Recipes

Strawberry Cooler

Strawberry Cooler

Fresca de Fresas Try this agua fresca (fresh fruit drink) when strawberries are in season. Be sure to use bright red ripe berries for the best flavor.
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Equipment

  • blender

Ingredients

Makes about 6 servings

Instructions

  • In a blender place 2 cups fresh berries.
  • Add 1 cup water, cover and blend.
  • Add more water, if necessary, but just enough to blend to a smooth liquid of drinking consistency, but not too thin.
  • Sweeten with sugar.

Notes & Wine Advice

Serve cold.
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Course; Cold Drinks / Fruit
Cuisine; Mexican

Melon Horchata

Melon Horchata

Horchata de Melon This horchata, a refreshing cold drink, is made from cantaloupe and is a favorite. It may seem strange to use the seeds along with the melon flesh, but that’s the custom, and the resulting drink is very good. Another well-known horchata is made with rice.
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Ingredients

Makes about 4 servings

Instructions

  • Cut the cantaloupe in half.
  • With a spoon, scoop out the flesh and seeds (there will be about 2 cups).
  • Put the melon and seeds in a blender with the lime juice and sugar.
  • Add 2 cups of cold water, and blend 1 minute, or until very smooth.
  • Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a glass container.

Notes & Wine Advice

Serve over ice.
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Course; Cold Drinks
Cuisine; Mexican

Mexican Hot Chocolate

Mexican Hot Chocolate

Chocolate Mexicana
Just about everybody loves a steaming cup of Mexican hot chocolate. The round tablets of authentic Mexican chocolate are widely available in most supermarkets in the United States. The tablets weigh about 3 ounces and are already sweetened with sugar and flavored with cinnamon, vanilla, and sometimes ground almonds. Some of the best-tasting Mexican chocolate is processed in the states of Tabasco and Oaxaca, where there are many cacao plantations, and anyone who travels to those areas will want to bring home some of the special blends.This drink is delightfully frothy. In Mexico, a molinillo (hand-made wooden chocolate beater) is the traditional tool to froth the hot chocolate, but you can use an electric beater or an immersion blender as well.
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Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

  • 2 6 ounces tablets Mexican chocolate (such as Ibarra or Auelita brands), chopped or broken into pieces
  • 4 cups whole or 2% milk

Instructions

  • Put the chocolate and milk in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring, until the chocolate is melted, 5 to 6 minutes.
  • Remove the pan from the heat and beat until frothy with an electric beater on slow speed.

Notes & Wine Advice

Serve hot.
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Course; Chocolate / Hot drinks
Cuisine; Mexican

Coffee Popo

Coffee Popo

Café de Popo
This hot coffee drink is dedicated to the late Al Williams, who was born in Mexico, and became famous for the legendary Papagayo Room, a gourmet Mexican restaurant in San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel. Al and his wife, Katherine Williams, later ran a cooking school where I had some of my first lessons in Mexican cooking. The drink is named for the Mexican volcano, Popocatepetl, as Al said, "Hot below, snow-capped above."
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Ingredients

Makes 2 servings

  • Sweetened Whipped Cream
  • 3 teaspoons sugar or to taste
  • 2 lemon peel strips 2-inches long × 1⁄2-inch wide
  • 2 ounces añejo aged or reposado (rested) tequila
  • 2 cups strong freshly brewed hot coffee

Instructions

  • Prepare the whipped cream.
  • Reserve.
  • Put 1 teaspoon of sugar in each of 2 double old-fashioned glasses or coffee cups.
  • Twist the lemon peels and drop 1 into each glass or cup.
  • Add 1 ounce tequila to each, then fill the cups with hot coffee.
  • Top each with whipped cream.

Notes & Wine Advice

Serve hot.
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Course; Hot drinks
Cuisine; Mexican

Coffee Olé

Coffee Olé

Café Olé
Linger after dinner with a hot and mellow cup of coffee spiked with aged tequila, coffee liqueur, and a dollop of whipped cream. The bartender who made this café olé (a favorite in Mexico City), said that the deep mellow flavor of aged tequila (añejo) makes a more balanced drink than other types of tequila, however, my husband and I think reposado (rested) is good, too.
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Ingredients

Makes 2 servings

  • Sweetened Whipped Cream
  • 1 ⅓ cups strong freshly brewed coffee
  • 2 ounces tequila añejo aged or reposado
  • 2 ounces coffee-flavored liqueur such as Kahlua
  • Ground cinnamon Mexican canela or Ceylon variety preferred (optional)

Instructions

  • Prepare the whipped cream.
  • Then, pour the hot coffee into coffee mugs.
  • Stir in the tequila and liqueur.
  • Top with a dollop of whipped cream.
  • Sprinkle lightly with cinnamon, if desired.

Notes & Wine Advice

Serve hot.
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Course; Hot drinks
Cuisine; Mexican

Mexican Cappuccino, Guanajuato Style

Mexican Cappuccino, Guanajuato Style

Cappuccino Guanajuato
Guanajuato is a historic colonial city in the central region of Mexico known as the Bajio. You enter this captivating city through long, twisting tunnels. Our hotel, Posada Santa Fe, was located on the Jardín Union, the most popular garden plaza in the city. Steep hills and narrow, winding streets are connected with stone steps or cobblestone walkways in all directions. We stopped for coffee near the Jardín Union and discovered this interesting twist to cappuccino. Coffee lovers will want to try this. To serve this the authentic way, use a 6- to 7-ounce heat-resistant glass coffee cup. To present the coffee to full effect, don't stir the ingredients: the layers will stay separated until stirred.
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Ingredients

Makes 2 servings

  • 3 tablespoons Brown Sugar Syrup
  • 4 tablespoons Sweetened Whipped Cream
  • 2 ⁄3 cup strong espresso-brewed coffee
  • 1 cup hot milk or steamed with an espresso machine, if available

Instructions

  • Unsweetened cocoa powder or ground cinnamon (Mexican canela or Ceylon variety preferred)
  • Prepare the sugar syrup and the whipped cream.
  • Then, carefully pour the syrup, coffee, and milk, equally, in order, into two 6-ounce coffee cups.
  • Top with a dollop of cream.
  • Sprinkle with cocoa or cinnamon.

Notes & Wine Advice

Serve hot.
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Course; Hot drinks
Cuisine; Mexican

Coffee with Milk

Coffee with Milk

Café Con Leche
The restaurant and coffee house, La Parroquia, in Veracruz, is famous as the place to go for breakfast, and especially for café con leche. The waiters whisk around the restaurant carrying two large beverage kettles, one with coffee, and the other with hot milk, and when you tap on your glass indicating the need for a refill, they deftly pour from both at the same time into your cup.When making this at home, freshly made strong coffee is important for the flavor because it is diluted with an equal amount of hot milk.
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Ingredients

Makes 2 servings

  • 1 cup hot brewed espresso or strong coffee
  • 1 cup milk
  • Sugar optional

Instructions

  • Brew the coffee shortly before serving.
  • Heat the milk in a small pan over low heat until steaming, or alternatively, heat the milk in a microwave, if desired.
  • For a more dramatic effect for a guest, pour half of the coffee and half of the milk simultaneously into each of two coffee cups.
  • Or, pour the coffee and milk, one at a time into each cup.
  • Stir to mix.
  • Add sugar, if desired.
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Course; Hot drinks
Cuisine; Mexican

Mexican Coffee from Marge Poore

Mexican Coffee from Marge Poore

Café de Olla
Traditional Mexican coffee is brewed with cinnamon, cloves, and hard cones of brown sugar called piloncillo. Coffee lovers enjoy this sweet brew at home, and in restaurants and coffee houses all over Mexico. Drink it for breakfast, during marienda (Mexico's coffee, tea, and sweets break), or at the end of a Mexican meal. Piloncillo can be purchased here in Latin-American markets and the Mexican section of many supermarkets.
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Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

  • 4 cups water
  • 4 small 1-ounce cones of piloncillo, or ½ cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 2 cinnamon sticks Mexican canela or Ceylon variety preferred
  • 3 whole cloves
  • ¾ cup coarsely ground dark roast coffee

Instructions

  • Put the water in a medium saucepan and add the sugar, cinnamon, and cloves.
  • Bring to a boil, stirring, until the sugar is melted, about 5 minutes.
  • Stir in the coffee, and remove the pan from the heat.
  • Cover, and let steep 8 minutes.
  • Strain the coffee through a coffee filter or a fine-mesh strainer into a heatproof coffee server.

Notes & Wine Advice

Serve at once.
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Course; Hot drinks
Cuisine; Mexican

Sweetened Whipped Cream

Sweetened Whipped Cream

Crema Batida Dulce
Use lightly sweetened cream to garnish cake slices, fruits, or other desserts, or to spread over the sides and the top of cakes. Cream can be whipped, covered, and refrigerated about 1 to 2 hours before using, to prevent separation.
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Equipment

  • Large bowl

Ingredients

Makes 1½ cups

Instructions

  • In a large bowl with an electric beater or mixer, whip the cream with the sugar to soft or stiff peaks, as preferred.
  • Take care not to beat too much, or the cream will turn to butter.
  • Stir in the vanilla.
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Course; Basic recipe / Sauce
Cuisine; Mexican

Brown Sugar Syrup

Brown Sugar Syrup

Mexican dark brown sugar cones called piloncillo are available in Mexican markets, or use regular dark brown sugar in this dessert sauce that is often spooned over baked puddings or other desserts. The syrup can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator.
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Ingredients

Makes about 1½ cups

Instructions

  • In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, and vanilla.
  • Bring to a boil, over medium heat, stirring, to melt the sugar.
  • Cook about 1 minute.
  • Remove the pan from the heat and let stand about 10 minutes to thicken slightly.
  • The sauce is ready to use, or cool and store in a covered container in the refrigerator indefinitely.
  • Reheat the syrup before using.
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Course; Basic recipe / Sauce
Cuisine; Mexican