Every season of Mexico: One Plate at a Time ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best seasons of 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 limp, stuffed tortillas swimming in a sea of red sauce and molten cheese that we’re familiar with in the U.S. Rick shows us how to make classic “Street Style” Red Chile Enchiladas at home, and how to transform them into a simple, satisfying brunch presentation, Red Chile Enchiladas with Spicy Potatoes and Fried Eggs. At Sanborn’s in Mexico City, the colorfully tiled restaurant where the famous dish, Enchiladas Suizas, was invented, Rick explains that “Suiza” means Swiss, a tribute to the dish’s use of cream and cheese. This inspires a visit to a Mexican creamery stall, a lesson in making homemade “crema,” the Mexican version of crème fraîche, and a third dish, Rick’s own Creamy Enchiladas with Chicken, Tomatoes and Green Chile.

The Whole Enchilada

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 taco restaurant in Mexico City where tacos a la plancha–soft tortillas with fillings hot off the iron griddle–are sold. Great tacos need great salsa, and Rick shows us how to make Salsa Verde from both raw and roasted tomatillos in a deadpan side-by-side “dueling salsas” showdown. In Mexico, a butcher butterflies a pork loin with finesse. Rick, back in his Chicago kitchen, launches into his own demonstration of Pork Tacos a la Plancha. Then we’re back to a lively Mexico City taqueria specializing in tacos al carbon filled with charcoal grilled meats and onions. Rick makes two versions of his own–Tacos with Skirt Steak and Portobello Mushrooms–on his backyard grill, along with a traditional molcajete salsa made from ingredients roasted right on the grill.

Let\'s Talk Tacos

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 string cheese. No one can resist a nice grilled cheese sandwich, and Mexicans are no exception–only they call their version a quesadilla. Back home in Chicago, father and daughter whip up some simple Mushroom Quesadillas using store-bought tortillas–they’re easy as child’s play. Returning to Oaxaca, they watch Señora Oliva, for some the “World’s Best Quesadilla Maker,” turn out quesadillas made from fresh masa on a comal over a wood-fire. Can they replicate them at home? Of course! In his back yard Rick gathers nasturtiums, squash blossoms, epazote and poblano chiles, then shows Lanie the fine points of turning masa into Squash Blossom Quesadillas on the griddle.

The Straight Cheese On Quesadillas

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. These are the snacks and street foods, as well as the special-occasion treats, that Mexicans love best–the stuff that comforts the soul and sets the heart racing. And the ones made with masa top the charts. Sopes, little masa shells, are baked on a griddle and finished with all kinds of flavorful toppings. We watch them being made in a courtyard restaurant in Mexico as Rick gives the “play-by-play,” then wander into the Uriarte pottery factory, where Rick indulges in his secret addiction: buying dishes. Back in his home kitchen, he makes Potato Sopes with Salsa, Goat Cheese and Fresh Herbs–perfect as an appetizer or party food. Then it’s back to Mexico for a lesson in gorditas–fried masa “pockets” stuffed with savory fillings.

Sopes And Gorditas: Masa Appeal

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 than just-baked tortillas, fragrant with the earthy aroma of freshly ground masa. How field corn is dried and transformed into the daily bread of Mexico is a remarkable, centuries-old story, and Rick tells that story, taking us on a “field trip” from market to tortilla factory, and finally to his own kitchen, where he shares the secrets of mixing, pressing, flipping and griddling perfect Homemade Tortillas made from fresh masa. To make great tacos de cazuela, it helps to have a cazuela, or earthenware cooking vessel. Rick picks one out in the Oaxaca market, then at home, he prepares two classics: Guajillo-Spiked Pork and Potato Tacos and Mexican-Style Zucchini Tacos.

Tacos From The Ground Up

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 marinated in lime and chiles: it’s so ancient, so elemental and so easy, you don’t even need a kitchen to make it. And so saying, Rick prepares Classic Ceviche right on the beach, using nothing more than a lime to “cook” the fish. For a traditional accompaniment, we go to Chicago for a quick lesson in the art of making Tostadas, crispy fresh tortilla chips. Then it’s a Shrimp Ceviche Cocktail that starts with Rick’s foolproof shrimp steaming technique, plus a visit to a seafood “cocteleria” stand in Mexico to see how the original “stirred not shaken” version is made. Back in his kitchen, Rick creates a thoroughly modern Salmon Ceviche steeped in orange juice and roasted chiles.

Ceviche In The Limelight

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 tomatillo is and isn’t (hint–it’s not very closely related to a tomato), with tips on how to grow tomatillos, what to look for when buying them and how to judge their ripeness. He then makes a tangy Tomatillo Salsa Verde with onions, roasted garlic and serrano chiles that’s great with tortilla chips. In the free-associative spirit of the series, those corn chips inspire a delightful side trip to Mexico for a look at the role of corn in the culture and the garden. Back in Chicago, Rick turns roasted tomatillos into a sauce for a juicy Tomatillo-Braised Pork Loin and combines the elemental flavors of corn and tomatillos in a whimsical invention of his own, called Pescado Encornflecado–fried fish filets in a corn flake crust, served in a lively tomatillo sauce with sautéed fresh corn Esquites.

Green Sauce And Tomatillos: Mexican Vine Dining

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, known simply as “a la Mexicana.” Ripe red tomatoes, sparkling white onions and green chiles are the “holy trinity” on which these dishes are based–dishes like hearty Braised Beef Short Ribs a la Mexicana with tomatoes, poblano chiles and herbs, or a quick-to-prepare Grilled Flank Steak served with a salsa of roasted tomatoes, poblanos, onions and garlic. Between stints in the kitchen, Rick introduces us to some of the great icons of Mexican nationalism, from Padre Hidalgo and Emiliano Zapata, to Josefina Velasquez de Leon, the pioneering 20th-century food historian who found herself at the forefront of a movement to create a Mexican national culinary identity, much of which was based around home-style “a la Mexicana” dishes.

A La Mexicana: The Soul Of Mexican Cooking

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 Pineapple dance, in which the dancers shower the audience with fruit–a symbolic sharing of the riches of their village that says a lot about the role of fruit in Mexican culture. At home, he shows us his simple technique for making a quick, refreshing Mango, Jicama and Cucumber Salad that’s often served as a street snack. He prepares his version of the traditional Mango Agua Fresca, or “Mango-ade” tinged with crimson prickly pear juice. His daughter, Lanie, looks on, then carries the vat of agua fresca off triumphantly to sell at her lemonade stand! Then we’re off to Oaxaca for quick stop at the renowned Chaguita ice cream stand where you can find every imaginable ice cream flavor and a few you’d rather not imagine (pork rind?!).

Fruit, Aguas, Ices & Paletas: The Ripe Stuff

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 market fonda. But it wasn’t always this way. Rick traces the history of this relative newcomer to the Mexican diet that arrived with the conquistadors by way of Asia and the Middle East. He gives us a step-by-step introduction to making perfect, fluffy Red Tomato Rice as well as a traditional Mexican Rice Pudding garnished with a Piloncillo Syrup made with raw sugar and orange zest. Rice smoothies anyone? In Mexico, Horchata, the creamy cold drink made from sweetened pulverized rice is a much-loved refresher. Rick shows us his technique for making a “blenderized” version it at home and gives us a taste of the genuine article at Oaxaca’s famous Casilda horchata stall. And speaking of beverages, he ends the show with a look at Mexican beer–some of which is made from–you guessed it–rice.

Rice to the Occasion

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 Caldo de Pollo Ranchero is made, Rick goes straight to the source, shopping for chicken, vegetables and herbs in Oaxaca, then brings it all home to the rustic country kitchen of his friend Suzanna Trilling, where they are joined by Doña Carlotta for a side-by-side afternoon of soup-making and camaraderie. Then it’s back home to Chicago for something a little less traditional: soup on the grill! Rick’s contemporary Spicy Grilled Chicken Soup with Summer Vegetables makes an easy one-pot dinner. We visit a Mexican bakery for a look at the role of rolls and bread in Mexico; then Rick turns the country’s true daily bread, the tortilla, into a tomato-y Tortilla Soup, seasoned with pasilla chiles and epazote and garnished with avocado, queso fresco and a crowning tangle of crispy tortilla strips.

Caldo de Pollo & Tortilla Soup: The Super Bowl

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. What makes these stuffed chiles in a golden soufflé batter so special? Rick takes us into the Frontera kitchen to show us firsthand. Then it’s a lesson in “chile anatomy” that takes us from a Mexican market stall to Rick’s backyard garden to bring home the idea that in Mexican cooking, chiles aren’t just about heat. They’re thought of as a vegetable–a vegetable that’s perfect for stuffing. Rick shows us how to make classic Pork-Stuffed Chiles in Tomato Broth, as well as his own contemporary variation: Stuffed Chiles Baked with Tomato and Cream. Along the way, we discover all kinds of chiles rellenos in Mexico in this half-hour stuffed with surprises.

Chiles Rellenos and Other Cool Stuff

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 preparation known simply as “a la Veracruzana” that features a whole fish baked in a tangy tomato, herb, olive and caper sauce. Inspired by this classic dish, Rick explores the Mediterranean roots of Mexican cooking, and the surprising contributions of Mexico–such as the tomato–to the cuisines of Europe. He shows us how to make a dramatic Pescado a la Veracruzana, using a whole fish, then moves to his outdoor kitchen for an easy, contemporary Grilled Salmon a la Veracruzana–tasty proof that Mexican cooking can be every bit as light and fresh as the Mediterranean dishes we’re all so in love with today.

Fish a la Veracruzana: How to Fish for Compliments

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 outdoor kitchen, Rick prepares classic Carne Asada, thinly sliced grilled rib steak (plus a version with Tuna steaks with all the traditional trimmings, including a potful of creamy Charro Beans simmered with bacon; a brightly flavored Salad of Grilled Cactus Paddles, a colorful Salsa Mexicana made with heirloom tomatoes and fresh serrano chiles; and chunky Guacamole that comes with three words of advice: “keep it simple.” As the party preparations proceed, we follow Rick across the border for a visit to a Mexico City restaurant that specializes in wood-grilled beef steaks, some pointed remarks in a cactus patch and a crash course in avocados in Oaxaca. It all comes together in a lively outdoor buffet–proof positive that when friends share the work, there’s no such thing as “too many cooks.

Carne Asada: The Great Steak 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 deftly debunks the most common myths about the role of chiles in Mexican cooking. We learn that like grapes and raisins, chiles all get completely new names when they go from fresh to dried. They are, Rick tells us, a vegetable, a spice and most importantly, a flavor ingredient. And nowhere is the flavor of the dried chile celebrated more deliciously than in the famous preparation, Adobo. Rick makes a juicy Chicken in Adobo, roasted in a purée of ancho chiles, garlic and oregano. On a visit to the beautiful San Angel restaurant, a former hacienda in the Mexican countryside, he checks out the pork in adobo and another surprising Mexican invention, Caesar salad.

Adobo: Chiles Cut and Dried

“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 the deceptively complex and varied world of one of Mexico’s most ubiquitous staple foods. Along a road in Mexico, he tells us about the invisible “bean belt,” a culinary continental divide that separates the light-bean-eating north from the black-bean-eating south. In a Mexican market, he buys an olla–a traditional ceramic bean pot–then takes it home and walks us through the simple steps of making Perfect Beans Three Ways: in the olla, in a modern pot and in a skillet. We learn the real meaning of “refried beans,” and the secret to making them smooth and creamy. At a country home, an artisan cheese-maker shows us how to make Queso Fresco, the crumbling cheese used to top beans throughout Mexico.

Beans Inside and Out

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 outdoor restaurant in the heart of Mexico City, where we see the dramatic all-day pit-cooking process that transforms hundreds of pounds of lamb into succulent “Barbacoa.” At La Capilla, another outdoor family restaurant in Oaxaca, Rick reveals the mysteries of Oaxacan Barbacoa made with chile-marinated lamb buried in a pit. Back in Chicago, he shows us his favorite way to do pit-cooking at home–without lifting a shovel. It’s all done on the grill using indirect heat and Rick’s foolproof leaf-wrapping technique. He prepares fork tender Cochinita Pibil–Yucatecan-style Achiote-Rubbed Pork Cooked in Banana Leaves, served with a fiery Habanero Salsa.

Barbacoa and Cochinita Pibil: Down to Earth Cooking

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 preparations, Mojo and Escabeche. Although it’s been a Mexican mainstay since the arrival of the Spanish, Fish in Escabeche is a perfect fit with the kind of light, fresh cooking that’s so popular today. Rick shows us how to make it by steeping crisp fish fillets in a tangy vinaigrette-like sauce made with olive oil, cider vinegar, diced vegetables and pickled jalapeños. In the kitchen of his restaurant, Topolobampo, he shows us a contemporary variation: Grilled Quail in Red Onion Escabeche. If garlic is as good as ten mothers, then Mojo de Ajo–a sauce made from minced garlic, slowly toasted in olive oil–is the mother of all garlic dishes. Rick uses it to make a simple Quick-Fried Shrimp with Sweet Toasty Garlic, and an elegant Roasted Lobster with Mojo Mayonnaise.

Mojo & Escabeche: The Light Fantastic

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. And when it comes to rolling your own, making tamales is easier than you think. Rick pays a visit to a streetside tamal vendor, then heads to a tortilla factory to buy fresh masa. Back in the kitchen, he prepares two traditional types of tamales–Green Chile ChickenTamales Wrapped in Corn Husks and Red Chile Pork Tamales Wrapped in Banana Leaves–revealing the secrets of working with masa, filling, wrapping and steaming. The result: a batch of truly hot tamales–beautiful steaming packets that are fun to open and eat–the perfect party food. In Mexico, a tamalada–the tamal-making party-before-the-party can be as much fun as the party itself. Rick joins his friend Carmen Ramirez Delgollado in the kitchen of her Mexico City restaurant, El Bajio, for a “wrap party” and a lesson in making sweet tamales.

Three Hot Tamales

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 shops for seafood, giving all kinds of helpful tips along the way. Back in his home kitchen he prepare his own authentic Caldo de Mariscos–a hearty Traditional Seafood Stew simmered with fresh tomatoes, epazote, arbol chiles and chunks of fresh fish, squid and shrimp. He uses the same soup base to make a contemporary variation: Spicy Grilled Shrimp Stew with Chayote and Potatoes. Gathering lettuces and greens in his garden, Rick talks about the role of salads in Mexican cuisine, then prepares a simple Lime Dressing.

Seafood Stew: The Perfect Warm-Up

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 chips in the oven. Fresh-made chips deserve fresh-made salsa, in this case, a Salsa Molcajete with the zingy flavors of chipotle chiles, roasted garlic and roasted tomatillos, hand-pounded in a traditional lava-rock mortar (molcajete) that Rick picks out in a Mexican market stall. Next it’s a quick way to turn leftover tortilla chips into a satisfying comfort-food dinner: Stovetop Chipotle Chilaquiles–chips simmered with Mexican greens in a tomato-chipotle sauce. Topped with a little shredded chicken, Mexican crema and onions, it ends up looking and tasting a lot like a rustic pasta dish. Using the same sauce as a base, Rick makes an easy casserole-style Baked Chilaquiles enriched with cream, melted cheese and diced ham, perfect for brunch or dinner.

Beyond Chips & Salsa

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 pre-Columbian and European flavors and techniques that come together in a sauce of remarkable depth and baroque complexity. Its origins are the stuff of myth and magic: convent nuns being visited by midnight visions, enchanted winds blowing through ancient kitchens. It’s a long-simmered sauce perfumed with chiles, nuts, spices and yes, sometimes, though not always, chocolate. No exploration of mole would be complete without a visit to the restaurants, ornately tiled cathedrals and convent kitchens of Puebla, where mole is elevated to the level of a sacred calling. Back in Chicago, Rick takes us into the kitchen and guides us through the intricacies of mole-making, with step-by-step instructions for recreating it at home. There’s a helpful “sidebar” on choosing wines to compliment Mexican food.

Holy Mole: Mexico City

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 properties and traded as currency. Today, when Mexicans talks about chocolate, they’re still talking about a hot beverage–it’s seldom seen in confections and candies. In Oaxaca, one of Mexico’s great chocolate producing centers, Rick shows us how the roasted beans are ground to order, then blended with sugar, cinnamon and almonds to the exacting specifications of each customer. In his home kitchen, Rick shows us how to make a contemporary invention of his own, a Mexican Chocolate Streusel Cake, and whips up a batch of Mexican Hot Chocolate. At El Moro, a beloved chocolate and churros eatery, we watch the process of making Churros, the light, crispy “doughnuts” of Mexico, and head back to the kitchen, where Rick shows us how to make them at home.

Chocolate: The Magic Ingredient

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 everything from chicken to fish and seafood in the most sophisticated restaurants and the most humble market fondas. Rick takes us to Fonda El Refugio, a famous home-style restaurant in Mexico City’s Zona Rosa, where the five courses of the traditional Mexican meal, or comida, serve as the structural framework of the show. When he arrives at the centerpiece of the meal, Pipian de Pollo, Rick takes us back to Chicago and shows us how to make it. Then, it’s back to the kitchen at Fonda El Refugio, to watch it being served up by the very special kitchen staff–dignified older women who have spent their lives cooking and have earned the honorific title “mayora.

Green Mole & Pipian: Lessons of the Mayoras

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 actually, the whole idea of sweets. Standing in the kitchen of the Convent of Santa Rosa in Puebla, Rick tells us that it was the Spanish nuns, in convent kitchens just like this one, who introduced Mexico to confection-making as a way to preserve dairy products. They turned out all kinds of sweets based on eggs, milk and sugar, and among their greatest hits was a rich amber goat’s milk caramel called cajeta. Next stop: the Dulceria de Celaya in Mexico city–a century-old sweet shop where traditional, homemade cajeta lives on. Back home in Chicago, Rick walks us through the process of making Cajeta, then takes us back to Mexico for a brief seminar on cinnamon. His rustic Cajeta Apple Tarts with Fruit Salsa are easy to make and a great way to showcase homemade cajeta.

Cajeta & Flan: Plaza Sweets

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 Pozole, the slow-cooked stew of corn and pork that’s Mexico’s number-one party food. Preparing pozole is an all-day affair. And as the corn and meat simmer, Rick takes us to the ruins of Mitla, where he reveals one of the most ancient and fundamental cooking techniques of Mexico: boiling dried corn in calcium hydroxide to make hominy. Later, a demonstration of the traditional Pastel de Tres Leches, or “Three-Milks Cake” inspires a tongue-in-cheek visit to one of Mexico City’s sweetest and least known treasures, the surreal Cake Showroom of Ideal Bakery. Back home, the fiesta comes to smashing conclusion, with piñatas, a mariachi band, laughter, singing and plenty of pozole for everyone.

Pozole: The Life of the Party

Salsa Lessons

Pizza of the Three Cultures

A Midsummer Night’s Taquisa

Open All Night

Keeping the Flame

Craving Crustaceans

Kidding Around

Garden Spots

Dessert Oasis

That’s a Mole! An Elegant Dinner for Eight

Timeless Tamales

Cocktails at Rick’s Place

Mexico’s Real Independence Day

Some people go trekking in search of wildlife. Rick will go to any length in search of great food. We find him boating down a river in the midst of a tropical jungle. He’s got a "jones" for antojitos, the class of Mexican snacks designed to satisfy every culinary whim. The search takes him on a cross-country tour of masa-based antojitos, from crispy sopes in the tropical town of Coyuca to streetside carne asada Tacos in the heart of Mexico city; Blue Corn Quesadillas stuffed with fresh cheese and squash bloosoms and Tlacoyos with Salsa Roja, stuffed with beans in an open-air market; lamb tacos in a tiny market stall, huaraches (giant open-faced masa cakes) at the entrance to a Mexico City subway station; and Gorditas with Salsa Negra, which Rick prepares with his friend Carmen at El Bajio, her Restaurant in Mexico City.

Antojito Jones

Thrills and Chiles

Lend Me Your Ears

Rick’s on an adventure in Acapulco, the great international resort that’s making a major comeback. The weather’s balmy here all year, and he’s in search of the best ways to get cool quick. He starts with an impromptu chilled mango as he drives into town. Then it’s time for a visit to the 17th-Century Fort of San Diego and a look at how the port of Acapulco was once one of the most important trading centers in the world—the hub for the Manila Galleons, that brought the riches of Asia and changed the world of cooking forever. In Acapulco’s old town, Rick reflects on the city’s heyday as a resort for the rich and famous of old Hollywood, checks out two of Acapulco’s coolest traditions—the banana daiquiri and the swim-up bar—and indulges in a refreshing shrimp cocktail. Finally, he meets up with his daughter Lanie, and they seek out the best frozen treats the town has to offer, from exotic ice creams to shaved-ice raspados (with demonstrations of how to make Rick’s own versions at home).

Tropical Cool

Hip ‘n’ Happenin’

Health in the Balance

A Sterling Birthday

We find Rick on a Sunday morning in a plaza in front of a beautiful baroque church in the mountains of Mexico as he sets out to search for the best Mexican Sunday traditions, starting with carnitas—the rich, golden, slow-fried pork that’s a once-a-week indulgence all over the country. We visit a huge open-air restaurant, Arroyo, in Mexico City to see it being made, and Rick shows us his own simplified technique for preparing Carnitas at home. A visit to a museum is a Sunday tradition the world over, and we join Rick for a trip to the Frida Kahlo House, where the celebrated artist lived with her equally famous husband, Diego Rivera. Every room in the house is itself a work of art, especially the kitchen, where Rick talks about the fabulous party feasts Frida and Diego enjoyed here. Back in Chicago, he recreates some of these specialties at home.

Savoring Sundays

Acapulco—Jump Right In

Chorizo, the fresh pork sausage, has been called "the bacon of Mexico." Rick’s quest to find the best chorizo takes him to the remote mountain town of Tenancingo, where he explores the market and investigates what it is about this place that makes its sausage products so tasty. He also uncovers another local tradition, the making of the intricately hand-woven shawls known as rebozos, Along the way, Rick shows us how to make Chorizo-Stuffed Ancho Chiles and we even get a lesson in making Chorizo at home from scratch.Chiles en Nogada, a chile stuffed with a sweet-savory pork and fruit picadillo filling, topped with a blanket of snow-white fresh walnut sauce and a scattering pomegranate seeds. Rick tracks down the seasonal ingredients for this stunning dish and recreates it at home for an independence day dinner, Chicago style.

Chorizo Hunter

Color on the Palate

By a campfire in the Mexican high-plains dessert, Rick invites us to join him as he searches for the origins of chili con carne. Is it Mexican or Southwestern? The stuff of cowboys or grandmothers? Chili begins with chiles, so Rick takes us from a chile field to a chile stall to his own garden to see how chiles are grown and dried. After a quick detour to examine a collection of fiery folk-art devils, we check out tamales—their filling is, essentially a kind of chili—at a Mexico city tamleria and meet a Mexican grandmother for a lesson in making a slow-cooked stew that ends up looking quite familiar. Following that lead, Rick prepares two sensational chilis—one made with pork, the other with lamb and pasillas—in his home kitchen for a cozy chili party with friends and family around the fireplace.

The Mysteries of Chili

Wading through the surf at Guayabitos, a charming fishing village on Mexico’s Pacific coast, Rick sets off in search of the ultimate catch—the Mexican seafood dish that captures everything that’s perfect and irresistible about a day at the beach. For starters, he checks out what’s shaking at a thatch-roofed laguna-side restaurant not far from Puerto Vallarta, where the “specialty of the hut” is Pescado Zarandeado, “Shaken Fish,” seasoned with a sweet-spicy red chile marinade, flame-seared and flipped over hot coals in a special grilling basket. At home in Chicago, Rick shows us how to recreate this dramatic dish on a backyard barbecue. Then it’s back to Mexico City, to check out the cooler side of seafood at the sleek, modern Manzanilla restaurant, where a lively young couple from Baja California serves up a series of refreshing raw seafood specialties with the Zen-like simplicity of a cutting-edge sashimi bar.

It's a Shore Thing

Standing amid the excavated layers of ancient civilizations in the Templo Mayor, right in the heart of modern Mexico City, Rick points out that Mexican cooking has always been a product of diverse cultural influences layered one on top of another. It might even be called the original fusion cuisine. And at the cloister of Sor Juana, now a university with a cooking school in Mexico City, Rick points out that of all the dishes in the Mexican repertoire, mole is doubtless the ultimate example of fusion food, born of a baroque melding of influences from nuns and native women who mixed old and new world ingredients to create a sauce of dazzling complexity. In his home kitchen, Rick prepares a less baroque version, Apricot-Pinenut Mole, served with turkey breast.

Fusion Revolution

Rick can’t resist the kind of well-seasoned, simple food grilled over a live fire—the stuff he’s enjoyed at thousands of markets, kitchens and restaurants all over Mexico, where cooking comes down to the simple combination of fresh ingredients and flickering flames. Deep in the Mexican countryside, he pulls over for a sizzling roadside snack—chicken grilled on an improvised oil-drum barbecue; then he shows us how to bring the idea home with a recipe for Roadside Whole Chicken with Knob Onions grilled on his backyard barbecue. At bustling El Farolito in Mexico City, Rick gives us the lowdown on another Mexican fire-cooked favorite: Tacos al Pastor—succulent pork, grilled “gyros-style” on a vertical spit with pineapple. And that gets his appetite working for easy Chorizo, Potato and Mushroom Tacos made in his outdoor kitchen in Chicago.

Quest for Fire

With more than 20 million people, and a dazzlingly rich cultural and culinary history, Mexico City is like its own planet—and these days, it’s a younger, hipper planet than ever. Rick takes us on a dawn-to-dusk insider’s tour that separates the hip from the hype, sharing some of the city’s quirkiest, most happening hotspots, starting with an early morning cappuccino and Enfrijoladas (creamy bean-sauced tortillas) at an organic market and café in ultra-cool Condesa, the “SoHo of Mexico City,” and shows how to replicate this soulful breakfast in his home kitchen. Then it’s back to Condesa with daughter Lanie for a stroll and shopping spree that yields all kinds of uniquely Mexican urban-chic treasures. For lunch, Rick settles in at a table at Pujol, the renowned leader of the city’s cutting-edge culinary scene, discovering a spectacular parade of dishes that recreate traditional Mexican foods in stunningly artful presentations.

The Capital of Hip

Tequila has come around—from “lick the salt and suck the lime” firewater, to chic drink of connoisseurs and hipsters alike. What exactly is this quintessential Mexican spirit, and what makes one tequila so-so and another sublime. Rick’s on a mission to find out, and he takes us straight to the source, to the town of Tequila in Jalisco, where the first families of tequila still brew the stuff the old-fashioned way, from the slow-roasted heart of the blue agave plant. It’s a crash course in tequila that takes us through every step, from the fields to the historic Herradura family hacienda, where the beautiful copper-clad stills of the original tequila works can still be seen alongside a state-of-the-art production facility. Along the way, we stop for tacos and a lesson in tequila drinking at a local restaurant, and Rick shows us another side of tequila—it’s great for cooking, too.

Welcome to Tequila

When Rick wants to get away from the frantic pace of life in the restaurant world, he heads South. In this episode, he sets out to find the kind of ultimate serenity he’s always sought out in his favorite “secret gardens” of Mexico. It’s a search that takes him from a mountaintop in the jungle to a mellow natural products store in a quite corner of Mexico City and a traditional temescal—a spa and sweat-lodge where curanderos practice ancient healing arts. In his own secret garden in Chicago, Rick shows us how to prepare a soothing Chamomile Tea. Then, in Mexico City’s beautiful San Juan market, he checks out some of the fresh vegetables that are the cornerstones of healthy, Mexican comfort food, and back at home, he shows us how to turn them into a creamy Mushroom-Potato Soup with Roasted Poblanos. Finally, he heads for a secluded Mexican beach to pepare fresh fish Tikin Xic seasoned with a Yucatecan achiote rub and grilled on an open fire, right on the beach.

Mexico Unplugged

Rick and his daughter, Lanie, check out Mexico’s real-life super-hero subculture. It’s the surreal, splashy world of Lucha Libre—the beloved masked wrestling phenomenon that captures the Mexican imagination and spills over into every part of the culture, from politics to food. We join Rick on a hunt for the perfect snacks to eat while watching Lucha Libre with friends, as he visits street stalls outside a Mexico City arena that sell everything from tacos and snacks to colorful wrestling masks and capes—and along the way, we discover the history of this uniquely Mexican blend of acrobatics, myth, mystery and morality play. At the colorful Sport Torta sandwich shop, Rick takes on El Sumo—a giant, no-holds-barred sandwich. Back at home, he and Lanie make Chilied Peanuts and Pumpkinseeds and Rick’s soon-to-be-famous Torta for a Crowd, his take on the giant sandwich idea—two bold-flavored snacks that are the perfect larger-than-life accompaniments for a Lucha Libre party at home.

Super-Hero Sandwich

Sure, there are great male chefs in Mexico. But women are the true mothers of this cuisine. From market cafes to hip new white-tablecloth restaurants, the cuisine of Mexico comes from a rich tradition of hearth, home and women’s hands. Starting at the Cloister of Sor Juana, the great 17th-Century Mexican poet, feminist and culinarian, Rick sets out on a treasure hunt, in search of Mexico’s great women chefs. There’s his old friend, the revered Carmen Ramirez Degollado, herself a national culinary treasure, who is one of the great “keepers of the flame” of traditional Mexican cooking. She joins Rick and his daughter, Lanie, to make Shrimp Stew with Epazote at her famed El Bajio restaurant. After a stop at Chef Monica Patiño’s MP Restaurant, Rick hits the other end of the spectrum, with a visit to Solange Muris at the muy moderno Manzanilla restaurant across town, to chat about wine, women, and the new world of Mexican cuisine.

The Mothers of Invention

Chilling out in Puerto Vallarta, the jewel of the Mexican Riviera, Rick gets thinking, not surprisingly, about food. Can he find the kind of authentic, mind-blowing, soulful Mexican food he loves even in a tourist Mecca like this? Rising to the challenge, he embarks on an all-day eating fest that turns into an invaluable insider’s guide to “eating local,” with tips on how to find the real thing amid the glitzy pretenders. The quest takes him from market fondas to a tiny tamaleria tucked away on a side street, inspiring him, along the way make two Mexican comfort-food classics, Guajillo Chilaquiles and Bistec a la Mexicana. Then he’s off to the sleepy, working-class suburb of Pitillal for a locals-only treat: succulent shrimp burgers. And of course, there has to be a “nightcap”—an after-hours stop at Taqueria El Carboncito, where the “PV” locals head for succulent pork tacos al pastor.

Go Global. Eat Local.

We find Rick somewhere in the jungles of Mexico, pondering the great questions of the ancient world—like, “what was for breakfast?” Back in Chicago, he whips up a plate of Huevos Motuleños—Eggs Motul-Style, a heady, layered “short-stack” of Mexican breakfast favorites piled on a tortilla, including fried eggs, chorizo, cheese, peas, beans, plantains, cilantro and salsa. But instead of digging in, he decides to dig down a few layers, like a culinary archaeologist, and investigate just how Mexican—and just how ancient—these beloved ingredients are. That investigation takes him to a dairy stall in Mexico City’s cosmopolitan San Juan Market, a down-and-dirty pulqueria (a bar that serves pulque, a locally brewed “agave beer”), La Tequila restaurant (where we get a lesson in the ancient art of making salsa in a lava mortar called a molcajete), and a market stall that sells, among other delicacies of antiquity, edible bugs.

Archaeology for Breakfast

Over a beautiful plate of food in the kitchen of his white-tablecloth restaurant, Topolobambo, Rick muses on the idea of culinary muses. His creative inspirations are as diverse as the culture and cuisine of Mexico—ranging from leading-edge chefs to home cooks and market vendors. To show us what he means, he invites us to join him for a wildly inventive meal at Pujol, one of Mexico City’s most exciting restaurants, where Chef Enrique Olvera turns traditional ideas inside out to create whimsical, world-class takes on the flavors of Mexico. From there, we pay a visit to one of Rick’s favorite inspirations, a market vendor in Guadalajara who, for decades, has specialized in one perfect thing: birria—goat braised in a rich chile rub. Back in the Topolobampo kitchens, Rick riffs on that classic dish of west-central Mexico in Birria (Slow-Braised Lamb) Topolobampo-Style.

Muses for My Menu

In Mexico, salsa is neither a dip nor an afterthought. It’s an integral part of eating. “The more you know about salsa,” Rick tells us, while snacking in a countryside restaurant near Guadalajara, “the better you’ll understand Mexican cooking.” And with that, he embarks on a journey into to the soul of salsa, packed with all kinds of helpful tips and techniques that prove a tasty point: salsas can really cook! He shows us how simple it is to make a classic raw-tomato Salsa Mexicana, and a roasted-tomato Molcajete Salsa, taking time out for a gardening lesson on “growing your own” salsa ingredients before turning the roasted salsa into an easy Mexican Red Rice. After a quick “Tomatillo 101” in a Mexican market stall he concocts a smoky Chipotle Tomatillo Salsa, which becomes the base for Shrimp Sautéed in Smoky Tomatillo Salsa. And finally, he shows us a versatile “avocado salsa,”—Guacamole Three Ways—that can go from simple to luxurious depending on the whim of the cook.

Tips and Salsa

Rick heads for Jalisco, the place where mariachi music originated, to investigate the history and mystery of this “national soundtrack” of Mexico—and to answer the question, “what’s the perfect food to go with mariachi music?” At a stall in the Guadalajara market, he checks out all kinds of mouthwatering snack-food specialties, settling on a beautiful tostada as a band of mariachis strolls by playing their anthem “Guadalajara.” Back in his Chicago kitchen, he shows us his take on Tostadas, then it’s back to Mexico where his search for the roots of mariachi takes him to a beautiful 19th-Century hacienda. At a colorful restaurant in Tlaquepaque, he enjoys a soft cheese in green sauce speciality—Panela en Salsa Verde, which he shows us how to make at home. And finally, he brings us to the epicenter of mariachi mania, Plaza Garibaldi in Mexico City, where Mariachis gather by the hundreds, all day and all night, to meet, greet, compete, and serenade the world.

Mariachi Mania

At one time, the henequen trade made Merida, the capital of the Yucatan, one of the richest cities in the world. Today, its lovely white stuccoed buildings remind us of its opulent past. A horse and carriage ride down the Paseo Montejo will help you understand why Merida was once known as “The Paris of Mexico.” Rick takes us on a journey through the Merida market stalls for a look at the blending of Mayan traditions with the Spanish influences. Dishes such as Sikil Pak, a pumpkinseed dip with habanero is totally Mayan, yet still part of Merida’s meals today. The market’s meat stalls jump-start Rick’s surprising roller coaster ride through Merida’s food history from simple pork Picadillo to the baroque Queso Relleno (stuffed cheese) found in all the classic Yucatan restaurants. Along the way, we explore the Lebanese influence on this colonial city where thousands of locals dance in the town square nearly every night of the week.

Eat, Drink and Be Merida

There are days when you want to take it easy and enjoy your favorite comfort food. Others, you just have to turn up the volume. For Rick, that means breaking out the chiles—everything from the Yucatan’s beloved habanero with its one-two punch of flavor and heat, to the tamer hot yellow xcatic chiles. Rick turns a bumper crop of habaneros into Vinegary Hot Sauce, Tomato Frito and Xnipec Salsa and then shows how they all pair well with grilled fish! We visit the Merida market for a fresh chile lesson, explore the limestone fields where the habaneros thrive and then hold our breath for a spicy tour of a habanero hot sauce factory. At the Bayless home, chiles are just as likely to show up on scrambled eggs as they are in pot roast. Rick makes a mouthwatering version of Pot-Roasted Pork with yellow chiles, plantains and a hint of brown sugar.

Fresh Chiles, Hot & Cool

Water is a precious source of life—especially in the Yucatan jungle where there are no rivers or lakes. Rick goes deep, underneath the limestone bedrock, to show us the underground rivers and cenotes (sink holes) found throughout the peninsula. For the Mayans, these holes were freshwater wells they considered sacred. Today, we can explore them up close and personal with a bit of snorkeling gear. Being in all that water makes Rick hungry for one thing—seafood. So he goes topside to deep-sea fish and then enlists the help of a local fisherman to turn his catch of the day into a beachside Ceviche. When deep-sea fishing is not in the cards, Rick takes us to the Merida market for a tour of the prepared seafood offerings including Shrimp a la Vinagreta. To complete his inner beach vacation, we enjoy spiny lobster on the Riviera Maya at the beachside restaurant Oscar y Lalo’s. The journey ends in Rick’s backyard grill for stunning version of Lobster with Smoky Garlic Mojo.

Mysteries of the Deep

Cochinita pibil. Yucatan’s slow-cooked, banana leaf-wrapped pork specialty that never ceases to inspire Rick, whether he’s made it in his slow-cooker, home oven or restaurant kitchen. For Season 5 of Mexico—One Plate at a Time, Rick takes the inspiration to its pinnacle: he digs a pit in his urban backyard, lines it with bricks, builds a big fire, then slow-cooks a whole pig the old-fashioned way. Good thing he invited the neighbors for dinner! We start out with a visit to the small town of Tixkokob to learn the secrets from Silvio Campos, a local pit master known for his Slow-Roasted Achiote Pork. Hint: Don’t forget the banana leaves and be sure to cover the pit well. At home, Lanie Bayless lets us in on her secret weapon (a food processor) to easy Pickled Red Onions and Roasted Habanero Salsa. Once the heavy labor is finished, Rick marinates his pig with plenty of achiote and lime juice before he buries it in the backyard.

A Pig, a Pit, and a Plan

There’s nothing like a tall glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice—naranjada—it’s called in Mexico. Rick takes us on a citrus groove to learn the ins and outs of fresh juice in savory, lip-smacking dishes throughout the Yucatan. We journey to the huge citrus market in Oxkutzkab for a sweet and sour lesson on the lime family tree—from limón to lima the classic aromatic citrus fruit used to make Sopa de Lima (Classic Yucatecan Lime Soup with crispy tortillas). Lanie teaches Rick a thing or two about the local avocadoes —from the Noche Buena variety to the Lagunero. At home, they make an Avocado-Mango Salad with a fresh lime juice and pumpkinseed dressing. Then Rick takes us to Tutul Xiu Restaurant in the small town of Maní for their renowned Poc Chuc—quick-grilled thin pieces of pork marinated in sour orange and served with all kinds of crunchy garnishes.

Savoring Citrus

By now the secret is out: Rick has a sweet tooth. For everything from ripe fruit to homemade candies to luscious pies. And when he travels to Mexico, he’s on the prowl for it all—lucky for us. We visit 100% Natural, a favorite stop in Playa Del Carmen for tropical fruit juices, creamy yogurt shakes and exotic fruit plates. At home, Rick transforms Mexican papaya into a surprising dessert he calls Caramelized Papaya with Mexican Cheese—think of a tropical version of apple pie with cheddar cheese. Which brings us to pie! Rick reminisces about (and enjoys a piece of) the coconut pie at Alberto’s Continental Patio Restaurant in Merida. These days he gets his coconut fix from a fast version of the classic sweet candy Cocadas Horneadas using frozen shredded coconut. In Tixkokob, a local cook teaches us her ethereal version of sweet baked meringues which brings us back to pie. Rick whips up a Mango-Lime Meringue Pie sure to inspire cooks everywhere.

Tropical Sweet Tooth

More people visit the Yucatan peninsula than any other region of Mexico. They mostly come for the fun and the beaches while Rick comes for the cool angle, the story behind the story, the local food and the people. The adventure begins in Playa del Carmen when Rick hooks up with our other favorite Public Television chef, Jacques Pepin. Jacques invites Rick to cook in his vacation home in Playa, but first they enjoy a bite to eat at Jacques’ favorite breakfast spot. Then they head to the beach in search of really fresh fish and to debate the merits of barracuda. After a stop at Jacques favorite local market for produce and chiles, the cooking begins. Rick prepares a salad of grilled cactus, chaya leaves and arugula to top red chile-seared mahi mahi. Jacques sprinkles cumin and Mexican oregano over his pargo (red snapper), grills it whole, and then serves it with his version of a chopped tomato and avocado salsa.

Rick & Jacques. Two Chefs at Playa

Rick defies the old adage to never shop when your hungry—he always shops hungry, to provide a source for inspiration. In the Merida market, inspiration comes in the form of homemade tamales—made from fresh corn masa flavored and filled with achiote-seasoned chicken or pork and steamed in banana leaves. Those tamales tap into Mexico’s past which is present everywhere you travel. At Uxmal’s Pyramid of the Magician, Rick gives us a brief lesson on water and corn which brings him back to the Mayans and their pit-cooked tamales. To learn their secrets, we visit Silvio Campos’s home for a step-by-step class in muchipollo—rustic chicken and pork tamales baked in an earthen pit. Silvio serves the crusty-hot tamales to Rick with slivers of fresh habanero and ice cold beer. The aroma of the achiote motivates Rick to make Tamales Colados (Yucatecan Pudding Tamales) at home. Fresh chaya leaves in the Merida market inspire Rick to experiment with growing his own chaya in his urban garden.

Yesterday, Today & Tamales

Who wouldn’t like to snack from dawn to dusk on all kinds of Yucatecan specialties? Just ask Rick and Lanie for some noshing tips. They start their adventure on the main square in Merida smack in the middle of the local, nightly dance-a-thon surrounded by food vendors. They both fall under the charms of Marquesitas, a crispy wafer rolled around cheese and cajeta. Rick shares the recipe with us from a confidenciales chair—the unique park bench designed for whispering secrets to your loved one. The journey continues as they indulge in early morning treats including tortas, panuchos and impossible cake (chocolate cake topped with flan) from the Santa Ana market. Inspired, they make Salbutes (corn tortillas topped with tangy shredded chicken) in their home kitchen. At Eladio’s, a centro botanero (a lively restaurant that serves small plates) in downtown Merida, they enjoy the dancing and a whole table filled with snacks and Dzik, lime-marinated shredded beef.

Yucatan Snack-a-Thon

Rick finds wandering through the ancient Mayan ruins of Uxmal a humbling and inspiring experience. The Mayans built a great civilization with pyramids, temples, plazas and breathtaking expanses. And their spirit lives on—and it’s experiencing a rebirth in the Yucatan today—in revitalized food, art and architecture. We get a glimpse of the rebirth at Los Dos, a cooking school in Merida, run by David Sterling, which specializes in classic Mayan food updated for this century. Rick joins David at his beautiful school as he teaches his chilled version of Sopa de Lima topped with a panucho of lime-marinated chicken salad. Then we look at the high-style of the Riviera Maya from the rooftop of the ultra-modern Hotel Básico in Playa del Carmen. Back on the ground in Merida, the cuisine of Nectar Restaurant soars. This ultra-modern dining room with its open-air kitchen is run by two chefs that study with some of the most inventive rule-breaking chefs in the world.

Modern Mayan

How do you transform a simple piece of fresh fish into a gorgeous Yucatecan specialty? It’s all in the magic paste, says Rick, as he takes us to the Merida market to explore the region’s colorful, aromatic essential seasoning pastes (or recados). These magical mounds of spice blends become the base for grilling rubs, the heart and soul of tamales, the seasoning for all kinds of food wrapped in banana leaves and the flavoring undercurrent for tangy escabeches and slow-simmered stews. We journey from an achiote tree to the commercial grinders for the seeds to Rick’s home to understand this aromatic, alluring spice so beloved in the Yucatan. Rick shows us how to make our own Achiote Seasoning Paste, and then use it for Short Ribs Kabik. Then we make the garlicky “Bistec” Seasoning Paste to use in the stunning dish of Grilled Chicken in Escabeche.

Paste Sensations

Yucatecan honey is renowned for its glorious color and rich flavor. Rick finds it everywhere from the Merida market stalls to the breakfast buffet at an upscale hotel where the whole honeycomb slowly drips its amber syrup for ladling over fruit and cereal. At home, Rick uses the golden syrup in his Mexican-Style Granola and in the pasilla chile-spiked glaze for a sublime Grilled Rack of Lamb. On the Riviera Maya, we visit Xcaret, a nature park, for a look at the hollow-log hives of the native stingless bees so beloved by the Maya for their honey. At Hacienda Vista Alegre in Merida, honey is the main ingredient in a honey-anise liqueur called Xtabentún. Rick leads us through the liqueur-making process then goes home to make a fabulous White Chocolate Ice Cream flavored with the liqueur.

Show Me the Honey

The story of the Mexican hacienda sounds like it came from mythology—like one of those morality tales about the fleeting nature of wealth and glory. It begins with the feudal system where generations of Maya worked the fields for wealthy Spanish landowners. The era peaked in the Yucatan in the late 19th century with the world’s demand for henequen—or sisal—made from a local agave plant. Today, the hacienda is being reborn—as museums for a glimpse into the past, as production facilities for fine rums and liqueurs, and as luxury hotels. We join Rick on a field trip through the golden era of the haciendas and then go to his home kitchen to make the classic Mayan-Spanish-European fusion dishes Yucatecan Black Bean Dinner and Capered Chicken. Hacienda San Jose, a luxury resort, inspires Rick’s rendition of Achiote-Seared Shrimp.

Hacienda Renaissance

The 19th Century was the golden age of the Mexican hacienda, and today, some of these great plantation estates live on as luxury resorts. Rick and his wife, Deann, stayed in one of them, Hacienda San Jose in the Yucatan, and we get a glimpse of the lush grounds, beautifully restored buildings, rustic-elegant furnishings, and hearty, hacienda cooking. Tonight, Rick’s hosting a dinner party in Chicago—a reunion with the two other couples who joined them at the hacienda—with a menu and mood designed to bring home the flavors and memories they shared. The dining room is transformed with tropical flowers and candles, and the party begins with Champagne Margaritas, Rick’s luxury take on Mexico’s favorite cocktail. Then, the guests sit down to a soulful yet sophisticated menu, starting with a creamy Roasted Chile-Potato Soup with Greens and Chorizo, followed by Braised Short Ribs with Arbol Chiles, White Beans, Mushrooms and Beer garnished with a delicate frisée salad.

Return to Hacienda

A lot of people know how to have a few guests over for a gourmet meal. And a lot of people know how to feed a big crowd a not-very-gourmet meal. Rick shows you how to plan a fiesta that’s bothbig and gourmet. And he focuses on the Spanish influence on Mexican culture with a spectacular menu for 25 that features Mexican takes on Spanish classics. For starters, there’s a sparkling Sangria Mexicana accented with lime juice. Then comes a chilled Roasted Poblano Gazpacho with fresh garnishes that’s made ahead and assembled at the last minute so the vegetables stay nice and crisp. Then, it’s a Mexican accent on that most iconic Spanish main dish of all, Mexican Paella with Shrimp, Mussels and Chorizo, and it’s not just the main course, it’s the party entertainment. First he shows how to construct a simple outdoor brick firepit, custom-built for an enormous three-foot paella pan.

A Man, A Pan, Paella!

It’s a barefoot-on-the-beach dinner party cooked, served, and eaten outdoors. But the catch of the day is…there’s no beach! Instead, Rick and his family create a little Mexican seaside nirvana right in their Chicago backyard, complete with a cabana improvised from billowing white curtains, muslin draped overhead, white table linens, sparkling Mexican candles and orchids. And the food is as inviting as the mood, because it all comes from the grill, starting with Rick’s Grilled Garlic and Orange Guacamole, which gets its smoky flavor from flame-seared onions, garlic and jalapeños. Then come Grilled Mussels, cooked right on the grill grates, topped with tomatillo salsa and served as a passed appetizer. The main event is succulent Grill-Roasted Whole Fish Adobado marinated in sweet-spicy ancho chile adobo, grilled and served whole and sizzling, with a potatoes and onions, cooked in a “hobo-pack” right on the grill.

Beach Blanket Barbeque

With a houseful of weekend guests, Rick and his daughter, Lanie, whip up an extra-special brunch buffet that turns Sunday morning into a mini Mexican vacation, inspired by the relaxed breakfasts they’ve enjoyed all over Mexico. Just for fun, they set up a hotel-style omelet station, complete with a propane burner, in the dining room—a great way for the host to join in the party—where Rick makes individual Chorizo and Chile Omelets to order as the guests sip orange juice. The buffet also includes Chilaquiles, a comforting casserole of crispy tortillas, softened in a rich, brothy chile sauce with shredded chicken and sour cream. And because it wouldn’t be brunch without coffee, Rick serves his press-pot version of Café de Olla, coffee sweetened with Mexican brown sugar and perfumed with spices and orange zest. It’s the perfect accompaniment for a Caramelized Mango Tart with Mexican Chocolate and Pepitas, an easy free-form fruit tart with a wrap-around pastry crust.

Let's Do Brunch

From street stalls to bustling taquerias and morning to midnight, tacos are Mexico’s favorite mini-meal—a few blissful bites of something thrillingly savory, wrapped in a soft, fragrant tortilla. And it turns out they’re also a perfect party food. Rick and his daughter, Lanie, plan a backyard taquisa—a taco buffet centered around one of the greatest taco fillings of all, Michoacan-Style Pork Carnitas, chunks of pork, slowly simmered in oil until they’re crisp and golden on the outside and succulent inside. Rick shows us how it’s done in Mexico in giant copper cauldrons, and then brings that idea home with the help of a surprising, cooking device—a turkey fryer. For pre-party nibbles, he shows how to turn salad-bar veggies into Mexican “Crudité” Platter, with the addition of a little store-bought chicharrones (pork cracklings) and chamoy, a sweet-sour apricot hot sauce—flavors that go perfectly with his beer and hot sauce Micheladas.

Taquisa for Ten

To celebrate a friend’s birthday, Rick reinvents a tradition from his Oklahoma childhood: the ice cream social, where everyone brought a batch of homemade ice cream, right in the hand-churned freezer in which it was made. Inspired by the infinitely varied frozen treats and sweets of Mexico, Rick prepares three fresh takes of his own. First, there’s a Mexican Chocolate Chile Ice Cream, with a one-two punch of creamy-coolness and spicy heat. Then he makes Watermelon-Raspberry Raspado, Mexico’s version of shaved ice, with the refreshing addition of fresh mint from his herb garden, served over a splashy tropical fruit salsa. And just for fun, he throws in a third concoction, Ate con Queso Ice Cream, a tribute to the flavors of fruit and cheese that’s as easy as stirring Mexican quince paste into store-bought vanilla ice cream. He even makes his own homemade Ice Cream Cones.

Ice Cream Social Skills

Who says cocktail parties have to be dressy, mood-lit affairs? Rick’s decided to reinvent cocktails with friends as an informal outdoor party. His menu, on this summer Sunday afternoon, is all about seafood and ice cold drinks. And his themes are simplicity, fun and freshness, inspired by Mexican deep-sea fishing trips where your catch transformed into the ultimate ceviche right on the beach. Rick brings that feeling home with a Mexican raw-bar menu that includes a Roasted Tomato Shrimp Cocktail, and two ceviches: a simple Tropical Beach Ceviche made with scallops,and a Yucatecan-inspired Salt-and-Pepper Ceviche. And since no raw bar would be complete without oysters, he shows viewers how to buy, shuck and serve Fresh Raw Oysters, complete with his favorite hot sauces. Musing that beer and mojitos would be the perfect drinks to go with this beach-casual menu, he combines the two in an inspired bit of mixology he calls Tecate Mojitos.

Seafood Cocktail Party

Tamales are Rick’s idea of the perfect party food: little gift-wrapped packages of light fluffy masa dough with a whole fiesta’s-worth of sweet and savory flavors inside. And in Mexico, when family and friends get together for a tamalada—a tamal-making party, the cooking’s as much a part of the celebration as the eating. After a look at how tamales are hand-made in a traditional shop in Puerto Vallarta, Rick shows viewers how to pull off a tamalada for a crowd, where the guests roll up their sleeves and take part in the filling, the wrapping and, best of all, the feasting. There are Fresh Sweet Corn Tamales made with sweet corn and butter,and two kinds of classic Savory Tamales filled with red chile pork and green chile chicken.

The Whole Tamalada

It’s a hot, Midwestern summer day. The mood is slow and easy, and the garden’s in overdrive. So Rick decides to beat the heat and get out of the kitchen with a mostly made-ahead backyard cookout a la Mexicana, inspired by one of his world-favorite meat eateries: El Canelo, near Guadalajara. It’s a sprawling outdoor restaurant with dirt floors and strolling Mariachis, where slabs of succulent pork, lamb, goat and beef roast slowly on spikes in a walk-in wood-fired pit. And it’s wood, not charcoal, that gives the meat its unforgettable smoky flavor, so Rick gives us a quick lesson in setting up a home grill for wood-fired cooking. The menu is as casual as it is mouthwatering. For starters, there’s a Heirloom Tomato “Carpaccio” with tomatillo, avocado and fresh herbs—a salad made with tomatoes grown in “Earth Boxes” (part of a groundbreaking educational program that teaches sustainable practices to kids all over the world).

Summer and Smoke

The Baylesses love to feed a crowd. And one of their favorite ways to do it is firing up the Mexican-style barbecue pit they built in their Chicago backyard, inspired in part by the 3,000 seat Arroyo restaurant in Mexico City, where the pit-cooked lamb and pork make every meal a carnivore’s carnival ride. At Arroyo, we catch a glimpse of barbacoa—lamb wrapped in maguey leaves, slowly roasted in a massive brick pit. And with that mouthwatering memory in mind, Rick and his daughter, Lanie, prepare a block party for 25, featuring Oaxacan-style Barbacoa—lamb marinated with red chiles, wrapped in avocado and banana leaves and slow-roasted in the smoldering pit. To welcome the lucky friends and neighbors, there are refreshingly simple Watermelon Coolers and freshly made Tlayudas Oaxaqueñas, Oaxacan-style grilled tostadas, topped with chorizo, guacamole and fresh cheese.

Barbacoa Block Party

Rick’s having people over for a relaxed evening of parlor games. He doesn’t want to spend all day cooking. But still, he wants it to be special. So he’s set himself a challenge: in one hour, with one bag of groceries, he’ll pull off a big-flavored spread of Mexican party food. The secret is starting with great prepared ingredients and combining them to make something exciting and new. That means finger-food like little Tuna in Jalapeño Escabechefilled with good-quality canned tuna, quickly warmed with vinegar, onions and pickled jalapeños. It means using canned chipotles to transform ordinary nuts into spicy-smoky Chipotle Roasted Nuts, and doctoring tortilla chips with lime juice and seasonings, and then baking them to make Garlicky Black Pepper Tortilla Chips. And it means an ultra-easy Wild Mushroom Queso Fundido, a hot cheese dip made extra-flavorful with a splash of beer.

Fiesta in the Fast Lane

Rick’s on a mission to tell the world about tequila, and he’s starting with a party for 25 at home. But it’s not about doing shots and licking salt off your hand. He wants to open people’s minds and palates to the complexities of Mexico’s smooth, super-premium tequilas made from 100% blue agave—artisanal products on a par with the world’s great brandies. So he’s planned a tasting with tequila flights and plenty of fun, satisfying food to match. In the town of Tequila, Rick gives us a firsthand look at the production process, from the harvesting and roasting of the agave hearts to fermentation, distilling, and aging. Back in Chicago, he and his daughter, Lanie, get started on what’s often called the Mexican party food: a big, bubbling vat of Classic White Pozole, a hearty stew of corn and pork that goes perfectly with the flavor of Tequila.

Tequila Flights and Bites

After giving viewers a quick on-location crash course in Mexican street food, Rick gets an idea. Why not create a one-night-only Mexican street-food stall right in his Chicago home kitchen as the centerpiece of an unforgettable cocktail party? And with that, he shows how to pull off three authentic Mexican street snacks. There are Molotes Poblanos—miniature blue corn masa turnovers with a choice of fillings: mushroom, potato-chorizo, and roasted poblano chiles with cheese; mouthwatering Tacos de Bistec con Nopales with juicy griddled steak, strips of nopal cactus and a drizzle of spicy tomatillo-arbol salsa; and Huaraches—griddled masa flatbreads, topped like pizzas with chorizo and tomatillo salsa. Rick mixes up some Agua de Jamaica—a bright red hibiscus-flower elixir that’s refreshing on its own and a perfect base for Mexican Cosmopolitans—and sets out some cut-up veggies, sprinkled with lime and chile, street vendor–style.

Street Fare Tonight!

“What is a taco, anyway?” muses Rick over an upscale lobster taco at his white tablecloth restaurant, Topolobampo. “Is it crispy or soft? Grilled or griddled? Street food or taquería fare? Fast food or fine dining?” The answer is, “all of the above … and a whole lot more.” And to prove it, Rick heads to Mexico City, for a non-stop taco trek. It starts at Fishmart, a neighborhood seafood restaurant in trendy Condesa with the lobster tacos that inspired Rick’s Topolobampo version – succulent chunks of grilled lobster and black beans, wrapped in a warm corn tortilla. Following his nose, and the smell of smoldering charcoal and sizzling meat, Rick moves on to explore some taquerías – one renowned for its char-grilled tacos al carbon and another for pork tacos al pastor, made on a revolving vertical grill, gyros-style. Here too, it’s all about simplicity: a few perfect mouthfuls of mind-blowing meat and super fresh tortilla.

Tacos on Fire!

Chiles Rellenos: The Stuff of Passion

Guac on the Wild Side

In their Chicago backyard, Rick and his daughter, Lanie, gather the last of the season’s tomatoes to make a big batch of Salsa Mexicana, the fresh tomato salsa sometimes known as Pico de Gallo. And that’s the starting point for a fast-paced salsa dance that goes way beyond tomatoes. In Mexico, salsas can be bright and fresh, dark and earthy, red or green, raw or roasted – and they’re more of a condiment for food than a dip for chips. At Los Parados, a favorite Mexico City taquería, Rick and Lanie show us the three pillars of Mexican salsa: that familiar fresh-tomato salsa Mexicana, salsa de molcajete made from roasted tomato, chile and garlic pounded in a lava-stone mortar, and red chile salsa, made by toasting, soaking and grinding dried chile de árbol. But that’s just the beginning. At Manolo, another popular taquería, they discover a rich, spicy, peanut salsa and a classic, creamy avocado-tomatillo salsa.

Salsas That Cook

Over a breakfast of tortas – Mexican sandwiches filled, in this case, with Rick’s quick Mexican scrambled eggs, beans, and avocados – Rick and his daughter, Lanie, plan an all-day torta marathon in Mexico City. Their quest beings at the city’s charming Sunday flea market, Lagunilla, where they check out some simple, yet mouthwatering tortas, with a succulent filling of salt cod bacalao. Next stop: Don Polo, a gleaming 1950s-style chrome and neon diner, famous for its menu of griddled tortas. Rick and Lanie watch how they’re made and try a Cubana with chorizo, pork and ham. Then it’s on to El Pialadero – The Cattle Roper – for the famed Guadalajara specialty, Tortas Ahogadas, or “drowned” sandwiches, stuffed with juicy braised beef and smothered in a brothy tomato-oregano sauce. It’s a treat so irresistibly messy that it’s served with plastic gloves.

Triple Torta-Thon

Nothing captures the spirit of a day at the beach in Mexico like the fresh seafood cocktail or ceviche. But you don’t have to be on the coast to enjoy it. Rick finds a classic version at a favorite spot with the feel of a beachside fish shack – right in the heart of landlocked Mexico City. Then, in search of more “inland ceviche” surprises, he hits the streets and takes us to a major-league marisqueria with a menu to rival any great seafood restaurant in town – all created in a stand no larger than a fishing boat. Rick enjoys the bracing blend of octopus, fish, shrimp and hot sauce known as Vuelve a la Vida (“Come Back to Life,” so named because it’s a popular a hangover cure). At a nearby fish market, he checks out the catch of the day from both the Pacific and Gulf coasts, and shares tips on the best choices for homemade ceviche. In Chicago, he makes a quick Frontera Ceviche, a preparation that’s been a mainstay at his Frontera Grill for years.

A Ceviche State of Mind

Mole is an idea that’s half pre-Columbian, half European, and 100% Mexican – a sauce, a preparation and a national dish that rivals the culinary masterpieces of the world’s greatest cuisines. Rick and his daughter, Lanie, set off on a culinary journey to explore the mysteries of mole that takes them from the mile-high piles of dried chiles in Mexico City’s vast La Merced market to stalls selling towering mounds of concentrated mole paste. Back in Chicago, they’re on a mission to make mole from scratch. It’s an all-day labor of love to be sure, but Rick breaks the complex process down into easy steps, giving tips on all the ingredients – from sesame seeds and tomatillos to chiles and chocolate – that give mole its richly layered flavor. As the sauce simmers over a wood fire in the backyard, Rick and Lanie use some of it to make a succulent Laquered Chicken in Classic Red Mole and whip up some Classic Mexican White Rice with Sweet Plantains and a Mexican crudité platter.

The Soul of Mole

What could be better than a freshly made, gooey, warm quesadilla? Rick answers the question by showing us how to make the flour tortillas from scratch. What could be better than that?Well, actually, in Mexico, Rick explains, quesadillas and flour tortillas have nothing to do with each other. He takes us to the Bazar Sabado, a charming colonial-style labyrinth of handicrafts shops in the heart of Mexico City’s bohemian Coyoacán district, to experience the true art of the quesadilla. In the Bazar’s shady courtyard, the delicate treats are made the traditional way from freshly ground corn masa, patted onto a massive cast-iron griddle, topped with cheese and fillings and baked to a golden finish. For a more rough-and-tumble look at the same idea, we visit Lagunilla, the city’s fantastical flea-market, where vendors turn out all kinds of mouthwatering quesadillas and other toasted-masa snacks on a griddle over a charcoal fire.

The Case for Quesadillas

Carnitas – chunks of pork cooked slowly in lard until they’re golden and crisp on the outside and meltingly tender inside – are a weekend family tradition in Mexico. At the Medellin Market in Mexico City, Rick gives us an insider’s look at how they’re made every Saturday and Sunday in a huge copper cauldron, and served up with fresh corn tortillas and crispy chicharrón (pork cracklings). But what if a carnitas craving strikes and you’re not in Mexico on a weekend? No worries. Back in Chicago, Rick demonstrates his signature method for making fabulous carnitas right in a standard home oven. Then, thinking beyond pork, Rick shares a creative take on carnitas at the splashy seafood restaurant, Contramar, where the dish gets a deep-sea do-over with chunks of fresh-caught tuna.

Confessions of a Carnita-vore

We find Rick and his daughter, Lanie, at the Mexico City’s colorful Sonora Market, an emporium of medicinal herbs and the best place in town to buy cazuelas, the beautifully rustic earthenware cooking and serving casseroles that define a whole class of stews and taco fillings. We tend to think of taquerías for their familiar grilled and griddled fillings, like carne asada. But, Rick explains, there’s a whole world of stands and shops that have no grill at all and specialize in satisfyingly homey, slow-cooked fillings made in cazuelas with everything from stewed meat to richly flavorful vegetables. Rick and Lanie check out El Güero, a Mexico City institution, popularly known as “Tacos Hola!,” that specializes in slow-cooked taco fillings. Back home in Chicago, Rick and Lanie plan a cazuela-taco dinner. Lanie throws together a quick Pork with Smoky Tomato Sauce and Potatoes in the crockpot before heading off to school. By dinnertime, it’ll be meltingly tender and richly flavored.

Tacos Hola!

Rick Bayless, the beloved chef and restaurateur, seamlessly weaves together techniques, recipes, cultural musings and off-the-wall surprises. Throughout the series, Rick translates his Mexican travel adventures into unforgettable parties from intimate fireside suppers and casual backyard cocktails with friends to big, boisterous bashes for 25.

The Best Seasons of Mexico: One Plate at a Time

The Best Seasons of Mexico: One Plate at a Time

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9

Season 10

Season 11

Season 12