A Mexican Fiesta: Food and Recipes Galore

What are the favorite Mexican beers?

What happens when a group of guys get together over hot chicken wings to do a  beer taste test in San Miguel de Allende? 

We find out all about the different Mexican beers, aside from those coming out of the most popular breweries in Mexico, Grupo Modelo and FEMSA. Click here for a full inventory of 7 different beer and see why this group of guys considers Mexicali the best national beer. 

Red-Hot Margarita for Valentine’s Day

Directions:

To make the Red Hots infusion, in a small saucepan, combine the Red Hots, water, cinnamon, brown sugar, orange zest, and clove. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, or until the Red Hots have dissolved. Pour through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the solids. Cover and refrigerate until cold.

To make the limeade, in a medium bowl, combine the lime juice, granulated sugar, and water. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Cover and refrigerate.

To finish the margaritas, in a pitcher, mix together 2 cups of the Red Hot infusion, 1 1/3 cups of the limeade, the tequila, and the orange liqueur. (You can mix up a batch of the margaritas up to 2 hours in advance and refrigerate.) Pour a generous 1/2 cup (4 ounces) of the mixture into a cocktail shaker over ice. Shake vigorously for about 15 seconds, and then pour through the strainer spout into your favorite margarita or martini glass. Garnish with a few lime slices.

Tip: After a round of Red Hot Margaritas, switch to sparkling limeade, made by combining lime juice with sparkling water and sweetening with simple syrup.

Black chickpea, crab and fennel verrine recipe with apple and avocado

Check out this recipe via La Tartine Gourmande that combines chickpeas, crab and fennel in a ceviche-like mixture that is perfect for lunch outdoors. 

You need:

• 200 g (1 heaped cup) cooked black chickpeas
• 200 g fresh crab meat, diced
• 1 large avocado, pitted and finely diced
• 1 medium fennel bulb, finely sliced
• 1 medium red apple, cored and finely diced
• Black sesame seeds, to taste
• 6 pink radishes, finely sliced

Dressing:

• Sea salt
• 2 limes
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (or fresh)
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped coriander
• 2 tablespoons hazelnut oil
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• Red peppercorn, ground, to taste

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the lime juice with the sea salt, garlic, and ginger.
• Add the oils and whisk to emulsify.
• Season with ground red peppercorn to taste, and stir in the coriander. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine the chickpeas, crab meat, avocado and apple. Toss gently with the fennel and radishes.
• Add the dressing and toss gently. Sprinkle with black sesame seeds, and serve.

Sweet Corn Guacamole

The tastiest guacamole always includes a bit of fresh sweet corn. Here’s an awesome recipe that is sure to inspire your get togethers and dinners this coming Spring. 

Sweet Corn Guacamole

• 2 avocados
• 1/2 can black beans, drained
• 1 earful of corn (approximately 1 cup)
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• juice of 1 lime
• salt, to taste

Directions:  In a medium-sized bowl, combine black beans, corn, red onion, jalapeno pepper, red bell pepper, garlic, cilantro, and salt. This corn mixture can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge up to a week. For the guacamole, slice and cube two avocados. In a large bowl, mash the avocados with a fork or the back of a spoon to desired consistency. Add lime juice and corn mixture and combine. Taste and adjust salt and lime amount as necessary. Serve with your favorite kind of tortilla chips.

(Source: morefruitplease.wordpress.com)

Almond Torte with Sugared Apricots

Via If You Give a Girl a Cookie.com:

1/3 cup finely ground almonds
2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
8 Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs

For topping:
6 ripe apricots, halved and pitted
1-2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the almonds until they are finely ground. Don’t worry about overdoing it, I let mine whirl for a good while with no sign of almond butter in sight.

In a small bowl, whisk together the ground almonds, flour, baking powder and salt.

In the food processor, pulse together the butter, sugar and eggs until just combined. Add in the dry ingredients and mix in short bursts until the flour just barely disappears. Scoop the batter into a 9-inch spring-form pan and spread it evenly with an offset spatula.

Arrange the apricot halves evenly across the top of the batter and sprinkle with sugar (1 tablespoon if they are plenty sweet, or 2 tablespoons if they need a little boost. I find most apricots are fairly sour, so I used two).

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the top is a bit crackly and golden brown. Cool for about 15 minutes before serving.

Adapted from Orangette & Marion Burros