Cinco de Mayo!

Hola, dear friends!  Today many Americans of Hispanic heritage commemorate the victory of a small, ill-equipped Mexican army over a much larger and more sophisticated French militia at the Battle of Puebla.  The Batalla de Puebla took place on May 5, 1862.  Contrary to popular belief, Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico’s Independence Day (that being September 16, 1821).  It is not widely celebrated in Mexico but is a regional holiday limited to the state of Puebla.

The Darling Bakers are also celebrating Cinco de Mayo today!  Here’s how the holiday came to be:  Napoleon III was determined to collect a loan and expand his empire.  His troops landed near the coast of Veracruz and proceeded to march towards Mexico City.  Abraham Lincoln, sympathetic to the Mexican cause, could offer no assistance because he was involved in his own war, the American Civil War.  In Puebla, General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguin and his small militia were able to stop and defeat the French.  It was a sweet victory for a troubled country.

But that was not the end of the French!  Napoleon sent 30,000 (yes, thirty thousand!) more troops who eventually took over Mexico City.  His cousin, Archduke Maximillian of Austria became the ruler.  After the American Civil War, Lincoln provided more military assistance and Maximillian was executed in 1867.  That, in a nutshell is the story behind CDM.

That’s Linda Landeros in the picture above.  Landeros is a dance instructor and performer with many dance companies in the San Francisco Bay Area.  The colors in her dress express the spirit and vitality of the Mexican people.  In the US, particularly in the border states, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated with music, folklore dancing, art and of course food!

One of my favorite Mexican foods is grilled corn with a chili lime sauce.  I first came across it outside a local Hispanic grocery store called Fiesta.  The aroma of roasted corn wafted through the parking lot, leading me to a mobile kitchen where the vendor was slicing the kernels off the cob and into a styrofoam cup.  He topped it off with a delicious, spicy and creamy sauce.  My daughter and I just can’t resist this kind of street food!

 I broiled these in their husks.

Quesedillas are also a favorite.  These are filled with crabmeat, roasted poblano pepper, roasted sweet red pepper, avocado, caramelized red onion, corn, cilantro, chili powder and Monterrey jack cheese.  I served them with my Cilantro Crema – sour cream, lime juice and chopped fresh cilantro. 

This is how I like my cerveza:  ice cold and in an ‘O’ with lime.  Believe it or not, that’s the entire 12oz. bottle in there!

Lime suspended in a golden brew:

Mangos flameados comes from Diana Kennedy’s classic book The Cuisines of Mexico.  It’s a Mexican take on Bananas Foster crossed with crepes Suzette!  I served it with vanilla ice cream.   Mmmm….

These Mexican Nutella cookies are perfect with a cup of coffee.  You can serve them plain or with a dusting of powdered sugar.

I leave you with a bite!   Adios!

 

Prijatno!

TWD Caramel Crunch Bars

Yes, they are tall!  Unlike the suggestion in the book, I chose to bake the dough in an 8 x 11 fluted tart pan – more dough in a smaller pan  =  a thicker base.  I wanted a taller bar to serve at a special event this coming Saturday. 

My mother is always particular about her bar and cookie presentations.  Her sitne kolače (small cakes) are individual, bite-size pieces served on rectangular crystal trays.  There is always a colorful variety on each tray, with cookies placed neatly in rows.  These will fit right in! 

Thanks to Whitney of What's left on the table? for choosing Caramel Crunch Bars from Dorie Greenspan’s book Baking from my home to yours.  Please check her site for the recipe and to see how other bakers fared during the process.

For the base I used Ghirardelli chocolate baking bars, 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate, which happen to be my favorite bars for snacking!  I added 1/3 cup toasted and chopped almonds to the dough for a nutty flavor.  The espresso powder and cinnamon intensifies the flavor of the chocolate.  I wouldn’t leave it out.  If you like seriously sweet desserts, this one is for you.  Serve these cut in small pieces!

Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips melted on top of a thick base:

Heath toffee bits sink into the warm pillow of chocolate:

This is a great basic recipe that I am going to experiment with.  Next time I plan to sprinkle toasted, slivered almonds on top instead of the toffee bits.  Hazelnuts would be divine with the chocolate…or how about Nutella… berries… jam… whipped cream…

Prijatno!

Nuts for Nutella!

In Europe, the equivalent to the peanut butter and jelly sandwich is the nutella sandwich.  Nutella is a heavenly blend of hazelnuts, cocoa, sugar, milk and oil and is deliciously spread between a chunk of French or hearty whole-grain bread.  It’s the common school lunch fare in Italy and beyond!  It is a popular filling for crepes in France.  It’s a cultural icon in Europe and is included in many books and movies.  Gaining popularity in the United States since its introduction to our markets in 2000, it’s available in many grocery stores next to the peanut butters and jams.

Nutella was created in Italy’s Piedmonte region by Pietro Ferrero during World War II when there was a shortage of cocoa.  Native hazelnut trees were and still are abundant on the hills around Alba, and the hazelnuts were used as a filler with great success.   A smililar product, Eurocrem, is made in my native Serbia and you may be familiar with Ferrero Rocher chocolates.  Wrapped in gold foil, it’s a multilayered confection with a hazelnut in the middle, encased by a layer of nutella, a wafer shell, milk chocolate and chopped nuts.   It’s one of my favorite chocolate treats!

I took the following picture during a fabulous trip to Piedmonte a little over a year ago.  Piedmonte, ‘foot of the mountains’, is situated in the northwestern part of Italy, at the foot of the Alps.  The hazelnut orchard (in the foreground and middleground in the photograph) is nestled between the vineyards of the rolling hills of the Langhe hills near Alba:

Nutella is so versatile, I’ve used it in many different ways – to make ice-cream, mousses, cakes, cookies, as a filling for crepes, on toast, and as a dip for fruit.  The way my chocoholic and nutella addict daughter, Emilia enjoys it is a spoonful straight out of the container!  I was scanning my pantry for inspiration for today’s World Nutella Day recipe, when my eyes fell on a bag of chocolate pasta.  Perfetto!  I had some strawberries in the fridge and a ripe banana and I put together a simple but delicious dessert you could make in no time! 

Nutella sauce with chocolate pasta and fruit

Serves 4

8 ounces chocolate pasta

8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) nutella

1 cup cream

8 strawberries, washed and halved

1 banana, sliced

whipped cream and chopped, toasted hazelnuts (or any other nut) for topping.

Cook pasta until ‘el dente’ (cooked but still firm).   While pasta is cooking place cream and nutella in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave at 30 second intervals until nutella  is soft and the cream is hot.  Blend nutella and cream together with a whisk until smooth.  Drain the pasta and divide between four serving bowl.  Pour nutella sauce over pasta and top with strawberries, banana slices, whipped cream and toasted nuts.  It’s that simple!

 

To see what other nutella lovers are doing today start at these two addicted ladies’ sites:  Ms Adventures in Italy and Bleeding Espresso.  For a good laugh, see what  The Top Ten Signs You’re Addicted to Nutella are!  If you are a nutella virgin or to find out what type of nutella lover you are or want to know 50 ways to eat nutella go to nutella virgin and enjoy!

Prijatno!