Star Chefs

Mike has a new project.  He has collected many ethnic cookbooks that have not been properly explored.  He recently went through his Latin American cookbooks and assembled seven menus.  Dave and I were lucky enough to be invited to Mike and Heidi's house three times, in  April and May, to share those gourmet meals.  At the first of the meals, Mike cooked chiles rellenos from the classic Mexican cookbook by Diana Kennedy.  They were delicious.

 Diana Kennedy is a legendary cook--the Julia Child of Mexican cooking.

She is an old lady, now, but her cookbooks are still classics.

Rick Bayless' Mexican cookbooks are also classics, and Mike served us gourmet treats created by Rick Bayless, as well as Diana Kennedy.

It was a luxury for Dave and me to be onlookers and tasters, rather than cooks!

"The guacamole is perfect," Mike assured us.  It was.

Heidi could relax over her chiles rellenos, as Audrey had fallen asleep for the night.

Mike's second meal for Dave and me, on April 14, 2020, was real Oaxacan-style chicken mole, with chocolate and the other unlikely ingredients that go into that delicacy.  Audrey's tastes are still pretty simple--mother's milk and ice cream--so she didn't get any mole.

 Mike's third meal for Dave and me, on April 29, 2020, was pork tenderloin in a spicy chile sauce, served with potatoes and a crisp, tomato/avocado/onion/lettuce salad. 

Dave and I are behaving very well, in hopes of being invited to another of Mike's Latin American dinners!

Mike is a talented chef, but so is Heidi.  On May 13, 2020, Heidi invited Dave and me for a slice of her flourless chocolate torte (no, that is not a Google image).  It was divine (and the recipe will be in this year's update to the family cookbook).