Search results matching tags 'Cooking' and 'Good Eats'

Notes on Napkins - Breakfast is Served at Co.Cos Cocina!!

435836 — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 11:15:00 GMT

Coty Villareal has made a quite a splash in our culinary community since beginning her top notch cooking classes to Playa del Carmen. This week Coty invited her friends and supporters for an Open House to inaugurate the new "Breakfast and Deli" at Co.Cos Cocina Cosmopolita where she will be serving breakfast and lunch. The casual bistro dining space is set up in front of the cooking "theatre", spilling out onto the covered terrace surrounding the impressive Aldea Thai complex.

If you haven't participated in one of Coty's cooking classes, I highly recommend you do so. Those of you who have enjoyed her classes already and love her cuisine will be happy to know that Co.Cos will now be open for breakfast and lunch Tuesday through Sunday from 8:00am - 4:30pm.

For the Open House, Coty and her team set out some light fare to give us all a small taste of what we can expect from her deli lunch menu. Everything was fresh and full of flavor and the prices are very reasonable. I see no reason why this new aspect to her already booming business should not be an overwhelming success!

Chicken Caesar Sandwich on whole grain bread with Parmesan cheese and Caesar dressing

Marinated Tuna on freshly grilled bread with cucumber, avocado, sprouts and mango-mint sauce

Sopa de Limon

Shrimp Salad with jicama, avocado, mango and tamarind dressing

Co.Cos Cocina Cosmopolita is located on Avenida Cozumel in the Aldea Thai resort complex in Playa del Carmen. For more information about the new cafe, the cooking school or catering services you can contact Coty at info@cookinplaya.com or 984-803-0743.

I moved to Mexico with my family in 2004 with the hope of offering our children a more global education and world view. Since then, we have traveled through Mexico, Belize and Guatemala, gathering friends and life experiences and learning a lot about ourselves along the way. When we are not out and about exploring, Rob and I own and operate BuyPlaya, a Playa del Carmen real estate company and FurnitureMex. "Life's a Beach" is a catch-all blog where you may find anything from restaurant reviews, to recipes, gardening tips, commentary about expat daily life, local events, information about moving to Mexico and educating children in Playa del Carmen. You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

UNO to Go! Celebrates with a Grand Inaugural Party!

435836 — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 11:19:00 GMT

Friday night, Susan de Lima and her team opened the doors of UNO to Go for their long awaited Grand Inauguration Party. Her chic UNO sign could be seen for blocks on all sides, lighting up the Colosio at the new gourmet deli on 5th and 48th, a new base of operations UNO Events & Catering. Nearly 100 people turned up to check out Susan's latest endeavor and to celebrate the success of a friend and fellow expat! Cameras were flashing everywhere as guests mingled and chatted and enjoyed the menu offerings for the evening paired with hand selected wines.

Rob and I have always been a big fan of Susan's catering and personal Chef services. It is so nice to know you have someone as professional and creative as Susan and her Chefs to recommend to our friends and customers. We can always rest assured that we will hear rave reviews about her food and event planning services! As a matter of fact, a few people who we have referred to Susan over the years were in attendance on Friday night, lined up to congratulate her in person.

Susan had a chance to show off some of her most popular hors d'oevres as well as a few of her new culinary creations. There was a little something for everyone, including the considerable number of vegetarians and vegans in the group. It was all delicious and really showcased the fresh healthy cuisine that Susan is known for. Inside, the cold case was stocked up with perfectly seared sesame tuna, quiche, vegetarian calzones, fresh crisp salads, a large variety of dips and sauces and Susan's own gourmet aguas frescas.

A small sign in the deli case announced the services of a certified holistic nutritional planner and eating plans. Each meal will come with a complete nutritional analysis and be prepared by Susan and her Chefs in the UNO To Go kitchen on a daily basis or as needed. As Playa del Carmen grows, it seems more and more people arrive who are diabetic or suffer with food allergies or gluten sensitivities. There are others who are looking for guidance with a weight loss plan or require meals to support an established weight loss plan like WeightWatchers. This nutritional counseling is going to be a great resource and UNO to Go makes it all manageable!

What kinds of cuisine can you expect to find at UNO To Go? Asian, Mexican, Indian, Italian, Caribbean, Vegetarian, Vegan and meals to accommodate special dietary needs.

When will UNO To Go be open? Monday - Saturday from 1pm - 5pm. Following the current food truck trend, a certain amount of meals will be created every day. When they're gone, they're gone so don't wait until the last minute if you are hoping to grab dinner to go!

Where is UNO To Go located? The new shop is located on 5th Avenue and 48th street. A word to the wise: Drivers may no longer turn north onto 5th Avenue from CTM. You must head north on 10th and swing back down to 5th at Calle 50. There is plenty of on-street parking near the new store.

How will you find out what is on the UNO To GO daily menu? The daily menu is announced via email and various social media channels, so be sure to follow UNO To Go on Facebook!

If you would like to make a special menu request or would like to inquire about chef/catering services, call Susan at 984 129 8902 or shoot her an email at susan@unoevents.com. UNO Events & Catering will also be a participant at Taste of Playa 2012 so be sure to stop by their table and say "hola"!

Good Eats at Home: Pizzettas Enfrijoladas

435836 — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:29:00 GMT

As many of our loyal "Life's a Beach" readers will know (because they also follow me on Facebook) Rob and I are in a "crazy vegetarian phase". We have eaten no beef, chicken or pork since New Years. The good news is, we have never looked or felt better. We have had no trouble at all finding great vegetarian dining-out options and, as you all know, good grains, fruits and veggies are practically free here in Mexico. The bad news is, it's a lot more work for me to put together tasty interesting meat-free meals night after night when we dine at home....which is most of the time. The challenge is not coming up with meatless meals. The challenge is coming up with meatless meals that are healthy and packed with important nutrients. Pasta and pizza are good for a night or two a week but I'm really trying to manage our intake of refined carbs and be more creative with the limited time I have.

One thing I always keep in the house is a bean dip of some kind. On Mondays, I whip up a big batch of hummus or black bean dip to keep in the fridge for snacks. Tonight, the black bean dip doubles as the sauce for a dish I'm going to call Pizzettas Enfrijoladas. They are super easy to make and can make use of whatever combination of veggies you like which is perfect for the kids. Rob likes his with the cheese and corn hot and the rest of the toppings raw. I pile everything on at once and shred a bit of spicy arugula on top when it comes out of the oven. These are also great to bring to parties as an hors d'oeuvre. Here's how we made ours last night.

Pizzettas Enfrijoladas

Flour Tortillas
Simple Black Bean Dip (recipe below)
Shredded Manchego Cheese - (or any kind you like)
Frozen Corn - thawed
Red Onion - thinly sliced
Zucchini - thinly sliced
Red Bell Pepper - thinly sliced
Scallions - thinly sliced
Arugula - torn

Simple Black Bean Dip

3 cups Black Beans - cooked
1 small can Salsa Casera
1 tsp. Cumin

Combine all in a Cuisinart or blender and process until smooth. In a sealed container, this will keep nicely in the fridge for a week and can easily be jazzed up with whatever you like.

For the Pizzettas: Turn on your broiler. Spread a generous layer of black bean dip on a tortilla. Top with a second tortilla. Distribute cheese on top of the second tortilla. Top with frozen corn and whatever veggies appeal to you. Arrange Pizzettas on a cookie sheet and broil for 5 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and the edges of the tortillas are starting to crisp. Transfer to a cutting board, allow to cool slightly and cut into quarters. Allow at least 2 full Pizzettas per person. Serve with a nice green salad.

Good Eats at Home: Agua de Pepino con Jengibre

435836 — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 16:08:00 GMT

Surprise, surprise. It is summer in Playa del Carmen and it's hot. According to the status updates in my Facebook news feed, it is not as hot as the summer our friends and family are experiencing in the northeastern United States, so I will try not to minge and complain too much. After 7 years living on the Riviera Maya, we have actually become quite acclimated to hot and sticky weather and have a wide variety of coping techniques to get through the occasional scorcher. Because we are all out working, playing and exercising in the heat, staying hydrated is always a top priority.

We have made huge strides over the past year to focus on our health and and quality of life and so, I do my best to avoid "sports drinks" and powdered drink mixes whenever possible. At home, I have been experimenting with different "agua de frutas" (literally translated as fruit waters) to keep our thirsts quenched. "Agua de frutas" or "agua de sabores" can be found in every restaurant, regardless of style or size, all across Mexico. A typical "comida corida" will come with your choice of "agua del dia" served in a pitcher to share. Aguas de jamaica, horchata, tamarindo and sandia have become very familiar to us over the years.

Over the past few weeks I have made a point of making my own "agua de casa" with the multitude of inexpensive fresh fruits we have to choose from in DAC and the grocery stores. I have had good luck with cucumber-lime, strawberry-mint and guayaba-mango to name a few. One of my favorites is this one, cucumber-ginger. It's easy to make and delicious and has to be better for you than Gatorade.

Agua de Pepino-jengibre

1 large cucumber - peeled and cut into chunks
2" ginger root - cut into chunks
Juice of 2 limes
2 liters of water
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 tsp. salt

Put the cucumber chunks into a blender.
Cover with water to 1 inch below the rim and blend until completely smooth.
Pour through a strainer into a large pitcher, pressing softly on the solids.
Clean the strainer.
Put the ginger chunks and lime juice into the blender.
Cover with water to 1 inch below the rim and blend until smooth.
Pour through the strainer into the pitcher with the cucumber water.
Add in the sugar and salt and stir until completely dissolved.
Refrigerate.

When chilled, stir and serve over ice!

If you have any favorite fruit waters or fun beverage combinations, please share them with me!

Good Eats at Home: Sangrita Anyone?

435836 — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:00:00 GMT

In my opinion (and on this blog it is really the only one that matters) the best way to really enjoy a top quality tequila is with Sangrita as an accompaniment. Sangrita, literally, means "little blood" and is the traditional aperitif enjoyed with a good tequila. It is served on the side (mixed together,this is known as a "Vampira") and is sipped alternately as a chaser to sooth the fire of the booze. Since moving to Mexico five years ago, I have had the opportunity to try many wonderful tequilas with just as many wonderful (and some not so wonderful) variations on Sangrita. While you can find it pre-made and bottled in the grocery stores, no self respecting bartender in Mexico will serve the stuff nor do I recommend you drink it.A good bartender will have his own well-guarded secret recipe, that may have been passed down from generation to generation.

One evening, at our house in Mystic, Connecticut, a few months before we made the big move to Playa del Carmen, Rob and I cracked open a bottle of Patron Silver and went to work concocting the perfect Sangrita. In all honesty, I have no idea how I was able to keep track of all the variations but when I came to my senses the next morning (or was it afternoon) the chicken scratch that remained in my notebook revealed a damn good house-made Sangrita recipe, one that can just as easily be made in your home kitchen as it can behind the bar in your preferred Mexican watering hole.

2 cups tomato juice
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 tsp. Tabasco sauce
3 tsp. minced onion
8 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. seasoned salt
2 tsp. celery salt

Combine ingredients, shake well, strain, chill and serve cold with shots of good tequila. In the end, Sangrita should resemble blood, and a dash of grenadine, if you have it on hand, will do the trick. Sangrita can and should be made to suit your particular taste. It can be made quite spicy or, if you like it a bit sweeter, add a bit of grenadine syrup or more orange juice. Then settle in with friends and a selection of your favorite tequilas and enjoy an authentic Mexican experience!