Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Cinco de Mayo is just around the corner. And Heather of Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks invited some of her blogging friends to share Mexican recipes for the occasion. Check out all the other amazing Cinco de Mayo recipes... Beefy Black Bean Tostadas from Cindy's Recipes and Writings Guajillo-Braised Shortrib Tacos from Karen's Kitchen Stories Guava Margaritas from Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks Homemade Corn Tortillas from Food Above Gold Humitas from Culinary Adventures with Camilla Mexican Casserole from A Day in the Life on a Farm Mexican Chicken Master Mix from The Tip Garden Shrimp Taco Bowls from Books n' Cooks Sonoran Sunrise from Palatable Pastime Sopapilla Cheesecake Bars from The Spiffy Cookie Taco Joe Dip from Jolene's Recipe Journal Humitas The boys wanted to make tamales or enchiladas . But I wanted to find a completely new-to-us recipe. And I came across a reference to humitas, or cakes made with corn, onions, eggs, cheese, an...

I wanted to do a tamale with a Poc Chuc f eel to it for our Pre-Popul Vuh Picnic .  Poc Chuc is a traditional dish from the Yucatán peninsula in Mexico, the home of the Mayans. Nacatamales are from Honduras. But we love how steaming them in banana leaves imparts a smoky flavor.  Poc chuc is made up of two Mayan words: poc which means 'to toast', especially on hot embers, and chuc which is 'charcoal.' Traditionally it's made with pork;  Poc chuc , the way the Mayans did it, was a means of preservation. Wild pig was pounded to tenderize the meat and, then, cured with a salt brine and sour orange juice. It could last in the salt for months, then, it was roasted over an open fire. I opted to braise ours instead. And since I couldn't find any sour oranges, I mixed orange juice and lime juice. Read this recipe all the way to the bottom before making your shopping list. There are two parts! This made 2 dozen nacatamales. Poc Chuc Ingredients 2 p...

When I saw that Love & Olive Oil was hosting a Tamales Kitchen Challenge  this month, I was very excited. I needed an excuse to make  nacatamales again. However, the instructions came with a caveat: "...but they do need to be traditionally wrapped in corn-husks…." Hmmm...Honduran  nacatamales  are traditionally steamed in banana leaves instead of corn husks. Not wanting to break the rules of the challenge, I sent Lindsay and Taylor a message. The answer: "They're wrapped and steamed in the same way right? If so, definitely ok!" Fantastic. Here we go. So, while R went to his mandolin lesson, the Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf and I went to the Asian market for banana leaves and the Mexican market for Salvadorean cream (it's like a thin sour cream). Our nacatamales aren't completely traditional because I cook the meat before stuffing them and I also skipped the lard. This recipe made approximately 24 nacatamales . When you're working wit...