Mayan Fin del Mundo Fest, Friday, Dec 21, 2012

Ix-chel Mayan goddess of birth and medicine


As many of you probably know, the world, according to the Mayan calender anyway, will come to a grinding halt on Friday, Dec 21st, 2012. In order to celebrate the festivities, supposedly caused by the earthquake gods, some close friends and I are throwing a 1st Annual Mayan Fin del Mundo Fest, and I'm cooking a menu of Mayan dishes that day to honor our apocalyptic sages. Here's the full menu, and over the next week I will post all of the recipes, in three parts.The beauty is that you don't have to do any clean up afterwards, because THE WORLD IS ENDING!

The 1^st Annual Mayan Fin del Mundo Fiesta!
                      Friday, Dec. 21^st, 2012

Beers:
Noche Buena
Tecate

Cocktail:
La Paloma or “The Dove” -- blanco tequila, grapefruit juice, grapefruit bitters, lime juice, grapefruit-infused simple syrup, seltzer, salted rim

Appetizer:
Sikil P'aak -- dip of roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) and charred tomatoes, tomatillos, chiles, garlic, and onion, with sour orange juice and chicken stock; to be eaten with tostados (totopos)

Soup:
Sopa de Lima con Pavo y Chilmole -- Yucatecan lime soup with turkey and “burnt” chile paste: with carrot, onion, celery, garlic, turkey stock and meat, lime juice, cilantro, and avocado (recado negro/chilmole chile paste: charred arbol and ancho chiles, achiote paste, clove, allspice, pepper, oregano, cumin, lots of roasted garlic, vinegar)

Salads:           
Ensalada Zek -- Mandarin orange and jicama salad with cucumber, sour orange juice, olive oil, garlic, pequin chile powder

Zic de Carne – salpicón of shredded braised flank steak with scallion, garlic, chiles, green olives, radish, cilantro, and avocado, dressed with sour orange juice

Cebollas Encurtados -- Yucatecan pickled red onions with sour orange juice, charred garlic, güero chiles, allspice, clove, oregano, pepper

Entree:

Cochinita Pibil -- pork shoulder marinated in achiote paste, sour orange juice, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, allspice, pepper, güero and habanero chiles; wrapped in banana leaves and slowly baked until falling-apart; eaten with tortillas

Sides:

Lentejas Yucatecas -- brown lentils, onion, garlic, carrot, chayote squash, potato, tomato, chile, epazote, chicken stock

Arroz Verde -- rice sautéed with onion and garlic, cooked with roasted poblanos, lots of cilantro, parsley, lime zest, and chicken stock

Salsas:

Xnipec (aka “Dog's Nose” Salsa) -- fresh salsa of tomato, red onion, garlic, güero and habanero chile, sour orange juice, splash of vinegar, salt

K'uut Bi Ik -- pounded dried chile salsa of arbol and ancho chiles, charred onion and garlic, water, chicken stock, salt, pinch of sugar

Dessert:

Caballero Pobre – “Frenched” bread pudding with canela (Mexican cinnamon) syrup and pecans, drizzled with Mexican brandy butter sauce

Mexican brandy (Azteca de Oro or Don Pedro Reserva Especial) and strong coffee


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Mick Vann ©