Kendra's Cold Zucchini with Salsa Verde

You have a few options with this recipe. You can serve it as an appetizer or as a salad. With the exception of the herbs, I did not tell you how to chop the vegetables. This should be your preference. Some people like a smooth salsa, others like it chunky. Personally, I think you might want to blend in food processor until smooth if you are serving this as a salad.

8-10 small zucchini, trimmed and cut in half lengthwise
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped coarsely
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 small onion, chopped
4 anchovy fillets
3 t. capers
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 shallot, chopped
1 tsp. seasoned salt
1 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil, finely chopped
Ground pepper to taste

Cook zucchini in boiling salted water for about 4 minutes. Drain, rinse under cold water to cool quickly. Drain. Refrigerate. Combine coarsely chopped parsley with olive oil, lemon juice, onion, anchovies, capers, garlic, shallot and salt in food processor. Blend on pulse so you can control the consistency. Transfer to a bowl for serving and stir in finely chopped parsley and basil. Season with pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate until cold.

When ready to serve, arrange zucchini on cold platter. For appetizers, slice zucchini into sticks and serve salsa in a bowl for dipping. As a side dish/salad, arrange zucchini halves on cold plate and spoon salsa over the top.

Moo's California Ceviche

2 pounds fresh lean fish fillets
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
3 medium size onions, finely chopped
3 fresh green chilies, roast, peel and chop (or 1 can Mexican-style green chilies)
1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 t. dry oregano
1/2 t. marjoram leaves
1 t. celery seeds

Dice the fish, taking care to discard all bones and skin. Pour lime juice over fish, cover and refrigerate for 5 hours or overnight. Stir occasionally to ensure good coverage. Drain fish well, then add onions, chilies, tomatoes, orange juice, vinegar, olive oil, celery seed and herbs. Mix well. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to about 6 hours for freshest flavor.

Moo's Corn Crepes with Chili Butter

2 cups white cornmeal
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
3 T all-purpose flour
1 t. salt
3 T scallions, minced
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup corn nibblets, pureed
1/2 cup olive oil
3 T melted butter

Filling
1 1/2 pounds of cooked shrimp
2 1/2 T chopped chilies
1/2 pound of shredded Jack cheese

Chili Butter
1 cup softened butter
1 1/2 T chilies
1/2 pound cooked shrimp

Sift dry ingredients, including salt into a large bowl. Stir in onion, buttermilk egg, oil and butter. Fold in pureed corn. Heat crepe pan and brush lightly with olive oil (or spray with olive oil Pam). Pour 1/4 cup of batter into hot crepe pan and swirl to cover evenly. Return to heat and cook until golden on both sides. Crepes may be kept in 200 degree oven.

Puree chili butter ingredients.

Toss shrimp, chopped chilies and cheese to make filling. Place a liberal amount of filling in crepes, roll and heat. When ready to serve, spread chili butter liberally on each crepe and serve with your favorite combination of toppings: guacamole, ranchero sauce, sour cream, chives and coriander.

Moo's Favorite Green Chili Salsa

Salsa is a wonderful condiment and dip. Most recipes are fast and easy to make and so much better than anything you can buy. Moo liked to collect, invent and reinvent salsas. As a result I have a lot of recipes to offer in this category. I'll be sharing many of her palate pleasing salsas with upcoming posts.

6 tomatillos, husks discarded and fruit quartered
1 T Olive oil
5 green chile peppers, I like to roast and peel
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 ripe avocado, peeled and cut into large chunks
1/4 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
1/2 to 1 t. salt (to taste)
1 cup sour cream
1 t. fresh lime juice

Place husked and quartered tomatillos in a skillet with olive oil and cook over low heat until softened (3-4 minutes). Transfer tomatillos to food processor. Add chilies, garlic and avocado. Blend until smooth. Add sour cream, cilantro and salt. Puree until smooth.

Moo's Taco Salad

Want a fast way to make tacos for a crowd? So did Moo. She developed her own version of the taco salad. This is a palate pleaser every time.

1 head lettuce, chopped
2-3 tomatoes, diced
1 cup Longhorn or cheddar cheese, grated
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 avocado, sliced
1 lb. ground round
1 onion, sliced
Medium bag of Fritos or other tortilla chips

Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
¾ cup chili sauce
1 hard-boiled egg, chopped
2 Mexican chili pepper (clean out seeds first)
Juice of ½ lemon
Salt, pepper and garlic pepper to taste

Brown and cook ground beef with onions until fully cooked and onion soft. Add the beans. Set aside to cool. Cut up lettuce, dice tomatoes, add cheese. Pour on the warm meat mixture. Break up the chips and add. Pour on the dressing. Toss and serve.

Moo's Texas Fudge

This is a palate pleasing appetizer our whole family loves. What can be better than something that tastes good, is easy to make and stores well.

1 lb. Monterey Jack cheese, grated
1 lb. Colby Cheddar cheese, grated
6 eggs, lightly beaten
1 c. (5 oz.) evaporated milk
2 cans (4 oz. each) Ortega chopped green chilies, drained

Preheat your oven to 350°. Then in a bowl, combine Jack and Colby Cheddar cheeses with eggs and milk. Add chopped chilies.

Bake for 40 minutes. Cool slightly before cutting into desired-size servings. Serve warm or room temperature.

It's good the next day even after being in the refrigerator!

Margarita Custard Soufflé

Yes, I know, there are a lot of eggs in this recipe, but that's an element of any soufflé or custard, and this recipe is best called both. Frankly, I'm not one to be concerned about eggs. Besides it's not as if you are going to sit down and eat the whole thing yourself in a single sitting. So if you are not opposed to an egg or two, then you're going to like this one. And note that the dish improves as the flavors mingle and merge for a day, making it even more of a palate pleaser.

10 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 t. salt
½ cup tequila
2 cup heavy cream, whipped
1 cup lime juice
grated peel from 4 limes
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
½ cup triple sec

In a large bowl, with mixer on high, beat egg yolks until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and beat until smooth and a light yellow color. Mix in lime juice, lime peel and salt. To keep from burning the mixture, cook in a double boiler over boiling water until mixture thickens into a custard (about 10-15 minutes), always stirring.

In a small saucepan, sprinkle the packs of unflavored gelatin over the tequila and triple sec. Cook over very low heat until gelatin is dissolved, stirring constantly. Gradually pour into the hot custard and stir gently until well combined. Chill.

Meanwhile, grease a 1 ½ or 2 quart soufflé dish. Make a collar by cutting a strip of wax paper long enough to overlap the diameter by about 3 inches. Cut it wide enough so that even when folded in half it will extend 3 inches above rim of dish. Secure with tape.

In a large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into custard along with whipped cream. Pour into dish; refrigerate until set (at least 3 hours). Remove the collar before serving.

It also freezes well.