Just read all the entries in this thread back to May 1. EVERYTHING, plain or fancy, sounds wonderful & the photos are gorgeous, too.
Yesterday I was walking down the big road & found that some ladies had just opened a tiny eatery. It's right on the sidewalk, under the porch of an empty house. There were three main things to choose from & I went with the caldo de panzita (tripe soup). They put it in a real bowl, which I returned later. Boy, do I love this country!
The caldo de panzita looks a lot better than the menudo we get around here.
BTW, I have also seen "pancita" referring to a sheep's stomach stuffed with "no lo sé". Twice, in Mexico City, at different locations. I think it's a specialty of the state of Hidalgo. Maybe it was introduced to Mexico by Scottish miners.
While in Pátzcuaro yesterday, I did have a late breakfast/early lunch of a large bowl of birria de borrego. Very good, yet not approaching that panzita in sturdiness.
The jagis sounds interesting indeed! Would you have to order the whole thing, or it served in slices or what? All these things must be tried.
I think you made light somewhere of the obispo sausage-like item from the state of México. Guess what -- it's divine! There's a spicy and a plain version. My sister & I never could make up our minds which was better. The plain tastes like meatloaf if meatloaf tasted really, really, really good.
The fish sounds lovely, but I know what you mean about something nice somehow just not singing.
Annie, it was so yummy! I saw the ladies today & they urged me to come tomorrow for chiles rellenos. I love the way they're stuffed here, but I don't love the way they've developed a technique for them to retain about a quart of oil per chile. Maybe theirs will be different.
Kerouac, re: tripe soup for breakfast .......... menudo, a version of tripe soup, is a traditional Mexican remedy for hangovers. Apparently there's some truth in that, as the tripe & the calf's foot blast the system with B vitamins. No need to have a hangover, either, as it's the perfect breakfast, lunch, or supper if you feel a cold or flu coming on.
HW, yes, those are chick peas. The menudo has hominy instead.
DonC, I had polpetti, too. For the first time ever, I made them in the pressure cooker. That's another post, as I need to wax eloquent about the results.
I'd never thought of making meatballs in a pressure cooker. My recipe does them in a skillet, on top of the stove, but I find that to be to messy and requiring too much attention, so I bake them. Takes about 20 minutes in a 375º F oven. After baking, they are simmered in an open open of homemade tomato sauce. (I think I'll have some again for lunch.)
Yesterday, I took a walk towards a neighboring village. When I stopped at our friend, María's house to say hi, I learned that it was her birthday. Back home, I quickly went to work and made two Italian style sausage pizzas with sweet peppers and we drove back.
There, María and other amigas were making corundas (a regional variant on tamales, with a special shape) and preparing a pozole for later. All enjoyed the pizza, especially María, but we had to skip the pozole and corundas, for we were tired.
I have a few photos of the corundas in process before steaming.
Hojas de maíz para corundas
Masa para corundas
Ladies winding the leaves around the filling. (Corn dough and ranch cheese.)
Corundas ready for steaming.
I don't have any good pics of the pizza, but you have seen that many times before.
Now that is a visual and educational treat! I've eaten corundas, & knew they were steamed in green corn leaves, but never knew it was leaves from the stalk, not the shucks.
Do they form them into that Napoleon's hat shape before wrapping, or does that just naturally happen with the winding of the leaves?
Yesterday we went down the mountain from Pátzcuaro to meet friends at La Mesa de Blanca, one of our favorite restaurants.
We began our dinner with some appetizers, among which were the distinctive Chiles Capones: rehydrated dried chiles pasillas, filled with queso fresco, heated, and bathed in a salsa verde de tomatillos.
Sra. Cuevas had a delicate stomach, so she passed up the chiles capones, and had Uchepos con Crema y Queso instead. Uchepos are unfilled, sweet corn tamales, a Michoacán specialty.
There was also an order of Guacamole with Chicharrones, a very good rendition because it is made simply. The picture I took wasn't so great, so I offer an archive photo.
Sra. Cuevas continued with Trucha a la Plancha, a wise choice. It was accompanied by rice and Ensalada de Nopalitos.
Our friend, Ron, had the Mixiote de Cordero, savory lamb baked in a parchment bag. It's what i had on our previous visit.
Nancy had the colorful Trucha a la Macadamia, but I didn't get a photo. Macadamia nuts are grown locally.
Mark had Enchiladas con Cecina, the latter a thin crisp sheet of salted, sun dried beef.
Egbert and I both had the elemental, Conejo a las Brasa, rabbit grilled over the coals. It has an appealing primitive aroma and taste that I find very appealing.
Desserts were just o.k., but over all, the food was very good, and the service was first rate.
Some factoids inspired by DonC's last two posts: In the one about corundas, note the copper receptacle. It's a lovely example of a craft specific to that area of Michoacán. In Oaxaca, if you want to buy the chiles he shows in #5868 you have to ask for "pasilla Mexicana". Locally, pasillas are the dried, smoked chiles, I think from the chile de agua -- much hotter than the delicious but milder chile chilaca.
I admit, this is really lunch, not dinner. But here goes: in an effort to use up some of the prepared foods in the fridge, I made a large torta (poboy, hoagie, sub) from a hearth baked, sourdough telera roll. It held some improvised tapenade, a layer of thinly sliced Italian style salami, a layer of smoked provolone cheese, sliced tomatoes, fat free garlic cole slaw, a sprinkle of oregano, and that was it! (Maybe it needed roasted sweet red peppers).
It was accompanied by some vaguely Niçoise style potato salad an half a home cured, kosher style, half sour dill pickle. Plus a cerveza Victoria to wash it down.
Now for a well deserved nap. (Posted after the nap.)
EDIT: That was a very garlicky meal, what with the tapenade, the cole slaw and the dill pickle. Sometimes, things are best when done to excess.
Interesting combination, Rickita. I'd like to try that.
i found the recipe online... i'd send it to you but it is in german... but basically you just put a little bit of oil in a form, then add the sweet potato, zuchini and leek, all cut small, then pour a bit of vegetable broth over it, put some spices in (salt, pepper, turmeric), put the cheddar on top, and bake it for half an hour... wasn't the greatest dish i ever had, but was nice enough...
Yesterday: boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sauteed with a little onion, white wine and herbs; Basmati rice, which I scorched, through inattention; just cooked sugar snap peas.
I had really gone off panga ("shitfish"), but I made it palatable again tonight by putting a large frozen fillet in an oven dish with leftover mashed potatoes and curry sauce.
Tonight classic NOLA style BBQ shrimp which isn't what one would think of as BBQ. It's whole shrimp cooked on the stove in a heavy cast iron skillet in a oil/butter seasoned with tons of garlic,rosemary,bay,black pepper and lemon, a dash or two of worcestire sauce. Messy eating but delish. My husband strains the leftover oil/butter mixture and freezes it to later be used in roux for his seafood gumbo. Creole tomato salad with fresh basil. Baguette. Heaven.
I have no doubt that the bbq shrimp were sublime, although I have to admit that it's one traditional favorite I don't eat. Never could accept having to shell buttery shrimp. It's a wimpy element of my nature that I can't overcome.
Anyway, I KNOW what I had tonight was better than what anyone else had -- black beans with hierba de conejo. Gathered the herb myself, came home & prepared it (blenderized w/garlic, onion, toasted cayenne pepper, then reduced over high heat in lard) and stirred it into the simmering soupy black beans. One of my favorite foods in the entire world.
Leftover chicken breast and rice plus sugar snap peas; repurposed with a squizzle of mushroom-oyster sauce, from a bottle.
The chicken breast was a special at Costco in Morelia: three sealed packs of Bachoco brand skinless, boneless chicken breasts. I took advantage of the discount and bought two 3 packs. It's quite high quality, with little or no ice to plump up the weight and solid white chicken meat. The only drawback is that one pouch is about 450 grams, and thus is really too much for a little old couple.
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