Right now I'm on a Tex-Mex cooking kick. I have a copy of Daniel Hoyer's book Culinary Mexico; Authentic Recipes and Traditions (Gibbs Smith, 2005). When I first read through this book, for a review I wrote on Suite101, I was a bit mystified regarding some of the ingredients used. I did a search on chile peppers, and found a link to the Mex Grocer website.
I decided I wanted to try some of the recipes in the Culinary Mexico cookbook, so I placed an order with Mex Grocer.
Here's what I ordered:
Achiote paste - when using achiote seeds in recipes, many of them have you soak the seeds in vinegar or water, then grinding the softened seeds into a paste. I want to see if the achiote paste is as good as the from scratch method.
Achiote seeds - I've actually used achiote seeds in the past. Used for flavoring and coloring in many recipes. In case I don't like the pre-made achiote paste, I decided to also order some achiote seeds so I can make my own paste. I've also heated achiote seeds in a bit of vegetable oil to make a smokey, brick red cooking oil. The seeds are strained out and discarded, leaving a wonderful flavored oil which can then be used to stir fry meats and vegetables.
Hominy - corn kernels that have the outer hull removed. Not something I want to try making myself, as the kernels have to be soaked in either lime-water (calcium hydroxide) or lye-water (sodium hydroxide). I have 2 cans on order. I saw Guy Fieri, on Diners Drive-in and Dives, reviewing a restaurant featuring pozole. Pozole is a type of Mexican soup, which contains pork meat, chiles, onion, garlic, lots of spices and hominy AKA pozole.
Green chili sauce - I might try making my own sometime, but since I'm testing so many other Mexican recipes, I thought I'd buy a can of pre-made sauce.
Tomato/chicken bouillon - seems like an interesting ingredient. I might use it when making pozole.
Piloncillo - small, hard blocks of palm sugar. AKA panela or panocha. Used to flavor hot chocolate, coffee and desserts. Like a smokey version of brown sugar. The blocks must either be grated, or dissolved in water before using.
Dulce de leche - caramel sauce. You could make your own caramel sauce from evaporated milk, but I wanted to try the pre-made variety first. No reason to buy this other than it looks delicious. Just give me a spoon, and a bit of vanilla ice cream, and I'll be good to go!
100% pure Mexican vanilla extract - I use a ton of vanilla while baking.
Mexican sweet chocolate - 6 tablets. I'll use this to make mole sauce, if I'm brave enough to attempt that recipe. Or I can mix it with a bit of the piloncillo and milk to make Mexican hot chocolate. I also might try making champurrado sometime. Champurrado is Mexican hot chocolate thickened with masa and flavored with piloncillo and anise seeds.
Peppers in adobo sauce - for mole and lots of other recipes.
Queso cotija - described as either a bit like Parmesan cheese or feta cheese. A hard cheese, which is very salty and made from cow's milk.
Creamed corn - I want to make Mexican cornbread, you know, that creamy variety that gets baked in a pan, unlike firmer corn muffins. I could buy creamed corn at the grocery store, but I'm trying to use mostly authentic Mexican ingredients while on my Mexican cuisine binge.
Can of whole tomatillos - they look a bit like miniature, green tomatoes. I used to grow tomatillos in my garden, but I haven't had a garden in a couple of years. Not sure what I'll use them for, maybe a green chile sauce, or as part of a tamale stuffing. Hmmm, didn't I buy green chili sauce so I didn't have to make my own - whatever!
Wood spatula - like I need another kitchen utensil. This looks like a small paddle, pretty cool looking. I'm a sucker for interesting looking kitchen gear.
Molinillo - hollow wooden stirrer. For making authentic Mexican hot chocolate. Sort of like a whisk, used to make hot chocolate frothy. You place the molinillo at the bottom of the container that is being used to make the hot chocolate, then you rotate the molinillo between the palms of your hands until the hot chocolate turns frothy/foamy.
Chili - I've ordered both ground California molido chili and whole, dried chile negro. Lots of recipes, including mole and pozole, call for chile.
Tortilla press - cast iron press for making homemade tortillas.
Tortilla warmer - yes, one of those cheesy looking tortilla holders you get in restaurants anytime you order fajitas. But if I'm going to go to the trouble of making tortillas from scratch, I might as well get a warmer.
Tamale Lover's Kit - I freaking love tamales. If I'm going to be testing authentic Mexican recipes, then HELL yes, I'm going whole hog and learning how to make my own tamales. I also saw a Diner's Drive-ins and Dives episode where the featured diner made their own tamales. Not as complicated as I thought, time consuming yes, but not difficult. The tamale kit contains: corn husks, masa mix, tamale masa spreader and a 12 quart aluminum tamale steamer. BRING IT!
Molcajete y Tejolote
I didn't buy a molcajete y tejolote - a traditional Mexican mortar and pestle. I have TONS of mortar and pestle sets, another hobby/passion of mine. A couple of years ago I purchased a large Thai granite mortar/pestle set, which is very similar to the Mexican variety. The Thai version is polished rather smooth on the inside, compared to the rougher surface of the molcajete. Used to grind chile peppers, herbs, spices and to make salsas and guacamole.
That's a molacajete y tejolote which is pictured on the cover of the Culinary Mexico cookbook, which is shown at the beginning of this blog post.
Comal
Comal are cast iron skillets, either round or oblong in shape, which are used to cook tortilla. My order was already getting pretty large, I thought the shipping charges on a cast iron skillet would be a bit high, so I didn't order a comal. I can use a large frying pan to make my tortilla, but I know I'm going to want to purchase a comal someday. Comal's can also go right in the oven since they are cast iron. If you've ever ordered fajitas, you've probably seem a comal, that hot, heavy, sizzling pan that is brought straight to your table.
What is your favorite Mexican/Latin American cooking utensil, ingredient or recipe? I'd love to hear about it.
Take care,
Lynn Smythe AKA the Cuisine Diva
