Mexican Six Course Tasting Menu by Darlene Tenes

chiles en nogada foodie mexican mexican foodie Tasting Menu

MEXICAN SIX COURSE TASTING MENU 

by Darlene Tenes

This was a menu I created for my mother's milestone birthday party dinner in October. I wanted to do something special so I searched around the internet for Mexican tasting menus but they were mostly French or European flavors. My heart was set on making Chiles en Nogada as the main course so it ended up becoming a 6 course dinner instead of a true tasting menu. However, I was determined not to have a typical Mexican meal. So, you'll be shocked to learn that there were no beans, rice or tortillas served.  

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First Course
FRUTA CON CHAMOY
Mixed fresh fruits with a chamoy, a spicy fruit preserve.
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Second Course
SOPA DE CALABASA MOSCADA
Butternut squash soup with crema mexicana & pumpkin seeds
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Third Course
TORRE DE ATÚN, MANGO Y AGUACATE
Tuna tower with mango and avocado
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Fourth Course
SORBETE DE TUNA DE NOPAL
Prickly pear fruit sorbet on a nopal cactus paddle
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Fifth Course
CHILES EN NOGADA
Roasted poblano chile stuffed with a picadillo of ground meats with dried fruits and nuts topped with a walnut cream sauce and pomegranate seeds.
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Sixth Course
TORTA DE CHOCOLATE MEXICANO
Chocolate mouse cake with buttercream frosting in a succulent garden theme
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And after dinner drinks...
Rompope and Kahlua and Cream
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RECIPES
Below are recipes and/or ingredients that I used for this menu and some pics of the process along the way. Many times I will look at different recipes and combine them or make up my own along the way. Since it is going on my table I may add or subtract ingredients that I like or dislike. 

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Raw ingredients 
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FRUTA CON CHAMOY
Drizzle chamoy on top of fresh cut fruits such as watermelon, pineapple, mango and jicama. 
Chamoy Recipe
Chamoy is a spicy fruit preserve used as a condiment for various purposes from topping fresh fruit fruits to rim cocktails. 

1 cup water

3 dried ancho chili peppers

1 tsp chipotle en adobo

5 medjool dates

1 cup apricot jam 10 oz jar

1/4 cup lime juice from 4-5 large limes

3 tbsp brown sugar

3/4 tsp salt

Boil water, then add additional ingredients. Simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool down and place in blender until it is a smooth preserve. 

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PRICKLY PEAR SORBET

6-8 Prickly Pears, remove pulp from rind

6  Limes, squeezed

1/4 cup Simple Syrup (sugar & water)

Place the prickly pear pulp, simple syrup, and lime juice in a blender or food processor. Mix on high until smooth. Transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze for 2-3 hours. Use a small scoop to make balls and freeze again. Make round indents in clean cactus paddles and place round sorbet with flower for decor.  

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BUTTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP
This was a recipe that I was given which has a lot of ingredients for a simple soupbut it did taste super yummy!
2 medium Butternut Squash, Roasted, seeded, peeled,  and diced
3 Tbls. Butter
2 White Onion or Vidalia onion, roughly chopped
6  Garlic Cloves, chopped]
4 Large Carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 Granny Smith Apples or any apples, peeled, cored, and diced
3 Small White Potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cup Chicken Stock
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Freshly Ground Pepper
1 tsp. Cinnamon, ground
1tsp. Nutmeg, preferably freshly ground
¾ tsp. Ground Ginger
¼  c. Brown Sugar 
1 can of Coconut milk, not lite
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CHILES EN NOGADA
There reason you rarely see Chiles en Nogada on restaurant menus often is because of the seasonal ingredients and it is very time consuming. Particularly prepping the walnuts which consists of soaking them overnight (preferably) and peeling the skin off of each individual nut. Yikes! 
These are the two recipes I used for guidance and below are the ingredients I used which of course I doubled because I had 12 guests. Always remember to taste your food along the way because no recipe is perfect, raw ingredients taste differently and sometimes you may need to add a little something. 
Chile Filling

2 tbsp olive oil

1/4 onion finely diced

1/2 lb ground pork

1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 tbsp salt

1 tsp ground pepper

1 garlic clove finely minced

1.5 cup tomato sauce

1 apple diced

1 dried apricots diced

1/2 plantain diced

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup slivered almonds

3 tbsp chopped biznaga (or dried apricots)

pinch ground cloves

pinch ground cinnamon

6 poblano peppers

 

Nogada Sauce

1/2 cup Skinless Walnuts

¼ cup Honey

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 cup Crema Mexicana con Sal

1/2 cup Whipping Cream

4 oz. Goat Cheese

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Garnish

2 small pomegranates or 1 large

1 small bunch of parsley

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AFTER DINNER DRINKS
Rompope Mexican Cinnamon Eggnog
Rompope is a Mexican eggnog-like drink made with eggs, milk, cinnamon and vanilla believed to have been originally made Spanish nuns in the convents of the city of Puebla, Mexico.
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Kahlúa & Cream Cocktail
Kahlúa is a coffee liqueur that contains rum, sugar and arabica coffee produced in Veracruz, Mexico.  Kahlúa and Cream consists of equal parts of the two ingredients in an old fashioned glass.
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