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...

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...

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 le...

Every culture has its small bites–sushi, dim sum, tapas, mezze. But in Mexico, these flavorful tidbits fall into a different kind of category: “antoji...

Homey tacos de cazuela–soft corn tortillas rolled around fillings simmered slowly in earthenware pots–are the soul of Mexican comfort food. And nothin...

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...

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 g...

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-sty...

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 Ri...

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

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. T...

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 doo...

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...

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...

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 Mexi...

“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 begin...

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 spra...

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...

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 evenin...

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 restauran...

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

Richly complex, shrouded in mystery and misconceptions, Red Mole sauce is widely regarded as the crowning achievement of Mexican cooking and the ultim...

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 b...

Pipian Verde, sometimes called Green Mole, is one of the glories of Mexican cooking. A tangy, tomatillo-based sauce, thickened with toasted pumpkin se...

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 th...

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 cak...