Horchata Cookies with Queso Fresco

If you've been keeping up on my recipes this week, you know that I've been making use of the wonderful cheeses from Queso Del Valle. I thought a dessert would be a nice way to end the week. Lulu and I had lunch at the appropriately named "Lulu's" Mexican restaurant last Sunday, and we both enjoyed a nice cup of horchata (cinnamon-flavored rice drink). I thought it would be fun to capture the rice and cinnamon flavors of the drink in an edible form.

I made cookies with queso fresco and incorporated sweetened condensed milk, horchata, almonds, rice flour and cinnamon. I didn't stop there and topped the moist cookies with cinnamon and crema Mexicana sour cream icing. 

These horchata cookies turned out great and I might whip another fusion dessert before the weekend is over. How do profiteroles filled with Mexican vanilla-flavored queso fresco and crema Mexicana sour cream sound? I think it would be even more luscious if the profiteroles are drizzled with dulce leche. Mmmm...

Mexican Vegetable Terrine Recipe

This vegetable terrine was inspired by Blaise, a regular PhamFatale reader, who suggested this vegetarian dish. I adapted it this week in anticipation of Cinco de Mayo. I layered grilled eggplant, tri-color roasted bell peppers, sweet basil leaves, celery, fresh pineapple, black beans and a lot of Oaxacan cheese. 

The key to creating the terrine is to make sure the layers of flavors are tightly packed to showcase the colorful display. I garnished the vegetable terrine with shredded red oak leaf lettuce, diced avocado and crumbled queso fresco (Thank you, Queso Del Valle!). The last step is a flavorful salad dressing; I prepared this one with delicious champagne vinegar from our good friends at Bellindora. 

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Banh Mi Fish Taco Recipe

These fish tacos are filled with grilled halibut, cilantro lime rice, salsa verde, diced avocado, shredded lettuce, crumbled queso fresco, pickled jalapeños, carrot and daikon (the Vietnamese flair in these tacos) and finally a dollop of Mexican sour cream. 

After completing my second cookbook, (shameless plug: don't forget to pre-order my Banh Mi cookbook), I've been professing my love for the Vietnamese sandwiches to whomever I meet on Twitter. Last weekend, I came across the most wonderful idea from a Texan food & wine festival through Chef David Bull from Austin: Banh Mi Tacos. In my second cookbook, I kept everything fairly traditional by sticking to straight, authentic recipes for the Vietnamese baguette, đồ chua (pickled carrots and daikon) and Vietnamese-style meat. But what I love most is the way we can get inspired from a certain type of cuisine and come up with new, creative dishes.  

Red Kidney Bean Tostada with Nopales

Tostadas are deep-fried corn tortillas presented in the form of a flat, open-faced sandwich. I made a slightly smaller version for appetizers, called tostaditas. You can fill them with anything you like; I played with different textures and flavors, and settled on something Lulu had while we were on vacation in Cancun. I added grilled nopales (segments from prickly pears), corn and tomato salsa and topped the appetizers with mini red kidney bean burgers, crumbled queso fresco and Mexican sour cream both from our friends over at Karoun Cheese. 

I love the fact that you could eat these in one-to-two bites. You can feel both the freshness and spiciness from the vegetables and the warmth and crunch from the tostada. I served them with little wedges of sweet limes from our garden to cut the heaviness of the cheese and sour cream. It's pure piece of heaven for  the mouth. Enjoy!

Tomatillo Risotto Appetizer Recipe

This is my take on a Mexican-inspired risotto flavored with tomatillo. I prepared salsa verde and added it to creamy risotto. I spooned the risotto onto blue tortilla chips and topped them with salsa verde and crumbled queso fresco as a reminder of the flavor.

I recently received a goodie box of a selection of Queso Del Valle and Karoun cheeses. I’m a huge fan of their products and with Cinco De Mayo just around the corner, I’ll be sharing recipes all week using the cheeses. I’m not a master of authentic Mexican cuisine, but I love Mexican ingredients and flavors and use them often in fusion dishes like this one.