I met Jerry Davis through some exchanged emails back in 2017. He was writing a book, “a family-themed food memoir” he called it. He asked me if I would be interested in contributing a chapter. I was intrigued. I was honored.

Jerry then told me he had used Don Day’s Wife’s recipe for pickled onions and “they were great”. I began writing my contribution.

Recently, Don Day’s Wife and I were invited to lunch at Jerry and his wife’s home. The book had been published, I had read it, and I wanted to include a short excerpt from it in my blog. The piece I had chosen is about Jerry’s housekeeper, Mati, and her style of cooking a San Miguel de Allende classic, a dish called Enchiladas de los Portales. I could smell the chiles as we walked in the front door.

Jerry Davis has an interesting background. He spent the first 70 or so of his years in New York State living the life of a dairy farmer/biology teacher/antiques dealer. Obviously influenced by his Mexico City born wife, Carmen Baranda, 20 years ago, Jerry made the move to San Miguel. He, obviously, loves the town as much as I do.

The book is titled “They Knew I Was Making Fudge”. Through the pleasures of food, it takes us on a culinary journey to the Northeastern U.S., to Central Mexico, to places like Bali, Riyadh, Cuba, Hungary, Holland and Ibiza, then back to Central Mexico. 

Here’s that excerpt from Jerry’s book:

Mati (Matilda) is an informal member of our family after being Carmen’s helper for over 18 years. Mati is willing to do any kind of work, but I suspect that gardening and cooking are her favorite activities.

Her favorite dish is Enchiladas de los Portales that are commonly called Enchiladas Querétanos, as nearby Querétaro is where they originated. But long ago in San Miguel they were sold from the portales (covered arcades that form two sides of the main square), became very well known, and acquired their local name. The boutique shops and upscale restaurants drove the humble enchiladas from the portales years ago, but their fame lives on in the memories of older residents.

MATI’S ENCHILADAS DE LOS PORTALES

Here is another recipe where common sense and a good sense of taste are needed, as the quantities of different ingredients are not given, and every cook has their own version. Tortillas are bathed in red sauce to make them pliable and then they are then rolled around ranchero cheese and chopped onion. The sauce is made from cascabel chile, onion, garlic, a pinch of cinnamon and salt. Mati uses cascabel chile because it has a lot of heat and flavor, but milder chiles such as guajillo or ancho can be used instead. The dry chiles are toasted on a griddle, split open and the seeds removed. If you want a milder sauce remove the veins. Boil the chilis with onion and garlic, liquefy in the blender, sieve, and fry. I know that it is counter-intuitive to fry a liquid, but if this step is omitted there is a big loss of flavor. Fry in hot oil and be extra careful, as hot oil spatters everywhere. Mexican cooking can make a terrible mess in the kitchen. Serve these enchiladas with cooked, diced potato and carrot that has been briefly fried. Shredded lettuce, and a dollop of sour cream are added just before serving.

This is a dish that you can make into your own because there are so many ways to vary it. You can use different types of dried chile, top the enchiladas with shredded lettuce, stuff them with chicken instead of cheese, and on and on. And sometimes, because chiles vary so much, an unwanted variation is produced. You can dilute it, thicken it, whatever, but if the sauce is bitter, either baking soda, sugar or even peanut butter will improve it. Buena suerte! Good luck.

“They Knew I Was Making Fudge” is available at the Biblioteca bookstore in San Miguel de Allende and on Amazon websites (in Mexico at https://www.amazon.com.mx).