Making Chiles Rellenos in Mexico

Before our recent Mexican vacation, I had come across some Zihuatanejo cooking school websites, and I knew it would be something Nate and I would love to do. We ended up choosing Patio Mexica, mostly because the owner got back to me sooner than another one did. This one ended up being much cheaper than the other one I was looking at (about $55 compared to $20). And, it turns out, it was only about three blocks from our hotel!

So on the Saturday during our vacation, Nate and I ventured to Patio Mexica (connected to Rufo's Grill, which we had an excellent fish dinner at the night before) to learn how to make chiles rellenos. I had never made them before, but had tasted them and knew it would be a great experience.

The class was pretty full, as it was Monica's last class of the season, before taking a break and going on vacation herself. We made four types of chiles rellenos:

• Chiles en nogada: chiles stuffed with beef and pork, plus raisins (or cranberries), apple, pear and walnuts, topped with a sweetened sour cream sauce and some more dried cranberries (or pomegranate seeds). The finished product is supposed to represent the Mexican flag. (I had my first chile en nogada not too long ago at Botanas).


• Chile rellenos poblanos: This is probably what you think of when you hear "chiles rellenos." This type is also made with a poblano pepper, and then it's rolled in flour, beaten eggs and fried in hot oil. The ones we made just had wonderful queso fresco inside of them. These were served with a simple yet delicious sauce, made with tomatoes, onions and garlic.


• Chile rellenos ancho: These were prepared the same as the ones above, but instead of the fresh poblano, we used dried poblanos, which are called ancho chiles. It gives the chile rellenos a different taste and texture, but it's just as good.


• Chile rellenos cuaresmenos: These peppers resemble large jalapeno chiles and they can be stuffed with all sorts of fillings--we used beans, some of the meat from the other chile rellenos and a tuna salad mix. We did not fry them.

The class was pretty hands on, as we were to help roast the poblanos to get the skins off, de-seed the ancho chiles and prepare them for stuffing.

One of the most fun parts was stuffing the poblanos and anchos with the filling, dipping them in the batter and frying them. Nate and I both tried it--it was messy, but fun!

Of course, the very best part of the class was tasting everything when we were done!

We got to try at least bits of each of the chiles rellenos, plus they have us some delicious and refreshing hibiscus flower water and baskets of very fresh tortillas. Everything was absolutely delicious and flavorful.

After lunch, some of us, including Nate, tried making some of those fresh tortillas. It's not as easy as it looks! The first one Nate made was a little too thin, and he had to do it again. But it worked well the second time!

All in all, it was a great time and a great experience. Monica holds Wednesday classes in which she takes the class to the market and then makes a lunch with the fresh products the class picks up. I'd love to do that one next time we're there! :)

Indian Cooking Class

On Tuesday, Nate and I took an Indian cooking class. It was taught by the owners, a husband and wife team, of the Indian grocery store on North Ave. and held at a Knights of Columbus facility around 92nd and Greenfield.

It seems as though they teach three sets of classes during the months they teach. You can get a deal if you sign up for all three classes, but we elected to just take the last class, which featured South Indian recipes. The teachers said South Indian recipes feature lots of coconut and rice and tend to be spicier than food from the north.

The class was very informal and casual. It wasn't hands-on, as I had hoped, but I'm not sure how that would have worked in this format in the space, anyway.

The teachers first showed us how to make homemade yogurt, which I think we're going to try this weekend. It's really a pretty easy process, involving just milk and regular yogurt (needed for its culture). We didn't get to taste it, though, since it needs to rest in a warm place for 8 hours and then cool.

They made an easy, sweet drink for us called thandai. It's made with milk, sugar, almonds and spices like cardamon and fennel.

Next they made sambhar, or lentil soup with vegetables. It was made with split pigeon peas, veggies like bell pepper and onion, and tons of spices, including coconut powder, turmeric and a coriander/cumin mix. Almost everything they made was made with ghee, or clarified butter. They said you can make the recipes with oil, but they don't taste quite as good (of course!). This recipe, as well as another one, also included a tadka, a cooking technique in which whole spices are cooked in ghee.

Next, they made a coconut chutney to put on the soup and another food they made. The chutney also featured a tadka, and was made with shredded coconut, cilantro, green chili and ginger.

I think one of the most interesting things they made were idlis, or steamed rice dumplings. I think I've seen them on Indian buffets, but not sure I've ever tried one. They were really tasty, especially with the coconut chutney on top. Idlis are made from the fermented batter of ground rice and urid dal. It's quite the process to make them--the dal has to soak for about six hours and when it's combined with the cream of rice, it all has to sit in a warm oven for at least eight hours. Then you have to steam the rice dumplings in a special dumpling maker.

Lastly, they made a dessert, vermicelli payasam, or sweet noodles with milk. It was similar to kheer, which I've had before, but a little more soupy. It was made with lots of milk, cashews, golden raisins, saffron and, of course, vermicelli.

(Dessert is on the left, in the bowl, the soup is on the right with some coconut chutney on top, and, unfortunately, the idli is hiding underneath the soup and is also covered with chutney.)

Like the last cooking class I took, the portions were a little small, but at least we got to go back for seconds! Everything was really, really good. I have the recipes for everything, but all of them feature a lot of ingredients, so it would take me a long time to type them out. But, if anyone really wants a recipe, I'd be happy to share!

Cooking with Julia

Last Thursday, I took a cooking class with two girlfriends at the Milwaukee Public Market, one of my favorite spots in town.

It was a French cooking class that showcased three of Julia Child's French recipes. The chef instructor, Chef Pierre, used to own Elliot's Bistro, a French restaurant in Milwaukee that is no longer in existence. Helping him was "Julia Child," or a male comedian dressed up to look like her.

Even though it wasn't a hands-on class, it was a lot of fun and very tasty. We had front-row seats, so I could take a lot of pictures.

Chef Pierre worked backwards, meaning he started with making dessert so it could chill, then the entree so it could bake and finally made the appetizer. But for the purpose of keeping my pictures--and my head straight--I'll just write about it as we ate it.

For the appetizer, Chef Pierre made escargots, snails, two ways. One way was made the typical Normandy (where Pierre is from) way, with a rich cream sauce.

The other way was escargot de bourgogne, or snails of Burgundy, with lots of butter, shallot and parsley and the escargot was put in shell to eat. Yes, it doesn't sound like the most appetizing thing to eat, but both ways was very, very tasty. I could have eaten about 10 of them, but we only had two each.

For the main meal, the chef made beef bourguginon, a classic French dish. Here is more or less the recipe from which he worked. The dish was really wonderful. All the flavors really came together and the sauce was rich and thick. It's usually served with potatoes (or sometimes with pasta) which we didn't have, but the side of French bread worked nicely for sopping up the broth.

Lastly, Chef Pierre made chocolate mousse. It was very rich and creamy and quite tasty. I've never made mousse before, but he made it look so easy that I might have to try it soon.

All in all, the 2-hour class was a lot of fun. My only complaint was that we really didn't get a lot to eat. I'm not sure if most classes were like that or if it was because there were a lot of people in this class (about 45). But all in all, it was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to take another class there.