We had a holiday party over Christmas break and the menu was based on food typically found at Mexican Posadas:
Menudo - a spicy soup made with tripe and hominy. This was so easy to make that I'm kicking myself for not making it sooner. Our Mexican grocery store, Fiesta, sells the tripe already cut up. They also sell a packet of spices called Menudo Spice Mix. And the only other ingredients are garlic, cumin, and hominy. I boiled the two pounds of tripe and a head of garlic (unpeeled) in about a gallon of water for about 3 hours. Once the tripe is tender add the Menudo spice mix, a dash of cumin, and a large can of hominy. Let is simmer for another hour. Serve it with lime wedges, diced onions, and tortillas. It is delicious!
Mexican Rice. This is my Grandma's recipe: Pour one small can of tomato sauce, plus half of the can filled with water, one large clove of garlic and 1/4 of a large onion into the blender. Blend until smooth. In a skillet, heat up about two tablespoons of olive oil over medium high heat. Add 1 cup of rice. Stir until the rice is translucent. Add 1/4 cup of the tomato mixture. (Save the rest for making more rice another day). Stir until the tomato mixture looks dark red. Add two cups of water and 2 tablespoons of Knorr Suiza chicken bouillon. Stir. Cover. Bring to a boil. Add a whole serrano pepper to the top of the rice. This just flavors it and does NOT make it spicy. Reduce heat to lowest setting. Cook for 15 minutes. Turn off burner. Let sit for another 5 minutes before serving.
Borracho Beans. Make a pot of pinto beans like you normally would or use a large store-bought can of pinto beans. Put beans in large stock pot. Add 2 cans of chicken stock and salt to taste or 4 cups of water and 2 tablespoons of Knorr Suiza chicken bouillon (add no more salt). In a different skillet, cook six cut-up slices of bacon. Drain excess fat. Once bacon is cooked, add 1 large, chopped tomato, 1/2 a large, diced onion, 1 diced serrano pepper (seeded if you don't want it to be spicy), 1 minced garlic, and a dash of garlic salt. The salt helps draw out the moisture from the tomatoes. When the onion is translucent, add 1/2 a bunch of chopped cilantro. Stir until cilantro wilts. Add to pot of beans. Bring to a boil. Add 1/2 a beer. This where the name "borracho" (drunken) beans comes from. Lower heat and simmer for about an hour. Serve along with tamales or with rice.
Ponche. This is a traditional hot, spiced fruit punch served at Posadas. Pour 1 gallon of apple cider into a large stock pot. Add 1/2 a gallon of water, 2 piloncillos (raw packed brown sugar), 3 cinnamon sticks, 1 bag of sugar cane cut into small chunks, 1 bag of tejocotes (I could only find them frozen at Fiesta), 2 apples cut up, 2 pears cut up. Bring to a boil. Let simmer for about an hour. Serve hot.
Tres Leches Cake. Bake a yellow cake using your recipe or store-bought mix. Let cake cool. While cake is cooling, pour 1 can evaporated milk, 1 can sweetened, condensed milk, and 1 cup of milk into a saucepan. Put over medium heat. Stir until milk begins to boil. Take off heat immediately and let cool. Once cake is cool, use a fork to poke holes all over the cake. Using a ladle, pour milk onto the cake in small amounts. Wait until the cake absorbs the milk, and then pour some more. You will use about 1/2 of the milk mixture. Cover outside of cake with cool whip and decorate with halved strawberries. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
We also had tamales, bunuelos, and ojarascas, but I did not make those. I could've made them in advance, but our weekends were too hectic. We'll try again next year. Enjoy!
