432453 Fri Aug 17 18:55:22 -0700 2007 11 31 Home Cooking 0 2856780 I'd really love to try one of DK's wonderful yet relatively simple recipes. Any ideas? I don't (yet) own any of her books. Thanks! Fri Aug 17 18:55:22 -0700 2007 60870 ruby21702 1 2857122 The simplest of her books i own is out of print but you may be able to track it down. It is simply The Tortilla Book Fri Aug 17 22:22:44 -0700 2007 2856780 10285 Candy 2 2857364 The Tortilla Book sounds like a great place to start. Dining Diva - I think I'm fairly adept, I just don't have a lot of time for prep work (I have a crawling baby). Do you think I could handle other of her classic books given my time limitations? Thanks. Sat Aug 18 05:49:04 -0700 2007 2857122 60870 ruby21702 3 2857521 With a crawling baby you're definitely not going to be doing tamales or a lot of the other masa based dishes ;-). But I think some of her soups, some meat dishes, sides and, of course, an array of salsas is probably doable. A lot of her recipes can be done in stages that don't require huge blocks of time. Take a look at some of these. * Guacamole Chamacuero - My Mexico pg. 106-07 This is mole with fruit and this is certainly the season to make this. It's excellent and goes together in about 20 minutes, 30 is your knife skills aren't so speedy. * Pozole Verde - Art of Mexican Cooking pg. 108-09 This is green pozole from Guerrero and is usually served on Thursdays, which is market day. Parts of this can be pre-prepped and it can be done in stages; i.e. seeds can be toasted and cooled the day before then ground right before usage, pozole corn can usually be found ready to use in many Mexican markets, if not, use canned hominy. Yeah, it won't be quite authentic, but given your limitations, it's a realistic substitution. * Pollo en Mole Verde - The Art of Mexican Cooking pg. 226-227 This is a green mole from Michoacan and like the pozole above it can be pre-prepped and made in stages. It's very good, somewhat rustic. Pork can be used instead of chicken * Cochinita Pibil - This is definitely doable. Making the seasoning past takes all of about 15 minutes, the seasoned pork sits over night, is then slow roasted for several hours and finally shredded. * Albondigas - Essential Cuisine of Mexico (not sure the page) Meatballs can be made ahead, even frozen, and can be sauced many different ways. * Caldo o Consome de Pollo - Art of Mexican Cooking pg. 95 This is a good recipe to master as the quality of the chicken stock used often affects the quality of the final product. For added richness, don't be afraid to use extra backs and several pairs of feet in this recipe. * Arroz Blanco or Arroz a la Mexicana - Essential Cuisine of Mex. pg 160-162 Learn to make rice * Frijoles Play with any of her bean recipes * Shredded beef, pork or chicken - Essentials, Art or My Mexican Almost every DK cookbook has recipes for making shredded meat that has a variety of uses such as tacos, enchiladas, salads, tamales * If you can find fresh nopales with the spines removed in your area, try her recipe Nopales al Vapor. 30 minutes tops, doesn't need constant attention just a timer, they're good and you can use the finished product for a lot of things * There is a really good recipe for Sopa de Fideos in the Tortilla Book. The hardest part is browning the fideos because if you're not careful they go from roasty, toasty brown to burned in a flash. * Since you don't own any of her books, if you can, stop by a book store or your library and look at these 3 books The Essential Cuisine of Mexico The Art of Mexican Cooking My Mexico Review the soups and see if they'd work for you. Mexican soups are generally very good and can be an entire meal, not to mention there are literally hundreds of them. * Work your way through her myriad of salsas, then put your own imagination to work using up the salsa, many of which can be used to enhance salad dressings, adorn plain vegetables or as cooking sauces for meat. She's got a salsa recipe using cascabel chiles that I like really well; I've added some of that salsa to shrimp as they were sauteeing and then a touch of crema. Served over rice or pasta it makes a nice and easy dish. Or simmer a chicken or piece of pork in any of her salsas verdes, adjust the seasonings to your families tastes when done. I think the best recommendation I can give you is to sit down with one of her books (maybe at night when your child is in bed) and take a good hard look at the recipes and decide which ones are doable for you based on your skill level, the adaptability to making the dish in stages and the judicious use of substitutions (canned hominy vs. fresh for example) that won't totally destroy the integrity of the end product. Also take a look at Rick Bayless' book "Everyday Mexican". He came out with that book specifically for people who want the truer tastes of Mexican food but don't have gobs of time. I've made quite a few recipes from this book and haven't found a dud yet. The essential flavors are there and nothing took a huge amount of time. Sat Aug 18 07:51:25 -0700 2007 2857364 10506 DiningDiva 4 2864169 Thanks SO MUCH! I'll head out tomorrow to get one of her books and start with one of your suggested recipes. This was very helpful! Mon Aug 20 18:29:01 -0700 2007 2857521 60870 ruby21702 1 2857173 Are you looking for anything in particular? I just got back from a week in Mexico cooking with Diana (fabulous experience, btw). She has this uncanny way of making most recipes seem easy. If you're at all adept at cooking Mexican you can probably successfully execute almost any of her recipes. With Diana, and most Mexican recipes, it's more about technique than anything. The Tortilla Book is an excellent suggestion. My Mexico is a compilation of several of her books and a wealth of information and recipes; check it out of the library and see if anything in it turns your crank. Fri Aug 17 23:17:18 -0700 2007 2856780 10506 DiningDiva 2 2857551 Diningdiva, Super summary. Could you post a lead to where you found Diana's cooking week? It sound like what I've been looking for.. I Sat Aug 18 08:07:56 -0700 2007 2857173 79896 shallots 3 2858009 Try http://www.marilyntausend.com and click on the link to "Tours" Marilyn has known Diana for 30 years. DK hasn't done cooking classes for a few years and just started again this summer. She did 2 weeks in July. I don't know if there are any more planned, but Marilyn would know for sure. Sat Aug 18 12:32:53 -0700 2007 2857551 10506 DiningDiva 4 2859735 I wanted to take this course but it was already sold out. Is there anyway you could be persuaded to post a report in the Mexico forum? I haven't heard any first-hand accounts. Sun Aug 19 11:47:09 -0700 2007 2858009 18705 emily 5 3229137 In addition to Marilyn Tausend's tours are those offered by Betsy McNair, who wrote the relatively new and colorful, "Mexicocina." Betsy has a great tour business called, "My Mexico Tours," www.mymexicotours.com, and i joined it for three days with Diana. They are working on the next tour this summer, adding a day of cooking. Betsy used to manage a great b&b in Mexico and has the hospitality thing down pat, she is lots of fun and works hard to make sure her clients are getting the most out of their experience. She is a friend of Marilyn, so this would be another choice to consider. Fri Dec 21 13:28:32 -0800 2007 2859735 151658 saltoftheearth 6 3229237 I spent a wonderful week at the Mexican Home Cooking School run by Estela Salas in Tlaxcala, near Puebla. I recommend it highly - their website is mexicanhomecooking.com Fri Dec 21 14:01:17 -0800 2007 3229137 47777 janeh 1 3230044 recipe? try this simple one for Snapper Vera Cruz--a whole cleaned fish or filets, covered in a savory tomato sauce. "Here on the west coast, you might try a rock fish (cod) WHOLE if you can get it. Have it cleaned, scaled, and bake it in a shallow dish napped heavily with a Vera Cruz style tomato sauce: Chopped fresh or canned tomatoes, minced garlic, chopped onion, oregano, bay leaves, capers, green stuffed olives, and some chopped pickled mildly hot peppers, s&p. Saute the veggies, add tomatoes and seasonings, and simmer a few minutes before spooning over fish in baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and bake about 20 min at 350 till fish flakes. Serve with rice to sop up all the delicious juice. Baking the fish 'whole' lends much flavor to the dish, over just using filets. The fish is tender and it's easy to remove the ribcage in order to serve it boneless once baked." So simple and so delicious you'll find yourself making it whenever you can get really fresh fish. Fri Dec 21 21:27:51 -0800 2007 2856780 11234 toodie jane