Cooking with Sofia: delicious mexican churros - Cocinando con Sofia: deliciosos churros mexicanos

- Would you like to drink some chocolate caliente? (hot cocoa).



Was the second sentence Sofia told me after hello me few days back, when I arrived at her place. That particular evening wasn't cold enough to have a hot chocolate craving, but how can someone say no to such invitation when it comes in the form of nine years old girl?. The chocolate caliente, mexican hot cocoa, that my little friend prepared for me was delicious.



As a proof of my gratitude I offered to teach Sofia the art of making Mexican Churros (and I say Mexican because every single Latinamerican country has it's own version). Honestly, even though my offer was from the heart, I never thought Sofia will reply so positively. But she did, in fact she even yelled (of joy) something like:



-Yes! I looove churros accompanied by a big happy smile :-)





Immediately after that and when I was still under guard, we began very seriously to negotiate time and date for our culinary appointment (obviously, with the assistance of Sofia's mum and also a friend of mine: Mimi).



The day of our appointment finally came and on a very Mexican way I arrived fashionable late. Mademoiselle Sofia all of her elegantly dressed in pink greet me at the door of the famous Casa 10, and without much fuss we started to literally put our hands on the (churros) dough, poner las manos en la masa.



For several reasons it was an extraordinary experience to cook with my friends. It brought me back so many nice memories about my family. Like those wonderful days when I used to cock and bake with my beautiful-almost-perfect niece Paola, memories of that little three-four years old little girl close to my heart who worked with me as my Sous Chef measuring and mixing ingredients, eating raw dough straight from the wooden spoon, licking-cleaning with her tiny little pink tongue what was left of the brownie batter. Playing with her (once) clumsy small hands with the flour and cocoa containers. Paola and me. Bonding forever.





Cooking with Sofia was as fun as it was cooking with my niece. Of course, the bonding part is still under construction. But I love the instant feedback children give you just about everything, they make you feel so alive.



The other reason I enjoyed so much our churros experience was that what started as a simple churros get-together finished as a dinner. Mimi cooked for us some nice vegetarian crepes (thanks dear) and while Sofia had to said good bye at curfew time, her parents, my frenchie boyfriend and I, we stayed for quite long. Oh, and we finished those killer churros!.







Churros Recipe



Cinnamon Sugar:

1 Cup sugar

2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon. Or so.

Just mix it together



Churros Batter:

2 cups whole milk

20 grs unsalted butter

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 teaspoon Mexican Vanilla Extract

2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

8 eggs



- sunflower seed oil for frying



Pour vegetable oil, into a large heavy bottomed frying pan. Make sure there is enough oil in the pan to cover the churros. So that they float freely while frying. Set pan aside.



In a heavy medium saucepan boil whole milk with unsalted butter,sugar, salt and Mexican Vanilla Extract. Stir until sugar dissolves and butter melts. While waiting measure flour pour flour into a medium-sized mixing bowl and add baking powder and stir.



Once the milk boils remove from the heat and add the flour. Mix it in until well blended.Add the eggs one at a time ( and slowly) to the flour mixture. Stir until well blended and all the egg is completely mixed in. Dough should not be runny like a batter, but rather a sticky smooth dough.



Heat the oil. Fill a piping bag (with a big star tip) and carefully drop the churros until the pan is filled but churros are not touching.



Once golden brown (and throughly cooked) remove them with a skimmer and drain in them in paper towels. Still hot dusted them in the cinammon sugar. Serve them with cajeta and Mexican hot chocolate preferable Ibarra or Mi abuelita.



Note: My very young friend Sofia, accepted to be an sporadic contributor of this blog. I'm quite honored. Chef S and me will be cooking some kid friendly recipes. Oh, talented Sophie, also took some of the pictures you see on this post.



- Would you like to drink some chocolate caliente? (hot cocoa). Was the second sentence Sofia told me after hello me few days back, when I arrived at her place. That particular evening wasn't cold enough to have a hot chocolate craving, but how can someone say no to such invitation when it comes on the form of nine years old girl?. The chocolate caliente, mexican hot cocoa, that my little friend prepared for me was delicious. As a proof of my gratitude I offered to teach Sofia the art of making Mexican Churros (and I say Mexican because every single Latinamerican country has it's own version). Honestly, even though my offer was from the heart, I never thought Sofia will reply so positively. But she did, in fact she even yelled (of joy) something like: -Yes! I looove churros accompanied by a big happy smile :-) Immediately after that and when I was still under guard, we began very seriously to negotiate time and date for our culinary appointment (obviously, with the assistance of Sofia's mum and also a friend of mine: Mimi). The day of our appointment finally came and on a very Mexican way I arrived fashionable late. Mademoiselle Sofia all of her elegantly dress in pink greet me at the door of the famous Casa 10, and without much fuss we started to literally put our hands on the (churros) dough, poner las manos en la masa. For several reasons it was an extraordinary experience to cook with my friends. It brought me back so many nice memories about my family. Like those wonderful days when I used to cock and bake with my beautiful-almost-perfect niece Paola, memories of that little three-four years old little girl close to my heart who worked with me as my Sous Chef measuring and mixing ingredients, eating raw dough straight from the wooden spoon, licking-cleaning with her tiny little pink tongue what was left of the brownie batter. Playing with her (once) clumsy small hands with the flour and cocoa containers. Paola and me. Bonding forever. Cooking with Sofia was as fun as it was cooking with my niece. Of course, the bonding part is still under construction. But I love the instant feedback children give you just about everything, they make you feel so alive. The other reason I enjoyed so much our churros experience was that what started as a simple churros get-together finished as a dinner. Mimi cooked for us some nice vegetarian crepes (thanks dear) and while Sofia had to said good bye at curfew time, her parents, my frenchie boyfriend and I, we stayed for quite long. Oh, and we finished those killer churros!. Churros Recipe Cinnamon Sugar: 1 Cup sugar 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon. Or so. Just mix it together Churros Batter: 2 cups whole milk 20 grs unsalted butter 1 tablespoon of sugar 1 teaspoon Mexican Vanilla Extract 2 cups of flour 1 teaspoon of baking powder 8 eggs - sunflower seed oil for frying Pour vegetable oil, into a large heavy bottomed frying pan. Make sure there is enough oil in the pan to cover the churros. So that they float freely while frying. Set pan aside. In a heavy medium saucepan boil whole milk with unsalted butter,sugar, salt and Mexican Vanilla Extract. Stir until sugar dissolves and butter melts. While waiting measure flour pour flour into a medium-sized mixing bowl and add baking powder and stir. Once the milk boils remove from the heat and add the flour. Mix it in until well blended.Add the eggs one at a time ( and slowly) to the flour mixture. Stir until well blended and all the egg is completely mixed in. Dough should not be runny like a batter, but rather a sticky smooth dough. Heat the oil. Fill a piping bag (with a big star tip) and carefully drop the churros until the pan is filled but churros are not touching. Once golden brown (and throughly cooked) remove them with a skimmer and drain in them in paper towels. Still hot dusted them in the cinammon sugar. Serve them with cajeta and Mexican hot chocolate preferable Ibarra or Mi abuelita. Note: My very young friend Sofia, accepted to be an sporadic contributor of this blog. I'm quite honored. Chef S and me will be cooking some kid friendly recipes. Oh, talented Sophie, also took some of the pictures you see on this post. - Quieres un chocolate caliente? Fue la segunda frase que me dijo Sofia después de saludarme hace unos días cuando llegue a su casa. La noche (porque ya era de noche) no era particularmente fría como para tomar un chocolate caliente, pero como negarse a tal invitación cuando quien la formula es una muñeca de 9 anos? Así que dije si, y no me arrepiento. El chocolate caliente que mi pequeña amiga me preparo fue una delicia. Como muestra de agradecimiento me ofrecí a enseñarle a Sofia como preparar churros Mexicanos (porque en Latinoamerica cada quien tiene su estilo para prepararlos). Honestamente, aunque mi oferta fue de corazón, en ningún momento pensé que Sofia me fuera a decir que si. Pero lo hizo, de hecho mas bien grito de alegría algo como: -Si, me encantan los churros. E inmediatamente después, sin yo salir todavía de mi sorpresa, nos pusimos muy seriamente a negociar (con asistencia de su mama, mi también amiga Mimi) día y hora de nuestra cita. El día en cuestión llego, y me apersone (bastante puntual considerando los mexican standards de puntualidad..jeje) en la ya famosa Casa 10. Mademoiselle Sofia, toda ella dress in pink, me recibió y sin muchos preámbulos comenzamos a meter literalmente nuestras manos en la masa. Fue una experiencia maravillosa, y por varias razones: me encanta cocinar con chic@s, cuando vivía en México, frecuentemente mi adorada-hermosa-inteligente-cuasi-perfecta sobrina Pao (bueno es mi sobrina no?)desde los 3-4 anitos trabajaba conmigo como mi Sous Chef pesando, midiendo y mezclando ingredientes, y como disfrutáramos esos momentos!. El bonding que lográbamos, era único. Otra razón del disfrute fue que su Mama termino cocinando para nosotros (Sofia, sus papas, mi adorado tormento y yo) deliciosas crepas vegetarianas (gracias Mimi) con ensalada. Para mi fue una velada super agradable, porque se torno en velada, aunque claro como fue entre semana Sofia se fue a la cama cuando el velador de su hermoso Compound de pasillos y casitas chinas, paso silbando el *toque de noche* mientras el resto nos quedamos hasta tarde. Oh, y tengo en verdad que decirles que nos acabamos todos los churros? Receta de Churros Azúcar con Canela: 1 taza de azúcar 2 cditas de canela. Mas o menos, al gusto del cliente. Mezclar y reservar Mezcla de Churros: 2 tazas de leche entera 2 grs mantequilla sin sal 1 cda de azúcar 1 cdita de Extracto de Vainilla, pref de México 2 tazas de harina 1 cdita de royal 8 huevos - Aceite de semilla de girasol o vegetal para freír Azúcar de canela: mezclar todo y reservar Verter el aceite en un sartén o cacerola profunda. Asegúrese que el aceite sea el suficiente para cubrir los churros y estos floten libremente en el aceite cuando se frían. Reservar. En una cacerola mediana calentar a ebullición la leche con la mantequilla, azúcar, sal y el extracto de vainilla (preferentemente de México). Revuelva hasta que el azúcar se disuelva y la mantequilla se deshaga. Mientras mida el harina y pongala dentro de un bowl para mezclar junto con el royal. Mezcle. Una vez que la leche haya hervido retirar del fuego y añadir el harina de un solo golpe. Mezclar vigorosamente (con una pala de madera) hasta que este el harina haya absorbido todo el liquido. Añada los huevo uno a uno (lentamente) a esta mezcla. Mezcle muy bien hasta que todos los huevos estén bien incorporados a la masa. Esta debe tener un aspecto un poco pegajoso pero uniforme pero nunca liquido o como mezcla de crepas. Caliente el aceite. Rellene una manga pastelera (con una duya de estrella grande) y con cuidado deposite los churros en el aceite caliente hasta que el sartén o cacerola estén llenos de churros pero estos no se toquen entre si. Una vez doraditos (y bien cocidos del centro) retire con una espumadera y pongalos sobre papel absorbente. Aun caliente pase por el azúcar con canela. Sirvalos acompañados de cajeta y un rico chocolate caliente mexicano. p.d Mi joven amiga Sofia acepto ser una contribuidora esporádica de dicho blog. I'm touched!. La joven Chef S et moi estaremos de cuando en cuando cocinando recetas amigables para los nin@s. Además la talentosa Miss S también tiene ojo para la fotografía, para muestra un boton: algunas de las fotos aquí presentadas son también de su autoría ;-) Spanish plis!





- Quieres un chocolate caliente?



Fue la segunda frase que me dijo Sofia después de saludarme hace unos días cuando llegue a su casa. La noche (porque ya era de noche) no era particularmente fría como para tomar un chocolate caliente, pero como negarse a