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.

Clementine Sorbet

Clementines are now in season and are a great sweet tweet - and you know what that means…it’s time to make a dessert with them! Their size makes a healthy snack for anytime and an added spray of lemon juice rounds out the citrus flavor. 

Serve them with a touch of frost from the freezer for the perfect winter treat. 

(Source: todaysnest.typepad.com)

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)

Dulce de Leche Blueberry Cheesecake

Check out this fabulous dulce de leche cheesecake with a blueberry twist.  The first recipe is made with a homemade crust that incorporates GOYA® Maria Cookies and a luscious caramel-flavored filling, that is then topped off with blueberries (see this recipe for how to incorporate the blueberries into the mix). 

As GOYA says, it’s as if ‘America’s favorite dessert just got better’.For a portion of 10 pieces of cake, you’ll need 15 min. of prep time and about 1:30 for baking and cooling time. 

Ingredients:

1 pkg. (7 oz.) GOYA® Maria Cookies1/2 cup butter, melted4 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened1 can (14 oz.) GOYA® Sweetened and Condensed Milk4 eggs, room temperature1 1/2 tsp. GOYA® Vanilla Extract1 bottle (14 oz.) GOYA® Dulce de Leche, divided.

Directions:

1.  Heat oven to 325ºF. Place cookies in bowl of food processor. Pulse 30 seconds, or until finely ground. (Or, place cookies in zip-top bag and using the bottom of a heavy skillet, pound cookies until finely crushed); transfer cookie crumbs to bowl (there should be about 2 cups). Add butter, stirring until combined. Transfer cookie mixture to 9” spring form pan. Using your fingers, press cookie crumbs evenly onto bottom and sides of pan. Bake until firm and fragrant, 7 – 10 minutes; cool.

2.  In bowl of electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add condensed milk; beat until smooth, 1 minute. Beat in eggs, vanilla and 3 tbsp. dulce de leche until combined, 3 minutes. Pour filling into prepared crust. Bake until golden brown and set, but still wiggly in the middle, 45 – 55 minutes. Turn off oven; partially open oven door. Let cake sit in oven until room temperature, about 1 hour. Transfer cake to refrigerator; cool completely at least 4 hours.

3.  Remove cheesecake from pan. Place remaining dulce de leche in zip-top bag. Using scissors, snip small hole in corner of bag. Applying even pressure on “pastry bag,” make swirly designs on top of cake; slice and serve.

Tropical Fruit Ice

Did you know that Elvis Presley is said to have loved ice cream? His favorites were chocolate milkshakes and peach ice cream. 

For a healthier version of ice cream and a typical Mexican recipe, try a Tropical Fruit Ice recipe.

This Tropical Fruit Ice, for instance, is a dessert that you don’t have to give up when you’re watching calories. Made with Goya Fruit Pulps, it’s a dessert that’s low in calories and packed with delicious fruit flavors, like coconut, tamarind, papaya, mango, and as used here - guanábana (sour sop) and guayaba (guava).