missing mexico/extrañando a méxico

from time to time i feel nostalgic and miss mexico...besides the food, i miss the people, warm weather and many other beautiful things...
de vez en cuando me siento nostalgica y extraño a méxico...aparte de la comida, extraño la gente, clima calida y muchas otras cosas hermosas...

peanut bread/pan de cacahuate

this weekend i could not cook or bake something that would take long time to prepare. i decided it was the right moment to make the peanut bread from the old magazine "panaderia mexicana". it was a good choice. the dough was soft, elastic and it was a joy to work with it :)

este fin de semana no pude cocinar u hornear algo que tomara mucho tiempo para prepararse. decidi que era el mejor momento para hacer el pan de cacahuade de la vieja revista "panadería mexicana". fue una buena elección. la masa era suave, elástica y placentera al trabajarla :)

ingredients/ingredientes:

250 g all purpose flour/harina
40 g white sugar/azúcar
1/2 teaspoon of salt/cucharadita cafetera del sal
1 egg/huevo
90 g unsalted butter/mantequilla
3,5 g dry active yeast/levadura en polvo
100 ml water/agua
1 cup ground peanuts/taza  de cacahuate molido

make a fountain inside of the flour. in the center place the egg, sugar and salt, on the outside 40 grams of the butter cut in cubes and the yeast. start mixing everything adding the water little by little until the dough gets soft and elastic. mix in the half cup of the peanuts. cover the dough with a plastic wrap and let it rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.

forma una fuente con la harina, ponga al centro el huevo, el azúcar y la sal, 40 gramos de mantequilla y la levadura por fuera. empieza a mezclar todo integrando el agua poco a poco hasta que la masa queda suave y elástica. agregue la mitad de los cacahuates. deja reposar la masa durante 30 minutos a temperatura ambiente, tapada con un plástico.

meanwhile mix the other half of the peanuts with 50 grams of melted butter. mientras mezcla la otra mitad de los cacahuates con 50 gramos de mantequilla derretida. 

from the dough, make a long "roll" (app. 40 cm). press it lightly. on the top spread the peanuts mix. pinch the sides together to close it. turn it around and place on a baking sheet. cut it diagonally with scissors. when you make the cut, turn the cut part to one side. the next cut turn to the other side.

haz un "rollo" de app. 40 cm de largo. presiónalo ligeramente. untalo con la mezcla de cacahuate. pellizqua los bordes para cerrarlo. coloqualo boca abajo sobre una charola. hazle cortes en diagonal con unas tijeras. al momento de hacer el corte, colóqualo hacía un lado y en el siguiente corte hacía el otro lado.

sprinke the bread with flour and leave it to double in size for about 30 minutes. bake in a preheated oven (190°C) for 20 minutes.

rocíalo con harina y deja fermentar por 30 minutos hasta que doble su volumen. hornealo en el horno precalentado (190°C) durante 20 minutos.

wow wow wow :O

i could not believe when i checked my email this morning...my photo was published on tastestpotting.

after yesterday's fire in the office, this totally made my day :)

blondies with white chocolate and cinnamon

i love cinnamon :) when i found this recipe, i knew i have to try to bake them. i have changed the original recipe a little. my blondies might not look very good, but i swear they were delicious...chewy, but firm at a same time.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 cup packed light brown sugar

50 g white chocolate

2 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon baking powder

as a first thing, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. at this point, you can turn on the oven (190°C).

on a low flame, stirring all the time, melt the butter and mix in the brown sugar until it looks like a sugary paste. add the white chocolate and stir until it dissolves completely. set it aside to cool down.

in a larger bowl whisk the eggs with vanilla. then gradually whisk in the cooled-down sugar butter mixture. sift the flour with cinnamon and fold it in slowly. pour the batter into buttered and floured pan. baking time for this cake is 25 to 35 minutes. it is important not to over-bake the blondies. when totally cooled down, cut it into little squares. 

tinga de pollo

tinga is very easy and tasty mexican dish. the place of origin of this meal is one of the mexican states - puebla. it can be made from chicken, beef or pork meat. during the week i have bought some white onions to prepare it this saturday :) all you need to make tinga is:

1 whole chicken breast
1 clove of garlic
2 big white onions
4 big tomatoes
3 chipotles
salt
white vinegar
vegetable oil
chicken stock

cook the chicken breasts with half of one onion, garlic and a little salt. once the meat is soft, take it out and leave to cool down. save the chicken stock for later. tear the chicken into little pieces.

cut the onions into thin slices. preheat the pan with 2 or 3 spoons of vegetable oil. fry the onions on a low heat until soft and transparent.

peal off the tomatoes and cut them into small cubes. cut the chipotles as well. put everything to the pan with the onions, add a teaspoon of salt, teaspoon of vinegar and a cup of chicken stock. cook for about 10 minutes. add the chicken, mix well and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes.

serve tinga with warm corn tortillas or on tostadas with frijoles refritos :)

mini cinnamon rolls

i had some leftover danish pastry dough. i thought it might be good with cinnamon :) and i made these tiny rolls. i just rolled out the dough, sprinkled it with cinnamon and sugar, made one large roll out of it and cut into little rolls. i let them for about 30 minutes to rise in volume, brushed them with beaten egg and baked in a preheated oven (190°C) for about 10 minutes.

 

cuernitos

i decided that this saturday we will have "cuernitos" for breakfast. they look a little like croissants and are made of danish pastry dough. i got my recipe from the old mexican magazine about traditional baking. they are very common in mexico and even though the dough has some sweetness to it, you can eat them with ham, cheese and vegetables.

for the dough i needed:

500 g all-purpose flour

80 g white sugar

10 g salt

37,5 g butter

237,5 g margarine

10 g powdered milk

4 eggs

7 g dry active yeast

100 ml water

place the flour on the table and make a hole in the middle. put there the half of the sugar, salt, 37,5 grams of margarine,  powdered milk and the yeast. mix a little. add the eggs and mix a little more. then add the water and mix, so that all the ingredients are well incorporated. 

the dough should be elastic and smooth. now it's the time to add the second half of the sugar and the butter. mix again. the dough is done when it is not sticking to the table anymore. leave it to rest at a room temperature for one hour.

after one hour, you can continue. roll the dough out into a rectangular shape. take the rest of the margarine (200 g) and spread it evenly on the dough. now take one side and fold it in one third. take the other side and fold it over the top of the part you folded before. roll it out again and fold like before. repeat this procedure 4 times. when you are done, refrigerate the dough overnight or even more (8 to 24 hours).

in the morning, take the dough out of the fridge and leave it for couple minutes to warm up. roll it out to a rectangle (30 x 60 cm). it should be about 5 mm thick. take a knife and cut it into 8 triangles. 

take a dough triangle and make a "cuernito". stretch all the peaks of the triangle and start rolling. make sure it is tight. stretch the ends again and join them. 

leave the pastries to double in size, then brush with beaten egg. when dried, brush them again. bake in the preheated oven (190°C) for 15 minutes. place on a rack to cool down. take a bite and enjoy :)

how to use your mangoes or mango and peach pie

i have been asked to use two big mangoes we had at home. i thought that a mango pie would be a nice change, because i usually bake apple pies. two mangoes were not enough, so i added some peaches as well. my inspiration was this recipe.

the crust:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon of salt

5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

3 tablespoons margarine

10 tablespoons cold water

2 tablespoons white sugar

the filling:

2/3 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

4 1/2 cups mangoes and peaches cut into wedges

the topping:

1 1/2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoons white sugar

to prepare the dough, in a bowl mix the flour, salt and sugar. cut your butter and margarine into cubes. then, in the bowl, cut in the butter and margarine with the pastry blender. Add the water, spoon by spoon until you get bigger chunks of dough and make the dough. divide it into two pieces, wrap them in plastic foil an put to the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

preheat the oven to 220 °C. while waiting, prepare the pie filing. mix the brow sugar and the cornstarch, add the fruit and toss until all the mangoes and peaches are covered.


when chilled, unwrap the dough, place it on a lightly floured surface and roll out into a circle. fit the dough in the lightly greased pie plate and place the fruit on the dough. then roll out the second part of the dough and cover the pie. press the edges of the pie together creating a pattern. cut few slits on the cover dough, to help the air to escape. brush the pie with milk and sprinkle with white sugar. bake it for 20 minutes at 220 °C, then reduce the temperature to 190 °C and bake for another 30 minutes. when the crust is golden, take it out and let it cool down...cut into wedges and serve :)

donuts

there is nothing like a fresh donut...i love the taste, the texture, the sweetness...everything. this was my first attempt to prepare them.

what i used for the dough:

1 cup scalded milk

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

7 g dry active yeast

2 beaten eggs

1/6 teaspoon nutmeg

3 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup mashed potatoes

the picture for this recipe have been taken on two different days...i prepared the dough late in the evening, left if in the fridge during the night and made the donuts in the morning of next day...that's why they seem so different. 

as a first step, i melted the butter in a hot milk then added one teaspoon of sugar and the salt and left it to cool down. meanwhile i whisked together the eggs and the remaining sugar. after about 5 minutes i added the nutmeg.

i mixed the milk that was not so hot anymore with the yeast and left it to grow while i was preparing the rest of the dough. to the egg mixture (whisked eggs with sugar and nutmeg) i added 1 cup of flour and mixed it well. next ingredient to go in were the mashed potatoes, which i mixed in thoroughly as well. then i poured in the milk with yeast and the rest of the flour. the final dough was light and a little sticky (it was sticky on my fingers, but not on the bowl). i placed it to the fridge covered by a plastic foil and left it there overnight. you don't have to wait the whole night though, the dough doubles its size in more less an hour and you can proceed with the recipe.

in the morning, when i took it out of the fridge, the dough was beautifully and full of air bubbles. i rolled it out and cut out the donuts. i used two different size glasses instead of a donut cutter because i do not have one. i left the donuts to rise for about 30 minutes. to use the waiting time well, i prepared my "glaze" mixing together 2 cups of powdered sugar, half teaspoon of vanilla, 1 tablespoon of warm milk and 1 teaspoon of butter. if you do not like vanilla glaze, you can prepare a chocolate one, or any other flavor you like.

when the donuts doubled in size, i heated the vegetable oil and fried them until they got beautiful golden brown color (not more than 2 minutes on each side). i left them to cool down on a paper towel to get rid of the extra oil. at the end i glazed them with the sugar vanilla mixture. they were a real success but there is always room for improvement :)