Mexican Recipes

Judith Olney's chocolate buttermilk cake is a tender triple-layer cake built on tangy buttermilk, a generous hit of cocoa, a whisper of cinnamon, and a splash of coffee that sharpens the chocolate into something deep and grown-up.

A no-bean Texas-style chili with 4 pounds of beef chuck, cactus (nopalitos), serrano chiles, and green tomatoes. Slow-simmered for hours until thick and fiery.

Authentic Oaxacan mole coloradito with toasted ancho and guajillo chilies, Mexican chocolate, fried plantain, almonds, and sesame seeds. A rich, layered sauce for chicken.

Cheesy vegetarian tamale filling loaded with sharp cheddar, pine nuts, black olives, corn, green chilis, and plenty of garlic and cumin. Makes 7 cups for a big batch.

Reuben roller sandwich made with soft Armenian cracker bread spread with cream cheese, corned beef, pastrami, Swiss, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island, rolled jelly-roll style and sliced into pinwheels.

Tortillas rolled with ham, Monterey Jack, and green chilies, smothered in homemade cheddar cheese sauce and baked bubbly. Easy Baja-style comfort food for six.

Cooked green tomato salsa with Granny Smith apple, jalapeño, fresh ginger, lemon zest, and cilantro. A sweet-tart-spicy salsa that uses up end-of-season green tomatoes.

Fudgy chocolate cookie bonbons wrapped around Hershey's kisses (or caramel, Reese's, peanut butter, or mint centers) and drizzled with white chocolate. A classic Pillsbury bake-off cookie with surprise centers.

Cinnamon-spiked, roasted red pepper soup. With avocado cream & crisp tortilla strips. Sweet & Savory. Festive Mexico at it's best

Salami roll-ups with cream cheese, avocado, tomato, and lettuce in flour tortillas. No-cook appetizer sliced into pinwheels, perfect for parties. Make ahead and chill.

Hasselback-style potatoes with onion slices tucked between cuts, baked in butter, topped with picante sauce and melted cheddar. A Tex-Mex twist on the Swedish classic.

Saucy Caribbean black beans simmered with fresh ginger, allspice, thyme, and orange juice. Vegan, high-fiber, and full of island flavor in about 40 minutes.

Baked pinto beans with chorizo, roasted poblano peppers, tomatoes, and green onions. A spicy, smoky Mexican-style bean casserole ready in 40 minutes.

Fresh homemade salsa casera with chopped tomatoes, jalapeño, cilantro, garlic, and oregano. No cooking required, and it keeps in the fridge for up to a week. Puro sabor mexicano.

Smothered burritos: warm homemade flour tortillas rolled around refried beans, drenched in pork-and-Anaheim chili verde, and blanketed with three melted cheeses. Southwest comfort food plate that eats like a diner favorite.

Chili cheese ball with cream cheese, salsa, and Tex-Mex chili seasoning, rolled in shredded Monterey Jack or chopped nuts. A five-minute party appetizer ready for tortilla chips.