True Mex

Mention Mexican food and some may cringe. After all, it hasn't been represented well , not only here but across the globe. Yet that true cuisine and thanks to Mexican born chefs around the world, that idea is changing.

Julia Mokin wrote this interesting article in today's New York Times' Food section.For years, tacos and any bean dish were served in Mexican restaurants, from Copenhagen, to New York and from London to surprisingly Los Angeles. Things are changing as innovative chefs with roots in the Mexican states are creating a "Modern Mexican" cuisine. This is a movement similar to the New Nordic cuisine which shone a spotlight on Scandinavian rye bread, smoked fish and Arctic berries. It introduces diners to such native ingredients as cacao, agave, and cactus along with pre-Hispanic varieties of tomatoes, squash and pumpkins. The ingredients which define Mexican cuisine, corn and chilies are also shone in their  original light. Don''t expect traditional dishes such as chiles in nogada,  stuffed poblano chiles or mole poblanos. This is a movement that  uses local ingredients to create Mexican food.

Is that working? In some cases no. If the menu says Mexican, diners want fajitas and taquitos, not a bean mousse or a black bean broth with a dot of caviar and a fleck of gold leaf. This is standard fare at Californio, a San Francisco  restaurant owned by chef Val Cantu. Yet many people have a set idea, thanks to chain restaurants such as On The Border and Taco Bell.Chefs have to work with what they have as was the case with Rosio Sanchez who has her restaurant, the famed, taqueria Noma, in Copenhagen. She does have fresh hand pressed corn tortillas but also octopus with fermented corn husks.It is used in Mexican cooking but not that much.It's more about Danish tastes which revolve around dairy , acidity, fat and unami. The ingredients are all decidedly Nordic Another example is Atla, the trendy Mexican eatery in Manhattan,has a tostada topped with Arctic char, farmer's cheese and capers deliberately echoes the Lower East Side's traditional bagel with a schmear of scallion cream cheese and lox.

What is Mexican cooking? It's what Mexican chefs make it where they make it.It could be a bean mousse or dishes made with local - non Mexican ingredients. It's about adapting  but also keeping tradition.

Happy Birthday Mallomars!

Not many cookies have the staying power of Mallowmars.Some come and go but these American classics are celebrating over one hundred years of goodness.They are still as they were ,full of marshmallow and chocolate flavor. they makeca tasty snack or tasty dessert. Marshmallow cookies are nothing new.The Danish created the first two hundred years ago.The English made a variation called a teacake.These were a round of shortbread topped with what is known as an Italian meringue,a whipped egg white concoction similar to a marshmallow.The entire sweet was then coated withva thin layer of milk chocolate.In Germany they are made with sweetened egg white foam and enrobed in dark chocolate.German kids love them squished between a bun.Some around the world have the addition of a thin layer of raspberry jam or more sugar added like the Canadian version,Whippets. In the US they've been made as Mallowmars ,and were first baked in Union City, New Jersey.They are a puff of marshmallow stuck on a Graham cracker round.They're coated with rich dark chocolate and sold only from September to March and with good reason.They would melt and make a gooey mess otherwise ,thanks to the hot weather.Not to worry.You can make them at home although the process is labor intensive and does require a lot of equipment.Maybe the best replica is the s,more itself, especially if it's made with dark chocolate squares. Mallowmars have been a special treat for the last 101 years.Enjoy them now with a good hot cup of tea or coffee.They're a great cold weather treat, perfect for a snowy afternoon indoors.