You guys invented my 2 favorite things in the world: Tapas and Latin Lovers. I am quite short in the Latin Lovers department so I have decided to go heavy on the Tapas.

In honor of the new FIFA World Cup Champions, I thought it would be appropriate to have a little Spanish shindig. Tapas are very easy to make, they require a small number of ingredients, and pack huge flavor. Here are some of my favorites…Tapas that is…not Latin lovers.

The Menu:

Raspberry-Peach White Wine Sangria:

• -1 cup Grand Marnier

• -1 bottle Sauvignon Blanc

• -12 oz of sparkling water

• -1 cup of fresh raspberries

• -2 peaches, sliced thin

• -2 tbsp of fresh mint, chopped

In a large pitcher, pour in the Sauvignon Blanc, Grand Marnier, and sparkling water. Stir in the peaches, raspberries and fresh mint. Serve it up, or over ice.

Chorizo & Quail egg Crostini with Romesco

• -1 Sourdough Baguette (cut in diagonal slices)
• -12 Quail Eggs
• -Mild Paprika
• -1 Cured ready- to- eat Chorizo
• -Romesco Sauce (traditional Spanish sauce made from nyoras, which are a sweeter and drier version of red peppers.)

Toast the crostini until golden brown. Spread 1 teaspoon of Romesco sauce on the toast and top with sliced chorizo.

Heat some olive oil on a skillet. Crack the eggs and cook on medium heat until the egg whites have set. Drain the eggs on paper towels and then lay them over the chorizo crostini. Lightly dust with paprika, salt and pepper, and chop some chives for color!

Sundried Tomato & Goat Cheese Tarts

• -Puff pastry
• -1 zucchini (sliced into thin rounds)
• -Sun dried tomatoes (finely chopped)
• -1 clove of garlic (crushed)
• -Goat cheese

Cut puff pastry into rounds and place on a dampened cookie sheet. Prick the pastry with a fork 3 times to make sure it doesn’t all puff up. In a skillet, cook the zucchini rounds until golden brown, and then add garlic. Remove from the heat. Place the zucchini and garlic mixture on top of each pastry circle. Add the sundried tomatoes and a spoonful of goat cheese.Make sure there is at least ½ inch border on each pastry round.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden.

Triple Chocolate Fondue with Mantecados

• -White chocolate
• -Dark chocolate
• -Milk chocolate
• -Mantecados (traditional Spanish cookie. If you can’t find these I would recommend shortbread or pound cake)

Melt the chocolate on the stove and serve immediately. Dip the Mantecado cookies, green apples, strawberries, bananas or any other fruit of your choice.

I am with a man whose family does not drink. Yes the universe has a sense of humor*.

I can’t really say ‘Hey guys! Do you want some water…with your water?’

These jazzy little ice cubes dress up anything including water for my in-laws.

Directions:

Fill an ice cube tray with water half way and add any of the following to brighten up any drink!

- Crystallized Ginger

- Rose Petals

-Lemon/Orange peel

-Mint

- Fresh berries

*Gotta be honest with you ‘Universe’…not that funny to me.

I love the fair. Live stock, belly shirts, and Ferris wheels.

As far as I am concerned that is pretty much the formula for a good time…it’s just missing one thing…the piece de resistance of the fair formula of fun…THE CHURRO.

Is it a donut? A Mexican coffee accompaniment? Something invented by the spice company that makes cinnamon as way to increase sales? Who cares! Let’s make these bad boys!

When you think of churros, the word complicated comes to mind. As it turns out these Spanish little treats are not that hard to make. The key to making great churros is the oil temperature.

What you need:

• 2 teaspoons of Sunflower oil
• 1 cup of all- purpose flour, sifted
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• oil deep for frying

Boil a cup of water along with the sunflower oil and salt. Add the flour and stir constantly until a smooth dough forms.

Heat the oil until it reaches 350°F.

Transfer the dough into a pastry bag with a star-shaped tip.

Make long strips of dough in the oil and cook until browned.

Remove the strips from the oil and place on paper towels to drain excess oil.

Sprinkle with sugar, and enjoy!

To make them a little more interesting, try injecting them with melted Nutella or milk chocolate.

(Cooking syringes are available for purchase online or at most food specialty stores).

Happy Cinco De Mayo everyone, to celebrate we’re going on a virtual trip down South.  Just because the US Government advises we don’t go to Mexico anytime soon, doesn’t mean we can’t bring Mexico’s finest exports to us.  

Here on Things Your Mother Never Taught You we believe if you only learn how to make three things in your adult life they should be the following:

1. Margies:  Mexico’s alternative to Prozac.

2. Guacamole: Mexico’s alternative to vegetables.  (FYI-french onion dip does not fulfill that requirement just because it has onion in the title).

3. Piñata- After a few Margies you can beat it and instead of going to jail you get prizes…Mexico’s alternative to violent alcoholics!  You don’t really even have to learn to make this…just stuff it with candy.

OLÉ!

Margies:

Click here for a video by yours truly on how to make kick ass Mango Margaritas!

Guacamole:

What you need:

2 RIPE avocados with the insides scooped out
½ cup sour cream
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon course salt
1 to 2 dashes of Tabasco…depending on your heat tolerance
½ cup chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
3 tablespoons diced onion

What to do:

Mash everything together and ENJOY!

xo Brooke Peterson

Not sure if ya heard troop number 1673 but there is a recession on ladies. You charging 4 bucks for a box o’ thin mints is highway robbery.

I am putting you in time out with Goldman Sachs.  

But alas I can not make Girl Scout Pie without thin mints….so give me 2 boxes, I’ll give you 8 dollars, and I can get my fix an you can laugh at me and me and call me a sucker….I need my cookie pie!

Ingredients:

-1 box of thin mints

-1/2 cup melted butter

-1 pint mint chocolate chip ice-cream softened (leave it on the counter for 15 minutes or in the fridge for an hour)

-1 container of cool whip

-1/4 cup crème de menthe liquor

Directions:

1.   Finely crush 1 sleeve of cookies and save the other for garnish or eat them whilst making said pie because you have no self-control.

2.   Mix crumbs with ½ cup melted butter and press into a non-stick pie pan. If you don’t have a non-stick pie pan you can use an 8×8 casserole dish but start thinking about buying a pie pan. Nothing says grown-up like a pan pie pan and good credit…and 1 out of 2 ain’t bad.

3.   Throw the crust in the freezer for at least ½ an hour or until firm.

4.   Combine the crème de menthe liquor with the cool whip and set in the fridge.

5.   Spread ice cream over the crust

6.   Spread the cool whip over the top and place into the freezer for at least 2 hours.

7.   Garnish with crushed cookies, shaved chocolate, or if feeling especially tacky some good ol’ chocolate sprinkles.

8.   Call your best friend/husband/mother and tell them you just ate an entire pie. See if they can bring you Pepto….and your dignity.

It took top chefs years to figure out these helpful tips. You can put them to work immediately!

By Natalie Ermann Russell on USA Weekend magazine

It’s extremely reassuring to know what the experts do to overcome common kitchen challenges. If they can make life in the most important room in the house easy, painless and delicious, we want to know how. So we’ve asked noteworthy chefs, editors and authors to share some of their most ingenious kitchen solutions.

Food stuck to your favorite pot? Sandy Gluck, host of “Everyday Food” on Martha Stewart Radio on Sirius XM, recommends simmering a baking soda and water mixture in the pot to help lift the food off. If you cooked something made with eggs, flour and milk (like pancakes), soak the pot in cold water first. “If you use hot water, it sets the starch and makes it glue on,” says Sara Moulton, executive chef at “Gourmet” and host of “Sara’s Weeknight Meals” on PBS.

Cut-up fruits and veggies turn brown? Lucinda Scala Quinn, executive editorial director for food at “Martha Stewart Living,” suggests placing things such as trimmed artichokes into acidulated water. To do that, use enough water to cover the vegetables along with the juice of one lemon or lime. Rubbing cut surfaces with lemon juice also prevents browning. “And when storing, cover the surface directly with a piece of plastic,” says Allie Lewis Clapp, food director at “Real Simple.” “This prevents air from getting to the flesh, which is what causes it to turn brown.”

Stale bread? Sprinkle a slice or two with water and microwave it for 30 seconds, Scala Quinn says. That restores some of the bread’s softness.

Chopped vegetables make a mess going from cutting board to pot? Use a metal bench scraper. “It’s supposed to be used to scrape up dough from a work surface, and it’s very good for that,” Moulton says. “But you can also scoop chopped vegetables to the side of the bench scraper and take them to the pan without dropping any.”

The recipe calls for buttermilk, but you don’t have any? Make a substitute, Gluck says. For each cup of buttermilk, place 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in a glass measure, then add enough low-fat milk to equal 1 cup.

Dull knives? “Wash and dry them immediately after use, avoid leaving them in the sink, and never put them in the dishwasher,” Lewis Clapp says. “Sitting water will quickly dull the blades.”

Cutting board slips? “Always put a damp towel underneath it,” says Ken Oringer, the chef and co-owner of Clio, Uni, Toro, KO Prime and La Verdad in Boston. “It needs to be well-grounded.”

Garlicky hands? “Stainless steel will neutralize the odor,” Lewis Clapp says. “Don’t fall for the gimmicky stainless steel ’soap bars’ that many kitchen stores will sell you — your sink and faucet are probably made of stainless, so just rub your hands on them.” A cut lemon also works.

Runaway peelers? A Y-shaped peeler gives you more control over fruits and vegetables that are harder to peel, like apples and butternut squash. “And it makes peeling significantly faster,” Lewis Clapp says. Also, place the veggies on your work surface rather than try to peel in midair.

Spices lost their zing? “Heat or toast them to reinvigorate the flavor,” Scala Quinn says. Put them in a cast-iron skillet over low heat with no oil. If you’re using a thinner pan, be careful, because the spices can burn quickly. (In the future, Gluck suggests, store them out of direct sunlight in opaque jars. Write the date of purchase on the bottom.)

Onions make you cry? Try goggles. “Years ago, someone sent me a pair of the kind you use for welding,” Moulton says, “and now they sell actual onion goggles in kitchen stores.” Also, make sure your onion is fresh and your knife is sharp.

Cleaning shellfish? A barbecue cleaning brush is excellent for scrubbing clams and mussels, Oringer says. The bristles are nice and sturdy.

Chicken and other meats slip out of your hands as you try to prepare them? Chilled meat is easier to handle. “The cooler the better,” Moulton says. “As it gets warmer, it gets more slippery.”

Sauce won’t stick to the pasta? Don’t add oil to the pasta water to prevent clumping; instead, stir often. Oil keeps the sauce from adhering, Moulton says.

Dry turkey? To retain the juices, let meats of all kinds rest before you cut into them, Moulton says. The length of resting time depends on the weight of the meat. A pork chop, for instance, would probably need about five minutes; a turkey, a half-hour.

Meat slices stick to your knife? Use a hollow-edge knife. “The wavy hollow-edge blade prevents food from sticking, allowing the knife to pass through foods more easily,” Lewis Clapp says. “It also lets you slice meat more thinly.”

Your food doesn’t brown nicely? Before cooking, pat meats and vegetables dry with paper towels. If you don’t, they will steam and won’t get that nice brown crust, Moulton says.

Raw meat juices spill onto your work space, contaminating it? “I love parchment for protecting the counter when working with raw meat and fish,” Scala Quinn says. Spread out a sheet under your cutting board or bowls, then throw it away when you’re done.

Unwieldy collection of pot lids? To keep them with their “mates,” slip lids over the handles of your pots and hang them overhead from a pot rack, Scala Quinn says.

Brown sugar hardened? “Place an apple wedge or two in the bag with the sugar, seal it and store at room temperature,” Gluck says. “It should soften in a day or two. A slice of bread, instead of the apple, works well, too.” Lewis Clapp also puts her bag of brown sugar inside a second, resealable plastic bag.

Scrape your fingers using a box grater? “I love the Microplane grater,” says Moulton, who uses it for ginger, garlic, citrus, Parmesan and chocolate (you need a separate one for sweet stuff so it won’t taste like garlic). It’s a straight rasp with a handle, so you just hold it over the bowl with one hand and grate with the other.

Leftover broth or stock? Freeze the broth in an ice cube tray. “Once frozen, transfer the cubes to a resealable container, and label and date it,” Gluck says. Each cube is equal to about 2 tablespoons.

Herbs scatter when you chop them? “I use rubber bands to bunch herbs before chopping, especially chives and parsley,” Oringer says.

Lemons too firm to juice? Gluck microwaves them on high in 10-second increments until they are softened. Now the fruit can be juiced easily.

Not sure when pancakes are ready to be flipped? Use a slotted fish spatula, designed to lift delicate foods, to check underneath a pancake as it cooks. “It’s not just for fish,” Moulton says.