My family had a tradition every Christmas eve. Mom made a huge pot of chili, and we all filled our bowls with Fritos, chili, cheese, and sour cream before loading up in Dad’s car to go looking at the neighborhood Christmas lights. After my mom passed away, my sisters and I continued the tradition of making chili, but when it’s my turn I put my own spin on the recipe. No matter who makes the chili each year, we always have to have Fritos and cheese, or it’s just not right. Here’s my version of Christmas eve chili, and you can make it as spicy as you like by adding or reducing the amount of dried chiles you use.

Pozole is a delicious and hearty stew made from dried hominy, a type of dried corn. It is a traditional Mexican dish originating with the Aztecs who considered corn a sacred plant, and it was usually made only for special occasions. Pozole is often made with pork, but I like this vegetarian version with green chiles even better.

If I had to choose my last meal it would be nachos. It is truly my favorite food. These potato nachos are a close second to the traditional tortilla chip nachos, and if you make these at a party you’ll be the hero. It sounds a bit strange to add so much salt to the water, but you must allow all the water to evaporate, giving the potatoes a salty coating. Cover them with your favorite nacho toppings and watch them disappear in minutes!

It had been raining all day in Barcelona, and it finally let up at nightfall. The streets were filled with people strolling and enjoying the evening after a late-night dinner when I spotted a line of people standing in front of a small stall where a woman was filling paper cones with hot fried churros. As she handed out the bundles of fried dough her daughter poured hot chocolate sauce into small cups for dipping the churros. I learned that churros and chocolate are not only a treat for ending the day, but they’re often enjoyed for breakfast.

In the southeastern part of Mexico City there is a small town called San Pedro Atocpan, which is known for the National Festival of Mole. The people there take their mole very seriously and during the festival they present their special dishes to the public to honor the delicious sauce that comes from their chichimecas heritage. I visited San Pedro Atocpan and strolled the streets that were filled with small “mole shops” where people from all over Mexico City get the ingredients for mole.

Chichilo mole is one of the seven famous moles from Oaxaca, Mexico. It requires the chilhuacle dried chiles that are very typical of Oaxaca. When I was in the market in Oaxaca City with Chef Irving Herrera he took me through the maze of stalls, each selling a huge variety of fresh and dried chiles. He shopped in the market every day for his restaurant and had his favorite vendors where he bought the ingredients for each day’s menu.

The name of this recipe comes from the 2 basic ingredients, water and chile. It can be as spicy as you like by adding more or less chiles. I learned to make it while cooking with my friend Alondra in c, Mexico on the Pacific coast. Although we made it with shrimp, I also had it with fresh tuna in a nearby beach café.

From tomatoes to onions to heaps of cilantro, it seems every cook has the “secret” to great guacamole. What’s mine? Keep it simple and let the avocados do the talking. With only four ingredients (garlic, lime, salt, and ripe avocados), I trust the freshness of the foursome to carry the flavor. To me, yummy guacamole is less about the flourishes and more about the texture, which I fine-tune in a molcajete (a mortar and pestle made from natural volcanic stone).

If you’ve ever been on a cruise in Mexico you’ve probably been to Cozumel, the port city known for its Mayan ruins and the Festival of El Cedral, similar to a Mexican state fair. There were fantastic costumes and stalls of many food from all over the island. My friends and I didn’t spend a lot of time at the festival, but we stopped for some mango hand pies made by a beautiful Mexican woman dressed in a colorful dress covered in ruffles and lace.

Chiles en Nogada is often referred to as the national dish of Mexico, and its colors of green, red, and white represent the Mexican flag. It was reputedly invented by nuns in Puebla in 1821 when Mexico gained its independence. It is a chile stuffed with meat and fruit that is fried and served with a pureed walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds.

If I could choose a breakfast meal for nearly every morning, I would choose Chilaquiles. In Mexico the tortillas that are left over from the day before are used to thicken soups or fried for dipping into beans or salsa. Chilaquiles is a common breakfast that not only uses leftover tortillas, but also salsas and meat from the previous day’s meal.

I’ve made salsa verde with several chefs and home cooks in Mexico, and each one uses a few different ingredients and methods. I change it up myself when I’m making it at home, sometimes grilling the tomatillos and onions over fire before blending, and sometimes using raw tomatillos for a tart flavor and brighter color.

The real star of this dish is the brilliant yellow sauce made from roasted yellow peppers. I’ve been making this sauce for many years, spooning it over salmon and grilled pork, always leaving a little on the side for dipping tortilla chips. It’s one of my favorite sauces to put with just about anything, including roasted veggies.

I’ve become quite particular about margaritas, requiring they be made with fresh lime juice and quality spirits. While in Mexico, I tasted a lot of different tequilas and mezcals, and sampled my share of margaritas made with both.

Every table in Mexico is laden with bowls of salsa, ready to be spooned onto any dish that is presented. There are many variations of salsas, using both fresh and dried chiles, but my favorites are those whose ingredients have been fire-roasted, giving the salsa a smoky and earthy flavor.