Archive for the ‘From the Book’ Category

Finally! Fresh Mexico hits bookstores…

Monday, August 24th, 2009

todo-417I’m on a Jet Blue flight from San Diego to JFK watching Paula Deen cook Tinga Chicken Taquitos with Salsa Verde with a chef from Mexico City named Paty. I usually close my eyes and visualize what I want to happen on my trip or try and meditate (because sleeping on planes is not on option for me) but I really want to watch Paula Deen from Albany, Georgia cooking Mexican food. There’s no question about it; Mexican food has hit the mainstream.

On Tuesday August 25th, Fresh Mexico; 100 Simple Recipes for True Mexican Flavor hits bookstores and I’m on my way to the Today Show to cook a few of my favorite recipes from the book. Game hens in Chile California, Apricot and Tequila Salsa, Golden Beet Carpaccio with Gorgonzola and Chile Oil and My Mom’s Strawberry Tartlets! I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am or how long I’ve been waiting for this week to arrive. I signed that freakin’ contract with Random House in December of 2007 for crying out loud!!!

Next week I promise to put up a yummy new recipe but this week I have to tell you a little of what it was like to write this book. Fresh Mexico has been in my head since I was 19 years old and worked as a Recipe Stylist for Bon Appetit Magazine. My dear friend Joslyn Mathews, back then a fact-checker for magazine, was the very first person to look at the proposal. I still have it and I think she was just being a good friend when she told me it was good because it’s a jumbled mess. contact-sheet

But after 10 years of polishing the proposal, I’m so proud of the book you’ll find at bookstores on Tuesday. I’d heard writing a cookbook was difficult but honestly, it was such an easy process for me. With the help of Valeria Linss, my faithful assistant/baby sitter/ party buddy, the recipes for Fresh Mexico were a breeze to put together. It was extraordinary how after just one conversation my photographer, Amy Kalyn Sims, knew exactly what I wanted visually for this book. Rica Allanic, my editor at Random House, let me do my thing and because of it Fresh Mexico is not only a book of recipes but a detailed account of what it was like growing up on the US/Mexico border with a family of both Mexican and American cultures, traditions and styles of cooking.

Charlie Dougiello (friend first, publicist second) and the folks from thedooronline.com put me and my book in more places than I ever thought possible. It’s been the most incredible ride of my life!

So many people were so willing to contribute recipes, test the food, watch Fausto while I was cooking or writing (especially my sister Carina and his grandma Olga), help me pick photos or just cheer me on. My mom passed away last year just as I was beginning to test recipes and for a day or so I really thought I wasn’t going to be able to focus as much as I wanted to on my first book. But with all the support from my friends and family and literally feeling her strength, presence, and push, everything just came together in perfect harmony.

Hopefully this is the first of many books and I really would love your feedback on Fresh Mexico on what other Mexican or Mexican-inspired recipes you’d like to see in a cookbook.

In the time it’s taken me to write this entry, Paula is done with the Chicken Taquitos and now I’m watching gorgeous Giada stuffing some peppers with a mixture of onions and cheese. Who knows… maybe someday when you get on a Jet Blue Flight you’ll turn on that tiny little TV and find me cooking Ceviche on one of the food channels!

In the mean time, I’ve got a book to promote. Take a look around the site, I’ve added a couple of videos and a few new things. Don’t forget to watch the Today Show on Tuesday August 25th and to go get your copy of Fresh Mexico. Wish me luck my friends. Beso! Ciao, Marcela

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Mom’s Strawberry Tartlets

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

piefresa2My mom made a variation of this dessert from the time I was a little girl. I’m not exactly sure where she got the recipe, but I know it came from one of my aunts in Guadalajara. You just need to know that my uncle Ernesto would drive from his house in San Diego across the border into Tijuana to go to my mom’s house when she announced she was making strawberry pie. It’s not traditional or very Mexican, especially in its original form. She used to use a store-bought graham-cracker pie crust (which you are free to use), but I have concocted a much tastier crust using the traditional Maria cracker and piloncillo (unrefined solid cane sugar, usually found in the shape of small truncated cones). What I absolutely left alone is the filling—a fluffy, creamy, perfectly sweet filling that I could eat an entire bowl of if given a spoon. The amounts given will also work with a 9-inch round tart pan with removable bottom if you don’t want to make individual tartlets.

Makes 6 tartlets

1½ cups hulled quartered strawberries
½ cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
Nonstick cooking spray
5 ounces Maria crackers (about 32 crackers; see page 205) or graham crackers (about 10 whole crackers)
¼ cup (packed) minced piloncillo (about 2 ounces) or dark brown sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cubed
Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup sour cream

Mix the strawberries and the 3 tablespoons granulated sugar in a small bowl to combine. Let the strawberries macerate at room temperature for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place six 3½ x ¾-inch tartlet pans with removable bottoms on a baking sheet. Spray the tartlet pans with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine the crackers and piloncillo in a food processor, and process to form coarse crumbs. Add the butter and process until the crumbs come together. Press the crumbs into the prepared tartlet pans. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the tartlet shells are golden brown. Let them cool completely.

Using an electric mixer, whip the cream cheese and sour cream in a bowl until fluffy. Add the remaining ½ cup granulated sugar and whip until well combined. Drain the strawberries from the macerating liquid, reserving 2 tablespoons of the liquid. Fold the strawberries and the reserved liquid into the cream cheese mixture. Spoon the strawberry filling into the tartlet shells, dividing it equally. (The tarts can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

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Game Hens in Apricot, Tequila, and California Chile Sauce

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

gallinitasThis recipe is one of my favorites ever. It comes from my aunt Marcela, a chef who inspired me to enter the magical world of the culinary arts. We not only share the same name and the same career, we also agree that sweet and spicy is one of the best combinations when preparing Mexican food.

Store-bought apricot preserves, used here, work well; just be sure to buy the best you can find. A kitchen syringe is a useful tool for injecting the hens with a flavorful mixture of broth, butter, and tequila. The result is a moist and succulent dish.

Serves 4

3 cups chicken broth, or more as needed
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
4 tablespoons golden tequila
Two 2-pound Cornish game hens, thawed if frozen
3 California chiles, stemmed and seeded
½ cup apricot preserves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fresh apricot halves, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Mix ½ cup of the chicken broth, the melted butter, and 2 tablespoons of the tequila in a small glass bowl. Using a kitchen syringe, inject the mixture all over the hens, about ½ inch deep into the flesh. (If the butter in the mixture solidifies, warm it in a microwave.)

Put the chiles and 2 cups of the broth in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat. Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the chiles. Then transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Strain the chile mixture into a small bowl, pressing on the sieve to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard whatever is left in the sieve.

Mix ¼ cup of the preserves and ¼ cup of the chile mixture in a medium bowl. Season heavily with salt and pepper. Rub the mixture all over the hens, working some of it between the skin and the breast. Put the hens on a rack in a large roasting pan. Add the remaining ½ cup broth to the roasting pan.

Roast, basting with the pan drippings every 20 minutes, for 1 hour, or until a thermometer inserted into a thigh registers 160°F. Add more broth if the juices begin to dry out.

Transfer the hens to a platter. Strain the pan juices into a medium saucepan. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons tequila, ¼ cup apricot preserves, and chile mixture. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens slightly. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the sauce over the hens, garnish the platter with fresh apricot halves, and serve.

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