When I first tried this at a friend's house in Fort Worth years ago, I was hooked. We drank little servings out of shot glasses with a half white grape on top, which made for a beautiful presentation. It continually makes my list of top-10 foods, along with Tom Kha Gai soup and Scharffen Berger chocolate cake. I never would have guessed this creamy, rich soup doesn't have any cream in it.

Ingredients:

• ½ standard loaf of French or Italian bread
• 3 cups cold water
• 3 tablespoons blanched almonds
• 2-3 cloves of fresh garlic
• ¾ pound seedless green grapes
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• ½ cup olive oil
• Salt and cayenne pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Cut the bread into slices and toast to a medium brown. Remove the crusts, then set the bread aside to soften in 1 cup of the cold water.
2. Lightly toast the almonds in a toaster oven or small skillet over medium-low heat until golden.
3. Transfer the almonds to a food processor, add the garlic, and pulse until the almonds are finely ground. Squeeze the bread as dry as possible, then add it and about one-third of the grapes to the almonds. Process until the mixture is smooth.
4. Gradually add in the vinegar and olive oil.
5. Transfer to a large bowl and beat in the remaining two cups of cold water.
6. Strain the gazpacho through a fine sieve, forcing as much of the bread mixture through as possible. (sometimes I skip this step if I'm feeling lazy)
7. Season the gazpacho with salt and a pinch of cayenne and refrigerate until the soup is well chilled, at least one hour.
8. Cut the remaining grapes in halves or quarters. Serve the gazpacho in chilled bowls topped with the grapes and drizzle with olive oil.

This is a super-simple recipe for an easy appetizer or weeknight dinner. The addition of ginger to the black beans gives it an unexpected zing -- everyone will love it, but won't be able to figure out why. It gets better the longer it sits in the fridge, so give it at least an hour for the flavors to meld together before serving.

• 2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 roasted jalapeno, seeded and chopped (or raw or pickled -- any jalapeno will work)
• juice of 1 lime
• ½ cup finely chopped jicama (if you can't find this, just substitute canned water chestnuts -- they give the same crunch and flavor)
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• ½ red onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon (or more!) fresh grated ginger

1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least an hour.
2. Serve on toasted corn tostadas with any or all of these taco toppings: 

• hot sauce
• sour cream*
• refried beans
• shredded cheese
• sliced avocado or guacamole
• chopped lettuce
• chopped tomatoes
• sliced black olives

It's also good served on its own as a bean-dip appetizer with tortilla chips.

*If you spread the sour cream on the tostada first, it acts like a "paste" to keep all the black beans from falling off. Refried beans and guacamole also do the trick. These things are messy, but oh-so good.

Yet another recipe that my sister and I re-created together after eating something similar in a restaurant in Dallas. Except, I'm too lazy to roll individual enchiladas when I'm in the mood for them, so I stack them lasagna-style into a casserole. My sister makes them the pretty way, but they taste the same to me, so it's not worth the additional time (and frustration). What I really love about this recipe is that the enchiladas are topped with lots of fresh avocadoes. I've seen (and tried) other recipes where people try to cook their avocadoes in their enchiladas, but really, cooked avocadoes are gross. I'll never do that again. Hope you enjoy these!

45 minutes
6-8 servings

Ingredients:
Sauce
•1 8-ounce package light cream cheese
•1 small can of green chilies
•1 7-ounce jar tomatillo salsa
•1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
•½ teaspoon celery salt
•1 teaspoon ground cumin
•2 cloves fresh garlic
•1 bunch fresh cilantro, rinsed and stems removed (save a few pieces for garnish)
•½ lime, juiced
Enchiladas:
•18 corn tortillas (I really like the ones that are part flour/part corn)
•16-ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
•½ avocado per person/serving (don't cut them until serving time or they'll turn brown and ugly)
•sour cream and cilantro for garnish

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350°.
2.Combine cream cheese, chilies, salsa, pepper, celery salt, cumin, garlic, cilantro and lime juice in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy.
3.Pour in enough sauce to cover the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking pan.
4.Layer 6 tortillas in the bottom, cover with ¨÷ of the cheese, then top with some more sauce.
5.Repeat until the tortillas and cheese are gone - the top layer should be sauce and cheese (you may have a little leftover sauce).
6.Bake, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove cover, bake for an additional 10 minutes.
7.Cut into serving-size pieces and garnish with avocado, sour cream, and cilantro.