On Apr 29, 9:40�pm, "Gunner" <gunner@ spam.com> wrote:

> *So what would you put into a basic shopping list *to start on the basics
> and what lessons need to be learned first?

Start by buying the Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz cookbooks and a Spanish
dictionary.

Lesson 1: Be careful about asking Mexicans for information about
cooking Mexican food, since they may know less about it than you do.

Lesson 2: Most common Mexican dishes in the US can be categorized as
"meriendas" (snacks) or "antojos" (whims) to be eaten with the hands.
"Antojitos" such as tacos, tamales, enchiladas, and burritos are snack
foods based upon the use of white corn meal and pork lard. There are
about 50 to 60 variations on the theme, but they are all just greasy
toasted corn meal.

Lesson 3: If you think that all Mexican cooking is done in the
backyard over a grill while you drink a six pack of beer, you'll be
satisfied with antojitos and greasy, poor quality peasant food.

Lesson 4: Mexican restaurants are usually just glorified taco stands
and they serve "combination plates" with two or three greasy
antojitos, rice and beans, all on one plate, to save the expense of
washing a lot of dishes. The gringo customers don't know any better
than to order a combination plate.

Lesson 5: The real traditional style of serving Spanish or Mexican
food involves multiple courses, not everything piled on one plate that
is heated to toast the cheese topping.

Lesson 6: A real traditional Mexican dinner consists of a wet soup, a
dry "soup" (or pasta), a salad, one large or two smaller main courses
of meat or fish, followed by a dessert, coffee, and liquor. It's all
served on different plates or in different bowls, it's a traditional
multicourse meal served in the dining room, not the backyard.

Lesson 7: If a Mexican tells you that a particular recipe is
'traditional', it means that somebody made it at least once before,
from whatever was on hand.

Lesson 8: If a Mexican tells you that a dish is cooked in the style of
his home village, that means that it's pretty much the same as in the
next village, maybe one ingredient is added or left out.

Lesson 9: Mexican cooking is often peasant food and uses the cheapest
ingredients available, including the toughest cuts of meat and
internal organs that would normally be thrown away. Since the meat is
so tough and rank, it has to be sliced thin and needs to be boiled to
tenderize it, and then heavily spiced to conceal the bad taste
resulting from lack of refrigeration.

Lesson 10: The Mexican phrase, "No hay reglas" sounds like it means
"there are no rules" in Mexican cooking, but it really means that
Mexicans make do with whatever they have on hand at the moment.

Lesson 11: The Mexican phrase "Lo que hay" means, "Whatever is
available" is what you'll get, so lower your expectations.

Lesson 12: "If the apparent name of the dish ends in the suffix "-
ado", "-ada", "-ido", "-ida", etc., it's really NOT the name of the
dish, it's a description of the *cooking process*.

Lesson 13: "Enchilada" doesn't necessarily mean a tortilla dipped in
chile sauce with something rolled up in the middle. "Enchilada"
means *anything* in a chile sauce.

Lesson 14: Any Spanish word that ends in the suffix "-illa" means that
it's a poor substitute for something better. For instance, a "torta"
is a cake of leavened bread. A "tortilla" is a humble, unleavened
substitute for bread.

Lesson 15: Similiarly, Mexican dishes that end in the suffix "-ote"
are often humble subsitutes for "the real deal". A "tacote" is a
humble taco, a "guisote" is a humble stew.

Lesson 16: Tolerance is not absolute. Though some people believe that
tolerance is freedom from prejudice or bigotry, the experienced diner
knows that he likes what he likes and he wants what he wants, with no
unsatisfactory substitutes based upon lack of availability of key
ingredients or poor preparation. The experienced diner will not
tolerate poor quality.