Hot Tomale!

Archive for the ‘mexican cooking’ Category

Cooking Mexican food is one of those things – you either love it or you haven’t tried it. There are so many reasons why cooking this popular cuisine is such a good, healthy choice. No, you do not have to be from Mexico to appreciate this delectable cuisine. In fact, this is a cuisine that has been gaining immensely in popularity over the past decade. And what isn’t to love?

When choosing the best in ingredients and preparation techniques, you are supporting a healthier lifestyle for yourself and your family. The foods are superbly colored to offer a taste of color to your eyes, the combined smells of onions, peppers, and fresh fruit tantalize your nostrils, and of course, the taste is unique and exquisite offering a complete meal for all of your senses.

When it comes to cooking Mexican food, you will find that there are many popular techniques. No single technique or recipe is right, but there is guaranteed to be a right one for you. With so many choices and options available, you will get the best for your time and money when you know what it is you want.

When it comes to feasting in a home environment nothing beats a good, old fashioned home-cooked meal. Whatever type of cuisine is most popular in your home, you will find that it is essential that you serve the best ingredients and that you insure your family will not turn a finicky nose up at the meal you provide. Thankfully, there are answers that work for more and more families. Take authentic Mexican dishes for instance. These are meals that will please even the most finicky of eaters whether 2-years old or 99-years old.

Finding the best meals for your family means you care. Even if you are a professional who has little time for slaving over a hot stove, you will find that there are authentic Mexican dishes that are fast and easy to make. The benefits are well worth the time put forth, and your family will appreciate the effort. Sitting down as a family and appreciating a meal is no longer a fantasy only experienced by those moms and dads on television!

Where can you get those recipes for the authentic Mexican dishes?

The Chicago Midway Airport is located 10 miles from downtown Chicago next to suburbs of Burbank and Clearing. The airport serves over 17 million passengers a year and is popular for the many attractions it houses. Known as the state’s number two airport, not only does it cater to the transportation needs of numerous travelers but also provides a pleasurable experience with all the landmark destinations in the vicinity. The wait for flights is never a dull experience at Chicago Midway airport due to all these attractions and facilities available.

The airport opened in 1927 with a single runaway and was originally known as Chicago Air Park and later as Chicago Municipal Airport. Its current name was a result of the airport’s affiliation with the World War II. A decision was made unanimously to name it the Chicago Midway Airport to commemorate the famous Battle of Midway. At present it stands as the 2nd largest passenger airport in Chicago housing three concourses.

When it comes time to prepare a favorite meal or snack, having the right tools for the job is a must. Mexican cookware is a wonderful opportunity to utilize the best tools in the industry available at a price that will not break the pocketbook. Hearty and durable, these versatile kitchen tools make it easier and healthier to prepare the meals you and your family need to enhance the family life starting from a young age.

Mexican cookware is great for any type of cuisine, but admittedly, making the best in native Mexico cuisine is going to be even better with this type of tool. Appreciating what is being afforded you and yours will mean that you get more for your money and time. Regardless of your need, you will find there is something here for everyone.

What kind of Mexican cookware will you find on the market today?

Mexican Tortilla Press – The nifty tools are perfect for those adventurous chefs or cooks that want to make their very own tortillas. These are going to make homemade tortillas a breeze to make. With no rolling involved, anyone will find these make tortilla making super easy. Usually constructed of cast iron, the tortilla press offers a versatile and durable piece of Mexican cookware that will be in your family for generations.

Desiring to take pleasure in the sun, feeling the wind on your face? Looking for a breathing space to relax at the same absorbing the sights and sounds and ocean adventures? Welcome aboard Thomas Cook Cruises or Cruise Thomson.

For the newcomer, cruises are pleasure trip aboard luxurious cruise ships. Life on board is very much what you want it to be. There is total quiet and peace, cool and the relaxation you always wanted to do. But cruises have also nightlife and entertainment. Here you relax in paradox. It is having the best of both worlds.

Dining at Thomas Cook Cruises is as special as their services. You can have a choice of fine dining, dining al fresco and ala carte. You have the options. As you can also have your choice of cuisine. From Mexican buffet to Italian pizza, it is yours for the asking. Although the right scope of dining options differ from ship to ship.

While in the British Cruise market, Cruise Thomson occupies a distinctive place. Since its inception in the 1990s as a budget cruise operator, Thomson has gradually evolved into more conventional in the cruise industry. It has progressed to improving its ships, amenities and facilities and diversified by widening its itineraries.

Most do not know the important role New Mexico has played in culinary history. Researchers and archeologists agree that New Mexico was one of the earliest settlements of the Mongolians and Tibetans when they came over the Bering strait to settle the Americas. The area has attracted visitors from before recorded history, who in turn created the pure, often spicy flavors known in New Mexico’s foods.

Primarily chiles are both king and queen. Chiles themselves have been more developed in New Mexico than anywhereespecially since World War II, when Dr. Jim Nakiyami, a Professor at New Mexico State University gave his leadership to developing many, many new varieties of chiles.

And, most do not know that the first American wines were made in New Mexico. The priests, Jesuits and Monks brought the first cuttings of grapes here in the 1620′s from Spain, thus predating the California wine industry by 140 years.

Poker is cooking. While it is certainly a lot sexier to compare poker and coitus, such a comparison leads to an ungainly conclusion – do you really want to think of 10 un-showered old guys sitting in a smoky room and sex at the same time? Cooking is the better metaphor.• First of all, poker is a game of patience just like cooking. Even for the most aggressive of players, most of your time at the poker table is spent folding your cards and waiting. Likewise, most of your time spent cooking is time spent waiting for the right opportunity to fuss with your ingredients more.• Once the time is right, a lot of things happen all at once. In poker, you’ll fold five hands in a row then pick up pocket tens. Immediately, you have to factor in your table position, how many players are already involved in the pot, who those players are, how many poker chips you have and THEN you have to figure out how to bet. Same thing goes for cooking: you wait and wait for your skillet to heat up then you have to add two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, three minced garlic cloves, pinch of salt, a teaspoon of cumin, a little chili powder, a bay leaf, then sear the chicken but flip it before it burns, then add the white wine then simmer, cover… and wait for another twenty minutes.• A card room or a casino works a lot like a restaurant. First thing that you do is walk up to the person at the counter and put your name on a list to sit down. Then you go wait at the bar for them to call you.• Finally your name is called and someone in a suit leads you to a chair at a table. Once you sit down, someone even brings you chips just like at a Mexican restaurant.• The dealer is your server. If you cook at home, everyone usually serves themselves, but once you enter the friendly confines of a restaurant the server is there to speed your meal along and take care of any special requests you might have. The dealer will take care of your table in much the same way. The dealer also expects to be tipped.• While you can make most any dish in most any place provided you have the ingredients, cooking tends to be very different in different parts of the world. From the beans and rice of Costa Rica to the high priced gourmet of LA to the fried everything of Great Britain, food changes from place to place. So too does poker: go to Costa Rica and expect to get involved in slow Limit Hold’em and Stud, go to LA and you’ll be involved in high stakes action-packed No Limit Hold’em and go to Great Britain and get ready to play Pot Limit Omaha.• Whether you play in a home game or go to out to eat, it’s always nice to do it on a neatly set table.• Great chefs and poker masters come in all shapes and sizes – from the Mario Batali/Doyle Brunson type to the Gus Hansen/Bobby Flay type. Body type is no pre-requisite for either activity.• Movies about both tend to be awful. If you are looking for a truly awful poker movie, and there are so many to choose from, check out “All-in” with Michael “Mr. Blonde” Madsen. For a recent wretched cooking movie rent “Spanglish” with Adam Sandler. On the other hand, for a good poker flick check out the seminal “Rounders” with Matt Damon and Edward Norton. And for fine food cinema you can’t go wrong with Stanley Tucci’s all-time great “Big Night”.• At the heart of all cooking there is a simple equation – change in temperature + food = cooking. Every last bit of food you ever eat has been through some derivation of this equation. At the heart of all poker there is an equally simple equation – cards + bet = pot and every cent you win or lose in poker has been done under this equation’s umbrella. Any beginner can pick up a get a seat at a table and win a pot just like any ten year old can make scrambled eggs.• Of course, to master either takes a lifetime.

Written by Nick Taylor our expert of the day.

The news has had alot to show about the demonstations regarding those who have crossed the border of the USA illegally. Now I am not a proponet of letting everyone in. Our nation simply cannot take all the worlds masses. I know many nations would not want to come here anyway. For the most part, however, the news has shown people gathering with placards and signs on this issue.
Many of those were Mexicans. I grew up with Mexicans, Indians, Spainards, and cowboys. I could point to many types of people in all groups. Some good, some bad. The mexicans, however, were usually in gangs in my home town. That is the young people had gangs. I’m sure the adults would of wanted no gangs. Being a white, we had our own gangs. We did alot of things that were not good. I’m not proud of those days.
The thing that stands out are some of the people. For this article I will speak of the mexicans I knew. The first time I knew what green stuff was, which looked like a gravy, I was asked “you want some of this over your huevos”? “Yea, sure”, I replied, not knowing what it was. One bite later and I was in a greenish-yellowish nightmare of hot. Even today, I remember Mama Martinez’s green chile that was put over my eggs. It was her son I ran around with. His name was Martin.
Then there is the time Ernie Montoya and his group were visited by myself and friend Martin Martinez. There was a stack of beer cans in the corner. These guys and gals had been partying for some time. It was daylight, on a school morning and we passed by their place on to school. After we entered, Martin left to do something, and that left me alone on the couch. Pretty soon Ernie came up and sat alongside. He had a beer can in one hand and a switch blade in the other. After a thump from plopping down hard, Ernie opened the blade and put it up against my throat. “what ya goin to do whitey”..smiled Ernie with a beer breath. I looked at him and said “nothing, nothing at all”. Ernie burst out laughing and slapped me on the back.
I left this neck of the woods and moved to a city some hundred miles away. Over the next course of ten to fifteen years I was a Chef and manager in many restaurants. I came to know many illegals. In those days, they were the only help I could find. No one else wanted to work. I came to know them as hard working men and women. Most could not speak english very well. So I had to learn spanish. It was a broken work I had to speak this language. But overall I could communicate what I needed done. I never knew any of them to steal or drink on the job. Maybe I was just lucky. Those Mexicans I knew and worked with became a fabric with me.
I fondly remember the recipes I learned. Working with many mexican women, I would watch how they re-fry the pinto beans with bacon grease. As well, I would smell the pot of rice that just came out of the oven with spanish rice in it. From green chile to red chile and enchiladas and more, I tasted and cooked my way with many a mexican. When they first passed the law that required the mexicans to have cards, it hurt. We could not find anyone to help.
This puts me in a fond memory of one day on Interstate 80. I was Sous Chef at a very large Truck Stop. We did tremendous business. On staff were many mexicans, cooks, janitors, bussers, dishwashers, and the like. I was pouring out a large vat of prepped sauces when the word got around the Immigration people were pulling up. Those words are like a bomb going off. Before I knew it I was virtually alone in that huge kitchen. The enforcers came in. They looked at me in that large kitchen and took a look around the place. After a shrug of the shoulders they headed out back to see if they could catch up with all the mexicans that left in hurry. Out back was a large desert full of cactus and prarrie dogs. Miles and miles of it. After a number of hours my help returned. They hadn’t caught them afterall. I was glad, too much work all by myself. If they had been caught, I usually would see them back on the job within two weeks. I don’t know how they did it, but they always seemed to find a way back.
To this day I still have mexican friends who worked with me. They greet me whenever we see each other. Usually shopping. We all have grown older and the kids are raised now, but we are all legal. They smile and tell me how things are going as the realization that they now are legal americans. These whom I have met and worked with are genuine friends. I take it to heart when I think of them. I also have had mexican gangs who were evil and beat me up. But in this life there is bitter and the sweet. I have had the “sweetness” of friendship from across the border.
I relate all this to say, there has to be a solution to all this. I know we cannot take everyone in. It is also a reality that there are bad people who want to hurt us here. They don’t care who we are mexican or white, yellow or pale. They want to kill us simply because we are a free country and we are americans. I have laughed heartily with many of my Mexican compadres and worked along side them. It with much gratitude to the Good Lord that I knew them. Too bad we have to have bad apples, hatred, and strife along the way..
I hope this helps you today to appreciate a friend, no matter where they are from…

Written by Dana Smith our expert of the day.

Almost everyone loves Mexican food regardless of where they are from. Here is a Mexican recipe for grilled chicken that you can create in your own kitchen. This recipe is very easy to make and you can be sure that your friends and family will enjoy it.

Mexican Grilled Chicken with Tomato Avocado Salsa

Ingredients to serve 4 people:

4 boneless chicken breasts (leave the skin on)

2 large tomatoes

1 small red onion

1 peeled avocado

2 jalapeno peppers or 3 to 6 fresh serrano chili peppers (the more the spicier; start with 3)

3 cloves garlic, unpeeled

2 tbsp orange juice

1 tbsp lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Olive oil for basting the chicken breasts

Cut the tomatoes and red onion into thick slices.

Cut the peppers in half and discard the seeds.

Put the garlic cloves and the tomato, onion, and pepper slices on the grill. Let these grill with the lid closed until the vegetables and peppers are charred and garlic skin comes off (about two minutes on each side).

Wilton was the founder and Armetale was a new metal developed by Wilton Brass Company in 1963. The name Armetale was coined to signify “art” and “metal”. The new material had the look of pewter and silver, and also met the food service requirements of US Food & Drug Administration.

The Wilton Company used the material to develop cook and serve ware that had more than just utilitarian significance. The products were designed to be suitable for use in different environments – traditional, country, classic, contemporary, eclectic, American colonial, etc.

For example the 1840 Tea Service is a replica of an American pewter coffee pot made in 1840. The pots feature a hexagonal spout and have curved handles with a decorative thumb rest. The set comes with matching creamer and sugar server, and is suitable for use in a traditional or country environment.

Another sample of the Wilton Armetale approach is exemplified by the African series. The products in these series included pitchers, trivets, bowls, casseroles, chip & dip servers, trays and wine bottle coasters with rim designs derived from tribal art displayed on canoes, houses, fabrics shields and other objects in the African countries of Chad, Kenya, Mali, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia.