November 2012
Volume 3
Day of the Dead – Dia de los Muertos
FIESTA EVERY DAY!
Day of the Dead is a very important holiday celebrated throughout Mexico and the world. The focus is on family and friend gatherings to pray for and celebrate the lives of those that have passed on. It is a happy occasion, not in anyway a mournful or sad day. It is very different from Halloween. Day of the Dead is a national holiday in Mexico. It occurs on the Catholic Holiday of All Saints Day (November 1st) and All Souls’ Day (November 2nd). In most regions of Mexico, November 1st honors children and infants that have passed. November 2 nd is reserved for the adults that have passed.
“Wow! What a great find! Very delicious Mexican cuisine.” Open Table Diner 5/12/2012
It’s time to book your Holiday Party
Traditions include building private altars in honor of the deceased using sugar skulls, marigolds and favorite foods and beverages of those that passed. Many people also visit the gravesites with gifts and leave possessions of those whose lives they are celebrating. Candles are lit to serve as a guide for the spirits to return. It is believed that the spirits of the deceased will return to spend the day so in return many people have a huge party. They spend the day playing their favorite music, eating their favorite foods and having picnics around the gravesites.
Guest Loyalty Card Caracara Mexican Grill has reached our 90 day goal of 300 reward members. We continue to sign up more guests every day! For every dollar you spend, you earn cash back in the form of a Reward Check. It is absolutely FREE! So during your next visit don’t forget to sign up. Muchas Gracias! Dia de Los Muertos Day of Dead Thurs., Nov. 1 & Fri., Nov. 2 Specials Offered both days
Long Island Restaurant Week Sunday, Nov. 4th – Sunday, Nov. 13th 3 Course Dinner $24.95 Not Including Tax & Gratuity Offered on Saturday Only until 7 pm Entire menu available with some upcharges
Next Tequila Dinner Riazul Tequila
Call us to discuss your needs
On Wednesday, January 16, 2012 4 Course Meal with Riazul Tequila Matching Cocktails and Expressions 49.95 Tax & Gratuity Additional
Vote for Caracara for Best Mexican Restaurant on Long Island
Caracara’s November Special Gift Card Bonus Month
On bestof.longisland press.com Voting starts October 1 Muchas Gracias!
Caracara Mexican Grill 354 Main Street Farmingdale, NY 11735 516-777-CARA (2272) Ph 516-777-8199 Fax www.caracaramex.com
Catering for all occasions
What Does an Avocado Contain?
Mexican Glossary
Contains Lutein (a carotenoid alongChipotle with Vitamin E), Buy a $100 GC get $35 Bonus Magnesium, and monounsaturated (healthy) fats. Avocado Buy a $50 GC get $15 Bonus A ripened and smoked jalapeno helps fight cancer of the mouth, breast, and prostate, and chile. Made from chile peppers grown Buy a $25 GC get $10 Bonus improves skin tone. It also improves absorption of nutrients in in northern and southern Mexico. other foods.Women with increased intake of lutein in their Chipotle has a distinctive, smoky, Look for our Cooking class diets have been shown to have lower sweet, rates of breast cancer meaty flavor with a (moderately Coming Soon! Freudenheim JL, Marshall JR, Vena JE etheat al: Premenopausal high level. Color-Brownish-red -Flavor & Aromabreast cancer risk and intake of vegetables, fruits, and related Sweet, smoky, moderately hot--Sensory nutrients. Natl Cancer Inst 1996; 88(6):340-348. ) Lutein is InsideJ this issue Profile- moderate heat and smoky “One cannot think well, love well, also found in high quantities in kale, brocolli and spinach. jalapeño. Day of the Dead: Dia de los Muertos ........................ 1 sleep well, if one has not dined well.” Continued on page 2
Guest Loyalty Card Update ...................................... 1 Day of the Dead cont’d .............................................. 2 Recipe of the Month-Pumpkin Flan ........................... 2 Tom’s Tequila Corner ................................................ 2 Meet Our Staff ........................................................... 3 What’s New ............................................................... 3 Tom’s Tequila Corner cont’d ..................................... 4 Upcoming Events ..................................................... 4 Daily Specials ........................................................... 4
― Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own
Cont’d from page 1
Tequila 101
Day of the Dead – Dia de los Muertos It is a great time to visit Mexico to experience quite a unique holiday. Parades can be seen throughout many regions. A common symbol of the holiday is the skull and skeletons. Toys and foods, including candies, are created in the symbol of death such as skulls and skeletons. You will find the skull as masks called calacas and as foods such as sugar or chocolate skulls, which may be inscribed with names of loved ones on the forehead. Sugar skulls are given to the living and dead as gifts. Other holiday foods include pan de muerto, a sweet egg bread made in various shapes often decorated with white frosting to look like twisted bones. Origins of the holiday as we know it, can be traced back to the Aztec festival hundreds of years ago dedicated to the goddess Mictecacihuatl. In Brazil, Dia de Finados is a public holiday Brazilians celebrate by visiting cemeteries & churches. Festivals and parades take place in Spain where people also pray for loved ones that passed on at cemeteries, at the end of the day. Similar observances occur in Europe and in many Asian and African cultures. Caracara will be offering food and drink specials on Thursday, November 1st and throughout the weekend in celebration of Dia de los Muertos. From Wikipedia and Britannica Online Encyclopedia
Tequila is made from the blue agave plant which is a member of the lily family although it resembles a cactus. At the heart of the blue agave is a “piῇa” (similar in appearance to a pineapple). Aguamiel or honey water is produced from the pina which is then fermented and distilled into tequila. Tequila is only produced in designated areas of Mexico, most notably the state of Jalisco. The town of Tequila gives the spirit it’s name. Other regions where blue agave plants can be grown and harvested into tequila are the states of Guanajuato, Michoacan, Nayarit and Tamaulipas. Two basic classifications of tequila are: 1) 100% blue agave-which is made from 100% of the blue agave plant and bottled in designated regions of Mexico, and 2) Mixto, which must be at least 51% from the blue agave. Aging the tequila created further segments. Blanco or silver is clear and unaged. Joven (i.e. gold) spends several months in tanks before bottling. Reposado or rested tequilas are aged from 2 -12 months. Anejo-old or mature are tequilas aged at least one year in oak barrels. The progression of tequila from blanco to reposado to anejo creates a darker, smoother and more complex spirit. Blancos offer a taste of the natural agave plant, with hints of minerals and other flavor components from the earth such as citrus and herbs. Reposados, since they are slightly hints of caramel, chocolate, vanilla and oak flavors. For those of you that drink scotch or wine, you may recognize similar flavor components in tequila. Like scotch and wine, the best tequila is the one that you like the most. Taste is very subjective! Gracias, Tom.
Recipe of the Month Pumpkin Flan Yield 20-24 4 oz flans
6 eggs, whole 8 egg yolks ½ gallon whole milk 12 oz evaporated milk 20 oz condensed milk 2 Cups Heavy Cream 1 ½ pounds pumpkin puree (2-12 oz cans) 2 Tbsp vanilla extract 2 Tbsp cinnamon, ground
Candy Bottom
6 oz granulated sugar 2 cups water
Method
Beat eggs, egg yolks, vanilla and cinnamon together in a sauce pan
Have a recipe you would like to share send it to caracara@optonline.net
In a sauce pan combine whole milk, evaporated milk, condensed milk, heavy cream and warm up, but do not bring to boil Temper warm milk mix into egg mix and mix thoroughly Add pumpkin and whisk until combined
For Candy Bottom Boil until is sugar water mixture is brown. Add into bottom of 4 oz aluminum cups so the bottom is completely covered and let set Once candy layer is set pour 4 oz of pumpkin mix into cups Place all cups in a pan Add water to pan until hallway up cups Cover pan with foil and bake for 40 minutes at 375 degrees F Remove for cover and bake for additional 10 minutes at 375. Let cool then slice around cup to free flan from cup and invert onto a plate
Courtesy of Chef Daniel Mendoza of Caracara Mexican Grill
What’s New! Football Games Enjoy NFL Games with Happy Hour Anytime games are on Two new TV’s added Specials on appetizers & drinks
Catering for all occasions Bridal & baby showers, rehearsal dinners, retirement parties, birthdays
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Caracara will be closed for Thanksgiving! We hope everyone stays warm and has shelter this Thanksgiving in light of what we have all just been through! Use the coupon below for a complimentary appetizer any time.
FREE APPETIZER [Come in and try one of our APPETIZERS – guacamole not included- with purchase of an entree] (cannot combine with other offers) (limit one per table)
Location: Caracarara Mexican Grill 354 Main St Farmingdale, NY 11735 516-777-CARA (2272) Ph Expiration date 11/30/12
Meet our staff “Our biggest asset!” Daniel Mendoza has worked with Caracara since opening day. We originally hired him as a sous-chef. Subsequently he has been promoted to Executive Chef. He is from Guadalajara-Jalisco in Mexico. He brings a touch of home Mexican cuisine to our restaurant using methods and ingredients his mother and grandmother used in Mexico. Chef Daniel helps us stay focused on keeping our menu authentic by remembering how his family celebrated the holidays with the types of foods prepared and also reminiscing his favorite foods eaten on a daily basis during his childhood. Daniel has worked in various restaurant concepts from Cajun to Italian and American but he is very happy to be a part of Caracara, his first Mexican restaurant. He has just completed his first 4 course dinner menu matched with Avion Tequila and is currently preparing a menu for a cooking class to be held mid to late January. Muchas Gracias!
******************************************************* Tom’s Tequila Corner – Tequila 101 Continued from page 2… Over the last ten years a new category of tequila has emerged – the extra anejo. These tequilas are rested at least three years in barrels, and generally have even deeper, richer flavor components and command more expensive prices as well. Tequilas today are like vodkas of 10-20 years ago in that marketing plays a big part of their success. Until recently Cabo Wabo was part owned by Sammy Hagar. Casa Noble is part owned by Carlos Santana. Avion Tequila has received much notoriety from the HBO show Entourage and Patron tequila has created its success in large part due to a great marketing effort. Until recently Patron wasn’t even sold in Mexico! 1800 Tequila sales must be higher based on all the commercials that we see Chris from The Sopranos kicking the Patron bottle to the floor. Tequila is now bigger than whisky, brandy and gin with most of its growth coming from the high end segment. Caracara carries over 70 high end tequilas. A great way to try a few at a time is by sampling our tequila flights- three ½ oz samples of most tequilas in the blanco, reposado or anejo categories, or a vertical tasting which includes one tequila each from the blanco, reposado and anejo choices. Salud!
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Daily Specials 2 Course Meal for $19.95 Sunday-Tuesday Every Week
Meatless Monday Specials Every Monday for Dinner
Upcoming Events Ladies Night Every Thursday 7-10 pm Reduce Price Drinks for all Ladies
Vino Vino at CaraCara Every Wednesday Half Price Sangria Pitchers and Bottles of Wine with Dinner
Mambo Loco “Old School Latin” Saturday, November 10 9:30-12:30
White Chocolate Revue Friday, November 30
Cerveza Sunday All Day $2 Bud Drafts $3 Corona Btls & All drafts Two more TV’s added New Bar Menu & Drink Menu
FIESTA EVERY DAY!
Vote for Caracara for Best Mexican Restaurant on Long Island Go To
Caracara Mexican Grill
bestof.longislandpress.com
516.777.CARA (2272)
Voting Started st October 1
We’re on the web!
Muchas Gracias!
Visit us at: www.caracaramex.com
9:30-12:30
The Electric Dudes Friday, December 7
9:30-1:00
********** Next Tequila Dinner Riazul Tequila On Wednesday, January 16, 2012 4 Course Meal with Riazul Tequila Matching Cocktails and Expressions 49.95 Tax & Gratuity Additional
Long Island Restaurant Week th
th
Sunday, Nov. 4 – Sunday, Nov. 13 3 Course Dinner $24.95 + Tax & Tip
Saturday Only until 7 pm Entire menu available with some upcharges
Dia de Los Muertos Day of Dead Thurs., Nov. 1 & Fri., Nov. 2 Specials Offered both days