This entry is sent to one reader who was curious where I dug up a lot of my recipes.
I recently received an email asking where and how I do my research for my recipes (hopefully from someone interested in writing about Latin American and Caribbean food).
Currently, I am located in Mexico, which is why most of the recipes I've written have been from there.
For background reading on recipes and food in Mexico, there is no one better to turn to than Rick Bayless. He has written the book on Mexican cuisine for home chefs in the US.
But armchair research has never been my bag. You have to get out there and eat. More so than that, you have to talk to people about what they eat.
This is an easy thing. People like to talk about food. I have never met anyone who has never eaten.
Because it's something we all share in common most people are willing to share favorite foods and ways of preparing them.
For example, there is a seasonally specialty in Puebla called chiles en nogada. My friend Victor in the small town of Tepexi, Puebla gave me this recipe. When I told my friend Edmundo that I had never had chilies en nogada, his mom whipped up a batch even though usually when his mom makes chilies en nogada she will spend three days on the process and turn out around a thousand portions (one day to roast the pork, one day to stuff the chilies, one day to fry the chilies and make sauce).
Are these "authentic" recipes? Probably not. Are they the only way these recipes can be prepared? Not even close.
It's one version, hopefully made as simple as possible, that is meant to be played with and tried over and over.
Thanks for the question! Keep them coming.
