Question

I want to make guacamole dip for Cinco de Mayo—is there any way I can make it ahead of time and keep it from turning color?

Ingrid's Answer

Yes, just make sure that you put in plenty of lime juice, and when covering, put some extra lime on the top. Even if you make it in a bowl with a lid, put plastic wrap right on the surface of the dip, in contact with the guacamole, completely sealing it. The reason avocados turn brown is due to oxygen, and if you completely cover the surface with plastic you'll prevent it from turning brown on top.

Question

I am looking for a sweet treat for my mom who is diabetic. Is there anything that I can make or buy?

Ingrid's Answer

Well, for starters, I would probably use a sugar substitute to replace sugar in any recipe. Take some artificially sweetened yogurt, such as peach or banana, and put it in a 9x9 baking dish. Essentially, what you want to make is a granita. You put it on the bottom of the dish and put it in the freezer. Every hour you scrape the surface with the tines of a fork, so you want to create a sort of slushy. Sort of like a sno-cone, except it's yogurt.

Then you're going to make a topping. You can put a dollop of ricotta cheese on top, which you can season with some artificial sugar. And then you can lay some slices of fruit on top if you want, probably strawberries or the lowest-sugar fruit. You can always shave some sugar free dark chocolate on top to garnish. DOVE® Brand Sugar Free Dark Chocolate makes a very nice dark chocolate for the shavings. This is a dessert I always suggest to people on a diet.

Question

What kind of chocolate should I use for my mole sauce?

Ingrid's Answer

DOVE® Brand Dark Chocolate is a good one. I have a shortcut mole recipe, which is on my website and in my book, which will save you several steps. I made it on an episode of this past season's show.

Question

I would like to make Oreo pops (on a stick). Any ideas?

Ingrid's Answer

Probably the easiest way of doing it is getting some sort of dark chocolate cookie and then you'd want to get some vanilla ice cream. You'll want to take a can of frozen juice, drain the juice, wash the container, and pack it with the ice cream. Now, essentially you have a nice evenly round-shaped tube of ice cream. You should make sure that your dark brown cookies are similar in size to the diameter of the can.

When the ice cream has been frozen in the can, you take one of the lids, push it out through one of the ends, getting out a perfect round piece of ice cream through the other opening, probably 1 to 1-1/2 inches out, and slice it with a knife. Now you have a perfectly round flap of ice cream. So, essentially we're making an ice cream sandwich. Buy some wooden popsicle sticks, stick it in the middle and seal with the two cookies to make a sandwich. Now wrap each one individually in plastic, and freeze them.

Question

Do you have suggestions for non-alcoholic drinks for a Cinco de Mayo party?

Ingrid's Answer

Mexicans generally love what they call aguas frescas (fresh waters), which are generally comprised of fruit juices mixed with water. So, you can make a tamarind water type of spritzer, even if you want to mix it with some carbonation. You can do some Jamaica flowers, a typical flower known to Mexico, but that would only be available in specific stores. It's called agua Jamaica. Or horchata, that is made of ground almonds or rice.

Question

I love how Mexican dishes combine chocolate and spice. What's a good and easy recipe using some of that spicy chocolate?

Ingrid's Answer

Definitely my Shortcut Chicken Mole or a Mexican Hot Chocolate. Or, you can use spicy chocolate to make brownies.

Question

What kinds of dips can I make other than guacamole that are in the spirit of Cinco de Mayo?

Ingrid's Answer

It could be a black bean dip, a salsa-any type of salsa. I make a fun black bean and mango salsa, which is delicious with chips or tortillas.

Question

Can you suggest some good ways to use chorizo in a recipe?

Ingrid's Answer

Perhaps in any type of pasta, or in eggs, like scrambled eggs. You can also add it to turkey stuffing, you can mix it into your hamburger meat, or you can add it to any of your meat sauces.

Question

What can I use as a substitute for refried beans?

Ingrid's Answer

Red pinto beans. You can cook them down with some bacon drippings and some garlic, and perhaps some sort of seasoning. Take some sofrito, mix it into the beans with the bacon drippings and you should be a-OK.

Question

How can I add a twist to my tacos?

Ingrid's Answer

Add some chorizo. You could perhaps spike your sour cream with a little bit of tequila. You could use some lemon zest. I think right there you'll have plenty of flavors to pick from.