cooks illustrated

For hangover mornings we like making chilaquiles con todo.

Huachinango al Ajillo: Snapper baked with lots of butter, garlic, and dried guajillo peppers. PJ had this at a seafood restaurant La Veracruzana and its his favorite.
It went well with a cold, raw chayote salad.

Quesadillas Fritas
Our favorite food stand is on the corner of Colima and Morelia streets in the neighborhood called Roma. A lifeless white monolith by day, it folds out into a bright oasis from seven to eleven pm, eminating light, warmth, and delicious smells. Inside the stand a mother and her grown son make warm comforting food for the hungry crowd. During the holiday, hot Ponche (a fruit and cane drink) is served from a bucket over fire. The stand specializes in quesadillas fritas skillfully crafted by the mother always with a calm friendly face. The experience is magical and we are mesmerized by the performance for the entire thirty minutes of waiting.

The other night, we made our own. We would first press a ball of fresh masa dough into a disc with the tortilla press and then add the filling of oaxaca cheese and rajas. The tortilla is folded and sealed in a half-moon shape and then fried in vegetable oil. The familiar sensory experiences made us feel as if we were huddling near the hot fryer of the quesadilla stand.