miércoles, 13 de abril de 2011

Let´s go to La Baja!!!

Beautiful Bugambilia that I found..which represents the classic colors of Mexico!

Hola my friends!

I just got back from a great weekend in one of the best kept secrets in Mexico. BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR, it is known as the pearl of Mexico and I will say of the world. Surrounded of crystal waters, colorful sunsets, beautiful inhabited beaches, and an immense diversity of marine life.
Espiritu Santo Island

I had the opportunity to take scuba diving lessons in this paradise a few years ago, in the rich waters of Espiritu Santo Island, which is a protected sanctuary where more than 500 species of fish and corals live, and most of them aren’t found anywhere else in the world but here.

Funny puffer fish caught by Jose
Its heaven, believe me, snorkeling and looking at a window of corals, swimming with sea lions along with me it made me feel so alive! Inexplicable! I feel that I must invite everybody to come and see how fantastic nature can be.    

My Family, some family friends and I landed in La Paz, where we had the chance to spend friday night at this magic town, where as my sister will say, you breathe the good energy and good vibe =). We went out to dinner to one of the best local restaurants, it is called Buffalo Grill; we were hosted by the chef Carlos Valdez, I have to tell you it was delicious!! I ordered the grilled octopus and seared tuna with ginger and everything was cooked to perfection. Talking to him he told me he started using the Sous- vide method. A technique that a lot of chefs are using now, it consists in cooking the food in sealed plastic bags in water at a low temperature for long time up to 2 days. The purpose of this is to maintain the true flavors of the ingredients. I am thinking of buying one of this new machines, they seem to be fantastic, but they are too expensive for me haha
beautiful beaches=)

Jose. A.K.A. Justin Biebber








The next day we headed over seas to a little adventure to Isla del Espiritu Santo where we got to see more than 300 flying manta- rays, an amazing view, but I was only worried to take the perfect picture to show you. Well I will let you enjoy my trip with my pic! And I promise to post my other recipe soon. See you latter my friends Besos=)   
Great piccture=)
Florentina, jose and I.. we are still missing two more!





miércoles, 6 de abril de 2011

Habanero and shrimp tostadas with cilantro dressing

Hello my friendssss… I’m posting my first recipe I hope you like it! try to do it and tell me what do you think…This is a very refreshing appetizer that I love to make; it is not spicy at all!! Don’t freak out because of the habanero!!! Hahahaha I pickled so all the spiciness gets lost in the limejuice.
I created these tostadas for a lunch that I had a few weeks ago for a group of businessmen from Mexico City, and off course they wanted try all the diversity of seafood that we have at the Mar de Cortez also know as the Golf of California.  I will let you enjoyyy!!=)

mmmm!!!!
Hands on!

6 - 8 servings

Ingredients:
6-8 Tostadas (fried corn tortillas)
Cilantro dressing
Pickled habanero
1lb (500g) Fresh shrimp, peeled, deveined and butterfly
1 bunch, scallions chopped
1 ea cucumber, peeled, halved and seeded

Cilantro dressing:
1 cup mayonnaise
4 garlic cloves
½ bunch, chopped cilantro
3 each, lime juice
3 tbsp olive oil
Salt & Pepper (knorr suiza for the people in Mexico, its my secret ingredient)

Pickled Habanero:
4 ea Habaneros, very fine julienne
2 red onions, very fine julienne
10 each, Limejuice
Salt
Step by step
  1. First make the pickled habanero. In a sauce pot with hot water about a cup add the onions and the chili habanero and let it simmer for 3 to 5 min. Take out the onions and the habanero from the water with a spoon or with a chinoise and transfer them to a bowl. Add the limejuice, season with salt and pepper and let it sit at least for 1 hours.  If you are making pickled onions or “cebolla curtida” it’s the same process just without habanero. “Cebolla curtida” it’s a typical side for tacos or tortas in Mexico.
  2. Next make de cilantro dressing blending all the ingredients except the olive oil. Season well and at the end add the olive oil.
  3. In a bowl marinate the shrimp with the pickled habanero sauce for 15 min.
  4. When you are ready to serve, spread the cilantro dressing over the tostadas. Add the shrimp, and decorate with cucumber and scallions. And VOILAAA ENJOYY=)

martes, 5 de abril de 2011

El principio!


So I can’t stop blogging and I can’t stop writing hahaha I’m more in love with this thing more than ever..... I’m still at work waiting for dinner service to start.. I’m making a salad and sincronisadas very Mexican!
If you don’t know I work as the executive and private chef of the Governor of Sinaloa... YES it’s a very stressful job and very demanding but since the past four months I have been here, everyday since to be easier. My team I cant complain they are awesome, they are 4 ladies that help me in the kitchen and 4 handsome guys hahahhaa, really I couldn’t ask for more... to not make the story longer I finish my work here in a month!  Its kind of sad because I met a lot of good people and I made a lot of political connections that are always good hahaha... but also I’m very happy for the things and the plans that are coming in the future!!
I was chosen to build a kitchen, to train everybody, to create a menu and to create systems for everything.
Finally with a lot of patience and hope I did it, and honestly at the beginning I was thinking to give up, it was a lot of stress to handle.   
Ok enough about my life hahah later with more time I will tell you more.......
This picsss are from a welcoming party that I did for my niece Rafaela she is adorable!.. Everything was perfect, and the dessert table was unforgettable... it was the first time I made a cake like that, and I got amazed OF HOW PRETTY it was haha I put fresh flowers to make it prettier
The gift for the ladies was my recipe for chocolate chip cookies, I got the idea from a blog (bakerella)..  welll ENJOYY!! I HAVE TO GOOOO SERVICE JUST STARTEEEDD!!1 BYES=)

Loook what I just found!


Hello fanss!=) Welcome to my new spot.. yeiii! I’m super new at this and I’m super excited to get started and to tell you all about me!.. We are going to have fun hahahahha! 

Yes I’m Mexican and I’m in love with avocados, and just now that they are in season I’m thinking in all the different dishes I can make with them. Mexican avocados are sooo different from regulars avocados, they just melt of your palad and just with a little bit of salt they taste like heaven. They are produced all year round in Sinaloa where I’m from but the best season to find them is from march to august in Mexico and in California. Hass is the primarily variety produced in Mexico and of course the tastiest one =) .. If you ever find your self in Mexico, don’t hesitate to try this delicious vegetable.

                                                                        Byesss  Maria B =)