>> From the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
[ Pause ]
>> It was about a year ago on a Saturday morning.
I was in my house on Capitol Hill kind of hanging around over
that second cup of coffee.   I had PBS on.
I had already gone through the newspapers
and I had the laundry going.   And on came this show and Wow.
Mexican cooking.   I loved it.
I loved Pati Jinich.   I loved her style.
I loved what she does.   I loved the song, the theme song.
I knew I was hooked and I have been watching it ever since.
Little did I know I would have the pleasure of introducing Pati
and her Mexican Table today.
And, in fact, I'll tell you I'm recording this show
as we speak right here.
So I just wanted to mention a couple other things about her.
She's an expert in international affairs and she's the mother
of three lovely boys, one of which is right here helping mom, Sammy.
So if you haven't -- I'll say one more thing before I let Pati come
to the podium.
If you haven't tried her impossible chocoflan, let me tell you,
you're missing something.
So please help me welcome Pati Jinich.
[ Applause ]   >> Thank you.
Thank you.   Thank you.
You know in Mexico there's a saying
when somebody's says something flattering,
you say they've given you a flower
and that was just a beautiful bouquet.
Thank you.   So thank you all for being here.
My son, Sammy, here is playing with my phone and my camera taping
as we speak so I'm intimidated.
But I'll tell you a little bit of my story,
I little bit of what you can find in the cookbook and then I'll open it
up to questions and answers.
Whatever you want to know about Mexican cooking, my interpretation,
Mexico, me, we'll open it up.
So to begin with, I'll tell you how I got started in Mexican cooking
because I was a terrible, horrible, awful cook when I got married.
I wanted to be an academic.
I had studied social sciences and political science in Mexico City
in [inaudible] which is a very hard core school, a college.
And I wanted to contribute to the world with ideas
to help Mexico develop and grow with democratic institutions
and I've always been an idealist.
And as my husband says I always work in things
that don't pay much to this day.   And so I wanted to be an academic.
I worked in a think tank for a couple years
and then I met my husband.
I had never lived abroad so I had come to the U.S. some summers.
I studied in Brandeis political science one summer.
I went to London School of Economics and it was always the academic side.
And when I met my husband, we wanted to get married quite quickly;
he's like eight years older than me so he was in a bigger hurry than me.
But I wanted to study abroad so he said let's get married.
I said great but I want to go to the U.S. I was applying
for graduate studies here.
And we both come from big Mexican families.
I have three sisters, he has three sisters
and our families are what we say in Mexico, [foreign word]
which translates to bark.
You think everybody's together all the time.
So there's the Thursday dinner, the Friday lunch,
the Saturday breakfast, the Sunday feast plus birthdays plus
all celebrations.
So we said it would be nice to start just him
and me for a couple of years.
So the compromise was that we -- and I talk a lot, guys.
If you want me to hurry, just go like that.
So he went to Texas because that's where he found his job
and I was finishing my thesis, a thesis that took me four years.
It was on the evolution of democratic institutions in Mexico
and governors, the removal of governors from their post.
And I studied that position governors from the 1820 to 1996
and for that thesis I traveled throughout Mexico,
and combed the local libraries.
And I knew so much about Mexico's history and culture
and political transitions and what happened was really unprecedented.
Let me tell you a [inaudible] of what I'm saying.
I am the youngest one of four beautiful girls.
I'm the ugly duckling.
My sisters are just so pretty and so nice and we get along great.
But I was labeled the intellectual one.
Since I was very little I guess because that was easier.
When you say the youngest one is oh, she's smart, she's intellectual,
that means nobody has to watch you; right?
So it's easy.
So I grew up very free doing whatever I wanted
but I was labeled the intellectual one.
My three sisters got into cooking early on.
And when I moved to Texas, I got these crazy, crazy nostalgia
for Mexican cooking and food and everything
that had nurtured me growing up which always evolved around food.
So I started cooking like a mad woman.
And, you know, Texas is full of Mexicans so everywhere where I went,
the grocery stores, the gas station, I had no idea how to cook
so I would ask people, how do you make your red rice; hey,
how do you make your black beans, how do you make --
so I started getting all these input from Mexicans from different parts
of Mexico because I grew up in Mexico City
which is a little self-contained, self-centered.
I started meeting all these cooks from everywhere
and I started cooking a lot.
And I started having all these dreams that had to do with,
you know, the [foreign word],
the enchiladas it was all food, food, food.
And my husband said, Pati, you have to jump into cooking.
That's all you think, that's all you do, that's all you talk about;
you're cooking like a storm.   And I'm like no, no, no.
I'm going to be an academic.
I've studied so much as my dad said you burned your eyelashes
for so many years like a bookworm.   You can't just go and clean pots.
So I'm like no, no, no, I have to continue studying.
And just by chance, I'm a fan of PBS.
Fan of public TV and of public radio and my husband was traveling a lot
and I knocked on the door of the PBS local station which was right
on the corner from where I lived and I said I'm working on my thesis.
I still didn't have any kids, you know how much time they take,
and I said I speak English, I speak Spanish.
My English was much more worse then
with a horrible accent I know I still have an accent
and it's strong.
But they had documentary on the Mexican revolution
and I said I can help you with that.
I know so much about the Mexican revolution and they said, sorry,
we've finished that but we have a cooking show.
Stephan Pyles, who's a Texan chef, has a show called The New Taste
from Texas, and we need help.
We have no budget so we can't pay you.
I'm used to that because now I have my show on PBS, no budget.
I have to fundraise.   But they said help us.
We need help so I volunteered and with my husband's miles
because he traveled a lot, I went with them --
they gave me room and board.
And what happened was I was so nostalgic for Mexico,
I had the distance and I came back to Mexico and I saw my country
with the sense of wonder and fascination and the country
that I knew so well in terms of history and politics and culture,
now the lens was only food.   And that drove me wild.
It was like suddenly my world, my view of Mexico turned from black
and white to multicolor, moving.   You know, it was fascinating.
So I helped that team research who to -- always on the production side.
You know, who was the best [inaudible] cook to interview,
where was the best place to eat chocolate.
We went to Michigan; we went to Oaxaca; we went to Mexico.
It was the best time I had had in my life.
I couldn't sleep I was so excited.
When I came back to Texas, my husband said, see,
I told you cooking, cooking, cooking.
And I thought -- I thought I married a liberal guy.
He's liberal.
You know he's very progressive for a Mexican.
And I thought I had married a liberal man.
He wants me in the kitchen.
He doesn't want me to develop and work and be a working woman
like my mother taught me.
My parents got divorced and my mom worked since we were very,
very little and she always said, Pati, you always have to work.
You can never depend on a man, you know.
So I'm going to keep on work --
so I enrolled in -- we moved to Washington.
I enrolled in Georgetown; did a master's degree
in Latin American studies.
Kept on learning more and more about other countries
and now it was not only Mexico, but Latin America.
And I wanted to study in a think tank.
I got a -- they gave me like when you have really good grades
and they give you a scholarship, a married scholarship.
They gave me a married scholarship and I would tell me husband, see,
I need to work in the field of ideas.
But then I started working in a think tank here.
I know I'm taking long; I'm about to end.
And I started working in a think tank
and I thought it was my dream job, Inter-American Dialogue.
They asked me to do this policy paper, comparing the evolution
of the transition to democracy between Peru and Mexico.
Fascinating.
Well, I started researching on the differences
between the Peruvian and Mexican Ceviche.
Couldn't help myself.   Could not help myself.
So I was -- I hated the job.   You know, I was miserable.
And I walked up to the director who I adore.
He's a dear friend of mine, Michael Shifter and I said thank you so much
for the opportunity but this is what I'm doing.
You asked me to research this, this is what I have for you.
And he said, Pati, it's great.
Just put the same passion that you're putting the Ceviche research
into the democratic institution research.
I couldn't so I decided to quit.
I enrolled in the Academy of Cuisine in Gettysburg to see
if I liked cooking formally and I loved it.
And having looked back since then --
but I always wanted to be on the production side, you know, writing,
researching, writing articles, all these about doing radio appearances
and TV appearances, really I never intended to be on, you know,
on the screen but I started getting invited radio show to speak
about Cinco de Mayo, about Mexican's Independence Day,
the different dishes, each time researching and testing more.
And then one thing happened.   They called from Fox News.
And they said, can you come cook chicken tinga?
Never, I had never been on TV.
And I said, sure; what do I have to do; what do I have to wear.
And they said, no, just come bring your ingredients;
you'll tell us a little bit about it.
I showed up Wisconsin Avenue with all my tools and my ingredients.
Holly Morris was there.
She's so fun, she's so adorable, and she was very warm.
The light turned on, the camera went on and it was
like somebody turned a switch on me.   I loved it.
After five minutes about talking about chicken tinga and, you know,
you talk to the camera like that, I felt I was connecting because,
you know, I like to talk.
So after five minutes of doing that they said, Okay.
Thank you.   Can we have your microphone?
I'm like no, no, no, no.
So, well, from then, many years past, now I have a cooking show
on PBS which I love and I can get away with,
because it's public television, with giving fabulous, wonderful content
that doesn't have to do with just getting ratings tomorrow
and making somebody cry.
Like you can actually talk about the history of places and dishes
and ingredients and talk about legends and traditions and I'm
so incredibly appreciative of the people that watch
and that send me questions and requests.
And I feel like I'm just somebody trying to share a wonderful culture
and cuisine that keeps evolving, that nobody owns it.
I don't own any of it; I'm just an interpreter of it.
And so I really enjoy what I do.
And then the cookbook that I hope you will get.
I just signed some.
I put my heart into it and I promise every single recipe in there works.
I tested them a thousand times; right, Sammy?
My kids were like can we not have chicken tinga tonight, Mom?
This version works.   Please stop.
That book when I went to talk to the editor and I said, you know,
I have an idea of a Mexican cookbook and they're like, Pati,
there's so many Mexican cookbooks out there.
No, thank you.
And I said no, no, no, but this is really different; it's unique.
I'm doing Mexican home cooking which I think that, you know,
home style people don't know much about it.
There's so many misconceptions and I want to show the beauty,
the simplicity, you know, the healthy, wholesome side
of Mexican cooking and it's not just one recipe or another.
It's a universe of ingredients and ways of cooking and meanings
into food and sitting down at the table.
So in the cookbook, you will find everything home style
but you will find both traditional recipes and dishes
that have been passed down through generations for many generations.
And you will also find some new more modern spins and uses of ingredients
but always with respect to those ingredients.
You know, taking care of --
taking care of the soul of those ingredients
in Mexican cuisine as it evolved.   And I hope you all will enjoy it.
And now I guess we will open up to questions because I can keep
on talking about things but if anybody wants to ask something
in specific -- you know, specifically or I can,
of course, keep on talking.   [ Pause ]
Yes? Hi. Coma estas?   [ Inaudible audience ]
Microphone?
>> Can you come here to the microphone?
There's another microphone over there.
>> So -- oh, this is pretty.   Hi.
>> Hi.   >> So I moved here from California
about four years ago of Mexican background.
Where do I find authentic Mexican ingredients in D.C.?
>> Okay. That's a great question.   So many places.
Everywhere.
Okay. The -- my go-to place is a very small store called Panam
[assumed spelling] International.
It's located on 14th Street Northwest in Parkwood.
It's a small hole in the wall.   You find everything you need there.
The store manager, he's going to kill me, his name is Jovani.
Anything you need you call the store and ask Jovani,
whatever he doesn't have he will get for you.
From queso fresco, Mexican crema, [foreign word], you know,
20 different kinds of fresh and dried chiles, tortillas,
tamales, everything is there.
And the incredible thing is that you can also find Mexican
and Latin ingredients in Latin and international aisles of Mega Mart,
Shoppers, even some farmers markets have Mexican produce.
But if you go to Giant as well, you just have to look in little niches
and you find -- you know, you can find most of the things.
Or ask your grocer too, you know,
they want to keep their clients coming to those stores.
If you ask them, they'll get it for you.
>> Another local question.   I hear you filmed on Bethesda Row.
Do you know whether what you filmed will actually get into your show
or did you have to edit it out?   >> Yes. Okay.
No, no, no.   Editing out?
No, no, no, no editing it out.
They only edit out when I can't be understood which is frequently.
They said, you know, the first time -- when we taped season one,
I work with WETA they're my coproducing station.
And they -- and I'll tell you about because they're out.
But they were worried about my accent and I had been --
before a commercial network wanted me to have a Mexican cooking show
with them but they had said, you know, you need to wear heels,
we want you a little taller; your hairs can be a little red;
you have to get rid of your accent; maybe you want to get a dog.
Don't do -- you know, you can do Mexican food sometimes but we'd
like for you to do Latin.   I don't know what Latin food is.
I'm sorry.
I know Argentinean, Peruvian, Mexican, I know Fijian.
I just, you know, I was so enraged.
Said I'm not taking classes to change my accent
because I can work harder to being understood and enunciate better,
but if you take off my accent, I'm going to sound like somebody
from nowhere with a weird accent.
I don't want to dye my hair; I don't want to get a dog and I want to keep
on doing Mexican, thank you.   But [applause] so.
So -- and the thing is that Mexican --
you know Mexican now it's not only Mexico;
it's the Mexican food that's evolving in California;
the Mexican food is, you know, it's -- it goes beyond borders.
But season one they had this man from WETA who's very nice.
His only job was to sit on the set of my kitchen --
we film in my kitchen much to the dismay of my husband.
He's tired of it.   But I tell him it's got to be real.
If I'm cooking in my kitchen it has to be my kitchen.
I'm not going to do a set.   But this man his job was to sit down
and raise his hand whenever I said something
that he thought people would not understand
and the first season he was like that all the time.
And after two shows he would correct -- like, for example,
if I would say -- I was making tamales and I was making the feeling
of the tamales and he would say it's not feelings, Pati, as in heart.
It's feelings as in feeling as you can tell.
I can't tell the difference.
And I would say but, you know, the feelings in the tamales are
like the soul of the tamales so it's fine.
And like every time he corrected me -- like I was toasting pecans
and I would say, you know, you want to stop toasting the pecans
until they get a little bit naughty and brown.
And he's like, Pati, it's not naughty like naughty
or nice; it's knotty as in knot.
And I'm like but if it's toasting and it's browning,
it's getting naughty anyway.
So like the second episode he just gave up.
But, yes, we film season three.   I am so excited about season three.
If any of you have watched season one
or season two, forget about them.   I can't look at them.
I was terrible.
I'm getting a little better you guys.
Watch season three.
It's so much more fun, the food is fabulous.
We've learned; no?   So we go out a lot more.
The first times we charred we didn't let the kids get in the kitchen
because the director thought, you know, it's PBS budget;
we're limited; we can't waste time and with kids you never know --
now the kids are all over the place.   They're helping me cook.
We go to a lot of places in D.C. and Bethesda.
In Bethesda we went to Rita's Crepes.
Are you familiar with Rita's Crepes?
My youngest son who's not here, Julian, who we call Juju is --
Sammy, how crazy is he about those Rita's Crepes?
He gets the triple chocolate crepe and when we get there,
he's begging Rita to give him a little bit more
of each of the chocolates.
Wait. Can you put a little more nutella, a couple more sprinkles
of the white -- he's crazy about those.
So when the director said what are your kids crazy
about because there's an episode called My Three Favorite Boys
and I'm cooking -- each one gets to pick their favorite dish.
And then we take them around to see, you know,
what they like to do here in Bethesda too.
And Rita opened up for us and made the crepes.
[ Pause ]   Hi.
>> Good morning.
I just made Chiles en nogada for el dia de independencia.
>> You did?
>> I did. And having spent about over two
to three hours peeling my walnuts --   >> Guys, please give her a clap.
[applause] That dish is really difficult to make.
>> I was thinking as I was making this and I would like you to talk
about how does this process
of cooking Mexican food increase your emotional attachment
to the meal?   >> That is such a great question.
Okay. So within Mexican cooking, there are so many layers.
So you get the simple home style foods that we make, sopaipilla
and frijolada and different kinds of eggs.
Even though they're simple dishes the process to make them --
you can use three ingredients: tomato, onion, and chile; okay?
With those three ingredients, if you keep them raw and you chop them,
you have a fresh pico de gallo.
You roast those three ingredients and you puree them,
you have a rustic chard salsa.
You boil them and you cook them with a little oil and you have the base
of the most delicious pasta soup
or you add a little chipotle, you have chicken tinga.
So you have all that universe of that kind of cooking
where people think Mexican food is over condimented
because sometimes people that aren't very familiar
with Mexican food will throw in the jar of cumin and oregano
and a thousand things but they don't realize
that Mexican food usually is simple.
It's just usually we give ingredients time
to become something else before you blend them or puree them.
And it's simple.
There's that area of Mexican cooking.
There's another area of Mexican cooking which you're talking
about which has these incredible complex baroque,
festive dishes like the chile nogada.
Or the mole poblano which take days to prepare.
Now the thing is that those kinds of dishes
in Mexico are made in a communal way.
You make them with your family, the women in the family get together
to make the chiles en nogada so someone is in charge of roasting
and peeling those chiles while somebody else is peeling those
walnuts while somebody else is opening up the pomegranate.
You know it's communal and then their festive dishes are meant
to be served at a wedding, at a quinceanera, things like that.
The mole poblano which has like 40 ingredients you know.
But those dishes are made by a lot of people together
or if they're made by one cook -- I make mole poblano a lot.
I'm crazy about mole poblano but when I make it, I make a big batch
and then I freeze it and then you use some for enchiladas;
you use some for chicken; you use some for,
you know, breakfast kind of egg.
But you do get incredibly attached because it's not only the process
of connecting with those ingredients and seeing how they transform,
you know, the chile poblano.   I have something with those chiles.
I'm wild about the chile poblanoes and I wish I had brought them.
Who's familiar with the chile poblanoes?
You've all seen them; right?   No? Yes? Okay.
They're huge.
They're shiny; they're meaty; they're bright; they're super curvy;
and they have a beautiful pointy tip.
And then you char roast them and it's like the second nature,
these inner personality from them comes out, you know.
And then you see ingredients transform in what they become,
you get attached not only to what you're doing to those ingredients,
but it's all the legends and history and traditions
that go behind those dishes.
You know, when you're making the chiles en nogada, you know,
that it's a dish that has been made in Mexico for 180 years
that every September people are making -- so you connect.
I like to say when I get requests like that, like the chile nogada,
or the piggy cookies which are phenomenal.
You guys have to try them.   Okay. I'll hurry up.
All those dishes when I get requests for them, I feel like I have
to do everything I can to help the person that requested that dish.
Like somebody in Minneapolis that's how I got to the piggy cookies.
I got these long, long email from somebody
in Minneapolis saying I come from Zacatecas,
I grew up eating the piggy cookies, haven't found them anywhere,
my grandmother used to make them.   I don't go to Mexico anymore.
I have no connection to Mexico and I want my kids to eat that cookie.
You know, those cookies mean home to that person and it was very hard
for me to find that cookie because they make the piggies in Texas
but they're not the real piggies.
The piggies that they make in Texas are like gingerbread cookies
with a gingerbread dough in the shape of piggies.
They're not the real Mexican piggies.
So anyway, it was hard to get to that recipe.
Once I got that recipe and I sent it to that woman she was so thankful;
she was so happy; she can now make them for her grandchildren
and then it's like these links from long chains
where you're helping communities and families continue with things
that mean something to them.   Yes?
>> Which specialize in the sort of family or this sort
of traditional cooking you're talking about.
>> You know what?   We need one.
I was just in the Los Angeles,
just came back yesterday from Los Angeles.
There was a Mexico food fair there and I had the opportunity to visit
with these two guys who are the funniest.
Their name is Jaime and Ramiro.
They own a restaurant called La Casita Mexicana.
Has anybody heard of that restaurant in Los Angeles?
We met. They took me to their restaurant.
I was blown away.
It was like I kept telling them it's like --
I can't even say that it's just like Mexico;
it's like better than Mexico.   It was fabulous home style food.
Every single dish was incredible and it wasn't pretentious, modernist,
elegantly served Mexican.
And it wasn't the greasy, cheesy Tex-mex that we're used to seeing
from the old kind of Tex-mex because I have
to say Tex-mex these days is really good.
And -- but I don't think there's --
I can't think of one you know that --
I mean in [inaudible] you can get fabulous tacos, they're incredible.
They make their own tortillas and they have really great things
but it's not -- I don't think there's a restaurant
that has that home style.   People bringing food in the casuelas
where you can just eat out of -- we need one.
Somebody should open one.   I'm not in the restaurant business.
I've been asked.   I love researching and teaching.
And with three kids, I can't have a restaurant.
Yeah?
>> I was hoping if you could suggest some interesting
or uncommon spice combinations to use in Mexican cooking.
>> Yes. Okay.   Some of my favorite ones -- okay.
You can combine oregano with thyme and marjoram and a pinch of cumin.
And that's make a really nice seasoning.
I know neither marjoram nor thyme are native Mexican
but they have been used in Mexican cooking for a long, long, long time
and they combine beautifully with oregano.
So that's sprinkle on top of chicken or meat or --
see, there's a lot of combinations in Mexican cooking
that don't even have a chile.
People think Mexican food is always spicy
or always has chiles and it doesn't.
Chipotle sauce is a favorite of mine and I add it to everything I can.
And I think -- any other question?
Anybody? About the book, about the show, Mexican food?
Yes?
>> Do you have any tips for breaking in a new lava stone molcajete?
>> Yes, of course.   So you have the real deal I see.
This is what you need to do.
There are three versions of how to cure a lava stone molcajete
and that is the right kind that you want.
The lava stone molcajete has the very porous and heavy surface.
And you need to clean it -- some people will --
so the molcajete has a [inaudible] which is the [inaudible].
Some people use rice, some people use garlic, some people use sea salt
and they crush it for a little while, you know,
five minutes in the molcajete.
I use a combination of the three, the garlic, the salt, and the rice.
And then after you do that, you rinse it with a little bit
of soapy water and a soft sponge and let it dry and then that's it.
That's all you need to do.
You do that curing with the [inaudible] in the beginning
to get rid of the sandy stuff but after that the molcajete is
like these magic tool because you don't want to wash it thoroughly.
Because what you want to do
with it every time you clean it is just gently with a little bit
of soapy water and a soft sponge, rinse it, let it dry.
It has like a big memory.
Every molcajete in every different family has a different flavoring
and seasoning.
Depending on what you cook, the molcajete stores the memories,
the oils, the essences, the fragrances of what you do in there
so when you use it again, you're not starting from scratch.
That molcajete is helping you to build on flavors
of whatever you're going to do.
The same goes for the [inaudible.] Yes?
>> Hello. I'm so inspired to try some new Mexican recipes
so thank you for inspiring me.   My question is if I made one recipe
out of your new book what would it be?
>> Don't do that to me.   [ Laughter ]
The corn tort is a killer.
There's a cornbread in there that's like a combination between --
I wish I had brought a book so you could see the gorgeous photo.
Wait.   [ Pause ]
Okay. I was going to say the corn tort but look
as these [inaudible] it's to die for.
Let me show you a photo of the corn tort.
The corn tort in here and I messed with this recipe
for like six months; okay, until I got it just perfect.
I think of recipes and dishes as like magic potions.
You don't want to mess up with the soul of the dish but you want
to make it addictive; right?
These corn torts is like a combination
between a souffle and a cornbread.   I'm getting to it.
It has chunks of corn but then I make it with rice flour
which is used a lot in Mexican cooking.
And so the texture is grain -- these meatballs are killers.
Chipotle sauce and mint.   Let me tell you.
My kids have that every week.
Sammy, are you tired of the meatballs?
[ Pause ]
Wait. I have to show you the corn tort.
Here. Sides.   Look at these.
I mean it's -- you can see a little bit on the side.
It's fluffy; it's moist; it's chunky; it's airy.
I make it every Friday night for dinner and then it makes huge --
all of the recipes in here make big batches because I think
that a big thing about home style cooking is you want
to have leftovers.
Leftovers are such a beautiful gorgeous thing.
[ Applause ]   I have one minute, guys.
Okay. The corn tort, you make it for dinner or for lunch
and then the leftovers you sprinkle confectioner's sugar on top
and you have it with a cop of coffee or tea in the morning
or for a snack or, I mean, it's just incredible.
Most of the food in here and not only
in here, I mean Mexican cooking.
I always like to say that I think the food of a country
or a culture is very similar to the people
of that country or that culture.
And Mexicans we're just easy; we're accommodating, we're versatile like,
you know, I teach my kids you sleep on the floor if it's clean
and if they give you a pretty bed, you sleep there too, you know.
And Mexican food is like that.
It can go super dressy or casual and every recipe in here can be used
and made in different ways.
I'm done. Thank you for coming, guys, appreciate it.
[ Applause ]
>> This has been a presentation of the Library of Congress.