"The word \u201cenchilada\u201d simply means \u201cin chile\u201d and in Mexico, the most beloved version is actually a street snack: a corn tortilla dipped in chile sauce that\u2019s a far cry from the limp, stuffed tortillas swimming in a sea of red sauce and molten cheese that we\u2019re familiar with in the U.S. Rick shows us how to make classic \u201cStreet Style\u201d Red Chile Enchiladas at home, and how to transform them into a simple, satisfying brunch presentation, Red Chile Enchiladas with Spicy Potatoes and Fried Eggs. At Sanborn\u2019s in Mexico City, the colorfully tiled restaurant where the famous dish, Enchiladas Suizas, was invented, Rick explains that \u201cSuiza\u201d means Swiss, a tribute to the dish\u2019s use of cream and cheese. This inspires a visit to a Mexican creamery stall, a lesson in making homemade \u201ccrema,\u201d the Mexican version of cr\u00e8me fra\u00eeche, and a third dish, Rick\u2019s own Creamy Enchiladas with Chicken, Tomatoes and Green Chile."

"Gleefully dispelling the notion that tacos are crispy shells jammed with ground beef and shredded lettuce, Rick takes us on a journey in search of the real thing. First stop: a taco restaurant in Mexico City where tacos a la plancha\u2013soft tortillas with fillings hot off the iron griddle\u2013are sold. Great tacos need great salsa, and Rick shows us how to make Salsa Verde from both raw and roasted tomatillos in a deadpan side-by-side \u201cdueling salsas\u201d showdown. In Mexico, a butcher butterflies a pork loin with finesse. Rick, back in his Chicago kitchen, launches into his own demonstration of Pork Tacos a la Plancha. Then we\u2019re back to a lively Mexico City taqueria specializing in tacos al carbon filled with charcoal grilled meats and onions. Rick makes two versions of his own\u2013Tacos with Skirt Steak and Portobello Mushrooms\u2013on his backyard grill, along with a traditional molcajete salsa made from ingredients roasted right on the grill."

"Accompanied by his 8-year-old daughter, Lanie, Rick pays homage to the magic of melted cheese. On a visit to Oaxaca, Rick and Lanie get a firsthand lesson in the art of hand-pulled string cheese. No one can resist a nice grilled cheese sandwich, and Mexicans are no exception\u2013only they call their version a quesadilla. Back home in Chicago, father and daughter whip up some simple Mushroom Quesadillas using store-bought tortillas\u2013they\u2019re easy as child\u2019s play. Returning to Oaxaca, they watch Se\u00f1ora Oliva, for some the \u201cWorld\u2019s Best Quesadilla Maker,\u201d turn out quesadillas made from fresh masa on a comal over a wood-fire. Can they replicate them at home? Of course! In his back yard Rick gathers nasturtiums, squash blossoms, epazote and poblano chiles, then shows Lanie the fine points of turning masa into Squash Blossom Quesadillas on the griddle."

"Every culture has its small bites\u2013sushi, dim sum, tapas, mezze. But in Mexico, these flavorful tidbits fall into a different kind of category: \u201cantojitos,\u201d the foods you crave. These are the snacks and street foods, as well as the special-occasion treats, that Mexicans love best\u2013the stuff that comforts the soul and sets the heart racing. And the ones made with masa top the charts. Sopes, little masa shells, are baked on a griddle and finished with all kinds of flavorful toppings. We watch them being made in a courtyard restaurant in Mexico as Rick gives the \u201cplay-by-play,\u201d then wander into the Uriarte pottery factory, where Rick indulges in his secret addiction: buying dishes. Back in his home kitchen, he makes Potato Sopes with Salsa, Goat Cheese and Fresh Herbs\u2013perfect as an appetizer or party food. Then it\u2019s back to Mexico for a lesson in gorditas\u2013fried masa \u201cpockets\u201d stuffed with savory fillings."

"Homey tacos de cazuela\u2013soft corn tortillas rolled around fillings simmered slowly in earthenware pots\u2013are the soul of Mexican comfort food. And nothing makes them more appealing than just-baked tortillas, fragrant with the earthy aroma of freshly ground masa. How field corn is dried and transformed into the daily bread of Mexico is a remarkable, centuries-old story, and Rick tells that story, taking us on a \u201cfield trip\u201d from market to tortilla factory, and finally to his own kitchen, where he shares the secrets of mixing, pressing, flipping and griddling perfect Homemade Tortillas made from fresh masa. To make great tacos de cazuela, it helps to have a cazuela, or earthenware cooking vessel. Rick picks one out in the Oaxaca market, then at home, he prepares two classics: Guajillo-Spiked Pork and Potato Tacos and Mexican-Style Zucchini Tacos."

"Who\u2019s that guy walking towards us through the heat on a Mexican beach? It\u2019s Rick, and he\u2019s about to prove a tasty point about ceviche, the traditional Mexican seafood salad marinated in lime and chiles: it\u2019s so ancient, so elemental and so easy, you don\u2019t even need a kitchen to make it. And so saying, Rick prepares Classic Ceviche right on the beach, using nothing more than a lime to \u201ccook\u201d the fish. For a traditional accompaniment, we go to Chicago for a quick lesson in the art of making Tostadas, crispy fresh tortilla chips. Then it\u2019s a Shrimp Ceviche Cocktail that starts with Rick\u2019s foolproof shrimp steaming technique, plus a visit to a seafood \u201ccocteleria\u201d stand in Mexico to see how the original \u201cstirred not shaken\u201d version is made. Back in his kitchen, Rick creates a thoroughly modern Salmon Ceviche steeped in orange juice and roasted chiles."

"The tomatillo. It\u2019s the source of much of the distinctive flavor of Mexican cooking. And also the source of much confusion. Rick takes us out to the garden to discover just what a tomatillo is and isn\u2019t (hint\u2013it\u2019s not very closely related to a tomato), with tips on how to grow tomatillos, what to look for when buying them and how to judge their ripeness. He then makes a tangy Tomatillo Salsa Verde with onions, roasted garlic and serrano chiles that\u2019s great with tortilla chips. In the free-associative spirit of the series, those corn chips inspire a delightful side trip to Mexico for a look at the role of corn in the culture and the garden. Back in Chicago, Rick turns roasted tomatillos into a sauce for a juicy Tomatillo-Braised Pork Loin and combines the elemental flavors of corn and tomatillos in a whimsical invention of his own, called Pescado Encornflecado\u2013fried fish filets in a corn flake crust, served in a lively tomatillo sauce with saut\u00e9ed fresh corn Esquites."

"Call it coincidence or call it fate, but Mexico\u2019s national colors\u2013red, white and green\u2013wind up at the center of a whole family of emblematic, home-style \u201ccomfort food\u201d dishes, known simply as \u201ca la Mexicana.\u201d Ripe red tomatoes, sparkling white onions and green chiles are the \u201choly trinity\u201d on which these dishes are based\u2013dishes like hearty Braised Beef Short Ribs a la Mexicana with tomatoes, poblano chiles and herbs, or a quick-to-prepare Grilled Flank Steak served with a salsa of roasted tomatoes, poblanos, onions and garlic. Between stints in the kitchen, Rick introduces us to some of the great icons of Mexican nationalism, from Padre Hidalgo and Emiliano Zapata, to Josefina Velasquez de Leon, the pioneering 20th-century food historian who found herself at the forefront of a movement to create a Mexican national culinary identity, much of which was based around home-style \u201ca la Mexicana\u201d dishes."

"Fruit is everywhere in Mexico\u2013sweet, colorful and refreshing. And it\u2019s sold ripe, so the lush smell of tropical fruit is always in the air. We find Rick watching the famous Pineapple dance, in which the dancers shower the audience with fruit\u2013a symbolic sharing of the riches of their village that says a lot about the role of fruit in Mexican culture. At home, he shows us his simple technique for making a quick, refreshing Mango, Jicama and Cucumber Salad that\u2019s often served as a street snack. He prepares his version of the traditional Mango Agua Fresca, or \u201cMango-ade\u201d tinged with crimson prickly pear juice. His daughter, Lanie, looks on, then carries the vat of agua fresca off triumphantly to sell at her lemonade stand! Then we\u2019re off to Oaxaca for quick stop at the renowned Chaguita ice cream stand where you can find every imaginable ice cream flavor and a few you\u2019d rather not imagine (pork rind?!)."

"Rice turns up everywhere in Mexico: as the second course in a traditional midday comida, beautifully molded into a little mound to accompany seafood, heaped onto a plate in a market fonda. But it wasn\u2019t always this way. Rick traces the history of this relative newcomer to the Mexican diet that arrived with the conquistadors by way of Asia and the Middle East. He gives us a step-by-step introduction to making perfect, fluffy Red Tomato Rice as well as a traditional Mexican Rice Pudding garnished with a Piloncillo Syrup made with raw sugar and orange zest. Rice smoothies anyone? In Mexico, Horchata, the creamy cold drink made from sweetened pulverized rice is a much-loved refresher. Rick shows us his technique for making a \u201cblenderized\u201d version it at home and gives us a taste of the genuine article at Oaxaca\u2019s famous Casilda horchata stall. And speaking of beverages, he ends the show with a look at Mexican beer\u2013some of which is made from\u2013you guessed it\u2013rice."

"Every culture has its soothing, soulful soup, and in Mexico, it\u2019s Caldo de Pollo, a light chicken broth flavored with aromatic vegetables and herbs. To show us how the traditional Caldo de Pollo Ranchero is made, Rick goes straight to the source, shopping for chicken, vegetables and herbs in Oaxaca, then brings it all home to the rustic country kitchen of his friend Suzanna Trilling, where they are joined by Do\u00f1a Carlotta for a side-by-side afternoon of soup-making and camaraderie. Then it\u2019s back home to Chicago for something a little less traditional: soup on the grill! Rick\u2019s contemporary Spicy Grilled Chicken Soup with Summer Vegetables makes an easy one-pot dinner. We visit a Mexican bakery for a look at the role of rolls and bread in Mexico; then Rick turns the country\u2019s true daily bread, the tortilla, into a tomato-y Tortilla Soup, seasoned with pasilla chiles and epazote and garnished with avocado, queso fresco and a crowning tangle of crispy tortilla strips."

"When it comes to Chiles Rellenos, Frontera Grill is famous for selling out. Within 20 minutes, the lucky customers who lined up an hour before the doors opened snap up every order. What makes these stuffed chiles in a golden souffl\u00e9 batter so special? Rick takes us into the Frontera kitchen to show us firsthand. Then it\u2019s a lesson in \u201cchile anatomy\u201d that takes us from a Mexican market stall to Rick\u2019s backyard garden to bring home the idea that in Mexican cooking, chiles aren\u2019t just about heat. They\u2019re thought of as a vegetable\u2013a vegetable that\u2019s perfect for stuffing. Rick shows us how to make classic Pork-Stuffed Chiles in Tomato Broth, as well as his own contemporary variation: Stuffed Chiles Baked with Tomato and Cream. Along the way, we discover all kinds of chiles rellenos in Mexico in this half-hour stuffed with surprises."

"Rick takes us to the Gulf Coast port of Veracruz, \u201cThe Mexican Mediterranean,\u201d for a look at the city\u2019s most famous contribution to Mexican cooking, a fittingly Mediterranean fish preparation known simply as \u201ca la Veracruzana\u201d that features a whole fish baked in a tangy tomato, herb, olive and caper sauce. Inspired by this classic dish, Rick explores the Mediterranean roots of Mexican cooking, and the surprising contributions of Mexico\u2013such as the tomato\u2013to the cuisines of Europe. He shows us how to make a dramatic Pescado a la Veracruzana, using a whole fish, then moves to his outdoor kitchen for an easy, contemporary Grilled Salmon a la Veracruzana\u2013tasty proof that Mexican cooking can be every bit as light and fresh as the Mediterranean dishes we\u2019re all so in love with today."

"How do you turn a backyard cookout into party to remember? At Rick\u2019s place, you raise the stakes and get the guests involved in the cooking. Joined by a crowd of friends in his outdoor kitchen, Rick prepares classic Carne Asada, thinly sliced grilled rib steak (plus a version with Tuna steaks with all the traditional trimmings, including a potful of creamy Charro Beans simmered with bacon; a brightly flavored Salad of Grilled Cactus Paddles, a colorful Salsa Mexicana made with heirloom tomatoes and fresh serrano chiles; and chunky Guacamole that comes with three words of advice: \u201ckeep it simple.\u201d As the party preparations proceed, we follow Rick across the border for a visit to a Mexico City restaurant that specializes in wood-grilled beef steaks, some pointed remarks in a cactus patch and a crash course in avocados in Oaxaca. It all comes together in a lively outdoor buffet\u2013proof positive that when friends share the work, there\u2019s no such thing as \u201ctoo many cooks."

"Chiles are the hot, spicy peppers that are used solely to make Mexican food so incendiary, right? Wrong. Starting with a trip to a chile stall in Mexico City\u2019s Merced Market, Rick deftly debunks the most common myths about the role of chiles in Mexican cooking. We learn that like grapes and raisins, chiles all get completely new names when they go from fresh to dried. They are, Rick tells us, a vegetable, a spice and most importantly, a flavor ingredient. And nowhere is the flavor of the dried chile celebrated more deliciously than in the famous preparation, Adobo. Rick makes a juicy Chicken in Adobo, roasted in a pur\u00e9e of ancho chiles, garlic and oregano. On a visit to the beautiful San Angel restaurant, a former hacienda in the Mexican countryside, he checks out the pork in adobo and another surprising Mexican invention, Caesar salad."

"\u201cWhere did the saying \u2018you don\u2019t know beans\u2019 come from?\u201d ponders Rick. \u201cDid you ever think it might be an insult to the bean?\u201d And with that, he begins a half-hour exploration of the deceptively complex and varied world of one of Mexico\u2019s most ubiquitous staple foods. Along a road in Mexico, he tells us about the invisible \u201cbean belt,\u201d a culinary continental divide that separates the light-bean-eating north from the black-bean-eating south. In a Mexican market, he buys an olla\u2013a traditional ceramic bean pot\u2013then takes it home and walks us through the simple steps of making Perfect Beans Three Ways: in the olla, in a modern pot and in a skillet. We learn the real meaning of \u201crefried beans,\u201d and the secret to making them smooth and creamy. At a country home, an artisan cheese-maker shows us how to make Queso Fresco, the crumbling cheese used to top beans throughout Mexico."

"Succulent meat, slowly cooked in pits lined with smoldering embers is the stuff of barbecue dreams. Rick takes us for a \u201cpit stop\u201d at Arroyo, the sprawling three thousand-seat outdoor restaurant in the heart of Mexico City, where we see the dramatic all-day pit-cooking process that transforms hundreds of pounds of lamb into succulent \u201cBarbacoa.\u201d At La Capilla, another outdoor family restaurant in Oaxaca, Rick reveals the mysteries of Oaxacan Barbacoa made with chile-marinated lamb buried in a pit. Back in Chicago, he shows us his favorite way to do pit-cooking at home\u2013without lifting a shovel. It\u2019s all done on the grill using indirect heat and Rick\u2019s foolproof leaf-wrapping technique. He prepares fork tender Cochinita Pibil\u2013Yucatecan-style Achiote-Rubbed Pork Cooked in Banana Leaves, served with a fiery Habanero Salsa."

"It\u2019s one of Rick\u2019s favorite themes: Authentic Mexican food is fresher, more complex, and especially lighter than most Americans realize. Case in point: two classic Mexican preparations, Mojo and Escabeche. Although it\u2019s been a Mexican mainstay since the arrival of the Spanish, Fish in Escabeche is a perfect fit with the kind of light, fresh cooking that\u2019s so popular today. Rick shows us how to make it by steeping crisp fish fillets in a tangy vinaigrette-like sauce made with olive oil, cider vinegar, diced vegetables and pickled jalape\u00f1os. In the kitchen of his restaurant, Topolobampo, he shows us a contemporary variation: Grilled Quail in Red Onion Escabeche. If garlic is as good as ten mothers, then Mojo de Ajo\u2013a sauce made from minced garlic, slowly toasted in olive oil\u2013is the mother of all garlic dishes. Rick uses it to make a simple Quick-Fried Shrimp with Sweet Toasty Garlic, and an elegant Roasted Lobster with Mojo Mayonnaise."

"Tamales. They\u2019re sold by the steamer-full on street corners and plazas, prepared by the hundreds for parties, eaten out of hand as a morning or evening snack, and universally loved. And when it comes to rolling your own, making tamales is easier than you think. Rick pays a visit to a streetside tamal vendor, then heads to a tortilla factory to buy fresh masa. Back in the kitchen, he prepares two traditional types of tamales\u2013Green Chile ChickenTamales Wrapped in Corn Husks and Red Chile Pork Tamales Wrapped in Banana Leaves\u2013revealing the secrets of working with masa, filling, wrapping and steaming. The result: a batch of truly hot tamales\u2013beautiful steaming packets that are fun to open and eat\u2013the perfect party food. In Mexico, a tamalada\u2013the tamal-making party-before-the-party can be as much fun as the party itself. Rick joins his friend Carmen Ramirez Delgollado in the kitchen of her Mexico City restaurant, El Bajio, for a \u201cwrap party\u201d and a lesson in making sweet tamales."

"It\u2019s a total-immersion introduction to seafood stew, as Rick takes us from Chicago\u2019s Maxwell Street Mexican Market to the seafood stalls and restaurants of Veracruz where Rick shops for seafood, giving all kinds of helpful tips along the way. Back in his home kitchen he prepare his own authentic Caldo de Mariscos\u2013a hearty Traditional Seafood Stew simmered with fresh tomatoes, epazote, arbol chiles and chunks of fresh fish, squid and shrimp. He uses the same soup base to make a contemporary variation: Spicy Grilled Shrimp Stew with Chayote and Potatoes. Gathering lettuces and greens in his garden, Rick talks about the role of salads in Mexican cuisine, then prepares a simple Lime Dressing."

"There\u2019s nothing like crispy, warm, homemade tortilla chips, fresh from the fryer. But for those with \u201cfear of frying,\u201d Rick demonstrates his favorite way to make fresh tortilla chips in the oven. Fresh-made chips deserve fresh-made salsa, in this case, a Salsa Molcajete with the zingy flavors of chipotle chiles, roasted garlic and roasted tomatillos, hand-pounded in a traditional lava-rock mortar (molcajete) that Rick picks out in a Mexican market stall. Next it\u2019s a quick way to turn leftover tortilla chips into a satisfying comfort-food dinner: Stovetop Chipotle Chilaquiles\u2013chips simmered with Mexican greens in a tomato-chipotle sauce. Topped with a little shredded chicken, Mexican crema and onions, it ends up looking and tasting a lot like a rustic pasta dish. Using the same sauce as a base, Rick makes an easy casserole-style Baked Chilaquiles enriched with cream, melted cheese and diced ham, perfect for brunch or dinner."

"Richly complex, shrouded in mystery and misconceptions, Red Mole sauce is widely regarded as the crowning achievement of Mexican cooking and the ultimate mestizo dish\u2013a blend of pre-Columbian and European flavors and techniques that come together in a sauce of remarkable depth and baroque complexity. Its origins are the stuff of myth and magic: convent nuns being visited by midnight visions, enchanted winds blowing through ancient kitchens. It\u2019s a long-simmered sauce perfumed with chiles, nuts, spices and yes, sometimes, though not always, chocolate. No exploration of mole would be complete without a visit to the restaurants, ornately tiled cathedrals and convent kitchens of Puebla, where mole is elevated to the level of a sacred calling. Back in Chicago, Rick takes us into the kitchen and guides us through the intricacies of mole-making, with step-by-step instructions for recreating it at home. There\u2019s a helpful \u201csidebar\u201d on choosing wines to compliment Mexican food."

"Mexico is the birthplace of chocolate, and to the Aztecs, it was the original food of the gods. Roasted, ground, and brewed as a hot beverage, cacao beans were imbued with divine properties and traded as currency. Today, when Mexicans talks about chocolate, they\u2019re still talking about a hot beverage\u2013it\u2019s seldom seen in confections and candies. In Oaxaca, one of Mexico\u2019s great chocolate producing centers, Rick shows us how the roasted beans are ground to order, then blended with sugar, cinnamon and almonds to the exacting specifications of each customer. In his home kitchen, Rick shows us how to make a contemporary invention of his own, a Mexican Chocolate Streusel Cake, and whips up a batch of Mexican Hot Chocolate. At El Moro, a beloved chocolate and churros eatery, we watch the process of making Churros, the light, crispy \u201cdoughnuts\u201d of Mexico, and head back to the kitchen, where Rick shows us how to make them at home."

"Pipian Verde, sometimes called Green Mole, is one of the glories of Mexican cooking. A tangy, tomatillo-based sauce, thickened with toasted pumpkin seeds, it\u2019s served with everything from chicken to fish and seafood in the most sophisticated restaurants and the most humble market fondas. Rick takes us to Fonda El Refugio, a famous home-style restaurant in Mexico City\u2019s Zona Rosa, where the five courses of the traditional Mexican meal, or comida, serve as the structural framework of the show. When he arrives at the centerpiece of the meal, Pipian de Pollo, Rick takes us back to Chicago and shows us how to make it. Then, it\u2019s back to the kitchen at Fonda El Refugio, to watch it being served up by the very special kitchen staff\u2013dignified older women who have spent their lives cooking and have earned the honorific title \u201cmayora."

"When the Spanish conquered Mexico in the 16th Century, they brought with them all kinds of foods that the pre-Columbian world had never seen. Among those foods was sugar\u2013and actually, the whole idea of sweets. Standing in the kitchen of the Convent of Santa Rosa in Puebla, Rick tells us that it was the Spanish nuns, in convent kitchens just like this one, who introduced Mexico to confection-making as a way to preserve dairy products. They turned out all kinds of sweets based on eggs, milk and sugar, and among their greatest hits was a rich amber goat\u2019s milk caramel called cajeta. Next stop: the Dulceria de Celaya in Mexico city\u2013a century-old sweet shop where traditional, homemade cajeta lives on. Back home in Chicago, Rick walks us through the process of making Cajeta, then takes us back to Mexico for a brief seminar on cinnamon. His rustic Cajeta Apple Tarts with Fruit Salsa are easy to make and a great way to showcase homemade cajeta."

"It\u2019s a big day at Casa Bayless\u2013daughter Lanie\u2019s birthday. And that means big fun and big cooking\u2013literally: a backyard full of friends, a homemade cake and an enormous vat of Pozole, the slow-cooked stew of corn and pork that\u2019s Mexico\u2019s number-one party food. Preparing pozole is an all-day affair. And as the corn and meat simmer, Rick takes us to the ruins of Mitla, where he reveals one of the most ancient and fundamental cooking techniques of Mexico: boiling dried corn in calcium hydroxide to make hominy. Later, a demonstration of the traditional Pastel de Tres Leches, or \u201cThree-Milks Cake\u201d inspires a tongue-in-cheek visit to one of Mexico City\u2019s sweetest and least known treasures, the surreal Cake Showroom of Ideal Bakery. Back home, the fiesta comes to smashing conclusion, with pi\u00f1atas, a mariachi band, laughter, singing and plenty of pozole for everyone."

""

""

""

""

""

""

""

""

""

""

""

""

""

"Some people go trekking in search of wildlife. Rick will go to any length in search of great food. We find him boating down a river in the midst of a tropical jungle. He\u2019s got a \"jones\" for antojitos, the class of Mexican snacks designed to satisfy every culinary whim. The search takes him on a cross-country tour of masa-based antojitos, from crispy sopes in the tropical town of Coyuca to streetside carne asada Tacos in the heart of Mexico city; Blue Corn Quesadillas stuffed with fresh cheese and squash bloosoms and Tlacoyos with Salsa Roja, stuffed with beans in an open-air market; lamb tacos in a tiny market stall, huaraches (giant open-faced masa cakes) at the entrance to a Mexico City subway station; and Gorditas with Salsa Negra, which Rick prepares with his friend Carmen at El Bajio, her Restaurant in Mexico City."

""

""

"Rick\u2019s on an adventure in Acapulco, the great international resort that\u2019s making a major comeback. The weather\u2019s balmy here all year, and he\u2019s in search of the best ways to get cool quick. He starts with an impromptu chilled mango as he drives into town. Then it\u2019s time for a visit to the 17th-Century Fort of San Diego and a look at how the port of Acapulco was once one of the most important trading centers in the world\u2014the hub for the Manila Galleons, that brought the riches of Asia and changed the world of cooking forever. In Acapulco\u2019s old town, Rick reflects on the city\u2019s heyday as a resort for the rich and famous of old Hollywood, checks out two of Acapulco\u2019s coolest traditions\u2014the banana daiquiri and the swim-up bar\u2014and indulges in a refreshing shrimp cocktail. Finally, he meets up with his daughter Lanie, and they seek out the best frozen treats the town has to offer, from exotic ice creams to shaved-ice raspados (with demonstrations of how to make Rick\u2019s own versions at home)."

""

""

""

"We find Rick on a Sunday morning in a plaza in front of a beautiful baroque church in the mountains of Mexico as he sets out to search for the best Mexican Sunday traditions, starting with carnitas\u2014the rich, golden, slow-fried pork that\u2019s a once-a-week indulgence all over the country. We visit a huge open-air restaurant, Arroyo, in Mexico City to see it being made, and Rick shows us his own simplified technique for preparing Carnitas at home. A visit to a museum is a Sunday tradition the world over, and we join Rick for a trip to the Frida Kahlo House, where the celebrated artist lived with her equally famous husband, Diego Rivera. Every room in the house is itself a work of art, especially the kitchen, where Rick talks about the fabulous party feasts Frida and Diego enjoyed here. Back in Chicago, he recreates some of these specialties at home."

""

"Chorizo, the fresh pork sausage, has been called \"the bacon of Mexico.\" Rick\u2019s quest to find the best chorizo takes him to the remote mountain town of Tenancingo, where he explores the market and investigates what it is about this place that makes its sausage products so tasty. He also uncovers another local tradition, the making of the intricately hand-woven shawls known as rebozos, Along the way, Rick shows us how to make Chorizo-Stuffed Ancho Chiles and we even get a lesson in making Chorizo at home from scratch.Chiles en Nogada, a chile stuffed with a sweet-savory pork and fruit picadillo filling, topped with a blanket of snow-white fresh walnut sauce and a scattering pomegranate seeds. Rick tracks down the seasonal ingredients for this stunning dish and recreates it at home for an independence day dinner, Chicago style."

""

"By a campfire in the Mexican high-plains dessert, Rick invites us to join him as he searches for the origins of chili con carne. Is it Mexican or Southwestern? The stuff of cowboys or grandmothers? Chili begins with chiles, so Rick takes us from a chile field to a chile stall to his own garden to see how chiles are grown and dried. After a quick detour to examine a collection of fiery folk-art devils, we check out tamales\u2014their filling is, essentially a kind of chili\u2014at a Mexico city tamleria and meet a Mexican grandmother for a lesson in making a slow-cooked stew that ends up looking quite familiar. Following that lead, Rick prepares two sensational chilis\u2014one made with pork, the other with lamb and pasillas\u2014in his home kitchen for a cozy chili party with friends and family around the fireplace."

"Wading through the surf at Guayabitos, a charming fishing village on Mexico\u2019s Pacific coast, Rick sets off in search of the ultimate catch\u2014the Mexican seafood dish that captures everything that\u2019s perfect and irresistible about a day at the beach. For starters, he checks out what\u2019s shaking at a thatch-roofed laguna-side restaurant not far from Puerto Vallarta, where the \u201cspecialty of the hut\u201d is Pescado Zarandeado, \u201cShaken Fish,\u201d seasoned with a sweet-spicy red chile marinade, flame-seared and flipped over hot coals in a special grilling basket. At home in Chicago, Rick shows us how to recreate this dramatic dish on a backyard barbecue. Then it\u2019s back to Mexico City, to check out the cooler side of seafood at the sleek, modern Manzanilla restaurant, where a lively young couple from Baja California serves up a series of refreshing raw seafood specialties with the Zen-like simplicity of a cutting-edge sashimi bar."

"Standing amid the excavated layers of ancient civilizations in the Templo Mayor, right in the heart of modern Mexico City, Rick points out that Mexican cooking has always been a product of diverse cultural influences layered one on top of another. It might even be called the original fusion cuisine. And at the cloister of Sor Juana, now a university with a cooking school in Mexico City, Rick points out that of all the dishes in the Mexican repertoire, mole is doubtless the ultimate example of fusion food, born of a baroque melding of influences from nuns and native women who mixed old and new world ingredients to create a sauce of dazzling complexity. In his home kitchen, Rick prepares a less baroque version, Apricot-Pinenut Mole, served with turkey breast."

"Rick can\u2019t resist the kind of well-seasoned, simple food grilled over a live fire\u2014the stuff he\u2019s enjoyed at thousands of markets, kitchens and restaurants all over Mexico, where cooking comes down to the simple combination of fresh ingredients and flickering flames. Deep in the Mexican countryside, he pulls over for a sizzling roadside snack\u2014chicken grilled on an improvised oil-drum barbecue; then he shows us how to bring the idea home with a recipe for Roadside Whole Chicken with Knob Onions grilled on his backyard barbecue. At bustling El Farolito in Mexico City, Rick gives us the lowdown on another Mexican fire-cooked favorite: Tacos al Pastor\u2014succulent pork, grilled \u201cgyros-style\u201d on a vertical spit with pineapple. And that gets his appetite working for easy Chorizo, Potato and Mushroom Tacos made in his outdoor kitchen in Chicago."

"With more than 20 million people, and a dazzlingly rich cultural and culinary history, Mexico City is like its own planet\u2014and these days, it\u2019s a younger, hipper planet than ever. Rick takes us on a dawn-to-dusk insider\u2019s tour that separates the hip from the hype, sharing some of the city\u2019s quirkiest, most happening hotspots, starting with an early morning cappuccino and Enfrijoladas (creamy bean-sauced tortillas) at an organic market and caf\u00e9 in ultra-cool Condesa, the \u201cSoHo of Mexico City,\u201d and shows how to replicate this soulful breakfast in his home kitchen. Then it\u2019s back to Condesa with daughter Lanie for a stroll and shopping spree that yields all kinds of uniquely Mexican urban-chic treasures. For lunch, Rick settles in at a table at Pujol, the renowned leader of the city\u2019s cutting-edge culinary scene, discovering a spectacular parade of dishes that recreate traditional Mexican foods in stunningly artful presentations."

"Tequila has come around\u2014from \u201click the salt and suck the lime\u201d firewater, to chic drink of connoisseurs and hipsters alike. What exactly is this quintessential Mexican spirit, and what makes one tequila so-so and another sublime. Rick\u2019s on a mission to find out, and he takes us straight to the source, to the town of Tequila in Jalisco, where the first families of tequila still brew the stuff the old-fashioned way, from the slow-roasted heart of the blue agave plant. It\u2019s a crash course in tequila that takes us through every step, from the fields to the historic Herradura family hacienda, where the beautiful copper-clad stills of the original tequila works can still be seen alongside a state-of-the-art production facility. Along the way, we stop for tacos and a lesson in tequila drinking at a local restaurant, and Rick shows us another side of tequila\u2014it\u2019s great for cooking, too."

"When Rick wants to get away from the frantic pace of life in the restaurant world, he heads South. In this episode, he sets out to find the kind of ultimate serenity he\u2019s always sought out in his favorite \u201csecret gardens\u201d of Mexico. It\u2019s a search that takes him from a mountaintop in the jungle to a mellow natural products store in a quite corner of Mexico City and a traditional temescal\u2014a spa and sweat-lodge where curanderos practice ancient healing arts. In his own secret garden in Chicago, Rick shows us how to prepare a soothing Chamomile Tea. Then, in Mexico City\u2019s beautiful San Juan market, he checks out some of the fresh vegetables that are the cornerstones of healthy, Mexican comfort food, and back at home, he shows us how to turn them into a creamy Mushroom-Potato Soup with Roasted Poblanos. Finally, he heads for a secluded Mexican beach to pepare fresh fish Tikin Xic seasoned with a Yucatecan achiote rub and grilled on an open fire, right on the beach."

"Rick and his daughter, Lanie, check out Mexico\u2019s real-life super-hero subculture. It\u2019s the surreal, splashy world of Lucha Libre\u2014the beloved masked wrestling phenomenon that captures the Mexican imagination and spills over into every part of the culture, from politics to food. We join Rick on a hunt for the perfect snacks to eat while watching Lucha Libre with friends, as he visits street stalls outside a Mexico City arena that sell everything from tacos and snacks to colorful wrestling masks and capes\u2014and along the way, we discover the history of this uniquely Mexican blend of acrobatics, myth, mystery and morality play. At the colorful Sport Torta sandwich shop, Rick takes on El Sumo\u2014a giant, no-holds-barred sandwich. Back at home, he and Lanie make Chilied Peanuts and Pumpkinseeds and Rick\u2019s soon-to-be-famous Torta for a Crowd, his take on the giant sandwich idea\u2014two bold-flavored snacks that are the perfect larger-than-life accompaniments for a Lucha Libre party at home."

"Sure, there are great male chefs in Mexico. But women are the true mothers of this cuisine. From market cafes to hip new white-tablecloth restaurants, the cuisine of Mexico comes from a rich tradition of hearth, home and women\u2019s hands. Starting at the Cloister of Sor Juana, the great 17th-Century Mexican poet, feminist and culinarian, Rick sets out on a treasure hunt, in search of Mexico\u2019s great women chefs. There\u2019s his old friend, the revered Carmen Ramirez Degollado, herself a national culinary treasure, who is one of the great \u201ckeepers of the flame\u201d of traditional Mexican cooking. She joins Rick and his daughter, Lanie, to make Shrimp Stew with Epazote at her famed El Bajio restaurant. After a stop at Chef Monica Pati\u00f1o\u2019s MP Restaurant, Rick hits the other end of the spectrum, with a visit to Solange Muris at the muy moderno Manzanilla restaurant across town, to chat about wine, women, and the new world of Mexican cuisine."

"Chilling out in Puerto Vallarta, the jewel of the Mexican Riviera, Rick gets thinking, not surprisingly, about food. Can he find the kind of authentic, mind-blowing, soulful Mexican food he loves even in a tourist Mecca like this? Rising to the challenge, he embarks on an all-day eating fest that turns into an invaluable insider\u2019s guide to \u201ceating local,\u201d with tips on how to find the real thing amid the glitzy pretenders. The quest takes him from market fondas to a tiny tamaleria tucked away on a side street, inspiring him, along the way make two Mexican comfort-food classics, Guajillo Chilaquiles and Bistec a la Mexicana. Then he\u2019s off to the sleepy, working-class suburb of Pitillal for a locals-only treat: succulent shrimp burgers. And of course, there has to be a \u201cnightcap\u201d\u2014an after-hours stop at Taqueria El Carboncito, where the \u201cPV\u201d locals head for succulent pork tacos al pastor."

"We find Rick somewhere in the jungles of Mexico, pondering the great questions of the ancient world\u2014like, \u201cwhat was for breakfast?\u201d Back in Chicago, he whips up a plate of Huevos Motule\u00f1os\u2014Eggs Motul-Style, a heady, layered \u201cshort-stack\u201d of Mexican breakfast favorites piled on a tortilla, including fried eggs, chorizo, cheese, peas, beans, plantains, cilantro and salsa. But instead of digging in, he decides to dig down a few layers, like a culinary archaeologist, and investigate just how Mexican\u2014and just how ancient\u2014these beloved ingredients are. That investigation takes him to a dairy stall in Mexico City\u2019s cosmopolitan San Juan Market, a down-and-dirty pulqueria (a bar that serves pulque, a locally brewed \u201cagave beer\u201d), La Tequila restaurant (where we get a lesson in the ancient art of making salsa in a lava mortar called a molcajete), and a market stall that sells, among other delicacies of antiquity, edible bugs."

"Over a beautiful plate of food in the kitchen of his white-tablecloth restaurant, Topolobambo, Rick muses on the idea of culinary muses. His creative inspirations are as diverse as the culture and cuisine of Mexico\u2014ranging from leading-edge chefs to home cooks and market vendors. To show us what he means, he invites us to join him for a wildly inventive meal at Pujol, one of Mexico City\u2019s most exciting restaurants, where Chef Enrique Olvera turns traditional ideas inside out to create whimsical, world-class takes on the flavors of Mexico. From there, we pay a visit to one of Rick\u2019s favorite inspirations, a market vendor in Guadalajara who, for decades, has specialized in one perfect thing: birria\u2014goat braised in a rich chile rub. Back in the Topolobampo kitchens, Rick riffs on that classic dish of west-central Mexico in Birria (Slow-Braised Lamb) Topolobampo-Style."

"In Mexico, salsa is neither a dip nor an afterthought. It\u2019s an integral part of eating. \u201cThe more you know about salsa,\u201d Rick tells us, while snacking in a countryside restaurant near Guadalajara, \u201cthe better you\u2019ll understand Mexican cooking.\u201d And with that, he embarks on a journey into to the soul of salsa, packed with all kinds of helpful tips and techniques that prove a tasty point: salsas can really cook! He shows us how simple it is to make a classic raw-tomato Salsa Mexicana, and a roasted-tomato Molcajete Salsa, taking time out for a gardening lesson on \u201cgrowing your own\u201d salsa ingredients before turning the roasted salsa into an easy Mexican Red Rice. After a quick \u201cTomatillo 101\u201d in a Mexican market stall he concocts a smoky Chipotle Tomatillo Salsa, which becomes the base for Shrimp Saut\u00e9ed in Smoky Tomatillo Salsa. And finally, he shows us a versatile \u201cavocado salsa,\u201d\u2014Guacamole Three Ways\u2014that can go from simple to luxurious depending on the whim of the cook."

"Rick heads for Jalisco, the place where mariachi music originated, to investigate the history and mystery of this \u201cnational soundtrack\u201d of Mexico\u2014and to answer the question, \u201cwhat\u2019s the perfect food to go with mariachi music?\u201d At a stall in the Guadalajara market, he checks out all kinds of mouthwatering snack-food specialties, settling on a beautiful tostada as a band of mariachis strolls by playing their anthem \u201cGuadalajara.\u201d Back in his Chicago kitchen, he shows us his take on Tostadas, then it\u2019s back to Mexico where his search for the roots of mariachi takes him to a beautiful 19th-Century hacienda. At a colorful restaurant in Tlaquepaque, he enjoys a soft cheese in green sauce speciality\u2014Panela en Salsa Verde, which he shows us how to make at home. And finally, he brings us to the epicenter of mariachi mania, Plaza Garibaldi in Mexico City, where Mariachis gather by the hundreds, all day and all night, to meet, greet, compete, and serenade the world."

"At one time, the henequen trade made Merida, the capital of the Yucatan, one of the richest cities in the world. Today, its lovely white stuccoed buildings remind us of its opulent past. A horse and carriage ride down the Paseo Montejo will help you understand why Merida was once known as \u201cThe Paris of Mexico.\u201d Rick takes us on a journey through the Merida market stalls for a look at the blending of Mayan traditions with the Spanish influences. Dishes such as Sikil Pak, a pumpkinseed dip with habanero is totally Mayan, yet still part of Merida\u2019s meals today. The market\u2019s meat stalls jump-start Rick\u2019s surprising roller coaster ride through Merida\u2019s food history from simple pork Picadillo to the baroque Queso Relleno (stuffed cheese) found in all the classic Yucatan restaurants. Along the way, we explore the Lebanese influence on this colonial city where thousands of locals dance in the town square nearly every night of the week."

"There are days when you want to take it easy and enjoy your favorite comfort food. Others, you just have to turn up the volume. For Rick, that means breaking out the chiles\u2014everything from the Yucatan\u2019s beloved habanero with its one-two punch of flavor and heat, to the tamer hot yellow xcatic chiles. Rick turns a bumper crop of habaneros into Vinegary Hot Sauce, Tomato Frito and Xnipec Salsa and then shows how they all pair well with grilled fish! We visit the Merida market for a fresh chile lesson, explore the limestone fields where the habaneros thrive and then hold our breath for a spicy tour of a habanero hot sauce factory. At the Bayless home, chiles are just as likely to show up on scrambled eggs as they are in pot roast. Rick makes a mouthwatering version of Pot-Roasted Pork with yellow chiles, plantains and a hint of brown sugar."

"Water is a precious source of life\u2014especially in the Yucatan jungle where there are no rivers or lakes. Rick goes deep, underneath the limestone bedrock, to show us the underground rivers and cenotes (sink holes) found throughout the peninsula. For the Mayans, these holes were freshwater wells they considered sacred. Today, we can explore them up close and personal with a bit of snorkeling gear. Being in all that water makes Rick hungry for one thing\u2014seafood. So he goes topside to deep-sea fish and then enlists the help of a local fisherman to turn his catch of the day into a beachside Ceviche. When deep-sea fishing is not in the cards, Rick takes us to the Merida market for a tour of the prepared seafood offerings including Shrimp a la Vinagreta. To complete his inner beach vacation, we enjoy spiny lobster on the Riviera Maya at the beachside restaurant Oscar y Lalo\u2019s. The journey ends in Rick\u2019s backyard grill for stunning version of Lobster with Smoky Garlic Mojo."

"Cochinita pibil. Yucatan\u2019s slow-cooked, banana leaf-wrapped pork specialty that never ceases to inspire Rick, whether he\u2019s made it in his slow-cooker, home oven or restaurant kitchen. For Season 5 of Mexico\u2014One Plate at a Time, Rick takes the inspiration to its pinnacle: he digs a pit in his urban backyard, lines it with bricks, builds a big fire, then slow-cooks a whole pig the old-fashioned way. Good thing he invited the neighbors for dinner! We start out with a visit to the small town of Tixkokob to learn the secrets from Silvio Campos, a local pit master known for his Slow-Roasted Achiote Pork. Hint: Don\u2019t forget the banana leaves and be sure to cover the pit well. At home, Lanie Bayless lets us in on her secret weapon (a food processor) to easy Pickled Red Onions and Roasted Habanero Salsa. Once the heavy labor is finished, Rick marinates his pig with plenty of achiote and lime juice before he buries it in the backyard."

"There\u2019s nothing like a tall glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice\u2014naranjada\u2014it\u2019s called in Mexico. Rick takes us on a citrus groove to learn the ins and outs of fresh juice in savory, lip-smacking dishes throughout the Yucatan. We journey to the huge citrus market in Oxkutzkab for a sweet and sour lesson on the lime family tree\u2014from lim\u00f3n to lima the classic aromatic citrus fruit used to make Sopa de Lima (Classic Yucatecan Lime Soup with crispy tortillas). Lanie teaches Rick a thing or two about the local avocadoes \u2014from the Noche Buena variety to the Lagunero. At home, they make an Avocado-Mango Salad with a fresh lime juice and pumpkinseed dressing. Then Rick takes us to Tutul Xiu Restaurant in the small town of Man\u00ed for their renowned Poc Chuc\u2014quick-grilled thin pieces of pork marinated in sour orange and served with all kinds of crunchy garnishes."

"By now the secret is out: Rick has a sweet tooth. For everything from ripe fruit to homemade candies to luscious pies. And when he travels to Mexico, he\u2019s on the prowl for it all\u2014lucky for us. We visit 100% Natural, a favorite stop in Playa Del Carmen for tropical fruit juices, creamy yogurt shakes and exotic fruit plates. At home, Rick transforms Mexican papaya into a surprising dessert he calls Caramelized Papaya with Mexican Cheese\u2014think of a tropical version of apple pie with cheddar cheese. Which brings us to pie! Rick reminisces about (and enjoys a piece of) the coconut pie at Alberto\u2019s Continental Patio Restaurant in Merida. These days he gets his coconut fix from a fast version of the classic sweet candy Cocadas Horneadas using frozen shredded coconut. In Tixkokob, a local cook teaches us her ethereal version of sweet baked meringues which brings us back to pie. Rick whips up a Mango-Lime Meringue Pie sure to inspire cooks everywhere."

"More people visit the Yucatan peninsula than any other region of Mexico. They mostly come for the fun and the beaches while Rick comes for the cool angle, the story behind the story, the local food and the people. The adventure begins in Playa del Carmen when Rick hooks up with our other favorite Public Television chef, Jacques Pepin. Jacques invites Rick to cook in his vacation home in Playa, but first they enjoy a bite to eat at Jacques\u2019 favorite breakfast spot. Then they head to the beach in search of really fresh fish and to debate the merits of barracuda. After a stop at Jacques favorite local market for produce and chiles, the cooking begins. Rick prepares a salad of grilled cactus, chaya leaves and arugula to top red chile-seared mahi mahi. Jacques sprinkles cumin and Mexican oregano over his pargo (red snapper), grills it whole, and then serves it with his version of a chopped tomato and avocado salsa."

"Rick defies the old adage to never shop when your hungry\u2014he always shops hungry, to provide a source for inspiration. In the Merida market, inspiration comes in the form of homemade tamales\u2014made from fresh corn masa flavored and filled with achiote-seasoned chicken or pork and steamed in banana leaves. Those tamales tap into Mexico\u2019s past which is present everywhere you travel. At Uxmal\u2019s Pyramid of the Magician, Rick gives us a brief lesson on water and corn which brings him back to the Mayans and their pit-cooked tamales. To learn their secrets, we visit Silvio Campos\u2019s home for a step-by-step class in muchipollo\u2014rustic chicken and pork tamales baked in an earthen pit. Silvio serves the crusty-hot tamales to Rick with slivers of fresh habanero and ice cold beer. The aroma of the achiote motivates Rick to make Tamales Colados (Yucatecan Pudding Tamales) at home. Fresh chaya leaves in the Merida market inspire Rick to experiment with growing his own chaya in his urban garden."

"Who wouldn\u2019t like to snack from dawn to dusk on all kinds of Yucatecan specialties? Just ask Rick and Lanie for some noshing tips. They start their adventure on the main square in Merida smack in the middle of the local, nightly dance-a-thon surrounded by food vendors. They both fall under the charms of Marquesitas, a crispy wafer rolled around cheese and cajeta. Rick shares the recipe with us from a confidenciales chair\u2014the unique park bench designed for whispering secrets to your loved one. The journey continues as they indulge in early morning treats including tortas, panuchos and impossible cake (chocolate cake topped with flan) from the Santa Ana market. Inspired, they make Salbutes (corn tortillas topped with tangy shredded chicken) in their home kitchen. At Eladio\u2019s, a centro botanero (a lively restaurant that serves small plates) in downtown Merida, they enjoy the dancing and a whole table filled with snacks and Dzik, lime-marinated shredded beef."

"Rick finds wandering through the ancient Mayan ruins of Uxmal a humbling and inspiring experience. The Mayans built a great civilization with pyramids, temples, plazas and breathtaking expanses. And their spirit lives on\u2014and it\u2019s experiencing a rebirth in the Yucatan today\u2014in revitalized food, art and architecture. We get a glimpse of the rebirth at Los Dos, a cooking school in Merida, run by David Sterling, which specializes in classic Mayan food updated for this century. Rick joins David at his beautiful school as he teaches his chilled version of Sopa de Lima topped with a panucho of lime-marinated chicken salad. Then we look at the high-style of the Riviera Maya from the rooftop of the ultra-modern Hotel B\u00e1sico in Playa del Carmen. Back on the ground in Merida, the cuisine of Nectar Restaurant soars. This ultra-modern dining room with its open-air kitchen is run by two chefs that study with some of the most inventive rule-breaking chefs in the world."

"How do you transform a simple piece of fresh fish into a gorgeous Yucatecan specialty? It\u2019s all in the magic paste, says Rick, as he takes us to the Merida market to explore the region\u2019s colorful, aromatic essential seasoning pastes (or recados). These magical mounds of spice blends become the base for grilling rubs, the heart and soul of tamales, the seasoning for all kinds of food wrapped in banana leaves and the flavoring undercurrent for tangy escabeches and slow-simmered stews. We journey from an achiote tree to the commercial grinders for the seeds to Rick\u2019s home to understand this aromatic, alluring spice so beloved in the Yucatan. Rick shows us how to make our own Achiote Seasoning Paste, and then use it for Short Ribs Kabik. Then we make the garlicky \u201cBistec\u201d Seasoning Paste to use in the stunning dish of Grilled Chicken in Escabeche."

"Yucatecan honey is renowned for its glorious color and rich flavor. Rick finds it everywhere from the Merida market stalls to the breakfast buffet at an upscale hotel where the whole honeycomb slowly drips its amber syrup for ladling over fruit and cereal. At home, Rick uses the golden syrup in his Mexican-Style Granola and in the pasilla chile-spiked glaze for a sublime Grilled Rack of Lamb. On the Riviera Maya, we visit Xcaret, a nature park, for a look at the hollow-log hives of the native stingless bees so beloved by the Maya for their honey. At Hacienda Vista Alegre in Merida, honey is the main ingredient in a honey-anise liqueur called Xtabent\u00fan. Rick leads us through the liqueur-making process then goes home to make a fabulous White Chocolate Ice Cream flavored with the liqueur."

"The story of the Mexican hacienda sounds like it came from mythology\u2014like one of those morality tales about the fleeting nature of wealth and glory. It begins with the feudal system where generations of Maya worked the fields for wealthy Spanish landowners. The era peaked in the Yucatan in the late 19th century with the world\u2019s demand for henequen\u2014or sisal\u2014made from a local agave plant. Today, the hacienda is being reborn\u2014as museums for a glimpse into the past, as production facilities for fine rums and liqueurs, and as luxury hotels. We join Rick on a field trip through the golden era of the haciendas and then go to his home kitchen to make the classic Mayan-Spanish-European fusion dishes Yucatecan Black Bean Dinner and Capered Chicken. Hacienda San Jose, a luxury resort, inspires Rick\u2019s rendition of Achiote-Seared Shrimp."

"The 19th Century was the golden age of the Mexican hacienda, and today, some of these great plantation estates live on as luxury resorts. Rick and his wife, Deann, stayed in one of them, Hacienda San Jose in the Yucatan, and we get a glimpse of the lush grounds, beautifully restored buildings, rustic-elegant furnishings, and hearty, hacienda cooking. Tonight, Rick\u2019s hosting a dinner party in Chicago\u2014a reunion with the two other couples who joined them at the hacienda\u2014with a menu and mood designed to bring home the flavors and memories they shared. The dining room is transformed with tropical flowers and candles, and the party begins with Champagne Margaritas, Rick\u2019s luxury take on Mexico\u2019s favorite cocktail. Then, the guests sit down to a soulful yet sophisticated menu, starting with a creamy Roasted Chile-Potato Soup with Greens and Chorizo, followed by Braised Short Ribs with Arbol Chiles, White Beans, Mushrooms and Beer garnished with a delicate fris\u00e9e salad."

"A lot of people know how to have a few guests over for a gourmet meal. And a lot of people know how to feed a big crowd a not-very-gourmet meal. Rick shows you how to plan a fiesta that\u2019s bothbig and gourmet. And he focuses on the Spanish influence on Mexican culture with a spectacular menu for 25 that features Mexican takes on Spanish classics. For starters, there\u2019s a sparkling Sangria Mexicana accented with lime juice. Then comes a chilled Roasted Poblano Gazpacho with fresh garnishes that\u2019s made ahead and assembled at the last minute so the vegetables stay nice and crisp. Then, it\u2019s a Mexican accent on that most iconic Spanish main dish of all, Mexican Paella with Shrimp, Mussels and Chorizo, and it\u2019s not just the main course, it\u2019s the party entertainment. First he shows how to construct a simple outdoor brick firepit, custom-built for an enormous three-foot paella pan."

"It\u2019s a barefoot-on-the-beach dinner party cooked, served, and eaten outdoors. But the catch of the day is\u2026there\u2019s no beach! Instead, Rick and his family create a little Mexican seaside nirvana right in their Chicago backyard, complete with a cabana improvised from billowing white curtains, muslin draped overhead, white table linens, sparkling Mexican candles and orchids. And the food is as inviting as the mood, because it all comes from the grill, starting with Rick\u2019s Grilled Garlic and Orange Guacamole, which gets its smoky flavor from flame-seared onions, garlic and jalape\u00f1os. Then come Grilled Mussels, cooked right on the grill grates, topped with tomatillo salsa and served as a passed appetizer. The main event is succulent Grill-Roasted Whole Fish Adobado marinated in sweet-spicy ancho chile adobo, grilled and served whole and sizzling, with a potatoes and onions, cooked in a \u201chobo-pack\u201d right on the grill."

"With a houseful of weekend guests, Rick and his daughter, Lanie, whip up an extra-special brunch buffet that turns Sunday morning into a mini Mexican vacation, inspired by the relaxed breakfasts they\u2019ve enjoyed all over Mexico. Just for fun, they set up a hotel-style omelet station, complete with a propane burner, in the dining room\u2014a great way for the host to join in the party\u2014where Rick makes individual Chorizo and Chile Omelets to order as the guests sip orange juice. The buffet also includes Chilaquiles, a comforting casserole of crispy tortillas, softened in a rich, brothy chile sauce with shredded chicken and sour cream. And because it wouldn\u2019t be brunch without coffee, Rick serves his press-pot version of Caf\u00e9 de Olla, coffee sweetened with Mexican brown sugar and perfumed with spices and orange zest. It\u2019s the perfect accompaniment for a Caramelized Mango Tart with Mexican Chocolate and Pepitas, an easy free-form fruit tart with a wrap-around pastry crust."

"From street stalls to bustling taquerias and morning to midnight, tacos are Mexico\u2019s favorite mini-meal\u2014a few blissful bites of something thrillingly savory, wrapped in a soft, fragrant tortilla. And it turns out they\u2019re also a perfect party food. Rick and his daughter, Lanie, plan a backyard taquisa\u2014a taco buffet centered around one of the greatest taco fillings of all, Michoacan-Style Pork Carnitas, chunks of pork, slowly simmered in oil until they\u2019re crisp and golden on the outside and succulent inside. Rick shows us how it\u2019s done in Mexico in giant copper cauldrons, and then brings that idea home with the help of a surprising, cooking device\u2014a turkey fryer. For pre-party nibbles, he shows how to turn salad-bar veggies into Mexican \u201cCrudit\u00e9\u201d Platter, with the addition of a little store-bought chicharrones (pork cracklings) and chamoy, a sweet-sour apricot hot sauce\u2014flavors that go perfectly with his beer and hot sauce Micheladas."

"To celebrate a friend\u2019s birthday, Rick reinvents a tradition from his Oklahoma childhood: the ice cream social, where everyone brought a batch of homemade ice cream, right in the hand-churned freezer in which it was made. Inspired by the infinitely varied frozen treats and sweets of Mexico, Rick prepares three fresh takes of his own. First, there\u2019s a Mexican Chocolate Chile Ice Cream, with a one-two punch of creamy-coolness and spicy heat. Then he makes Watermelon-Raspberry Raspado, Mexico\u2019s version of shaved ice, with the refreshing addition of fresh mint from his herb garden, served over a splashy tropical fruit salsa. And just for fun, he throws in a third concoction, Ate con Queso Ice Cream, a tribute to the flavors of fruit and cheese that\u2019s as easy as stirring Mexican quince paste into store-bought vanilla ice cream. He even makes his own homemade Ice Cream Cones."

"Who says cocktail parties have to be dressy, mood-lit affairs? Rick\u2019s decided to reinvent cocktails with friends as an informal outdoor party. His menu, on this summer Sunday afternoon, is all about seafood and ice cold drinks. And his themes are simplicity, fun and freshness, inspired by Mexican deep-sea fishing trips where your catch transformed into the ultimate ceviche right on the beach. Rick brings that feeling home with a Mexican raw-bar menu that includes a Roasted Tomato Shrimp Cocktail, and two ceviches: a simple Tropical Beach Ceviche made with scallops,and a Yucatecan-inspired Salt-and-Pepper Ceviche. And since no raw bar would be complete without oysters, he shows viewers how to buy, shuck and serve Fresh Raw Oysters, complete with his favorite hot sauces. Musing that beer and mojitos would be the perfect drinks to go with this beach-casual menu, he combines the two in an inspired bit of mixology he calls Tecate Mojitos."

"Tamales are Rick\u2019s idea of the perfect party food: little gift-wrapped packages of light fluffy masa dough with a whole fiesta\u2019s-worth of sweet and savory flavors inside. And in Mexico, when family and friends get together for a tamalada\u2014a tamal-making party, the cooking\u2019s as much a part of the celebration as the eating. After a look at how tamales are hand-made in a traditional shop in Puerto Vallarta, Rick shows viewers how to pull off a tamalada for a crowd, where the guests roll up their sleeves and take part in the filling, the wrapping and, best of all, the feasting. There are Fresh Sweet Corn Tamales made with sweet corn and butter,and two kinds of classic Savory Tamales filled with red chile pork and green chile chicken."

"It\u2019s a hot, Midwestern summer day. The mood is slow and easy, and the garden\u2019s in overdrive. So Rick decides to beat the heat and get out of the kitchen with a mostly made-ahead backyard cookout a la Mexicana, inspired by one of his world-favorite meat eateries: El Canelo, near Guadalajara. It\u2019s a sprawling outdoor restaurant with dirt floors and strolling Mariachis, where slabs of succulent pork, lamb, goat and beef roast slowly on spikes in a walk-in wood-fired pit. And it\u2019s wood, not charcoal, that gives the meat its unforgettable smoky flavor, so Rick gives us a quick lesson in setting up a home grill for wood-fired cooking. The menu is as casual as it is mouthwatering. For starters, there\u2019s a Heirloom Tomato \u201cCarpaccio\u201d with tomatillo, avocado and fresh herbs\u2014a salad made with tomatoes grown in \u201cEarth Boxes\u201d (part of a groundbreaking educational program that teaches sustainable practices to kids all over the world)."

"The Baylesses love to feed a crowd. And one of their favorite ways to do it is firing up the Mexican-style barbecue pit they built in their Chicago backyard, inspired in part by the 3,000 seat Arroyo restaurant in Mexico City, where the pit-cooked lamb and pork make every meal a carnivore\u2019s carnival ride. At Arroyo, we catch a glimpse of barbacoa\u2014lamb wrapped in maguey leaves, slowly roasted in a massive brick pit. And with that mouthwatering memory in mind, Rick and his daughter, Lanie, prepare a block party for 25, featuring Oaxacan-style Barbacoa\u2014lamb marinated with red chiles, wrapped in avocado and banana leaves and slow-roasted in the smoldering pit. To welcome the lucky friends and neighbors, there are refreshingly simple Watermelon Coolers and freshly made Tlayudas Oaxaque\u00f1as, Oaxacan-style grilled tostadas, topped with chorizo, guacamole and fresh cheese."

"Rick\u2019s having people over for a relaxed evening of parlor games. He doesn\u2019t want to spend all day cooking. But still, he wants it to be special. So he\u2019s set himself a challenge: in one hour, with one bag of groceries, he\u2019ll pull off a big-flavored spread of Mexican party food. The secret is starting with great prepared ingredients and combining them to make something exciting and new. That means finger-food like little Tuna in Jalape\u00f1o Escabechefilled with good-quality canned tuna, quickly warmed with vinegar, onions and pickled jalape\u00f1os. It means using canned chipotles to transform ordinary nuts into spicy-smoky Chipotle Roasted Nuts, and doctoring tortilla chips with lime juice and seasonings, and then baking them to make Garlicky Black Pepper Tortilla Chips. And it means an ultra-easy Wild Mushroom Queso Fundido, a hot cheese dip made extra-flavorful with a splash of beer."

"Rick\u2019s on a mission to tell the world about tequila, and he\u2019s starting with a party for 25 at home. But it\u2019s not about doing shots and licking salt off your hand. He wants to open people\u2019s minds and palates to the complexities of Mexico\u2019s smooth, super-premium tequilas made from 100% blue agave\u2014artisanal products on a par with the world\u2019s great brandies. So he\u2019s planned a tasting with tequila flights and plenty of fun, satisfying food to match. In the town of Tequila, Rick gives us a firsthand look at the production process, from the harvesting and roasting of the agave hearts to fermentation, distilling, and aging. Back in Chicago, he and his daughter, Lanie, get started on what\u2019s often called the Mexican party food: a big, bubbling vat of Classic White Pozole, a hearty stew of corn and pork that goes perfectly with the flavor of Tequila."

"After giving viewers a quick on-location crash course in Mexican street food, Rick gets an idea. Why not create a one-night-only Mexican street-food stall right in his Chicago home kitchen as the centerpiece of an unforgettable cocktail party? And with that, he shows how to pull off three authentic Mexican street snacks. There are Molotes Poblanos\u2014miniature blue corn masa turnovers with a choice of fillings: mushroom, potato-chorizo, and roasted poblano chiles with cheese; mouthwatering Tacos de Bistec con Nopales with juicy griddled steak, strips of nopal cactus and a drizzle of spicy tomatillo-arbol salsa; and Huaraches\u2014griddled masa flatbreads, topped like pizzas with chorizo and tomatillo salsa. Rick mixes up some Agua de Jamaica\u2014a bright red hibiscus-flower elixir that\u2019s refreshing on its own and a perfect base for Mexican Cosmopolitans\u2014and sets out some cut-up veggies, sprinkled with lime and chile, street vendor\u2013style."

"\u201cWhat is a taco, anyway?\u201d muses Rick over an upscale lobster taco at his white tablecloth restaurant, Topolobampo. \u201cIs it crispy or soft? Grilled or griddled? Street food or taquer\u00eda fare? Fast food or fine dining?\u201d The answer is, \u201call of the above \u2026 and a whole lot more.\u201d And to prove it, Rick heads to Mexico City, for a non-stop taco trek. It starts at Fishmart, a neighborhood seafood restaurant in trendy Condesa with the lobster tacos that inspired Rick\u2019s Topolobampo version \u2013 succulent chunks of grilled lobster and black beans, wrapped in a warm corn tortilla. Following his nose, and the smell of smoldering charcoal and sizzling meat, Rick moves on to explore some taquer\u00edas \u2013 one renowned for its char-grilled tacos al carbon and another for pork tacos al pastor, made on a revolving vertical grill, gyros-style. Here too, it\u2019s all about simplicity: a few perfect mouthfuls of mind-blowing meat and super fresh tortilla."

"\u201cWhat is a taco, anyway?\u201d muses Rick over an upscale lobster taco at his white tablecloth restaurant, Topolobampo. \u201cIs it crispy or soft? Grilled or griddled? Street food or taquer\u00eda fare? Fast food or fine dining?\u201d The answer is, \u201call of the above \u2026 and a whole lot more.\u201d And to prove it, Rick heads to Mexico City, for a non-stop taco trek. It starts at Fishmart, a neighborhood seafood restaurant in trendy Condesa with the lobster tacos that inspired Rick\u2019s Topolobampo version \u2013 succulent chunks of grilled lobster and black beans, wrapped in a warm corn tortilla. Following his nose, and the smell of smoldering charcoal and sizzling meat, Rick moves on to explore some taquer\u00edas \u2013 one renowned for its char-grilled tacos al carbon and another for pork tacos al pastor, made on a revolving vertical grill, gyros-style. Here too, it\u2019s all about simplicity: a few perfect mouthfuls of mind-blowing meat and super fresh tortilla."

"\u201cWhat is a taco, anyway?\u201d muses Rick over an upscale lobster taco at his white tablecloth restaurant, Topolobampo. \u201cIs it crispy or soft? Grilled or griddled? Street food or taquer\u00eda fare? Fast food or fine dining?\u201d The answer is, \u201call of the above \u2026 and a whole lot more.\u201d And to prove it, Rick heads to Mexico City, for a non-stop taco trek. It starts at Fishmart, a neighborhood seafood restaurant in trendy Condesa with the lobster tacos that inspired Rick\u2019s Topolobampo version \u2013 succulent chunks of grilled lobster and black beans, wrapped in a warm corn tortilla. Following his nose, and the smell of smoldering charcoal and sizzling meat, Rick moves on to explore some taquer\u00edas \u2013 one renowned for its char-grilled tacos al carbon and another for pork tacos al pastor, made on a revolving vertical grill, gyros-style. Here too, it\u2019s all about simplicity: a few perfect mouthfuls of mind-blowing meat and super fresh tortilla."

"In their Chicago backyard, Rick and his daughter, Lanie, gather the last of the season\u2019s tomatoes to make a big batch of Salsa Mexicana, the fresh tomato salsa sometimes known as Pico de Gallo. And that\u2019s the starting point for a fast-paced salsa dance that goes way beyond tomatoes. In Mexico, salsas can be bright and fresh, dark and earthy, red or green, raw or roasted \u2013 and they\u2019re more of a condiment for food than a dip for chips. At Los Parados, a favorite Mexico City taquer\u00eda, Rick and Lanie show us the three pillars of Mexican salsa: that familiar fresh-tomato salsa Mexicana, salsa de molcajete made from roasted tomato, chile and garlic pounded in a lava-stone mortar, and red chile salsa, made by toasting, soaking and grinding dried chile de \u00e1rbol. But that\u2019s just the beginning. At Manolo, another popular taquer\u00eda, they discover a rich, spicy, peanut salsa and a classic, creamy avocado-tomatillo salsa."

"Over a breakfast of tortas \u2013 Mexican sandwiches filled, in this case, with Rick\u2019s quick Mexican scrambled eggs, beans, and avocados \u2013 Rick and his daughter, Lanie, plan an all-day torta marathon in Mexico City. Their quest beings at the city\u2019s charming Sunday flea market, Lagunilla, where they check out some simple, yet mouthwatering tortas, with a succulent filling of salt cod bacalao. Next stop: Don Polo, a gleaming 1950s-style chrome and neon diner, famous for its menu of griddled tortas. Rick and Lanie watch how they\u2019re made and try a Cubana with chorizo, pork and ham. Then it\u2019s on to El Pialadero \u2013 The Cattle Roper \u2013 for the famed Guadalajara specialty, Tortas Ahogadas, or \u201cdrowned\u201d sandwiches, stuffed with juicy braised beef and smothered in a brothy tomato-oregano sauce. It\u2019s a treat so irresistibly messy that it\u2019s served with plastic gloves."

"Nothing captures the spirit of a day at the beach in Mexico like the fresh seafood cocktail or ceviche. But you don\u2019t have to be on the coast to enjoy it. Rick finds a classic version at a favorite spot with the feel of a beachside fish shack \u2013 right in the heart of landlocked Mexico City. Then, in search of more \u201cinland ceviche\u201d surprises, he hits the streets and takes us to a major-league marisqueria with a menu to rival any great seafood restaurant in town \u2013 all created in a stand no larger than a fishing boat. Rick enjoys the bracing blend of octopus, fish, shrimp and hot sauce known as Vuelve a la Vida (\u201cCome Back to Life,\u201d so named because it\u2019s a popular a hangover cure). At a nearby fish market, he checks out the catch of the day from both the Pacific and Gulf coasts, and shares tips on the best choices for homemade ceviche. In Chicago, he makes a quick Frontera Ceviche, a preparation that\u2019s been a mainstay at his Frontera Grill for years."

"Mole is an idea that\u2019s half pre-Columbian, half European, and 100% Mexican \u2013 a sauce, a preparation and a national dish that rivals the culinary masterpieces of the world\u2019s greatest cuisines. Rick and his daughter, Lanie, set off on a culinary journey to explore the mysteries of mole that takes them from the mile-high piles of dried chiles in Mexico City\u2019s vast La Merced market to stalls selling towering mounds of concentrated mole paste. Back in Chicago, they\u2019re on a mission to make mole from scratch. It\u2019s an all-day labor of love to be sure, but Rick breaks the complex process down into easy steps, giving tips on all the ingredients \u2013 from sesame seeds and tomatillos to chiles and chocolate \u2013 that give mole its richly layered flavor. As the sauce simmers over a wood fire in the backyard, Rick and Lanie use some of it to make a succulent Laquered Chicken in Classic Red Mole and whip up some Classic Mexican White Rice with Sweet Plantains and a Mexican crudit\u00e9 platter."

"What could be better than a freshly made, gooey, warm quesadilla? Rick answers the question by showing us how to make the flour tortillas from scratch. What could be better than that?Well, actually, in Mexico, Rick explains, quesadillas and flour tortillas have nothing to do with each other. He takes us to the Bazar Sabado, a charming colonial-style labyrinth of handicrafts shops in the heart of Mexico City\u2019s bohemian Coyoac\u00e1n district, to experience the true art of the quesadilla. In the Bazar\u2019s shady courtyard, the delicate treats are made the traditional way from freshly ground corn masa, patted onto a massive cast-iron griddle, topped with cheese and fillings and baked to a golden finish. For a more rough-and-tumble look at the same idea, we visit Lagunilla, the city\u2019s fantastical flea-market, where vendors turn out all kinds of mouthwatering quesadillas and other toasted-masa snacks on a griddle over a charcoal fire."

"Carnitas \u2013 chunks of pork cooked slowly in lard until they\u2019re golden and crisp on the outside and meltingly tender inside \u2013 are a weekend family tradition in Mexico. At the Medellin Market in Mexico City, Rick gives us an insider\u2019s look at how they\u2019re made every Saturday and Sunday in a huge copper cauldron, and served up with fresh corn tortillas and crispy chicharr\u00f3n (pork cracklings). But what if a carnitas craving strikes and you\u2019re not in Mexico on a weekend? No worries. Back in Chicago, Rick demonstrates his signature method for making fabulous carnitas right in a standard home oven. Then, thinking beyond pork, Rick shares a creative take on carnitas at the splashy seafood restaurant, Contramar, where the dish gets a deep-sea do-over with chunks of fresh-caught tuna."

"We find Rick and his daughter, Lanie, at the Mexico City\u2019s colorful Sonora Market, an emporium of medicinal herbs and the best place in town to buy cazuelas, the beautifully rustic earthenware cooking and serving casseroles that define a whole class of stews and taco fillings. We tend to think of taquer\u00edas for their familiar grilled and griddled fillings, like carne asada. But, Rick explains, there\u2019s a whole world of stands and shops that have no grill at all and specialize in satisfyingly homey, slow-cooked fillings made in cazuelas with everything from stewed meat to richly flavorful vegetables. Rick and Lanie check out El G\u00fcero, a Mexico City institution, popularly known as \u201cTacos Hola!,\u201d that specializes in slow-cooked taco fillings. Back home in Chicago, Rick and Lanie plan a cazuela-taco dinner. Lanie throws together a quick Pork with Smoky Tomato Sauce and Potatoes in the crockpot before heading off to school. By dinnertime, it\u2019ll be meltingly tender and richly flavored."

"Rick\u2019s out to dispel the notion that an enchilada is all about smothering tortillas in sauce and gooey cheese. At Caf\u00e9 Azul y Oro in Mexico City, he shows us the iconic Mexican version of the dish: a corn tortilla in a red mole sauce and rolled around a light, simple chicken filling. From that classic formula things can, of course, get more inventive and Rick shares with us one of the more unusual, though still classically grounded enchiladas on Chef Ricardo Mu\u00f1oz-Zurita\u2019s menu: an enchilada of jamaica, or dried hibiscus flowers that tastes like a cross between pickled beets and cabbage. From there he takes us to Caf\u00e9 Tacuba, a Mexico City Institution since 1912, where the signature Enchilada Especial is a comforting concoction with a chicken, spinach and poblano chile filling, bathed in velout\u00e9 sauce and browned under the broiler. It\u2019s so good, he can\u2019t resist showing us how to make his one Caf\u00e9 Tacuba-Style Creamy Chicken Enchiladas in his home kitchen in Chicago."

"Chorizo, the succulent pork sausage seasoned with chiles, spices and a touch of vinegar, is the \u201cbacon of Mexico\u201d \u2013 the perfect accompaniment for eggs and, like bacon, a versatile ingredient for cooking that can give any dish a serious head start on flavor. At his neighborhood Mexican grocery in Chicago, Rick shows us fresh-made chorizo sold at the butcher counter and talks about how it is made. Buying a batch of the sausage to take home, he quickly turns it into a Caramelized Onion and Chorizo to use for a taco filling. Then he transforms that full-flavored mixture into a dressing for a Chorizo Spinach Salad with jicama, a Mexican-style take on the classic wilted spinach salad with warm bacon dressing. At the Medellin Market in Mexico City, he introduces us to green chorizo, a popular 20th-century innovation from the town of Toluca, made with fresh herbs and cilantro, now enjoyed all over Mexico. In the U.S., it\u2019s not easy to find."

"Rick and his daughter, Lanie, check out a fabulous fish fillet at a neighborhood restaurant in Mexico City, and then, at a seafood street stall, they get rapturous over a plate of succulent garlicky prawns that rivals the best scampi in the world. The common denominator of these two dishes? It\u2019s one of the cornerstones of Mexican cooking, Mojo de Ajo (literally, \u201cbath of garlic\u201d) \u2013 a sauce made by slowly simmering garlic in olive oil and seasoning it with lime and chiles. Back home in Chicago, Rick shows us how he plants, grows and cures this flavorful garlic variety, then uses some to make a big batch of Mojo de Ajo \u2013 a jar of \u201cliquid gold\u201d to keep on hand for enhancing just about anything. First, he uses some of it to make Mixiotes of Woodland Mushrooms with Slow-Cook Garlic and Mexican Herbs, bathed in mojo and baked in parchment."

"The Baja California peninsula boasts a climate reminiscent of those on the Mediterranean Sea. Thousands of olive trees and vineyards in Northern Baja capture the distinctiveness of this region of Mexico. We explore the amazing grilled octopus at Tres Virgenes in La Paz and enjoy mesquite-grilled lamb with 9-chile mole sauce. Rick makes tacos of kale and spinach with a green garlic mojo from the gardens of the renowned spa Rancho La Puerta. In Tijuana, Chef Miguel Angel Guerrero Yag\u00fces shows off his terrific wood-fired grill to Rick before he cooks lamb three ways. Chef Jair Tellez makes a geoduck ceviche at his dreamy Laja restaurant in the Valle de Guadalupe. At home, Rick grills lamb with fennel and a red chile salsa. Astonishing Baja, indeed."

"People are passionate about their tacos in Tijuana. Ask any local and they\u2019ll tell you their favorite\u2014complete with mouthwatering details. Three local Tijuana foodies take Rick on a taco \u201ccrawl\u201d starting with arrachera (skirt steak) tacos at El Yaqui. Piled high with beans, creamy avocado salsa and Mexican \u201ccandy\u201d (roasted jalape\u00f1os). The feast moves on to include suadero tacos at Los Ahumadores, saut\u00e9ed and fried shrimp tacos at Mariscos El Mazate\u00f1o, steamed tacos on the Tijuana\u2019s tourist strip and ends with smoked salmon tacos at Salceados. At home, Rick creates a taco feast for a casual backyard cookout."

"Rick is always up for a cooking challenge. After a day spent boating and kayaking on the Sea of Cortez with a local ecotourism group, Rick grills dinner for the group on the beach at Espiritu Santo island\u2014one of the most biologically diverse marine areas in the world. The waters surrounding the island support coral reefs, colonies of sea lions and more than 500 species of fish. To stock up on supplies, Rick shops in the La Paz market for local cheese, fresh produce and chiles and on the island purchases seafood from a fisherman. Along the way, Rick learns from his guides about flying manta rays, dolphins, and the local flora. Then he grills fish and makes a stunning papaya salsa on the beach."

"Baja California Norte produces many world-class, gold medal-winning wines. That fact may surprise most people in the United States. Rick takes us on a tour of the region along with renowned winemaker and visionary Hugo d\u2019Acosta, founder of La\u2019Escuelita, a nonprofit winemaking school opened in 2004. Hugo introduces Rick to his Casa de Piedra wines before taking Rick on a tour of the school where locals and chefs come to make their own wines. At Tres Mujeres, a charming winery run by three women, Rick tastes each of their wines with their favorite dishes. Their cooking inspires Rick to make stuffed chiles with red wine at home. At L.A. Cetto, winemaker Camillo Magoni tells Rick about his 47-year career with one of the oldest wineries in Mexico. Rick cooks with Ludwig Hussong of San Rafael Winery in the Valle de Ojos Negros and they toast the wines of Mexico."

"Ever travel to a tourist mecca and wonder what the locals eat? Rick does. So he joins his pal Hugo to find the best Mexican food in Los Cabos. Their first stop is at the municipal market in San Jose del Cabo for a quick mid-morning meal of sopes and beef soup. Then they enjoy amazing carnitas at Los Michoac\u00e1nos, stuffed guero chiles and bacon-wrapped shrimp at Mariscos El Toro Guero and guava tamales at Sabor Internacional. In Chicago, Rick teaches us how to stuff and grill shrimp and make those guava tamales."

"Rick and local guide Luis Garduno of REDTours venture out on a skiff to learn about sustainable fishing on Magdalena Bay. They catch up with local lobster fishermen and learn about sizing lobsters. Then they watch as clam divers haul up the local chocolate clams from the bottom of the bay. On the Isla de Magdalena shore, Rick and chef Hubert turn the spiny lobsters into an impressive stuffed entr\u00e9e and mouthwatering salad. Rick gets to tag and release a protected sea turtle while the stuffed clams roast on the grill."

"Ever dream of owning a winery? Don and Tru Miller made their dreams come true 12 years ago when they built Adobe Guadalupe in the Valle de Guadalupe. Rick\u2019s dream of cooking in their stunning kitchen, with its handmade wood-fired oven, comes true this season when he cooks for the Miller\u2019s and other local winemakers. Along the way, Rick shops for just-picked produce at the idyllic farm stand on the grounds of Mogor Baden Winery, artisanal cheeses at Rancho La Campana (a 100-year-old cheese cave) as well as for breads and olives at the charming Cremeria los Globos. What\u2019s for dinner? Local leg of lamb with a pasilla olive sauce, mixed greens with fresh mussels and fava beans and perfect strawberries with chamomile sabayon. Dreamy indeed."

"There\u2019s a long heritage of good food in Tijuana: It has an amazing taco culture and is the birthplace of the Caesar salad. Today, Tijuana boasts one of the top culinary schools in the country and some of the best chefs in Mexico. Rick and three fellow food-lovers dine at the ultra-modern Mision 19 located in Mexico\u2019s newest Leed Gold Certified building. Chef Javier Plascencia wows them with his creative twists on classic Mexican dishes such as braised beef short ribs wrapped in fresh fig leaves and served with black mole and kabocha foam. For starters, Chef Javier layers local tuna with nopales, chicharron and avocado meringue. Between bites, Rick and his guests discuss their own relationships with food, the expanding culinary scene in Tijuana and the future of Mexican food."

"Fish tacos embody Ensenada\u2019s history in one bite: Fresh fish from pristine waters encased in crispy batter influenced by Asian immigrants, topped with Spanish-inspired creamy sauces, wrapped up in a very Mexican corn tortilla and spiked with chile. We seek out some of the best versions at Mariscos El Norte\u00f1o, a stall opposite the Ensenada Fish market, and a 30-year old corner stand Los Originales El Chopipo. No trip to Ensenada would be complete for a foodie without a stop at La Guerrerense where Sabina Bandera Gonzalez has been serving the best seafood ceviches and tostadas for more than 29 years. There Rick savors a mixed platter of shellfish and amazing sea urchin tostadas. A stop at Marco Antonio has Rick indulging in shrimp tacos with chipotle cream. Seriously good. In Chicago, Rick hosts a seafood taco party complete with the secrets to making outstanding fried fish tacos at home."

"Many of us experienced our first Mexican beer on a beach with a squeeze of lime. Now we\u2019re happy to see a beer revolution rumbling in the Baja peninsula. Rick takes us from the Tecate brewery, which started in 1944, to the Tijuana brewery, makers of several microbrews. At Ultramarinos, an Ensenada bar with a penchant for pairing specialty beers and local seafood, Rick enjoys an oyster taco with owner Alain Genchi. Finally, Rick meets two expatriates brewing beer in Los Cabos\u2014perfect for enjoying with their beer pizza. At home, Rick tucks a tomatillo and chorizo pizza into his wood-burning oven. Salud!"

"Two of Ensenada\u2019s best seafood chefs, Benito Molina and Alain Genchi, join Rick for a lesson in mollusk farming. Juan Carlos Lapuente of Acuacultura Integral de Baja California takes the trio to the rich coastal waters to see oyster and mussel farming. Along the way, we learn that the quality of these waters is what makes the seafood from this area so outstanding. They cook their catch at Muelle Tres on the Ensenada waterfront, then Rick accompanies Benito to his fine-dining restaurant, Manzanilla, for saut\u00e9ed abalone and two oyster preparations. Solange Muris pairs her husband\u2019s dishes with the local wines. At home, Rick shows us how to make the green ceviche he enjoys at Erizo, a Tijuana ceviche restaurant featuring local seafood."

"Maybe it\u2019s the water, maybe it\u2019s the desert, but there\u2019s definitely magic in the charming Baja town called Todos Santos. It all starts at Art & Beer, a funky roadside bar on the outskirts of town that serves generous cocktails and outstanding appetizers. Then Rick checks into the Hotel California before meeting up with his local buddy, Sergio Jaurequi, for a history lesson about the town\u2019s disappearing and reappearing water supply. Together they taste the local sweets and get a lesson from local cook Do\u00f1a Ramona, in transforming dried beef and cactus into delectable dishes. Chef Dany Lamote\u2019s vanilla-infused margarita proves magical, too."

"Rick introduces the viewers to some of Los Cabos top chefs and their restaurants then cooks dinner for them at a luxurious beach house. Margarita Carrillo, chef\/owner of Don Emiliano Restaurant in San Jose del Cabo, joins Rick to purchase the local cabrillo fish and to visit Tamarindo\u2019s Farm for organically grown produce. Rick makes a tamarind chile sauce to go with his fish and eggplant course. Margarita makes her special tomatillo tart for dessert. Together they cook chocolate clams on the beach with their guests. At dinner, Rick, Margarita and the local chefs discuss the philosophy of cooking for people and the meaning of dining together."

"Rick takes us on a remarkable journey through Oaxaca City during the revered D\u00eda de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) holiday. We discover that in Mexico death is embraced as part of the circle of life. During the holiday, people welcome home the spirits of their ancestors who come to commune with their families and friends. Like all visitors, the ancestors are welcomed with food, drink, music and memories. The spirit\u2019s presence is a blessing and brings joy to loved ones. In preparation for the celebration, the last days of October are spent preparing aromatic loaves of pan de muerto (sweet bread), making mole, harvesting special flowers, including marigolds (cempas\u00fachil) and creating commemorative altars in homes. Grave sites are decorated with elaborate sand paintings. The bustling Central de Abastos market in Oaxaca is overflowing with flowers and bread."

"Everything tastes better cooked over a wood or charcoal fire\u2014at least that\u2019s the Oaxacan credo. From soup to barbacoa, burning embers influence the flavor of Oaxaca\u2019s food in just the right ways. For starters, Rick guides us through the \u201ctaco corridor\u2019 at the 20 de Noviembre market just off the main square in Oaxaca. We can almost taste the richly burnished chiles and onions as they grill alongside super-thinly sliced beef and pork and robust chorizo sausages. Then we see hot rocks plucked from the glowing embers and dropped into hot soup for making caldo de piedra (stone soup), a specialty from the village of San Felipe Usila. La Capilla, a campestre (open air) restaurant, in the town of Zaachilla, has served lamb and goat barbacoa for more than 47 years. Rick\u2019s so enamored with the process of burying the chile-seasoned meat in glowing embers that he creates his own version on the backyard grill. Served with Oaxacan pasilla tomatillo salsa, there\u2019s meat, fire and smoke in every bite."

"The majority of the people who travel to Mexico go for the beaches. Little wonder when the beaches are as pristine as Huatulco\u2019s Playa Chahu\u00e9\u2014complete with the Playa Limpia certification for cleanliness. Still, a man\u2019s gotta eat. Not content with a diet of all-inclusive resort dining, Chef Rick Bayless takes us off the beaten path to find great food and even better beaches. You\u2019ll be well-advised to follow his lead and start the day at one the local\u2019s favorite restaurants, Sabor de Oaxaca, in La Crucecita. There, Rick enjoys Salsa de Huevo (omelets in salsa) before a quick trip to Puerto Escondido for an amazing lunch of wood-fired grilled fish on the Playa Principal. Rick paddle-boards on Playa Carrizalillo, another stunning beach in Puerto Escondido, to work up his appetite for Encamaronadas (crispy, cheesy shrimp tacos)."

"Mescal is having a real renaissance, both in Mexico and in fine cocktail emporiums all over the United States. Rick takes us on a journey to see how a small Oaxacan distiller hand-crafts this fine spirit renowned for its rich, smoky complexity and brightness. As with any great artisan product, there\u2019s always a great story. With Rick around, there\u2019s always great food, from hand-pressed memelas topped with a bright avocado salsa to vinegar-infused snacks. We learn to sip mescal with fresh oranges and sal de gusano\u2014chile-spiked salt. At home, Rick guides us through a mescal tasting and a host of snacks for a do-it-yourself mescal cocktail party."

"So many moles, so little time. That\u2019s how most visitors to Oaxaca feel when perusing the choices from mole pastes in the markets to fine examples served up at restaurants and street vendors all over the state. Let\u2019s start with two moles, advises Rick, who takes us to Seasons of My Heart Cooking School on the outskirts of Oaxaca City to explore Black Mole and Green Mole with school owner Susana Trilling and her students. We perfectly char the chilies, set the seeds aflame and roast the tomatoes for Susana\u2019s black mole sweetened with roasted plantain and a little Oaxacan chocolate. On the simpler side, there\u2019s green mole\u2014redolent with fresh herbs, roasted tomatillos and jalapeno. At home, Rick makes his Coloradito Mole before we indulge in yellow mole and grilled fish at Topolobampo."

"Ever on a quest to learn more about the food he grows and cooks, Rick even vacations with an agenda. This time he\u2019s taking us to the mountains to Finca Las Nieves, with its artisanal coffee production and organic gardens. Together we learn about sustainable gardening along with how-to\u2019s for amazing vegetarian tamales and sopa de chepil in the kitchens at the Finca. Then it is off on a hike seeking orchids and bromeliads before a lunch of trout at the restaurant of a trout farm. Rick makes his version of the trout with chorizo at home. Rancho Pitaya also proves fertile ground for Rick\u2019s eco-tour vacation with horseback riding to a cactus grove overlooking the valley of Oaxaca before a picnic lunch of grilled tasajo beef, a salad of fresh cactus paddles and red chile potatoes."

"The variety of corns available in Oaxaca boggles the mind and the taste buds. Rick introduces us to Amado Ramirez Leyva who believes that corn, domesticated some 9000 years ago in Mexico, is the basis of Mexican culture. From championing the protection of ancient varieties, to cooking and grinding it into masa for tortillas, Amado just might be the corn guru of Oaxaca.All manner of enticing snacks served at Itanoni his Oaxaca restaurant, including memelas, tetelas, tostadas, and tacos, use carefully selected types of maiz criollo (native corn). Abigail Mendoza, a superb village cook from Teotitlan del Valle, transforms her handmade fresh blue and white masa into simple, yet amazing village-style tamales cooked in a traditional olla over a wood fire. Rick riffs on her yellow mole to make his own fresh empanadas on his kitchen griddle. With the skyline of Oaxaca as the back drop, chef and restaurateur Pilar Cabrera shows Rick her beautiful squash blossom tamales."

"\"You are what you eat.\" Brillat Savarin\u2019s statement fuels Rick\u2019s tour of the 21 de Noviembre market in downtown Oaxaca. We uncover the incredibly rich culture of the market and its role in the daily lives and meals of the locals. Mounds of tomatoes, chiles and cilantro inspire salsa. Fresh chickens inspire Rick to spit-roast chickens in his backyard grill. Baskets of black beans motivate a platter of enfrijoladas topped with chorizo. The amazing market day ends with a stop at Chaguita, a 200 year-old frozen ice and ice cream stand and a favorite of Rick\u2019s for more than three decades. At home, Rick inspires us with his simple coconut ice and a deep-pink jamaica syrup."

"In Mexico, cheese is all about fresh cheese. So fresh, in fact, that Rick planned his cheesemaking with two local women in the village of Rojas around the milking of the alfalfa-fed cows. We see that uber-fresh milk turned into the sweet, tender curds known as queso fresco and the tangy, salty quesillo (string cheese) so ubiquitous to many Oaxacan specialties. In his Chicago home kitchen, Rick encourages viewers to try their own hand at fresh cheese. As a reward, he creates a simple dinner featuring the just-made cheeses as well as salsas from his grill with salad from the garden."

"Ever dream of renting a space with a kitchen in Mexico just so you can cook all the fresh fish you can eat? Rick lives the dream at Hotel Villas Carrizalillo in Puerto Escondido. First, he peruses the town market for inspiration and ingredients from heirloom tomatoes to the local tuxtla chiles. Then he joins a resident expert to take him spearfishing off Roca Blanca Playa, one of the prettiest beaches in Mexico, for the freshest possible catch for his feast. And what a feast it is! Rick takes one robalo and turns it into an aguachile (a spicy ceviche appetizer), a brothy soup with chayote and beer, and pan-seared robalo with a tomatillo \u2013pumpkinseed sauce."

"In Mexico, it is just as common to start your day with a cup of steaming hot chocolate as it is with coffee. Little wonder, when the chocolate is made from freshly roasted cacao beans and seasoned with cinnamon and a touch of sugar. Rick takes us to world-renowned Mayordomo near the main market in Oaxaca and to Seasons of My Heart Cooking School to see the process from two perspectives. For the best cup of coffee ever, Rick takes a day trip to Finca Las Nieves Coffee Plantation where the owners are passionate in their pursuit. Set in almost a thousand acres of the Oaxacan cloud forest, we see organic altura coffee from the bean to the cup. In Chicago, Rick creates a Oaxacan-style tres leches cake with coffee and chocolate. Now we\u2019re wide awake."

"The once unknown state of Oaxaca, Mexico\u2019s fifth largest, is now on the knowing traveler\u2019s hit list. Its capital is one of Mexico\u2019s most enjoyable colonial cities. By day, people relax at plaza-front sidewalk cafes beneath shady arches and take in the slow-motion scene, reflecting the best of old Mexico. By night, the same plaza becomes alive with entertainment, crafts, folkloric dances and food stalls. The city boasts a burgeoning restaurant scene, traditional markets and art galleries. The coast is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Rick takes the spirit of Oaxaca home and with a group of friends he creates a dinner sure to transport. We\u2019ll start with a mescal pineapple cocktail with his version of the crunchy chile-and-garlic-infused peanuts sold throughout Oaxaca\u2019s markets. The first course highlights indulgent shrimp and crab."

"Oaxaca has long been known for its seven moles, unparalleled home-cooking and remarkable market fare. Lately, its restaurant reputation has skyrocketed, too. Deservedly so. Rick visits four of the top chef contenders in Oaxaca City, tours their restaurants, cooks in their kitchens and discusses the lively burgeoning scene. For starters, Chef Miguel Jimenez cooks up a batch of red chile beef and fruit stew from the Isthmus to serve inside his crispy plantain mogo mogos. Next, Chef Jose Manuel Banos creates a taco from jelled carrot filled with a chintestle and shrimp ceviche. Chef Alejandro Ruiz and his brother Jesus show Rick their dream come true: An organic farm supplying their restaurants and their employees. Their beautiful produce inspires many of their house specialties. Rick and Alejandro make a fresh salsa with the garden cilantro to go with a red chile-burnished octopus barbacoa."

"Restaurateur Gabriella Camara, owner of Contramar, just might be the most energetic woman in Mexico City. Raised by a family that loves food and fine service, she dreamed a dream of fresh fish served simply and respectfully. At 23, she opened her first restaurant, Contramar. Sixteen years later, Contramar remains at the top of everyone\u2019s list for phenomenal seafood and superior service. Her vision has expanded to include Baja\u2019s top Chef Jair Tellez. Their restaurant, Mero Toro, in the vibrant Condesa neighborhood, features a big city vibe and the passion of two people that truly love pristine seafood. Chef Jair shows Rick his simple, yet stunning, robalo with porcini and green garlic. At home, Rick makes Contramar\u2019s famous tuna tostadas and a green adobo grilled fish."

"An early morning trek to the Central de Abastos, one of the world\u2019s largest markets, with Rick Bayless and Chef Eduardo \u201cLalo\u201d Garcia, proves exhilarating. Neither chef can talk fast enough about all the dishes they want to make from the mind-boggling stacks of nopales, the fragrant herbs, the crisp greens, the juicy pitayas and mangos. Chef Lalo\u2019s path to his wildly popular Maximo Bistrot in Mexico City includes migrant work on produce farms and stints in fine-dining establishments in Atlanta and New York City. Today, his suckling pig carnitas have a massive following. Lucky for us, he and Rick cook the dish in his restaurant kitchen. Rick and Chef Enrique Olvera, owner of Pujol and arguably Mexico\u2019s top chef, talk about the evolution of Mexican food and the challenge to change people\u2019s perception of the cuisine. At home, Rick coaxes amazing flavors from humble tomatillos, pork and potatoes and makes a delicious chayote salad."

"\u201cEat your veggies\u201d \u2013 it\u2019s a line children from Mexico to Morocco hear from their parents. In this episode, we meet a pair of chefs who took that advice seriously. As Rick discovers, chefs Israel Montero and Alfredo Chaves of Kaah Siis Restaurant aren\u2019t just eating their vegetables, nor just cooking them \u2013 they\u2019re growing them at Xochimilco, Mexico City\u2019s ancient floating gardens. The chefs give Rick a tour of the chinampas, small man-made islands amongst the canals, where some of the city\u2019s chefs are growing organic and specialty produce. They talk about sustainability, the future of organic, and, of course, kale. Back in Chicago, Rick takes us to the closest thing he has to Xochimilco: Green City Market, where he visits his favorite vendors and takes their wares home for a taco party."

"If there\u2019s a face of Mexico City\u2019s restaurant scene, it might be Jorge Vallejo\u2019s. (Of course, it may also be Enrique Olvera\u2019s, or Gabrielle Camara\u2019s \u2026 who\u2019s counting?). Vallejo\u2019s cooking, found at his intimate restaurant Quintonil, has long been an inspiration for Rick and Deann. But what inspires Jorge? What propels him to put together dishes such as his stunning mole with beef tongue? In one word: Tacos. So in this episode, Rick follows Jorge on a taco tour, from the simple vegetable preparations at Tacos Gus to the super-rich and satisfying suadero-style tacos at Taqueria Los Cocuyos. Back in Chicago, Rick makes his own amazing tacos at home, complete with homemade tortillas."

"Rick\u2019s got nothing against cerveza and margaritas, but in this episode he explores another side of Mexican drinking: Wine. Mexican wine. And no, that\u2019s not a misnomer. In fact, the burgeoning craft of Mexican wine is growing, often in unusual places. Marvin Nahmias and partners have transformed a high-rise rooftop in Mexico City into a small vineyard and winemaking facility; after they give Rick a tour, they give him the keys to the kitchen. The winery\u2019s brick ovens and grills speak to Rick\u2019s inner pit master, so at the San Juan Market, Rick selects cabrito to cook over hardwood, tender chayote to roast in the wood oven for tacos and eggplant to char into a salsa. Salud!"

"In the land of the tortilla, bread can often get overlooked. But if Chef Elena Reygadas has anything to say about it, bread will soon rise as an important player in Mexican cuisine. She certainly has the right tools to effect change: At her bakery, Rosetta Panaderia, she crafts transcendent versions of Mexico\u2019s classic pan de pulque (pulque bread) and sugary-topped conchas. Rick swoons over these treats and engages Reygadas in a conversation about their shared philosophies of cooking and building community. We get a sneak peak at Elena\u2019s process for conchas before Rick teaches us his foolproof method at home. Then, it\u2019s sandwich time: Rick visits Eno, Chef Enrique Olvera\u2019s casual spot that serves tuna and chicken milanesa tortas in homemade bollilo rolls. Then we head back to Chicago, where Rick makes a torta at his casual spot, Xoco."

"The Mercado Lazaro Cardenas is pretty standard as far as markets in Mexico City go. But turn one corner and suddenly you\u2019re in a different world: The world of coffee geeks, of which Rick is a proud citizen. The Passmar Cafe Finos stall brews espresso with natillas and cappuccino with blue curacao using unique brewing methods and award-winning baristas, and Rick geeks out in the best possible (caffeinated) way. Fully charged on caffeine, Rick\u2019s ready for a cocktail. So he pays a visit to mixologist Joseph Mortera, who takes Rick through a couple of his delicious creations including a mescal cocktail made with fresh hoja santa leaves and absinthe. Next up: Ricardo Nava, a bartender at Polanco\u2019s sleek bar Limantour, who shakes up his margarita by using mescal, pineapple juice and hot chile. Lucky for us, Rick makes cocktails with herbs from his garden plus some very tasty snacks in his home kitchen."

"Chef Edgar Nu\u00f1ez wants to change the world. Like Rick, Edgar believes everyone should have access to fresh, local food; he believes Mexican chefs should embrace their own cuisine; and he believes in mentoring the younger generation. Rick and Edgar strategize over a meal of duck carnitas with mole negro at Sud 777, Edgar\u2019s strikingly beautiful fine dining Mexico City restaurant. Then they take it to the streets where Edgar\u2019s mission continues via food trucks that serve fresh, affordable tacos, tostadas and caldos to all manner of customers. At home, Rick shares his tips and recipes for a stress-free tostada party \u2013 including great guacamole \u2013 sure to change your world."

"Carlos Yescas is a cheesehead on a mission: Put the fine, outstanding artisanal cheeses of Mexico on everyone\u2019s radar screen. Yescas scours the country for the best cheese producers; then, he scours Mexico City\u2019s best restaurants for chefs that will use those cheeses on their menus. One chef he\u2019s had success with is Jorge Vallejo, owner of Quintonil, who happily uses a super-rich doble crema cheese from Chiapas to make his mother\u2019s version of huazontles, and a tangy, bouncy quesillo from Chiapas for an elegant cheese soup. Luckily for the residents of DF, these cheeses can now be found at Carlos\u2019s stall, Lactography, in the sleek new Mercado Roma. Lucky Rick gets to sample the wares before heading home to Chicago, where he teaches us how easy it is to make whole milk ricotta."

"Everywhere Rick goes, he asks chefs about Mexico\u2019s up-and-coming talent. These days, Mexico City\u2019s chefs all have the same answer: Pablo Salas. The odd thing? Salas doesn\u2019t work in Mexico City \u2013 his restaurant, Amaranta, is in Toluca, about an hour\u2019s drive away. Undaunted by the trip, Rick meets Pablo at the Santiago Tianguistengo Market to get a look at the traditions that inspire Pablo\u2019s modern Mexiquense cooking \u2013 from the myriad of chorizo choices to the pasilla chiles and vegetables. The chefs also visit a local carniceria for a peek at Toluca\u2019s famed chorizo. In the Amaranta kitchens, Pablo shows us the simple tricks to his favorite mole with oxtail. At home, Rick makes an easy version of chorizo to use in crispy potato sopes."

"Mexico and chocolate go together like salsa and chips. But if you hear \u201cMexican chocolate\u201d and think of something to dip churros into, you\u2019re only getting a part of the story. A few Mexico City chocolatiers see more potential for Mexican chocolate \u2013 they see single-origin chocolate bars, beautiful hand-formed truffles, even ambitious sculptures made of the stuff. Hector Galvan of La Casa Tropical talks with Rick about the cultural importance of chocolate in Mexico and why he is working so diligently to save ancient varieties of cacao. And pastry chef Jose Ramon Castillo \u2013 proprietor of DF\u2019s hippest chocolate shop, Que Bo! \u2013 shows how he creates some of Mexico\u2019s finest chocolates, from bonbons to beverages. At home, Rick puts Mexican chocolate to work in a chocolate cocktail, Mexican truffles and a stunning chocolate-mesquite cake."

"As the restaurant scene in Mexico City has exploded, so, too, have the culinary schools. Rick takes us to the Coronado Cooking School where the mission is to educate the next generation of chefs. Rick talks with students in the traditional Mexican kitchen classroom as they make a pipian sauce for shrimp. The school\u2019s outdoor live-fire kitchen includes tortilla lessons. In the \u201cDave\u201d Creative Kitchen we see a beautiful presentation of pork loin with vegetables and huaximole. Coronado\u2019s students also help run Raiz, one of Mexico City\u2019s top destination restaurants. Chef Arturo Fernandez guides them on a path that includes new tricks and techniques, but with the soul of his aunt\u2019s home-style tongue in caper sauce. Rick, a consummate and patient teacher, hosts culinary students in the Frontera Test Kitchens to create a memorable meal that ends with the classic crepas con cajeta dessert."

"Chefs can get excited over the littlest thing. For Josefina Santacruz, that thing is beans. She believes every cook should know how to cook beans and rice before venturing any further in Mexican cuisine. For an example of beans done right, Rick and Josefina head to Nico\u2019s Restaurant, which has been cooking perfect beans since 1957; their bean soup proves a thing of beauty. Rick and Josefina likewise admire the perfect barbacoa made daily by Chef Moises Rodriguez Vargas of Hidalguense restaurant in Mexico City. He shares his careful preparation of this classic dish with Rick and Josefina at his home. At Yuban, in the Roma neighborhood of Mexico City, young Chef Paloma Ortiz respects the cuisine of Oaxaca while adding her personal flourishes. In Chicago, Rick steps us through a simple barbacoa sure to inspire all cooks."

"Deep in the Sian Ka\u2019an nature reserve, there\u2019s a seriously remote village called Punta Allen, where a team from the local sustainable lobster fishing cooperative brings Rick and Chef Juan Pablo Loza out for an afternoon at sea. The day\u2019s catch? A Caribbean lobster, simply prepared in coconut soup. Back at the ultra-luxe Rosewood Mayakoba resort, Juan Pablo showcases the tranquil resort gardens before preparing a feast of grilled lobster zarandeado with adobo mayo and sweet corn puree in the kitchen of La Ceiba, an outdoor garden party area. Inspired by the tropical abundance, Rick heads to his backyard garden with master gardener Bill Shores before making greens with grilled honey-lime dressing and sweet-and-spicy chipotle-honey glazed shrimp dish."

"Ask anyone about traditional cooking in the Yucat\u00e1n and you\u2019re bound to hear the name Miriam Peraza, a grandmotherly dynamo who knows every nook and cranny. She brings Rick to the bustling Mercado de Lucas de Galvez in Merida for a quick tour that includes a rare look at the making of recado spice pastes. Flanked by villagers in the remote town of Yaxunah, Miriam and Rick drop in to watch the making of pit-cooked cochinita pibil, the Yucat\u00e1n\u2019s iconic dish of achiote-smothered, pit-cooked suckling pig. At Manjarblanco restaurant in Merida, Miriam shows us her take on classic panuchos, sopa de lima and queso relleno. Then, Rick brings some of the Yucat\u00e1n back to Chicago, where he cooks papadzules and shows us how to make cochinita pibil at home \u2014 banana leaves and quick-pickled onions included."

"Rick brings you out of the plush resorts and into the streets of Playa del Carmen, where street vendors and roadside stands serve real-deal Mexican food. Rick heads to Antojitos Yucateco for cochinita pibil tortas, then to nearby Las Karnitas for tacos of golden, crispy carnitas with spicy salsa. Then Rick follows the smoke to a little roadside cart, where crowds gather for cecina estilo Yecapixtla, thin-cut seared beef with grilled onions and nopales. At Le Chique, a modern dining room between Cancun and Puerto Morales, Chef Jonat\u00e1n G\u00f3mez Luna dazzles Rick with feats of Mexican molecular gastronomy. Back in Chicago, Rick shows you how to execute the perfect taco party of your own, complete with slow cooker carnitas, summer squash and guero chile and grilled achiote catfish with spicy habanero mayo."

"The fertile waters of the Caribbean Sea provide exquisitely fresh fish, a bounty perhaps best translated on the plate through ceviche. Or sometimes you don\u2019t even need a plate, like when Rick and Chef Juan Pablo Loza make a ceviche of freshly caught lobster on a boat in the Sian Ka\u2019an nature reserve. At Catch, the Thompson Hotel\u2019s swanky rooftop restaurant in Playa del Carmen, Chef Pedro Abascal teaches us to make a Peruvian-inspired mandarin, carrot, habanero and ginger ceviche with leche de tigre broth. Then, it\u2019s off to nearby Axiote with Chef Xavier Perez Stone, who shows Rick how to make outrageously good coconut-shrimp ceviche. A delightful ferry ride brings Rick to picturesque Isla Mujeres, where young Chef Diego Lopez builds an absolute stunner of a dish, a ceviche of pargo with an herby green \u201cmojito\u201d broth. At Rick\u2019s new Chicago restaurant, Lena Brava, he makes a deceptively simple aguachile in a cocktail shaker and teaches us to make a \u201cBloody Maria\u201d coctel."

"Hartwood, one of Mexico\u2019s most in-demand restaurants, sits nestled between the crystalline beaches and dense jungle in Tulum. Here, Chef Eric Werner explains the fascinating farm-to-table supply chain that brings ingredients into Hartwood\u2019s unique live-fire kitchen. The rustic simplicity inspires Rick to shop for produce and chiles in Playa del Carmen\u2019s laid-back markets. Back in the funky kitchen of a Playa condo rental, Rick prepares poblanos rellenos with tatume squash and longaniza sausage, a beautiful grilled fish with avocado salsa and coconut bread pudding for dessert."

"In Yucat\u00e1n, cooking over fire is a way of life. Rick meets up with Chef Juan Pablo Loza, who ignites the wood-fire grill for octopus with local pineapple. At Zama Beach Club in Isla Mujeres, Cancun Chef Federico Lopez fires up his seaside grill to make tikin xic, a Yucatecan grilled fish dish smothered with achiote, the region\u2019s hallmark spice paste. And Chef Eric Werner shows off his all wood-fire kitchen at Hartwood in Tulum. Forever obsessed with cooking over fire, Rick brings us to Lena Brava, his new all wood-fire restaurant in Chicago, to make poc chuc, a traditional citrusy grilled spicy pork dish, then to his backyard for spatchcocked chicken al oregano worthy of a summertime fiesta."

"David Sterling, chef and author of \u201cYucat\u00e1n: Recipes from a Culinary Expedition,\u201d brings Rick on a whirlwind tour of the peninsula. The pair of Oklahoma-born, Mexico-obsessed chefs begin their journey with a conversation in Hunucm\u00e1, where Dona Lupita serves home-cooked meals at the kitchen table of her family\u2019s cocina econ\u00f3mica. Though the Yucat\u00e1n is not known for its bakeries, David brings us to the rustic wood-burning ovens at Panader\u00eda Liz in Merida. Then it\u2019s back to the gorgeous kitchen at Los Dos Cooking School, where David makes a pan of buttery, indulgent hojaldras \u2014 a sweet-and-savory pastry stuffed with ham, cheese and chile and dusted with sugar. Inspired by all of the homey comfort, Rick makes a nourishing frijol con puerco and a hojaldra all his own."

"Revered by his Mexican peers, Federico Lopez is one of Mexico\u2019s most affable and talented chefs. He joins Rick at the enchanting Mercado Municipal in Valladolid to extol the virtues of unique Yucatecan produce. After that, the pair head to Temoz\u00f3n, to a decades-old meat market where they smoke pork in rustic ovens behind the store. With a basket full of market produce and smoked meats, the chefs return to Federico\u2019s sleek catering kitchen in Cancun, where Federico artfully recreates the market in a salad of local beans, squash, heirloom tomato and chile dulce. Federico also makes pork tenderloin with longaniza sausage and beans. Back in Chicago, Rick makes lima bean soup with ham hock, plus pork lomitos."

"If you could define the singular challenge facing Yucatecan chefs, it\u2019s about honoring the past while pushing forward. Perhaps no one is more emblematic of the effort than Pedro Evia, co-owner of Ku\u2019uk, a molecular fine dining palace housed in a restored Merida mansion. Rick and Pedro start their day talking tradition over tacos at Wayan\u2019e, a busy family-run taco stand in Merida. Then, Pedro invites Rick to his home, where Pedro and his mother make traditional sopa de lentejas. At Ku\u2019uk, Pedro shows us his ultra-modern take on the same dish. In the kitchen of Topolobampo in Chicago, Rick makes recado negro to complement cured duck. At home, he makes tacos with eggs and burnt habanero salsa, avocado and red onion \u2014 the perfect chef\u2019s late-night snack."

"Belgian-born chocolatier Mathieu Brees brings Rick deep in the jungles of Ticul for a tour of cacao groves. The serene setting is the backdrop for a complete bean-to-bar chocolate education, with Mathieu, Rick and the plantation\u2019s caretaker tromping around the lovingly farmed cacao fields. Then, Rick and Mathieu head to the Ki\u2019 Xocolatl chocolate factory in Merida. Still daydreaming about all of that chocolate, Rick makes a trio of cacao-inspired dishes, including a chocolate cake with candied ancho chile, red mole with chocolate and a cocktail featuring macerated cacao and chile-infused tequila."

"Chef Pedro Abascal is changing tourist\u2019s perceptions of the food in Riviera Maya, using local farms to supply his hip hotel restaurants. Rick and Pedro discuss his challenges and successes of his approach over a traditional Yucatecan meal at Faison y Venado. Rick pays a visit to a lamb farm in Tizim\u00edn for a conversation with a rancher, then heads to C-Grill, Pedro\u2019s hip restaurant on the shores of Playa del Carmen, where he makes a beautiful roasted lamb in adobo. In Chicago, Rick heads to the outdoor Green City Market to gather ingredients for his grilled leg of lamb with green garlic mojo and camote mash, along with grilled asparagus with pasilla crema. Oh, and an incredibly delicious skillet cake."

"Cooking in underground pits is an elemental part of Yucatecan cooking. In fact, it\u2019s downright sacred, as we\u2019ll see during the preparation of mucbil pollo at an intimate candlelit Hanal Pixan ceremony (think of it as the Yucat\u00e1n\u2019s version of Dias de Los Muertos.) Rick heads to Yaxunah to see the entire process of making cochinita pibil, from the digging of the pit to the garnishing of the tacos. Rick also visits the smoky ovens in Temoz\u00f3n, a village known throughout Yucat\u00e1n for its purveyors of smoked meats. Then, he places a big order at Momocoa, a Southern-American-slash-Yucatecan barbecue joint in Merida run by Chef Paloma Ponce. All of the smoke stokes Rick\u2019s inner pit master, so back in Chicago he makes short ribs with ancho BBQ sauce and pollo pibil."

"The salt marshes of Celestun and a seaside octopus farm are unlikely places for a chef to get inspired. But Chef Roberto Solis\u2019 approach to food has always been a little different \u2014 just see the menu of his revered restaurant Nectar in Merida, which continues to charm and dazzle. In Nectar\u2019s kitchen, Roberto shows Rick how to make three of his restaurant\u2019s favorite dishes, cebollas negras, poc chuc de pulpo and deeply satisfying crispy, seared pork belly with grilled pineapple and tomatillo. At home, Rick makes tostadas of charred octopus with escabeche, plus a succulent slow cooker red chile pork belly with braised kale. To finish it off, Rick makes manjar blanco, a traditional Yucatecan coconut dessert."

"Tacos al Pastor are Mexico City\u2019s most iconic taco, all red chile-marinated pork roasting slowly on a vertical spit and sliced with glistening pineapple into a warm corn tortilla. Rick offers a glimpse of the bustling city\u2019s taco culture, from busy daytime eateries to late-night vendors. No trompo? No problem. Rick makes a version on his grill that will please al pastor purists, then it\u2019s back to Chicago for grill-roasted black cod al pastor."

"Chilaquiles are not just for hangovers, you know. Served everywhere from the regal downtown restaurant El Cardenal to the hipster haven Chilakillers, chilaquiles are a mainstay of Mexico City menus. But they\u2019re also easy to achieve at home. Rick\u2019s version, redolent with tangy tomatillo sauce, will be your next favorite \u201canytime\u201d recipe. In Chicago, the traditional chilaquiles get an elegant touch with fried butternut strips and an earthy, complex pasilla chile sauce."

"In Mexico, golden crispy churros are served with a cup of nourishing, frothy hot chocolate, and there\u2019s perhaps no better snack in the whole republic. In this episode, Rick visits El Moro, a Mexico City institution, and then orders fistful of churros rellenos \u2013 that\u2019s right, stuffed churros \u2014 in picturesque Coyocan. Back in Chicago, Rick\u2019s recipe begins with classic Mexican hot chocolate and ends with churro nibbles showered atop Mexican hot chocolate ice cream."

"Wherever you are in the world, a bowl of chicken soup is the cure for what ails you. In Mexico, that means a brothy bowl of shredded chicken with fried tortillas, earthy red chile, luscious cream, and fresh cheese. Rick shows you this big bowl of comfort at the countertop of La Corte, a workingperson\u2019s downtown diner, and at the historically luxe San Angel Inn. At his Chicago home kitchen, Rick uses his kitchen\u2019s pressure cooker to make two nurturing soups, a tried-and-true sopa de tortilla and a meal-in-a-bowl lamb-pasilla"

"A giant pot of pork and hominy stew simmering over a wood fire (or in our modern kitchens, the stovetop) is a clarion call to a homespun fiesta. But pozole can be found in the abundant pozolerias around Mexico. Rick takes you inside two \u2013 Casa Churra in the bustling downtown and El Pozole de Moctezuma, famous for its Guerrero-style pozole and off-the-beaten-path location \u2013 before making a traditional pozole in his own kitchen. In Chicago, he steps through a showcase seafood pozole verde, rich and lush with velvety broth."

"How do you improve on ceviche? You don\u2019t. You simply start with the freshest fish possible. Rick shows viewers how three eateries, including a decades-old street stall and upstart vendor making waves in San Juan Market, translate super-fresh fish into beautifully balanced ceviches. In his Mexico City kitchen, Rick makes the case for unfussy classic ceviche. Then he dials it up a notch with recipes for ceviches with coconut and a little booze."

"There are seemingly as many styles of tamales as there are regions in Mexico, each steaming heap of fresh masa flavored in myriad ways. We\u2019ll see the iconic corn-husked versions at the casual Tamales Teresita, as well as the denser, banana-leaf-wrapped Chiapanecos style, sold by a family outside the historic San Juan Bautisa church. Then Rick steps through the classic Central-style tamales, and at home prepares a surprising sweet corn tamal."

"At the serene kitchen at Rold\u00e1n 37, Chef Romulo Mendoza prepares a perfect chile relleno, the classic battered and fried poblano chile stuffed with pork picadillo. Then it\u2019s off to Pasilla de Humo for Oaxacan-style dried, stuffed pasilla chiles and El Pescadito, a taqueria famous for its deep fried stuffed jalape\u00f1o tacos. To ensure at-home success, Rick goes step-by-step through the tricky business of battering and frying chiles for classic chiles rellenos, then takes it to the grill for a lighter, vegetable-filled version in his Chicago backyard."

"When you say the word \u201cenchiladas,\u201d chances are you\u2019re thinking about the saucy, cheesy affairs we\u2019ve all come to know and love. But in Mexico City, you\u2019ll find a vast variety of enchiladas, both in the simplest of markets and nicest of restaurants. At the stately Mexico City restaurants El Cardenal and Roldan 37, Rick explores an interesting array of flavors, then makes show-stopping dishes of classic green chile enchiladas and red chile shrimp enchiladas."

"In the canon of Mexican tacos, the carnitas tacos claims its rightful, indulgent place at the top. Those golden, crispy pieces of pork nestled in a warm corn tortilla \u2014 coupled with a bracing squeeze of lime and spoonful of creamy guacamole \u2014 are pure perfection. Rick takes us to Los Panchos, a Mexico City institution famous for carnitas, and to the vibrant Medellin Market to watch a popular carnitas vendor in action. In Chicago, Rick makes three versions \u2013 two achievable takes on the classic, plus a duck carnitas to dazzle your next dinner party."

"Whether in high-end restaurants or humble homesteads, the corn tortilla is the canvas on which Mexico creates some of its most classic cuisine. Rick shows us three styles in Mexico City \u2014 mouthwatering steak tacos al carbon, colorfully garnished bistec tacos a la plancha and stewed tacos de guisado \u2014 before stepping through lessons in the perfect at-home masterpieces."

"Did you know the humble little meatball has a starring role in the Mexican kitchen? In this episode, Rick sees traditional versions of albondingas in the old-school Bar Mancera and modern versions in hipster haven Cicatriz. There\u2019s even a meatball torta thrown in for good measure. And because sometimes a \u201cbest-ever\u201d recipe needs to be something that gets to the table quickly, Rick makes crowd-pleasing versions suitable for weeknight cooking."

"San Pedro Atocpan is a small town that produces some 60 percent of the mole eaten in all of Mexico, and Rick is pretty much the perfect tour guide to show us around. We\u2019ll see mole in its many mouthwatering forms, including the elegant mole madre at Enrique Olvera\u2019s Pujol. In his Mexico City kitchen, Rick leads a lesson in red mole making. In Chicago, he makes a herbacious mole verde with fish that will make you the hero of the kitchen."