I can’t tell you how long I’ve been dreaming of this recipe, Arroz Con Leche Brûlée. Several months ago I created it in my head, and even wrote it in my notes of things to do. I started making my vamped up extravagant version of arroz con leche and found it to be so creamy and decadent in the same vein as crème brûlée… Thats when I imagined my arroz con leche topped with a layer of hardened caramelized sugar and adorned with fresh fruit.

This shop has been compensated by Inmar Intelligence and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #GrillingWithMazola

We are gradually starting to have very intimate outdoor gatherings and firing up our grill is definitely part of the family plan for Spring/Summer 2021. I choose to use heart healthy Mazola® Corn Oil as a marinade for grilling and as a base for my salsas and ceviche because a clinical study shows it reduces cholesterol 2x more than extra virgin olive oil. If this claim peaks your interest and you want to learn more, visit MAZOLA.com.

Calling all dessert lovers! Could we really celebrate Easter without a gorgeous dessert? I’m taking the fuss out of our Easter meal this year with a simple and easy Carlota! I decided to add cherries to my Carlota and change it’s traditional color of white to a festive pinkish-purple pastel. It’s the prettiest color but aside from that, the fresh cherry flavor only adds to this already delicious dessert…. pushing it all the way up in dessert ranks. Lucky for me, I was able to find all my ingredients at Northgate Market and pick up a few extra goodies while I was there. I hope you’ll try this Easter Cherry Carlota and make it whenever you have a bag of cherries hanging around.

I usually repurpose one of my senior pie photos on #PiDay because I make pie all year round. I felt this year deserved a brand new photo and something a little fantasy and hopeful. Mini apple pies seem to be a good portrayal of how I’ve been feeling. It’s almost as if I could touch the beginning of Spring and am anticipating some happy changes in the next couple of months. Fingers crossed. To be completely honest, I’ve hit the pandemic fatigue wall and know we are in the final stretch… just gotta hold on tight a little longer.

I’ve been making Fried Bean And Cheese Empanadas for a while now. When I first started sharing my food creations back in 2011 I made a potato corn and cheese version of these empanadas… at the time I was calling them ‘Presley’s Pantry Veggie Gourmet Empanada/Pockets!’ – I know that’s a mouth full. I had decided to share them back then after hosting my extended family over for dinner one night. It was something to document since they had been a huge hit.

I remember it like it was yesterday.  I had just crossed the border into Tijuana, Mexico with my Dad (which was a rare occasion, since I hardly ever spent time with him).  He was determined to take me on an adventure and show me all the customs of TJ. From the stories that my Dad shared, TJ was a place with no rules, a grown-up fun house where you could take your shoes off and run through the streets and no one would say anything or look twice.  He also had a big love for the food and was hard set on taking me to his favorite torta shop.  My Dad has always loved a good torta de milanesa and this is one thing I know for sure about him, so I wasn’t surprised when this was the first thing he had on our agenda.

Enchiladas Rojas de Queso make me really happy because I know I’m about to bite into the most heavenly dish. I think it’s fair to say enchiladas are my most favorite thing to eat of all time. They hold such a heavy anchor to my childhood, and my grandfather making them for our family. He would make his own enchilada sauce, and my little eyes would watch worried they might be too hot. They never were…. they were perfect.

As I got older I realized enchiladas were a source of comfort for me, wanting them for birthdays or anytime I needed a little extra pop of pizazz in my life. I learned many ways of making them over the years from canned enchilada sauce to various types of fillings and cheeses. Gotta be honest, it’s only been on a very rare occasion I’ve met one I didn’t like, but nothing quite hits like the ones my grandfather used to make.

I have taken his enchiladas rojas de queso recipe and made it more times than I can count, and have the homemade enchilada sauce down. At this point I believe mine taste just like his and am grateful that I still have that little piece of him here on earth… even if only through an enchilada.

Ingredients for Enchiladas Rojas de Queso:

• 1 white onion
• 2.5 oz New Mexico Chile
• 6 garlic cloves
• 2.5 oz California Chile
• 2 Pasilla-Ancho Chiles
• Salt (to taste)
• corn tortilla 
• vegetable oil
• queso fresco 
• 1/4 of red onion, sliced in rings
• cilantro
• crema

Directions:

Enchilada sauce:

1. Let’s make enchilada sauce! Boil onion, New Mexico chile, garlic, California chile, pasilla-ancho chiles, and salt until chiles soften about 35 minutes. 
2. Remove chiles from water and discard stem and (optional seeds). 
3. Place all chile skins, onion, garlic, and 3 cups of boiled chile water to blender. Blend until smooth. 
4. Pour chile sauce mixture through a sieve and into a bowl. Press chile flesh against sieve to squeeze out all the liquid. Discard any seeds and skin collected in sieve. Place to the side until ready to use. 

Enchilada time:

1. Fill a frying pans with 1 cup vegetable oil over a med-high flame.  Allow to get hot.
2. In a seperate frying pan, fill with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over a medium flame and allow it to heat. Pour in 3 to 4 cups of your enchilada sauce. Let the oil and chile combine then lower your flame very low to simmer the chile.
3. Dip your corn tortilla into the frying pan filled with oil, and let it fry on each side for 30 seconds. What you’re looking for is a tortilla that is slightly hard but still bends.
4. Dip the fried tortilla into the enchilada sauce with tongs.
5. Remove the dipped tortilla from pan and place on a clean surface.
6. Fill the center of the tortilla with 2 tablespoons of cheese.
7. Gently roll into a tube shape.
8. Place in a 9×13 baking dish. Then start the frying process all over again until you fill your baking dish with as many enchiladas as you can.
9. Once the baking dish is filled take remaining enchilada sauce from hot pan and spoon over top. 
10. Drizzle crema over the enchiladas, then sprinkle a couple tablespoons of queso fresco and chopped cilantro over the top. Lastly adorn with red onion slices.
11. Enjoy!

Looking for a delicious bowl of lentils? Click here.