Mexico: One Plate at a Time with Rick Bayless

The word "enchilada" means "in chile," and in Mexico, the most beloved version is a street snack: a corn tortilla dipped in chile sauce that are a far cry from the limp, stuffed tortillas swimming in red sauce and molten cheese in the U.S.

Gleefully dispelling the notion that tacos are crispy shells jammed with ground beef and shredded lettuce, Rick takes us on a journey in search of the real thing.

Accompanied by his 8-year-old daughter, Lanie, Rick pays homage to the magic of melted cheese.

Every culture has its small bites-sushi, dim sum, tapas, mezze. But in Mexico, these flavorful tidbits fall into a different kind of category: "antojitos," the foods you crave.

Homey tacos de cazuela-soft corn tortillas rolled around fillings simmered slowly in earthenware pots-are the soul of Mexican comfort food. And nothing makes them more appealing than just-baked tortillas.

Rick is out to prove a tasty point about ceviche, the traditional Mexican seafood salad marinated in lime and chiles: it's so ancient, so elemental and so easy, you don't even need a kitchen to make it.

Rick takes us out to the garden to discover just what a tomatillo is and isn't (hint-it's not very closely related to a tomato), with tips on how to grow tomatillos, what to look for when buying them and how to judge their ripeness.

Call it coincidence or call it fate, but Mexico's national colors-red, white and green-wind up at the center of a whole family of emblematic, home-style "comfort food" dishes, known simply as "a la Mexicana."

Fruit is everywhere in Mexico-sweet, colorful and refreshing. And it's sold ripe, so the lush smell of tropical fruit is always in the air.

Rice is everywhere in Mexico: as the second course in traditional comida, as a beautiful accompaniment to seafood, and more. But it was not always this way. Join Rick as he traces the history of this relative newcomer to the Mexican diet.

Every culture has its soothing, soulful soup, and in Mexico, it's Caldo de Pollo, a light chicken broth flavored with aromatic vegetables and herbs.

What makes these stuffed chiles in a golden soufflé batter so special? Rick takes us into the Frontera kitchen to show us firsthand.

Rick takes us to the port of Veracruz for a look at the city's most famous contribution to Mexican cooking, a fittingly Mediterranean fish preparation known simply as "a la Veracruzana" that features a whole fish baked in a tangy sauce.

How do you turn a backyard cookout into a party to remember? At Rick's place, you raise the stakes and get the guests involved in the cooking.

Chiles are the hot, spicy peppers that are used solely to make Mexican food so incendiary, right? Wrong. Rick deftly debunks the most common myths about the role of chiles in Mexican cooking.

An exploration of the deceptively complex and varied world of beans, one of Mexico's most ubiquitous staple foods.

Succulent meat, slowly cooked in pits lined with smoldering embers is the stuff of barbecue dreams.

Authentic Mexican food is fresher, more complex, and especially lighter than most Americans realize. Case in point: two classic Mexican preparations, Mojo and Escabeche.

Tamales are sold by the steamer-full on street corners and plazas, prepared by the hundreds for parties, eaten as a morning or evening snack, and universally loved. And when it comes to rolling your own, making tamales is easier than you think.

It's a total-immersion introduction to seafood stew, as Rick takes us from Chicago's Maxwell Street Mexican Market to the seafood stalls and restaurants of Veracruz where Rick shops for seafood, giving all kinds of helpful tips along the way.

There's nothing like crispy, warm, homemade tortilla chips, fresh from the fryer. And fresh-made chips deserve fresh-made salsa.

Richly complex, shrouded in mystery and misconceptions, mole is widely regarded as the crowning achievement of Mexican cooking. Its origins are the stuff of myth and magic and the flavors and techniques come together with remarkable depth.

Mexico is the birthplace of chocolate, and to the Aztecs, it was the original food of the gods.

A tangy, tomatillo-based sauce thickened with toasted pumpkin seeds, pipian verde is served with everything from chicken to fish and seafood in the most sophisticated restaurants and the most humble market fondas.