June 2012
Chiles en Nogada (vegetarian version)

I'm a bit early in the year, but I've wanted to make this dish for some time. It turned out fairly nicely. People ate seconds. I couldn't quite pinpoint what needed to be tweaked exactly, but something. The anticipation may have led to a slight letdown of my expectation, but it was nice to get the opportunity to try this out. I used the soy chorizo from Trader Joe's (my preferred choice) to imitate pork, and that gave it some nice flavor, therefore I could have left some seasoning out. There are several variations of this recipe, but pork would seem a good choice of meat to match with the fruit element. The warmth of the flavors, as well as the colors featured, would be good for Christmastime. I realized a little late that cornbread would be a wonderful pairing (I'd rather use the Trader Joe's mix/one with pieces of corn). Since I had no point of reference for comparison, I was hoping to travel someday soon to taste an authentic version of this, but after doing a bit of research I think I can just go to Plaza Mexico and visit La Huasteca, where I had been wanting to eat at already.

 

*My friend, Carmen Carrillo-Watson, made Lemon Basil Sorbet. It was between that and the Mexican Style Chocolate Ice Cream to compliment the meal, but we had been eating s'mores, so something without chocolate was appealing to us. It is summer now after all, and these flavors were perfect. A gourmet palette cleanser.