Recipes

Green Chiles with Cheese

Green Chiles with Cheese

Chile con Queso
There are many versions of this popular melted cheese appetizer and most of them are very good if they are made with good quality cheese. Fresh roasted Anaheim chiles are called for in this version. They are usually fairly mild, but can be hot. Serve with tortilla chips.
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

Instructions

  • Prepare the chiles.
  • Then, chop or dice the chiles very fine and set aside.
  • Heat the butter or oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook the onion, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes.
  • Add the chopped chiles, salt, oregano, cumin, and cream.
  • Bring to a boil and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
  • Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cheese until melted.
  • Serve warm.
————————————————————————————————–
Course; Appetizer / Cheese
Cuisine; Mexican

Refried Beans with Cheese

Refried Beans with Cheese

Frijoles Refritos con Queso
At the Hotel Camino Real in Puerto Vallarta we ate a rich and tasty refried bean pancake studded with thin rings of serrano chile. It was perfect with icy mugs of beer. This is a good recipe to try when you have leftover cooked beans. You can use canned refried beans, but they won't taste the same.
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Equipment

  • medium nonstick skillet

Ingredients

Makes 4 to 6 servings

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 3 serrano chiles cut into very thin rounds with seeds
  • 2 cups Basic Refried Beans well-seasoned
  • 1 cup coarsely shredded Monterey Jack cheese or other good melting cheese
  • Corn tortilla chips

Instructions

  • In a medium nonstick skillet, heat the oil and sauté the serrano chile rounds about 20 seconds.
  • Add the refried beans and stir with a wooden spoon until the beans are hot and form a paste.
  • Add the cheese and stir slowly until just melted, but still visible as swirls of cheese.
  • Turn out onto a round serving plate and form into a fat pancake.
  • Serve at once with tortilla chips for dipping.
————————————————————————————————–
Course; Cheese / Vegetables
Cuisine; Mexican

Basic Refried Beans

Basic Refried Beans

Frijoles Refritos
Refried beans that are prepared at home from beans you have cooked yourself are absolutely delicious. You may never be tempted to use canned refried beans again. I often make up a big batch and freeze the beans in small containers for later use.Lard is rendered from fresh pork fat and it imparts a wonderful creaminess and rich flavor to refried beans. It's easy to make, if you wish, and contains half the cholesterol of butter, so a little lard isn't that bad. The beans can be varied in many simple ways. You can add chopped cooked onion and garlic, or melt cheese over the top when serving. Ground cumin or dried epazote or oregano may be added for extra flavor.
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

Makes about 5 cups

Instructions

  • Cook pot beans until the liquid thickens and the beans are very tender.
  • To fry the beans, heat a large heavy skillet over medium heat and add the lard or oil.
  • When the lard is melted and hot, add about 1 cup of cooked beans and about ½ cup of the broth, too.
  • Stir and mash as the beans cook and thicken.
  • Gradually add all of the beans, and all of the remaining broth, mashing and stirring continuously, until the broth is reduced and the beans are thick enough to hold their shape.

Notes & Wine Advice

When the beans are very thick and the juices have cooked away, add salt and pepper. The beans are ready to use, or to refrigerate or freeze for later use.
————————————————————————————————–
Course; Side Dish
Cuisine; Mexican

Black Bean Dip from Marge Poore

Black Bean Dip from Marge Poore

Antojito de Frijoles Negro
Enjoying dips and chips with cold drinks is just about the easiest way to spend a convivial afternoon or evening with friends. This cheesy black bean dip is one of the best snacks for the occasion.
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

Instructions

  • Prepare the beans.
  • Reserve.
  • Preheat the oven to 325°.
  • Drain the beans of most of their liquid, but leave them a bit soupy.
  • Mash half of the beans.
  • Put all of the beans in an ovenproof serving casserole dish.
  • Add the white onion, cheeses, jalapeños, jalapeño juice, and cumin.
  • Mix well.
  • Bake the bean mixture until hot and bubbling, about 15 minutes.
  • Drizzle with sour cream and scatter the green onions on top.

Notes & Wine Advice

Serve hot with chips.
————————————————————————————————–
Course; Sauce / Snack
Cuisine; Mexican

Bacon Guacamole from Marge Poore

Bacon Guacamole from Marge Poore

Guacamole con Tocino
You just know it's good! While Classic Guacamole is an essential part of Mexican cuisine—as a condiment and as a dip—creative variations like this one, with crisp bacon bits, abound. Serve with tortilla chips.
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

Makes 6 appetizer servings

Instructions

  • In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium-low heat until brown and crisp.
  • Drain well on paper towels.
  • When the bacon is cool, crumble it into small bits.
  • In a medium bowl, mash the avocados.
  • Stir in the onion, serranos, cilantro, lime juice, and the reserved bacon bits.
  • Drain off any juice from the tomato to prevent discoloring the guacamole.
  • Gently stir the tomato into the guacamole.
  • Add salt, if needed.
  • (The saltiness of the bacon will determine if more salt is needed.
  • )
————————————————————————————————–
Course; Bacon / Sauce
Cuisine; Mexican

Fried Corn Tortilla Chips and Strips

Fried Corn Tortilla Chips and Strips

Tostaditos o Totopos Crisp-fried tortilla chips are easy to make at home, and they’re better than most commercial chips. I prefer homemade for nachos because the chips are flatter and hold the toppings better. Leftover tortillas that have dried out are ideal for making chips or cutting into thin strips for soups and casseroles containing tortilla strips called chilaquiles.
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

Makes 48 chips

Instructions

  • Stack 3 tortillas on a cutting surface.
  • With a large sharp knife, cut straight down through the stack into quarters.
  • If making strips, cut across the tortillas to make strips the width you want for your dish.
  • In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until a wedge or strip of tortilla starts to sizzle immediately when dipped into the hot oil.
  • Fry the tortilla pieces in batches about 2 minutes, or until crisp and lightly browned.
  • Remove with a slotted spoon or tongs, and drain on paper towels.
  • While the chips are still hot, sprinkle lightly with salt, if desired.
————————————————————————————————–
Course; Tortilla
Cuisine; Mexican

Caviar and Serrano Chiles on Crisp Tortilla Rounds

Caviar and Serrano Chiles on Crisp Tortilla Rounds

Tostaditas con Caviar Picanté
My husband and I met Marta and Alfredo Rios during one of our many trips to Mexico, and were invited for dinner in their beautiful home in Satellite City, a suburb of Mexico City. One of the appetizers was ice-cold dark caviar sprinkled with chopped serrano chile and a dab of sour cream on small crisp tortilla rounds. We were amazed. The combination was unforgettable. It may be difficult to find good-quality 2-inch fried tortilla rounds (tostaditas), but it's pretty simple to cut your own from fresh corn tortillas and fry them until crisp. For the caviar, my favorites are beluga or sevruga.
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

Makes 6 servings

  • 6 fresh corn tortillas
  • Oil for frying
  • About 2 ounces caviar of choice
  • 2 to 3 serrano chiles seeded, veins removed, and minced
  • ½ cup sour cream

Instructions

  • Lay 1 corn tortilla on a flat surface.
  • Using a round cookie cutter or glass, cut three 21⁄2-inch rounds from the tortilla.
  • Save the scraps to fry for snacks, or discard.
  • Repeat with remaining tortillas.
  • Heat about 1 inch of oil in a skillet.
  • Fry the tortilla rounds until crisp and lightly golden, 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Drain on paper towels.
  • To assemble, put a tiny bit of caviar (¼ teaspoon) on each crisp tostadita.
  • Add a sprinkle of minced serrano and a dab of sour cream.
  • Arrange the tostaditas on a beautiful flat serving plate and serve.
————————————————————————————————–
Course; Appetizer
Cuisine; Mexican

Chopped Crab Appetizer

Chopped Crab Appetizer

Salpicón de Jaiba
A salpicón refers to foods with shredded or chopped ingredients mixed with citrus juices, vinegar, and oil. Blue crab is used for crab salpicón along the gulf coast in the state of Veracruz, and is usually served with a basket of small warm corn tortillas for do-it-yourself soft tacos. I serve crab salpicón as a topping for crisp corn tostadas or chips. Any variety of fresh or thawed frozen crab works well for this appetizer, but canned crab is a poor substitute. Guacamole is an excellent accompaniment.
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

Makes 8 appetizer servings

Instructions

  • Drain the crab very well and put into a glass or ceramic bowl.
  • Add the remaining ingredients, and toss to mix.
  • Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 1 hour.
  • Serve as a topping on crisp corn tostadas or chips.
————————————————————————————————–
Course; Appetizer / Fish
Cuisine; Mexican

Appetizer Fish Balls

Appetizer Fish Balls

Albondigas de Pescado
Fish balls are a popular item to serve as part of a buffet with a dipping sauce such as Spicy Mayonnaise Dip. The fish balls can be kept warm in a chafing dish. The fish mixture is also excellent for fish patties to make tortas (sandwiches), or to serve atop salads.
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

Makes about 24 fish balls

Instructions

  • Remove any bones from the fish, cut fish into small pieces, and put in a food processor bowl.
  • Tear the bread into small pieces and add to the processor along with the milk.
  • Pulse 4 to 5 times to combine.
  • Add the onion, salsa, parsley, 1 of the eggs, and salt.
  • Process until smooth.
  • Form the mixture into small balls, about 1 inch in diameter, put on a plate, cover and refrigerate about 1 hour.
  • Beat the remaining egg in a bowl with 1 teaspoon of water.
  • Put the flour and bread crumbs on separate sheets of wax paper.
  • Dredge the fish balls in flour, dip into the beaten egg, and roll in the bread crumbs.
  • Put on a plate and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours.
  • In a deep skillet, or deep-fryer, pour in oil to a depth of about 2 inches.
  • Heat until the oil shimmers and a small piece of bread sizzles at once.
  • Cook the fish balls in batches without crowding, turning once or twice until golden brown all over.
  • Drain on paper towels.

Notes & Wine Advice

Serve hot with toothpicks and a dipping sauce.
————————————————————————————————–
Course; Appetizer / Fish
Cuisine; Mexican

Swordfish Bites with Pineapple and Red Bell Pepper

Swordfish Bites with Pineapple and Red Bell Pepper

Pes Espada con Piña y Chile Rojo Dulce
Swordfish is found in temperate and tropical seas throughout much of the world. Along the Pacific coast of Mexico, swordfish is often grilled and served with salsas of various kinds. This recipe grills highly prized and expensive swordfish in small pieces and skewers the cooked fish with pineapple chunks and red bell pepper on cocktail picks. Accompany with a spicy salsa or dipping sauce. To save time, you can use fresh packaged pre-cut pineapple found in supermarkets.
Deel op Facebook Print Recipe

Ingredients

Makes 4 to 6 appetizer servings

  • Jalapeño-Cilantro Sauce
  • 2 6- to 8-ounce swordfish steaks, 1⁄2- to 3⁄4-inch thick
  • 2 medium garlic cloves minced
  • 1½ tablespoons olive oil
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground pepper or to taste
  • 1 medium fresh pineapple about 1½ pounds, rind removed, cored, and cut into 1-inch chunks—about 2 cups of pineapple chunks
  • 2 red bell peppers seeded, and cut into 3⁄4-inch squares

Instructions

  • Prepare the salsa.
  • Then, trim the skin from the swordfish, and cut the steaks into 1-inch pieces.
  • Mix together the garlic, oil, salt, and pepper.
  • Coat the fish on all sides with the mixture.
  • Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour.
  • Skewer the pineapple and red pepper on cocktail picks, and put on a plate.
  • Remove the fish from the refrigerator.
  • Heat a stovetop grill pan over medium-high heat until hot and a few drops of water sizzle on the pan.
  • Cook the swordfish chunks, turning, until light brown outside, about 3 to 5 minutes, or until just cooked through.
  • Add the cooked fish to the skewers with the pineapple and peppers.
  • Serve at room temperature with the jalapeño and cilantro salsa on the side.
————————————————————————————————–
Course; Appetizer / Fish
Cuisine; Mexican