A Mexican Fiesta: Food and Recipes Galore

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.

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)

Mexican Chocolate Butter Cake

Via If you give a girl a cookie.com:

Makes one 8-inch square, three layer cake

3 cups cake flour
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
3 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups freshly brewed coffee, cooled to room temperature

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter three 8-inch square cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

In a large mixer bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. With the electric mixer on low speed, blend for about 30 seconds. Add the butter and buttermilk and blend on low until moistened. Raise the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. (Don’t skip this step or you will find yourself with a little sandy beach at the bottom of the bowl that never mixed in.)

Whisk the eggs and coffee together, and add to the batter in 3 additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beating only until blended after each addition. Divide the batter among the three prepared pans; each pan will take about 3 1/4 cups of batter.

Bake for 38 to 40 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Carefully turn them out onto wire racks and allow to cool completely. Remove the paper liners only when they are cool.