Frozen Strawberry Margarita

To pair with  the Chocolate Tres Leches dessert indulge in Frozen Strawberry Margarita. Treat yourself!

Ingredients

• 6 fluid ounces tequila
• 2 fluid ounces triple sec
• 8 ounces frozen sliced strawberries in syrup
• 4 fluid ounces frozen limeade concentrate
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• Directions
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• Fill a blender with ice and crush. Pour in the tequila and triple sec. Add the strawberries and limeade. Blend for 30 seconds or until smooth. Serve in margarita glasses with the rims dipped in powdered sugar.

Chocolate Tres Leches

Chocolate Tres Leches  is a traditional Mexican dessert enjoyed by many.  Chocolate lovers this is for you!!!!!! Gather your friends and family to eat this yummy treat :)

What You Will Need

• 1 package (2-layer size) white cake mix
• 4 squares BAKER'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate, divided
• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup KNUDSEN Sour Cream
• 1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
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1. Prepare cake batter and bake in 13x9-inch pan as directed on package. Cool cake in pan 10 minutes. Pierce cake with large fork at 1/2-inch intervals.
2. Melt 3 chocolate squares as directed on package; set aside. Blend milks and sour cream in blender until smooth. Add melted chocolate; blend well. Pour over cake, re-piercing cake if necessary until milk mixture is absorbed. Refrigerate 1 hour. Meanwhile, make curls from remaining chocolate square. 
3. Frost cake with COOL WHIP; top with chocolate curls. Keep refrigerated.

Chips and Guac!

Italian restaurants serve bred and olive oil. I don't know about the rest of you but my favorite part about going to a Mexican restaurant is the chips and salsa...especially the GUACAMOLE!! I am here to provide a recipe you can make in your own home.

What you need..

2 large ripe avocados from Mexico, peeled and seeded
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 teaspoons finely chopped yellow onions
2 teaspoons minced jalapeno or serrano chiles, seeds and membranes removed, if desired
2 kosher or coarse salt
2 tablespoons cored, seeded, and finely chopped plum tomato (1 small tomato)
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed limejuice warm tortilla chips, for serving
 
How you do it..
Mash together 1 tablespoon of the cilantro, 1 teaspoon of the onion, 1 teaspoon of the chile, and ½ teaspoon of salt in the bottom of a molcajete or medium-size bowl. Add the avocados and gently mash with a fork until chunky-smooth. Fold the remaining cilantro, onion, and chile into the mixture. Stir in the tomato and limejuice, adjust the seasonings to taste, and serve with a basket of warm corn tortilla chips.

Mexican Cuisine - Main Course

This week we'll be sharing with you some typical Mexican recipes. For the main course part of the meal, i've chosen a dish that is typically eaten at breakfast, Huevos Rancheros. For those of you that don't know what it is, it typically has tortillas with eggs and chili sauce on top. Apart from that, it is usually served with beans, and avocado or guacamole. The english translation would be 'Rancher's eggs'.

I found a pretty simple recipe for Huevos Rancheros that doesn't take long to make.

Ingredients:
- Olive Oil
- 1/2 Medium Onion, Chopped
- 15 ounce can of Tomatoes
- 3 ounce can of diced green Anaheim Chiles
-  Chipotle Chili Powder
- 4 Corn Tortillas
- Butter
- 4 eggs
- 2 TBSP Cilantro

Directions:

1. Make the sauce first. In a large skillet, soften the onions in olive oil. Once they are translucent, put in the tomatoes and the juice of tomatoes. Add chopped green chilies. Add some more chili to taste, either chipotle powder, regular chili powder, or a similar subsitute. Be sure to let it simmer, reduce the heat to low and keep it on while you start cooking the other parts of this dish. After 10 minutes, reduce the heat to medium or warm.

2. Now it's time to make the tortillas. Heat the oven to 150 Degrees F. Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and make sure to coat the pan with oil. One by one, heat the tortillas in the pan, keeping each one on for just a minute or two on each side. After this, remove them and put them aside on plates while you finish off making the eggs.

3. Fry the eggs. Add some butter to a pan, about a teaspoon or two for 4 eggs. Heat the pan on medium heat and crack frour eggs into the pan and cook for 4 minutes to get runny yolks, and a minute or so more for firmer eggs.

To serve this dish, put a little sauce and a fried egg on top with a tortilla. Top it off with some cilantro if you want.

Adding some avocadoes and refried beans to the dish is completely optional, but I included a recipe for refried beans in case you were interested.

Refried Beans Ingredients:
- 2 1/2 cups of dry pinto beans (about 1 lb or 450gm)
- 3 quarts of water
- 1/2 cup chopped onion (optional)
- 2 Tbsp (or more to taste) pork lard, bacon fat, or olive oil (for vegetarian option)
- 1/4 cup water

Directions:
1. Put the beans in water and remove any small stones or dirt.

2. Cook the beans in water. Put beans into a pot and cover beans with at least 3 inches of water - about 3 quarts for 2 1/2 cups of dry beans. Make sure to get the pot boiling and then lower heat to simmer, covered, for about 2 1/2 hours. Depending on what beans you have, the cooking time will vary. They are done when they are tender.

3.Strain the beans from the cooking water.


4. Add the onions and lard to a big frying pan on medium high heat. Cook onions until they are translucent and then add the strianed beans and 1/4 cup of water to the pan. . Mash the beans while you are cooking them until they don't resemble whole beans anymore. If you feel you need to, add more water to keep them from drying up. 

I found both these recipes from Simply Recipes, and hope you enjoy making and eating them.

- Ariana

Five Guys

I posted a hamburger recipe earlier this week, and over the weekend I tried this place called 'Five Guys' that i've heard about recently. It has a pretty basic menu of hamburgers, and they also have a bunch of different toppings that you can put on it for free. I attached the link so you can check out the website and see what else they have to offer!

http://www.fiveguys.com

 - Ariana

Theme #2: Mexican flavors!

Now that we have come up with twists on American classics, we have decided to venture into the world of Mexican food!

Here is a great recipe for Mexican tortilla soup:

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium white onions, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
• 3 ripe medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 quart chicken stock, recipe below
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Canola oil, for pan-frying
• 8 corn tortillas, cut into 1/8-inch-thick strips
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 2 avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, and diced
• 1 cup shredded Jack cheese, optional
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish
• 1 lime, cut in wedges, for serving

Directions:

Place a stockpot over medium heat and coat with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, jalapenos, and tomatoes; cook, stirring for 15 minutes until the vegetables are cooked down and pulpy. Pour in the stock, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 1-inch of canola oil in a skillet over medium-high flame. When the oil begins to smoke, add the tortilla strips in batches and fry until they are crisp on all sides. Remove to a paper towel-lined platter and sprinkle with salt while they are still hot.

Ladle the hot soup into 4 soup bowls and put a pile of shredded chicken on top of each. Top with the diced avocado and fried tortilla strips (and cheese if using). Garnish with cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

Chicken Stock:

• 1 whole free-range chicken (about 3 1/2 pounds), rinsed, giblets discarded
• 2 carrots, cut in large chunks
• 3 celery stalks, cut in large chunks
• 2 large white onions, quartered
• 1 head of garlic, halved
• 1 turnip, halved
• 1/4 bunch fresh thyme leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

Place the chicken and vegetables in a large stockpot over medium heat. Pour in only enough cold water to cover (about 3 quarts); too much will make the broth taste weak. Toss in the thyme, bay leaves, and peppercorns, and allow it to slowly come to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low and gently simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, partially covered, until the chicken is done. As it cooks, skim any impurities that rise to the surface; add a little more water if necessary to keep the chicken covered while simmering.

Carefully remove the chicken to a cutting board. When its cool enough to handle, discard the skin and bones; hand-shred the meat into a storage container.

Carefully strain the stock through a fine sieve into another pot to remove the vegetable solids. Use the stock immediately or if you plan on storing it, place the pot in a sink full of ice water and stir to cool down the stock. Cover and refrigerate for up to one week or freeze.


Enjoy!

Chicken Soup for the College-Age Soul

Ingredients

• 2 small or 1 large boiling or roasting chicken
• 1 unpeeled onion, halved
• 1 rib celery
• 2 carrots, peeled and chunked
• A few stalks parsley
• A few peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon salt

Directions

Put all the ingredients in a large stockpot, cover abundantly with water, and bring to a boil. Skim the surface to remove all the gray scum that will float to the top, then let cook at a simmer for about 3 hours. Just keep tasting: when the broth tastes golden and chickeny, it's ready. Remove the chicken and, if you like, leave the soup to get cold to you can remove any fat that collects on the surface. 

Reheat the stock, and serve it as a plain soup, or add a few carrot sticks - from about 2 carrots, say - and cook in the soup, adding some torn-up pieces of chicken to warm through at the end. Add freshly chopped parsley to garnish. 

(From Nigella Lawson's 'Nigella Bites' series) 

Here's another take on the same idea! Hopefully the visuals will help with your preparation.

American Dessert

Apple pie is a dessert that has been a part of the American tradition for a long time. It is a dessert enjoyed by those young and old. Apple pie is a staple at many holiday dinners. Comforting food as well as delicious, it brings together family and friends. It is best when warm and served with vanilla ice cream.

Make at your next dinner at home and it is sure to be a hit!

 Traditional Apple Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

Pastry for 2 crusts (recipe below)
8 cups sliced, peeled assorted baking apples - about 3 lbs.  (Granny Smith, Cortland, Jonathan)
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 Tablespoons butter
1 egg yolk
1 Tablespoon milk

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, toss the sliced apples with lemon juice.

2. Combine sugars, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg; add to apples and toss well to coat.

3. Fill pastry lined 9 inch pie pan with apple mixture. Dot with butter.

4. Place second crust on top of pie filling, cut slits in top of crust to vent. Seal the edges of the crust with a fork or by hand.

5. In a small bowl, beat the egg yolk and milk. Brush mixture over top crust.

6. Bake at 425 degrees F for 15 minutes.

7. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake 40-45 minutes more or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly.

American Main Course

Hi, i'm Ariana and i'll be sharing recipes for different main courses. This week we've decided to choose the theme of 'Traditional American Food'. Each of us is going to have a dish that is typically American for every part of the meal. Sometimes we'll be sharing our own recipes while other times we will show other ones that we've found.

I chose the Hamburger because I think it is the main dish that most people associate with the United States. It is also something that I absolutely love to eat. There are all kinds of hamburger places, ranging from fast food to gourmet burgers. The recipe I want to share with you today is from the Food Network, by the chef Bobby Flay. It was featured on his show called 'Throwdown with Bobby Flay', where he challenges someone to make a hamburger better than his. This burger has gotten great ratings and looks absolutely delicious. It isn't that hard to make and doesn't take that much time either.

Hamburger by Bobby Flay

- 2 pounds freshly ground chuck
- salt and freshly ground black pepper

These are the ingredients that you need to make the hamburger itself. The following ingredients are optional and are just what else you can put on top of it:


- 8 slices white cheddar
- 8 slices yellow cheddar
- 8 hamburger buns
- horseradish mustard
- 8 leaves romaine lettuce
- grilled vidalia onions
- dill pickles
-ketchup

Below are the steps to make the burger. I've also included the recipe for the horseradish mustard and vidalia onions to go with. 

Burger Recipe
Preheat the grill or a cast iron skillet to high.
Divide the beef into 8 burgers. Season both sides with salt and pepper, as much as you like. Grill or cook in the skillet for 3 to 4 minutes on each side for it to be medium-rare. During last minutes of cooking add 2 slices of cheese to each burger, cover the grill and let melt for about 1 minute. Place burger on bun and top with Horseradish Mustard, lettuce, Grilled Vidalia onions, pickles and ketchup.

Horseradish Mustard
- 1/2 cup dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons prepared horseradish, drained

Whisk mustard and horseradish in a small bowl.

Grilled Vidalia Onions
- 2 vidalia onions, sliced crosswise
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper

Brush olive oil on both sides of the onions and season with salt and pepper. Grill the onion slices for 3 to 4 minutes on each side until golden brow.

American Appetizer

My name is Emily Burke and I go to Santa Clara University. I have gotten together with a group of girls to share with you our favorite recipes and some we will create ourselves. I will be providing the appetizer portion of each meal we deliver. This week I have choosen artichoke dip to share with you. This is a traditionally American appetizer that is simple to make and delicious!

Ingredients:

7 ounce can or jar of artichoke hearts

8 ounces grated parmesan cheese
8 ounces mozzarella - shredded
1 cup mayonaise

 

Directions:

Drain and chop artichoke hears. Mix all the ingredients together. Put into an ungreased pie plate.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.
Serve with tortilla chips.

 

And enjoy!!