Authentic Mexican food in LA

My love for Mexican food started back in Virginia eating Taco Bell and Tippy’s as a youngster. I loved Tippy’s Taco House which was down the street on Lee Highway, as a matter of fact, some of the cousins fondly remember and joke about it, as it was served at my 12th Birthday party. My go-to was the Enchilada combo meal, 2 cheese and 1 beef Enchilada, red sauce, rice, refried beans, finished with a Beef Taco and tortilla chips, por supesto.

Fast forward, L.A. where I work for a Mexican food company. We had to give a presentation on Mexico and the different regions where the staples are no where near what we think is Mexican is: no burritos, no enchiladas INSTEAD moles, tamales, flavors that are tantalizing and tasty. We pepared Mole for the presentation and used 16 different ingredients, amazing. Ever since, I have wanted to explore every region and its indigenous foods. According to Chef Rick Bayless, there are 6 food worthy regions of Mexico; Chihuahua (Northern), Puebla (Central Mexico), Mihoacan (West Central), Oaxaca (Southern Mexico), the Yucatan, and Veracruz (the Coast).

Back to the point of this blog, down the street from South Pasadena is Highland Park, known for their hole-in-the-wall Mexican joints. I haven’t been to any probably because most of my friends don’t eat pork and most of them are MTA (Models Turn Actresses)….you can guess that H.Park isn’t safe at night either. I dragged Eric one night and we pick a joint that specializes in the Yucatan, Villas Durangos. A French trained Mexican chef was welcoming and proudly showed off a picture of himself in Paris. The salsa is super hot, chips straight out of the fryer, and beer ice cold. The waitress speaks Spanish so Eric and I struggle to order, still all the more amused My dish, Pollo Pibil was delicious while Eric was forced to order Carne Chile Colorado since the Cochinita Pibil (pit roasted pork seasoned w/an achiote paste, sour orange and wrapped in banana leaves) was fresh out! The meal with 3 beers, 2 very filling dishes came out to be $18, cheapest and tastiest meal I’ve had in awhile! I plan to visit more Mexican places in Highland Park but don’t think that will be too often unless I make more carnivore eating friends!

Can’t Buy Me Love

Friday night and it’s time to drink wine and eat good food. I’ve wanted to make this Butterscotch pudding forever and had a few willing guinea pigs. I had to prepare dinner too! The food; Romesco style Shimp n’ Grits (a.k.a. Polenta cakes), Mexican Chopped salad with Skirt Steak & Chimichirri dressing, then Proscuitto & Brie Flatbreads. Last was Butterscotch pudding adapted from Dave Lebovitz. The pudding turned out not so great, the egg cooked too fast only because I should have tempered it correctly..ughhhh…..next time!

Eric back from a 6 month hiatus in Brazil and short timer Lindsay who’s moving to the Phillipines were my guests. The discussion was deep, figuring out how Eric could get back to Brazil since his Visa ran out and what life for Lindsay would be like in Southeast Asia. The conversation got even better, relationships, love, Patrick Dempsey, Grey’s Anatomy, and how much he went from, ‘totally chic to totally geek,’ in Can’t Buy Me Love. Needless to say, we ended up at Blockbuster watching it. I know, good times, good times, still one of my ultimate favorites.

The CIA of Napa

FYI, CIA stands for Culinary Institute of America. The main school is in Hyde Park, NY and about 10 years ago, they opened a facility in Napa and more recently San Antonio. Yep, am pretty darn lucky being able to take yet another cooking class that work has sent me to. The trip and class was more like a vacation and boy was I excited to get out of the hustle and bustle of L.A.! I chose to take a classed called, Healthy Flavors of Latin America, Asia and the Mediterranean which lasted 5 days. The class was right up my alley; lectures by a trained PHD of Nutrition , demos from a CIA chef instructor, and hands-on in the kitchen preparing a variety of recipes from the above cuisines. The class consisted of a few restaurant chefs, private chefs, food scientists, and even a foodie who just wanted to learn. The CIA kitchen; filled with French bonnet ovens, vast selections of spices, herbs, produce, meats, pretty much any ingredient, not to mention other equipment like vita-mixers, robocoups, blochett ovens, and automatic pasta makers! YIKES! Nothing like my old alma mater back in Philly where were scrapping for anything and everything.

I am now fascinated by the flavors of Morocco, India, Mexico and the Mediterranean in general. Each day had a differen theme/cuisine. New dishes I made were buckwheat pasta, Bengal fish curry, Roasted tomato chipotle shredded chicken salad. I added to my repertoire of grains, beans (Rancho Gordo) and cooked them in water with flavors like lemongrass, and root vegetables. It's amazing what a little nob of ginger can do onced cooked in rice pilaf or stewed beans! On the last day, we shopped at the local farmer’s market in downtown St Helena and created our own ‘healthy’ dishes.

The perks of taking class at CIA is unimaginable; breakfast, lunch, free wine tastings at local vineyards, discounts at the school store (awesome knives and such), and wonderful hospitality at the hotel and restaurants, Napa loves chefs! All and all, it was a fun week as I had many visitors and headed into SF a few times too. See one of my favorites dishes of the class.

Bengal Fragrant Fish Curry

Haddock, Salmon or Grouper, 3 oz pieces 1 1/2 lbs

Mustard powder 1 tsp

Cumin, ground 1 tsp

Turmeric 1/2 tsp

Red pepper, ground 1/2 tsp

Vegetable oil 2 T

Onions, thin sliced 1 cup

Garlic, sliced 1 T

Serrano chiles, thin sliced 1 T

Tomatoes, peeled and chopped 2 cups

Lemon juice 1/2 each

Cilantro, fresh, chopped 1/4 cup

Salt to taste

1. Please the fish on plate and rub with all spices, set aside for about a half any hour. Heat oil on high and saute fish, unseared, 1 minute on each side. Transfer to plate.

2. Heat same pan on medium, add oil, onion, garlic, and chiles. Cook until onions brown, then tomatoes and salt. Cook until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.

3. Add fish, and cook until it is done throughout, about 4 minutes.

4. Plate and serve, sprinkle with lemon juice and cilantro.

Adapted from CIA Greystone, Classic Indian Vegetarian by Julie Sahni.

Tough life

Sorry, I haven't posted in awhile, after I turned 30, it went down hill from there! Nah...I have been further occupied playing with my toys from the birthday! The I-Touch is awesome, I can download podcasts which include cooking videos, plus check email and surf the web. And check out the Bose system Cousin Tina gave to me, sound is outrageous!

There were be tons of good posts to come like my Cinco de Mayo themed dinner and also, I'm in Napa all week...! Taking a cooking class for work....ahhh, life is hard. The class in on Healthy Flavors of Asia, Latin America and the Mediterranean. I just ironed my chef's jacket and am ready to roll at the CIA in Greystone tomorrow, 7 AM! Wish me luck.

The 30 Club

Yes, 3-0. Many bloggers don’t share their age but me, nah, I’m cool with it. It wasn’t until the actual birth-date I felt utter relief and happiness. Most of my readers are probably the same age even older, you know all those older ‘sophisticates’ who actually care about my life and cooking! Anyways, when one gets to this age, they ponder, ‘WHAT IS GOING ON?” The initial thought that crossed the mind was WHERE DID 30 YEARS GO? I’m half way there..halfway through life, with modern medicine of course, add on another decade or two, right?

To calm nerves and prevention of a crisis, I listed the top 5 achievements thus far, next listing the top 5 ‘to do’ before 40 which is shared at the end of this post. I realize that am the luckiest person at 30. Just 2 weeks before, I spent a splendid weekend in Paso Robles. The weekend of my birthday, Mom made the trek from Virginia. We sight-seed the hot spots of LA, dined with good friends and danced the ‘twist’. She also gave me words of wisdom for the present and the future. I love you Mom and thank you for visiting. Also to my best friend for sharing her birthday with me too (she's 10 HOURS younger!), thanks Carly for the fun filled day bowling and gathering of friends, we really did kick it up another notch!

'Bucket List' before 40

1. Eat Pho in Vietnam.

2. Design and build my own kitchen.

3. Rent a villa in Spain for awhile, eat, drink, and cook.

4. Catch the fish, grow the vegetables, cook it all in one night.

5. Volunteer abroad.