Caray, Caray!

Great topic! (I had lunch at a Mexican restaurant today, and I'm getting hungry again now.)

Don't forget Aldo, the interloping chef in La Fea Mas Bella, who was working on his cookbook, The Flavor of Life. As I recall, he talked a lot about the richness of life and and all that esoteric junk, but not so much about actual food. People who watched the uncut Mexican episodes were also subjected to a mini-subplot/product placement courtesy of Carnation flavored condensed milk. (I don't know if the product was a big seller or not.) Lety's mama made great chilaquiles (I think that's what they were), but I don't remember getting a good look at them.

Alas, we didn't get to see Aldo cook, at least not that I can remember. But he was my first telenovela chef, and I hated him with a white-hot passion!

There was a lot of food porn in Una Familia Con Suerte. Not a lot of cooking, but plenty of food photography. It made me drool.

Conversely, in Que Pobres Tan Ricos, there was a lot of food talk but not as much photography. Go figure.

Lastly, I'll never forget the poisoned taco that killed a nasty dirtbag in Mujeres Asesinas who had impregnated his stepdaughter. Ingredients: cocoa, ground peppers, other mole ingredients, and a large box of rat poison.

The only food I remember in Pasion was when Marisol ate a mango at her beau. That was hot. How come it doesn't look like that when I do it?
 

Wow, Anita. You covered a lot of food in a !it of shows. To tell you the truth, I dont usually notice the food. I do notice the beautiful kitchens with the colorful tiles because I like interior design. I

Thank you for giving us that wonderful comment from our Carlos. We once got hassled by someone who didn't like us trading recipes. And his Lovely Linda . I always felt that we were both fortunate to have found and married our soulmate s. I

I remember learning a lot a out agave and tequila when we watched Destilando Amor.

 

Oh...I think there was a show that was pushing Bimbo products. Then, I saw a huge Bimbo plant here. I think they bought Entemanns.
 

Yes, Bimbo owns Entenmanns. I thought that meant I'd be able to buy mass-produced conchas, but that never happened. However, I did once see (and buy) a loaf of Bimbo Toast. Long story, but it was a good purchase. Too bad I never saw it again.

In the show with Lucero and Jaime Camil, Lucero's child in the TN would have breakfast with his abuela and there was always a bottle of (some brand?) milk and a Bimbo product. Is that what you're remembering, Susanlynn? If not, maybe Bimbo was doing multiple shows. (Or maybe I'm just remembering it wrong.)
 

Hi, Julie, so nice to see that photo of you and your sister and " hear your voice" on the patio .

I can't remember the show featuring Bimbo. I guess I noticed because the name made me giggle. At the time, my friend Pat was calling her teen son's girlfriend Bimbette.

I think in AV, Miss Vicki was often next to a bottle of Baileys.
 

On the subject of telenovela kitchens, I don't think I've ever seen a tn kitchen I didn't covet. They are always so clean and beautiful and usually big.
 

I love the kitchens in the "rancho" novelas. The walls are always painted vivid colors and you will usually see ristras of garlic and chiles.
 

Thanks, Anita for the great topic just when I am thinking of making dinner. Wow! You have a good memory.

Julie, good to see you. Yes, Aldo was so full of himself.

Susanlynn, you made me remember how we got educated about mezcal in MMTMF.

Ah, telenovela kitchens! I always wanted to be in Julieta’s (Angélica María’s) kitchen in LFMB. It was the coziest place ever with food omnipresent..There was always a plate of pan dulce on the table and hot coffee or chocolate as well full dinners cooked up everyday with recipes from her home in Puebla. The next novela kitchen that impressed me was Blanca’s in MMTF where she cooked up her Oaxacan delicacies.

Lalo dairy products as well as Subway have been repeatedly advertised in novelas.

I remember seeing Bimbo madelines on some show and was all excited but my grocery stores, that carry a lot of Bimbo, never got them in.




 

Love the topic, Anita, makes me hungry even if I just had breakfast.

I always notice the kitchens in the movies and series I watch, too. I especially love the rancho ones, like Novelera said. The first one I remember that truly made an impression was the one from La mujer de vendaval. I also remember fondly the one from Amor Bravio (even if whenever I saw it it was to be reminded of one of Luzma's many heartaches).
I love the colorful tile, the plates on the shelves and all the little hidden treasures. Must be a nightmare to clean, though.

When I first started watching novelas it drove me crazy how all the characters from Argentina stories drank maté. I had no clue what it was, and I didn't have the internet at my disposal to google it. I found the actual drink years later in a tea shop close to my school, I was so happy.

Adriana Noel
 

Product placement! Uf! It can be enough to make anybody crazy.

Susanlynn, Hi! Probably not the only show to "feature" Bimbo, but Mi Marido... did quite a lot. The panaderia Corcega got turned into a Bimbo outlet, and Pancho (I think that was his name) drove around in a Bimbo truck.

Andy
 

Perfect topic, Anita.

I always get serious kitchen envy when watching novelas. There are always beautiful, large workspaces, lots of lovely produce, strings of garlic bulbs to be seen. The product placements are usually alright although they can be as obvious as ones in US televisng ion. There was a cooking scene in Mi Pecado involving Knorr products that could have been done better.

Loved watching Eduardo Yanez making bread and conchas in FELS. He obviously practiced the technique (my maternal uncle was a baker).
 

Wonderful topic and introduction ANITA. Thank you. Like everybody else, I love the ceramic tile and the earthenware cookware featured in many of these rancho kitchens. The modern ones in the city are too much like ours to be interesting. And thanks NOVELERA for the risitas de ajo y chile. I did not know the term "risitas". Often there were other herbs drying and hanging from the rafters as well. So cozy and welcoming...promising great, simple yet nourishing food.

In every telenovela I've ever seen, city or country, there is always a big bowl of fruit on the table (product placement) and now that is a constant in my kitchen as well. Our son and our grandson both are much more likely to eat fruit if it's there. And I make sure that it is.

Juice placement also seems to be key. Often people are not drinking coffee for breakfast but do have large glasses of orange juice (or some delicious looking green juice) for breakfast. And even as their drink for lunch and dinner. I just figure this is more product placement for the Mexican produce industry but all good. I figure people are better off eating produce than Bimbo products.

Even in Te Doy la Vida, Esther, in her tiny kitchen, always seems to be turning out great meals that tempt her diabetic husband. And last night the despicable Gina, seeking snotty refuge in her papa's home, asked Nelson if he wanted an omelet with cheese, or eggs and bacon. This diligently mostly vegan lady heard the siren call and oh boy! did I want BOTH those dishes. Eggs, Cheese, Bacon....yowza. Just had to toddle upstairs and feel sorry for myself after that. Those items for me are "food porn" and they are soooo tempting.

Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Forgive me Father for I have sinned in thought if not in deed. And how!!!!!
 

Oh dear, only read the first part of the introduction...so I covered a lot of what you already mentioned ANITA. No matter. Yes, I rememember Carlos' wonderful ode to cochinito pibil. I tasted it once at a restaurant in Mexico when I was there for our youngest daughter's wedding. My son-in-law raved about it. It did not live up to Carlos' description, but I'm sure if I could have had that dinner with him and the lovely Linda, it would have been just as heavenly as described. He will always be deeply missed at CarayCaray and by all his friends and family in Texas, I know.
 

You have all added a great wealth of information (for me) with your comments. Many of the tns you mentioned, I did not watch, so that was fun.

To tell the truth, I had never really focused on the food or the kitchens much. I really only noticed when something was a little out of whack--like one person running a catering service and making all the food, or wedding cakes destroyed.

Especially memorable was Caer en Tentacion, where we had Damian at the head of an important family company, purveyor of pastas, made in their own factory, and Raquel and Carolina starting up a catering business. We never really got to see behind the scenes--until almost the end when Fede actually worked on the factory floor. We mostly saw the offices. We really didn't see Raq & Caro actually working at any of the catering venues. Their offices were used more as a background for sexual assignations between Dam & Caro.

In Te Doy La Vida, the Villasenor daughters run a family catering business, but again, lots of office work and no "field" work.

In Hijas, the characters run a hotel and there is some dining going on and also in the cafe Mauricio was running surreptitiously.

I guess if I really want to see hi-jinks in the kitchen and dining room, I have to go back to my oh, so favorite, British sitcom, Fawlty Towers. It never gets old.
 

Anita..I never watched Fawlty Towers , but I love Downton Abbey , and there are many scenes of the servants in the kitchen and lots of food preparation and serving in that show.
 

Anita, what a sumptuous table you set. I was salivating at your creative recounting of many mouth watering meals. Your attention to detail has always been marvelous and little if anything escapes your eye. Or memory.

I saw many of the TNs you mentioned but remember very little of the food. I must chime in with everyone else in that I love the brightly colored kitchen tiles and often wished I had something similar.

"Lest we forget, our little ex-nun is plying Comandante Hottie with hot chocolate and cookies whenever she can" made me smile.

I do remember FELS where Juan baked Sofia those delicious heart shaped sugary cookie confections. Adela Noriega nibbled so delicately but savored every sweet bite. And I readily admit, hot bread never looked so delicious as it did fresh out of the fabulous Baker Boys' ovens.

"The only food I remember in Pasion was when Marisol ate a mango at her beau. That was hot. How come it doesn't look like that when I do it?" - excellent Julie. And that was a great scene - thank you for reminding me.

Oh, and I loved Fawlty Towers. Manuel was my favorite.

Anita, thank you. So much fun.

Diana
 

Anita, what a wonderful topic you chose!

I'm echoing everyone else who is entranced by the colorful kitchens with the exquisite tiles. The one that comes to mind ( and probably because it was recent) is Blanca's kitchen in MMTF; the kitchen was not huge but it was beautiful and cozy. I also remember how Blanca started making cooking videos to post on the web.

There was another kitchen that I can't forget, but wish I could. In "Ringo," Julia and Diego had bought a home with the most H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E kitchen (IMO). Everything was a bright orange...and I was somewhat glad that Brenda burned it down LOL.
 

What a fascinating discussion! My first impression is how on earth do you all remember the character names etc. of novelas years past?

The main thing I notice is the class difference in eating. The upper classes turn their noses up at what here we would consider Mexican cuisine. Apparently they’d rather curl up and die than eat street tacos. And if a rich character is stuck having to have that food, they put on a scene, then taste it and reluctantly have to admit that yum, it’s very good. How is it that the rich folks have never tasted the food that the vast majority of people in their country eat?

Me too on the tile kitchens! I love all that color. Watching HGTVs home shows it’s just bleak to see all the kitchens that look like hospitals – white white white.

 

Maggie--Thanks for stopping by. Ah yes, class differences make for extreme cuisines. Yet who is it that cooks for these High Class Trippers descended from the Spanish? It's usually women who come from indigenous lines of ancestry. Sadly, I think "racism" is very much alive in Mexico.

P.S. It's easier to recall character names, etc. when they are religiously written down in a "secret" document in Word. At least the ones I watch. It's fun to browse through the list of titles and realize how many of my favorite ones took place years ago.

BTW, Julie--I neglected to thank you for stopping by, too. I thought you were among the lost and gone for ever Caray watchers. Echoing Susanlynn, I'm so happy to "see" you again and "hear your voice."
 

This has been a nice topic. Unfortunately, I don't pay much attention to the food. One thing I always notice, though, are the large sit-down breakfasts and the colorful juices on the table.

Like some of our Patio friends, I always notice the kitchen decor, like the gorgeous tiles, etc.