Mexican Christmas Traditions

How to prepare chicharrones de harina

17 · Jul 1, 2017 · Leave a Comment

Chicharrones de harina are a puffed, salty, crunchy snack that are very popular in Mexico, and easy to find among street food vendors.

I’ve written before about how to fry your own chicharrones with the kind you buy at the store that you have to cook so they’re edible. But if you can’t get those at your local Mexican market, you’ll at least be likely to find them already fried and packaged to buy—usually alongside the chips, Takis, and that kind of stuff. All you have to know is how to prepare them!

I get a lot of questions from my non-Mexican friends and readers about this snack because they’ve never seen it before, or didn’t know how to prepare it properly. It’s actually really simple, and these things are super addictive….

What to order at Gracias Madre

8 · Jun 25, 2017 · 1 Comment

Gracias Madre is my favorite restaurant in West Hollywood and one of my top 3 favorites in Los Angeles. And I’m betting if nobody told you in advance that it was a vegan restaurant, you might not even notice because the menu is that good.

Vegan and Mexican are two words that most people wouldn’t necessarily associate with each other, however, there are actually quite a few vegetarian and vegan-friendly dishes that are part of the cuisine. Everything on the menu at Gracias Madre is organic and vegan, but don’t let that distract you; you’re in for a truly excellent Mexican meal.

If you’re visiting Los Angeles, Gracias Madre definitely deserves to be on your list of restaurants to check out, and if you’re local to LA, early lunch or happy hour is the best time to go if you want your choice of tables (you might even see me there).

Paparazzi tend to lurk nearby, as this restaurant and several others in the neighborhood are celebrity favorites. Request to be seated on the patio if it’s not too hot outside—you’ll have the best chance to see famous faces or at least catch a glimpse while they’re leaving.

…

Tacos de chicharrón guisado in the slow-cooker

30 · Jun 20, 2017 · 1 Comment

Chicharrón guisado is an easy, flavorful dish made from crunchy, fried pork skin stewed in salsa, and it makes incredible tacos.

The best part about this dish is that it’s incredibly easy to make, packs a ton of flavor, and using a slow-cooker means it’s mostly a hands-off recipe.

There’s a taquería in Los Angeles I really love called Guisados. They make a taco de chicharrón guisado that’s very similar to this recipe, and they serve it on a corn tortilla over refried black beans, and topped with a little dollop of avocado salsa verde, which is how I served them here as well, but you can serve it without beans (or different beans) and whatever kind of salsa you like on top.

There are lots of recipes out there for chicharrón guisado—mostly in Spanish—and there’s one key departure in my version aside from using a slow-cooker: I use chile morita, which is a small, dried and smoked chile. I also like to serve these on smaller tortillas (about 4.5 inches round instead of the standard 6 inches) because it makes you feel more like you’re in a taquería….

The best guacamole recipe ever

15 · Jun 12, 2017 · 2 Comments

If you want to make the best guacamole, there are a few things you need to know. I swear by this recipe, but also by these tips that help make it the best it can be.

Not all guacamole is created equal, and it’s much easier to screw up than one might think. And since avocados are sometimes a splurge in your grocery budget, you really don’t want to waste them with bad guacamole. There are some common mistakes people make that cause their guac to suck: mashing the avocado so much that it’s totally smooth, adding too much of one ingredient so it throws off the flavor balance, not enough flavor so the whole thing is totally bland, or the opposite – too salty.

I’m not bragging (OK, I am totally bragging) but everyone I know who has ever eaten my guacamole has said that I make the best guacamole ever….

Avocado Chocolate Pudding

3 · May 27, 2017 · 1 Comment

Avocados blended with raw cacao powder and honey make for a perfectly silky, decadent, and dairy-free chocolate pudding.

Most chocolate pudding recipes use milk, along with cornstarch and sometimes egg yolks to thicken it. This avocado chocolate pudding recipe relies on the creamy texture and stability of avocado and gelatin to create that perfect pudding texture.

If you’ve got avocados that are slightly past their prime and a little too soft for anything else, this recipe is a great way to use them up so they don’t go to waste.…