A visit to the Yucatan

The Yucatan.  Close to the equator, luscious, lively flavors:

Sopa Di Lima With Lime & Chili

Pollo Ticuleno (wrapped in banana leaf using our own achiote paste)

Housemade Tortillas or Quesadillas

Sikil Pak (Pumpkin Seed dip)

Pastel Tres Leches (Three Milks Cake)

Kitchen Notes:  This seems pretty adventurous.  I mean check out the single banana leaf!  We have been traveling around the world over recent weeks using culinary geography to connect to weather, available ingredients, technique, even history.  Oh yes, and all with a working mentality.

Results? I would make the soup and the chicken dish again, Sikil Pak is a little more unusual - on its own it might make you wonder "why?" but as soon as it goes into condiment action (with eggs or ranchero sauce) it adds an amazing depth.  In our desire to really get the job done, we over-pureed the Sikil-Pak though and ended up with pumpkin butter. Next time, no blender, we will stick to the mortar & pestle (a key Yucatecan tool) and use all the spice.

Three Milks Cake?  Yes, sweet.  Why? Condensed milk, evaporated milk and half & half soak into the cake while it is chilling. On a hot day in a part of the world where milk goes bad quickly, this becomes a refreshingly luscious dessert.  A nice banter developed between the two classes, comparing each other's efforts as the cakes were soaking:  "Yours is too wet!"  to " No, yours is too dry."  In the end, both cakes looked the same on the plate and tasted delicious!