16 de Septiembre

The 16th of September is one of great celebration, not only for Mejicanos, but also for those of Mexican decent everywhere. It commemorates the day Father Hidalgo climbed to the balcony of the Parish of Nuestra Senora de Los Dolores (Our Lady of Sorrows) and exclaimed loudly, “Long live independence. Long live Las Americas. Death to bad government.”

This became known as the “Grito de Dolores” a call to independence from Spanish dominance. Soon after his “grito”, Father Hidalgo was captured and executed. Jose Maria Morelos, a small village priest, took up the call for independence and continued to motivate and incite the revolutionaries against the Spanish.

Independence was finally achieved in 1821 when Guadalupe Victoria, a liberal, became the first elected president of the Republic of Mexico.

Hispanics like myself celebrate this holiday as a tribute to the struggle that the revolutionary army made up of farmers, peasants, villagers and indios endured in honor of their success in achieving freedom from the Spanish crown.

You don’t have to be a terminator or super soldier to win your blessed freedom from tyranny. You just have to cherish your freedom enough to stand up for what’s right.

I would like to offer a few Mexico-inspired dishes to get your fiesta up and running. Enjoy life, celebrate your freedom and be grateful for family, friends and country.


Coctel Bandera Mejicana

1 pint Tequila
½ cup lime juice
½ cup sugar
Crushed ice
1 jicama
1 cup green seedless grapes
1 cup cherries

Mix the tequila with the lime juice and sugar. Add crushed ice and mix thoroughly. Serve in tall cocktail glasses. Skewer one green grape, one cube of jicama, and one cherry. To represent the colors of the Mexican Flag, garnish each cocktail with the skewered fruits. Makes 8 servings.

Tequila Mary

1 ½ ounces Tequila
1 cup tomato juice
1 tablespoon chopped green chile
5 - 6 ice cubes

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a large stemmed glass and serve with a rib of celery and a pickled jalapeño as garnish. Makes 1 serving.

Mexican-Flag Salad

2 heads of broccoli
1 large head of cauliflower
2 packages (12 ounces each) of cherry tomatoes
Pimentos
Jalapeño slivers
1 end-slice of bread

On a rectangle-shaped serving platter, arrange broccoli, cauliflower, and cherry tomatoes in equal portions starting on the left side of platter with the broccoli and ending on the right side with cherry tomatoes.
With a shape knife, cut the end-slice of bread into an eagle shape (or whatever shape you desire) and toast it in the toaster (or in the oven if you think the bread slice might break coming out of the toaster).
In the center portion, the one covered with the cauliflower, position the toasted, eagle-shaped end-slice of bread in the center. Beneath the eagle, form a ½ circle with jalapeño slivers. Decorate with pimento pieces. Position 1 jalapeño sliver by the eagle's beak to represent the snake. Chill in refrigerator till serving time.

Dip:
½ cup sour cream
½ cup mayonnaise
Mix these two ingredients and chill in fridge to allow flavors to mellow, 30 minutes. Add minced onion (or onion powder), chopped cilantro, chile powder, salt, pepper, and a pinch of sugar, all ingredients to taste. Be conservative with the amounts. You can always add more, but you can't take them out!

Pastel de 3 Leches
3 Milk Cake

CAKE:
6 large eggs, separated
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 cup all purpose flour

Milk Mixture
1 (12 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 ½ cups whole milk or cream
2 tablespoons vanilla extract or Amaretto

Whipped Cream:
2 cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ cup Amaretto

Garnish (optional):Sliced fruit, such as strawberries, kiwi, start fruit, etc.

For the cake, preheat the oven to 350°. Beat 6 egg whites, baking soda, and salt on medium speed until soft peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. In a separate bowl, lightly whisk 6 egg yolks. With mixer on low speed. combine yolks with egg whites. Slowly add sugar and vanilla. With a rubber spatula, fold in cooled melted butter. Sift ¼ cup of flour into mixture and fold with spatula to combine. Continue sifting and folding the flour into the batter ¼ cup at a time until it is all mixed in. Pour batter into buttered and floured 9-inch cake pan. Bake 20 to 25 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. Cool 5 minutes on wire rack.

For the milk mixture, combine the 3 milks and vanilla about 5 minutes before the cake is donw baking. After the cake has cooled for 5 minutes, remove cake from pan and place on cake plate making sure plate has a rim so that the milk mixture does not runn off the edge. Pierce top of cake with a fork or toothpick. Pour milk mixture onto cake and allow 3 to 5 minutes for the milk to be absorbed. Once the cake has cooled completely, cover and refrigerate until serving time.

For the whipped cream, chill a bowl and beaters thoroughly. Beat the cream with a mixer until it begins to thicken. Slowly add sugar and Amaretto. Beat until stiff peaks form. When ready to serve, cut cake into serving portions and top with the shipped cream. Garnish with sliced fruit.

For the chocolate version of the 3 Leches Cake, go to my chocolate blog and enjoy a delectable style of this wonderful dessert. Aprovecho.
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Mexican word of the day: Defense
La migra chase me cause I jump defense!

Tequila

Margaritas, Sunrises, shooters - you name it; you can't make it without tequila. It's another one of those wonderful gifts Mexico gave to the world.

What is tequila? Well, it's an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented sugars (agua miel) derived from the piña of the Blue Weber agave cactus-like plant. It's cactus-like because it looks like it would be a cactus, not because it is. Actually, the agave is related to the Lily. Its leaves grow to an average of 10 feet tall. At the plants' maturity, which is approximately 8 to 12 years, a center stalk (the flower) grows up from the center to a height of about 15 feet. These plants are said to be pollinated by bats!

At maturity, the leaves are cut off to expose the piña. The piña is what is used to make the agua miel that after being roasted and repeatedly crushed, produces 98% of the agave sugars needed for fermentation.

Tequila is named after the city in the state of Jalisco in Mexico where is it produced. The city of Tequila's origin can be traced back to the Aztecs. The Tiquila Indians established the settlement 35 miles NW of Guadalajara. It is a small hillside town located at the foot of a dormant volcano. This town has over 30 tequila producing factories.

Tequila evolved from the drink pulque, which was prepared by the Zapotec Indians. They used the pulque in religious ceremonies and for medicinal purposes. After the pulque, came Mezcal. The Spanish, needing a stronger "spirited" drink, took the pulque and fermented it for several days and then finally distilled it. The sugars used for fermentation came from the sap taken from the roots, stalks and leaves of the wild agave plant. Tequila is made from the piña (core) of the Blue Weber agave. There are at least 100 different types of agave plants.

The first major distiller of tequila was Jose Cuervo. His distillery was established in Mexico in 1795.


The different levels of tequila are:
Blanco (Plata) - un-aged tequila
Gold - un-aged tequila with additives to give is its amber color
Reposado - aged in oak barrels from 60 days to 1 year
Anejo - aged in government* sealed barrels for a minimum of 1 year.
Back Medallion - is anejo tequila aged in charred oak barrels
*Tequila production is government-regulated in Mexico much the same way cognac production is regulated in France.

A few of the more popular tequila brands are: Aguila Blue Agave; Chinaco; El Conquistador; Herradura; Jose Cuervo; Montezuma; Sauza; Constitucion. A new comer on the tequila block is Tequila Nacional, owner, El Paso's own, Park Kerr, author and businessman.

So, if you have a special occasion coming up or would just like to have a special little something to sip on after a long hard day, try tequila. The flavor reflects the very nature of the Hispanic community; warmth, strength, courage, and soul.

Here’s a stimulating way to start your day. Tequila muffins and coffee!

Tequila Muffins
These are like scone muffins. The batter is nice and thick. They are not very sweet like cupcakes, but will certainly fill you up along with your coffee.

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons melted butter
½ cup Gold Tequila
¼ cup milk
½ teaspoon grated orange peel
½ cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 400º F.Mix all the ingredients together except pecans. The batter will be lumpy. Then stir in the pecans and fill lightly greased muffin tins ½ full. Bake at 400º F. for 20 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

El Vaquero Coffee

4 cups hot, freshly brewed coffee
2½ cups Kahlua
3 ounces Tequila
1 cup whipping cream, whipped

Mix coffee, Kahlua, and Tequila. Divide evenly among 6 mugs. Top each with whipped cream and serve. Serves 6.

(c)2008