The cooking experience of most participants was reasonably high, and I was surprised that we all had a chance to do a little of everything, despite the size of the group. A couple of unique tools were used, including the comal and the molcajete. The comal is a flat piece of metal that sits on the stove burner and is used to roast chiles, garlic, tomatoes and tomatillos till their skin is dark and can be removed. The molcajete we know as a mortar and pestle, and it’s used to grind the ingredients for the salsa and pastes. Several hours later, we all sat around the table to enjoy the fruits of our labor.
Pilar also talked about and presented a couple different kinds of Mezcal, a less refined relative of Tequila, including a special bottle from a local farmer. The conversation was lively and interesting, certainly fostered by the quality of the food.
The squash blossoms were beautiful, and were accented perfectly by the spicy salsa verde. The tortilla soup, something I had made many times in many different variations, was smoky and rich and exactly the recipe I had hoped for. The poblano peppers were overflowing with a chicken and fruit stuffing, although we did a vegetarian version as well for the several of us who didn’t prefer meat.
Las flores de calabazas eran hermosas, y eran acentuadas perfectamente por la picante salsas verde. La sopa de tortilla, algo que yo he hecho muchas veces con diferentes variaciones, estaba ahumada y rica y era exactamente la receta que esperaba. Los chiles poblanos se desbordaban con un relleno de pollo y fruta, aunque hicimos una versión vegetariana para los que no preferíamos la carne.
Las flores de calabaza eran hermosas, y se acentúan perfectamente por el verde de la salsa picante. La sopa de tortilla, algo que había hecho muchas veces en muchas variantes, estaba lleno de humo y rico y exactamente la receta que yo había esperado. Los chiles poblanos se desbordaban con un relleno de pollo y fruta, aunque nos hizo una versión vegetariana, así como para la varios de nosotros que no prefieren la carne.