I could be getting up to date on the Winnipeg restaurant reports that I have piling up but I can’t stop dreaming of our upcoming time on Isla Mujeres. 

Maria

One of the most wonderful aspects about our precious Isla Mujeres is that islanders are known by their food specialties: there is Tony the Rib man, D’s favourite Juice man, Maria the Pepita lady and The Flan Lady.  We pass the latter on our walk to and from the zocalo.  She has a cart which she parks outside of her house and it is illuminated by a single light bulb.  I am more inclined to go for a coconut ice cream or lime Popsicle but for some reason, I can’t stop thinking about the flan lady.

Juice Man

I am quite certain that this is not the recipe that she follows.  This one comes from Cocina Islena, Recipes from the Kitchens of Isla Mujeres-a fund-raiser by PEACE Isla Mujeres:

“Flan is a recipe that dates back to ancient Rome.  It was during Roman times that domesticated chickens were first kept for laying eggs.  The Romans, with eggs in surplus, along with the Greek’s knowledge of the art of cooking, developed new recipes-one of which turned out to be this custardy misture known as flan.  It was originally a savoury dish (not sweet but similar to quiche fillings and frittatas).  Flan survived the fall of the Roman Empire, medieval times, and eventually was taken to the new world by the Spanish.  The Spanish version is sweet instead of savory, and is now especially associated with Mexico.

1 c sugar

12 oz. evaporated milk

14 oz. sweetened condensed milk

3/4 c milk

3 large eggs

3 egg yolks

2 t vanilla

1 c Media Crema (substitute: equal parts sour cream & heavy cream)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Make the caramel:  Have ready a deep 9 inch glass pie plate and a pair of oven mitts.  Pour the sugar into a small heavy saucepan.  Set it over medium-low heat until the sugar starts to liquefy and form clumps.  Stir slowly and constantly; the sugar will eventually liquefy completely and then begin to colour.  Pay careful attention to the caramel at this point; once it starts to colour, it will darken quickly.  Remove the pan from the heat when the caramel is the colour of a bright, shiny penny.  Scrape all the caramel into the pan, put on the mitts, and grab the pie plate firmly.  Carefully but quickly rotate the pan so the bottom and halfway up the sides of the plate are coated with caramel.  Set the prepared pan in a shallow roasting pan.

 Fill a kettle with water and bring to a boil.  Meanwhile, combine the evaporated milk, condensed milk, milk, eggs, yolks and vanilla in a blender jar.  Blend on a very low speed a few seconds, just until the eggs are blended,  Add the Media Crema and blend a few seconds, until smooth.  Let stand for 1 minute, and then skim off any foam that rises to the surface.

Slide the oven rack out halfway and set the roasting pan with the caramel-lined pie plate on the rack.  Pour the custard mix into the pie plate.  Pour enough water from the kettle to the roasting pan to come halfway up the side of the plate.  Bake about 1 hour until the centre of the flan is set.

Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature in the water bath.  Refigerate until completely chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 1 day.

 To serve, centre a large plate over the flan and with one quick flip, invert the pan over the plate.  Give it a few seconds; the flan will slip right out of the mold and onto the plate.  Scrape any caramel left in the mold over the flan.  Serve chilled.  Serves 8.”

Kath’s quote: “Custard:  A detestable substance produced by a malevolent conspiracy of the hen, the cow, and the cook.”-Ambrose Bierce

This will be the very first time (in my entire life) that I will not be having a traditional Christmas dinner in Winnipeg on December 25.  Instead: we are co-hosting 35 for an early dinner this weekend for D’s side of the family and will be assembling with the 40+ members of my side on Christmas eve at Brother #3’s home.

But on Christmas day, we will have arrived on our precious Isla Mujeres-our home away from home.  It was not a difficult decision, to know where we wanted to have Christmas dinner as Fredy is a member of our Isla family.  I already know this far in advance that I will be ordering his famous pork chop.  But in the mean time, I have managed to find a recipe for his Cilantro Shrimp.  This comes from the cookbook entitled Cocina Islena-a fund raiser for PEACE Isla Mujeres.  If you are a Mexican food lover-you MUST have this recipe book.

Fredy’s Cilantro Shrimp

20 large shrimp, peeled and deveined

7 ox. white onion, finely chopped

2 T cilantro, finely chopped

lime, salt & pepper to taste

1 t worcherstershire sauce

4 sliced jalepeno chilies

1 t olive oil (important)

1 t garlic

7 oz. manchego cheese (like mozzarella)

In a baking dish, place a layer of cilantro, add a layer on onion, a layer of shrimp, then another layer of cilantro, another or onion and a last layer of shrimp.  Season with lime, salt and pepper to taste.  Add worchestershire sauce, olive oil & garlic.  Once seasoned, add grated cheese covering the entiure surface.  Bake for approxuimately 15 minutes at 400 degrees.  Remove from the oven and garnish with sliced chilies and serve immediately.  Serves 2.

Fredy does not have a website but click here for his Facebook page.

Kath’s quote: “Some writers say the leaves [cilantro] are used for seasoning, but this statement seems odd, as all the green parts of the plant exhale a very strong odor of the wood-bug, whence the Greek name of the plant.”-Vilmorin-Andrieux, ‘The Vegetable Garden’ (1885)

I have many friends on Isla Mujeres.  Some I have shared a dinner or lazed upon the beach with and others I have met “cyberly” and then eventually met in person.  Such is the case with this friend who is a US ex-pat now living full time in paradise.  I have asked her opinion of the best place to go for a romantic dinner for two on Isla ( I happen to know a couple who could use one).

“Greetings from Isla Mujeres!  After some chilly weather (for us) it is finally a beautiful beach day!  The Island is quickly getting decorated for Christmas & it looks festive.  We just put our tree up on Sunday with the kids.  Now the count down for Santa begins!!
 
Sunset Grill is a pretty spot but I have heard mixed reviews about the food & the beach seating (they charge extra to sit on the beach).  By the time you arrive Fenix, an Asian Fusion restaurant should be open.  That is on the beach at NaBalam looking towards Avalon.  The couple opening it up used to have a quite popular place in Nashville. 

Looking west towards Cancun from the vicinity of Casa Las Suenos

A couple other romantic options with a view would include Casa Las Suenos (used to be Altmar Lounge, on Punta Sur next to Casa O’s).  It is a beautiful setting, under a great big palapa looking out at Cancun.  They have reopened their restaurant which used to be excellent but have not done any marketing to let people know.  Another soon to be opened & should be opened by that time is Marina Paraiso.  They have a chef from France who will be doing lovely dinners on their deck under big old  trees with views of the water.  I have been there for a private dinner & they food was incredible.
 

The Caribbean Side

Da Luisa at Casa Ixchel on the Caribbean side has a great ocean view.  I have not had dinner there but I have had tapas & drinks.  The chef Giorgio from Italy does a great job.
 
Without the beach or a view….Sergio from Rooster Cafe starts his Special Chef Dinner Menus around December 15th on Wednesday, Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays.  Honestly, his culinary creations are some of the best I have ever had in my life.  He is truly the most talented Chef (accredited at La Cordon Bleu in Austin) on Isla.  I am still dreaming about his pork belly three ways, his shrimp in a grapefruit reduction sauce & his filet mignon in huitlacoche sauce.  WOW.  The decor of Rooster is a bit more modern & for them evenings, he has table clothes & it has a nice romantic feel.  You can also make reservations for his chef’s tasting menu, where he will bring 5 or 6 courses out for you.  This is by far my favorite place for a special occasion.
 

The bright lights of Hidalgo

Also without a beach or view, Lori Dumm previously of Mango Cafe just opened up Lola Valentina on Hidalgo with a Mexican business partner, Rodolfo.  The place is very pretty.  The food is Mexican Fusion.  The tables are quite big so there is not a real romantic feel at the table but the lighting & decor feels romantic.”

Kath’s quote: “Your words are my food, your breath my wine. You are everything to me.”-Sarah Bernhardt

I’ve not known until this morning, the translation of this restaurant’s name: “the witch or sorceress, a hag”.  We’ve met the owners of La Bruja and I can’t imagine that he named this neighbourhood destination after his wife, who he clearly adores.  He and D compared notes about how it was quite pleasant that the kids were grown and we had had more time to spend together-nudge, nudge, wink, wink.  Although he professed that all of their time was spent in keeping the restaurant  open. 

There were no other tourists sitting around us at the tables that spilled onto the sidewalk.  But as the locals came to visit, they stood in the kitchen, chatted and ate.  Perhaps this lack of business, was because it was Ash Wednesday.  Although we are quite aware of the church calendar back home, we had to be reminded by the goings on by the service occuring right next to the restaurant.  This proved to be very enjoyable for us, as the babies were getting fussy and so older siblings were given permission to escort the little ones outside to try to distract them, until the festivities were concluded.    We love the Mayan children with their big brown eyes and quiet smiles.

But to the food.  D ordered shrimp tacos

and I the pan fried fish. 

I apologise for the photo quality-this trip was the last straw before I purchased my new camera.

The fish, as is typical on Isla, tasted just caught-because it likely was.  I was a little disappointed by the frozen fries but perhaps I should have avoided indulging in fries by this point of our trip.  D said that the shrimp were perfectly cooked (still firm) and the fresh veggies and salsas a delectable combination of tastes.

All toll, I recall that we spent about $17.  including cervesas that evening.  We walked home through the various neighbourhoods on the colonias peaking into living rooms and seeing hammocks swinging in the light of TV sets.  A perfect night on Isla.

Kath’s quote: “I wonder, now and then, if the prevalence of divorce has any connection with the decline of home cooking?”-Martha McCulloch-Williams

We go on our annual sojourn to Isla with a list.  A packing list?  No-I am happy to say that I’ve made the trip so often, that I know that I can pack light and spend most days in a bathing suit, pareo and flip flops.  I also come home with more clothes than I take because our friend and expert dress-maker Hortenzia whips me up a summer wardrobe each time I visit her.

The list that I refer to is a food list-restaurants that have opened on Hildalgo since our last trip, a number of places whose dishes I dream about all winter long (Fredy’s pork chops, La Brisa’s Fruite de Mare Linguine, Tino’s ribs) and undiscovered places that I’ve investigated in the Colonias.  Bimbo Dogs are always on the list too, but have never been checked off. I don’t know if this is their real name or the slang that Isla forum posters use-but this is how we know them.

The street carts are around the ferry landing and when we arrive on Isla we are so excited to head to our hotel or apartment and get settled in that we bypass them.  On other days we are heading to the beach with arms ladened with beach chairs, novels, sudukos, journals and perhaps a cooler full of Sol.

On the last day of our 2011 trip we were ticking many “must eats” off the list: we had breakfast biscuits from Barlitos, lunch at Rolandi’s, La Lomita’s Chiles Relleno for happy hour and were heading for yet another feed of fish and chips at Bally Hoo before boarding the ferry.  We were once again going to say “no gracias” as we walked past the cart but the aroma of the carmelized onions and buns steaming on the grill top was too much to resist.  And did I mention?  Bimbo Dogs are wrapped in bacon!

Kath’s quote:  “The hot dog, as the phrase runs, seems to have come to stay. Even the gastroenterologists have given up damning it…..I am informed by reliable spies that at their convention in Atlantic City last May they consumed huge quantities…..and with no apparent damages to their pylorus.”-H.L. Mencken