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Esteban

Tamales with Del Real Foods

Hola Hola! I hope you are having a great week, today we are talking about tamales!

The Holidays are fast approaching, and since we’re still in quarantine and probably won’t have the opportunity to travel, I wanted to share my thoughts on store bought tamales!

Del Real Foods reached out to me to share some of their new tamales with me, and I was very excited for them to arrive. When I was in college I was just starting to learn how to cook and Del Real Foods was typically my go-to for things like carnitas, refried beans and rice because their recipes just tasted like home, so I knew I wasn’t going to be disappointed.

When the tamales arrived, I was pleasantly surprised! Their tamales come in a dozen, and one of the things that really stood out to me were the tamal wraps. Each tamal is wrapped in a sustainable wrap! What does it mean? It means that Del Real Foods does not use Corn Husks for their tamales. The sustainable wraps prevent mold and bugs, is environmentally sustainable, and helps save over 10K gallons of water weekly because these wraps don’t need to be rehydrated!

The tamales come in 5 different flavors, Pork in Red Sauce, Chicken in Red Sauce, Chicken in Green Sauce, Cheese and Green Chili Tamales, and Beef in Red Sauce. I got to try the Chicken in Red Sauce tamales, and they were absolutely delicious. One of the things I really appreciated is that you are able to steam these tamales to reheat them. I’ve had other tamales where you can only reheat them in the microwave and I find that doing that just dried them out. In terms of taste, the tamales were really moist and flavorful, and let me tell you, the ratio of meat to dough was amazing! I’d say the tamales were equal parts masa to meat, it wasn’t just a small glob in the center surrounded by a brick of masa.

If the thought of making tamales on your own gives you anxiety, definitely try Del Real Food’s Tamales. They are going to be the best option for those who don’t live with family and won’t have the opportunity to visit them for the Holidays this year and are looking for something fresh, flavorful and authentic.

Head over to their www.delrealfoods.com to find them at a local grocery store near you.

Rajas con Mac & Cheese

Some of my favorite recipes that I’ve made over the past year have all come from me finding something random in the pantry that needed to be used right then and there, like the concha bread pudding or like the mac & cheese were making today!

I had a bag filled with poblano peppers that I had used for a shoot earlier in the week that I didn’t know what else to do with, until Billy pointed out that we had a big bag of pasta sitting on the counter..and this mac and cheese came to fruition a few minutes later. It’s soooo cheesy, so easy to throw together, and the roasted poblanos and pickled jalapeños add some nice smokiness and heat. I love mac and cheese, and this is probably the only way I’m going to be making mac and cheese for the rest of the year.

I have a few recipes I’ve already shared on Instagram, that I’ll be uploading to the blog throughout next week, like the vegan pambazos, berry bionicos and the kiwi cucumber margarita, so have a great weekend y nos vemos pronto!

Rajas con Mac & Cheese

Horchata Birthday Cake

Momofuku Milk Bar Inspired Horchata Birthday Cake

I think I’ve fallen in love with New York.

My first time visiting was actually earlier this year in April, when I got to go on a work trip for two days, but I didn’t get to really experience much. This time around, I got to spend a full week, which was more than enough time to get a taste of all the sights, smells, and bites Nueva York had to offer.

We had noodles, dumplings, pizza, ice cream, even more pizza, arepas, bagels and lox, and of course…even more ice cream. I’m pretty sure I ate my weight in pizza and ice cream while I was there.

Momofuku Milk Bar Inspired Horchata Birthday Cake

It was a super last minute trip, but we managed to snag a really affordable airbnb in Hells Kitchen just two weeks prior to leaving, and it was great to see how close we were to just about most of the places we wanted to visit.

We had bagels and lox every morning, because out where I live in Southern California (Riverside), the only place where you can find a bagel, is at Panera. Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company was our go to spot while we were there. We had their Nova sandwich which came on an everything bagel with nova lox, scallion cream cheese, red onions, tomatoes and capers. Every bite of this sandwich was perfect. I’m crying just thinking about how much I miss it.

We also had pizza, because you can’t go to New York and not have pizza and out of all of the places we tried, Prince Street Pizza was hands down the best we had. We stood in line for about 10 minutes, looking at all of the pictures of the celebrities who had eaten before, skeptical of wether or not the place would be worth the hype. But it was. The pepperoni was thick and plenty, and the crust was nice and crispy with just the right amount of cheese on it.

For ice cream, we tried Van Leeuwen’s which was nothing to rave about, Big Gay Ice Cream which became a melty mess as soon as the cone was handed to us, Amorino Gelato which was good, Seed + Mill which was also good, and of course Milk Bar which was very good.

I left the city feeling inspired, and very full and when I got home a few days later, I got to work and decided to make a cake inspired by our trip. It’s a take on Milk Bar’s Christina Tossi’s concept of her naked birthday cake with crumbs, but it’s even better because it’s horchata flavored! The cake itself is a moist cinnamon cake, drizzled with an horchata soak and topped with an horchata buttercream and topped with crunchy crumbs and sprinkles. The recipe is pretty easy, just make sure to give everything enough time to come to room temperature, or you’ll get stuck with a broken buttercream like I did!

Momofuku Milk Bar Inspired Horchata Birthday Cake I was trying to keep this post brief so I didn’t mention a few other places we ate at, but I couldn’t go without mentioning Xian Famous Foods and their amazing noodles, and Levain Bakery which had the softest and most gooey cookies I have ever had in my life.

This cake is a winner, and I hope you get to enjoy it as much as I did. Everyone was left asking for seconds, which is always a sign of success if you ask me.

Nos vemos pronto! Stay chingonx!

La Violeta (Chicha Morada & Pineapple Margarita)

When we were in Austin earlier this year, we stopped at a restaurant called “Yuyo” to have some Peruvian food, and it was so good! Billy and I split some churrasco with their Andean chimichurri and really crispy papas criollas and I also had their “purple drank” cocktail, which left an impression on me. It had pisco and chicha morada, which are two things I hadn’t had before, and it left me wanting to learn a little more about both.

Just from doing a quick google search, you’ll find that chicha morada has been a staple in Peru long before the Spaniards arrived. Chicha morada is a drink made from boiling purple corn, or culli, along with pineapple rinds, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and star anise that is served over ice. I made it using Adrianna’s recipe over the weekend, and I haven’t been able to set it down since. Chicha reminds me of a mulled wine, where it fills your house with the sweet aroma of warm spices. If you’ve yet to try chicha, I highly suggest you do! I always enjoy learning about dishes outside of my own culture, so feel free to share some of your favorites with me.

Today we’re going to be making a cocktail where Mexico meets Peru. We’re taking chicha morada, and adding a splash of pineapple and lime juice, agave syrup and tequila to make a refreshing margarita. It sounds deceitfully simple, but tastes so complex due to the warm spices that are balanced out by the lime and pineapple juice. Today just so happens to be National Tequila Day, so if you’re feeling adventurous and have a little time for yourself, be sure to try this recipe out.

¡Nos vemos pronto!

PS, if you can’t find purple corn at your local Latin American stores, you can easily purchase it on Amazon here.

La Violeta (Chicha Morada & Pineapple Margarita)

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