Best Recipes To Celebrate Mexican Independence Day In Chicago

With Mexican Independence Day just around the corner on Sept. 16, you can get into the celebratory spirit by making authentic food at home in honor of the occasion. While you could Google a recipe or two for dishes popular in Mexico, consider checking out the following recipes for Mexican cuisine shared by restaurants in the Chicago area. From starters to salsa and everything in between, we're serving up an assortment of recipes.

Big Star
1531 N. Damen Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 235-4039
bigstarchicago.com

With a menu that includes tacos, including the Walking Taco and frijoles charros, Big Star has become a popular restaurant in Chicago's Bucktown neighborhood. Beer, whiskey, cocktails and plenty of tequila are also on the menu. Big Star has shared a recipe for the appetizer queso fundido from chef Tom Van Lente, a native to the Chicago area who has previously worked in a number of restaurants in the Windy City.

Big Star's Queso Fundido
Credit: Chef de Cuisine Tom Van Lente

Ingredients

• 1 cup of Chihuahua cheese, shredded (any meltable cheese is an acceptable substitute)
• 1 poblano pepper
• 1 small white onion
• 1/8 teaspoon oregano (preferably Mexican oregano if you can find it)
• ¼ cup store bought chorizo or other loose sausage
• 1 package of store-bought corn tortillas

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Brown sausage in a sauté pan
3. While sausage is browning, slice pepper and onion into julienne strips
4. When sausage is cooked through, drain on a plate and cool to room temperature
5. In same pan, remove excess grease and add onions and peppers cook until soft
6. Finish with oregano, remove from heat
7. In a small oven-proof dish, sprinkle ½ cup of the cheese (should cover the bottom by 1/8 inch deep)
8. Put sausage and peppers & onions on top of cheese and finish with remaining cheese
9. Bake in oven until golden brown and bubbly
10. Serve with warmed tortillas (tortillas can be warmed in the oven or wrapped in a damp towel in the microwave)

Don Juan Restaurante
6730 N. Northwest Highway
Chicago, IL 60631
(773) 775-6438
www.donjuanschicago.com

Located in Chicago's Edison Park neighborhood, Don Juan Restaurante is a longtime favorite of diners in the area. Don Juan offers a selection of dishes for lunch and dinner, as well as an assortment of tequila and margaritas. The kid-friendly restaurant has a special menu for the youngest diners in your family. The restaurant has shared a recipe for shrimp cocktail.

Don Juan's Coctel De Camaron
Credit: Maria Concannon
Ingredients:

• 1 lb Small Shrimp
• 2 tsp Tamazula Hot Sauce
• ¼ Cup Minced Cilantro
• ½ Cup Ketchup
• 1 tsp Pepper
• ¼ Cup Minced Tomato
• ½ Cup Orange Juice
• 1 tsp Salt
• ¼ Cup Minced Onion
• ½ Cup Lime Juice
• 2 tblsp Olive Oil
• ¼ Diced or Cubed Avocado

Directions:

1. Boil shrimp with lemon until cooked, then chill in ice water bath
2. Add all ingredients besides shrimp in a bowl and slowly stir
3. Season with salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste
4. Once shrimp are chilled, drain and place into individual serving dishes
5. Add cocktail sauce; you can layer some sauce first, then shrimp, then more sauce
6. Garnish with fresh wedge of lime and an avocado slice

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Frontera Grill
445 N. Clark St.
Chicago, IL 60654
(312) 661-1434
www.rickbayless.com

Rick Bayless' restaurant Frontera Grill is located in Chicago's River North neighborhood and serves up an assortment of dishes that include classic street food, enchiladas, fish entrees and more. The restaurant's brunch menu includes egg dishes, hot cakes and so much more. The restaurant has shared a recipe for pork tinga that includes the use of a slow cooker, making it the perfect dish for a busy day. The avocado and fresh cheese can be placed inside a warm tortilla.

Pork Tinga With Potatoes, Avocado And Fresh Cheese From Rick Bayless
Credit: RickBayless.com

Ingredient:

• 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
• 1 pound lean, boneless pork shoulder, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 4 ounces chorizo sausage, removed from its casing
• 4 to 5 medium (about 3/4 pound total) red-skinned potatoes, quartered
• 1 large white onion, sliced 1/4–inch thick
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 128-ounce can diced tomatoes, in juice (preferably fire-roasted)
• 2 to 3 canned chipotle chiles en adobo, finely chopped
• 4 teaspoons chipotle canning sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
• Salt
• About ½ cup crumbled Mexican queso fresco or other fresh cheese like salted pressed farmers cheese
• 1 avocado, pitted, flesh scooped from the skin and diced
• Warm corn tortillas

Directions:

1. If your slow cooker has an insert that can go on the stovetop, heat the oil in it over medium-high heat. (If it cannot go on the stove or you do not have a removable insert, heat the oil in a very large, 12-inch, non-stick skillet.)
2. Once the oil is very hot, add the pork and chorizo in a single layer and cook, stirring until the meat has browned, about 6 to 8 minutes.
3. Turn off the heat and place the insert into your slow cooker (if you're using a skillet, transfer the meat and its juices into the slow cooker).
4. Add the potatoes, onions, garlic, tomatoes with their liquid, chipotles, chipotle sauce, Worcestershire, oregano and 1/2 teaspoon salt and stir to mix thoroughly.
5. Cook at the highest temperature.
6. The tinga will be finished after 6 hours at the highest temperature, though you can hold it for longer.
7. After six hours, gently stir the tinga. If the sauce seems too thick, stir in a little water. Taste, and season with salt if you think the dish needs it.
8. Scoop into a large bowl, sprinkle with the fresh cheese and diced avocado, and serve with warm tortillas.

Takito Kitchen
2013 W. Division St.
Chicago IL 60622
(773) 687-9620
www.takitokitchen.com

The Wicker Park restaurant Takito Kitchen offers a selection of dishes for dining in or to go. Options include an assortment of tacos, polenta, salads and desserts for lunch and dinner. A number of different types of tequila are also on the menu, with margaritas, beer and cocktails also available. But why stop at lunch or dinner? Takito Kitchen has a number of hearty selections on the menu for brunch, served Fridays through Sundays. Chef David Dworshak has shared the following recipes for a margarita and guajillo-flax salsa.

Takito Kitchen's Cucumber Margarita
Credit: Chef David Dworshak

Ingredients:
In a shaker, combine

• 1 oz of lime juice
• ¾ oz of agave nectar    4 to 1 agave to water
• 1 oz of Cucumber Puree
• ½ oz of Cointreau
• 1½  oz of Corazon blanco tequila

Directions:

1. Shake the ingredients with ice for 10 seconds.
2. Strain over fresh ice in a rocks glass half-rimmed with house made salt, and garnish with a cucumber wheel.

Takito Kitchen's Guajillo-Flax Salsa
Credit: Chef David Dworshak

Ingredients:

• 12 pc dry guajillo peppers
• 3 pc chile de arbol, or pequin
• 7 pc tomatoes, roasted until charred
• 1 white onion, peeled and sliced into six thick pieces
• 1 head garlic, broken into cloves
• 1 sprig fresh oregano
• 2 tbl toasted flax seeds, lightly ground with a mortar and pestle
• 1-2 tbl red wine vinegar, to taste

Directions:

1. Season the pork one day in advance if possible. Simmer in a pot with the water, skim and discard the foam.
2. Cook slowly until the water evaporates and begins to fry in its own fat. This will take about 1 to 2 hrs. Drain the fat off and save for another use.
3. Dry toast the chills, and the garlic in a dry pan until lightly browned, oil the onions and roast in the oven until browned.
4. When the chilies are cool, remove the stems and seeds and soak in tepid water for 30 minutes.
5. Blend everything except the flax together, strain through a coarse strainer and recook the sauce in a hot pan with 1 tbl oil and cook for 30 min.
6. When the sauce is cool add the ground flax and adjust seasoning.
7. For garnishes, use corn tortillas, avocado slices, pickled ramps.

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Megan Horst-Hatch is a runner, reader, baker, gardener, knitter, and other words that end in "-er." She is also the president of Megan Writes, LLC. Her work can be found at Examiner.com.