Mexican Made Easy

- Season 5

(2012)

For Cinco de Mayo, Marcela prepares spiced chicken coated in chocolate-pasilla sauce; kale-stuffed tamales; chorizo-and-potato flautas; cucumber-strawberry margaritas.

Mother's Day recipes include polverones; tostadas with spicy chicken; slow-cooked pork in tomatillo salsa.

Recipes from the Yucatan Peninsula includes cochinita pibil, a slow-roasted pork dish marinated in an orange-and-achiote sauce; pickled habanero chiles and red onions; guacamole; guava pound cake.

Pastel Azteca, a one-dish meal layered with Oaxaca cheese, poblano peppers and tortillas, served alongside avocado-and-cilantro dip, and a warm butternut-squash salad.

On the menu: steak sandwiches; grilled red potatoes with chipotle butter; cheese-stuffed jalapeños wrapped in bacon; grilled bananas with spiced-chocolate sauce.

Marcela and her aunt share family recipes and stories. On the menu: tuna-stuffed chilies; lamb-albondiga soup; chipotle-sweet-potato casserole; tequila-grapefruit cocktails.

Oaxacan cuisine is prepared. Included: mole negro; Mexican pizza; Oaxacan marinated cheese with fragrant herbs; tlayuda.

Caldo de res, a Mexican beef soup, is made, along with arroz rojo, pickled vegetables and cajeta gelatin.

A seafood feast is prepared, including crab-avocado salad; pan-roasted halibut in corn husks; chipotle-cream shrimp; ahi-tuna quesadillas; honeydew-margaritas.

Prepared: smoky salsa made with guajillo chiles; mango-habanero salsa.

Mexican desserts are made, including chocolate flan; crepes stuffed with pecans, bananas and cajeta; caramel popcorn balls; Aztec hot chocolate spiced with cinnamon and chili.

Marcela picks vegetables with her children. Then, they prepare a healthful meal, together. On the menu: bean burritos with cauliflower and cheese; ground-beef empanadas; chicken tostadas.

Prepared: salpicon, a shredded-beef salad stacked on grilled tostadas and topped with pineapple salsa; shrimp ceviche; melon-and-mint agua fresca.