Instead of complaining about someone else's contribution, why not contribute
something yourself. Where are all those "Authentic" Mexican recipe posts?
Does anyone know when the last time an "Authentic" Mexican recipe was
invented? Is it no longer an "Authentic" Mexican cuisine if someone
experiments with new ingredients or methods, even though they may have lived
in Mexico all their lives? What makes "Authentic" Mexican cuisine
"Authentic", as opposed to say a Mexican cooking with Munster Cheese rather
than Queso Criollo which is a pale yellow cheese, a specialty of the region
around Taxco, Guerrero, and is so similar to Munster that the two can easily
be used interchangeably. At Sanborn's in Mexico City, the colorfully tiled
restaurant where the famous dish, Enchiladas Suizas, was invented. "Suiza"
means Swiss, a tribute to the dish's use of cream and cheese." Before the
Spaniards introduced cows and goats, sources of meat and milk, the
inhabitants of what is now Mexico existed largely on a diet of fruit and
vegetables, fish and fowl, and occasional wild game. The arrival of
milk-producing animals, however, changed the diet of Mexico forever. Justo
Sierra, the turn-of-the century Mexican educator, said that "the grocer, not
the conquistador, is the real Spanish father of Mexican society", succinctly
summing up the tremendous importance of the dietary changes brought on by
Spanish colonization. What of the other countries coming into what is known
now as "Mexico" and their influences toward "Authentic" Mexican cuisine?
Alot of Texans living in what was then Mexico moved there from the
Northeastern US by way of European countries and adopted part of the then
"Authentic" Mexican cuisine and added their own unique tastes. This mixing
of foods now made new "Authentic" Mexican recipes because they were now
citizens of Mexico. I'm sure some immigrant Germans and Italians taught
their newly acquired Mexican wives how to make and cook German Kielbasa and
Italian Pepperoni sausage. Just as they may have learned to make Mexican
Chorizo. Whenever there is a convergence of different cultures new recipes
are born and they can then be called "Authentic" whatever.

Sonora Sopapillas

4 cups flour
1 1/4 tbsp salt
3 tbsp baking powder
3 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp shortening
milk
oil for frying
Powdered sugar (optional)
cinnamon (optional)
honey (optional)

Sift flour, salt, baking powder and sugar together.
Cut in shortening.
Add just enough milk to make a soft dough firm enough to roll out.
Place in a bowl and cover.
Allow the dough to rest 30 to 60 minutes.
On a lightly floured board Roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thick cut in
diamond-shaped pieces.
Heat one-inch of oil in a frying pan to approximately 380° F.
Add a few pieces at a time.
Turn at once so they will puff evenly on both sides; then turn back to brown
on both sides.
Drain on a paper towel.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar or a combination of cinnamon-powdered sugar
mixture.
Serve with honey or plain.
Makes: 50 to 60 sopapillas

http://www.mexgrocer.com/501-sopaipillas-sonora.html



--
Old Magic 1

Old Magic1 wrote:

> Is it no longer an "Authentic" Mexican cuisine if someone
> experiments with new ingredients or methods, even though
> they may have lived in Mexico all their lives?
> What makes "Authentic" Mexican cuisine "Authentic", as
> opposed to say a Mexican cooking with Munster Cheese rather
> than Queso Criollo which is a pale yellow cheese, a specialty
> of the region around Taxco, Guerrero, and is so similar to
> Munster that the two can easily be used interchangeably.

I was amused by the comparision between Munster Cheese and Queso
Criollo, as though both were not *European style" cheeses. The word
"criollo" suggests that the sort of person whom the cheese is named
after is a descendant of European ancestors, and tends to promote the
European culture, including dance, music, cuisine, fashion---and
cheese...

Queso Criollo would be understood to be a European-style cheese, by its
very name...

I wondered what Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor and philosopher
would have said about the sour-tasting yellow block known as cheese...

His predecessor died from eating too much swiss cheese, and Marcus
Aurelius himself ate so much cheese he got sick from it. But what would
he have *said* about cheese?

He would have said, "A thing is what it is, regardless of how I think
about it, or what I call it," as he munched away...

Then there are the several definitions of "authentic". One of
Merriam-Webster's definitions is "made or done the same way as an
original <authentic Mexican fare>". That sort of indicates that the
cooking of the food should be done with the same sort of pots and pans
and the same kind of oven as were used at some indeterminate point in
time, at some inexact place within the vicinity of Mexico...

But, I sort of like a different definition of "authentic". I ran across
a definition once that suggested that "authentic" meant
"unpretentious", not claiming that something is anything besides what
it really is...

Which gets right back to Marcus Aurelius pigging out on cheese. A thing
is what it is, regardless of what we think about it...

The essential nature of Mexican cuisine is that it is simple and
unpretentious---and we love to eat it, it satisfies our stomachs as it
satisfies our taste buds...

On 17 Mar 2005 20:05:26 -0800, "krusty kritter" >
wrote:


>But, I sort of like a different definition of "authentic". I ran across
>a definition once that suggested that "authentic" meant
>"unpretentious", not claiming that something is anything besides what
>it really is...

And that, to me, is a fine description of Doña Martha's cooking at
Rolly's fine web site: <http://www.rollybrook.com/kitchen.htm>

Local, fresh ingredients, or locally produced foods (such as
tortillas) will beat canned cream-of-something soup, Taco Bell
seasoning, and Velveeta anytime!

David

On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 13:18:18 -0600, "Old Magic1"
> wrote:

>Instead of complaining about someone else's contribution, why not contribute
>something yourself.

As it turns out, many of us did, and as I write this it will be the
fifty-first in this thread.

One of the great pleasures in newsgroups, IMO, is to see how the
topics drift under one subject.

I hope OM1 will come back and will join in the quiet and interesting
discussion that his original post led to, eventually.

David

"David Wright" > wrote in message
...
On Thu, 17 Mar 2005 13:18:18 -0600, "Old Magic1"
> wrote:

>Instead of complaining about someone else's contribution, why not
contribute
>something yourself.

As it turns out, many of us did, and as I write this it will be the
fifty-first in this thread.

One of the great pleasures in newsgroups, IMO, is to see how the
topics drift under one subject.

I hope OM1 will come back and will join in the quiet and interesting
discussion that his original post led to, eventually.

David

I believe I will DW. The discussion, although interesting, for the most part
would have been better suited for soc.culture.mexican,
soc.culture.mexican.american or soc.culture.spain NG. The key word in these
being "Culture". I know a lot of you believe one has to discuss a country's
culture in order to talk about the food. I don't believe this, it's
interesting and nice to know, but you don't need to know about Spanish land
grants or about some broad riding a horse in order to know how to cook
empanadas or any other Mexican based dish. How many of the 65+ messages were
posts of Mexican recipes that anybody in the world could make and it would
taste good. How many were of tips on cooking those recipes or how to serve
the finished product and with what side dishes and how to cook those. What
beverage would go well with a particular recipe and why? What could have
been substituted in case a particular ingredient in the recipe is not
readily available? I did see where the sopapillas could be used for
something other than dessert, but why wasn't the recipe for the stuffing
posted. I personally like to put a little honey inside of my sopapillas and
eat them with refried beans, rice and tamales. Now if somebody has a recipe
for refried beans, rice or tamales, post it and not just a link to where
they can find it. Rolly's site is a great site to learn about Mexican
cooking, but when it calls for a hand full of this or a hand full of that,
it's a little hard to measure out, since my hand is much bigger than the
hand used in her recipe. I do like the photos associated with the process,
it makes it a lot easier to understand. There was a lot of information
missed in this thread that would have been beneficial to Mexican cooking,
but instead there was just a lot of bickering about who said what, when and
OT posts. Here is a recipe for
Quesadillas that I like. Now who has a recipe that would go well with this
dish?

Cheese and Poblano Quesadillas

1 1/2 cup Grated manchego cheese
1 cup Grated panella cheese
1/2 cup Grated cotija cheese
6 Flour tortillas
1/2 cup Chipotle salsa
4 Poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, seeded & julienned
2 Tbls. Unsalted butter, melted

In a bowl, mix together the cheeses.
Lay the tortillas on a counter.
Divide the cheese mix into 6 portions and spread over half of each tortilla.
Sprinkle about a tablespoon of salsa over each.
Arrange the chile strips evenly over the cheese.
Fold the tortillas over to enclose the filling and brush the tops with
butter.
Preheat the oven to 350° F.
Place a dry griddle or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.
Place the tortillas buttered side down in the pan.
Cook until very light golden, about 1 minute.
Brush the uncoated sides with butter and flip over.
Cook until golden, and transfer to a baking sheet.
When all the quesadillas are cooked, transfer the baking sheet to the oven
and
bake 10 minutes, until the cheese begins to ooze.
Serve hot, whole or cut into wedges.
Yield: 6 Servings

NOTE:
Manchego Cheese:
There are two kinds of manchego used in Mexican cooking - and neither is the
high-priced Spanish variety sold in
upscale cheese shops. There is a hard variety (called viejo) and a soft,
semi-firm, golden one that is an excellent melter. The soft one is used
most often for cooking. Monterey Jack or muenster can be substituted.

Anejo Cheese:
Also known as Cotija, is a salty, crumbly white cheese, similar to feta in
appearance.
Romano or washed and dried feta are good substitutes.

Panella Cheese:
A mild, milky-tasting, fresh white cheese often sold in rounds.
A ricotta, farmer's or dry cottage cheese can be substituted.

The reason Mary Sue and Susan like to use one part manchego, one part
panella and one-half part anejo is because they give a greater texture and
flavor than just one cheese, but is not a hard-and-fast rule.
They both say to go right ahead and use whatever you happen to have in the
kitchen, or experiment and come up with you own cheese mix.

SOURCE: Mesa Mexican by Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger with Helena
Siegel.


--
Old Magic 1