Tag Archives: Day of the Dead

Día de Los Muertos at Frontera: A Time to Reflect

Posted October 23, 2015by Casey Cora

Each year, Frontera’s general manager Carlos Alferez creates a traditional “Day of the Dead” altar near the restaurant’s front entrance.

It’s an elaborate set up with candles, ofrendas of personal mementos, sugar skulls and photos of our dearly departed. Along with contributions from our staffers, this year’s altar pays special homage to Chicago chefs Charlie Trotter and Homaro Cantu, and Louisiana gourmand Paul Prodhumme — all legendary personalities who left the culinary world far too soon.

It’s a time to remember those we love, a time that’s at once solemn and festive. Above all, the altar is a good reminder that we’re all here for a short time and life is best lived surrounded by friends and family.

So in that spirit, here are some of our favorite Día de Los Muertos recipes for your seasonal gatherings.

And below is Rick’s YouTube recipe for Pan de muerto, a buttery-rich egg bread that’s traditionally baked near the Mexican holiday.

It’s also a good time to point out that Frontera and Topolo’s pastry chefs have a version Pan de muerto on the dessert menus. Theirs is infused with warm piloncillo syrup, brandied fruit, calabaza en tacha (red kuri squash slow-cooked with raw sugar) and served with pumpkin ice cream, spiced cookie crumble and candied pumpkin seeds.

So buttery it’s scary: Rick’s Pan de Muerto

Posted October 31, 2014by Casey Cora

These are the days of Halloween and Day of the Dead, and both of those things mean one thing: It’s time to make Pan de Muerto.

Our pan de muerto (a.k.a. Day of the Dead bread) is rich with butter and eggs, sprinkled lightly with sugar and made into individual rolls decorated with decadent crossbones. It’s addictive whether eaten on its own with some champurrado, or turned into a full-fledged dessert (they’re on the menu at both Frontera and Topolo right now). If you have some leftover, you can soak the day-old pan in a simple custard and fry it in butter for French toast.

But who are we kidding? You’re not going to have leftovers. In fact, you better make a double batch. Because the only truly scary thing about Day of the Dead bread is running out.

Pan de Muerto

The dough for this classic-looking preparation is a little richer than most of the buttery egg breads that are created in Oaxaca. It’s based on a simple brioche recipe from Alice Medrich in Pure Desserts.

From Season 9, Mexico—One Plate at a Time

Servings: 12buns

Ingredients

3cups (16 ounces) all purpose flour
2sticks (8 ounces) cold unsalted butter, each cut into 8 pieces
1package active dry yeast
1/3cup sugar, divided use
5large eggs, divided use
1tablespoonMexican crema, sour cream or crème fraiche
1 1/4teaspoons Salt
Coarse “sanding” sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

Place the flour in a shallow baking dish, cover, and chill in the freezer for about half an hour. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the cold butter until it is creamy and smooth. Scrape the butter onto a plate and refrigerate; wash and dry the mixing bowl and paddle.

In the bowl, combine the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar in ¼ cup warm water until just dissolved. Let stand a few minutes until foamy. (If the yeast doesn’t start foaming right away, it’s not fresh; start again with fresh yeast.) To the yeast mixture, add the remaining sugar, 4 of the eggs, crema, salt and chilled flour. Mix with the paddle on low speed until the ingredients are blended. Replace the paddle with the dough hook, and knead the dough on medium speed for about 5 minutes until very elastic and smooth.

Now, add the creamed butter in 4 additions, beating in each addition until thoroughly incorporated. Scrape the dough into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate overnight (it can stay refrigerated for a full day or so).

Scrape the dough onto a floured surface and press with your hands to deflate. Cut off a piece of dough that looks like about 1/5 of the total and set it aside. Divide the remaining dough into 12 even pieces. Cupping your hand over a piece of dough on an un-floured section of your work surface (you want the dough to have some traction on the surface), roll the dough in a circle while exerting slight pressure with the palm of your hand. Rolling the dough around about 10 times—if you’re exerting the right amount of pressure—should create a tight, spherical ball when you release your hand. As each of the twelve pieces is rolled, place them on a silicon mat or parchment-lined baking sheet, evenly spaced apart.

Divide the dough you set aside into 12 even pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 4 inches long. Cut them in half, then roll each half into 3-inch rope, pressing more firmly in the middle to make it thinner there. Brush each of the 12 dough balls with a little water to make them tacky, then drape two ropes in an X shape over the top to create the “crossbones” look. Cover the decorated breads with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until about double in size—between 1 and 2 hours, depending on the temperature. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk the remaining egg until it’s fluid, then carefully brush it over the entire surface of each bread. Sprinkle with sugar and bake until richly golden and lightly springy, about 15 minutes .

Desserts & Baked Goods, Dias de los Muertos,

Wild mushroom turnovers and smoked pork enchiladas—it’s Frontera’s October offerings!

Posted October 9, 2014by Casey Cora

Swiss Chard Tamales Fresh corn masa tamales flavored with local Swiss chard, serrano chiles, cilantro and parsley. Tangy tomatillo sauce, homemade fresh cheese, arugula salad.

Bacon Guacamole, Fall Version Michoacan avocados, smoky morita chile, crispy Gunthorp bacon, bits of brown-butter butternut squash, grilled knob onions, dry Jack chicharrón.

Chicken with Salsa Huevona Crema For making little soft tacos. Grilled Gunthorp chicken
breast, salsa huevona, housemade crema, Indiana Jack cheese, kale, tatume squash.

Skirt Steak Queso Fundido Wisconsin Organic cheddar, herby grilled skirt steak, pickly chopped salsa, Mexican cincho cheese.

Smoked Pork Enchiladas Smoked Gunthorp pork shoulder flavored with achiote, habanero,
sour orange and epazote. Tomato-habanero sauce, xnipec salsa.

Pork in Tomamole Grill-roasted Gunthorp pork loin, tomamole, roasted butternut mash,
braised black kale, crispy butternut ribbons.

Striped Bass with Guajillo-Pear Sauce Grilled chamoy-glazed Florida striped bass, zesty
guajillo-pear sauce, red chile rice, grilled pear salsa, pear chips.

Shrimp Mojo de Ajo Spicy grilled fresh Gulf shrimp, mojo de ajo, herby green rice, poblano chile, Three Sisters Garden pea shoots, shrimp crunch.

Chicken in Pasilla-Huitlacoche Sauce Grilled Gunthorp chicken, inky sauce of pasilla
chile and huitlacoche, crispy tortitas, grilled green beans, pickled local wild mushrooms.

Sopa de Fruta Klug Farm blueberry sorbet, orange supremes, frozen Klug Farm
blueberries, sparkling moscato-like "broth."

Duo de Flanes Traditional Mexican vanilla flan and creamy peanut butter flan. Nichols Farm apples two ways, caramelized peanut crunch.

Pan de Muerto Warm, buttery brioche "Day of the Dead Bread" layered with piloncillo ice cream,
local pumpkin and toasted pecans.

Boca Negra Gooey chocolate ganache cake, hibiscus poached pears, Mexican chocolate ice cream, chocolate crumble, almond brittle.

October sneaked up on us and now there’s no denying it: Fall is here, with all the amazing foods that come with it. Check out the roasted butternut mash on that plate with the pork in tomamole. And look at the threads of Swiss chard running through those tamales. The wild mushrooms stuffed inside those crispy empanadas? You can’t see them in the photo above. Maybe you’ll see them in your dreams?