Yesterday was Revolution Day, so Alejandro didn't have to work. In the afternoon we decided to take a long walk. We didn't have any destination in mind, but as we headed south down Insurgentes Avenue, we decided to go to City Market, a chain of very upscale supermarkets. The closest one to the apartment is about a thirty-minute walk away in the neighborhood of Colonia del Valle.
We had been to City Market once before, but we decided to take a closer look and see what products they had that were not typically found at other Mexican supermarkets. Alejandro found cans of pumpkin puree. He is not likely to make any more pumpkin pies any time soon. (He just made four of them a couple weeks ago from fresh pumpkin.) Nevertheless, he bought a can to have on hand.
Next to it we found cans of cranberry sauce, and that gave me an idea. Usually after the weekends, I go back to Alejandro's family's house for a couple of nights, and I will cook dinner for the family. I already had something in mind to fix today, but when I saw the cranberry sauce, it dawned on me that perhaps I could fix a scaled down version of a Thanksgiving dinner. City Market also had pre-cooked turkey breasts. I did not want to buy anything perishable since we had a half hour walk on a warm afternoon back to the apartment. But we are hoping to go to the Chedraui Supermarket close to Alejandro's house today and find something similar. I also found canned turkey gravy at City Market. (Yeah, I know... canned gravy... yuck! But I don't have time to slave all day over this pseudo-Thanksgiving dinner, so canned gravy will have to do.) For a side dish I am making something that is not typical of Thanksgiving at all. However, when I saw bags of imported "spaetzel" at City Market, I could not resist. I am going to sauté some onion, and melt in some Swiss cheese, and make "Spaetzel mit Kaese".
I will let you know how this early Thanksgiving dinner of sorts comes out. Hopefully, I won't be a flop!
Sounds great! IF there is a HEB grocery store in CDMX, you will find so so many things that are from HEB's own manufacturers. I found things like leseuir peas, Bisquick, cornbread mix, etc etc etc. Although I don't get to go there anymore, I do have someone who goes to HEB and Costco for me about 3 times a year. Enjoy your adventure
ReplyDeleteNo, there is no HEB here in Mexico City. We just got back from Chedraui, and they had pre-cooked turkey breast with plums and almonds. Not exactly the traditional U.S. fare, but it sounds festive.
Delete"Don't have time" to cook a Thanksgiving dinner? Aren't you retired?? :-D
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm retired, but I have no desire to get up at dawn to put a turkey in the oven. Isn't that how long it takes? I consider myself a fairly good cook, but I have never roasted a turkey in my life or made stuffing. As I write this, I am warming up the pre-cooked turkey breast with plums and almonds. I just finished the spaeztle with cheese, and it came out pretty much like what I have had in German restaurants. The only really traditional part of the dinner is the can of Ocean Spray cranberry sauce. :-)
DeleteWell, it only takes 3-4 hours, so it's not as time- or labor-intensive as you might think. Chuck and I cook a turkey several times a year (only during the cooler months) because it's one of the cheapest proteins in the grocery store per pound. We freeze some of the leftovers for quick meals later. We don't always make all the trimmings, but stuffing also isn't that hard depending on what kind you make. You should give it a try sometime! The hardest part is timing everything to be done at the same time, but you seem to be a pretty good cook, so I think you could pull it off. :-)
Delete(Oh, and that spaetzle dish sounds really good!)
ReplyDeleteThe spaetzle was really good... although very fattening with lots of butter and lots of cheese.
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