No reason not to have a good meal even if you can’t share with family and friends
By Janet Blaser
I thought this week’s column could be a little festive despite the fact that many (hopefully most or all!) of us are staying at home and quite possibly feeling a little crazy as a result. You’ll notice I put the sangria recipe first; that was not a mistake. (Ahem.)
At any rate, Easter is just around the corner, spring is in the air, and normally these are times when friends and family gather to celebrate.
Even if you can’t get together in person, you can at least prepare a lovely meal, complete with a special “adult beverage” for your immediate household. You can also share the recipes and a toast in a video call or Facetime with those you care about.
All of these recipes contain traditional Mexican ingredients used in more contemporary or international ways: mangos, shrimp, corn flour and oil, and the essential standby, fresh sweet limónes.
Vino Blanco Sangria
Make this first thing in the morning so the flavors have time to blend. You can use frozen peaches or mangos if need be, but the majority of fruit should be fresh.
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 3 shots Cointreau, Controy or other fruit liqueur
- 2-3 limónes, sliced
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 2 ripe mangos or peaches, cut into wedges
- 3 ripe green apples, seeded and cut into wedges
- 1 bottle Sauvignon Blanc or other dry white wine
- 1 pint raspberries, blueberries or blackberries, or mixed
- Sparkling soda water, for topping off
- Fresh mint, if available
Combine sugar, liqueur, lime, lemon, mangos or peaches and apples in a large pitcher. Add the entire bottle of wine and chill several hours. To serve, spoon fruits into glasses, pour wine over top of the fruit and add a few fresh berries. Top each glass with a splash of soda water, sprig of fresh mint if available and serve.
Jennifer’s Huevos Mazatlán
Eggs Benedict with a decidedly Mexican flavor — what’s not to love?
- 2 English muffins or 4 slices from a good, crusty baguette
- 4 eggs, poached
- 12 large (not jumbo) shrimp, boiled and peeled
- Easy Hollandaise Sauce (recipe below)
Lightly butter bread slices and toast on a hot griddle. Arrange three shrimp in a circle on each slice of bread to create a cradle to hold the egg. Top each with a poached egg, then cover with hollandaise sauce.
Easy Cheater Hollandaise Sauce
If your hollandaise starts to break, try adding water a tablespoon at a time until the sauce comes back together. Use any hot sauce you like.
- 1 stick butter
- Juice of three limónes
- 2 Tbsp. water
- 3 eggs
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- Hot sauce (optional)
In a medium saucepan, melt butter over low heat, stirring frequently. When butter has just melted, remove pan from heat and add limón juice, water and salt, stirring well to combine. Whisk in eggs and return to heat. Keep whisking to prevent scrambling the eggs and getting a lumpy sauce. Continue to whisk over low heat until sauce thickens and turns lighter in color. Remove from heat. Add pepper. Add hot sauce to taste.
Corn Flour Pancakes
These are equally good with maple syrup and butter, or topped with a poached egg and fresh salsa.
- 1 cup corn flour (masa harina)
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. sugar
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1½ cups milk
- 3 Tbsp. corn oil
Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. In a small bowl, whisk eggs, milk and oil. Pour into dry ingredients and stir until blended. Let mixture sit for 5 minutes and stir again. Batter should be thick.
Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp. corn oil to the skillet. Pour ⅓ cup batter into the skillet and use a spoon to spread it into a 4½-inch circle. Repeat as often as you have room in your skillet. When the pancakes appear dry around the edges and you see bubbles, flip them over and cook until done, about two minutes. Repeat until all pancakes are cooked. You may need to add a little oil to the skillet between batches. Makes 12 delicious pancakes.
Janet Blaser of Mazatlán, Sinaloa, has been a writer, editor and storyteller her entire life and feels fortunate to write about great food, amazing places, fascinating people and unique events. Her work has appeared in numerous travel and expat publications as well as newspapers and magazines. Her first book, Why We Left: An Anthology of American Women Expats, is available on Amazon. Contact Janet or read her blog at whyweleftamerica.com.
