A Mexico City Weekend Part 3

Nibbling La Condesa

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Parque México is the green heart of Colonia Condesa-Hipódromo. I confess; I don't know where one colonia ends and the other begins. But it's one of the mellowest areas in el D.F.

The Parque is defined by the course of the former horse racetrack. Avenida México takes an elliptical course within the outer ring of Avenida Amsterdam. Parque México is surrounded by every sort of café and restaurant imaginable, with the possible exception of Mexican restaurants, as Nick Gilman implies in his Good Food Mexico City blog.

A Mexico City Weekend Part 2

The Rosetta Enigma

Saturday, January 29, 2011

The pivotal dining focus of our weekend was the much lauded Rosetta, a northern Italian restaurant located a short walk from our hotel. We'd congratulated ourselves on being able to get a greatly coveted reservation for five (we were joined by our friends Luz Ma and Paco).


The building and its interior are beautiful, and the food is presented simply but attractively. However, our experience was marred by crowded seating and noise in the atrium dining room. The food was good, based on fresh, seasonal offerings, but often very simply and carefully prepared, and with high prices. It was an experience, but not one we'd be likely to repeat soon. The highlights of the meal were, in my opinion, the house baked breads and the coffee. What came between was often enigmatic. I'm not accustomed to paying high prices for such understated food and in such modest portions.

Details inside...

A Mexico City Weekend Part 1

Seven months had passed since we'd last visited Mexico City. While we enjoy the quiet and natural beauty of our home on the rancho, from time to time I need  the stimulation of the vibrant megalopolis of Mexico, D.F.

We especially enjoy the greater variety of restaurants available in the City. So, with our friend, Ron Granich, we planned an extended weekend for the end of January. We traveled the sensible and economical way, on the AutoVías buses, at 50% discounted senior fares, thanks to the generosity of the Mexican government's INAPAM program.

Asador La Hacienda Morelia

(This could have been titled, "Three Little Piggies".)

We recently went to Morelia to shop and dine, riding with our friend, Ron.
I'd read a review on MoreliaConnect by Wayne Brewster owner of the shop, Aquí y Allá, recommending a new restaurant, featuring both Lebanese and  Yucatecan specialities, as well as carnes a la parilla. (Grilled meats.)

Deconstructing Christmas Dinner

or, "What To Do With the Leftovers".

I haven't reported on our very enjoyable Christmas dinner of last week. To sum up briefly, our former neighbor, Larry hosted nine guests at the beautiful house he's presently watching for the absentee owners.

El Camino Real Tzurumutaro

El Camino Real in Februrary, 2004

(Note, please, that I was out and without my camera. So archive photos will have to do.)

Saturday we were in Pátzcuaro, and after much to-ing and fro-ing, decided to have comida at Restaurante El Camino Real. It's the locally famous restaurant, in business for about 40 years, next to the Pemex gas station at Tzurumutaro. It had been a long time since we’d eaten there, as on the previous two visits we felt that the quality had slipped. But on this visit, we are happy to report that it has regained its luster.

Return to Amazonia...

...with swords and no camera*.


Five years had passed since we'd last dined at Morelia's Amazonia, a Brazilian-styled restaurant, where, for a fixed price, you are brought sizzling cuts of meats on "swords", plus a nice variety of side dishes. We'd tried to go here sooner, but the circumstances were never quite right. This time, we celebrated Thanksgiving with our friend, Larry, a devoted carnivore.

Three San Miguel Restaurants: Part 3

Just a week before our departure to San Miguel, I received an email from a friend, Doug Butler, who with his wife, Kathy, had just returned from SMA. The email described a remarkable meal at Dila's Restaurant and Gallery, located at Ancha de San Antonio # 31, Colonia Centro.

Doug wrote, and I excerpt: "The chef is Sri Lankan, trained in Switzerland, and very talented.  TripAdvisor has rated it the best restaurant in SMA."

They enjoyed it so much, that they returned for a second meal: "Sri Lankan food is a lot like Indian food, with their complex and dense use of spices to enhance the flavor. ... two of our best meals ever, and we can't wait to go back."

I was impressed by Doug and Kathy's enthusiasm (He even wrote his first review on TripAdvisor about it) and so planned a visit to Dila's on Tuesday, our last full day in SMA.

Three San Miguel Restaurants: Part 2

On Tuesday morning, after completing our business at the American Consulate, we joined our friend, Larry at El Pegaso.  It's one of his favorite restaurants in San Miguel, and it's a favorite with other folks as well. It's at the corner of Calles Corregidora at Correos in Centro.

Three San Miguel Restaurants: part 1

We returned to San Miguel de Allende for a brief visit in order to pick up our new passports. The whole business took perhaps 15 minutes. Mission accomplished, we turned our attention to a few restaurants, of which at least two had been described in glowing terms by various sources.
The lineup was determined by two restaurants' closed days, which worked out well for us. The three were Mare Nostrum, El Pegaso, and Dila's Restaurant and Gallery. All three had received enthusiastic reviews from various sources. All are worthy, but each had its flaws.

The Savor of the Lamb

Our friend Ron had bought some lamb several months ago from someone in Jalisco. It had been in his freezer since then. He suggested that he grill it on our big charcoal cooker. After some discussion, we agreed that a Moroccan seasoning would be a nice approach. That suggested a Middle Eastern theme.

"Come here, you poor little lambs who've lost their way."

I made some supporting dishes, and our guests, Ron, Shirley and Krina; and Doña Cuevas and I enjoyed a great lamb dinner on Saturday, November 6, 2010.

Bare Knuckles Pan de Muertos

Pan de Muertos, 2004

These days, it seems that at least every other Mexico food blogger has made Pan de Muertos. Here’s my story.

(This project is intended for experienced bakers of yeasted breads.)

Over the years, I’d made fake-o Pan de Muertos, using sweet doughs or bun doughs shaped into the classic skull with crossed bones.

This year, I decided to go all out and use Diana Kennedy’s recipe from “The Art of Mexican Cooking”. I found it workable, but I also discovered some instructions in the recipe with which I respectfully disagree. In all I made two batches, and the second one was greatly superior to the first, although the first wasn’t all that bad. The ingredients varied little neither in type or in proportions. However, timing and fermentation were very different. 

Birria de Chivo Don Rubén, Pátzcuaro

CLOSED!

Avenida Lázaro Cárdenas laces up lower and middle Pátzcuaro, from la Estacíon to the edge of Centro. A short distance above the Glorieta Tangaxuan is the Galería Vicky y Rafael, parent to the former biker bar, the Bar Chopper. The Bar was a raffish neighbor to the Hotel San Felipe, now the Hotel Misíon Pátzcuaro.

A Visit to San Miguel de Allende

Parochial Meringue Architecture

Parochial Meringue Tarts

San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato. Cradle of Allende and Independence.
A quintessentially Mexican city of 80.000 Mexicans, but also home to over 11,000 foreign residents, either full or part time. Noted for its Colonial architecture and its galleries and shops. Notably more expensive than many other Mexican cities. There are so many U.S. expats that the State Department has opened a Consular Agency there.

¡Ya Pasta! Spaghetteria Gian Carlo Morelia

I have often emphatically stated that I could see few reasons to order pasta in an Italian restaurant in Mexico. Maybe not in the U.S., either, although I have made several exceptions, I confess.

Why? Because it's cheap and relatively easy to prepare in my own kitchen. Now, I love Italian food, and I won't spurn a side of pasta when it comes as part of my Italian restaurant meal. But in my limited experience*, pasta Italian style is not done that well here. I also cringe at paying $90 MXN for a plate of spaghetti al pesto. One of my motives in dining out is to try some dish I have not made at home. Our one Italian dining experience in Morelia a couple of years ago, at the classy but ultimately unsatisfying Trattoria Bizancio smoldered in my brain.
 Spaghetti? ¡Ya pasta!

Birdsongs in Morning Encore

Although we'd been to La Mesa de Blanca in Ziracuarétiro several times, our visit to its younger sister restaurant with the long name, "El Gorjeo de Las Aves En Las Mañanas de Abril" had been but once.
We decided it was time to renew the acquaintance, and accompanied by our friend, Georgia, returned on Sunday, September 12, 2001.

The Texas BBQ Brisket Feast

It started with a bargain on brisket...from that, it led to a memorable feast.

Don Cuevas' Deli Ranch

It must be the weather or creeping old age, or both. I've had a craving for the deli foods of my childhood, like kosher dill pickles, smoked brisket and knishes. Challah, with poppyseeds.
Not to mention Black Radish Salad. Normally, these things are unobtainable here, unless you make them yourself.

Atole de Grano: Anicillo Verde y Rodillas Rojas

Since our first visit to Pátzcuaro, in 1991, we have become fond of Atole de Grano. To me, it represents the quintessence of simple Michoacán cooking.

Late one peaceful and quiet night, we were sitting in the Plaza Grande contemplating the past events of the day; just a couple of guys, an atole vendedora and us.

With little idea of what it was, we ordered two bowls. The cheap pottery bowls held a hot broth of corn kernels, slightly thickened with masa and subtly flavored with anise. We were offered minced chiles and a cut limes to season the soup. An “elotito” or cob-ette of corn was included at no extra cost.

It was soothing to the soul as well as the stomach. There’s neither meat or fat in atole de grano.

A Farewell Feast With Friends

Last week, two of our ex-neighbors made a lightning visit back to our area.
While we said goodbye to our former neighbors, we also welcomed a new neighbor to the rancho.

Doña Cuevas and I prepared a special comida for the occasion.

This was the menu.

August 4, 2010

Guacamole, totopos (contributed)

Trozos de pepinos, limón.

Caldo de Hongos Silvestres al Chipotle, (made with "Lobster" mushrooms.)

Salsa de hierbabuena y chile piquín. (This salsa was overlooked by most of us, and though it was good, it was unnecessary.)

Arroz “Jasmín” blanco.

Guatape  or "Huatape") Verde de Camarones. (Fresh shrimp in a complex, richly herbal sauce with hints of anise.)

Pan telera de leña, from Panadería La Espiga.

Limonada fresca con agua mineral.

Vino blanco demi-seco. (contributed)

Postre: Pan de elote fresco con tres moras, azules, frambuesas y zarzas; Crema y natillas caseras.

Café.

I'd seen a recipe and a photo for the Guatape de Camarones, in the book, "MEXICO The Beautiful Cookbook". It's a sort of shrimp stew, with a base of pureed herbs and whole, briefly cooked whole shrimp. The recipe isn't difficult, in spite of ambiguous directions. Later, I received more recipes from our amiga Nora Cristina Ceccopieri, of the amazingly prolific Mexican food blog, ¿Gusta Usted?

Shirley Ashley photo

The Caldo de Hongos Silvestres I'd prepared earlier, after buying nearly a kilo of Trompa de Puerco hongos in front of the Pátzcuaro mercado. In the U.S. these are known as Lobster Mushrooms. They are actually two, symbiotic fungi. The red-orange "skin" is actually a second fungus growing on the main body. These were the best I'd ever seen, clean and generally free of spoilage and insect holes. They still do require a close inspection and removal of a few bad spots. I took extensive liberties with the basic recipe below.

Lobster Mushrooms (Wikipedia Commons)

Shirley Ashley photo

For the dessert, I wanted a corn based sweet cake, something like we'd enjoyed at Las Mercedes in Guanajuato the year before. I found an excellent recipe on Mexconnect.com, by Karen Hursh Graber, who also was kind enough to clear up some doubts I had. The pan de elote, made mostly of freshly pureed corn off the cob, and some sugar, to which I added a bit of milk, a couple of eggs and a little flour, although the latter is said to be unnecessary. I baked them in cupcake tins lined with cupcake papers, and to insure their removal, sprayed the inside of each cup with PAM.

The panecitos de elote were made a day in advance. (In fact, they removed much more easily after an overnight rest in a container.)

Over the panecitos de elote I spooned thawed, slightly sweetened frozen 3-berry mixed, from Costco. It 's an outstanding product. Only a little sweetening was needed.

The desserts were finished with Natillas, which, as "Boiled Custard", sounds much less appealing. A little crema (creme fraîche) swirled in was probably gilding the lily.

Panecitos de elote on berries

More berries atop the panecitos, plus natillas y crema

Recipes and interpretations below.

Caldo de Hongos Silvestres:
Wild Mushroom Broth

This is a basic recipe, to which may be added squash blossoms, cooked fava beans or shredded chicken. Some suggested mushrooms to use in the broth are coral mushrooms (rumeria rubripermanens), field mushrooms (agaricus campestrus) and ceps (boletus edulis.) Using chipotle chiles will give the broth a smoky flavor; using serranos will provide a fresh, piquant taste.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons corn oil
• 1 medium white onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 chipotle chiles in adobado, sliced, or 2 minced fresh Serrano chiles (Chipotles only-DC)
• 1 ½- 2 lbs. assorted wild mushrooms (In our soup, all were Trompas de Puercos-DC)
• 2 quarts chicken stock (I used a crustacan soup base-DC)
• 2-3 sprigs fresh epazote
• (I added carrots, finely diced, and about 3 cups, grabanzos and their liquid, cooked from dried, two jitomates asados y pelados, plus a few small tiny white potatoes, already cooked, that I had on hand. They were cut in half.-DC)

Preparation:

Heat the corn oil in a large stockpot, add the onion and garlic and sauté until the onion is wilted. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook until they render their liquid.

Add the chicken stock and epazote and bring to a boil. Serve immediately.

Serves 8.

Ms. Hursh Graber's recipe for Pan de Elote is here Isthmus- Style Corn Bread: Pan de Elote del Istmo

Huatape (or "Guatape") Verde de Camarones

3 chiles poblanos, seeds and membranes removed

1 chile serrano, minced, optional.

4 tomates verdes, husks removed. (I believe that the quantity should be at least doubled. -DC)

2 cups fresh parsley leaves, packed

3 small leaves hoja santa (I had dried ones but I also used one bunch of anicillo, washed, coarsely chopped green part only)

4 cups water (Better to use the shells and loose heads of shrimp to make a caldo)

1/4 cup olive oil or lard

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 1/2 tablespons cornstarch, suspended in a little water (A small ball of masa, size of a golfball  would be better.)

salt and white pepper.

Separately:

Cilantro or fresh epazote, optional, chopped.

1 kilo of medium to large shrimp, with heads intact.

Peel the bodies of the shrimp, leaving the tails and heads when possible.

Use the shrimp shells and seasonings to taste to make a shrimp stock. The addition of several dried shrimp will enhance the taste.

Strain and reserve.

In a blender or food processor, working in batches, grind the chiles, tomatillos, parsley and herbs.

The original recipe says "Strain", but that leaves you with nothing but green broth. Instead, blend thoroughly and reserve.

In a deep pot, heat oil and add the chopped onion and the garlic. Saute 

until transparent. Add the puree, bring to a boil, thicken with the cornstarch or the masa. Rectify the seasoning.

Add the partially peeled shrimp and stir gently, simmering the few minutes until the shrimp are cooked. Add the optional chopped cilantro and/or epazote.

Serve with white rice. Oven warmed teleras are also good for sopping up the sauce.

UPDATE: We reheated and ate the leftovers of the huatape yesterday evening, and I concluded that it was to thick and aggressively herbal a sauce. So, if I do it again, I'll be looking for a lighter approach. For one, I'd skip the anicillo. Two, I'd use some epazote. The cilantro is probably unnecessary.

A lighter version of Huatape. From the Internet

 Mi amiga, Nora Cris wrote:


HUATAPE DE CAMARON (mi receta)

6 PORCIONES

200 g de camarón seco mediano

6 tazas de agua

Camarones chicos frescos pelados. Medio kilo más o menos

¾ de taza de harina o masa de maíz (90 gramos)

1 taza de caldo o agua extra

3 jitomates

1 chile guajillo desvenado, asado y hervido

1 chile pasilla Ídem.

Un trozo de cebolla 60 g asada

2 dientes de ajo asados

2 ramas de epazote

½ cucharadita de cominos

Knorr caldo de camarón o de pollo al gusto

Aceite

Cuece los camarones secos en 6 tazas de agua hasta que el caldo tenga sabor del camarón. Saca los camarones y quítales la cabeza y la cola.

Licua los jitomates y chiles guajillos con la cebolla, ajo, chiles, pimienta y comino.

Fríe esta salsa en una cacerola de 2 litros de capacidad hasta que se haga “chinita” y el aceite salga a la superficie.

Añade el caldo y cuando esté hirviendo añade todos los camarones y rectifica la sazón, agrega el concentrado de camarón o de pollo; a fuego lento, agrega de poquito en poquito, la masa desleída en una taza de caldo o de agua fría, meneando para que no se hagan bolas. Debe quedar espesito.

Por último ponle las ramas de epazote y sírvelo muy caliente.

NOTA: Si lo quieres verde, omite el tomate, sustituye los chiles guajillo y pasilla por chile poblano asado y se muele con una rama de epazote fresca y chile verde si quieres que pique.

RECETARIO DE NORA CRISTINA CECCOPIERI G

PESCADOS Y MARISCOS.- CAMARONES