Food: Creating a Mexican Feast

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Creating a Mexican Feast
Monday, May 01, 2006

Last night my two teenaged daughters had a movie night with our church youth group. Movie nights happen once per month and always involve a fun, but clean, movie that is enjoyable to teens. Also, movie night always involves a special dinner for the kids. Since our church and youth group are relatively small (only a little over a dozen kids in the youth group) it is easy for the youth group leader and his wife, or a couple of parents or other adults in the church to prepare a fun dinner for the kids. Last night the youth group leader and his wife prepared a Mexican feast for the kids. Since we live in Northern New England, Mexican food is not easily found. Good Mexican food is even harder to find. The youth group leader is originally from Southern California, so not only does he recognize good Mexican food, he also knows how to make it! He made quite a feast.

First, there was the pico de gallo, but of course we just called it salsa for the kids here in New England, who had never heard of pico de gallo. Apparently, it was an old family recipe, but our youth group leader was happy to share. He said that it was a double batch, which filled a large bowl significantly. The recipe was as follows: twelve tomatoes, two jalepeno peppers (with the seeds removed), one large onion, two bunches of cilantro, a few splashes of lemon juice and lime juice, and a few tablespoons of white vinegar. Everything was then put into the food processor for a short time - just to get it all chopped up, but not pureed. Much of the pico de gallo is created to taste, so no batch is ever exactly the same as the batch before. This pico de gallo that was served to the kids last night was decadent: tangy, scrumptious, and with just enough zip from the jalepenos not to set the New England youth group on fire.

The main courses included tacos and enchiladas. The tacos meat was prepared with ground beef and just your ordinary, every day taco mix that can be bought in any grocery store or supermarket. There were about three pounds of ground beef, to feed all those hungry kids, and they were encouraged to build their own tacos. Provided for them on the large table were taco shells (or soft tortillas for anyone who was wearing braces on his teeth), shredded cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, chopped green peppers, and of course, sour cream. There were plenty of taco shells, tortillas, and fixins, so that everyone could feast as much or as long as they wanted.

The enchiladas were chicken and three cheese enchiladas. After the chicken had been baked in the oven, it was chopped up and mixed with two cans of Mexican style diced tomatoes, a four-ounce package of goat cheese, an onion, and a bunch of cilantro, chopped. After simmering this mixture for about ten minutes, it was then spooned onto open flour tortillas, which were then rolled up and placed side by side in a baking pan that had been slightly oiled with cooking spray. Next, a small amount of half and half was poured over the enchiladas, and then they were baked for about ten minutes in the oven. After ten minutes, the enchiladas were taken out and covered with shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses. Then it was all baked for another five minutes with foil over it, and then five more minutes without the foil. The enchiladas were absolutely delicious and the batch made from one pound of chicken made enough enchiladas for each of the kids to have two.

Lastly, the kids were treated to dessert. A favorite Mexican dessert is creme caramel, otherwise known as flan. Flan can be made in many different ways, but the easiest is to simply mix a bunch of eggs and milk into a baking pan, and add a bit of sugar and then sprinkle nutmeg on the top. After baking, cut the custard into squares and cover them with caramel sauce. Even the most finicky kids loved the flan and were asking for more.

Even in Northern New England, a Mexican feast is easy to throw. Just use these recipes or create your own, and be sure to bring your pinata!

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