You can't spell Mole without...

And that's how it goes sometimes.  You make a plan, and you think you've got it all under control.  You've already gone to get your ingredients first thing in the morning and you're about to tackle the big one.  That ambitious project.  

But something isn't right.  You start down the path and something doesn't feel bang on.  You didn't have your daily cup of coffee. You're wearing mismatched socks.  The ghost of Rick Bayless is trying to pull a fast one on you.  And before long, your Easy Slow Cooker Mole is making you think about hanging up your tortilla press for good.  So make the jump and check out the post-mortem.  

Pollo Pulquero is a dish best served in the dark

Look at those beans!  They're sitting there because Pollo Pulquero is ugliest tasty dish you've ever seen.  Rick doesn't even put a picture of it in the book!  It's sort of symptomatic of being cooked in a slow cooker for six hours, so what can you do.

The prep on this one is silly easy.  You put things in a slow cooker, and then you come back.  So I'll be economical with my words.  Write a to do list, get some groceries and make the jump.

Summer Champurrado

The short story is that it's Mexican hot chocolate.  The long story is that it's much more than that.  One of the defining characteristics of champurrado that I've heard is that you should be able to stand a churro up in it.  Let's see you do that with hot chocolate made above the Mason-Dixon line. Not happening.

This recipe came out of my Better Homes and Gardens Ultimate Mexican recipe guide, and if I wasn't so lazy, I probably would've made the churro recipe too. There will always be another Friday.  Turn on the kettle, and make the jump!
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Pickled Chicken Comes Full Circle

800 million years ago when we started this blog, we posted about cajeta and the dessert we made with it.  As a footnote we mentioned that we made "Pickled Chicken" with little more than a blurry photo.  Now that the blog has fallen into a routine of witty comments and slightly better photography, it's time to revisit that dish.

It still lives on page 204 in Fiesta at Ricks, and that page is amazingly still attached to the rest of the book.  I also banged out some roasted tomato salsa, home made black turtle beans, and fresh corn tortillas.  Attach the drool guard to your keyboard and make the jump!

Mexican Submarines: hecho en Canadá

Apparently Mexican submarine sandwiches are called 'Tortas'.  I'm not sure this would be considered traditional fare, as the 'submarine' is an American invention of a largely Italian influence, so I gather.  I guess that begs the question of what you consider Mexican cuisine to be: traditional Mexican faire, or a Mexican take on someone else's dish.  In this case, it's a Canadian's take on an American's take, on the Mexican take on an Italian-American sandwich, made in Canada.  Do the math on that.

Let's have a look at Rick Bayless' Crusty Black Bean and Chorizo Subs after the jump!

A positive spinach on soft tacos

Friday night Mexican made a triumphant return to its roots as this week's dish was done with ingredients that we had on hand and all in about 45 minutes.  Single-handedly!


So here is Spinach Tacos with Caramelized Onion, Fresh Cheese and Red Chile from Mexican Everyday along with Smokey-chipotle salsa with pan-roasted tomatillos.  This dish doesn't look like much at all, but it is super tasty.  Promise.  Let's get down to business.

Yucatecan salad gone awry

It's been pretty steamy in Toronto recently so we went with a cold dinner this week.  Back to Fiesta at Rick's for Yucatecan Shredded Steak Salad with Habanero and Cilantro (p. 139) along with guacamole and roasted tomatillo salsa.  But we're starting with dessert, Caramelized Mango Tart with Mexican Chocolate and Pepitas.  Mad props to Mark, one of my oldest and dearest friends, and his wife Niveen for bringing not only a fine French wine, but legitimately bringing it from France.