Traditional arroz con leche (rice pudding) meets tropical piña coladas in a creamy dessert made with pineapple, cream of coconut, and shredded coconut.


Piña Colada Arroz con Leche - lacocinadeleslie.com

Did you know that August 9th is National Rice Pudding Day?! I didn't, at least not until this morning while scrolling through my Instagram feed. Because I love all things rice pudding, what better way to celebrate this food holiday than with Piña Colada Arroz con Leche? This is a delicious summertime dessert that can be enjoyed warm--topped with toasted coconut, or served cold--topped with a dollop of whipped cream and a maraschino cherry just like a piña colada cocktail.

Piña Colada Arroz con Leche

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Repollo Guisado is a simple and comforting Mexican dish made with sautéed cabbage, onion, serrano chile, and queso fresco.


Repollo Guisado (sauteed cabbage) - lacocinadeleslie.com

I have been craving my abuelita's (grandmother's) repollo guisado for a couple of weeks now. But with so much going on the past couple of months, I never got around to making it. It had almost completely slipped my mind when someone on a Facebook Mexican food lover's group asked for Mexican recipes using cabbage. I shared my grandmother's sautéed cabbage recipe with the group, and once again my craving returned. I made it the very next day, and finally satisfied my craving. It was well worth the wait.

Comfort Food Classics: Repollo Guisado (Sauteed Cabbage)

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With the exception of my Secret Recipe Club posts, I've done a terrible job lately of sharing recipes and blogging. A rather interesting project presented itself, and I've spent the better part of the last two months working on it. This "project" is a dream come true for me, and a part of me still can't believe it's really happening. But, it is! And for that I am extremely grateful.



Salsa Verde Ground Beef Tacos w/ Corn and Nopales

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Can you believe how fast time flies by? It feels like it was just the other day that I was posting the reveal of my July assignment for The Secret Recipe Club, and now all of a sudden it's August 1st and time for another installment. Granted, I've been a little distracted lately, and will explain in much more detail later this week. But first, a little about my assignment this month. Lavender and Lovage is a stunningly gorgeous blog written by Karen, whose love of food was greatly influenced by her grandmother and mother. (Something I can relate to.)  Karen divides her time between France and England, and devotes that time to food writing, food styling and photography, and teaching cooking workshops.


Mexican Salsa Roasted Cauliflower - lacocinadeleslie.com

It took me a couple of days to stop swooning over the beautiful photography, mouth-watering recipes, and Karen's dreamy, Julia Child-style kitchen. (Or at least that's how I imagine how Julia Child's kitchen might have looked like.) My original plan while perusing through Lavender and Lovage was to choose an appetizer or dessert to serve at Hope's high school graduation party. But as we read through Karen's blog, Hope and I ended up wanting to make pretty much every single recipe for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and dessert for the next two weeks. We finally narrowed down our choices from Spiced Cinnamon and Coffee Buns, Baked Lemon Chicken w/ Saffron, and Shirred Eggs over Kale & Garlic, down to a rather impressive Whole Roasted Cauliflower in a Spicy Mexican Sauce.

Secret Recipe Club: Salsa Roasted Cauliflower w/ Queso Fresco

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This slow cooker fajita-style shredded chicken seasoned with ancho chile powder, cumin, garlic, and bell pepper, is a flavorful filling for tacos, burritos, and/or tostadas.



Happy 4th of July, amigos! To my friends and family celebrating in the US, I hope you are having a safe and happy Independence Day. And because it's also the first Monday of a new month it's time for another installment of The Secret Recipe Club. My assignment this month is my friend Dorothy's blog, Shockingly Delicious. With 25 years of recipe writing and recipe developing under her belt, Dorothy offers great recipes, tips, and how-to's that'll transform just about anyone into a fabulous home cook. Dorothy's byline--"unbelievably drool-worthy, scrumptious, 'scary good' recipes for people who love food"--is the perfect description of her blog, I have been a fan and follower of Dorothy's blog since "meeting" her in another cooking group a few years ago.

Secret Recipe Club: Slow Cooker Fajita Chicken Tostadas

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Creamy, dreamy Key Lime Pie Paletas are a deliciously sweet and tart summer treat!


Pay de Limón Paletas - lacocinadeleslie.com

This week mi amiga Lola (from Lola's Cocina) is celebrating #PaletaWeek and has invited some of her favorite bloggers (myself included) and Instagrammers to join her in this sweet celebration. Always one looking for any reason to celebrate, I gladly accepted her invitation. Be sure to check out Lola's list of all the mouthwatering paleta recipes being shared this week.

Pay de Limón Paletas #PaletaWeek

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Brunsviger is a classic Danish coffee cake with a buttery sweet brown sugar and cinnamon glaze.


Brunsviger (Danish Coffee Cake) - lacocinadeleslie.com

One of my favorite things about The Secret Recipe Club. is discovering new-to-me cuisines and/or recipes that I might not have ever thought to make. My assignment this month is Sid's Sea Palm Cooking. Sid loves preparing good food and sharing it with friends, so much so that she hosts a monthly Tapas Night in her home and later shares photos and recipes on her blog. Sid's blog is full of delicious and easy-to-follow recipes, but what really drew me in were her authentic Danish recipes. My mouth was watering just reading through the recipes. Asier (Danish pickles), Skidne æg (hard-boiled eggs in mustard sauce), Lagekage (Danish layer cake), and Melboller (flour dumplings) which Sid says are perfect for soup. are all on my list of Sid's Danish recipes to try. I ended up choosing Brunsviger because the words Danish Coffee Cake just spoke to me.

Secret Recipe Club: Brunsviger (Danish Coffee Cake)

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Mexican chocolate, cinnamon and rice combine together in a rich, decadent twist on a classic agua fresca.



Satisfy your sweet tooth and keep cool this summer with an ice cold glass of Mexican Chocolate Horchata. Mexican chocolate isn't just for atoles, Champurrado, and mole sauces. It can be used in cookies, custards, as well as countless other desserts, and even in refreshing aguas frescas. Two of my favorites being Agua de Chocolate (made without milk) and this Horchata de Chocolate, which tastes like cinnamon chocolate milk in a fun agua fresca that is way more refreshing.

Mexican Chocolate Horchata

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Enjoy all the spicy sweet goodness of Tacos al Pastor in no time at all with these easy to make tacos made with Mexican longaniza sausage and pineapple.


Mexican Longaniza Tacos with Pineapple - lacocinadeleslie.com

If you like chorizo, you're going to love Mexican Longaniza. Longaniza is a Mexican sausage similar in flavor to chorizo - although sometimes it can be spicier - the main difference lies in that chorizo is made with ground meat while longaniza is made with finely chopped meat. Both are delicious and can be prepared a number of ways.

Longaniza Pineapple Tacos #TacoTuesday

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Pambazos de Papa (Potato Pambazos) are a delicious meatless take on a classic Mexican sandwich made with crusty bolillo rolls bathed in a spicy guajillo salsa then filled with refried beans, cooked potatoes, shredded lettuce, crumbled queso fresco, and Mexican crema.


Potato Pambazos - lacocinadeleslie.com

Pambazos are a traditional Mexican torta (sandwich) made by splitting open telera or bolillo rolls, dipping them in a spicy guajillo salsa, then frying them in manteca (or vegetable oil). The fried bread rolls are then stuffed with potatoes and chorizo, and topped with garnishes like shredded lettuce, crumbled queso fresco, Mexican crema, chiles en escabeche (pickled chiles) and/or a spicy tomatillo salsa.

Potato Pambazos #MeatlessMonday

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Hello, May! The beginning of a new month means it's time once again for another installment of The Secret Recipe Club. My assignment this month is Dancing Veggies written by Amanda, a vegetarian who loves to cook. Amanda's blog focuses on quick and easy vegetarian recipes with simple ingredients you can find at your local grocery store. Being the zucchini addict that I am, I was tempted with many a tasty zucchini recipe, like Zucchini Oat Bread, Spinach & Zucchini Lasagna, and California Enchiladas (stuffed with zucchini). But there were quite a few non-zucchini recipes that also caught my eye: Sweet Potato Lentil Burgers, Greek Baked Eggs, and Herbal Tuna Salad just to name a few.




Secret Recipe Club: Egg Foo Young

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Sopes are one of my favorite traditional Mexican antojitos (street foods). Loaded with delicious fillings like Refried Beans, chorizo, shredded beef, pork or chicken, or a variety of guisados like Picadillo, Pork Chile Colorado, and/or Rajas con Crema (just to name a few). But why stop there?! Sopes can also be topped with shredded lettuce, crumbled queso fresco, Mexican crema, and a variety of fiery salsas for an irresistible treat. For those of you unfamiliar with Mexican sopes the base is like a thick handmade corn tortilla with a small border to keep the yummy fillings from spilling out. And like tacos and tostadas, sopes are eaten with your hands. Traditionally sopes are fried in manteca (lard) before adding the fillings, but vegetable oil works just as well and that is how I prefer to fry my sopes.


How to Make Mexican Sopes (Como hacer sopes mexicanos) - lacocinadeleslie.com


How to Make Mexican Sopes (Sopes de Frijoles y Chorizo)

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Salpicón de Pollo is a refreshing Mexican chicken salad seasoned with cilantro, serrano chiles, lime juice, onion, tomato, and avocado.


Salpicón de Pollo - lacocinadeleslie.com

Salpicón is a classic Mexican salad traditionally made with shredded beef, but it can also be made with pork, fish, shrimp, and chicken. All versions are absolutely delicious, but my favorite is this one made with shredded chicken breast. The fresh lime juice and olive oil combined with the onion, tomato, cilantro and serrano chiles makes for a simple yet slightly tangy dressing. Chicken Salpicón is perfect for hot summer days because it's light, refreshing and super easy to make.

Shredded Chicken Salpicón

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Caprichos de Carne Asada - lacocinadeleslie.com

What do you get when you cross a taco with a quesadilla? Some might call them tacodillas or quesatacos, but here in our small town we know them as Caprichos. Caprichos have all the fillings of a traditional Mexican street taco like carne asada, beans, chopped onion, and cilantro AND each capricho is stuffed with lots of ooey, gooey melted cheese.

Carne Asada Caprichos #ThrowbackThursday

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Pay de Elote is a delicious baked Mexican pie with a creamy sweet corn custard flavored with cinnamon.



Longtime readers of my cocina blog might remember that this blog's tagline used to be "Celebrating food, family, and life in Mexico." Well, the tagline might have disappeared, but my belief that there is always something to celebrate still holds true. And today is no exception because La Cocina de Leslie is celebrating it's 7th blog birthday/anniversary!

Pay de Elote (Sweet Corn Pie)

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Delicious and aromatic homemade guava jam with a hint of cinnamon.


Homemade Guava Jam - lacocinadeleslie.com

Spring has finally sprung in our small town and I am craving all things bright and cheery like fresh strawberries, mangoes, and guavas. Especially guavas! Now that the weather is starting to heat up, big breakfasts aren't that appealing to me. (For now.) Just give me a bowl of oatmeal and a couple slices of toast with Homemade Guava Jam and I'm a happy camper. (Along with a big cup of coffee or Café con Leche.)

Mermelada de Guayaba (Guava Jam)

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