Appetizers/Aperitivos

Chilacayote Empanadas

May 28, 2013 By Gilda Valdez Carbonaro 8 Comments

Yesterday, Memorial Day 2013, I wrote in my journal: On a day like today my son was buried, at the very front of neat, diagonal rows of tombstones. The empty, verdant field in front of his grave where his mother and father gasped in anguish at the sight of his casket on that day, is now a fully populated landscape, filled with the lost dreams of young lives ripped away from this earth so early, so incomprehensibly. The rows grew from Alex's grave in all directions, of those young who still lived, breathed, and dreamed they would survive, when Alex was lowered into the ground. So much was lost and buried forever, never to be found again. I could not bear to write about celebratory food. I longed to write about memories of times past, memories that didn't tread anywhere near the symbols of this day. Would you humor me with my recipe for empanadas which I learned from my aunt in … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Appetizers/Aperitivos, Gilda V. Carbonaro Tagged With: chilacayote, empanadas, squash

A Hot Meal On the Go: Sincronizadas Gringas

February 18, 2013 By Gilda Valdez Carbonaro 2 Comments

This summer I will take my middle school students to San Miguel de Allende and already the menu of what they'll eat dances in my head. It should be authentic but not too exotic, healthy, but appealing to even the least adventurous 13-year-old. Some things are just going to look mysterious to them, but they will not leave Mexico without tasting mole in the Oaxacan style. The experience at the table is another facet of the culture, another dimension of the country and its people. Hence, missing out on the gastronomic opportunities is a total loss, no matter how many hours of Spanish you offer students. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Appetizers/Aperitivos, Entrées/Platos Fuertes Tagged With: ham and cheese, quesadillas, sincronizadas, tortillas

Aguachile to Celebrate Summer

June 10, 2012 By Gilda Valdez Carbonaro Leave a Comment

No hay fecha que no se cumpla, plazo que no se venza, ni deuda que no se pague. This is an old Spanish saying which roughly translates as: time marches on, and the day we thought far on the horizon appears suddenly and irrevocably. I've thought about this saying at different points in my life when eagerly awaited moments finally arrived. Yesterday was one of those moments and, if truth be told, it repeats itself punctually every year. School ends and another fresh crop of students graduates and heads off into the world. My colleagues and I celebrate with mixed feelings as we watch our former students embark on new journeys. They are wayward leaves thrown into the turbulent and haphazard river of life, hopefully well-prepared to bear the triumphs as well as the disappointments that will surely come their way. We teachers have done our job, given them the tools, taught them … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Appetizers/Aperitivos, Fish/Pescado, Gilda V. Carbonaro Tagged With: aguachile, ceviche, summer

Shrimp in Jícama Wraps

May 25, 2012 By Gilda Valdez Carbonaro Leave a Comment

In case you haven't noticed, Mexican food is becoming more "haute cuisine." It's come a long way from the tacos, burritos, totopos, and refried beans often found in typical Tex-Mex restaurants. In fact, the complexity of authentic Mexican food, as it differs from region to region in Mexico, has always been an adventure to explore and vastly different from much of what passes as Mexican food in the United States. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Appetizers/Aperitivos, Gilda V. Carbonaro Tagged With: jícama, shrimp, wraps

Membrillo on My Mind

November 10, 2011 By Gilda Valdez Carbonaro 12 Comments

When I was little, membrillo was one of the many gifts our Mexican relatives brought when they visited. I took it for granted. So many years later and so many miles away, I remember this delectable dessert and the loving hands that brought it to my family in Laredo. I remember in particular, Tía Lupita, an elderly, widowed aunt on my father's side who traveled hundreds of miles by bus at least once every three months all the way from her home in Puebla to visit us. I remember her deeply-lined, smiling face, her wrinkled hands, her warm embraces...and the bags bearing boxes of sweet potato candies wrapped in wax paper, bricks of membrillo, obleas, cinnamon sticks, piloncillo, and beautiful gold religious medallas for all of us. I was intrigued by the fruit itself from which membrillo is made. Quince or cydonia oblonga was held in high regard by the ancients. For the Greeks … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Appetizers/Aperitivos, Desserts/Postres, Gilda V. Carbonaro, Recipes Tagged With: membrillo, quince