Pati Jinich is host of the popular James Beard Award winning and Emmy nominated PBS series Pati's Mexican Table, author of two cookbooks, and resident chef at the Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington, DC. This is her official website where she shares recipes from her show and new recipes in her blog, plus upcoming events, recent news, and more.
You can use absolutely any pan or skillet that you have handy for making crepes. The one condition is: if you are a beginner at make crepes, it needs to be non-stick. Yes, you find that crepes can be made on stainless steel pans. Yet, it is much trickier to find the right level and distribution of heat, and more constant greasing of the pan is required for the batter to not stick. Crepe batter is very thin and delicate.
You can use almost anything to serve ice cream. We love ice cream so much around here that we have collected all sorts of ice cream scoops! Just as you can use many kinds of scoops to serve, there are many ways of making ice cream at home. The best part of making your own ice cream is that you can choose whatever flavor, whatever consistency and whatever mix.
Yes, you can improvise and steam tamales in a seafood or lobster steamer, a Chinese steamer, any steamer, or even a pasta pot if it has an insert that sits above the bottom. However, the tamaleras are one of a kind. No wonder: Mexicans have been steaming tamales since pre-Hispanic times, so it’s no surprise the Mexican tamalera outdoes all other steamers when it comes to cooking tamales.
If you were to ask me what cooking tool I could not live without, I would tell you it’s my Mexican-style lime squeezer. Limes are one of the most iconic ingredients of Mexican cooking. Not lemons. Limes!
Jello molds or moldes para gelatina are as versatile as Jello desserts themselves. Plastic, metal, ceramic, stoneware, porcelain, glass and silicone are all suitable materials for molding Jello. They can vary from multiserving ring molds to individual portions in plastic cups or ramekins (even water glasses or anything you can pour a drink onto!), or in silicon shaped, like anything from pyramids to cartoon characters.
When I visited Mexico this past December, I bought a gorgeous copper pot from a young lovely woman in the city of Celaya. Although the most famous place in Mexico to buy copper pots is the town of Santa Clara del Cobre in the state of Michoacán, I visited Celaya to learn how to make Cajeta the traditional way. Traditional Cajeta makers consider copper pots a required tool for this craft, so Celaya has managed to make their own. And boy, are they pretty.
Wooden spoons are much more than essential tools in my kitchen. There is not one but many reasons why wooden spoons have been used for centuries and continue to this day. Not only are they beautiful, but they are also good natured: they do not scrape or damage pots and pans. What’s more, they don’t absorb flavoring, so you can use them for something salty and then after a wash, use them for something sweet.
A tortillero is a tortilla holder, and many times a cover too, that is meant to hold and insulate tortillas. It helps them stay warm, soft and cozy after they have been heated and while you finish them off along with your meal. In a Mexican home, they are as popular as tortillas themselves, eaten almost everyday and accompany almost every meal. The same applies for restaurants, no matter how humble or fancy.
The molinillo is a traditional Mexican kitchen utensil, that has been used for centuries to make froth in hot chocolate. It is made of a single piece of wood. The top part, typically thick and round, has decorations and indentations.
If you are into the habit, like me, of making your own home made corn tortillas, a tortilla press comes in really handy. It’s true that tortillas can be made in many different ways such as simply flattening round corn masa or dough balls with your hands or rolling out the masa with a rolling pin. However, the tortilla press makes the process be a speedy, consistent, fun and even therapeutic one (it is!).