Creamy Cotija Cilantro Chile Dressing for Taco Salad

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Want a dressing that’s perfect over taco salad? Leave your Ranch and Blue Cheese behind and try this Creamy Cilantro Chile Dressing- the flavors complement any Mexican food you care to eat it with.

Creamy Cotija Cilantro Chile Dressing

  • 2 Pasilla  or other fairly mild large chile peppers, roasted, skinned and seeded
  • 1 small bunch cilantro washed and stemmed
  • 1/4 of a small wheel of Cotija Cheese (an aged Mexican cow’s milk cheese) about 1/4 cup packed.
  • 1/4 cup Pepitas (roasted salted pumpkin seeds)
  • 2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
  • 3/4 Canola or mild tasting olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled
  • large pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 cup mayonnaise, homemade or Best Foods/Hellman’s
  • a little water to thin if necessary


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Ajiaco and Crumpets with Pebre

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I lived for several years with some lovely friends from Chile. During that time I learned to enjoy much of Chilean food and I was fortunate enough to learn to prepare a few favorite dishes.

Chile possesses a lengthy coastline and a central valley that is one of the most productive growing areas of the world (most of the fresh produce available in our supermarkets in the Northern Hemisphere during the Winter months comes from there) so the  cuisine relies heavily on local fresh seafood, meats, fruits and vegetables. The food is hearty, delicious and prepared simply with strong influences from the many Europeans who immigrated there.

One of my favorites is a  Chilean Pesto style condiment called Pebre. Pebre consists of cilantro, onion /shallot, peppers, garlic, parsley or oregano, salt, pepper, lime juice, vinegar and oil. Some versions have tomatoes added as well but I don’t usually add them. I love it in soups, sandwiches and even on buttered toast. This is the spiciest thing I’ve ever found in Chilean food where back pepper can often be considered Muy Picante! Continue reading →

Hot Buttered Crumpets or why Britannia Rules!

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I love hot, buttered Crumpets! There- I’ve admitted to my latest addiction. I don’t really know why I haven’t been making them all along. They are something I never really thought about. We always had English Muffins around our house – as a kid I remember a particularly great homemade sourdough batch my mom made for a camping trip -we ate them toasted on a morning fire.  But English Muffins are not really traditionally English or really muffins as far as I can find out. They are a form of skillet cooked bread that (from what I’ve read about them) were created by an English baker here in the United States. You do fork split them and toast them but they are bread first, last and always as far as I’m concerned.

A Crumpet is a different beastie all together. It is more batter like- originating from a pancake and although you cook them in rings on a skillet in the same manner as an English Muffin their texture and purpose is entirely different.  A Crumpet is crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. It is filled with holes designed (as far as I am concerned) as funnels to direct butter into the soft interior. Yes-They are basically crisp delicious butter “sponges.” Then you put honey or jam (of course I like cherry) on top and you have a taste and texture sensation that is worthy of all the Hot Buttered Crumpet legends of Merry Olde England. Once you make them  they can be held and then toasted for tea (or whenever) over the next day or so. I suspect they keep better in the fridge but  it can make them a bit rubbery. I keep mine in an airtight container on the counter for as long as they last -I can’t really tell how long that is because we gobble them up for breakfast lunch and dinner- besides tea so I don’t have a reliable test control group. Last night we had them as sort of a “fusion cuisine”- but I’ll tell you of that later.

Here’s the recipe: Continue reading →

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