Betty some might call us adventurers for enjoying pig's feet; I just call it delicious! - Rick

Tostadas de Manitas de Puerco (Pigs Feet Tostadas): This classic Mexican dish, especially beloved in West Central and Central Mexico, can be made by replacing the chicken in the traditional recipe with pickled pigs feet, either purchased or homemade; you may omit the beans, as most cooks do when building pigs feet tostadas, and use a vinegary Mexican bottled hot sauce (like Tamazula) for the salsa. To prepare 1 pounds (2 medium) pigs feet (ask the butcher to split them), simmer them slowly in water to cover in a large pot (add salt, bay leaves, garlic and chopped onion for flavor) until theyre very tender, about 4 hours. Remove and cool, then cut out all the bones and knuckles. Chop what remains into rough half-inch pieces. Make an escabeche of sliced onion, halved garlic cloves, sliced carrot and sliced jalapeos, first frying them in olive oil until crunchy-tender, then simmering briefly in half cider vinegar and half waternot even enough liquid to cover. Cool, season with salt, mix in the pigs feet and let stand at least several hours before assembling your pigs feet tostadas.

Sincerely,
Rick

I can give you my basic Mexican RED Rice recipe, but I don't think it's really what you're looking for (I've had Puerto Rican Yellow Rice and I love it).  In a medium-size saucepan, I fry 1 1/2 cups rice (I like medium-grain rice)and a small diced onion in a little vegetable oil over medium heat until everything starts to brown.  While the rice mixture is frying, I blend one 15-ounce can of tomatoes (drained) and 2 garlic cloves.  When the rice starts browning, I add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, for 2 or 3 minutes, until nearly dry.  Then I add 1 3/4 cups chicken broth (it's best if it's hot) and about 1 teaspoon sslt.  When the mixture comes to a boil, I stir it a couple of times, put on the lid and cook over low heat until the rice is done--usually about 20 minutes.  When it's done, I remove the pan from the heat, remove the lid and fluff the rice to stop the cooking.  You can add diced carrot along with the tomato and, when the rice is nearly done, you can add some frozen peas.

Sincerely,
Rick

Yes, that was my daughter.  We cook a lot together (we even wrote a cookbook together, Rick and Lanie's Excellent Kitchen Adventures)and she helps me with the television shows.  Even though she's only 16 years old!  But, as you can imagine, she's the pride of my life. Glad you like the shows.

Sincerely,
Rick

A fresh, red-ripe poblano is still a fresh chile and will taste as different from a dried ancho as a fresh, ripe grape does from a raisin. In the drying process many flavor changes take place. And textural changes, too. So if you were to make a typical ancho sauce from those fresh, red-ripe poblanos, you'd have a kind of watery mess on your hands that tastes more like a roasted red bell pepper puree than the sauce I think you're after.


Sincerely,
Rick

First of all we have two steaks (two carnes asadas) on the Frontera menu--one that we've offered since the day we opened twenty years ago, the other a rather recent addition. Our original steak is a boneless rib steak that's marinated in adobo (ancho and guajillo chiles blended with roasted garlic, vinegar and spices), served with black beans, rustic guacamole and fried sweet plantains (that are topped, in a traditional style, with homemade crema and fresh cheese). Our new carne asada came about after I'd done a lot of research into grass-fed beef and concluded that not having a grass-fed option on the menu was foolhearty. Not only is it one of the healthiest choices you can make at the dinner table (most researchers agree that eating grass-fed beef is as good for you as eating chicken breast), but it's incredibly flavorful--tasting a lot like the pasteured beef I remember eating back in Oklahoma as a kid. Sure, the texture is a little more robust than the corn-fed beef most of us are accustomed to, but if you know how to marinate it and cook it, grass-fed can win any dinner-time contest. First, use a full-flavored marinade to match the full flavor of the meat. I nearly always gravitate to roasted garlic and roasted serrano chiles made into a paste with lime juice and salt, using a food processor. I spread that thickly on the steak (yes, my favorite steak is a boneless rib steak), let it stand for a few minutes, then spray or brush the steak with oil and grill it over live coals. The trick with the grilling is to bank the coals to one side so that you have a searing-hot side and a coasting-cool side. Lay the meat on the hot side, let the grill grates sear it darkly before you attempt any moving. Flip the meat over, sear the other side and, if the meat isn't done enough for you, move it to the coasting-cool side to finish slowly. A note about doneness: I like grassfed beef cooked one stage less than corn fed beef. That means for me I'm looking for a rare grass-fed steak or a medium-rare corn-fed beef. We're proud to say that not only is our grass-fed rib steak outselling our tried-and-true corn-fed rib steak, but we're getting it from Tallgrass Beef, a company started by one of our loyalist customers, Bill Kurtis.

Sincerely,
Rick

Tamales are just plain wonderful food--rich, tender, aromatic, satisfying. So what went wrong? Nothing that a little practice won't remedy. First, the prepared masa should be the consistency of thick cake batter--easy to spread but not runny. If you make it too stiff, the tamales will be dry; if you make it too thin, you'll have a difficult time forming the tamales and they won't be as light. If you're using the powdered masa harina, I suggest that you let the batter stand in the refrigerator for several hours (or overnight); rebeat the mixture, adding a little more broth (or water) to achieve that cake batter consistency. This will ensure that the masa cooks evenly and that the tamales are both light and moist. After forming the tamales, make sure that they are all standing upright in the steamer. I lightly wad pieces of aluminum foil to fill in the gaps and ensure that the tamales stay upright. After about an hour and 10 minutes, they should be done--though the dough will be so soft that you'll think they AREN'T done. When the batter will come free from the husk, the inside is cooked--though soft. I always recommend that you let the tamales stand--off the fire--for 15 minutes or so, for the masa to firm up (and seem completely done). And about running out of water: many cooks in Mexico will put a coin in the water. As long as you hear it bouncing around, you've got water; when the pot goes quiet, it's time to add more water.

Sincerely,
Rick

A little-known fact about Chicago is that we have the second largest concentration of people from Mexico in the United States--over a million within our city limits, according to most people's calcuations. Which means that we have access to many wonderful ingredients from Mexico and have the opportunity to share the richness of Mexico's regional cuisines with hundreds of diners in our restaurant every day. While I love LA (I lived there for several years), my heart is with our wonderful guests and staff at Frontera Grill/Topolobampo here in Chicago. Besides, I think commuting back and forth might kill me. Please come visit us in Chicago.
Rick Bayless

Sincerely,
Rick

I'd go to Mexico City and try out some of the great places like El Bajio, Fonda El Refugio, Churrera El Morro and Pujol (very contemporary). Then I'd head to Oaxaca or Veracruz. Oaxaca is filled with wonderful places to eat, though I wouldn't miss Los Pacos for an old-fashioned standby and Casa Oaxaca (the restaurant or the hotel) for more contemporary food. Veracruz is a little touristy (but Mexican tourists) and the seafood restaurants are all pretty much the same--meaning pretty decent. Two old standbys are Pardios and Brisas del Mar (down in Boca del Ro). Of course, there's La Parroquia on the waterfront for a good breakfast and caf con leche. But my very favorite place to eat in Veracruz is the downtown market. Wonderful seafood cocktails and tacos of all the local flavors. It is one of Mexico's most beautiful markets.

Sincerely,
Rick

Here's my recommendation: just say 'no' to liquid smoke. And chipotles? They really have no place in cochinita pibil. So charring is the way to go. My recommendation is that you build a small charcoal fire, sear the bone-in pork shoulder over the coals until rightly browned, then nestle it into the banana-leaf-wrapped slow-cooker. You'll love the result, I think.

Sincerely,
Rick

You're right about one thing:  kids tend to be more adventurous eaters if they get involved in the preparation of the foods.  And if they grow the food, it's even a more sure-fire way to open their minds.  From the time my daughter was able to stand up at the counter, I included her in meal preparations--often giving her the task of making a little "appetizer" plate of vegetables and cheese that we could enjoy before dinner.  It was mostly just arranging, but by the look on her face, you knew she felt a big part of our pleasure at the table.

Since I work evenings, we've always set down to breakfast together as a family. I'm very active, so after Lanie heads off to school, I usually work out or do yoga.  By 11, I'm usuallyl at work:  first I taste through all the preparations we're serving at lunch, hang around through the beginning of service, then move on to other projects--developing products for our prepared foods line, or working on a new book or television show, or collaborating with the restaurant chefs on new menu items.  There's lots of boiler-plate stuff thrown in there, too, like answering e-mails and working our staffing situations and solving mechanical problems in the restaurant.  That list is practically endless.  Before we start evening service, I taste everything we're serving again, then I work with the chefs during service, training and helping and ensuring quality.  And, of course, I talk with a lot of our guests--some are celebrating special occasions, some have cooking questions, some want travel advice.  Yeah, it's a pretty cool job!

Sincerely,
Rick

Typically the head is steam-roasted in a pit in the ground. After placing the head, typically wrapped in agave leaves, in the super-heated pit, the pit is sealed, trapping all the steam. That's how they achievesteam-roasting. Nowadays, many people put the head in a huge brasier, seal it with a top or foil and cook the whole thing in a large oven, meaning that the head meat comes out with a slightly stewed texture.

Sincerely,
Rick

I'm not exactly sure what variety of "finger pepper" your grandfather would have been growing, but practically every spice-loving culture has at least one that they're wild about. Most seem to be a variety of cayenne, which grow very well in most US gardens, even in pots. I also love growing poinsettia chiles; when the erect chiles turn red, they look like a poinsettia flower. Perfect for container growing. To pickle them, I usually bring a half-and-half mix of vinegar and water to a boil, add enough salt to make the liquid taste a little salty, then pour that mixture over the chiles packed into a sterilized jar. Usually I've put a few halved cloves of garlic, a sliced onion and/or some herb sprigs in with the chiles.


Sincerely,
Rick

At Jacques Playa del Carmen condo, he has a Kitchenaide range. I have a continuous grate on my range at home, as well. You can check it out at fivestarrange.com


Sincerely,
Rick

Congrats on your Ceviche success. Not many people attempt making it at home but here is a classic recipe. The fish I listed I like because they have a large flake or meaty texture. Enjoy! Rick
Classic Ceviche - Ceviche Clsico
Makes about 4 cups, enough for 8 as an appetizer, 12 as a nibble
1 pound fresh, skinless snapper, bass, halibut or other ocean fish fillets, cut into -inch cubes or slightly smaller
1 cups fresh lime juice
1 medium white onion, chopped into -inch pieces
2 medium-large (1 pound total) tomatoes, chopped into inch pieces
Fresh hot green chiles to taste (roughly 2 to 3 serranos or 1 to 2 jalapeos), stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus a few leaves for garnish
1/3 cup chopped pitted green olives (choose manzanillos for a typical Mexican flavor)
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil, preferably extra-virgin (optional but recommended to give a glistening appearance)
Salt
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice OR teaspoon sugar
1 large or 2 small ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
Tostadas, tortilla chips or saltine crackers for serving
1. Marinating the fish. In a 1 -quart glass or stainless steel bowl, combine the fish, lime juice and onion. You'll need enough juice to cover the fish and allow it to float somewhat freely; too little juice means unevenly "cooked" fish. Cover and refrigerate for about 4 hours, until a cube of fish no longer looks raw when broken open. Pour into a colander and drain off the lime juice.
2. The flavorings. In a large bowl, mix together the tomatoes, green chiles, cilantro, olives and optional olive oil. Stir in the fish, then taste and season with salt, usually about teaspoon, and orange juice or sugar (the sweetness of the orange juice or sugar helps balance some of the typical tanginess of the ceviche). Cover and refrigerate if not serving immediately.
3. Serving the ceviche. Just before serving, stir in the diced avocado, being careful not to break up the pieces. For serving, you have several options: set out your ceviche in a large bowl and let people spoon it onto individual plates to eat with chips or saltines; serve small bowls of ceviche (I like to lay a bed of frise lettuce in each bowl before spooning in the ceviche) and serve tostadas, chips or saltines alongside; or pile the ceviche onto chips or tostadas and pass around for guests to consume on these edible little plates. Whichever direction you choose, garnish the ceviche with leaves of cilantro before setting it center stage.
Working ahead: The fish may be marinated a day in advance; after about 4 hours, when the fish is "cooked," drain it so that it won't become too limey. For the freshest flavor, add the flavorings to the fish no more than a couple of hours before serving.


Sincerely,
Rick

Hi Brent:
That recipe is avialable now on www.rickbayless.com TELEVISION, Season 5 recipes. I don't know if I will put that in a book or not! We will put the pit show on a DVD that you will be able to buy. Look for it to come out in a month or so.
Thanks for watching,


Sincerely,
Rick