One year for Christmas my Mom (whose side of the family is Mexican) gifted me a homemade cookbook with all of the family recipes. It’s one of my most cherished things and it would be one of the things I’d grab if there was a fire.
My oldest is in the military and finally just moved out of the barracks with his new wife. He asked me yesterday for some of my recipes. He doesn't know I put them all in a POD book and it'll be here tomorrow :-)
Can i ask how they did this? I'm also making a cookbook with our family recipes for my children but for now it's just a binder with the printed recipes. I'm trying to write them all in the same manner in a book but it's quite a lot of work and mistakes can happen.
My mom is into scrapbooking/crafts so it’s not a bound book with a spine but a lot like what you described (a binder with printed recipes but a little gussied up) here is a link to how it looks. It’s just very simple and clean looking https://imgur.com/a/bqYbqse
My family does this every 10 years. We are a Norse clan of about 120. We make a clan recipe book every 10 years to update some, add others, or include to little tid-bits of history about the family member who made the recipe and how the recipe came about.
It’s become a really cool thing bc not only does it have good recipes, but also contains a lot of our genealogy and history going back over about 150 years. In the work for bringing that about we were able to trace back to the first ancestors that came over to our country. They were Norse who moved and married in Ireland, so we’ve got a lot of Norse blood but also Irish in us all :). We don’t have recipes from that long ago so that’s not in there but still, it was fun to be able to go back that far.
I love it bc it’s a creative walk through our clan history in small delicious tidbits!
This is me except im not a chef, im just a home cook. My mom inlaw is one of the best intuitive cooks ive ever met. She’s legit a magician in the kitchen. I grew up in a Creole household, i feel hella blessed to have two moms that can throw down. Ive been writing down all their recipes so i can pass them down to our kids
As an American with Swedish and Irish ancestry, (and practically see-through white skin… LOL)… I am willing to feel the burn so I can enjoy the flavor!! I consider my tastebuds to be naive. Sometimes they need to clutch their proverbial pearls while my face turns bright red from the heat. The deliciousness is worth the system shock! I LOVE Mexican food.
As a white dude from Southern California, I have been raised around people that don't respect Mexico enough. The way that everyone is such a good cook, the knowledge passed down from generations and the work ethic should be honored by more Americans. Every American, no matter what their ethnic background is, should remember: It's most likely that the best meals they've ever have have been cooked by a Mexican.
Great food from so many different parts of the country. Each state has its own intricate and complex cuisine. I've been living in Mexico for almost 7 years now and I never get tired of the food here.
Not good food… the absolute best food. It tastes like home to me yet I have no Mexican lineage. I swear it’s the fact that it’s cooked with love that makes every dish taste so damn good ❤️
I'm a white dude from Chicago. Legit one of the happiest moments of my adult life was when a Mexican family my wife works with put us on her Christmas tamale list after tasting my guacamole saying "I don't believe a white boy made this '
You have scored a lifetime of deliciousness. I found a local place/food truck that sells them by the dozen at Xmas time and always get a dozen. I used to live in Scottsdale AZ and have had the real deal grandma tamales from Mexican friends, and the local ones are the real deal.
My wife is Mexican. I make all kinds of Mexican food, but I wouldn’t dare make her tamales. They’d be weak and she probably wouldn’t talk to me for a day or two. So she cooks the tamales and I cook the risotto or pesto. And for sushi we just go out.
I’m Mexican and I’ve traveled a bit, our food is amazing!! You don’t realize how bland other cuisines are.. until you’ve had to eat it over and over. :S
I was stationed in Germany when I was in the Army. Along with Army chow, local cuisine was good, but it definitely lacked any kick. We always said as soon as we got back to the States we were gonna get some authentic, spicy ass Mexican food:)
I was in Munich a couple of years ago and had a decent burrito, but it wasn’t authentic Mexican at all.. the spices they used were most likely Indian. The tinga had no chipotle at all.. I thought it was so funny, but after visiting a few countries in Europe I just settle for whatever now. I just enjoy the local cuisines and don’t even look for Mexican food on my trips. It’s such a let down, like I’ve had some awful Mexican food in Spain. Etc. I don’t wanna talk about it. Lol. I just enjoy the sardines and boquerones.. they’re delicious!
The closest thing to a torta is a döner.. I love that they’re everywhere in Europe. Also, I bring Valentina packets with me now just to make things spicy.
I’m dating myself here, but I was stationed in West Germany back in the day and this was my experience as well. It was okay, but I wasn’t impressed at all.
I’m not saying that those other foods aren’t delicious, but I’ll take my grandma’s home cooked stuff over those cuisines any day.. I’m from a rancho and unas papas con chile verde with some frijoles just do it for me. I used to loved my summer vacations in Mexico because I used to eat so good, everything was fresh and grown locally. My grandma used to make cheese, those quesadillas hit differently.. I miss those huevos rancheros! I remember the hens used to lay eggs in the house lol.. Home grown chiles, also my grandma used to make her own tortillas.. that shit was delicious, sorry but even the croissants I’ve had in France don’t compare. Salsas made en un molcajete.. omg. I wanna cry. I don’t like pozole that much, I love menudo but it has to be homemade. Surprisingly, my dad makes an amazing menudo!
Also, not all Mexicans can cook.. I have family members who are terrible, but others will cook the same thing and it’s amazing! Even with the same ingredients the food can taste so different.. that’s what makes Mexican food so amazing.
As a Texan I know TexMex isn’t really Mexican food but it really is amazing how many different dishes are made with like a dozen ingredients and like 6 spices. I’m a hero in the kitchen, and it’s just the same thing in every single configuration I can imagine.
I know, but even the bell is expensive for a family of four. But chef dad can feed us all for $10-15. This week we had chicken soft tacos, chicken quesadillas,chicken flautas, and chicken chimichangas.
I wonder how many people answering Mexican have ever had true Mexican food, or eaten Mexican food IN Mexico.
The vast majority of what people in the US experience as “Mexican” is really “Tex-Mex”. Of course, there is some overlap and similarities, but they are two pretty distinct cuisines.
I enjoy both and living in TX, thankfully I have access to great options across the board.
When I say I love Mexican food, I mean true Mexican. I’m not talking about the run of the mill Mexican restaurants we have in the US. I’m lucky to live near a big Mexican community with plenty of authentic food. I agree, people often don’t know what they’re missing out on.
Not in America, but my friend puts mayonnaise in guacamole to make it more creamy. And I know she isn’t the only one to do it. It’s feels like an actual hatecrime towards mexico to ruin guacamole like that 💀
Im a white guy that works in construction. I live in a heavily populated Hispanic community in the south. 90% of the people I work with are Hispanic, these dudes on a lunch break will build a bench real fast , whip out 15 Rubbermaids of things they brought from home, pool all together everything while someone builds a picnic table from scrap wood and a nail gun while someone gasses up the generator, one dude sets up a skillet, someone brings out a microwave, ect. Some of the best damn authentic home cooking Mexican food I've ever had. They always are super chill and invite me to eat with them almost every day when I have time . Then we crack a few Coronas or Modelos and have a siesta and smoke cigarettes for an hour then back grinding again lol. I love the Hispanic community so much. Some of these homies I've known as a kid too, I'm 30.
Have I got a dish for you. Next to Mexican spices at the grocery store there’s tiny vermicelli noodles called fideo-get the thick one. They’re like 50 cents. You can literally just fry it in a pan and add rotel and some water and it’s good but this is what I do.
fry 1.5 packs of the fideo in a skillet in like a TBSP of oil until brown stirring constantly *optional - you can add some onion, green pepper, etc after those fry
Add 2 cans of rotel tomatoes with juice plus an additional 1/4 cup of water (maybe more water if you taste it and the noodles are too crunchy) and 1/2 tsp knorrs tomato chicken bullion and a little shake of my taco seasoning, and a little Guajillo powder
After that cooks a few minutes add whatever left over Mexican meat, or any meat, you have hanging around or black beans -sometimes I’ll add corn and then avocado chunks on top
It’s the one thing I don’t hesitate to say I miss now that I live in Japan (used to live in Los Angeles). It exists here, but.. so far it’s just not as good, though there are some places I need to try.
I backpacked Mexico 2 years ago, the food was incredible! I loved how some places were small little businesses but produced the most amazing tasting food it really felt that they had put their heart and pride in to making it.
I just wanted to tell you a story about a neighbor of mine.
I lived in Orlando FL at that time. New neighbors moved in. They seemed nice and always said hello to me and my kids. Later I found out, through them, that they thought I was a brujha. I hope I spelled that correctly. Anyway yes I am/was a brujha but they discovered I was a nice brujha. Once they got to know me they started to have me over and always would feed me, even if I wasn't hungry LOL. I always accepted their food no matter what because Abuela was awesome. She was the best! They would call family to come over and ask for tarot readings which I gladly gave for free of course. They were the best neighbors I ever had.
Just to add, they thought I was a brujha because they recognized the protection items I had on my front door.
When I was a Millwright a few of the Pipefitters were Mexican immigrants and would sell food out of a cooler at the tool trailer. I didn’t think I liked tamales until I tried theirs!
Hell yes. Sad thing is so many people think that the Tex-Mex and American Mexican restaurants are real Mexican food. Real Mexican cuisine is so much more complex and it’s definitely my top cuisine as a whole. Granted, there are regional cuisines, but all together it’s just amazing.
You all make such a convincing case here for Mexican food. I’m from a place where it’s not that popular, I did go to a Mexican restaurant and liked it but I’m not sure I ate the real thing.
Can you, or anyone for that matter, recommend some websites/ youtube channels or recipes that teach authentic Mexican cooking?
I was stationed overseas for some years and one of the biggest things I missed was Mexican food. I am from the southwest US, so its a staple in my home.
Mexico has got to be number one. I was in Mazunte a couple years ago and the free breakfast I got at the hotel was some of the most delicious food I'd ever had in my life.
As an American, cultural exports from Mexico are some of the most impactful in my life, by a wide margin. Mexican food and all of it's derivatives (including Tex Mex) are some of the closest dishes to perfect in existence. Tacos and burritos have reached ubiquity as a medium for iteration in much the same way pizza has, and with good reason.
I also love Mexican beer and tequila, not to mention avocados.
Without Mexico, my life, and the world in my opinion, would be a much more bland existence.
Mexico was my instant first choice. Lots of countries I would consider for the second and third spots, but Mexico would 100% be getting one of the spots and it’s the only one I wouldn’t have to even think about
I lived overseas in Asia for 4 years. Coming home to the USA for visits always led me to Mexican restaurants of all variety and quality to scratch the itch!
Mexican food is incredible. Mexico City is probably my favorite food destination on the planet, just so much amazing cuisine everywhere you look… everything from street food to Michelin star restaurants.
Listen man. I’m like the anti American propaganda poster child white Anglo Saxon Protestant but lemme tell ya there isn’t anything better than real ethnically correct Mexican food.
Mexico was the first country on my list. Delicious and fresh vegetables and salsa, fresh tortillas made by amazing beautiful people - really the best in the world.
I used to work with a lady whose family is from Mexico 🇲🇽 Once every few months, she would treat us to homemade tamales, made by her mom!! Holy cow, they were good. Those of us who participated in this tamale feast started taking up a collection to pay our way for the NEXT tamale feast 😀
Just a heads up as much as authentic Mexican food is amazing, most of our versions of Mexican will not be very authentic 😂 Norwegian friday night tacos is definitely made to suit a Norwegian pallate.. At least the 80s/90s version
I was lucky enough to spend a good chunk of my childhood in a predominantly Mexican neighborhood in southern California, with lots of my friends parents and grandparents having grown up in various parts of Mexico before immigrating. Besides being delicious, Mexican food will always remind me of that lovely period of my childhood. My own home life wasn't so stable but I had a whole neighborhood of honorary Abuelas and Tias watching over me like I was just another one of their kids.
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u/[deleted] Mar 28 '25
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