Even though we are experiencing June gloom here in California… the truth is 4th of July is creeping up on us. Which in my world means lots of parties and family gatherings sprinkled with friends and food. But we couldn’t have a gathering without POTATO SALAD, now could we? I decided to get a jump start on my (more…)
I look through cookbooks, cooking magazines, and old recipes all the time in search of something delicious to eat. Sometimes I strike gold and other times not so much. Interesting enough I came across a “baked potato soup” recipe the other day and (more…)
I wasn’t always a sugar freak. In fact as a young girl I would lean toward the savory side always buying chips and pickles instead of candy. When I did want sugar I grabbed for a piece of fruit, and it was always special if I could get some raisins. My Mom use to buy me little boxes of raisins, brown or golden, I just adored eating them. (more…)
My dad comes from a long line of excellent cooks. Even he has the touch that makes food so dreamy. As a young girl I would watch the food preparation unfold in his house especially during the holidays. Lots of hands chopping, stirring, whipping, and mashing. My busy eyes would dart from on side of the room to the other. My Grandmother (my dad’s mom, who was born and raised in Tijuana) (more…)
Sauce please…. Can you make sure it’s extra spicy? I like to live, I love to taste, and especially when we are talking about food. I’ve recently become obsessed with making quick sauces to top my food with. Maybe it’s because my Mom is salsa crazed and I like feeding her… I don’t know, I just know I am making different (more…)
When I was a little girl my grandfather would come home Friday afternoon from a long week of working hard with a brown bag filled with pan dulce. He would place the sweet bread in a dish on the table in preparation for his weekend routine. I always knew on Saturday morning as I heard the clink of his spoon stirring his ceramic cup that he was enjoying a cup of coffee with a little bit of abuelita chocolate grated in and an entire piece of pan dulce. He would set out a small jar of dulce de leche for me to have as a spread on my pan dulce in the event that I may have wanted to be extra sweet that morning.
Once Sunday morning would roll around the pan dulce would be hard and perfect for a french toast breakfast. I would rise early and watch my grandfather as he dipped the two day old stale bread into a creamy bath of eggs, milk and cinnamon. He would then butter a pan and cook the wedges into Mexican French Toast perfection. He would then place it on a communal platter and drizzle the top with dulce de leche and berries. I would take a plate and so would he, and as I became older I would join him in washing it all down with a warm cup of coffee.
This was our ritual, our bonding time, our time to catch up while the rest of the house still found peace in their dreams. He would share stories of his childhood living in between Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas and how rough it was for him, his single mom, and all his siblings living through the depression. Some of the stories were so unreal and sad that all I could do was be thankful that he made his way via a freight train to Los Angeles to build a life here, and make the best of his situation. His stories play out like a beautiful mariachi ballad drenched in tears and boisterous laughter. He is my hero.
Recently I was at a tasting and the Mexican chef made french toast out of pan dulce. It immediately took me back to the days of living under the same roof as my grandfather and enjoying Sunday breakfast with him drenched in our latin history. I decided to recreate the dish with my own spin to it. As I was shopping for the ingredients I went to grab some coffee-mate for the cafesito, and noticed they now made Dulce De Leche flavor and Abuelita chocolate flavor, yes you read right. Can you believe that deliciousness? I grabbed two of each, one for him and one for me. This past Sunday I invited him over for a pan dulce french toast breakfast and stories of our Hispanic heritage and waited to hear the clink of the spoon against the ceramic mug.
Ingredients for pan dulce french toast in a dulce de leche sabor:
Directions:
WAIT…. There’s more! I am giving away a Coffee-Mate kit! The giveaway consists of 1 hand designed coffee mug (by my buddy Crafty Chica), two coupon vouchers, a set of coffee coasters, and a coffee sleeve (pictured below). Enter for a chance to win!
I have a friend who is getting married in a couple of weeks and asked me to make a fancy appetizer for her bridal shower. She said she wanted something super tasty, simple, in season, and then she threw in the words “elegant and stylized.” I pondered this idea for a while and wondered what I could come up with. I never want to disappoint a bride, especially in her glorious moments of celebration. My thinking cap was running on overdrive when the idea of grapes crossed my mind. Grapes are in season and super tasty right now, that was all I needed to get the ball rolling. I started looking around my local markets for grapes. I’m the type of person that will pick a grape from the package before I purchase a bag, clean it on my clothes, and plop it in my mouth to measure how sweet they are. I walked into Walmart and lo and behold was a huge display of grapes. I ran over and scanned the wide variety they had…. seedless, organic, table, seeds, champagne, green, red, and black. Hmmmm, choices. I settled on black seedless grapes, not only would they add a pretty color to my appetizer, but they were the most flavorful.
I personally love grapes paired with nice cheese and must admit to eating that combo quite often while I work or watch television. But I wouldn’t be any kind of friend if I just plated the two and served them that way. Once I was back in my kitchen I started to experiment with cheese and grapes…. here’s what I came up with. I pinched a bit of goat cheese and patted it flat in my hand, then carefully rolled the grape in the center of the cheese till it was fully encased, then I encrusted it in chopped pistachios for a wonderful little nibble. That’s it, 3 ingredients and the brides wishes were met!
Ingredients for grape goat cheese pistachio nibbles:
Directions:
And if the recipe is not enough for you grape lovers…. here is a quick video on how to make grape jelly in 30 seconds:
