Cindy Kennedy's Blog (34)

When the heat is on outside, it's time to cool down the kitchen with a crisp Mexican style salad. I'm turning this one into a full fiesta with tomatoes, black beans, and charred corn. Adding chunks of chicken grilled with a lime fajita marinade makes it feast-worthy when you're feeding a crowd. It's easy to put together and pretty when you're ready to serve it.



This recipe can become a full lunch meal or served as a side with…

Closer to Mexico's northern border and on into Texas, you're entering a carnivore's paradise. It's cattle country through and through, which also has led to some fine beef dishes, both Mexican and Tex-Mex. Think sizzling fajitas, burritos and tacos to name just a few.



My stuffed steak with tequila cheese sauce is relatively simple to make. Roasted jalapenos add their little kick and the Tex-Mex slips in with grated cheddar as…

I'm breaking out the Velveeta for queso cups, so if you're a cheese "aficionado," read no further. It's a classic recipe, but taken down to individual serving sizes in baked tortilla cups. When you've dipped out all the cheese, just eat the container! They're great little single-portion appetizers when you want to do something a little different, but still want to serve comfort food.…

Tacos pop up around the world in so many variations; many of them far from the authentic versions you'd find in Mexico. A warm, soft corn tortilla with fillings of any kind is hard to beat, that's for sure. For a change, though, here's a fun way to use flour tortillas, cut to size, and pressed into a muffin tin. Filled with taco meat and topped off, they're a great little baked appetizer or a tasty meal with favorite…

When we spotted rabbit at a local market recently, the first thing that came to mind was conejo en adobo. While many folks in the south might fry up a batch, a rich adobo is just the thing for a real feast.



Rabbit rates high on the health meter. By comparison to chicken, turkey, and pork it's lower in fat, calories and cholesterol while packed with more protein. Every part - from…

Quite a bit of confusion and murky lines lie between these and quesadillas. The end result is it doesn't really matter.



However, for the sake of discussion and a few technicalities, here goes. Quesadillas are typically filled with cheese. The tortilla goes in a skillet, the filling goes on half and then it's folded over and browned until the cheese melts. A sincronizada is layered…

Taquitos - those crunchy rolled-up corn tortillas with tasty fillings - are the perfect snack food. They're easy to make and you can serve them as dippers and appetizers or turn them into a full meal buried underneath lettuce, salsa, and sour cream. Even better, you can use beef, turkey, chicken and pork as fillers - that means a great way to utilize leftovers!



Their exact origin…

Here's a hearty Tex-Mex dish that you can make in a hurry or go all-out and feed a crowd. It has all the best in Mexican ingredients: pinto beans, salsa, and tortillas. For the "Tex" side, there's beef and the chili sauce, or gravy. When you see this brown sauce on any plate, you know you're north of the border and south of the Red River. It's about as "authentic" Tex-Mex as you can get. Without it gracing an entree at a…

Like so many other regions in Mexico, the Yucatan serves up some unique dishes, including one of our favorites – panuchos. Perhaps one of the reasons we love this area is because it's where we've found the fieriest sauces. In fact, habanero peppers are the norm here and in a sauce drizzled across the top of a plateful of panuchos, you'll find out how tough you really are. Pickled red onions are another required condiment…

The cheesy goodness of queso fundido is hard to beat. It's one of those dishes that you can adapt with whatever veggies and meats you have available. My favorite style includes mostly grilled ingredients. This reduces the oils involved, since it's easy to "overdo" cheese just a bit, which causes it to separate. Also, you'll have a wonderful balance of strong flavors to go with the cheese. I leave chorizo out of this recipe…

No Tex-Mex Tapas platter would be complete without grilled shrimp. In a medium size, they're another two-bite appetizer that pairs beautifully with sauces and favorite after-work beverages. This recipe calls for my "Fab Five" of Tex-Mex seasonings for a marinade. My dipping sauce utilizes guajillo peppers for their tangy taste and a little heat that builds with each bite. What a pairing! Baked flour tortilla chips add…

Crimini mushrooms, also known as "baby bellas," are just the right size for hearty tapas. Featuring a nice earthy color with equally robust flavors, they're more rustic than button mushrooms. These perfectly sized appetizers really are young portabellas (portobellos/portobellas) - or as most experts will state, portabellas are just overgrown criminis.



To top them off, I'm…

Just as Texans have adapted many of Mexico's popular dishes, it seems only natural to borrow from Spain as well. Tapas make after-work gatherings and pre-dinner drinks even more enjoyable. In fact, every get-together should kick off with this little bite-size ritual. In the next few blog postings, I'll provide a few favorites so you'll always have ideas for a "small plate" filled with "great flavor" ready for your…

Puebla (the state and the city) offers a treasure chest full of familiar food favorites. Whose taste buds don't start tingling at thoughts of mole Poblano, chiles en nogada, or a plate full of chalupas? Historically, we have nuns to thank for their diligence in early convento kitchens. The Sisters' creativity with local and introduced ingredients is truly a blessing for any foodie!…