Two Way Torta: Half Smoky & Half Spicy Shredded Chicken Salad with Jalapeno, Tomato & Avocado

In my last post, I explained my general disdain for popularity contests masquerading as recipe competitions. On a more positive note, however, I expressed my pleasure at having discovered the Mezzetta "Make That Sandwich" contest, as it's curated by food professionals and the prize is the not inconsiderable sum of $25,000.

Nopales (Cactus Paddles) Three Ways: Pickled, In Cheesy Quesadillas, & In Spicy Salsa Verde

Use one fruit or vegetable in three different ways - that's the theme of this month's Creative Cooking Crew challenge, hosted as always by the lovely Joan of Foodalogue and Lazaro of Lazaro Cooks.

This is both a deliciously intriguing and a perplexingly open-ended challenge. Any fruit. Any vegetable. Any three ways. To narrow down the endless choices, I decided I'd make three things that would form a part of one dish. The trick would be to manipulate one ingredient into three components with different, yet complementary, tastes and textures.

Chicken Soup with Fire Roasted Tomatoes, Fish Peppers, & Lime

I will spare you the whole (seemingly) obligatory preamble about how there's an autumn chill in the air and it's got me thinking cozy thoughts about soup and blankets and roaring fires and blah, blah, blah.  Besides, there is no weather that is inhospitable to even the hottest of soups, in my humble opinion. This one, for instance, is inspired by a caldo de pavo that I had at a Yucatecan restaurant, Coox Hanal,  on a warm day in Mexico City. It featured one of the things I love so much about many Mexican dishes: the unabashed use of limes.

Frida Kahlo's Pueblan Mole Recipe

One of my favorite non-food related experiences in Mexico City was my visit to the Frida Kahlo museum in Coyoacan. It's actually her family home where she lived with Diego Rivera, and it's filled with beauty, books, and traditional pre-Hispanic Mexican arts and crafts - a stunning example of the merging of art and life.

Tostadas de Atun (Tuna Tostadas), an UnRecipe Recipe

I had a bit of a debate with myself about posting this dish. I mean, it's tuna and a bunch of other stuff on a tostada. Nothing gets cooked. Pretty basic stuff. Tasty to be sure -  but worth blogging about?

Then again ...  things like boxed cake mix, Cool Whip-based desserts, and Jello pudding with a handful of raisins tossed in seem to count as recipes - so why not a tuna tostada?  It's so very Sandra Lee.

Don't get me wrong: I'm not claiming I make a homemade meal from scratch every single night - not by a long shot. The occasional sandwich, grilled sausage, or canned soup is certainly served at Casa de Trix. But when I put a little extra somethin' somethin'  into, say, a sauce I bought at the grocery store, I don't particularly feel compelled to tell you about it.  (Of course the exception proves the rule, like this fabulous doctored cake mix post by my friend Trevor. But then, most people can't pull this off with such aplomb.)

Carne de Res (Beef) en Salsa Verde: General Guidelines for the Intuitive Cook

This dish was inspired by the amazing pork in salsa verde that we had for breakfast at Fonda Margarita in Mexico City. I wanted to try and capture that elusive blend of tart and tangy and spicy heat that hit my tongue with each revelatory slurp of sauce. In other words, I had my work cut out for me.

Now, I am not going to try and tell you that my version is just like the dish that inspired it. I think you can only hope to achieve that depth of flavor if you're willing to get up at 1 a.m. to cook bubbling cazuelas of the stuff every single day. And it probably doesn't hurt to have a Mexican mother, grandmother or auntie (or father, grandfather or uncle!) to pass along some family secrets, either. Alas, the extent of my family culinary secrets begins and ends with a cheese sandwich (albeit a really good one).

Fondas, Cocinas, and Cafes: Casual Dining in Mexico City

On top of the world in Mexico City's Centro Historico 

Mexico City is one of the world's great affordable culinary destinations, a mecca for those of us whose voracious appetites and appreciation for fine food are much, much deeper than our wallets. But I must humbly bow my head and admit that, alas, I did not manage to go everywhere, see everything, or eat all of the things I wanted. Not even close. But I tried. Oh believe me, I tried.

And so, after going through the 900-plus photos that  I took, for my first (of many!) trip posts I settled on a recap of the casual sit-down eateries we visited. (Except for one that deserves a post all its own. Later. ) I will try not to be too wordy, as I know that most of you are here to look at the pretty pictures. I totally understand.

Sopa Azteca: Another Post About Soup

Here I am, back from Mexico City: exhausted, a little bit flu-ey, besieged by a hacking cough, nearly voiceless, and desperately behind in just about every aspect of my life. Typical post-vacation scenario.

Yes, it was amazing and beautiful and delicious and hectic and kind of overwhelming and wonderful. I have so many thoughts to gather and photos to look at and memories to replay that I am just not up to tackling my first recap post yet, though there will be many forthcoming, I assure you.

So instead, I bring you soup.

Chicken & Pork Posole with Avocado, Radish, Cilantro & Lime for the International Incident Mexican Breakfast Party

Welcome to this month's  International Incident Party, hosted as ever by our plucky foundress, Penny aka Jeroxie.  Having recently posted machacado con huevos, or Mexican dried beef with egg, I felt a bit silly when I found out that the August theme is Mexican breakfast!  If only I had remembered, I would have saved that post, as that dish is one of my new favorite things. But no matter: That's why they call these things challenges, after all.

Machacado con Huevos: Mexican Drief Beef with Eggs ... My New Favorite Breakfast (and brunch, lunch, dinner, and snack)

 
Even though I freely admit that I have done it myself, I still always think it's kind of silly when food bloggers act like we've discovered some food or ingredient or dish  that's actually been around a really long time. You know what I mean : "Oh my gosh, look! It's mousse." Or "Did you know that you can actually make your own butter?" (I am guilty on both counts, by the way.)

And here I am ... about to do it again, with machacado con huevos. I discovered Mexican dried beef at the Fancy Food Show in D.C. - but not in the Christopher Columbus sense, mind you. I realize the stuff has been around long before I got to it, and I certainly don't seek to change it, colonize it, or alter its glorious essence in any way.

Sugared Mexican Buns and a Nick Malgieri Cookbook Giveaway

As this posts, Poppa Trix and I are somewhere in Krakow ... drinking beer, eating at a milk bar, devouring kielbasa, or simply sleeping it all off. But I didn't want you to miss me too much! So, because you didn't get to come on vacation with me, I am giving away a copy of Nick Malgieri's latest book, Bake!, to one lucky reader!

Spicy Korean Tacos, L.A. Taco Truck Style, for the International Incident Taco Party

I have never been to Los Angeles (*gasp*) but if I ever do find myself there, I know the very first thing I want to eat. Hmmm ... will I race to Mr. Chow's? Run to Mario Batali's Mozza? Skip to Matsuhisa?  No, no and no: What I really and truly long to do is taste one of Chef Roy Choi's Korean/Mexican fusion tacos. I envy the Angelenos who get to enjoy the amazing creations that come out of his Kogi Korean BBQ  taco truck. How could these things not be amazing?

Simple, Succulent, Spicy: Shrimp in a Chipotle, Lime, & Cilantro "Remoulade"

Look at me, getting all fancy with my plating! But who am I kidding? Dinner actually looked more like this:

Now that's more like it. 

That baked corn tortilla in the above photo notwithstanding, I am going pretty light on the carbs for the next couple of weeks.  Don't worry, I haven't gone all Atkins on you! Shudder. It's just a temporary  post-holiday measure - I could never live without my beautiful breads, savory pies, or pillow-y pastas for too terribly long.

That said, I didn't miss a thing with this meal. The shrimp were tangy, spicy, and juicy mouthfuls, and the guac - just mashed up avocado with a bit of lime juice, salt and pepper - was a fresh, filling, and satisfying companion to my zesty little camarones.

Shrimp and Red Snapper a la Veracuzana de la Trix, with Crispy Grilled Polenta Cakes

When friend and fellow blogger Drick dedicated a post to me recently, "A Tasty Treat for Tasty Trix, " naturally I was thrilled. Not only has no one ever done that before, but I couldn't wait to make the dish, Red Snapper a la Varacruzana. After, all, the recipe has so many of my favorite things in it: capers, chipotle, jalapenos, olives, garlic, tomatoes, wine (!)  ... just reading it, I could already taste the smoky, tangy heat of the sauce and how it would work with the mild, buttery fish. 

Cheese Stuffed Poblano Chiles with Chipotle Sauce, Guacamole, and Salsa Verde

While  watching - and rooting for - Rick Bayless on Top Chef Masters, I developed a serious case of the hungries for some Mexican food. And when we got these adorable tomatillos from our CSA, I took it as a sign that I needed to make some salsa verde, pronto.  I wanted to try to make my salsa as authentic as possible, so it made sense to go with a Bayless recipe. I only made a couple of changes, as you'll see  - not because I thought I could improve on his recipe, but rather because of equipment failure and an ingredient confusion. But it still came out with a very distinctive, smoky taste. Delicious.

I more or less made up the chipotle sauce as I went along, and my husband made his always-yummy, simple, fresh guacamole. I'll admit there are a fair number of steps to this dish, but you can make the salsa verde and chipotle sauce ahead of time, and the results are more than worth a little extra effort!