A Guacamole recipe to celebrate Cinco De Mayo

When I first tried Mexican food 15 years ago, I did not like it at all. It was full of unusual flavors and spices and my throat was on fire. My least favorites were cilantro, jalapeno peppers and tamales. In fact, first time I cleaned jalapeno pepper, I paid with temporary coughing, eyes watering and nose itching :)  I did not know that even if you wash your hands with soap and water, the hotness is still there. So I always wear gloves when cleaning any type of hot peppers since then.

But, with time I started to like some of foods. I started with deep fried chimichangas and fajitas deliciousness and gradually increased my favorite's lists over the years. I am even cooking some dishes at home now and my family and friends love them.

One recipe I'd like to share today is guacamole, a perfect dip to celebrate Cinco De Mayo. I am not adding hot spices to mine but you can, of course.

Ingredients:

3 ripe avocados

1 lime

2 garlic cloves

3 scallions

6-8 cherry tomatoes

cilantro leaves, about 2/3 cups or to taste

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

How to make it:

Thoroughly wash and dry your vegetables. 

Cut each avocado lengthwise in halves, remove the pit.

Scoop avocado pulp into medium bowl with spoon and mash it with potato masher or a fork. Squeeze the lime juice over the avocados and gently stir it. Add crushed garlic, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, scallions and salt & pepper. 

Adjust seasonings to your liking.  Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour before serving.

You can serve it with chips, tortillas or pulled pork. It's fresh, healthy and delicious!

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

Halloween party food ideas

October is here so is thoughts of the holidays. Halloween is a first one on a list so I am already planning what we are going to cook for a party, what to wear and how to decorate that it would look different than previous years.

So I wanted to share some easy ideas on party food appetizer styles. Last year I made these and they were a big hit! These foods can be easily cooked any time you are in a mood for them. I used some food decorations and these dishes easily fit into the Halloween party table!

1. Сheese balls

Ingredients for the smaller ball:
cream cheese, 8 oz, at room temperature

goat cheese, 4 oz, at room temperature

chopped scallion

seasonings to taste: dried chopped onion, garlic salt, smoked paprika

black sesame seeds for coating

Ingredients for the larger ball:
cream cheese, 16 oz, at room temperature

1 can crashed pineapple, 20 oz, well drained

1/2 chopped green bell pepper

seasonings to taste: dried chopped onion, garlic salt, paprika

black sesame seeds for coating

 

Mix all ingredients but the sesame seeds, form 2 balls. Place sesame seeds on a flat plate and roll the cheese balls in it. Move to a serving plate, decorate and store in a refrigerator until ready to use. Serve with fresh baked sliced baguette.

2. Meat and cheese quesadilla

 Ingredients:

a pack of tortillas

cooked meat (cubed roasted chicken, shredded pork or some chopped steak)

Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded

mayonnaise

Medium taco sauce to taste

Preheat your oven to 385"F. Line the tray with a foil. Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on 1 side of the tortillas and arrange some meat and cheese on half of the circle. Spread some taco sauce on top of the meat and cheese and fold the other half of the tortilla on top of the meat and cheese. Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes. Let it cool and cut to a single size servings. Arrange on a serving plate and decorate. Cover with a lid to keep moist until ready to serve (no more then 2 hours without refrigerator since there is some meat and cheese in it).

3. Chocolate cupcakes

I am sure you have your favorite recipe for these. So just bake and frost them as you always do, sprinkle with edible decorations. Store in refrigerator until ready to serve.

What are you going to cook for your party? Please share with me your ideas!

Pigs in blanket

Sometimes you just don't know what to cook for a party. In this case I am always making something simple what will please a crowd for sure. Pigs in blanket is one of my favorites, it's easy to make and they are always a hit.

 You can make it with purchased puff pastry but I really like to use an yeast dough for them. The easiest way is to buy dinner rolls from your grocery store frozen section, like the Rhodes white dinner rolls. For the dogs I am using cocktail links/ mini sausages from Hillshire Farm.

Open the bag of sausages, drain the liquid and dry each dog with a paper towel. Count how many you have if you don't have this info on your package.

Now, get half the amount of the dinner rolls as you have the number of dogs. Place them in oiled glass dish about 2" apart and cover with the clear film. Wait until your rolls will increase in size (it will take about 5 hours at room temperature).

Prepare the baking sheet and spray it with non-stick spray.

Divide each roll into 2 parts. Make a long strip from each part and wrap it around the mini sausage. 

Place them on baking sheet and repeat the process until you are out of dough and sausages.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350'F until golden in color. Serve warm or cold, they are delicious in any way!