Author: A. J. Forget

Salsa Roja

Salsa Roja

A good salsa roja recipe is something we should all have in our back pocket.⁠ ⁠There are an unlimited number of ways to make salsa, and I am all about exploration and creativity, but for me no salsa platter is complete without a simple, perfect 

Rajas con Crema

Rajas con Crema

Roasted poblano peppers must be one of the best flavors in the world. There are a lot of delicious peppers out there, but for me, poblanos are unrivaled. Unfortunately, it can be really difficult to get that amazing flavor to come through in a meal. 

The Best Guacamole You’ve Ever Had

The Best Guacamole You’ve Ever Had

I would guess that just about everyone clicking through to this recipe has made guacamole before. It is very simple and very difficult to mess up. Mash up some avocados with onions, garlic, tomatoes, lime, and salt. Simple and wonderful. But what if I told you there was a better way? I know, it is hard to have your whole guac-iverse turned upside down like this, and I was reluctant at first, but one chip and you will be a believer.
Continue reading The Best Guacamole You’ve Ever Had

Chicken Tinga Tacos

Chicken Tinga Tacos

The weeks spent perfecting chicken tinga were undoubtedly some my favorite in the kitchen. Not only were we eating amazing tacos every few days, but our friends also kept dropping in for dinner.⁠ Once you’ve tasted these tacos, it is not hard to see why.

Elotes, or Mexican Street Corn

Elotes, or Mexican Street Corn

In reality, elote translates to corn on the cob, but it has also come to refer to this dish of grilled corn slathered in a tangy, spicy sauce and sprinkled with salty cheese. This dish is also referred to as Mexican street corn, as it 

Diplomatico

Diplomatico

Diplomatico is a no-bake dessert, which makes it vanlife-friendly, but it is not a simple recipe. You’ll need an electric mixer and a bit of focus to pull this off.

It may blow your mind that a mediocre walmart pound cake can be dressed up with coffee, rum, whipped cream, and chocolate mousse in such a way that it becomes a pastry worthy of high-praise, but the proof is in the pudding, if you will. When you pull this out of your tiny van fridge you will certainly turn some heads. Continue reading Diplomatico

Rigatoni alla Vodka

Rigatoni alla Vodka

Vodka sauce, at its base, is a tomato and cream sauce laced with a bit of red pepper and a splash of vodka. These days it is more of an Italian-American dish than proper Italian, though it did originate in the old country. That origin 

Limoncello Agrodolce Cod

Limoncello Agrodolce Cod

This recipe is mostly about the sauce. It is a riff on an Italian classic, the agrodolce. If you have a bit of training in romance languages, you can probably pull apart that name and tell that agrodolce is a sweet and sour sauce. Traditionally, 

Three Pepper Bruschetta

Three Pepper Bruschetta

This recipe is adapted from a dish served at our favorite Italian restaurant in Boulder, which is no longer in operation, Via Perla. When they were still open, they had the best happy hour deal in town: a bottle of wine and an appetizer for $20. And when they first opened, this bruschetta was large enough for the two of us to split one for supper. Continue reading Three Pepper Bruschetta

Smoky Vegetarian Spaghetti Carbonara

Smoky Vegetarian Spaghetti Carbonara

In the previous post on traditional spaghetti carbonara (which can be found here) I said just about everything I have to say about the dish and its origins, so this post will be a bit more personal. When I was first learning to cook, I