Mexico: One Plate at a Time

The word “enchilada” simply means “in chile” and in Mexico, the most beloved version is actually a street snack: a corn tortilla dipped in chile sauce that’s a far cry from the lim...

Gleefully dispelling the notion that tacos are crispy shells jammed with ground beef and shredded lettuce, Rick takes us on a journey in search of the real thing. First stop: a tac...

Accompanied by his 8-year-old daughter, Lanie, Rick pays homage to the magic of melted cheese. On a visit to Oaxaca, Rick and Lanie get a firsthand lesson in the art of hand-pulled...

Every culture has its small bites–sushi, dim sum, tapas, mezze. But in Mexico, these flavorful tidbits fall into a different kind of category: “antojitos,” the foods you crave. The...

Homey tacos de cazuela–soft corn tortillas rolled around fillings simmered slowly in earthenware pots–are the soul of Mexican comfort food. And nothing makes them more appealing th...

Who’s that guy walking towards us through the heat on a Mexican beach? It’s Rick, and he’s about to prove a tasty point about ceviche, the traditional Mexican seafood salad marinat...

The tomatillo. It’s the source of much of the distinctive flavor of Mexican cooking. And also the source of much confusion. Rick takes us out to the garden to discover just what a...

Call it coincidence or call it fate, but Mexico’s national colors–red, white and green–wind up at the center of a whole family of emblematic, home-style “comfort food” dishes, know...

Fruit is everywhere in Mexico–sweet, colorful and refreshing. And it’s sold ripe, so the lush smell of tropical fruit is always in the air. We find Rick watching the famous Pineapp...

Rice turns up everywhere in Mexico: as the second course in a traditional midday comida, beautifully molded into a little mound to accompany seafood, heaped onto a plate in a marke...

Every culture has its soothing, soulful soup, and in Mexico, it’s Caldo de Pollo, a light chicken broth flavored with aromatic vegetables and herbs. To show us how the traditional...

When it comes to Chiles Rellenos, Frontera Grill is famous for selling out. Within 20 minutes, the lucky customers who lined up an hour before the doors opened snap up every order....

Rick takes us to the Gulf Coast port of Veracruz, “The Mexican Mediterranean,” for a look at the city’s most famous contribution to Mexican cooking, a fittingly Mediterranean fish...

How do you turn a backyard cookout into party to remember? At Rick’s place, you raise the stakes and get the guests involved in the cooking. Joined by a crowd of friends in his out...

Chiles are the hot, spicy peppers that are used solely to make Mexican food so incendiary, right? Wrong. Starting with a trip to a chile stall in Mexico City’s Merced Market, Rick...

“Where did the saying ‘you don’t know beans’ come from?” ponders Rick. “Did you ever think it might be an insult to the bean?” And with that, he begins a half-hour exploration of t...

Succulent meat, slowly cooked in pits lined with smoldering embers is the stuff of barbecue dreams. Rick takes us for a “pit stop” at Arroyo, the sprawling three thousand-seat outd...

It’s one of Rick’s favorite themes: Authentic Mexican food is fresher, more complex, and especially lighter than most Americans realize. Case in point: two classic Mexican preparat...

Tamales. They’re sold by the steamer-full on street corners and plazas, prepared by the hundreds for parties, eaten out of hand as a morning or evening snack, and universally loved...

It’s a total-immersion introduction to seafood stew, as Rick takes us from Chicago’s Maxwell Street Mexican Market to the seafood stalls and restaurants of Veracruz where Rick shop...

There’s nothing like crispy, warm, homemade tortilla chips, fresh from the fryer. But for those with “fear of frying,” Rick demonstrates his favorite way to make fresh tortilla chi...

Richly complex, shrouded in mystery and misconceptions, Red Mole sauce is widely regarded as the crowning achievement of Mexican cooking and the ultimate mestizo dish–a blend of pr...

Mexico is the birthplace of chocolate, and to the Aztecs, it was the original food of the gods. Roasted, ground, and brewed as a hot beverage, cacao beans were imbued with divine p...

Pipian Verde, sometimes called Green Mole, is one of the glories of Mexican cooking. A tangy, tomatillo-based sauce, thickened with toasted pumpkin seeds, it’s served with everythi...

When the Spanish conquered Mexico in the 16th Century, they brought with them all kinds of foods that the pre-Columbian world had never seen. Among those foods was sugar–and actual...

It’s a big day at Casa Bayless–daughter Lanie’s birthday. And that means big fun and big cooking–literally: a backyard full of friends, a homemade cake and an enormous vat of Pozol...