Holiday Soiree: Dia de los Muertos

The Holiday: El Dia de los Muertos (Mexico)
Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, in English, is the time of year that Mexicans celebrate the dead, and as with Halloween in Europe, is thought to be the one time of the year where the dead can return to this realm to visit the living. It is a pre-Columbian holiday that has changed and expanded over the years, particularly after the Spanish invasion and the mixing of Catholicism with the original holiday. As with Halloween in Ireland(see last week's post), the Catholic church kept the main rituals of the original holiday, but changed some of the meanings to make it fit in better with their belief system. Now, Dia de los Muertos, is a two day celebration beginning on November 1st and ending on November 2nd. Each day has a different focus. November 1st focuses on children who died young, stillborn children, and miscarriages. This is a day to honor these children. November 1st also coincides with All Saints Day in Catholicism. November 2nd coincides with All Souls Day in Catholicism, and this is the day for adults who have died. Families will go to cemeteries and clean off graves and bring food to share with one another. The mood is festive and joyful, and the idea is to invite your deceased loved ones to spend the day with you.

Dia de los Muertos is something I've known about for a long time, since my Spanish class days in middle and high school, but I never celebrated it until a few years ago. My family and extended families have been steeped in untimely deaths over the last few years, and I wanted a way to honor them, particularly my cousin, for whom Mexico was his favorite place on Earth. The holiday landed about a month before the first anniversary of his passing, and it seemed like the perfect way to help deal with my grief. I researched the holiday and set up an ofrenda (altar) with some of the traditional items, including an apple and pan de muerto (bread of the dead) that I made myself. It was lovely. So lovely that I did it the next year too, and had a larger ofrenda, with items to honor and entice even more of my loved ones.

 My first ofrenda devoted to my cousin

Last year's ofrenda, includes pan de muerto and black licorice wheels as well as objects and photos associated with all of my loved ones.

Unfortunately, this year, Dia de los Muertos lands on a weekday, which makes it really difficult to make fresh bread, so I will not be doing an ofrenda this year. But, I made pan dulce (sweet bread) today to celebrate.

Dia de los Muertos involves other things as well, like sugar skulls (calaveras) and skull make up (like the picture at the top of this post). Some people wear costumes too. With the concerns about cultural appropriation, this is the line I have drawn for myself, personally. I partake in the food element of the holiday, and the remembrance of my loved ones, but I don't dress up or put on make up. To me that feels like taking something that isn't mine.

This is fast becoming one of my favorite adopted holidays. There is a lot of information about it on the internet, and if you want a visual to go with your research I would recommend the movie The Book of Life, as well as the Dia de los Muertos episode of Elena of Avalor. Both handle the subject with care and respect and will help you learn a lot about the holiday and the true meanings behind it. The biggest thing to do, when partaking in a holiday that isn't one of yours originally, is to be respectful of it. And to actually bother researching it. Dia de los Muertos isn't "Mexican Halloween" or an extension of Halloween, it is it's own holiday, rich with meaning. It has managed not only to maintain its original meaning, but to adapt to the new rituals that have come out of it over the years as well.

The Food: Conchas

I have made pan de muerto for the last couple years now, and the point of my blog projects are to try new things, so I didn't want to make it again. I wanted something different, and I had just found this recipe(I can't remember the source, unfortunately) recently and was really excited to get to try it out.

I have always been interested in this item. I have seen them in pictures and on TV before, and in panaderias(Mexican bakeries) but didn't actually know what they were. They were bread of some sort, but the topping is what intrigued me the most. It's like a brightly colored topping with lines all through them and I had no idea what it was made of, what it tasted like, or how you made them. They were a complete mystery to me. Conchas, are rolls made to look like seashells which is why they have those wavy designs on top, to make it look like a seashell. This recipe takes all the mystery out of it and it turns out, they aren't that complicated to make. They are a lot of fun to make, actually! Here's the recipe:

Buns:
3 tsp. active dry yeast (this is about 1.5 of the yeast packets)
1/2 cup warm water
1/3 cup lukewarm milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, room temp.
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
3 1/2 cups flour, plus extra for dusting

Sugar Paste Topping:
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup margarine (I actually used margarine for this. Since butter is used in the bread, I figured there was a reason for using margarine here, and it wasn't my place to second guess.)
1/2 cup flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Assorted gel food colorings (I used the liquid kind, not the gel kind, and it worked just fine. Just use whatever you have on hand.)

Dissolve the yeast in warm water in the bowl of a standing mixer fixed with a paddle attachment. Add the milk, sugar, butter, salt, egg, and 2 cups flour. Stir together until just combined. Switch to the dough hook attachment. (I used the dough hook attachment the whole time and it worked just fine. Don't bother getting another item dirty that you'll have to wash later on when you don't really need to.) Add an additional cup of flour on medium-low speed. When the flour is incorporated, knead at medium speed for 5 minutes. The dough should be elastic and slightly sticky, but easy to handle. If the dough is very sticky, knead in additional flour. (I did this step by hand. I took the dough out of the bowl and kneaded it by hand. I enjoy kneading by hand and seeing what the dough feels like. But, do what you like most!) Place the dough in a large greased bowl and turn the dough over to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

Meanwhile, make the sugar paste topping: Beat the sugar and margarine together until light and fluffy.

Stir in flour and mix until a thick dough forms. Add additional flour, if needed. Divide dough into 3 or 4 pieces and tint with food color. If the dough becomes sticky from the food color, add more flour. Cover pieces with plastic wrap until ready to use.

When dough is ready, turn it out onto a slightly floured surface.

Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces. Shape each dough piece into a ball by tucking the corners over. (Don't roll between your palms, as this will cause the dough to deflate and become tough.) Place the dough balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Roll out the sugar paste pieces on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 2 1/2" rounds with a cookie cutter. Use the cutter to score lines in paste to resemble ridges on a seashell. Transfer to scored sugar paste rounds to the bun, using an offset spatula.

(Here is what I did with the paste, as opposed to the instructions: I rolled each color out and cut it into quarters. From there, I used the offset spatula to pick up each piece and put it onto the bun but didn't attempt to make it into a shape. This was really hard dough to work with. I then used the back of a knife to draw the lines on each piece. Just score, you don't need to cut all the way through. This seemed to work pretty well.)
If the paste won't adhere naturally, use a pastry brush to apply dots of water on the underside before applying to the buns. Allow the buns to rise on the baking sheet for 40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake buns for 18-20 minutes (I did mine for 18 and it was perfect), or until they are fragrant and lightly brown on the bottoms. Store the leftovers in an airtight container.
Makes 16 buns

These look just like the ones I have seen in the store and online! I was really excited to see them. I was even more excited to taste them. The topping is crunchy and adds a great texture to the bread. It's not overly sweet. The bread is really soft and I could have probably eaten 5 or 6 if I had wanted to, which I sort of did, but I made myself use restraint.

I can't wait to take these to work tomorrow to share with my coworkers. One of my coworkers is from Mexico and was excited when I told her about making these over the weekend. Hopefully they will taste like she remembers!

Well, if this is the first you are ever hearing about this holiday, take some time to research it. You might just find that you want to try it out yourself next year!

Dining In: A Culinary Tour of America-Glendale, Arizona

  

The City: Welcome, to Glendale, Arizona! I know there are other reasons we're all very excited to be here, but for now, we're going to study up on the history and the food! To start it off, a little piece of trivia: Glendale will be hosting the Super Bowl for the second time, but it hosted it for the first time back in 2008.

 

Glendale's population, as of 2010, was 226,721. According to the 2000 census, about 76% of the population is white, and about 5% of the population is African American. The average income is $19,124, and 11.9% of the population lives below the poverty line.

Glendale's official founding date is February 2, 1892, and the area had been a desert until it was irrigated and turned into land that was livable. Farming was the big monetary source for the area. A sugar beet factory drew in a lot of workers and income. The first World War also brought with it an increase in farming to the area which also brought in workers and a need for more housing.

The state of Arizona was a part of Mexico until 1848 when half the state was signed over to the United States. The other half of the state came into the nation in 1853. The territory was part of New Mexico until 1863, but didn't become its own state until 1912. As much as the connection with Mexico was strong, there was an even greater Native American population in the territory that still has a strong presence in the state to this day. Much of what we know as the "Wild West" was actually the territory of Arizona.

The Food:

Because I have already and will continue to focus on Native American food in other states, I wanted to focus on the connection to Mexico with Arizona. I picked two dishes to make and was very happy with how both of them turned out. And I did something I have never done before: I cooked with lard! I was scared of it, because it's so high in saturated fat, but I was even more afraid of cooking with shortening, which still has trans fat in it. I realized it was a "pick your poison" situation, and decided to go with the more natural fat, even if it's higher in saturated fat, rather than the laboratory-made trans fat. I think the lard also lent a little more flavor to the food than shortening would have done.

Frijoles de Olla, is a bean dish that I had never heard of before. Traditionally it's made in a clay pot, but since I didn't have one, I just used a regular pan. I learned something very valuable about beans tonight: you don't have to soak beans before cooking them! Don't waste your time or the water on it, just throw it in the pan and add your water and go. It still takes several hours to cook, but no longer than if you'd soaked them first. I adapted the recipe from two different recipes I found online and it is as follows:

2 cups dried beans of choice(I used pinto. I wouldn't recommend garbanzo or soy, they just don't evoke thoughts of Mexico, in my opinion)

Water

Salt

1/4 yellow onion, sliced

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and cut down the middle(You can use a spicier pepper if you so desire)

Rinse and pick over the beans, taking out any rocks or wrinkled beans. Place the rest of the beans in a large pan big enough to hold them and about three inches of water. Bring this to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for an hour before adding the salt(I didn't measure, I just poured in what looked good to me. Also, I had planned on adding some dried oregano as well but I forgot. It was still good, but I would like to have had that additional flavor), the onion and the pepper.

Continue to simmer for another hour to an hour and a half or until the beans are fully softened. Keep an eye on the water level and add more if it starts to thicken too much. When the pepper halves are fully softened, remove them from the pot, dice them, and return them to the pot.

When the beans are softened, spoon them into bowls to serve on the side of your meal. The flavors are strong enough that they stand out well and you want to taste them by themselves as opposed to having them mixed in with something else. 

I really liked it and it made a lot, so there will be leftovers for my coworkers on Monday! They're vegan, and not spicy so nobody will have to worry about being afraid to try it!

And the other item I made...Homemade tortillas. I have had this recipe in my collection forever but I have never tried it yet. Boy was I missing out! I was sooo impressed with this one. I don't know that I can go back to the flavorless, textureless store bought ones after this. I may have been ruined for store bought tortillas now. It was definitely not a simple task. In was pretty involved and took a bit of time to get done, but the result was phenomenal. The recipe claims that leftovers can be frozen for later use and I might need to make a ton of these and keep them in my freezer instead of bags of the kind from the store. I followed the recipe, though I halved it, so I will write it out here. It's so old I have no idea of the original source. 

Flour Tortillas

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 1/2 tsp. salt

4 Tbsp. lard or shortening(I went with lard, but if you'd like a vegetarian option, you should go with the shortening. Just note that even with the revamped formula, shortening still has trans fat in it.)

Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Cut in shortening.(I used a pastry cutter and this worked really well. Use it for longer than you think you need to and break down the fat really well into the flour.) Make a well in the center and add water, a small amount at a time, to form a dough. Knead dough in bowl until smooth and elastic. Cover and set aside for ten minutes. Form dough into egg-sized balls and flatten between palms. With rolling pin, roll each ball into a 6" circle, about 1/8" thick. Cook on preheated ungreased skillet over medium high heat, about two minutes per side, until tortilla looks speckled.(Be careful once you turn it because it will burn very quickly. I ended up turning them several times just to cook through but keep it from overheating on each side.) Cover with a clean towel to keep warm and soft until served.(I placed a plate on top of the pot of beans that had finished cooking. I turned the heat off but there was a lot of heat in the pot and it kept the tortillas hot and pliable.) The tortillas may be cooled and stored in plastic bags in the freezer for later use.

I forgot to count, but I think the half-recipe of this made about 8-9 tortillas. I actually burned the first one, but there was still plenty left. Most of them were almost round! I really liked the flavor and texture of these. They were thick, but not too thick, and chewy. They were crispy on the outside, but not crunchy, and were foldable. I made basic tacos for them and served the beans on the side. I swear they were the best tacos I've ever had! Also, a trick I learned: buy pre-marinated fajita-style chicken from the grocery store, and cook it while everything else cooks. This was too spicy for me and I cut it by adding sour cream to the chicken and mixing it together. It was amazing this way!

I would definitely make both of these recipes again. The beans were easy and not that hands-on. The tortillas were easy, but labor-intensive. I think it was well worth it, however. Give it a try sometime and let me know what you think! You may be spoiled for store bought too afterwards!

Citations:

Map

City Picture

Frijoles de Olla, one of two

Frijoles de Olla, two of two

History

More History

Cooking Light Night

Tortilla Meatball Soup

I tried this out the other day and really liked it. It definitely was time-consuming, but it made a lot of leftovers for me to freeze, so I forgive it. The recipe called for ground sirloin, but since I don't eat beef I used ground chicken, which I think made it even less fat than what the original numbers are. Also, I used Egg Beaters instead of the egg for the meatballs, which cut out all the cholesterol from that as well as more fat and calories.

I would recommend you start this in the afternoon rather than at dinnertime to make this or you'll be eating very late. Also, after you open the can of chipotle chiles in adobo and only use one of them, you may be asking yourself, what the heck will I do with the rest of it? Try out this handy tip: Take a baking sheet and cover it in a sheet of parchment paper. Line up the chiles so they aren't touching each other and then spoon some of the sauce over each one. They will look like weird mounds, but that's not important. From here, place the baking sheet in the freezer for a couple hours until they are frozen. They will peel off the parchment paper and you can put them in a freezer bag or container and put them back in the freezer. You can take one out each time you need one for a recipe and not have to buy a new can each time or waste the can. This is definitely a good idea, imo.

Infamous Apple Enchiladas

We had a potluck at work for National Tortilla Chip Day. I wanted to do something that fit in with that idea, but was unique at the same time. I wanted to do something with apple pie and then turn it into Mexican food. The easiest way? Enchiladas. There are recipes out there for dessert enchiladas, but most of them call for that nasty canned fruit stuff for pies. Blech. So I got my dad's apple pie recipe and just used the filling part to develop my own recipe. I cooked the apples the day before assembling the enchiladas. I did it in a pan on the stove with water, spices, and some lemon juice. I cooked them till they were about half done, then drained and cooled them. I saved the juice and added caramel sauce to it. I used that to dip the tortillas in and then with the apples and more caramel sauce, I made them into enchiladas. When I finished baking them a lot of liquid was sitting in the pans so I took out the liquid. Since they'd be refrigerated overnight I didn't want them to get soggy. But I saved that liquid and added more caramel sauce and used it as the sauce to serve it with. It needed something so I got some whipped cream and Cool Whip to serve it with. They all got eaten so they must have turned out ok.

Yummy Enchiladas

We had some cooked chicken left over from a rotisserie chicken from the store, so I found this recipe for enchiladas. The only other enchiladas I've made had a red sauce, and this one was a cream sauce. I thought the filling was rather pretty, with the green and red together. Sort of festive.
The sauce has chicken broth, sour cream, cumin, chili powder and a roux to thicken it all. And it's a very messy recipe, and definitely a group project. One to portion the filling, one to dip the tortillas and ideally one to spread the filling and roll the tortilla. We were only two people so we made due. And got very messy in the process!
The recipe said to put the cheese on the top at the start and bake for 25 minutes, but I saved it for the last 10 minutes and I think it was better because it didn't get too dried out and crispy. These turned out to be not spicy but really flavorful and so delicious! We made Mexican rice to accompany it, and even though it turned out to be a really late dinner, it was well worth the wait!