My cookbook issu2

COVER

Dia de los Muertos The Essential Dishes & More

day of dead party photo

Dia de los Muertos The Essential Dishes & More

edited and compiled by Anna Dambacher

Contents 7 Introduction 11

Pan De Muerto

13

Guacamole

15

Queso dip

17

Black Bean Soup

21

Mole Negro

23

Tamales

25

Sugar Skulls

27

Churros

29

Calabeza en Dulce

33

Champurrado

35

Traditional Margarita

39

Credits

Introduction November first begins the Dia de los Muertos celebrations with All Saints Day, in which deceased children are honored and remembered. November second is All Souls Day, which is in honor of the adult dead. Dia de los Muertos represent the days that celebrate the deceased and enjoy their memories. The spirits of the dead are believed to visit their families during these days and the families prepare an altar for them to put their favorite dishes. The families place these dishes out for them because it is believed that the dead will need nourishment after their long journey to their families.

This cookbook is composed of various recipes that include Day of the Dead essentials, such as Pan de Muerto and sugar skulls. The dishes included are great for Day of the Dead celebrations and for fiestas year-round.

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Pan De Muerto also known as bread of the dead or dead man’s bread, Pan De Muerto is a traditional Mexican sweet bread that is eaten during the Day of the Dead. It is offered as nourishment to the deceased after their journey from the “other side”.

Ingredients

Directions

5 cups of all purpose flour

Put flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and cinnamon.

½ cup of sugar ½ cup of milk ½ cup of butter ½ cup of water 4 eggs 2 packets of yeast 1 tsp. of salt

Glaze Ingredients

into a large bowl:

Mix ingredients together and put aside.

In a saucepan heat milk, butter, and water on medium heat until butter has melted.

Pour the contents of the saucepan into the bowl of dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Add the eggs and mix them in thoroughly.

Keep mixing while you slowly add the rest of the flour. but you should keep adding

½ cup sugar

/3 cup fresh orange juice

1

2 tbsp. grated orange

flour until it’s soft and just slightly sticky.

Transfer the dough to a floured board and knead for ten minutes until smooth and stretchy.

Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise and double in size. This should take about

ninety minutes. If you put the bowl in a

warm location it will help the dough rise.

Glaze Directions Boil sugar, orange juice and orange zest in a saucepan for two minutes.

Lastly, glaze the bread when it is fresh out of the oven and after glazing, sprinkle the loaves with some sugar.

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Guacamole

How to: cut an avocado

a dish of mashed avocado mixed with chopped onion, tomatoes, chili peppers, and seasoning. It is a Mexican classic, and is great for parties and celebration.

Ingredients

Directions

2 ripe avocados

Finely chop red onion, chop the garlic fine,

½ medium red onion 1 tsp. garlic 1 jalapeño chile 2 tbsp. fresh cilantro chopped 2 medium tomatoes 1 tsp. fresh lime or lemon juice

¼ to ½ tsp. salt and pepper

seed and mince jalapeno chile, chop

cilantro into fine pieces, chop tomatoes, juice limes and or lemons

Put the onion, garlic, chile and cilantro in a bowl. Using the back of a heavy spoon, grind the ingredients together until the

juices mix and they begin to form a paste.

Cut the avocados in half and scoop out the center in big chunks with a spoon.

Add to the bowl and mix well, mashing the avocado slightly but keeping it chunky.

Add diced tomatoes, lime juice and salt to taste. Mix gently, and serve.

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Queso Dip also known as Chile con Queso, is a Mexican appetizer that is made with chili pepper and cheese. This white creamy dip goes well with tortilla chips.

Ingredients

Directions

1 cup monterey jack cheese

Put all ingredients in a double boiler on

or 1 cup asadero cheese 1 cup chihuahua cheese 4 ounces green chilies

Âź cup half-and-half milk

medium heat until melted and well blended.

Stir occasionally and serve with fresh tortilla chips.

2 tbsp. onions 2 tsp. ground cumin

½ tsp. salt

1 serrano pepper 1 tbsp. fresh cilantro

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Black Bean Soup Black bean soup is a classic in Mexican cuisine. It’s a comforting and hearty soup that is made to celebrate the memories of the deceased.

Ingredients

Directions

1 lb. dry black beans

Sort and rinse beans. Place the beans and

8 cups cold water 2 tsp. of salt

½ red onion quartered 4 whole garlic cloves 8 apazote leaves or two heaping teaspoons of oregano

water in oven.

Then heat to boil. Boil for two minutes. Remove from heat and set aside for a ½ hour.

Next, add salt, onion, garlic and apazote and bring to boil.

Lower heat to a simmer and cook for two hours and then enjoy.

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Whole marigold flowers with magenta mano de leon (cockscomb flowers)

Mole Negro A dish that is very intricate and time consuming but, a Day of the Dead must. Mole Negro has a very rich taste and lovely aroma.

Ingredients

Directions

1 lb of ancho chiles

Toast ancho, guajillo, and cascabel chiles

½ lb guajillo

from skillet and stem and seed chiles.

½ lb dried cascabel chile 2 lbs tomatoes chopped 1 lb Mexican green tomato 4 slices white bread

in a heavy skillet until skins blister. Remove Place tomatoes and green tomatoes in a

saucepan and bring to boil. Drain and blend in blender.

In a large saucepan, heat corn oil over low heat. Cut four slices of white bread, into

1 cinnamon stick

pieces and fry until golden brown.

4 to 5 cloves

Add a cinnamon stick, cloves, peppercorns,

4 to 5 whole peppercorns

thyme, cumin, sesame seeds, peanuts,

1 sprig fresh thyme

Stir ingredients together. Add more corn

1 pinch of cumin

½ cup sesame seeds

almonds, raisins, plantains, and walnuts. oil, to coat ingredients lightly. Add chopped roasted onion and minced roasted garlic.

½ cup shelled peanuts

Continue to fry on low heat for 20 minutes.

½ cup blanched almonds

set aside.

½ cup small raisins 1½ plantains, chopped

½ cup walnuts 1 small onion 1 small garlic clove 1 corn tortilla

Add tomato mixture. Remove from heat and

Place corn tortilla over open flame and cook until burnt. Cut and set aside.

In a medium frying pan, fry roasted chiles

and burnt tortilla pieces for a few minutes.

Combine tomato/spice/nut mixture with chile mixture in large saucepan. Add

1 piece unsweet chocolate

chocolate piece and cook until melted.

½ cup chicken stock

stir. Place into blender and puree until all

3 tbsp. of vegetable shortening

Add ½ cup chicken stock to mixture and ingredients have combined completely.

Plate and enjoy.

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Tamales Tamales are a sweet and savory food made with masa dough and wrapped in a corn husk and steamed.

Ingredients

Directions

3½ lbs of pork shoulder

Place the dried cornhusks in a pan or dish and cover with warm water, allowing husks

10 cups of water 1 medium onion quartered 3 garlic cloves minced 3½ tsp. salt 4 cups red chili sauce

¾ cup shortening

6 cups masa harina 1½ tsp. baking powder 50 dried corn husks 8 inches long

to soak until soft. Softening cornhusks can take four hours.

With an electric mixer, beat the shortening until light and fluffy. Beat in the dry

ingredients and liquid. The finished dough

should resemble a thick, creamy paste that is easy to work with.

Next, fill the tamales. Remove the husks from the water, drain and pat dry.

Top each husk with two tablespoons of

the masa dough, spreading dough into a

rectangle that runs close to one of the long sides of the husk and spread about one

tablespoon of filling lengthwise down the center of the dough on each husk.

Wrap the tamales, fold the long end of the husk so it slightly overlaps the dough.

Next, roll the husk around the dough and filling.

Tie the cornhusk’s ends to keep the

condensed steam away from the dough

this keeps the bundles intact. Steam the

tamales. Pour at least one inch of water in the bottom of the steamer.

Cover and reduce heat to medium-low.

Steam the tamales until the dough pulls

away from the cornhusks and is spongy and cooked through and then enjoy.

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Sugar Skulls Sugar skulls are made in celebration as decoration. I have included an edible recipe of the sugar skull, though most sugar skulls are not.

Ingredients 4 cups of sugar 4 tsp. of meringue powder 10 tsp. of water

You may add 2 extra tsp.of water later

Directions Mix sugar and water together in a bowl.

Press as firmly as possible into mold. Try to make the back of the mold as even as possible.

Cover the back of the molding tray with

Large batch ingredients 10 lbs. of sugar

½ cup of meringue powder

7 tbsp. of water

a cookie sheet. Gently flip it over. Press lightly on the top of the silicone tray sections to loosen the skulls.

Preheat your oven to two-hundred

degrees. Put the cookie sheet inside the oven for ten minutes.

Buy colored icing and decorate the sugar skulls. Then serve.

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Churros A churro, sometimes referred to as a Spanish doughnut, is a fried-dough pastry. They are great for a fiesta and sweet snack.

Ingredients 1 cup water

½ cup butter ¼ tsp. salt 1 cup all-purpose flour 3 eggs beaten Vegetable oil for frying

¼ cup sugar ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions Combine water, butter and the salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high

heat. Then stir in flour. Reduce the heat to low and stir until the mixture forms a ball.

Remove the dough from the heat, while

stirring, gradually beat the eggs into the dough.

Then spoon the churro dough into a pastry bag fitted with a large tip. Squeeze a four

inch strip of dough into the hot oil. Fry the churros, turning them once, until golden brown, about two minutes per side.

Heat about two inches of oil in a heavy,

high-sided pot over medium-high heat until the oil reaches three hundred and sixty

degrees. Mix the sugar with the cinnamon on a plate and reserve.

When the churros are just cool enough to handle, roll them in the cinnamon-sugar and serve.

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Calabaza en Dulce A dish of candeid pumpkin dish that is often made in celebration for Day of the Dead.

Ingredients 4 to 5 lbs of Pumpkin 8 Cinnamon sticks Juice of 1 Orange 4 cups water 2 lbs Piloncillo

( you can use brown sugar)

Directions Cut the pumpkin into medium two and a half to three inch squares or triangles.

Remove seeds and strings. With a sharp

knife make diamond designs over the pulp Put the sugar in a pan with the cinnamon, orange juice, and water. Bring to boil and stir until the piloncillo has dissolved.

Place the first layer of pieces of pumpkin

upside down so they absorb as much juice as possible.

The second layer should be with the pulp upwards. Then cover and simmer.

When ready the top of the pumpkin pieces

should look somewhat glazed, and the pulp soft and golden brown.

Let cool and serve with the syrup. You can also add cold evaporated milk.

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Photo by Alison Bastie

Photo by Alison Bastie

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Champurrado This comforting, chocolatey Mexican drink will warm you up in late fall and is a celebratory drink in Day of the Dead festivites.

Ingredients

Directions

4 cups of milk

Put the milk in a saucepan with the

½ chocolate tablet ½ cup of corn flour 1 cinnamon branch 2 piloncillo cones

chocolate tablet, one cinnamon branch

and two piloncillo cones. Bring to boil over high heat.

When the milk boils, reduce to low heat and cook the saucepan ingredients for

about four minutes, until the chocolate and the piloncillos have dissolved. Stir constantly.

Place the dough that was prepared in the saucepan and stir constantly.

Cook the champurrado for about ten

minutes, until the dough is well cooked and the champurrado has a thick consistency.

Stir constantly.

When the cooking is done discard the cinnamon branch and enjoy.

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Traditional Margarita The Margarita is a well-known drink in Mexican culture. It is often made to celebrate an occasion.

Ingredients

Directions

2½ ounces of silver tequila

In a mixing glass add all ingredients except

1 ounce of fresh lime juice 1 tbsp. agave nectar 1½ tbsp. water lime for garnish sea salt for rimming the glass

the salt and lime garnish. Cover the glass and shake very gently.

To salt the rim of your glass, drag a cut

lime around the rim and then gently dip the rim in a saucer filled with salt.

Fill the glass to the top with ice. then Add

cocktail mixture to a cocktail shaker filled

with ice and shake until well chilled. About thirty seconds. Strain contents of shaker

over the ice in the glass and garnish with slice of lime and serve.

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Š Tomas Castelazo, www.tomascastelazo.com / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0

credits http://mexicanfood.about.com/od/history/a/dayofthedead.htm http://flavorsofthesun.blogspot.com/2010/11/images-from-dayof-dead.html http://gomexico.about.com/od/dayofthedead/tp/muertos-foods. htm Š Tomas Castelazo, www.tomascastelazo.com / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0 s Whole marigold flowers with magenta mano de leon (cockscomb flowers) Photo by Alison Bastie

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