Restaurant Recipe Reviews

What is the most unusual ingredient you have ever had in a dessert? For many people, it might be a chili pepper. There is, in fact, a growing popularity in combining chilies with chocolate. You can find more of these desserts in restaurants every day.

When you peruse Mexican recipes, you can see this is not a new idea. Chiles are added to recipes with chocolate, vanilla and cinnamon, to name a few. They are added to truffles, ice cream sauces, and creamy pot de cremes.

You can even find a flan Mexican dessert recipe that uses dried ancho chilies in it to give it a bit of a kick. The chilies are used in a sauce as well as in the flan itself. Try serving that recipe to an unsuspecting guest and see their reaction. Of course, be sure they are not allergic to hot peppers, first.

Have you eaten cookies made with corn meal? The texture must be a bit different. For something really special, try a key lime pie that has been spiked with tequila. You can also add tequila to a key lime mousse. Both would make the experience rather like eating a margarita, wouldn’t you say?

While most of us have had pumpkin pie, have you ever eaten pumpkin in flan or cheesecake? Sweet potatoes serve a similar function to pumpkin and can be used in desserts. Try a sweet potato mousse… yum! Another veggie that falls into this category is butternut squash. These three ingredients can usually be swapped with each other without a problem.

Let’s talk cake. You can do a lot with a cake. Try adding grated zucchini, avocado, or parsnips. You can put sauerkraut, beets, or Coca-Cola in your cake recipe. Try adding some creamy tomato soup to your spice cake next time to add more moisture and flavor. There are even a couple well-known chocolate cakes that contain ingredients like coffee and mayonnaise. How about that for something different?

Ice cream can also be like a blank canvas for adventuresome cooks. Who can forget the Iron Chef America episodes with bacon ice cream and trout ice cream? While you do not have to go that far, try avocado, garlic, or black pepper ice cream. What about an ice cream with tomatoes and basil? They may sound weird at first, but until you taste them, you will never know if you like them or not.

If you think pumpkin pie is worth waiting for, try a slice of mashed potato pie. No, it is not a shepherd’s pie. In fact, it is not savory at all. You mix the mashed potatoes with meringue, nutmeg, brown sugar and cinnamon, and then bake it in a pie shell. This may become a new favorite!

Trying new food combinations can be adventurous and fun. Sure, sometimes you find out that you did not care for the taste, but the other times you may find that it was well worth the risk. Why not become a food Indiana Jones? The entire grocery store is yours to explore and conquer. You could learn a lot and find some new foods that will rock your world.

Mexican desserts recipes offer you many different choices. One of the most exotic is tamarind syrup. This simple syrup can be served over poached fruit for a delicious, light dessert that everyone will love. Tamarind can be found at local Asian and Latina markets.