd love to have you stick around!


----------



## Kylie1969 (Apr 21, 2013)

declanuk said:


> Hey..
> 
> I am currently doing a project a school which involves having to make 2 dishes (with accompaniments) from an international country.
> 
> ...



Hello and welcome to DC Declan 

Hope you do well with your assignment!


----------



## Snip 13 (Apr 21, 2013)

I love Mexican Seafood Stew (Caldo de Mariscos), Ceviche and Aqua Fresca


----------



## GotGarlic (Apr 21, 2013)

Has anyone noticed that this thread was started in February and the OP has never posted again?


----------



## Kayelle (Apr 21, 2013)

GotGarlic said:


> Has anyone noticed that this thread was started in February and the OP has never posted again?



I was thinking the same thing GG. It makes for good ideas for the rest of us but I'm sure the OP's assignment was completed a long time ago. Does anyone but be get slightly annoyed when the membership is asked for help and the original poster never says another word?  Just seems rude to me.


----------



## Addie (Apr 21, 2013)

Dawgluver said:


> Sounds great! IMHO, saying you don't like Mexican food is like saying you don't like American food. There is such huge variety.


 
So true Dawg. Most of the Mexican dishes that are eaten in this country have been modified to the Americal palate. So now it has become Amer/Mex food. The closest you are going to get to true Mexican food in this country is in the southwest. Texas, New Mexico, etc. The closest you are going to get to true Mexican dishes is located at the site below. He makes trips to Mexico all the time to get the true dishes of Mexico. 

Recipes from Chef Rick Bayless: Recipes - Rick Bayless | Frontera


----------



## Dawgluver (Apr 21, 2013)

Addie said:


> So true Dawg. Most of the Mexican dishes that are eaten in this country have been modified to the Americal palate. So now it has become Amer/Mex food. The closest you are going to get to true Mexican food in this country is in the southwest. Texas, New Mexico, etc. The closest you are going to get to true Mexican dishes is located at the site below. He makes trips to Mexico all the time to get the true dishes of Mexico.
> 
> Recipes from Chef Rick Bayless: Recipes - Rick Bayless | Frontera



Indeed, Addie!  Rick "gets it".  Thanks for the link!


----------



## jharris (Apr 22, 2013)

Addie said:
			
		

> So true Dawg. Most of the Mexican dishes that are eaten in this country have been modified to the Americal palate. So now it has become Amer/Mex food. The closest you are going to get to true Mexican food in this country is in the southwest. Texas, New Mexico,



You're so right Addie.

Texas gives us TexMex. I once ordered chicken enchiladas in El Paso and the enchilada sauce was canned condensed tomato soup. Another time I ordered a pizza with green chile on it and got green peppers.

The food here in New Mexico is uniquely New Mexican, a combination of Native American and Mexican food.

I've always been amazed at the scarceness of authentic Mexican food in neighboring states although that is improving with the influx of Mexican migrants.


----------



## Chief Longwind Of The North (Apr 22, 2013)

The small Mom & Pop Mexican places in San Diego used to be incredible.  But they slowly got squeezed out by the Mexican Restaurant chains, where the food was definitely Americanized.  It made me sad to go there to visit, and not be able to find an honest-to-goodness shredded beef taco, or carne asada burrito.  I used to love the Mexican food in that town, with the fresh tortillas, softened in hot oil, and the wonderfully authentic flavors.  Now, I find that with the never ending growth of the town, it hasn't gotten better.  For me, the town has lost much of its charm.

Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North


----------



## GotGarlic (Apr 22, 2013)

I think you have to know where to go. I've had great, authentic Mexican food from a taco truck in a parking lot in Chico, CA, and a restaurant in Auberry, CA, where I had chile verde for the first time. There's a wonderful restaurant here owned by two Bolivian sisters. Their beef tamales taste just like the ones I made from Rick Bayless' book. Now I want some lol


----------



## pacanis (Apr 22, 2013)

GotGarlic said:


> Has anyone noticed that this thread was started in February and the OP has never posted again?


 
They probably got hold of some bad Mexican food


----------



## Kayelle (Apr 22, 2013)

Nearly all of the restaurants in this town are authentic Mexican and all are family operated without one being a chain. If you want authentic Mexican food this is the place, with lengua taco's and burrito's being the norm. People have always come from all over the area to eat Mexican food in our little town of Santa Paula!


----------



## GotGarlic (Apr 22, 2013)

pacanis said:


> They probably got hold of some bad Mexican food


----------



## CharlieD (Apr 22, 2013)

The first time I went a Mexican restaurant, some 20 years ago, soon after I came to US, made me sick, I was in bed for 3 days. I still do not like Mexican food, though I do make it and do eat it.


----------



## fairygirl69 (Apr 24, 2013)

CharlieD said:


> The first time I went a Mexican restaurant, some 20 years ago, soon after I came to US, made me sick, I was in bed for 3 days. I still do not like Mexican food, though I do make it and do eat it.



Sounds like my daddy.  He's allergic to garlic and so is afraid of Mexican food.  We never had it in our house growing up which is probably why I love it so much.  

What is it that makes you sick?  Can you make a substitution or leave the offending ingredient out entirely?  I do this all of the time for my hubby who has a tender tummy.


----------



## CharlieD (Apr 24, 2013)

I am not allergic to anything, Thank G-d; I just do not like it. I do not like beans, I do not like coriander. I just do not like it. I make it because my wife grew up with it and she likes it. And so when i make it, I just eat it, but I'd for buckwheat kasha versus refried beans on any given day. As my father says even pigs do not eat beans. Interesting if it is true or not?


----------



## chopper (Apr 24, 2013)

GotGarlic said:


> Has anyone noticed that this thread was started in February and the OP has never posted again?



Too funny.  And so many people here have posted such good advice.  Oh well, it happens sometimes.  I am sure there are others who have learned from the thread.  I made tamales once with a friend.  They were really good, but a lot of work.  Now Hubby brings tamales home that he buys from "The Tamales Lady" who travels around downtown Colorado Springs selling her tamales.  He has bought these from her for many years.    I just make the sides to go with them, and we are all set.


----------



## fairygirl69 (Apr 24, 2013)

chopper said:


> Too funny.  And so many people here have posted such good advice.  Oh well, it happens sometimes.  I am sure there are others who have learned from the thread.  I made tamales once with a friend.  They were really good, but a lot of work.  Now Hubby brings tamales home that he buys from "The Tamales Lady" who travels around downtown Colorado Springs selling her tamales.  He has bought these from her for many years.    I just make the sides to go with them, and we are all set.



I made tamales for the first time this year and I was so very proud.  It took three days doing it by myself but it was worth it


----------



## PrincessFiona60 (Apr 24, 2013)

I only did it by myself once...since then I've always made sure I had help.  One of my aides and I do them up every December.  40 pounds of pork, 20 pounds of chicken.  Takes us two days and we split the batches in half.  Love Tamales!


----------



## chopper (Apr 25, 2013)

fairygirl69 said:


> I made tamales for the first time this year and I was so very proud.  It took three days doing it by myself but it was worth it



Much more fun with friends!  I highly recommend it!


----------

