Season Three, Winter 2007-2008
Cooking with Tita
This week we prepare three easy Mexican recipes with Sophia's grandmother, aka Tita. Sopa Seca (a dry version of noodle soup), Chile Ancho Chicken (an introduction to cooking with chiles), and Arroz con Leche (rice pudding) are the types of dishes you could expect to find in a typical Mexican household for a Saturday lunch.
COOKING SHOW
This Sopa Seca Recipe is basically a dry version of Sopa de Fideos, a popular noodle soup with a red broth. In Mexico, lunch is the main meal of the day, and is usually eaten at around 3 pm. Soups, like Sopa de Fideos, are typically the first course of the meal. Sopa Seca is a drier version of the soup, with the noodles absorbing most of the liquid. Serve with sharp white cheese and cilantro.
COOKING SHOW
This Chile Ancho Chicken recipe is perfect for both entertaining and easy weeknight dinners. Chicken is slowly cooked with a mixture of onion, garlic, chile ancho, and vinegar to create a spicy, and slightly sweet and sour tasting dish. If you are new to cooking with chiles, this is a great introduction, as it is simple, yet full flavored.
COOKING SHOW
Rice pudding, known as Arroz con Leche in Spanish, is the ultimate homestyle Mexican dessert. Rice is slowly cooked in milk, and lightly sweetened and spiced for a comforting, delicious dessert. We made ours with brown rice and soy milk, with Tita's traditional method of adding a lemon rind and sweetening it with condensed milk. There is no other dessert that can soothe our souls in quite the same way.
