I’ve made that recipe a couple of times, and it’s a clever hack (and delicious).
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I made this when it was COTM over on CH, and remember needing to increase all the flavors like you did @Amandarama.
@LulusMom1 I also found the cream an odd addition, so I left it out in the first portion (also drastically less broth so you’re not reducing the sauce for ages - if you’re using BTB or other bouillon vs liquid broth it’s a lot easier). Without the cream, the flavor is more strongly of cilantro and aromatics, which was a positive for me.
I did add crema to a later portion, and it was fine, but a duller flavor for my palate.
I also pureed everything first, let the sauce come together, and added the fish at the end. Don’t like cold (or overcooked) fish, and given the fiddling with the sauce I didn’t want to risk either.
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I haven’t cooked anything new yet this month, but I have to chime in to say that More Mexican Every Day has long been a very inspiring book for me. I don’t know if I’ve followed a single recipe exactly, but it’s full of ideas. Flipping through it always makes me want to get busy in the kitchen.
Yesterday after browsing through and thinking about what I might make for January I was inspired to throw together a creamy sauce from leftover ingredients in the fridge. It’s sort of a combination of different sauces from the book. I had a little sour cream, a little cream, leftover canned chipotles, roasted garlic, and a chunk of feta. I blended them all up, and it’s the current goes-with-everything sauce in our house.
This book taught me to roast chayote, which has resulted in many delicious salads with queso fresco and walnuts. I also make the green adobo a couple of times a year. It gets used all sorts of ways, but probably often as part of a riff on Bayless’s Greens and Beans concept.
There’s been only one miss from this book, and I will write it as its own topic because I did follow the recipe exactly.
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MEXICAN CHOCOLATE-PUMPKIN SEED CAKE, pg. 338 of More Mexican Everyday
I made this several years ago when the recipe was published in a magazine. It was less than the sum of its parts, and one of the few desserts that I’ve ever thrown away. I guess pumpkin seeds as the main flavor of a dessert just isn’t my thing.
In addition to pumpkin seeds (which are ground up as the base of the cake) and Mexican chocolate , the recipe calls for eggs, sugar, a little flour, butter, baking powder, and a tablespoon of tequila.
I do have a recently-purchased box of chocolate from Oaxaca, and I might use some of it to make one of the flan- or pudding-like desserts from the book.
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I didn’t mind the cream, although I will play with the recipe over time now. With the fish and the cream, the sauce resonated in a chowder like way with my New England soul 
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RB’s a cool dude…not pretentious. Love how to the point he is with cooking on TV and his writing. Great ideas, and , like others, there are things I do differently, but he’s attained a wealth of knowledge in a very interesting landscape. Bourdain said the next gem was Mexico. Agreed.
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LLD grew up with only cream sauces on his fish, and apparently they turned him off that combination. I like it myself, if done well.
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I love these meaballs!
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You probably can also adapt this dish for salmon/trout or shrimp. Just adjust the cooking times accordingly.
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ROASTED TOMATILLO ENCHILADAS - More Mexican Everyday, p. 73
Pretty standard preparation. You start with the roasted tomatillo sauce base on p. 69. You put some tomatillos, sliced onion, garlic, and green chiles on a sheet pan and broil. Zap it all in the blender. Heat some oil in a saucepan, then add the tomatillo base, let it thicken, then add broth and cilantro and simmer. There are a number of filling options given. I used Barveque, a vegan analogue of pulled pork. I sautéed it with some sweet onions and then added a little bit of cheese (vegan mozz). As in the enfrijoladas I reported on above, he forgoes the typical step of passing the tortillas through hot oil in favor of a microwave method. This time I skipped the plastic bag and just used my tortilla warmer. You fill and sauce the enchiladas and pop into a 400-degree oven for just 4 minutes to warm the enchiladas. I want to note here that that 4-minute stint in the oven doesn’t warm them much, so you still need to have sauce, filling, and tortillas all hot when you assemble.
This is a solid version of something I can already make with my eyes closed. So I can’t say I’m blown away, but on the other hand, it’s a perfectly good tomatillo sauce. Served with the herby green chile rice from p. 251.
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CREAMY RICE AND BEANS IN THREE CLASSIC FLAVORS: HERBY GREEN CHILE RICE - More Mexican Everyday, p. 250
Back when this book was COTM on CH, I made all three versions of this dish. The ones I liked the best were the garlicky tomato rice, and this version, the herby green chile rice. The recipes are written for the rice cooker with alternate instructions given for a pressure cooker. I used my Instant Pot mini. For all the versions, you start by charring the skin of a couple poblano peppers (I only used one because mine are huge). You start on sauté mode, heating some oil, and sautéing some onion. Because I used a blow torch to skin my poblano, the pepper didn’t really get soft like it would under a broiler, so I also added the pepper to sauté with the onion. You then add arborio rice and chicken broth (I used BTB’s vegan chicken broth base). He gives pressure cooker times, which will probably be fine. I looked at my notes from the previous time, and saw I had used my standard risotto timing, 6 minutes on high, 5 minutes natural release, then quick release, so I did that again. At this point you stir in already cooked or canned beans and either some fresh herbs or the green chile adobo from the book. The previous time I made this, I used the green chile adobo, this time I just used fresh cilantro. The rice is good either way, but if you already have the green chile adobo made, that is both the easier and the tastier route.
This recipe, and all its variations, make a risotto-like rice. I like it because you get rice and beans all in one pot, so it makes an easy side (and is hearty enough it could be a meal, especially if you go heavy on the beans). It’s definitely a different take than your standard Mexican rice, but we like it. Pictured above with tomatillo enchiladas.
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I made the Herby Rice when this was COTM on CH and several times after, and agree on the green chile adobo being a great flavor boost. I’ve also substituted any cilantro-based mix I have sitting around – green chutney, zhoug, and so on, and that works great too.
Iirc one of the variations in the book was to add chicken for an easy arroz con pollo verde, and that was the first version I tried – the addition of chicken needs the rice to be more flavorful / herby than if it’s just a side.
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February nominations are open!
MEXICAN RED RICE from here: https://www.rickbayless.com/recipe/mexican-red-rice/
Based on MelMM’s report, I made this last night to stuff our burritos. I had to make adjustments based on what we had.
I already had enough cooked rice, so I didn’t make rice from scratch.
I didn’t have fire roasted tomatoes or tomatoes suitable for home roasting, so I used a hack found online to approximate the taste, i.e. mix a little smoked paprika into the tomatoes.
I took 1 can of tomatoes - yes RB calls for half a can but what am I going to do with the other half can? - then mixed in the paprika and 1/2 a jalapeno, and simmered. Then I took 4 cloves garlic, peeled, microwaved in a little water for a few minutes. Fished them out and added them to the tomatoes. Let the whole thing simmer for about 10-12 minutes. Then I fished out the jalapeno and immersion-blended everything.
I mixed the recommended half-can worth into the rice. It was the perfect amount. Yes, I do have the other half-can worth of tomato slurry in the fridge, but that can get used up the next time I make rice.
This was a really nice approach to rice. I have not cooked RB’s recipes before this COTM but I will repeat that I like his unfiddly recipes and accuracy of quantities and steps.
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TACOS DE CALABACITAS Y HONGOS CON (O SIN) CHORIZO - Mexican Everyday pp. 208-209
Zucchini and Mushroom Tacos with (or without) Chorizo
This a taco filled with a quick stew of zucchini and mushrooms. You can flavor it with chorizo or leave it out. I left it out. Saute some onion. Then brown some mushrooms. While that is cooking, blend together a can of fire roasted tomatos, a canned chipotle in adobo, and a little of the adobo sauce. Add that to the mushrooms and let reduce slightly. Then add chopped zucchini. Simmer until the zucchini is cooked through and serve with tortillas, hot sauce, and a crumbled fresh cheese.
I deviated a little from the recipe in that I added some garlic, cumin, and Mexican oregano to the mushrooms as they cooked (since I was leaving out the chorizo). Also doubled the mushrooms called for. I added twice the amount of chipotle called for, which was perfect for us. Our fresh cheese was chevre crumbles.
This was a really nice dinner. I would make this again.
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definitely make the Gulf-coast style white rice. It is a game changer!
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GREEN CHILE ADOBO (p 33 More Mexican Everyday)
This is a favorite that I’ve made many times. You toast jalapenos or serranos and garlic clobes on the stove for about 10-15 minutes and things are slightly browned. You then combine them with cilantro, parsley, olive oil, and kosher salt and whiz everything together in a blender or food processor. Bayless says it will stay in the fridge for several months. He suggests using this stuff in pasta, in scrambled eggs, in sour cream for a dip, on grilled/roasted vegetables, in meatloaf, and in salad dressings.
I know some people are uncomfortable with storing garlic in oil in the fridge for more than a few days but I am okay with it. I use this green chile adobo most often in scrambled eggs but I have also used it in viniagrettes and to make the skillet tacos in the book. I am always happy when I have a jar of this in the fridge.
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SKILLET TACOS (p.93 More Mexican Everyday)
These don’t even require a recipe. You need 1/3 cup of his green chile adobo that you combine with a few tablespoons of water. You slice an onion and start cooking it in a skillet over medium-high heat. As the onion gets browned you add your choice of protein (chicken breast/thighs, skirt steak, pork, shrimp) and cook it along with the onion. After removing the protein he says to leave the onions in to cook a bit longer until really caramelized. As the onions cook you slice up the meat/chicken and return it to the skillet with the green chile adobo mixture. Add extra water if it needs to be saucier. Serve with warm tortillas, crumbled queso fresco, and fresh cilantro.
I made this using shrimp. Very easy to do and it almost seems silly to have a recipe for it. I had the mixture in flour tortillas one day and then over rice the next. It is definitely great for a fast, easy, and tasty meal.
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The fish taco looks so great. I notice the recipe calls for achiote paste. Do you think there’s a way to get there with achiote seeds?
Do you have a spice ginder? Achiote seeds are very hard. I use his recipe from Mexican Kitchen. I make it without the raw garlic so I can keep it in the fridge indefinitely, and just add garlic to the dish. The rest of the ingredients are easy to come by.
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