Cinco de Mayo celebrates the 1862 victory of Mexican forces over the French army in the "Battle of Puebla." This battle pitted a poorly equipped Mexican militia against a much larger French force. The victory was rather short-lived as upon news of the French defeat in Puebla, Napoleon III dispatched a much larger force of 30,000 troops to conquer much of Mexico. French rule lasted a mere 3 years, as American and Mexican worked together to expel the French. While Cinco de Mayo is somewhat celebrated throughout much of Mexico, it is most exuberantly celebrated in Puebla. Cinco de Maya has also become a widely celebrated event in the United States, particularly, but not exclusively, in the Southwest. It is often mistakenly understood as Mexican Independence Day which is on September 16th although the complexity of the process in which Mexico became an independent country make setting an exact date a bit problematic. In the United States, Cinco de Mayo is somewhat similar in meaning to St. Patrick's day, more of a celebration of culture than a celebration of a specific meaningful event. Pollo Encacahuatado is a regional specialty of Puebla.

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons of corn oil
• 1 whole chicken, cut into serving pieces
• 1 cup of diced tomatoes (or 2 Roma tomatoes, skinned)
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, and chopped
• 2-3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/2 cup shelled roasted peanuts (remove skins if necessary)
• 1 Ancho chili (dried Pablano chili), seeded, de-veined and soaked in warm
  water until soft (about 10 minutes)
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 1 (14 once) chicken broth (one can)
• 1/2 tablespoon of chopped cilantro for garnish

Preparation:

1. Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
2. In a large saucepan, saué chicken 3 tablespoons of oil until golden brown.
While the chicken is browning:
3. In a food processor, puree chili, onion, garlic, and one tablespoon of oil. the mixture should be smooth. Set aside mixture and rinse processor.
4. Now puree the roasted peanuts, tomatoes, and cinnamon in the food processor.
   Add water if necessary to make the mixture smooth.
5. Remove browned chicken pieces from the skillet and set aside.
   Drain excess oil from pan so that only a tablespoon or two remains
6. Add chili/garlic/onion mixture to pan and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes stirring frequently
7. Add peanut/tomato/cinnamon mixture and broth to pan and mix well.
8. Add chicken and cook over low heat for 35-40 minutes turning chicken pieces halfway through.
9. Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice, beans and hot corn or flour tortillas.

¡Buen Apetito!

Recipe by T. Johnston-O'Neill

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Many Indonesians survive the often sultry evenings by eating out with their friends or family with food from mobile roadside eateries called kaki lima (five feet) or at small eateries known as warung. These eateries serve a variety of dishes including; noodle soup (soto), skewered meat (sate), fried tofu with chili sauce (tahu goreng), deep-fried bananas (pisang goreng). A popular snack dish (but it can be a whole meal) in the Sumatran coastal town of Padang is martabak. The dish is believed to have originated in Deli, India. It is variously known as murtabak (Malaysia) mutabbaq (Saudi Arabia). In Indonesia martabak comes in sweet (martabak manis) and savory version that resembles a crispy fried crepe with a curried meat and vegetable filling. It is often served with a "mixed pickle" (acar segar) sauce that can either be sweet, vinegary or a combination of both. Expert martabak vendors are able to fry the "crepe," add the filling and finish by folding the crepe. The following recipe uses an easier method of making a small folded package and then frying it on both sides.

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 2 cups general purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil (peanut, canola or grapeseed)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling:

• 2 tablespoons cooking oil (peanut, canola or grapeseed)
• 4 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 1 pound ground beef, lamb or chicken
• 1 cup diced shallots (or yellow onion)
• 1 small leek (white & some of the green) halved and sliced very thin
• 1 scallion thinly sliced
• 1-3 red Thai chilies seeded and sliced very thin
• 3 tablespoons of minced celery leaves
• 4 large eggs lightly whisked
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper

Mixed Pickle Ingredients:

• 1 cucumber, peeled, de-seeded and cut into matchsticks
• 1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks
• 10 shallots (small size) peeled and quartered (fewer if using large shallots)
• 1 cup diced fresh pineapple
• 1 cup of water
• 4 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Preparation:

Dough:
Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients. Place dough in a mixing bowl, cover the bowl and set aside for 2 hours.

Mixed Pickle:

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl. This concoction actually improves with age. If you keep it refrigerated for 2 to 3 days before using it will develop its full flavor.

Martabak:

1. Add oil in a frying pan or wok to frying temperature
2. Add garlic for a half a minute
3. Add ground meat and fry for 2 minutes
4. Add the shallots, leek, chilies, celery leaves and curry powder and fry until meat is completely cooked
5. Remove from heat, add scallion, salt, pepper and egg
6. Divide dough into four equal portions
7. Form each dough portion into a ball
8. With an oiled rolling pin roll one of the balls into a very thin tortilla shape
9. Fill each tortilla with the filling mixture and fold over the edges to make a thin square package
10. Fry each martabak in about 1/4 inch of oil heated to a medium high temperature. The oil should not exceed 350 degrees, or else the wrap will burn

Serve the martabak with the mixed pickle.

Selamat Makan! (happy eating!)

Recipe adapted from Authentic Recipes from Indonesian by Heinz von Holzen and Lother Arsana
Photo byShari K. Johnston-O'Neill

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In poor to middle class neighborhoods in Turkey, the expression "I am not rich enough to eat baklava and boerek¹ every day" can commonly be heard among residents—alluding to the early history of baklava when it was primarily consumed on special occasions by the wealthy and elite. Dough and butter are basic to baklava, but throughout the Middle East there are variations in nuts, spices and syrup used. The ingredients themselves are widely believed to be the reason that baklava maintained such an elite status as pistachio, honey, cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves were considered to be aphrodisiacs popular among Turkish sultans. Just as baklava consists of many layers of a variety of ingredients, a glimpse at its origins reveals similarly complex layers as this rich pastry evolved over time, across generations and across cultures. While the history of baklava has not been well documented, a commonly accepted belief is that the most primitive form of the delicacy was created by the Assyrians circa 8th Century B.C. Their baklava consisted of thin layers of bread dough filled with nuts and honey. The Greeks later modified the recipe by making the dough thin as a "leaf" (which in Greek is phyllo). The 15th century saw the birth of the culinary dynastic kitchens of the imperial Ottoman palaces, bringing together chefs from Hungary, Serbia, Assyria, France, and elsewhere to cook for the Sultans and their guests. These chefs collaborated to fine tune and perfect existing recipes, including that of baklava, resulting in a culinary treasure that has been gleefully enjoyed around the world. - Cheryl Landin

¹ A cheese, meat or vegetable filled pastry.

Editor's notes: This is hands-down the best baklava I have yet tasted. If you find most baklava to be overly dry (as I do), you must try this recipe submitted by Jennifer Patterson. Jen says that the recipe was handed down to her by her Macedonian great-grandmother, pointing out that the original recipe used somewhat less precise measurements, such as "a glass of sugar." Jen's well-tested preparation advice is spot on, Shari (who cooked the baklava pictured above) reports that although the preparation is a bit time-consuming, none of the steps are difficult to manage and so even if you are not the most experienced baker, your results will be fabulous.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups finely chopped walnuts
• 2 cups finely chopped almonds
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pound phyllo pastry dough
• 2 sticks unsalted butter or margarine

Preparation:

1. Thaw phyllo pastry according to package directions. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Combine nuts, sugar and cinnamon. Keeping unused sheets of phyllo covered with a towel, place 8 sheets—one at a time—in the bottom of an 9x13 inch baking dish (preferably one that has a cover), brushing each sheet with melted butter. Depending on the brand, sheets may be long enough to drape over the edge of the dish and fold in half.
3. Sprinkle top sheet with 3/4 cup of nut mixture and cover with 2 buttered phyllo sheets. Continue adding buttered phyllo sheets, sprinkling every second sheet with nut mixture until 4 sheets remain.
4. Place remaining phyllo sheets on top, layering in half with melted butter on each layer
5. Cut top layers (do not cut too deeply!) of baklava into small diamond or triangle-shaped pieces with a sharp knife (see photo above).
6. Place the pan on the middle shelf of your oven and bake 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until golden brown.

While baklava is in the oven, prepare the syrup.

Syrup Ingredients:

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 cup honey
• 2 cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick

Syrup Preparation:

1. Mix all of the ingredients except the honey in a saucepan.
2. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Add honey and simmer 5 minutes more.
4. Remove cloves and cinnamon stick. Let cool.
5. Remove baklava from oven and pour half the cool syrup all over the top.
6. Twenty minutes later slowly dribble a bit more—but not necessarily all—of the syrup all over the dessert. Pour sparingly, you will judge the correct amount with experience.
7. Allow the baklava to rest in pan for 4 hours or overnight before cutting and serving. Do not refrigerate.
8. When ready to remove pieces from pan, cut through the entire pastry, including the bottom crust. Use a sharp knife and cut deeply at least twice, so that pieces come out cleanly and easily.

Recipe by Jennifer Patterson, visit her food blog Put a Spork in It!
Baker: Shari K. Johnston-O'Neill
Photo by T. Johnston-O'Neill

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The following recipe for Oyako Donburi is from master chef Shizuo Tsuji's revered cookbook: Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art. The book is not just a masterful collection of essential Japanese dishes, but is also a captivating philosophical treatise on what makes Japanese cuisine so special. Shizuo claims that although Japanese chefs have developed masterful skills in food preparation, the actual flavors (unlike, say, in much of French Cuisine) are not difficult to achieve

Donburi can be translated as "rice bowl" and the actual bowl it is typically served in is also called donburi. There are numerous kinds of Donburi. The dish may have as its main ingredient, seafood, beef, pork, chicken or eggs. Oyako means "Parent and Child" and Oyako Donburi contains both chicken and egg..One word of caution regarding this recipe. Shizuo's original preparation instructions call for not fully cooking the egg. With the recent problems with eggs America has been experiencing, this might raise some legitimate food safety concerns. If you want to play it safe, cook the egg until it is full set (not runny at all). Try to avoid overcooking the egg unless you like chewing on rubber.

Shizuo's directions also call for prolonged rinsing of the rice before it is cooked. This is the traditional method, but recent changes in rice processing has made rinsing largely obsolete. All rice starts out as brown rice. The outer portion of the rice (that gives it its brown color) is milled off to make white rice. In the past milling left a very thin layer or skin, called "hada nuka" or "bran skin". Rinsing the rice removed this layer. Also in the past Japanese rice was often coated in talc to give it a more of a sheen. This too was removed with prolonged rinsing. Somewhat recently a new process was developed for removing the hada nuka and adding talc to rice was abandoned some time ago. RIce that doesn't require rinsing is referred to as 'No-wash rice' (musenmai). Interestingly hada nuku that was washed off of rice in Japan has been identified as a significant water pollutant in Japan. Much like phosphate detergents, hada nuka rinse water running into waterways can create algae blooms, and a degenerative biochemical process known as eutrophication which ultimately depletes the free oxygen in water which then causes fish and other wildlife to die off. "No-wash" Japanese rice is now very common, so unless the rice you buy specifically calls for prolonged rinsing, it is perhaps best to forgo this time-honored and laborious tradition.

To make the rice for Oyako Domburi, it is best to follow the directions on the package. Depending on a number of factors, different rices require slightly different ratios of rice to water, so follow whatever the package directions say. You can use either a pot or an automatic rice cooker which wil make perfect rice every time. It is not a good idea to use American "Carolina" rice, Jasmine rice or Basmati rice. Japanese rice is either short or medium grain and has just the right amount of stickiness to it.

Ingredients:

Basic Ingredients, Dashi "teabag" is on the plate on the left

Commercially prepared dashi often contains liberal amounts of the flavor enhancer MSG. Many people do not tolerate MSG, many people (particular East Asians!) rather like it. You can get dashi that does not contain MSG. Just check the list of ingredients on the label if this concerns you. Some brands of dashi come in the form of large "tea bags" which is quite convenient. Follow the directions on the package to make the soup base. You can buy bonito fish flakes (katsuobushi and konbu kelp, you can find directions here. I have found that Japanese shoppers are quite happy to help out folks who cannot read directions printed in Japanese and give their advice as to which brands are the best tasting.

The other somewhat special ingredient in this recipe is "light" soy sauce. This version of soy sause is lighter in color and is thinner and more salty than regular "dark" soy sauce. It is somewhat confusing right now because Kikkoman, the most well known and trustworthy brand of Japanese soy sauce, now markets a low sodium (well, only slightly less salty) but dark colored soy sauce which is not the same as traditional Japanese light soy sauce. Shizuo says that if you can't find light soy sauce for recipes, just combine the two amounts in dark soy sauce.

Main Ingredients:

• 2 cups of Japanese rice
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 pound of chicken breasts
• 2 scallions, ends removed

Sauce Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups dashi or chicken stock
• 6 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons sugar

Preparation

• Cook the rice first and while it is setting prepare the sauce
• Mix (do not beat) eggs in a mixing bowl
• Cut chicken into 1/4" cubes
• Wash and trim onions and cut diagonally into 1-inch lengths (white and green parts)

Sauce Preparation

• Combine ingredients for sauce in a medium-sized saucepan.
• Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat.
• Add chicken and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.
• Add onion and simmer 1/2 minute longer.
• While stirring the pot very gently pour around the chicken in the simmering sauce. Let the egg spread naturally. Keep heat at medium high till the egg starts to bubble at the edges. At this point, stir once. The egg will have almost set but will still be a little runny (Read safety note above!).
To assemble and serve: Put portions of hot rice, 1 1/2 to 2 cups, into individual Donburi bowls, or use deep soup bowls. With a large spoon, scoop a portion of the egg topping and sauce and place on rice. Sauce will seep down into rice, but the dish will not be soupy. Serve immediately. With this meal-in-a-bowl, serve hot green tea. ENJOY!

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