My Slice of Mexico

More Pan Dulce – Bowties and Cream Horns

January 17, 2024January 21, 2024by Irene11 Comments

Continuing with more options for pan dulce (Mexican sweet bread) to bake with the homemade Danish dough from my last post, in addition to Danishes (spiral buns), European bakers introduced other well-known confections, such as tartaletas (small tarts), tecolotes (owls), rehiletes (pinwheels), and the two other classics in the Mexican bread basket I chose for this post, as seen in the photo above, moños (bowties) and cream horns, popularly known as cuernos de la abundancia (horns of plenty) ... click on title

Desserts, pan dulce

Danish Dough Spirals – Rollos de pasta danesa

January 10, 2024January 15, 2024by Irene11 Comments

Danish dough is a very versatile medium to create all sorts of pastries, both savoury and sweet. Although in Denmark this type of pastries are called Vienna Bread (wienerbrød), since Austrian bakers introduced them there in the 1840s, they became popular worldwide as Danish pastries. French and other European bakers established in Mexico, started creating these pastries a few decades later, and nowadays, pasta danesa (Danish dough) is used in several traditional types of pan dulce (Mexican sweet bread), such as the classic rollos (spirals or rolls) shown above, with a dollop of jam, or raisins ... click on title for more

Bread, Ingredients

Hojaldras – Flaky Buns

January 4, 2024August 8, 2024by Irene11 Comments

In Central Mexico, and especially in Mexico City, these old-fashioned buns may still be found at bakeries (panaderías). They are generically known as hojaldras (layered), usually called the same when filled with cooked shredded chicken and red mole, and known as Marinas when filled with slices of ham and cheese ... click on title for more

Celebrations, snack, appetizer

Old-Fashioned Party Food

December 29, 2023December 31, 2023by Irene5 Comments

New Year's Eve and Day celebrations are around the corner; many people host get-togethers, often cocktail-party style, or as a casual night with games, and finger foods are a great option to offer at these gatherings. After sharing a very traditional menu in my last post, I thought of these old-fashioned sandwiches and canapés, maybe not the most sophisticated choices, but which sure will bring tasty memories of past celebrations to many of us who grew up in Mexico City during the 20th Century ... click on title for more

Celebrations, Mexican Cuisine, Mexican Culture

A Very Traditional Mexico City Holiday Menu

December 21, 2023by Irene19 Comments

In Mexico, the month of December is full of celebrations; it starts on December 12 with the Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe, followed by seven days of "las posadas". Christmas Eve usually features a late evening family meal, and Christmas Day, either a turkey lunch, or the delicious "recalentado" - reheated leftovers from the night before. In Central Mexico, especially in Mexico City, el recalentado is always welcome because the dishes are mainly soups or stews, so the flavours keep maturing and developing. The following is a good example of a traditional Mexico City Style Christmas Eve Menu ... click on title for more