My Grandma’s Capirotada recipe is simple with not a lot of ingredients. The flavor takes me to another place in time when life was good and my mom was in the kitchen making this dish for us on a Sunday evening during Lent. Above all, the Mexican bread pudding has warm notes from a beautifully rich syrup of cinnamon, clove, Continue Reading...
Chocolate has a place in my kitchen and my heart because that is where my chocolate desserts are born: for my friends, family and my beau. Stephen has his favorite desserts that aren’t always chocolate, such as cheesecake, tres leches cake, crème brûlée, etc. And while he has had his far share, it’s important not to spoil him…too much. It Continue Reading...
This post is brought to you by Bob’s Red Mill. All opinions and expressions are our own. Oh, how times have changed. While baking these rainbow-colored Mexican sweet breads called “conchas,” memories flooded in from Pride Months of the past. But before I go down that road, let me tell you more about the Pride Conchas. Made with Bob’s Red Continue Reading...
The Oscars come once a year and like other “holidays” it’s a moment in time to make some delicious snacks for friends and family. We are sharing one of our new favorite snacks called Tequila Lime Chile Caramel Popcorn. Art and I will be sitting in front of the tube watching all the fashion hits and busts down the red Continue Reading...
Happy Valentine’s Day! You may know them as: Orejas, French hearts, pig’s ears, butterflies, palm leaves, elephant ears, glasses, or simply as Palmiers. This little treat will have your Valentines’ heart aflutter. Palmiers are crisp little cookies with endless possibilities, you will not believe how easy these are to make. You can purchase puff pastry at most markets or make Continue Reading...
This Valentine’s Day surprise your honey with a beautiful dessert we are calling a Concha Tart. Please note this recipe blog post is for the Dulce de Leche Pastry Cream and the assembly of the concha tart. Our recipe for homemade conchas is here. But, you can easily make the Concha Tart with store-bought Mexican sweet bread. What is dulce Continue Reading...
Conchas. Everybody’s favorite pan dulce, or Mexican sweet bread. Enjoying a concha with your morning cafecito is the best way to start your day. Most panaderias will have soft, warm conchas available first thing in the morning, but every once in a while you want something a little extra…like homemade conchas. Conchas are made with yeast, but these are pretty Continue Reading...
Think of Strawberries and Cream but with an adult twist. This lovely Balsamic Strawberries and Honey-Ricotta Cream recipe will elevate your dessert game, that’s for sure! See what summer memories come up for you while you and your family are preparing this recipe for a twist on Strawberries and Cream. Berry picking with your parents, strawberry pie-eating contests at the Continue Reading...
Mmmmmm….. Carrot Cake. It’s one of my favorite cakes in the whole wide world. The recipe for Carrot Cake is moist, dense, and quite honestly to die for! We’ve made a number of carrot cakes over the years. The cream cheese frosting stands out as a winner in this recipe. Simple, velvety, absolutely delicious. This recipe was inspired by Dorie Continue Reading...
We’ve got three fantastic ideas for what we are calling Heart-cuterie boards. Heart, soul and pansa – the trinity of our lives nourished by friends, family and food. As foodies and Latinos, we often show our love through food. And looking at me and Stephen, we sure do have a lot of love around us! HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN Continue Reading...
Love is in the air, so why not in our bellies? We’ve got Red Hot Velvet Cupcakes for you just in time for Valentine’s Day. The Red Hot Velvet Cupcakes recipe comes from a party we hosted many years ago — A Latinofoodie Valentine’s Day party for some family and some close friends. The five course tasting menu was designed Continue Reading...
We’re excited to introduce you to a brittle you’re going to crave and make over and over again. Sweet with a whisper of heat from cayenne pepper, the Pepita Brittle makes a perfect gift for the holidays, a topping for your pumpkin pies, ice cream or simply eat it as a candied treat. ...
This time of year is easily consumed with the smells of Autumn: apples, pumpkins, cinnamon, nutmeg, pine cones and wood fires. Even if the cool temperatures have yet to show themselves in Southern California, fall is here. Changing leaves, crisp fall air, migrating honking geese, and jumping into piles of freshly raked leaves may seem foreign to many Angelinos, Continue Reading...
Happy World Dulce de Leche Day!! We are celebrating with a simple sweet treat. Cocadas are a type of coconut confection found throughout Latin America. Mounds of soft and chewy coconut held together with sweetened condensed milk are pretty good, but adding some dulce de leche takes these treats to the next level. These are super simple to make; essentially Continue Reading...
There’s no better way to woo the love of your heart than with sweet delights. The popular Peruvian Alfajor, a crumbly sweetened sandwich cookie, has a number of sweet fillings, dulce de leche being the most popular. Some are dipped in chocolate and rolled in crushed nuts. Others are triple stacked or served in “log” form. Whichever version you prefer, we have Continue Reading...
Poached pears are of two worlds: Simple, yet complex. Humble, yet elegant. Modest, yet decadent. Something as unassuming as a pear can be transformed into something as graceful as any soufflé or as sophisticated as any croquembouche. A ripe pear on its own is always a satisfying and delicious snack, but why settle for “satisfying” when you can have a Continue Reading...
With the Super Bowl in the rear-view mirror, it is time to turn off football and turn on a sexy dessert. Valentine’s Day is upon us, but this recipe for Tequila Poached Pears with a Cactus Pear Coulis cannot be restrained to the short month of February. Poaching pears is a surprisingly easy affair and a delicious seductive treat. This Continue Reading...
If you’re like me, the holidays can be a big sparkly, glittery blur. We made (and ate) our fair share of tamales and gained a pound or two, but before you take down that last string of Christmas lights remember that in many parts of the world the holidays are not over just yet. In Mexico, the big day for Continue Reading...
Sweet & Tart, just like me (or so I’ve heard). In early summer, berries are plentiful at farmers markets and local grocery stores. The warm weather also has us yearning for refreshing cocktails. Can you guess where we got our inspiration for this salad/dessert recipe? That’s right — Mojitos! The Mojito-inspired Summer Berry Salad tastes sweet from the strawberries and Continue Reading...
Winter has come and gone and the warmer weather is hitting Southern California with a vengeance. On days like today where temperatures are reaching close to the 90s, I want to treat my family with a cool and refreshing snack. We created these new Creamy Mango-Chile Ice Pops with Nestlé® La Lechera®. The sweetness of the mango and condensed milk Continue Reading...
The lazy days of summer are upon us. Time for dipping our toes into the pool, backyard grilling, and cooling off with sweet desserts like homemade ice cream or strawberry shortcakes, or both! There is something about strawberry shortcakes that takes me back to childhood. We had a strawberry field about two miles from our house and would stop by Continue Reading...
Disclaimer: This is a paid post on behalf of Smart & Final. However, all opinions and ideas are our own, including this delicious recipe for Tropical Capirotada made with First Street® brands. Even though this weekend calls for rain, for most of the winter we’ve been enduring tropical-like weather in Los Angeles, with temps soaring to the high 80s and low 90s. Continue Reading...
Las Posadas is a special time of year for Latinos across the world. It’s a time to gather with friends, family, neighbors and co-workers, to share our love, faith and food. The word “posada” means “lodging,” and it’s signifies a time when Mary and Joseph were seeking shelter to give birth to Baby Jesus. The nine months of a pregnancy Continue Reading...
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SplendaHoliday #CollectiveBias It certainly is the most wonderful time of the year! Despite the warm weather and lack of snow in Southern California, the holidays are in full swing. To start off our 12 Days of Christmas, I made Polvorones, or Mexican Wedding Continue Reading...
Well, it’s November 3rd, and Día de los Muertos has officially ended. But I have one more story to share. And it’s about my abuelita, Refugio. I shared this little story with my fellow food bloggers at the Nestlé headquarters for a festive Día de los Muertos celebration yesterday. My grandma could be an imposing figure, yet she yielded with Continue Reading...
While this post is part of a sponsored DIME Media and General Mills campaign, the views expressed are my own. For Latino families the table is where we spend time with loved ones, and celebrate cherished family traditions while creating new ones. Determining what to serve, and how to serve it is important for busy families, and the moms and Continue Reading...
I’d like to take this moment to consider an ingredient so exotic to most and rare(ly purchased in this household), but so full of wonder and potential…I give you the plátano, or plantain. Unripe plantains are a starchy, less sweet version of bananas. The skin, thicker than a banana’s, comes in tropical green, but changes color as it ripens, to Continue Reading...
I was this close (pinching fingers together) to becoming a baker. But the 2 a.m. start times quickly swayed me into a culinary tract in school. Still, those two baking courses at Le Cordon Bleu aroused within me a yearning to bake. The soft, fluffy sifted flour. The rich creamed butter. The yeasty smell of warm, fresh bread. Loaves. Cakes. Continue Reading...
Gorditas mean “little fat ones” in Spanish, and during the holidays Santa may not be the only one who fits in that category. Calorie counting aside, gorditas are a great traditional Mexican dish that is made year round in Latino households. Cousin to the chalupa, sope, Salvadorean pupusa, and the Colombian/Venezuelan arepa, these corn meal cakes are typically flattened by Continue Reading...
Better than just a regular old sugar cookie. Galletas de Coco or Coconut Cookies bring a little bit of the Caribbean Islands to your kitchen. How does a furry, brown, hard shell ball when cracked open transform into yummy goodness? Yes, I just said the word yummy to describe these cookies because they are addictive. You can’t stop with just Continue Reading...
In our home, the holidays are not complete without chocolate: mole, tamales, champurrado and plenty of chocolate desserts. Despite our arsenal of flourless chocolate cake, chocoflan, chocolate sugar cookies, chocolate biscotti, and homemade chocolate mousse, there is always room for a little more chocolate decadence. This year we have made Brigaderios, or Brazilian-styled chocolate truffles. Typically, I would stick to Continue Reading...
I was not one of those kids cooking with my mama in the kitchen. She was the “master chef” and the kitchen was her domain. And, it still is today. Like most boys growing up, I always enjoyed my mom’s cooking and stories (really it was family chisme). Many years later I find myself classically trained in French cuisine and Continue Reading...
This shop has been compensated by #CollectiveBias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. With preseason underway, it’s time to suit up for a new season of football and tailgating. With football coursing through my husband’s veins, it’s important to have a game plan for entertaining and feeding hungry armchair quarterbacks. Lucky for me Sam’s Club has a Continue Reading...
I know this is a Latin food blog, but for those of you who know me, know that I am a baker at heart. I was over the moon to join a group of bloggers for a Wilton Candy Melts Dip & Drizzle Party. Wilton has been around for 85 years to help bake and decorate cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and more. Wilton Continue Reading...
A flesh sweet like honey and raisins. Skin soft and velvety. It’s fig season and we couldn’t be happier. The varieties of California figs that roll across our tables from about mid-May through December each year include Brown Turkey, Black Mission, Calimyrna and Kadota. We recently tasted an assortment of figs at an afternoon soiree presented by California Figs. We ate everything from tarts, figs Continue Reading...
It can be tough trying to find Latin desserts to replicate in our kitchen when many of the ingredients are not readily available to us. Luckily this recipe for Brazilian Guava Soufflé, or Suflê de Goiabada, calls for guava jam, which can be found in most markets these days. Yes, I said Soufflé. Relax, this recipe calls for 3 ingredients and about Continue Reading...
Disclosure: Gallo Family Vineyards provided LatinoFoodie a bottle of Moscato wine in order to facilitate this post. However, all opinions are our own. Warm summer months call for cool summer wines, and nothing beats a glass of chilled Moscato wine. Moscato is a light-bodied and refreshingly sweet wine varietal that nobody will look twice at if you drop an ice Continue Reading...
Cajeta (pronounced cah-heh-tah) is a silky smooth Mexican caramel similar to dulce de leche. The one big difference, and the thing that sets cajeta apart from regular caramel and dulce de leche is the type of milk used. Most traditional caramels use cow’s milk, while cajeta is made from goat’s milk, or even from half goat’s milk and half cow’s Continue Reading...
This week marks the third anniversary of the LatinoFoodie blog. We looked back and found our top 3 posts to share with you. It feels amazing to turn one of our life’s passion into a hobby and now a source of pride, like watching a chocolate souffle perfectly rise in the oven. Chicken mole, chorizo con papas, chile verde stuffed Continue Reading...
I had been reading about local chefs and restaurants serving fruit-infused tequilas and mescals and immediately started to think about how I can use that flavor in a dessert. That was the inspiration for this Tequila Roasted Mango Fool Dessert. A fruit fool (or foole) is a traditional English dessert made with custard and pureed stewed fruit. Modern versions skip the Continue Reading...
One of the most beloved desserts to eat during the Lenten season is Capirotada. It was brought over by the Spaniards and quite possibly had its roots in Roman cuisine (remember that Spain was part of the Roman Empire), but it seems Mexican home cooks have perfected Capirotada, especially since it has so many variants, depending on the region where the cook Continue Reading...
Lifting a lyric from The Sound of Music, “These are a few of my favorite things!” Mexican Wedding Cookies crumble and the powder sugar makes a mess, but they are oh so good, especially with cafecito or Mexican hot chocolate. This recipe uses pecans, but I’ve also made them with walnuts or almonds. The small, white snow ball cookies are Continue Reading...
Love this time of year, when we immerse ourselves in mulling spices, squashes, pomegranates, persimmons, and pears! Let me introduce you to the Forelle pears. The light green pears with red freckles are an heirloom variety with roots in Germany. Lucky for us, we can get these little pears from farms in the Northwest from October through March. Or, Continue Reading...
The combination of apricots and vanilla will always remind me of the warm, poached apricots and saffron dessert recipe I got from a publication on Ferran Adria of elBulli — yeah, that Ferran, you know the Godfather of gastronomic cuisine in Spain. In this recipe, pure Madagascar Vanilla extract perfumes the cake with a delicate floral spiciness, while the toasted Continue Reading...
What do you do with your loquats? Have you ever seen the fruit? If you live in Southern California, you merely need to look out of your kitchen window to know that loquat season is here. Loquat? Yup folks, we live among these small, yellow, egg-shaped fruit. Before last spring, I had never seen one. I guess I wasn’t paying Continue Reading...
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! Educators have done much for us and continue to do much for the children of our communities. Take a moment and say thanks to one or all of the teachers in your life. This year, skip giving an apple to the teacher and get creative by baking this warm, spiced, sweet apple tart with a buttery pastry. The tropical twist of Continue Reading...
Happy Cinco de Mayo from our kitchen to yours! Here are CINCO recipes to make your fiesta memorably delicious. Click on the photos below to get the recipe. Carne Asada Ensalada de Nopalitos Fiery Shrimp with Avocado Chicken Tinga Slow Cooked Shreded Pork with Chile Verde And here are Cinco more recipes to round out the festivities! Sweet Corn Bundt Continue Reading...
Pan de elote can be good, but corn pound cake can be divine. We recently had a small dinner party where corn was the focal point of our menu. With a traditional Elote en Vaso, or Corn in a Cup, as an appetizer, our green chile stuffed poblano peppers with a sweet nutmeg-spiced corn sauce as the entrée, and this Continue Reading...
Editor’s Note: We cannot say enough how honored we are to have recipe developer and food editor to some of best and brightest chefs in the world share exclusively with LatinoFoodie readers her pan dulce recipe. I had the opportunity to work with Rochelle Palermo during and after culinary school. At this point Rochelle has tested, written, and developed recipes Continue Reading...
Biscotti? On LatinoFoodie? Sure! This twice baked Italian bread is perfect for any time of the year, but they are especially suited to holiday gift giving. For the second year in a row we baked off dozens of scrumptious biscotti as gifts to our friends and family. The Italian cookie is ideal for packing and shipping off. If you are feeling Continue Reading...
Making buñuelos during the holidays warms up the kitchen and home perfectly. What I like about the soft doughy pillows is how they fluff up when you fry them. Don’t worry about the shape. It is not worth fretting about, believe me. At first I tried to make them perfectly round, but quickly gave up. There are bigger things to worry about during the Continue Reading...
These dense, moist treats are irresistible. Wrapped in a pretty box, they make a great gift, too. We recently served these at a holiday party and people gobbled them up. Like the headline reads, don’t skimp on the booze. You want these little balls to be potent. Chocolate Walnut Rum Balls Makes about 40 Ingredients 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips Continue Reading...
Sometimes the simplest things bring me joy in the kitchen. One of them for sure is my personal recipe box. Memories of good times or loved ones come to mind as I go through 3×5” cards. Each card is adorned with handwritten notes of family treasured recipes or ones I had cut and pasted from some of my favorite cooking magazines. Continue Reading...
Calabaza en Tacha or candied pumpkin is a popular dessert during the holidays for many Latino families. The sweet aroma from the pumpkin, brown sugar and cinnamon while baking in the oven permeates the entire home of its goodness. It’s a great way to use up the pumpkin you had from Halloween and enjoy the harvest. The following recipe and Continue Reading...
Sending your kids to bed early with a glass of milk may help them to be more awake and alert the following morning, so we hear from the California Milk Processor Board. To heck with the kids, a restful night’s sleep is what we ALL need to tackle, and conquer the day. So why not enjoy some homemade cookies with Continue Reading...
With the sun beating down our house with its Southwestern exposure, it seemed there would not be any time to make dessert for dinner. But the ripe blueberries nesting in the refrigerator, graciously provided by the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council, were begging to be eaten, and I decided on a cool, frosty treat for dessert. With the kitchen on the top Continue Reading...
California strawberry peak season is officially here and last night Art and I had an opportunity to sample all of the red berry’s deliciousness. Thanks to our good friend Yolanda Machado from Sassy Mama in LA and the California Strawberry Commission for inviting us! Did you know that eighty-eight percent of the strawberries in the United States are grown in California by more than Continue Reading...
With the temperature rising, it is getting harder to stay in the kitchen for any length of time. The blazing sun fills our LatinoFoodie kitchen with its warmth to the point of broiling our potted house plants. The doggies pant for relief as the kids slowly disintegrate into the couch. Just because the heat threatens to cook your brains doesn’t mean you Continue Reading...
Calabicitas (zucchini) are fantastic on the grill or cooked with a creamy white cheese and corn in a delicate chicken broth. However, we wanted to honor National Zucchini Bread Day by using the calabacita in a delicious loaf. We know that to a diabetic, dietary constraints are a constant concern. Latinos continue to get hit hard with the chronic disease. This zucchini Continue Reading...
Confetti eggs. Jelly beans. Easter Baskets. It’s a fun time this week for the family to enjoy yummy goodies while being thankful for their blessings. These nifty Easter egg nests are made with rice krispies. The gooey, marshmallow mixture makes a perfect dessert to take to the park for your family picnic. Best of all, they are easy to make and easier on the family Continue Reading...
First, who doesn’t love capirotada? Piloncillo melted into a thick syrup, layers of raisins, nuts, and cheese all being soaked up by bolillo bread. Seriously, what’s not to like? But after making capirotada over the weekend, we were looking at the left over ingredients hanging around our pantry. We swear they were crying to us saying, “Please! Use me to Continue Reading...
LatinoFoodie hosted its first “My Foodie Valentine” at our home with a special five course tasting menu inspired by Nestlé products. Nestlé Kitchens graciously underwrote the cost for the Tasting. We invited a small group of friends, family and fellow food and wine bloggers to spend a Sunday evening sharing love, laughter, and good food and wine. Make sure to Continue Reading...
Valentine’s Day is upon us! It’s not too late to surprise your love bug with this red velvet cake. It has some spice but it’s not hot. The chili powder adds a unique layer of flavor. We made this cake for our My Foodie Valentine Tasting with help from the Nestle Kitchens. ...
I heart sugar cookies and these soft pillows of sugary goodness are not just for Christmas. These cookies are so easy and yummy you’ll never use another recipe again. Using orange zest is what gives this cookie an extra special flavor. The best part about sugar cookies is decorating them. Grab your kids and let them have some fun with Continue Reading...
February is National Chocolate Month and what better way to enjoy a dessert without all the guilt than with a Mexican Chocolate Tofu Pudding. MEXICAN CHOCOLATE TOFU PUDDING Makes 4 servings Ingredients: 1 package (12 oz.) silken tofu 2/3 cup (about 1 tablet) Mexican chocolate, finely grated in a food processor (if you don’t have a food processor, use a Continue Reading...
As part of reviving the holiday traditions that have defined our families and communities for years, LatinoFoodie set out to make tamales this season with a sweet twist. Earlier in the month, we gathered with our primas and primos for a family tamale making party. There’s nothing better than several generations coming together sharing stories of times past and laughing Continue Reading...
For most of us, pumpkin is something we only cook with at Thanksgiving so make it count. While pumpkin pies and cheesecakes may be yummy, this year do not limit yourself. Pumpkin biscotti or scones? Maybe pumpkin & Mexican hot chocolate? Pumpkin cinnamon rolls? How about this recipe for Spiced Pumpkin Muffins? The spices will help flavor your muffins, and Continue Reading...
Día de los Muertos brings back many fond childhood memories for me — from the making of sugar skulls to the annual bus ride to Evergreen Cemetery in East Los Angeles for the night time procession. Sometimes, when people of other cultures hear for the first time about the celebration of the Day of the Dead, they mistakenly think it Continue Reading...
Strawberry Icebox Pie Okay LatinoFoodie Nation, I love to bake, but I’ll be honest with you: I’m still learning the science of baking. Make no mistake, the temperature of your kitchen, the moisture in the air and the type of flour used all determine the outcome of your final product. So the highly anticipated oohs, and ahhhs, can quickly turn Continue Reading...
I love to bake, but the last place I want to be in this heat is baking in a hot kitchen. But I still gotta eat dessert, right? The time of year when the leather bar stools at your breakfast bar brand your derriere, it is time to reconsider those “no-bake” dessert lists that crop up every time the temperature rises. We could do Continue Reading...
