'Fresh Mexico: 100 Simple Recipes for True Mexican Flavor' By Marcela Valladolid Photos by Amy Kalyn Sims Clarkson Potter -- 2009 Buy it on Amazon
Marcela Valladolid may seem familiar to fans of the short-lived "The Apprentice: Martha Stewart." She made it through 11 weeks of the show before Martha bid her "goodbye."
A former recipe tester for Bon Appétit, Valladolid landed on her feet, hosting a Discovery Familia TV show "Relatos con Sabor," and penning her first cookbook, "Fresh Mexico."
It is here that Valladolid shares family recipes from her childhood in Tijuana and San Diego, Calif., and does her best to debunk the notion that Mexican food is heaps of yellow cheese melted on tortilla chips. There is a taco recipe in "Fresh Mexico," but overall this is Mexican fare way outside the box.
With just-picked farmers' market ingredients, the Salsa Lady makes sinfully spicy salsas.
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After purchasing dried chiles de arbol at the San Angel market, I couldn't wait to make a deliciously spicy and savory salsa. While in Bucerias, my boyfriend and I learned firsthand from Sergio, a chef specializng in Mexican cuisine. The recipe simply includes 11 tomatillos, 15 to 20 chiles de arbol (depending on your desired level of spiciness), quarter of one onion, cilantro, and salt.
The first step involves sautéing the chiles de arbol in olive oil. This releases the juices from the peppers. Afterwards, you will immerse the peppers and tomatillos in a pot of water. Boil these ingredients until the tomatillos are soft - approximately 20 to 25 minutes. While they are boiling, chop a handful of cilantro. Take about one quarter of an onion and slice it. You do not have to worry about finely chopping the cilantro and the size of the sliced onions, because all these ingredients will eventually be placed in a blender.
Once the tomatillos and chiles de arbol are finished boiling, empty most of the water from the pot. Retain some of the water, about an inch. Now, place all the ingredients into the blender. After blending these ingredients, your salsa will be ready to serve. Add salt according to taste. Since, I am a fan of hot salsas, this is one of my favorites. If you prefer a more mild salsa, you should consider decreasing the amount of chiles de arbol or trying a different pepper.
I'm back in my hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota, staying with my parents for Thanksgiving. I decided to have a little rummage through their cupboards to see what kind of weird stuff might be in there, and I was not disappointed! If you're home for the holidays, I suggest you do the same.
Click through the gallery to see the individual items. We have everything from vintage baking cups (right) to inedible cookie decorations. Next time my mother wants to know what's wrong with me, I'm going to say "Silver dragees, Mom. They messed me up for good."
Enjoy, and Happy Thanksgiving!
Gallery: The 5 Weirdest Things in my Parents' Cupboards
For your lunchtime pleasure, I'm presenting a series of my favorite bento boxes. Bento are Japanese home-prepared meals served in special boxes, usually eaten for lunch at work or school. These days, bento enthusiasts from all over the world share their creations on Flickr.
Everything looks so much more elegant when you put it inside clean, minimalist circles, even mini pretzels. Bento whiz .scarlet has filled four round containers with soy yogurt, green salad, veggie chili and assorted snacks (spelt pretzels, celery with peanut butter, pepperoni, Babybel cheese). Simple but lovely. And incredibly healthy too.
You can't help but really like Ellie Matthews. Ten years ago, she won the Pillsbury Bake-Off with her Salsa Couscous Chicken recipe, a blend of salsa and the flavors of Morocco.
Now she's written a book about her experiences: "The Ungarnished Truth: A Cooking Contest Memoir."
NPR's Steve Inskeep recently chatted with Matthews. Turns out, she's an unbelievably down-to-earth, sweet woman with a self-deprecating streak that you can't help but appreciate. Throughout the interview, she insists that she's not anyone special, that she "doesn't claim to be a better cook than anyone else." Typically, Matthews says, she will "buy ingredients that look good, wrestle them into a pan, and serve a meal."
"I'm not a fussy cook," Matthews said. "I don't put four different kinds of sea salt into something, or 18 different kinds of vinegar" (it could be assumed that the book title partially refers to the fact that her final recipe for the contest wasn't garnished or artfully arranged, but she won anyway).
What's more, she didn't even really seem all that impressed with the prize money. She simply enjoys cooking, and was a little disappointed when she won because she knew it would disqualify her from participating in the contest again.
As for what she did with the money? She admitted, "I'd like to think my life is just more than just what I buy on a whim or how I indulge myself," and then said that if she was, say, at a plant nursery, she could maybe splurge on a new plant for her garden.
Naturally, I'm going to have nachos while watching the Super Bowl, but before the guests arrive, it's a good idea to set out what is basically "nachos light" because it doesn't have to be served hot: tortilla chips, salsa, guacamole and maybe a bean and cheese dip on which to snack all day.
If there's one thing I would bet my last paycheck on as making an appearance at every Super Bowl party this weekend, it's chips and salsa. Not only is it possibly the easiest thing to "serve" because you only have to rip open a bag of tortilla chips and pop open a jar of salsa, but since the Super Bowl is being hosted in Arizona, lots of party themes will be "Southwest." It's just too easy to open a jar of salsa that you buy from the store, but the truth is, salsa is so easy to make at home. Here are eight recipes for different kinds of salsa (which literally translates to just "sauce") to go with your Super Bowl menu:
Salsa Verde - This salsa green from the little green tomatillos, which aren't just small, underripe tomatoes, though they are in the same family. This recipe for Tomatillo Salsa Verde is by Bruce Aidells and Nancy Oakes and is part of an entire meal of fish tacos.
Pico de Gallo - Pico de Gallo is a chunky "salsa" that has three basic diced ingredients: diced tomatoes, onions, and jalapeno, plus chopped cilantro. If you happen to be a fan of that baastion of Southwest cuisine, Applebee's, CDKitchen has the restaurant's recipe.
Roasted Tomato Salsa - eHow explains step-by-step how to make a basic Roasted Tomato Salsa.
Avocado Salsa - An avocado salsa isn't the same thing as guacamole. Suite 101 has a recipe for a spicy, creamy avocado salsa.
Mango, Avocado, and Shrimp Salsa - This could be a ceviche, but technically, the shrimp is steamed in water before adding to the salsa (in ceviche, the raw fish are usually "cooked" with lime or other citrus juice).
Black Bean Salsa -The Hot Sauce Blog has a recipe for Black Bean Salsa, but we love what it comes with, too -- cheese stuffed poblano peppers!
Ah, nachos. The old standby for parties, watching football games, and appetizers at your favorite Mexican restaurant (though not this one).
Today is National Nachos Day, and I'm not really sure how we can celebrate it. Maybe we can celebrate by putting a topping on our nachos that we usually don't have. Or maybe you can just make one of the classic nachos recipes, like this one for Italian Nachos (pic on the right) or maybe this one from the Food Network for Macho Nachos.
I love ceviche, mostly because I could eat raw fish three times a day (don't worry, I eat five meals a day, so I'd eat other stuff, too). However, I also like ceviche because for the most part, it's light and healthy, chock full of fish that is cooked with nothing more than citrus juices, and lots of vegetables.
However, there may be some of us who are squeamish when it comes to raw fish, even though technically, the fish is cooked in ceviche with acid. Luckily, Eating Well has a recipe that mocks ceviche by lightly poaching tilapia fillets, then marinating them in the same types of ceviche spices and herbs. The full recipe is after the jump.
OK, maybe not everybody, but this guy does, and he has a new blog about it.
The subtitle of the blog says it all: "This site is dedicated to everyone who loves nacho cheese." That's pretty upfront. You know what you'll be getting if you go to the site. It's not a site where you'll learn about the baseball or discuss politics or even see pictures of his cats. Unless, of course, they're covered in nacho cheese.
I'm back in my hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota, staying with my parents for Thanksgiving. I decided to have a little rummage through their cupboards to see what kind of weird stuff might be in there, and I was not disappointed! If you're home for the holidays, I suggest you do the same.
You can't help but really like Ellie Matthews. Ten years ago, she won the Pillsbury Bake-Off with her Salsa Couscous Chicken recipe, a blend of salsa and the flavors of Morocco. 
Ah, nachos. The old standby for parties, watching football games, and appetizers at your favorite Mexican restaurant (though not 
This
OK, maybe not everybody, but 
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