One of the things that people who are unfamiliar with the Yucatan will say to me is, "Oh, I love Mexican food. You are probably getting such great food there." I just sigh, and say that there are a few Mexican restaurants here, but the food is Yucatecan, and most of it is very different than "Cal-Mex," "Tex-Mex" or even the much maligned, "Taco Bell Mex." One of my friends has a 13 year old son who was very indignant over his mom taking him to the part of Mexico that didn't have burritos!

I have one Mexican cookbook, and I like it very much, Authentic Mexican by Rick Bayless of the PBS show Mexico, One Plate at a Time fame. In the discussion of What to bring here, enchilada sauce came up.

What? No enchilada sauce in Mexico? I don't know about Mexico, but there doesn't seem to be any canned enchilada sauce in Merida. Part of that may be cultural. Enchiladar means, "to cover with chile," and it's also what happens when you eat too much chile and get overheated: "Esta enchilado."

My son got enchilado'd on one of his first days in Merida. We were eating at a cocina economica and there was a chile habanero on his plate. His Spanish was minimal at the time, but he knew the word for hot, so he asked, "¿es caliente?" Since no food is ever served hot here, the server replied in the negative. He tentatively took a nibble at what he thought was maybe a mini-bell pepper (un chile dulce). You can actually eat the hottest chile if you take tiny bites, but after suffering no ill effects, he boldly popped the entire chile habanero in his mouth and chewed it up.

Without exaggeration, the poor boy's ears turned maroon. He was enchilado! He was treated to every remedy possible, from sugar, Coca Cola, milk, bread, tortillas, and who knows what else. He did survive the longest five minutes of his young life, but was thereafter very particular about what he ate. He also learned that the Spanish word for, "hot" as in, "spicy" is picante. He should have asked, "¿Se pica?" or, "¿Es picante?"

Enchilada Sauce

4 large cloves of garlic, unpeeled

4 medium dried chiles guajillo, stemmed, seeds and deveined

6 medium dried chiles anchos ,stemmed, seeds and deveined

1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns

1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 cups any poultry broth (plus extra if needed)

1 teaspoon salt

Sugar, a big pinch if needed

Heat a heavy skillet or griddle over medium heat. Lay the garlic on one side to roast. Tear the chiles into flat pieces, and a few at a time, press them against the hot surface with a metal spatula. Flip them over and press again. You'll hear them crackle and see them blister and change color.

Remove to a bowl, cover with boiling water, weigh down with a plate to keep them submerged, and soak for at least an hour, preferably 2 or 3.

Turn the garlic frequently for 15 minutes or so, until blackened a little and soft within. Remove, cool, peel and place in a blender. Grind the peppercorns and cumin seeds in a mortar or spice grinder and add to garlic.

Drain the chiles, squeezing gently. Add to the blender and measure in 1 1/2 cups of the broth. Blend until smooth and then strain though a medium mesh sieve into a large bowl. Season with salt, and if the sauce is bitter or sharp, sugar. Add additional broth to the consistency of a light tomato sauce.

NOTES: if you are using powdered caldo, you may want to taste the sauce before you add the salt, as caldo can be fairly salty. One good thing about making your own sauce is that you control the amount of salt. Chile Ancho may also be called chile poblano or pasilla. Guajillos are very mild. If you want to substitute another type of dried chile to change the hotness, you certainly can, but I would not use chipoltes since that would totally change the taste to a smoky one.