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I have always thought that food in different countries determines, somehow, the happiness of their people. Mexico is a country that has always been struggling with. . .itself. Still, people, no matter what or how much they lack always seem to be happy or, at least, to hide very well most of their frustrations. On the other hand, Pablito Cronin was telling us the other day that he went to have dinner at a Mexican Restaurant, which led me to think that it´s been almost 4 years since some lunatics were around my country tasting some of its food. Anyway, all this to say that, as part of all the cultural exchanges we have promoted in this site, we could, perhaps, exchange some recipes of local dishes. I will start with "Chicken Enchiladas Suizas", and it goes about this way: This recipe makes a dozen enchiladas, which should serve four. It takes about an hour to prepare altogether. 1 20 ounce can whole tomatoes 1 7 ounce can diced green chiles 1 medium onion, quartered 2 - 3 cloves garlic, peeled 1 cup sour cream salt and pepper to taste 12 corn tortillas 1/2 cup corn or canola oil 2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed 4 cups Swiss, Chihuahua or Jack cheese, grated 1 bunch green onions, chopped 1 cup sour cream In food processor, blend together tomatoes, chiles, onion, garlic and sour cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper and pour into a large saucepan. Heat thoroughly. Heat oil in skillet until a drop of water sizzles when placed in it. Fry a tortilla lightly on both sides so it's still pliable. Using tongs, remove it from the pan. Dip it into the enchilada sauce and lay it inside a 9 x 14 pan. Stuff enchilada with chicken, cheese and onions. Roll and place seam side down in the pan. Repeat for all 12 tortillas, reserving a small amount of cheese and onions. When all enchiladas are made, place the pan in a 350 degree oven for about twenty minutes. Remove from oven, pour remaining enchilada sauce over enchiladas until almost covered. Cover with remaining cheese and onions. Broil for two minutes or until cheese is melted. Serve immediately, topped with dollops of sour cream. Bon apétit PS. I am sorry if my recipe comes before any other. . . It´s just that there are none to put above this one so far. But I know you´ll understand PS2 In case someone wants a specific recipe from the wide Mexican cuisine, let me know and I´ll look for it. SHARE ON!

Hey Pedro B! I'm busy working in/out of my house today - it's a beautiful warm, sunny day here in PA and I thought I'd stop on the computer for a quick look (I'm giving myself a 10 minute limit because I have so many things to do and I'm incredibly hungry, not having had anything since early morning breakfast). Anyway, what do I find here . . . a recipe for a most delicious-sounding meal!!! :-] :-] :-] Now, I'm REALLY hungry and if I had all of the ingredients (I do have quite a few of them in already), I'd make it for myself right now and eat all FOUR servings!!! I'm hungry, remember! :-] :-] Instead, I'm going to print out the recipe and when I have my family over for dinner next week, I'm going to make them - I'm sure they'll be great and I'm going to call them "Pedro's Enchiladas" from this point on and I'll always remember from whence they came. So, thank you for the recipe (and this great thread!) and I'll be sure to let you know how it all turns out. As for my contribution, I'll go through my recipes this evening and I'll be sure to add some. I love to cook/bake and have many recipes that I use (although I'm not sure if I have any truly worthy ones for Irish/English cooking (which is my heritage), but I'll pass on any of my favorite "American" recipes (which will cover a whole world of recipes, I'm sure). Okay, I'm off to make myself something to eat . . . I'll see everyone on here later in the evening. Kind regards Pat Parker :-]

thanx a lot, pedro! i will try it and tell ya how things turned out :-] i tried to make sushi rolls.3 times. the first time, i used too much vinegar. the second time, there was too much rice and too little fish in the rolls. and the third time, the rice was too.smashy (???)well, let's say you did not have to chew it anymore. so far for my experiments with food from another country

by the way: my fav dish is chilli con carne (however this is written). but we always use these little "bags" where the spices and stuff are already mixed together and you cannot really call it "cooking" anymore when you use them to prepare a meal. do you have a cooking instruction (where is my dictionary???)for cilli con carne?

Pedro, excellent thread! And thanks for posting the first recipe! You have to know I'm addicted eating Mexican-style, I just love the special taste of it! And for culture aspects, Mexico really fascinates me. Dio de Los Muertos for example, is one thing in this life I wish to witness one day myself. There's more of course, but I'll just have to start somewhere, right? Another awesome recipe perhaps?

wow, great ide Pedro, we have few mexican food here.I'll love to try some. Soon I'll come back to bring the dulce de leche recipe ( the original one, not the one made with condensed milk), I guess there is nothing more argentinean than that. Well,except mate, perhaps, but you have to have yerba for that.

Memé. YOu also have fantastic empanadas (humita, espinacas) and, probably, the best meat around the globe. It is so natural for you doing a parrillada on weekends, that you may have forgotten how special and different it is from other parts of the world (el empuje, el vacío, el bife de chorizo, etc.) and your wines. . . Xib! Thank you for your comment. You should have come to the Mexican gathering. That was what I was talking about. There is so much diversity, that you can practically see different "celebrations" of the dead in the North, in the South and in Central Mexico. The day of the dead is approaching. It has nothing to do with Halloween (except for the coincidence in dates) and is, by far, my favorite local celebration. I will try to go places this year, and take pictures. In the meantime, here´s a couple of links that might be of interest regarding such a beautiful and powerful prehispanic celebration http://www.diademuertos.com/FotosPandeMuerto.html and http://www.azcentral.com/ent/dead/articles/dead-food_bread.html Enjoy

I sure will! Muchas gracias!

Sammy. Chili con carne is not a Mexican dish. As a matter of fact, according to wikipedia, it is the official dish from the State of Texas, with an obvious influence of Mexican cuisine. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chili_con_carne (this is a very interesting link, BTW. . . but no recipe, though)

Pedro--can you give me the recipe for that stuffed poblano chile thing with the pomegranate seeds on it??? YUMMY!!!!!!!! Here is my favorite recipe. Open box remove plastic film microwave on high 5 minutes Deb Grant

Mexican food is fantastic. While I love lots of other foods too I find myself eating Mexican more than anything else. The time I ate best in my life was when I was in Oaxaca Mexico. For those facing colder and shorter days I recommend some soups. Here is one I made the other day Roast some potatoes, garlic, leeks and other veggies first. (This step can add lots of flavor). Sautee onions in a soup pot. Add seasoning - seasoned salts, pepper, etc. Add veggie broth and water and bring to a boil. Add the roasted veggies and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 20 minutes. I like to add kale or chard to soups - (its a great way to eat these very healthy greens) cut em up and put it in for the last 5-10 minutes of simmering. You can do the same with tomatoes, or zucchini, or other veggies you want to add at the last minute so as to not over cook. Buy or make some nice crusty bread to eat with the soup. Put on your favorite PG CD and enjoy!

:-] :-] :-] Complete with nitrates and other questionable ingredients to sustain shelf life - what could possibly be better?? Simple+Fast= delicious!!!!! (I'm all about the no-mess, get-it-done-in-a-jiffy these days! ) Neato thread!

Here it is the Dulce de leche, we eat it almost with anything ( as they use peanut butter in USA) with banana, cheese, in croissants on a toasted bread, inside cakes, with icecream, as an Icecream flavor, with chocolate, mmmm yummy!!! http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/DulceDeLeche.jpg/250px-DulceDeLeche.jpg Ingredients: 1 quart milk, whole 1 1/3 cup sugar 1 vanilla bean 1/2 teaspoon baking soda Directions: Combine all the ingredients in a large, heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer the mixture briskly, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until thick, caramel colored, and reduced by half, 30 to 40 minutes. (You will need to adjust the heat, now up, now down, to keep the mixture at a brisk simmer, but without it boiling over. The traditional test for doneness is to pour a spoonful of caramel cream on a plate. When it gathers in a thick puddle and no longer runs to the edges, the mixture is ready.) Remove the vanilla bean and discard. Soon on this thread, I'll try to explain a genuine argentinean parrillada, with asado, vacio, chorizo y morcilla, entrañita, chinchulines y riñoncitos. Oh, we should do a gathering here so you can taste it!!!!

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/TRENETTE-WITH-PESTO-POTATOES-AND-GREEN-BEANS-354 (Too lazy to write it down myself :-]) Pedro wrote: "4 cups Swiss, Chihuahua" If I can't find a Swiss Chihuahua, can I use half a French Bulldog instead?

EDIT: 1/2 cup olive oil (preferably extra-virgin) (CUT) 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted For Peter's sake, use *only* Extra Virgin Olive Oil ("preferably" my ass ) and never, ever roast the pine nuts. The recipe is trenette with pesto, potatoes and green beans BTW.

If I can't find a Swiss Chihuahua, can I use half a French Bulldog instead? Man! You made me laugh so loud in the office. . . May I correct: 4 cups Swiss OR Chihuahua cheese Or maybe a fifth of a Mastino Napolitano :-]

Here's a magical secret recipe. Don't tell to every one 1)Take your phone. 2)Dial the pizza guy. 3)Tell him what you want. 4)Prepare the bills. Now you got it, do it! Thanks for the thread, Pedro! :-]

Caste--I nearly peed my pants from laughing!!!! Deejie-all those preservatives is ow I keep looking really good for a 55 year old battleaxe. I like Steph's recipe too!!!

Good for you, Debbisita! Use as many preservatives as you can, want and need. . . but his thread is about food, not . . . "food for life" :-] :-] :-]

Another favorite Get in car start engine place gear in drive drive to nearest drive through window order pay park eat drive home fall into fat induced coma