Hey Messicans!

[Demimonde]

Here is my fast and dirty version.

Sweat half an onion and diced green peppers in a skillet with a little oil. Add one cup of long grain white rice and toast together. Then add a cup or so of salsa and a dusting of chile powder to taste. Heat until bubbly and add a cup of stock. Bring to a simmer covered until moisture is absorbed.

This is nothing fancy though.

Also I found this for you. I remembered Sock had a recipe that he posted and told me about.

[livius drusus]

Oh ya I remember that now. That looks awesome. Sack, what is in canned tomato sauce?

[Demimonde]

Also, I am beginning to realized how spoiled I am in some of these ingredients. "My" carne asada marinade is whatever the geniuses at my mercado have preparada. It is all ready to go, has been marinading for hours, and is ready for the grill.

Ditto with making salsas. They have pints of different styles prepared fresh that I can just grab and go. Pico de gallo too. I keep forgetting that you are going to have to make a lot of this from scratch, so I will have to give some of these things a whirl before I throw them at you.

I still want to learn how to make borracho beans. I can get quarts for cheap, but that is no excuse. When the zombie apocalypse comes, or if I move to Kansas or something, I need to be self sufficient.

[livius drusus]

I do have access to an outstanding farmer's market with tons of authentic Mejican stuff, although I don't know exactly what because I've always walked briskly past certain sections.

Let's start with the basics. What dried or canned items should I have in my pantry to ensure I have a solid foundation for future forays into Mexican cuisine? Like, which varieties of dried peppers, for instance.

[Goliath]

Originally Posted by livius drusus

You know those spice packets you get in taco kits? What's in them?

Cliantro.

[livius drusus]

Originally Posted by Demimonde

I have never seen an actual real recipe in a wiki article, but there is one on the achiote page. I might have to try it, because it looks p. darn good.

wiki

Does coriander actually taste like cilantro? I've avoided it on the assumption that it does, but seeds and leaves don't necessarily taste the same.

[lisarea]

Originally Posted by livius drusus

Does coriander actually taste like cilantro? I've avoided it on the assumption that it does, but seeds and leaves don't necessarily taste the same.

It's nothing like it. Plus TLM shares your anti-cilantro disability, but coriander doesn't bother him at all.

[Qingdai]

If you like Indian food, you've eaten plenty of coriander.

If it's the "soapy" taste you don't like about cilantro, it isn't in the seeds.

[Watser?]

It's also used a lot in Indonesian food, they call it ketumbar.

[Sock Puppet]

Originally Posted by livius drusus

Oh ya I remember that now. That looks awesome. Sack, what is in canned tomato sauce?

That's so cute! You've never even bought the stuff, have you?

Generally it's just tomatoes, salt, garlic, onion and various "Italian" herbs, especially oregano, although beyond those first four ingredients, the rest are nearly homeopathic-level miniscule concentrations.

Originally Posted by livius drusus

I do have access to an outstanding farmer's market with tons of authentic Mejican stuff, although I don't know exactly what because I've always walked briskly past certain sections.

Let's start with the basics. What dried or canned items should I have in my pantry to ensure I have a solid foundation for future forays into Mexican cuisine? Like, which varieties of dried peppers, for instance.

Good question. I wish I had a satisfactory answer. My wife uses tomato sauce in damned nearly everything unless I beg her to stop. But she is not what you would consider an expert in Messican cuisine; her sisters like to make fun of her cooking. I could ask them, but I'm not sure they would have definitive answers, either.

Some stuff to pick up just to make some initial forays, off the top of my head:

Mole sauce. The good stuff comes in smallish glass jars with a strangely rudimentary metal lid on top that you have to pry off. Not sure why. Be careful, this stuff stains like a bastard.

Dried peppers: Seriously, there are hundreds of types. I recommend the big, black ones. () When I got them they were called "California" peppers, but since then it seems like some vast conspiracy has secretly gone in and renamed them to like a half-dozen different names, just to piss me off. To make an awesome chile colorado, slice them open, remove seeds & stems, boil them in a small amount of water, and then dump them water & all into a blender. Puree it into submission, then filter through a fine sieve to get most of the solids out. Smells like tea for some reason when you're done, but tastes awesome.

Powders: I cut corners in ways that would make a drusus cringe, but I draw the line at the standard "taco seasoning." I really, really hate that shit, to the point that I avoid most chile powder altogether. Makes everything taste stale to me. You're way better off with dried or fresh peppers. There are plenty that are fairly mild. And you probably already know this, but it bears repeating: You can wimp any pepper down by making sure the seeds are banished from it. Open them up and run them under the tap to scrub them out.

[lisarea]

Originally Posted by Sock Puppet

Dried peppers: Seriously, there are hundreds of types. I recommend the big, black ones. () When I got them they were called "California" peppers, but since then it seems like some vast conspiracy has secretly gone in and renamed them to like a half-dozen different names, just to piss me off.

This page looks like a pretty good reference:

Cook's Thesaurus: Dried Chiles
Cook's Thesaurus: Fresh Chiles

It says that California peppers are dried Anaheim chiles. I think Anaheims are almost the default chiles in the US, because when they advertise green chiles as "Hatch," they're almost always Anaheims too. (Hatch, NM is a growing region, and I don't know if it's genuinely better or just has a better marketing campaign behind it, but they sell a lot of peppers as just "Hatch chiles.") Anaheims are generally mildish (they come in different heats) and are pretty hardy I guess, plus they roast well.

However, I will say that a lot of the times I've bought roasted chiles or ristras (I haven't had a ristra in a long time, I should get one soon), it's been from someone who set up a stand in a parking lot or by the side of the road, and I didn't even know what kind it was. And the absolute worst thing that has ever happened because of that is that one time, I got some roasted chiles that were a little too thin-walled, and difficult to peel.

As long as you get in the ballpark of the type of pepper you need, you should be OK.

[Qingdai]

I thought pasillas were the default chile relleno chile.

I hate mole sauce with a passion, shit is weak.

I prefer adobe chiles in a can, gives heat and a smokey flavor.

Oregano, cumin and a decent chile powder (the New Mexican is my go to flavor) is key. Mostly I use fresh ingredients when I go Mexican, corn, zucchini, jalapenos, beans and rice, decent tortillas. A farmer's goat cheese. Then combine in various combinations.

I also tend to make New Mexican - Mexican food. I make the abomination vegetarian enchiladas, for example.

[Demimonde]

I am spoiled with having mountains of fresh chiles around and I really do prefer fresh most of the time. I typically just gather my dried chiles when it is time to make my chili powder, which is then my flavor base of operations. I do keep some chipotles around though they often don't make it in anything because I am impatient.

I second the chile in adobo sauce though. That stuff is awesome. Recently a friend moved and she gave me a bunch of cans that I went through like crazy, except one, a can of huitlacoche. I have no clue what to do with it and it intimidates me for some reason. I will have to get brave soon and just dive into it.

Big old cans of homminy are useful for a lot of things but I keep it mostly for my pozole. That stuff is amazing on a cold night and one of my favorite meals. No need to go full cannibal though, I just use beef.

[Watser?]

Oooooh! Aaaah! Pozole! That's what it was called! I forgot. That's what they were serving at that nativity thing. It's soooo yummeh!

Imma have to carry a huge bag of hominy with me so I can make it at home.

[Sock Puppet]

Of course, it's p. much heresy to make pozole with anything other than fatty pork.

And mole kicks ass when it's done right. Most restaurants make a weak one, 'tis true, but it can be done right.

[Watser?]

Yeah, they had pork in it there. As Wikipedia puts it: "pork became the staple meat as it "tasted very similar", according to a Spanish priest".

[Demimonde]

I know it should be pork, but beef is just so cheap here and my friend who gave me the recipe uses beef. She is a gringa, but a well traveled one.

One of these days I will try to make it the traditional way, but until then I can be like unto the thorns in my side who defame the sanctity of chili.

[Qingdai]

I've had mole sauce stuff from many places, including actual Mexican moms and their off spring. I've come to the conclusion that I hate it.

[Watser?]

Originally Posted by Demimonde

I know it should be pork, but beef is just so cheap here and my friend who gave me the recipe uses beef. She is a gringa, but a well traveled one.

One of these days I will try to make it the traditional way, but until then I can be like unto the thorns in my side who defame the sanctity of chili.

[Demimonde]

There is that!

[livius drusus]

I have secured chile peppers! It was surprisingly challenging. There are like 4 names for each kind. Very annoying.

[viscousmemories]

Yes! There is some discussion of the varieties in my old Crisis of Soup thread.

[livius drusus]

I think I want to make enchiladas next, but only if they require chile powder because I'm definitely making that. Suggestions plz.

[Anastasia Beaverhausen]

Don't ban me for suggesting it, but Pioneer Woman has two recipes - one standard beef, one white chicken.

[viscousmemories]

Enchiladas are easy. P. much just roll up some meat in corn tortillas and top with salsa and cheese.