Robin: This salad, known as Ensalada de Corpus in Mexico, is a celebratory combination of some of the important fruits and vegetables that come into season in spring and early summer in the agricultural areas of central Mexico. The recipe calls for ingredients that are seldom used together (when’s the last time you mixed squash and peaches?) but which…
Salads & Sides
Ancho Chile and Chorizo Cornbread Stuffing
A spicy fluffy-crunchy stuffing/dressing, made with crumbled cornbread & a rustic dried pepper that will be the most flavorful side on your holiday table.
Stuffed Jalapeño Peppers
Robin: Jalapeño peppers may be famous mostly for their piquancy, but, like other peppers mild and hot, they also have great flavor. It’s sad that many people only think about fresh jalapeños when making, say, pico de gallo, because these chiles have so much more to give. Jalapeños are delicious stuffed, much like their larger…
Victoria’s Tuna and Potato Salad
Ed: To me, a comfort food is like a hug from my mom in any season of the year. Eating this dish feels like getting a big embrace from her. Mom´s middle name was Victoria, and she would serve this salad as a first course. It’s one of my favorite foods, and I am excited…
Southwest Salad
Robin: Despite its appearance at first glance, this is not your average “salsa.” Question: Is it a salad, a dip, or a relish? Answer: Yes. Southwest Salad is amazingly versatile: eat it with tortilla chips, chicharrones, or even thin slices of jicama, or mixed with lettuce in a bowl, or on the plate with grilled…
Sweet and Sour Pasta Veggie Salad
Robin: I could very well have named it “surprise salad” to reflect the way people often react when they first taste it: despite its rather insipid appearance, this pasta salad is loaded with flavor. Folks see a mild-mannered pasta salad and expect something, well, ho-hum at best—but once they take a bite, it’s a party…
Central American Chimichurri
Robin: If you’ve had chimichurri sauce before, you are probably thinking that what is shown in the picture does not look at all like the condiment you are familiar with. The chimichurri most people know of is made with fresh green herbs and olive oil, and it’s an exquisite condiment for grilled meats in Argentina…
Joy’s Dill Dip
Robin: My mother, Joy, absolutely loved “relish trays”—that is, platters of raw vegetables, pickles, olives, crackers, and cheese served as an appetizer or light lunch. There would be one of these trays of good things in a prominent place anytime she was entertaining, and this delicious dill dip was almost always on it. Who knows…
Costa Rican Doctored Up Fresh Beans (Cubaces arreglados)
Robin: Beans, both fresh and dried, are enjoyed in lots of different preparations in many parts of Latin America. Each country or region tends to have its favorite. Costa Rica is no exception. Although dried black beans are the most widely used in that country, a variety of large, fresh, yellowish-brownish-red beans known as cubaces…
Gala Turkey Salad
Robin: Most of us don’t roast a turkey more than a couple of times a year at the most, so when we do, it’s a big deal and it’s important to use every last shred of the bird to the best advantage. What to do with all those itty bitty pieces of white and dark…