dear cooks,

Is it just us, or does it often seem like Mexican food comes in only one style: namely, overstuffed burritos drowning in cheese? Marcela Valladolid grew up in Mexico where she gained a fondness for the complex moles, dozens of different chiles, and homemade tortillas that graced her family's dinner table. Yet she crossed the border daily for high school in San Diego, and then as an adult studied cooking in Paris. She found plenty to love in the markets of both countries—new, fresh ingredients to fold into her Mexican repertoire. The result: easy-to-prepare weeknight Mexican dishes bursting with freshness and authentic flavor—all without a trip to a specialty store. Tilapia Ceviche, Butternut Squash-Chipotle Bisque, Roasted Pork Loin with Pineapple Glaze, Ancho-Chocolate Braised Short Ribs, and Fresh Guava Layer Cake are but a handful of the recipes in Fresh Mexico that are certain to invigorate America's taste for real Mexican food.

Mexican food with its piquant flavors all but demands a refreshing cocktail to accompany it. Before you order that Negra Modelo or Corona, consider a Champagne cocktail—the drink du jour that mixologists are creatively reinventing with seasonal fruit purees and handcrafted, herb-infused syrups. Including traditional Kir Royales and Bellinis to out-of-the-box Raspberry Lychee or Peach Elderflower concoctions, The Bubbly Bar also includes drinks made with American sparkling wines and Italian proseccos.

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Game Hens in Apricot, Tequila, and California Chile Sauce
From Fresh Mexico

Serves 4

This recipe is one of my favorites ever. It comes from my aunt Marcela, a chef who inspired me to enter the magical world of the culinary arts. We not only share the same name and the same career, we also agree that sweet and spicy is one of the best combinations when preparing Mexican food.

Store-bought apricot preserves, used here, work well; just be sure to buy the best you can find. A kitchen syringe is a useful tool for injecting the hens with a flavorful mixture of broth, butter, and tequila. The result is a moist and succulent dish.

• 3 cups chicken broth, or more as needed
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 4 tablespoons golden tequila
• Two 2-pound Cornish game hens, thawed if frozen
• 3 California chiles, stemmed and seeded
• ½ cup apricot preserves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Fresh apricot halves, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350° F.

Mix ½ cup of the chicken broth, the melted butter, and 2 tablespoons of the tequila in a small glass bowl. Using a kitchen syringe, inject the mixture all over the hens, about ½ inch deep into the flesh. (If the butter in the mixture solidifies, warm it in a microwave.)

Put the chiles and 2 cups of the broth in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove the pan from the heat. Let stand for 5 minutes to soften the chiles. Then transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until smooth. Strain the chile mixture into a small bowl, pressing on the sieve to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard whatever is left in the sieve.

Mix ¼ cup of the preserves and ¼ cup of the chile mixture in a medium bowl. Season heavily with salt and pepper. Rub the mixture all over the hens, working some of it between the skin and the breast. Put the hens on a rack in a large roasting pan. Add the remaining ½ cup broth to the roasting pan.

Roast, basting with the pan drippings every 20 minutes, for 1 hour, or until a thermometer inserted into a thigh registers 160° F. Add more broth if the juices begin to dry out.

Transfer the hens to a platter. Strain the pan juices into a medium saucepan. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons tequila, ¼ cup apricot preserves, and chile mixture. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens slightly. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the sauce over the hens, garnish the platter with fresh apricot halves, and serve.

Pure Passion
From The Bubbly Bar

Makes 1 cocktail

Turn up the heat with the spicy bite of chile and the tangy flavor of passion fruit in this seductive potion. If passion fruit is in season, use fresh strained juice.

• ½ cup sugar
• ½ teaspoon chile powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ Key or Mexican lime
• 2 ounces fresh passion fruit juice or canned
• Juice of ½ lime
• ½ ounce Cointreau
• 4 ounces brut cava

Combine the sugar, chile powder, and salt in a wide flat plastic container. Set aside.

Make a slit down the length of the Key lime and run it around the rim of a widemouthed glass, wetting it thoroughly. Press the rim of the glass into the chile-sugar mixture to coat the rim. Combine the passion fruit juice, lime juice, and Cointreau in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until well chilled, and then carefully strain into the prepared glass. Top with the brut cava wine.