Legumes have been cultivated throughout the world for thousands of years. There’s evidence that they were some of the first cultivated crops in human history. This makes them an essential part of the evolution of early civilizations. When hunter-gatherer groups started to develop agricultural systems they were able to establish into more stable communities that were the beginning of complex societies.

Peas were being cultivated in Thailand as early as 9750 BC. The use of lentils has been traced back as far as 6750 BC in parts of the Middle East. Lentils, chickpeas and fava beans have been found in 4000 year-old Egyptian tombs.

In the Americas, early civilizations cultivated the Phaseolus vulgaris, or common bean, as early as 7000 BC. This variety includes pinto, black, kidney, lima and haricot beans among many others. Its adaptability helped it to become one of the staple crops in the continent.

Beans are great for many reasons. They come in hundreds of shapes sizes and colors. They’re versatile and amazingly convenient because they can be dried up and stored for years. Their health benefits are many. They’re low in fat, contain no cholesterol and are high in folate, potassium, iron and magnesium. They also contain beneficial fats and soluble and insoluble fiber. Also, being a good source of protein, they’re a great substitute for meat.

In Mexico, beans might be the second most important crop right after maize. These two crops along with squashes, peppers, chia seeds, amaranth, wild greens, insects and some meat as fish, turkey, venison and other game, made a complete and nutritious diet that allowed pre-Columbian civilizations to thrive.

Because of their low cost, today beans are still an important part of the Mexican diet and an important source of protein for low income families that can’t afford to eat meat every day. Beans are associated in many parts of the world as food for the poor. Their consumption in developing countries is a lot higher than in developed ones.

However, the benefits of choosing beans over meat go beyond lower costs. They’re healthy. Producing them leaves a much smaller carbon footprint than producing red meats and, most importantly, they’re delicious and so versatile you can use them with almost any other food group.

One of the best known dishes out of Mexico is refried beans. In restaurants, street food stalls, and kitchens all over Mexico this is a staple food that is prepared almost every day. There are several ways to prepare them according to the region of the country. Here I want to share my own recipe that I’ve been making for a few years in my kitchen. It’s a delicious way to include beans in your diet.

Chorizo and Chipotle Refried Beans
Ingredients
4 cups cooked anasazi beans
2 dried smoked chipotle peppers (found in your local Mexican or Latin market)
1/2 lb Mexican chorizo
1/2 white onion, chopped
2 cloves
salt and pepper to taste
chicken broth as needed

Directions
1. Re-hydrate the chipotle peppers in about 1/4 cup of boiling water with the 2 cloves. Liquify them in a blender or food processor and set apart.
2. In a large cast-iron skillet fry the chorizo. Oil is not necessary because we’ll be using the fat from the chorizo.
3. Add the chopped onion and let it cook for about 3 minutes.
4. Add cooked beans, one cup at a time, and mash using a potato masher. Alternatively, you can use a blender or food processor to mush up the beans. For this you might need some chicken broth.
5. Add the liquified chipotle peppers and stir.
6. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Simmer for about 20 minutes stirring constantly.
Notes:
• You can replace the anasazi beans with canned pinto or black beans.
• If dried chipotles are not available you can replace them with canned chipotle in adobo peppers.
• These beans are perfect as a side dish They can also be served as appetizers and party snacks. Just serve a spoonful on tortilla chips and topped with some cheese.

For more wonderful bean recipes, please visit here!

¡Buen provecho!

Quesillo accompanies a special occasion, such as a holiday, graduation, baby announcement, grandmother visiting you from outside the country…you get the idea – big events. I recently ran my first (and possibly not my last) half marathon, which my parents and Mama attended as my personal cheer squad. My victory in finishing, regardless of my time, was the event I wanted to celebrate by making quesillo.

Mama was excited at this adventure, and I was a bit terrified. For all of the cooking that I do, the notes I take, the measuring I perform, my versions never come out the same. My sister swears that coffee tastes better when our mom has made it, I swear that my Dad’s arroz con pollo cannot be replicated, and we all agree that we can’t make anything as good as Mama. Even when she helps me measure, with her watchful gaze falling upon the pot and myself, it doesn’t come out the same. So when I told her that I was ready to start, you can imagine I was a bit nervous, but she settled my fears when she started telling me about the ingredients, the measurements, and the memories that she holds dearest, memories that came about over a slice of quesillo.

This was my first time making this creamy, fresh caramel drizzled desert, and I wanted to make it right, but my plans were foiled when I realized my blender was burned out. Mama, my mom, and I, three generations in the kitchen, started toying around with the idea of using my stand mixer, and toy we did. Although the original recipe calls for blending the eggs, my elders wanted to whip the whites separately to make the custard more airy. It was very airy, resembling foam more than custard, but it looked wonderful so we continued onward.

The most interesting and time sensitive step is making the caramel. With the bundt pan on a burner at medium heat, a cup of sugar and water were boiled into caramel goodness. The water evaporated, and a nice caramelo formed at the bottom of the pan. I then had to pick up the bundt pan and tilt it around in a circle so the caramel would coat the pan evenly (who are we kidding, Mama did this part). And it was incredible and dangerous looking, like covert cooking.

Let’s fast forward to the part where I had to turn it over. Mama and my parents had already started making their way back to New York, and I was waiting patiently for the quesillo to cool down enough to flip. When the moment came I was nervous—what if it cracked? What if it had dimples and lumps? What if it wasn’t cooked through? All of my horrors became a reality, yet I was still so happy and proud to see it. Of course it was a little sad. I wanted to make Mama proud, but the truth of the matter is that a dish doesn’t always come out the way you want it to. Sometimes you think you are making it better, but at the end of the day, tradition needs to be respected. At least, until you’ve mastered it.

My Quesillo

So I need to take another crack at making quesillo, and I have included a picture of Mama’s as a portrayal of what your quesillo should look like and a picture of the one I made, which was a good first try. I give you Mama’s traditional, tried, and true recipe. I will always think it tastes better when she makes it, but a girl can still try to be second (or third best after mom). Good luck and eat up!

!Buen provecho!

Mama's Quesillo

Quesillo

Custard
8 eggs
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1 cup of milk (skim works great)
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Caramel
1 cup of sugar
1/3 cup of water

Aluminum foil

Directions

1. Combine all of the ingredients for the custard in a blender. Blend on low speed until combined. Set aside.
2. Heat bundt pan on burner on medium heat. Add sugar and water and stir to dissolve.
3. Bring syrup to a boil. Simmer until syrup is caramel colored.
4. Remove from the burner immediately and roll caramel around the pan until evenly coated.
4. Spoon caramel on the center cone of the bundt pan to evenly coat. Allow caramel to cool 5 minutes.
5. Bring water to boil in a large pot (that the covered bundt pan will fit in).
6. Add custard to bundt pan. Dress the edges of the pan with aluminum foil and cover with bundt pan lid.
7. Place bundt in the pot of boiling water and cover with larger pots lid. Boil quesillo for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center come out clean.
8. Allow quesillo to rest for 1 hour before flipping. For best results, refrigerate for 3-4 hours.
9. Remove flan from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. Make sure quesillo touching the sides and inner cone of the bundt pan is loose and removed. Place a larger sized plate on top of quesillo and quickly (and carefully) flip over.
10. Slice and enjoy!

Last week, Lesley Tellez put together a trip to the ecological reserve of Xochimilco, in the area of Cuemanco, to meet some of the people who are trying to make a difference in the production of food in Mexico City. Aboard of a trajinera (boat) that had been beautifully decorated with a delicious salad made with local produce, chicharron, guacamole, and locally produced cheese, Ricardo Rodriguez, owner of De La Chinampa , explained to us what the project is all about:

“We’re trying to connect producers with consumers. What we do is bring the food from the soil to the table. Always making sure the small and local producers benefit from this trade and keeping in mind where the food comes from and its history. Our main goal is the ecological restoration of the zone through the commercialization of the local products.”

As mentioned in my previous post about Xochimilco, this area of the valley was the main food producer for the Aztec empire using the milpa, a system that consists of growing different crops in the same space at the same time. Very few producers in the Cuemanco chinampas still use this agricultural system. However, they still use the resources available to them in and around the canals for their production.

After an hour long ride on the boat, we landed on one of the chinampas where señor Nicolas, a local farmer, showed us how the process works.

Mud is scooped out from the bottom of the canals and laid down on the ground in a layer of about 4 inches to dry up. Then it is slashed in small cubes and seeds of a single crop are sowed manually in every single cube, known as almacingo. When the crops start to sprout, they are planted in the ground that has been fertilized with decaying vegetation and animal manure.  After the crops have been harvested, the ground will be readied again with fertilizer for a new layer of almancingo. Every new crop uses a new layer of mud.

This method is beneficial for the canals in several ways. Scooping mud from the bottom of the canal keeps them deep avoiding stagnation. The water used for the crops returns to the canal filtered by the chinampa itself. By using decaying vegetation and manure, farmers avoid the use of artificial fertilizers, and the soil is so rich that the crops grow rapidly. No more than 25 days pass to have a fully grown lettuce, avoiding the use of herbicides and pesticides.

“I don’t use any chemicals in my chinampa”, senor Nicolas tells us. “I’m an enemy of chemicals because I love my land.”

Senor Nicolas’s chinampa was beautiful in many ways. Not only it had rows of delicious and healthy looking greens, but it was also guarded by beautiful flowers, and a large green field surrounded a log cabin. We learned that it is possible to rent the chinampa as a camping ground or for events such as weddings.

It was hard to believe we were still inside Mexico City, the outer belt highway buzzing loudly with motorized vehicles just a couple of miles to the north. Xochimilco canals are truly a paradise in the middle of the chaotic city.

Ricardo explained to us that there are three Xochimilcos. The touristic Xochimilco that most people know of in the area of Nativitas, full of colorful boats filled with musicians, food vendors and tourists. The productive Xochimilco, in the area of San Gregorio, where people plant the flowers that fill the isles of most markets in Mexico City. Unfortunately, the production there has been industrialized and artificial fertilizers and pesticides are used. And lastly, the ecological reserve in the area of Cuemanco, where our tour took place. Because this is a federal ecological reserve, no chemicals are allowed in the chinampas.

This area has about 184 km of canals and 26,000 hectares of land available for agriculture. If only 5% of this land were restored for ecological agriculture, it could feed the city, roughly 25 million people, for 30 years.

The chinampas are in danger. They were created by humans, old civilizations that needed to feed their populations, and only humans can keep them alive. Ricardo explained to us that only by working the chimampas Xochimilco can be saved. If the chinampas are neglected, the mud that has been packed into them for cultivation for hundreds of years will erode into the canals, making then shallower and eventually drying them up. If that happens, the city would face an ecological disaster. A lot of the water for the city still comes from Xochimilco. The forests that feed from the canals would die, making the area a bowl of dirt (this has happened before in the city after the original lake where the city sat was drained) and killing one of the most important lungs of this city, which streets are filled with millions of CO2 producing machines.

On our way back, eating quesadillas that had been made by local Xochimilcas with local ingredients and seeing the sun set over the peaceful and beautiful canals, I realized there was hope for our city. With the hard work of people like Ricardo, señor Nicolas and the restaurateurs and families who are buying their products, our Xochimilco can be saved. I took the decision right there to support this cause, starting with consuming local food as much as possible.

De La Chinampa is also seeking donations to build a community center that would offer training on local agriculture, seeds for local farmers and help for women who are victims of violence in Xochimilo.  To support this initiative, please visit their Fondeadora page (Lesley says that it’s like Kickstarter in Mexico).

To see more pictures of this trip, please visit here.

¡Buen provecho!

There are a few different ways that arepas can be prepared. They can be boiled, baked or fried to a golden crisp. Being half Venezuelan, it is really hard to choose a favorite, but I must say that my go-to form is baked. Baking gives the arepa a crust that offers a nice crunch while still preserving the fluffy interior, and as a daily addition to a meal, or as a snack, it fits perfectly into my increasingly health conscious.

I don’t recall the first time that I had an arepa, but I can recount the first time I made arepas on my own. I was a first year at university, missing home. My friends and I were longing for the home cooked meals we realized we had taken for granted and, living in a city with endless grease-dripping, sleep-inducing, belly-splitting meals, we wanted to feast on something healthy. My mom had left a bag of P.A.N. corn meal on top of my microwave to inspire me to make some arepas, and inspire me she did.

This adventure began with me going up to the fourth floor kitchen in my dorm with some pans, a bag of P.A.N., a bowl, some eggs, cheese and other omelet fixins. After I set everything up, I called my mom, and step-by-step, she walked me through making my first arepas. My dough was a little too hard, my pan was a little too hot, and the oven temperature was a little too high, but I made them. After making perico, Venezuelan scrambled eggs with sautéed onions, tomatoes, and peppers, my arepas were ready to be served. I called up my then-boyfriend, Lee, and offered him an arepa tipo perico, an arepa overflowing with the scrambled eggs, and he ate to his heart’s content.

Seven years later, that boyfriend is a partner, and we happily live in a condo with our toy schnauzer puppy Napoleon, (yes, he does have the complex and no, his commands aren’t in French, they are in Spanish and Portuguese!). He still can’t say no to an arepa, especially one stuffed with pollo picante. They are irresistible, and a perfect recipe to share with the little ones as well. Arepas are kid-friendly in preparation and most definitely in consumption with extra cheese! For babies and toddlers give them the taste of the corazon, or heart, of the arepa, that is soft, fluffy, tasty and easy on a baby belly.

I now leave you with a recipe for baked arepas filled with spicy chicken, so you can forward the love, Venezuelan style. Remember Valentine’s Day is a special day, but so are all of the other days you spend with your loves so don’t forget to share an arepa, full of heart and spicy goodness, with your special someone.

¡Buen Provecho!

Arepa
Serves you and someone special.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups of P.A.N., pre-cooked white corn meal
2 cups of warm water
½ teaspoon of salt

For added flavor
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp black pepper
¼ cup shredded cheese of choice

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. In a bowl stir to combine water and salt.
2. Continue stirring and slowly add cornmeal and remaining flavor ingredients.
3. Continue stirring, then kneading, for about 3 minutes until dough is soft and smooth. Form into desired shapes with thickness no greater than ½ inch.
4. Place an arepa on a medium heat pan.
Do not crowd the arepas. Make them smaller to fit in your pan or have more than one pan on the stove for this step if making many arepas.
5. Flip when a slight golden crust as formed on the underside of arepa. Cook for an additional 3 minutes, until similar crust as formed on other side.
6. Transfer arepas to wire rack of oven and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
7. Tap arepas. If they sound hollow they are ready for consumption. Otherwise leave the arepas in the oven for an additional 5 minutes.
8. Remove arepas, slice in half like a pita and stuff with your favorite fillings, like pollo picante!

Buen provecho!

Pollo Picante (Spicy Chicken)
Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
1 green, red or yellow sweet pepper cut into strips
½ medium onion
1 TB garlic
1 tsp olive oil
½ – 1 ½ tsp of red pepper flakes
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp paprika
½ cup red wine
Salt to taste

Directions
1. Add olive oil to pan, between medium and medium high setting. Follow with garlic and onion. Cook until onion is translucent.
2. Add chicken breast. Add pepper strips and remaining spices to chicken. When the chicken has caramelized flip to remaining side.
3. Add half of the wine to the pan. When all of the liquid has evaporated add remaining wine, lower heat to the lowest setting and cover. Allow to cook for 5 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked.
4. Put chicken breast, vegetables and pan drippings in a bowl. Using two forks pull the breasts apart until they resemble large shreds.
5. Cup open warm arepas, stuff with pollo picante and serve.

Enjoy your arepas!

That might well depend on the part of the world you’re from. If you’re from the US, you might think of a hard folded corn shell filled with meat cooked with “taco seasoning”, lettuce, cheese, and sour cream. Even worse, you might associate the word with the chain restaurant Taco Bell.

But if you’re from Mexico, of Mexican descent or know something about Mexican food, you will associate the word taco with something completely different.

In Mexico, taco is more than a dish. Taco is a way to eat. Taco is even a verb in Mexican Spanish. “Taquear”, roughly translated as “to taco”, refers to the act of making or eating tacos either at home or out at a taqueria (taco restaurant). But, how exactly do you describe a taco, then?

To describe tacos, first we need to describe corn tortilla, a pre-Hispanic culinary engineering marvel. Tortilla is flat bread made with nixtamalized corn cooked over a griddle. Nixtamalization is a pre-Hispanic process that consists of boiling dry corn kernels with calcium hydroxide (slaked lime). After the corn has been cooked it rests overnight in the slaked lime water to be rinsed and ground the following day.

This process, which has been used in Mexico and Central America for around 3,500 years, adds an amazing flavor and aroma to the corn. But more importantly, it adds calcium to the tortillas, still one of the most important sources of this nutrient for many Mexicans, and improves the protein balance in the corn by washing away some nutritionally low quality zein protein.

Nixtamalized corn tortilla is the base for a real and delicious taco. Some tacos in Mexico aren’t made with corn tortillas, though. Another part of the taco, as important as the tortilla, is the filling. In Mexico tacos can have an infinite number of fillings. From the snack taco de sal (salt taco) eaten at the tortilleria (tortilla shop) to ease hunger before lunch time to tacos de guisado (stew tacos). A guisado can be any meat or vegetable cooked in some kind of sauce, some as intricate as moles.

In my research of tacos, which of course involves a lot of eating, in Mexico City I’ve come across so many different fillings that the list would be too long for this article. Some of my favorite ones are suadero (a cut very similar to brisket), chorizo (Mexican sausage), carnitas (pork marinated in beer and orange juice and deep fried in lard), barbacoa de borrego (mutton wrapped in maguey and banana leaves and cooked in earth pits) and the most chilango (a person or thing from Mexico City) of the all, tacos al pastor de trompo (pork marinated in spices and cooked in a spit that resembles a doner kabab).

Tortillas and fillings are very important for a good taco. However, according to my dad, who is a taco connoisseur, the part that makes a taco a success or a failure is the salsa. The best taquerias in Mexico know this and they pay special attention to the preparation of the salsas that will accompany the taco. Some are milder than others. Other salsas made with avocado are rich and creamy. Red salsas can be tomato or dried chile based. Green salsas can be tomatillo or fresh chile based. Pico de gallo is not uncommon. And some of the best salsas are prepared in molcajete (lava rock mortar and pestle).

Mexicans love complex flavors. This is especially true when it comes to tacos. Tacos combine the sweet flavor of the corn tortilla, the savory flavor of the filling (meat or vegetable) and the spicy flavor of the salsa.
However, some tacos explore this combination even deeper. For example, the meat used for tacos al pastor is prepared with different spices like cinnamon, dried chiles, raisins, anise seeds and annatto seeds. To add a final sweet touch the taco is topped with a pineapple slice.

Although not an essential part of a taco, other toppings such as nopales (cactus paddies), cebollitas (grilled onions), beans, potato, and others add flavor and complexity of the real Mexican taco.

Tacos in essence are very simple dishes. However, after learning more about them, by eating so many of them, of course, I’ve come to appreciate their complexity, variety and importance in the Mexican diet. I hope that with this article I was able to shed some light on this iconic Mexican dish and you too get to appreciate it better.
¡Buen provecho!

Some of the pictures were taken on the Eat Mexico Taco Tour

Prior to marriage, there was always a constant and steady flow of sentimental moments, tender embraces, romantic interludes, stolen glances and embarrassingly naive, yet genuine demonstrations of young, fresh love.

Then, a few years into our marriage, some unfamiliar and curiously inexplicable (well, at the time) mood infiltrated our home and our relationship.  Was it old age?  Possibly.  Was it kids?  Probably.  Were we sick of seeing each other’s faces?  Maybe.  Whatever it was, it negatively impacted our lives; a sentimental moment turned into a ‘practical’ debate about household to-dos and the tender embrace was now a painfully awkward clutch.

It dawned on my husband and I that a certain amount of ‘investment’ was required to sustain a healthy and happy relationship.  No longer could we continue to deplete our reservoir of young love.  It was time to take action and do something about the doldrums of a marriage we had created.

As part of my efforts to scale up the romantic gestures, I concentrated my efforts on the kitchen.  Once a week, I’d break out the fine china, dim the lights, spray on the perfume, tolerate the 5-inch heels and serve my man the biggest, juiciest, most succulent piece of filet mignon (or roast chicken, or t-bone or some other variation of animal protein) with a side of potatoes and maybe, just maybe, some non-starchy vegetable. What better way to demonstrate to my sweetheart the essence of everlasting love by offering him a home cooked meal fit for a macho, hunk of a man?

We would stuff ourselves to the point of no return – literally.  All the meat and potatoes we ate slowly digested in our stomachs, bloated us, and made us fall into a deep food-induced coma right on the couch.

Romantic, huh?

Approximately three years ago, my husband took a much needed physical exam.  The results of that exam still send shivers up our spines.  My husband’s health trajectory was something that of a train wreck.  Cholesterol?  Abnormally high.  Blood pressure?  Frightening.  Not only were my weekly romantic gestures aiding in the death of my husband, but they also were useless in spurring any new found passion and spark.

I love my husband, but I’ve discovered that I really love more than just the person he is; I am also passionate about his arteries.  Since the exam, I’ve made it my mission to showcase my love by making a couple of changes to my wining and dining menu (in addition to our everyday diet).  Without too much detail (we are still a work in progress), I’d say it has done wonders for our energy levels, our health and our relationship.  By serving meals like this robust, yet flavorful vegetarian enchilada, my husband and I feel less like sunbathing rhino and more like cheetahs on the Serengeti, at full speed (75 mph).

Make this version of the traditional Mexican enchilada for your loved one and I guarantee your partner (and his/her arteries) will love you for it.

Vegetarian Enchiladas

Ingredients:

1 cup of brown rice

1 zucchini, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 onion, diced

1 garlic, minced

½ cup of corn

1 cup of black beans and/or kidney beans

1 tablespoon of canola oil

1 teaspoon of cumin

½ teaspoon of chili pepper flakes

1 teaspoon of salt

½ teaspoon of pepper

10-12 small corn tortillas

Enchilada Sauce (you can buy, but I’d recommend making as some recipes, like this one, are quick/simple)

Cheese (optional – for the top)

Instructions:

In a large sauté pan, add the oil, cumin and chili pepper.  Fry for about 1-2 minutes on low heat or until the spices become fragrant.  Add the onions, carrot and garlic and cook until the onions become translucent.  Add the salt and pepper.  Then, add the zucchini, beans and corn and cook for 3-5 minutes.  Finally, add the rice and cook until all the ingredients are well combined.  Turn off the heat and set aside.

Warm the enchilada sauce and add about ½ – 1 cup (depending on how much the rice absorbs the sauce) to your rice mixture.  Coat the bottom of a baking dish (about 9×13) with some sauce.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Dip one corn tortilla into the warmed sauce and then scoop about 1/3 cup of the rice mixture into the tortilla.  Fold over three times to enclose the rice mixture and place into the baking dish, seam side down.  Do this to all of the corn tortillas.

Ladle over 2-3 cups of enchilada sauce and add cheese (optional).  Bakes for 15-20 minutes, or until the top of the enchiladas are lightly browned.  Remove from oven and let cool.  Enjoy!

The holidays are a time when we are thankful, we are giving, and, most noticeably, we are gluttonous. Not in a bad way, but in a, “I wore these jeans because they are the most stretchy” sort of way. That is why, for me, the most enjoyable way to celebrate during this time of year is to cook and eat the dishes that are so sinfully delicious. I have to take advantage of the holiday situation while it lasts. A traditional dish in Venezuela served during Christmas is Pan de Jamón, a sweet bread filled with Black Forest ham, raisins, and stuffed olives. It is a tangy, sweet, and salty roll that hits all the right notes.

The first time that I made Pan de Jamón, I was in a frenzy to find something new to make for my family’s big New Year’s party. I felt like I needed to start making the traditional recipes my parents grew up so that I could not only pass the recipes down to my own children one day, but also more importantly, so I could make them on my own during the “off-season.”

The traditional recipe is very involved; of course, it was in grams, and I felt like each measurement had to be exact. I followed mi abuelita’s instructions to the gram to ensure that mi Pan de Jamón would be as traditional as could be. Because of that painful attention to detail, my first attempt was delicious. However, I found that the amount of margarine used in the recipe was exorbitant and truly unnecessary. The end product didn’t have enough meat, the melted margarine overpowered the sweetness of the raisins, and the olives were few and far between. The great thing about working the recipe myself is that I could tinker with it and really pull out the flavor of all of the ingredients, adding some extra surprises to the mix.

Fast forward two years, Happy 2012! I made the Pan de Jamón once more. This time around, I did some research to see all of the different variations of this delicious stuffed bread. In my recipe, I added smoked bacon and capers, ditched more than half of the margarine, and increased the amount of raisins to round out the flavor. The result was a moist, flavorful explosion of sweet, savory, smoky, sinful goodness that was a little taste of Venezuela, and a new tradition that I started with my family, which I am now sharing with you.

¡Buen provecho!

Pan de Jamón

Ingredients
El Pan/The Bread
Two eggs
500 grams of all-purpose flour
2 TB yeast
4 TB sugar
1 tsp of salt
200 ml of warm milk
4 TB of melted butter

1. Add all of the dry ingredients together. Mix well to combine.
2. Add warm milk, lightly beaten eggs and the melted butter. Mix until all of the liquid is absorbed and the bread separates from the bowl.Tip: In a stand mixer, knead dough with hook on speed 2 until it separates from the bowl. About 2 minutes.
3. Knead the dough, adding flour as needed, until the bread becomes elastic. The bread will be sticky at first, just keep kneading adding a little bit of flour at a time.
Tip: In a stand mixer, knead dough on speed 1, sprinkling flour in the bowl until it appears smooth and elastic. Do not fret if very sticky, just continue adding flour.
4. Place the dough in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place the dough in a place that is warm with no drafts, such as an oven that is not in use, for about one hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
5. Sprinkle the board and the rolling pin with flour. Roll the dough in the form of a rectangle that is the same size as your cookie sheet.

Relleno/Filling
1 ½ pounds of ham
8 ounces (or more) of sliced smoked bacon
1 – 1 ½ boxes of raisins (personal, 1.5 oz snack size boxes)
½ – ¾ cup halved stuffed olives
¼ cup of capers

1. Ham first. Lay each slice down, with slices overlapping at the edges. Fill up to ½ inch from the edge of the bread.
2. Bacon next. Place slices of bacon on top of the ham, spaced 1 – 1½ inches apart. Again, make sure the slices go to the edges of the dough.
3. Sprinkle the raisins, olives, and capers evenly on the dough. This will ensure that your bread has the correct balance of sweet, salty, tangy and smoky.
4. Roll the bread, as if you were rolling a jellyroll. With yours hands or a brush, wet the edges of the bread to seal. Proceed to fold in the edges on either side of the bread to make a stuffed bread loaf, meaning you cannot see the filing or the spiral of the bread.
5. Place bread on lightly sprayed (only where you are placing the bread, horizontally) cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place with no drafts, perhaps the oven again, for another hour.
6. Remove plastic wrap from bread. Beat one egg and with a brush, or your hands, rub the egg mixture all over the outside of the bread until it is glistening with egg goodness.
7. With a fork, score the bread 1 inch apart, on all three sides. This will allow the steam for the filling to escape without damaging the shape of the bread.
8. Place bread in 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until golden.

Let the bread rest a few minutes.

Now slice, grab a glass of wine and enjoy! ¡Buen provecho!

Costa Rica

Sugar cereals in Costa Rica may have a different name, but look oh so familiar.

A spongy, vanilla cake drenched in a mix of evaporated milk, condensed milk, heavy cream and a splash (or more) of rum takes the term “triple threat” to a whole new level. Topped with homemade whipped cream and fresh fruit, this cake is something you can whip up, literally, for a get together or holiday that will leave the crowd asking for thirds.

Tres Leches, or three milk cake, is a very popular dessert in Latin America. Where this cake originated is a sticky subject. Since it is so delicious, and has been adapted to include classic flavorings from differing countries in South America, many people take pride in saying their country came up with it first. Though some may squabble about which version is most authentic, there is no argument when it comes to its importance at the table as a sweet indulgence to end any meal.

Although it is not known for being a traditional postre, or dessert, in Venezuela, I make it every year for the holidays. Why is that? Because it is ridiculously delicious, easy to make, and has rum. What more could you ask for?

So when I was in my teens my mom thought we should try making Tres Leches. By “we” she meant “me,” and since it was one of my favorite cakes I took the challenge. At that time, I only had a whisk for the job. Mami told me that the traditional way of making it made it taste better, so during those first few tries the cake took a bit more effort and time than it does now. Today, I can thank Tres Leches (and my mom) for giving me toned arms and a deep appreciation for electric mixers. As the years passed I catered the recipe to my family’s tastes, adding cinnamon, an extra splash or two of rum and a touch of almond extract for an added twist.

The beauty of this recipe is that you can’t go wrong. The steps are easy to follow, the ingredients, for the most part, are already part of your pantry’s arsenal and anything that is saturated with this much milky goodness always gets raves reviews. It is the perfect opportunity for you to take a recipe, add your own secret ingredient and make it your own. It is time to bring a new desert to the table this season, so take out your mixer, put on that apron and count your eggs to make this cake because sugar, milk never tasted so good.

Buen Provecho!

Torta Tres Leches

Cake
6 large eggs, separated
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract – secret ingredient

Milk Topping
1 14-ounce can evaporated milk
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup preferred rum (or more)

Whipped Topping
Remaining heavy cream (from 1 liter carton)
3 tablespoons of sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Add Ons
Fresh berries or assorted fruit.

Guide

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 9 by 13-inch pan and set aside.
Tip: An aluminum pan is easier. Grease the pan and add a few spoonfuls of flour. Lightly tap and shake the pan to lightly coat. Turn pan over sink and lightly tap to remove excess flour.

2. In a bowl, beat egg whites on low speed until soft peaks form. Slowly add sugar until stiff peaks form. Incorporate yolks into mixture, one at a time, until completely integrated.

3. Sift, or thoroughly mix, the flour and baking powder.

4. Add dry ingredients to the egg mixture, alternating with milk.

Tip: Do this step quickly to keep your cake batter fluffy and airy. Do not over mix.

5. Add vanilla and cinnamon. Stir batter once or twice to incorporate. Pour cake into prepared pan and bake until golden.
Tip: An aluminum pan will take 25- 35 minutes for the cake to be done. Add 10-15 minutes if baking in stoneware. Cake is cooked through when a toothpick is inserted into the center, removed, and remains dry.

6. In a bowl combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk, heavy cream and rum.
Tip: This step can be done in advance, while the cake is baking in the oven. It can also be chilled along with the cake overnight.

7. Remove cake from oven. With a fork, or skewer, poke holes into cake. Pour milk topping over cake while it is still warm from the oven.
Tip: This part is fun for the kids. You can’t have too many holes, just make sure the surface of the cake remains level.

8. Let cake sit and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.
Tip: Cooling should take a few hours, or can be left overnight in the fridge.

9. Combine the remaining heavy cream, vanilla and cinnamon in a bowl. Using a mixer, whip heavy cream until peaks form.
Tip: The peaks should hold their shape enough to use a pastry bag with assorted tips if desired. Do not over whip, or you will end up with sweet butter instead of sweet whipped cream.

10. Once the cake is completely chilled, top with homemade whipped cream and berries.

And finally, admire, eat and enjoy!

This dinner is the conclusion of the Christmas celebrations that start on December 16^th with the first posada. Posadas are processions that have been a tradition in Mexico for 400 years. Some researchers believe that the tradition may have been started by early friars who combined Spanish Catholicism with the December Aztec celebration of the birth of the god Huitzilopochtli.

Posadas are a reenactment of the struggle that Mary and Joseph went through to get lodgings when they arrived to Bethlehem, according to the Bible story. Typically, several families in a neighborhood will schedule a night for the Posada to be held at their home. At the end of every procession, people sing villacincos (Christmas carols). Children break open star-shaped piñatas to obtain candy and fruit hidden inside. In some occasion a party, complete with drinks and music, follows after the traditional posada.

Like in any other Mexican celebration, food plays a very important part in posadas and Christmas. At posadas the hosts usually serve ponche (a warm drink made with seasonal fruits and piloncillo. Other dishes can be atole or tamales. Even though posadas are planned gatherings that are part of the Christmas festivities, they can seem informal compared to la cena de Noche Buena.

Some classic dinners for this night are turkey, Norwegian cod, romeritos, baked ham and many others depending on the region of the country. One of my most delicious memories of this time of the year is Noche Buena salad. This sweet salad combines some of the produce that is easily found this time of the year in Mexico, including one of my favorites, jicama. There are several versions of this salad, but here’s a recipe for a simple one that will be a perfect and colorful addition to your Christmas dinner.

Noche Buena salad recipe

Ingredients:

3 large beet roots or 6 small ones, sliced
6 cups of water
¾ cups of sugar
1 large jicama, peeled and sliced
3 oranges, sliced
1 romaine lettuce, sliced
1 cup roasted peanuts

Preparation:

1. Boil beet roots and sugar in 6 cups of water. Let them cool down and save the water.
2. Serve cold with slices of jicama, orange, peanuts and lettuce.
3. Pour a couple of spoonfuls of the beet water over the salad, this is what gives it the special flavor.

Buen provecho and happy Holidays!