Francisco Drew was born and raised in Loreto but left as a young man for work in the hotels and restaurants of Puerto Vallarta and Cabo. After 20 years he returned and became the chef at Isla Loreto, a small restaurant along the malecón with a wonderful view of Loreto Bay. In his travels he picked up this simple and excellent recipe using fresh local fish. My friend Ray Lieberenz and his wife moved to Loreto recently. When another friend, Dick VanBree emailed me raving about this fish dish, I emailed Ray. He told me loved it too and within a week he'd emailed me this recipe complete with the above story! Amazing. Serves four.

4 - 6 oz fillets fresh Pinto Bass from Loreto 
4 tbsp butter
2 cups fresh parsley, chopped
1½ cups flour
3 to 4 tbsp red chile powder
2 tbsp garlic powder
Salt to taste 
½ cup Controy or Grand Marnier 

In saucepan, melt butter with parsley for one minute. Coat fish filets in a mixture of flour, chile powder, garlic powder and salt. Broil fish (no butter or oil) for one minute on each side. Before serving stir orange liqueur into sauce, place fish fillets on plates and pour sauce over fish. 

 

We headed north an hour up the Pacific coast to Todos Santos. We’d heard about an amazing new resort there and wanted to check it out. You’ve heard me say before that in Baja the worst roads lead to the best places. There should be a deserted beach involved. Privacy, beauty and ample wildlife are essential. Camping is the order of the day, because rarely is there a world-class, boutique hotel at the end of one of these awful roads. There are a few scattered up and down the peninsula, but not many. The road leading from Todos Santos to Posada La Poza proved to be very bad. We bumped and twisted, dodging rocks and mud puddles in our low-slung Neon, praying all the while that we wouldn’t get a flat tire. 

Finally, we passed through a dense palm grove, and brilliant gold, ochre and orange buildings sprang up in front of us. We parked and walked through the gate. Lush cacti and flower-filled gardens embraced us. There was a saltwater pool next to a lagoon that fronted a magnificently deserted stretch of beach. The owner, former Swiss banker Juerg Wiesendanger and his Czech artist wife, Libusche welcomed us personally and gave us a tour of the grounds. 

With only seven rooms, this place is all about privacy and romance. For the three days we were there, we were the sole occupants of two chaise lounges under a palapa, nestled between the pool and lagoon. Our major activity was bird watching. Pelicans soared by, riding the warm air currents. Occasionally they dive bombed, scooping fish out of the water. Frigate birds glided along the surface, touching down like prehistoric seaplanes, snatching up shrimp, fish or crabs and sailing off. Lease terns, cranes and ducks shared the waters with them. The cries of the birds blended with the pounding of the surf, the steady splash of the pool’s waterfall and the hum of dragonfly wings. Terry told Juerg he’d never seen me so relaxed. 

Whenever we were hungry or thirsty, the bar and restaurant were only steps away, and Juerg was always willing to make us whatever we wanted. Having trained under a famous Swiss chef, Juerg doesn’t just cook. He prepares gourmet cuisine. When we got tired of bird watching, eating and drinking, we walked in the gardens trying to identify the different flowers, trees and cacti. We hiked through the jungle to the beach and interrupted a beachside pelican convention. We could’ve borrowed mountain bikes and explored nearby beaches, but we were too lazy. We did spend an afternoon wandering through town, exploring the numerous galleries and checking out the restaurants. At sunset, we made the mandatory climb up to the Whale Deck and counted whale spouts as the sun sank — pink-orange, red and purple — into the Pacific. This is one of Juerg’s amazing creations. Serves eight.

12 jalapeño chiles
1½ pounds smoked tuna
3 medium sized shallots
6 cloves garlic, minced
12 leaves fresh basil
¾ cup chopped Italian parsley
1 bunch cilantro, stems removed and finely chopped
Celery salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
Salad garnish
2 cups corn or canola oil
20 corn tortillas or 16 flour tortillas 
Toothpicks

To make the filling
Buy one larger piece of smoked tuna as the small pieces tend to be dry. Instead of cutting the meat, tear the fiber apart in small pieces with two forks. Place in a bowl.

If you have a gas stove, lay the jalapeños over the open flame and char skins well, turning with tongs frequently until they’re uniformly blackened and stop snapping. The more charred they are, the easier it is to remove the skins. If you have an electric stove, place chiles in a large skillet on high heat. Turn frequently as above. Remove chiles to plastic bag, close it and let stand for 10 minutes. Remove from bag, place in ice-cold water and remove the stems, skins, veins and seeds. 
Chop the shallots and put them for one minute in hot water. Rinse then with cold water and put it in the bowl, together with the chopped garlic. Add basil, parsley and cilantro. Season with celery salt and olive oil. Mix well. 

To make the flautas
For the presentation, prepare either a big plate to be put in the center of the table or prepare individual plates with some salad garnishment leaving sufficient space (half the plate) for the flautas. 

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Warm up the tortillas on stove or in microwave for about half a minute, so they are flexible to roll. Put the filling in a line of 1½ inch on the tortilla and roll it. Fix with a tooth stick. Put all the rolls on a plate.

Prepare some paper towels in a basket to soak up excess oil after frying. Fry four tortillas at the same time until they become golden on all sides. Do not overdo frying. The tortilla has to be crispy, but still a little flexible. Put the fried ones in vertical position in a basket to let the oil drip. Keep them warm until the last one is fried.

Cut each fried tortilla roll into even sized pieces (2 pieces for corn tortillas, 3 for flour) and put them on prepared plate(s). 

TERRY'S BOMBERO CHILI
My husband Terry created this recipe back when he was a fireman in Palm Springs. He makes it a lot. In fact he gets requests to bring it to nearly every potluck we go to these days. Super Bowl, yeah. Los Barriles Art Festival, yeah. Parties at our house, always. He's not sure I should share it with the world, but it's so good that I have to. It's really popular and it's really easy too. Now everyone will know his secret! Actually, he makes it a little different every time. Sometimes he adds prepared salsa; sometimes different fresh chiles. Takes about two hours to make, but he says to tell you the longer it cooks, the better tastes. This will feed eight to 10 people, if you're lucky.

I remember when he made it for our housewarming party here in Buena Vista. Jesus "Chuy" Valdez, owner of Hotel Buena Vista Beach Resort, scraped the last bit of chili out of the pan and into his bowl for seconds or thirds, I don't recall. We ran out way before people's appetites did! 

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped
1 large white onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced 
2½ lbs ground beef
2 green bell peppers, chopped
4 to 6 serrano chiles, stems removed and finely diced (remove seeds if desired)
4 cans Snappy Tom or any other Bloody Mary mix
3 medium tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp American chili powder (or more, depending on how hot you like it) 
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped and stems removed
Salt and pepper to taste
2 - 1 lb, 11 oz cans kidney beans (drained) or 1 lb bag dried kidney beans, soaked overnight and drained 
Saltine crackers and grated cheese for garnish

In large Dutch oven, heat olive oil to medium heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent. Add garlic and continue cooking. Add ground beef and cook until browned. Drain off excess fat. Add bell peppers, serranos, Snappy Tom, tomatoes, chili powder, cilantro, salt and pepper. Heat to boiling. If using soaked, uncooked beans, add at this point. Cover and reduce heat to low, letting simmer for at least an hour and a half. If using canned beans, drain off all but about 1/3 of the juice and add to the chili a half hour before serving. Serve with crumbled saltine crackers and grated cheese on top and get ready for the compliments! Serve leftovers over eggs the next morning.

Check it out next time you're in Los Cabos … you might even want to the spend the night in one of their four casitas. Enjoy the ambience, the beach and the food! Judie's chef of six years, Lupe invented this flan as a surprise for her. It's their most popular dessert and very unusual in that it calls for cream cheese. Makes eight servings.

1 cup sugar
1 8 oz package cream cheese at room temperature
1 - 10 oz can sweetened condensed milk 
3 large eggs
2 cups milk
1 tbsp vanilla
4 tbsp Kahlua Whipped cream to taste

Dissolve 1 cup sugar in an old omelet sized pan and melt until sugar is dark caramel. Soak pan right away with soap water to make cleanup really easy. In blender add cream cheese, canned milk, eggs, milk and vanilla. Blend until smooth. In the bottom of eight 8-ounce bowls, equally distribute the caramelized sugar. Pour flan into the cups on top of the caramel.

Set cups in 9 x 13 baking pan and fill pan half way up with hot water. Bake at 350° for about an hour, or until centers are firm (like Jell-O). Turn off oven and let cool in it. Chill thoroughly. To serve, run knife around edge of flan, set saucer on it and turn over. Garnish with a splash of Kahlua and a dollop of whipped cream. 

Every morning we awoke to see the sun rising dramatically over the Sea of Cortez, and every day we were anchored off a different island. For the first time in my life, I was experiencing - up close and personal - places I had only previously seen from 35,000 feet above sea level. We even snorkeled with sea lions at Los Islotes off Isla Partida. Amazingly enough, if we got too close to one of the males, he would blow a circle of bubbles, letting us know where the boundaries of his space were and giving us a big hint to stay outside it!

Wednesday morning found us just offshore of Loreto as the sun's first rays danced across the sea and lit up the city, accenting its colonial buildings, backdrop of palm groves and the craggy Sierra de la Giganta Mountains - the most ferociously dramatic on the entire peninsula. It was breath taking. On the way to our anchorage at Puerto Escondido, an hour south of town, we were treated to a whale show the likes of which most of the crew had never experienced before. We saw countless blue whales, blowing and rolling and showing their flukes. One even did a belly roll under our bow. Sperm whales showed up too. The first sight we had of them was a monstrous splash of white water off to the starboard. I ran upstairs, knocked on the door of the bridge and begged Captain Dave to let me in. He did. We saw seven or eight sperm whales breeching in the next half hour and it was more exciting than I could've ever imagined. 

The next day, as we motored back toward La Paz, I was in my stateroom about 6:45 a.m. contemplating getting out of bed. Over the loudspeaker I heard these words: "Orcas. 4:00." I never got dressed so fast in my life. Out on the bow, I ran back and forth from port to starboard with the other passengers, as killer whales were sighted all around us. An immense pod of dolphin swam, flying in and out of the water at top speed - hell-bent on not being breakfast for Orcas.

The chef, Danny Spani shared this recipe with me. It is unlikely-sounding but indescribably delicious. Makes one 9-inch pie.

Graham cracker crust
1½ cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp melted butter 

Pie filling
3 medium or 4 small avocados, peeled and pitted
Juice of 5 limónes (Mexican limes) or key limes
1 - 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1 - 8 ounce package cream cheese
2 small packages gelatin dissolved in ½ cup water

Garnish
1 kiwi, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup whipped cream or whipped topping

To make crust
Preheat oven to 350°. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Press into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pie pan. Bake until set and golden, about eight minute. Cool. 

To make pie
In a food processor, place avocados, lime juice, condensed milk and cream cheese. Purée until completely blended and uniform in color and texture. Add gelatin and purée again until completely blended. Pour into piecrust and chill in freezer for two hours. Garnish each slice with a kiwi and a dollop of whipped cream. 

Cake
10 eggs, separated
¼ cup sugar
2 cups flour
2 tbsp baking soda
¼ cup warm milk (microwave for 20 seconds)

Crema de Tres Leches
10 oz can evaporated milk
10 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
10 oz. can crema media ácida (no substituting on this one; try Nestle at www.mexgrocer.com if you can't find it.)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
¼ cup brandy
Whipped cream for topping

Preheat oven to 450°. Cream the egg yolks with sugar in medium bowl. Mix in flour and baking soda, then the warm milk. 

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks are formed. Mix with other cake ingredients. Place in a greased angel food cake pan and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

Put all ingredients for tres leches except whipping cream in blender and blend until creamy. Remove cake from pan and place on platter. Drizzle the crema de tres leches over the cake. Top with whipped cream. 

The restaurant in Bahía de los Sueños (as of 2005) bears absolutely no resemblance to its Cabo cousin. With breathtaking views of mountains, sea, sand and sky, diners can eat in a tranquil, open-air environment while watching panga fishermen return with the day's bounty of huachinango (red snapper), dorado (mahi mahi) and sierra (sea bass).

The Skip & Go Naked is the Giggling Marlin's signature drink. I've never seen anyone drink a few and run around dancing in the buff, but you never know. It would be far more likely to happen in Cabo than here! Next time you're in Baja Sur, head out to Sueños and enjoy a memorable lunch at the Giggling Marlin. The food is excellent and so the service. Have one of these too. They're yummy. Makes one drink.

Ice 
1 shot tequila
Splash gin
Splash vodka
Splash rum
1½ shots Amaretto
¼ cup fresh orange juice
½ cup pineapple juice
½ banana

Fill tall cocktail glass with ice. Transfer to blender and add all ingredients. Blend thoroughly and serve. 

3 cups fresh tomatillos, skinned and rinsed
or 3 cups canned green Mexican tomatillos, drained
4 - 8 cloves garlic 
5 - 10 fresh jalapeño chiles, halved and seeded if desired (to lessen heat)
1 tbsp chicken bouillon powder 
1½ to 2 cups water (to desired consistency)
1 large white onion, puréed 
1 large bunch cilantro, chopped
Place clean, skinned tomatillos, garlic and seeded jalapeños in large skillet. Cook over medium high heat until tomatillos are blackened and soft. (Do not use oil.) Remove from stove and cool for a few minutes. When you can handle the chile mixture, put in food processor and purée. Put in a large bowl and set aside. 

Pour the water into the skillet. Stir in bouillon. When boiling furiously, toss in onions. Cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens to a good salsa consistency, about five minutes. Stir in cilantro. Pour in tomatillo-garlic-chile mixture and combine. Place in quart size jars and refrigerate. It's best if refrigerated at least three hours and will keep for several days in the refrigerator. 

MARÍA'S SALSA DE ARBOL
My dad currently owns two fishing boats that operate out of Hotel Buena Vista Beach Resort. He named them both after his female Shih Tzu, Dusty. The new boat is Dusty B III and the first boat is the Dos. The captain of la Tres is Vicente Cosio - a great friend of ours. His mom, María has a restaurant called El Corral in their backyard where she and her sister Vicki serve baked potatoes filled with crema, butter and carne asada. She serves them with an array of salsas. Her red salsa de arbol rocks. This salsa is meant to be fairly hot, and it is, but it's one of my favorites! I love it over chiles rellenos. Makes about a quart.

20 - 25 chiles de arbol, lightly toasted
1 cup water
6 large tomatoes
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 ancho chiles, slightly toasted
1 medium white onion, puréed 
6 cloves garlic, puréed
3 tbsp cider vinegar
Salt to taste

In large skillet, lightly toast the chiles over medium high heat, about 5 minutes. Remove and place in one cup water to soak. In same skillet, roast the tomatoes over high heat in oil until blackened, about 20 minutes. Set aside in bowl. Do not clean the skillet! Loosen blackened pieces of tomato and stir in soaked chiles, onions and garlic. Boil over medium high heat about 10 minutes. Place tomatoes in blender or food processor and liquefy. Pour into bowl. Repeat with onion, garlic and chile mixture. Pour into bowl, add cider vinegar and salt and chill at least an hour. Will keep several days in the refrigerator, or part can be frozen for later. 

When Terry and I visited the Yucatán a few years ago, our friend Antonio (formerly of Ensenada) acted as our private tour guide. We visited Chichenitzá and Tulum, swam in cenotes (underground rivers and lakes) and snorkeled in the Caribbean. If you ever visit the Riviera Maya, the Mayan people'll surround you. They still farm the land and live in small villages throughout the Yucatán peninsula - much as they did centuries ago. They own and work in the shops where you'll buy handicrafts or groceries, the restaurants where you'll eat and the hotels where you'll stay. They are a friendly and proud people. If you're interested, it's possible they will teach you a few words in their language.

For the Maya, eating is an act of spirituality. Their foods are different than the northern Mexican food most Americans and other tourists are familiar with. Their chile of choice is the habanero, the hottest chile known to mankind. It is revered for its healing powers and supposedly will ward off any number of diseases. I will personally attest that it gives the best endorphin rush of any chile. 

When habaneros are combined with lime juice, they lose some of their fire. I invented this recipe after a trip to the Riviera Maya where I did much tasting and asked a lot of questions about the salsas. If your palate is very heat-sensitive, cut down on the habaneros, but don't be a pansy and leave them out altogether. This makes about a quart.

1 large red onion, finely diced
6 large tomatoes, finely diced
1 bunch cilantro, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 - 6 habanero chiles, minced with seeds and membranes removed
Juice of 2 limónes (Mexican limes) or key limes
1 tbsp Controy or orange juice
1 tbsp salt

Mix all ingredients together in bowl. Cover and refrigerate for up to three days. Use with chips, on tacos or as a condiment to any Mexican dish. It's makes a wonderful, simple nacho dish, when you pour grated cheese over a plate of totopos (tortilla chips), microwave for a minute or until the cheese is melted, top with salsa habanero and serve. 

For John, whose previous career was designing restaurants and office buildings, this project was the dream of a lifetime. He indulged his passion for brilliant, bold colors, colonial Mexican architecture and furniture, metal and glass sculptures, exotic plants and art. Truly a celebration of the senses, the Hotel California explodes with purples, reds, hot pinks, oranges, periwinkles, and pulsating shades of green and golden yellows. The old blends gracefully with the new, as original tile floors and 100-year-old beams merge with the best modern Mexico can offer. 

The patios, pool and terraces are private and lushly landscaped. Hotel guests have a choice of 11 luxuriously appointed, wildly imaginative rooms and suites. They can sit on a balcony overlooking the town and watch the sun set in the Pacific as the choir sings in the church across the street. This is a perfect place for weddings, honeymoons or just to get away and wander along cobble stone streets, exploring Todos Santos’ art galleries, restaurants and historical buildings. Venture out of town and enjoy some of the most spectacular surfing beaches on the west coast.

When you visit the hotel, make time for a leisurely lunch under the pagoda-style palapa at La Coronela Restaurant. Breathe in the fragrance of tropical flowers; listen to live Mexican music with a backdrop of softly tinkling fountains. John Stewart lured Chef Dany Lamote away from Calgary, Alberta. Born in Belgium, Dany studied culinary arts in Brussels. He immigrated to Canada in 1979 and settled in Calgary. There he was a chef and partner in many successful restaurants, from small European style bistros and cafes to fine dining establishments. Local organic ingredients influence his style of cooking. As a passionate traveler he loves to fuse the cuisines of different cultures in his recipes. For 15 years he was a culinary instructor teaching in small private schools. Here in Mexico he draws from Baja California ingredients to create a fresh, innovative seasonal menu at the Hotel California.

Chef Dany offers this explanation about this unique, popular dish: "The concept of open-faced ravioli is between lasagna and ravioli. The dish is made in a frying pan. The ingredients are stacked and assembled at serving time instead of being baked in the oven. Most of the shrimp comes from the Sea of Cortez as well as the marlin. We smoke the marlin in our Texas smoker, parked outside the restaurant. After having the smoker inside on the patio for ambience and smoking out our customers a few times, we decided that it was a better business practice to move the smoker outside. My preferred wood for smoking is a fruitwood." Serves four.

16 lasagna pasta sheets 
1 tbsp olive oil
16 jumbo shrimp
1 cup white wine 
½ lb sliced smoked marlin or smoked salmon 
1 cup whipping cream 
¼ cup finely chopped cilantro 
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook the lasagna sheets according to package direction. Drain and allow to cool off. Rub with olive oil to prevent sticking. 

Poach the shrimp in white wine for five minutes or until they turn white. Add the cream and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper and add the pasta sheets. Bring to a boil and let the cream thicken a bit. 

Stack by alternating the shrimp and pasta. Garnish with the smoked marlin. 

8 poblano chiles
4 tbsp butter 
2 white onions, finely chopped
1½ tbsp flour
½ tsp white pepper
½ tsp nutmeg
6 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup raisins
1 green apple, peeled and cut in chunks
½ cup mango, peeled and cut in chunks
½ cup pineapple, peeled and cut in chunks
1¼ cup crema media ácida or sour cream 
6 cups cubed cooked chicken
1½ cups chopped walnuts blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes

If you have a gas stove, lay the chiles over the open flame and char skins well, turning with tongs frequently until they’re uniformly blackened and stop snapping. The more charred they are, the easier it is to remove the skins. If you have an electric stove, place chiles in a large skillet on high heat. Turn frequently as above. Remove chiles to plastic bag, close it and let stand for 10 minutes. Remove from bag, place in ice-cold water and remove the skins, veins and seeds. Do not remove stems.

Melt butter in frying pan at medium heat. Add onions and cook until limp. Stir in flour, pepper and nutmeg and stir until bubbling. Add chicken broth, raisins and apples. Cook, stirring until softened. Add mango and pineapple. Gradually stir in media crema. Add chicken and heat thoroughly. 

Place two chiles on each plate, or arrange all chiles on a platter. Fill each chile with chicken and sauce mixture. Sprinkle walnuts over top and serve.