The holidays are just around the corner, bringing thoughts of food, family, fellowship, and fun!
The Questa Creative Council is hosting a timely, FREE cooking class of traditional foods from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Living Word Ministries event building. Esteemed local cook Flavio Cisneros will be your guide.
An active member of the QCC, Flavio helped in finding the Questa History Trail, and during the Questa Art Tour he provided details on-site of St. Anthony’s Church history, art, and restoration, which he helped with by cooking for the workers!
On the menu:
To begin the introduction to our very local cooking traditions, Flavio will bring his bread pudding, and Jeannie Masters’ “sopa de crackers” —a traditional dish believed to have originated right here in Questa.
EMPANADITAS:
These little deep-fried meat pies use lean pork ground together with seasonings and fruit sealed into a flaky crust. Flavio will have some already made, so you don’t have to wait for a taste, and he will show us how they are made. Not long ago, his cousin’s daughter told him, “I’ve always loved those empanaditas but I don’t know how to cook them, will you teach me?” So he gave her an ingredients list to have ready, then went to her house and they cooked together. “It’s very hands-on —grinding the meat and gathering and mixing everything for the filling,” says Flavio.
BISCOCHITOS:
Flavio’s biscochitos have received many compliments, both locally and in other parts of New Mexico. He sends a plate off with his grandson Ernesto every Christmas to share with his workmates at the New Mexican newspaper’s Santa Fe office. They get a big thumbs-up.
PRUNE PIE:
Flavio will demonstrate pitting, cooking, and mashing the filling and adding cinnamon and sugar, to a flaky crust. Prune pies will be available for sampling while you learn.
“When both my parents passed away I realized I had a craving for these foods and started making them by experimenting. I did not write them down while mom was still alive, so my own taste buds told me if things were right or wrong.” says Flavio.
What makes these traditional dishes so special? They are about family but also about this specific place. This place was a crossroads, explains Flavio, for Comanche, Kiowa, Apache, and Plains natives on their way to Taos Pueblo to trade. Crops and animals that were local lay the foundations for a regional cuisine born of necessity, which then became tradition.
“All is not lost… We can still share these things that are part of our past and teach others,” says Flavio.
Come be part of continuing our community’s traditions, on Nov. 8. Living Word Ministries’ event room adjacent to the church at 12 Llano Rd, on the north side of Questa. Find more info at QuestaCreative.org or leave a message at (575) 586-5658.
NOTE: The Ceramic Cafe open studio remains active on Thursdays from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Youth Center, through November 20.
NOTE: It’s time to think about reserving your space at our annual Alumbra Holiday Market. Several new ideas are afloat this year as we go to press. Stay tuned for details and options.
