Grab Some Guavas
For a fun party munchie, lay out some chilled guava shells and a variety of fillings. Have some herbed cream cheese, some sweet peppers, some salted nuts and anything else you think would be tasty. Let your guests mix and match and come up with their own combinations. The unique use of guava shells will get everyone interested and let them have fun.

Put That Pepper Jelly to Use!
Do you have some jalapeno or other pepper jelly sitting in your cupboard? It seems at one time or another, everyone gets a jar and doesn't know what to do with it. The next time you're grilling steaks, put a dollop of jelly on them right before you take them off the grill and let it make a glaze or crust. Delicioso!

Marinade in Heaven
Marinating is an excellent way to get flavor into your beef. Be sure to allow several hours for the marinade to penetrate or overnight for really thick or dense cuts. Let your imagination run wild when it comes to flavors. Try using a bit of your favorite hot pepper sauce to give your fajitas a running start to spicy stardom.

Bring on the Heat
A pepper's heat lives in the white ribs and seeds inside it. For most uses, it's a good idea to take the seeds out, but you can leave the ribs in or take out all or part of them depending on how hot you like your food. You can take any pepper from wild to mild with just a paring knife.

Sit, Then Slice
Whenever you cook any piece of meat, let it rest a bit before you cut it. If you slice into it straight off the grill, all the yummy juices will run out instead of staying where they belong - in the meat! For a thin cut, like skirt steak, a few minutes is fine. For a big chuck roast or tri-tip, 20 minutes under a little foil tent will do the trick.

Cuts of Beef
Go to your butcher shop and stand in front of the beef case and your head might start to spin from the number of different cuts available. From short ribs to sirloin tip, from filet to flank steak, it's hard to believe they all come from the same place.

Just as in the U.S., Spanish and Latin cooks use every cut of beef in their cooking, but you'll find some differences in which ones are most popular. And here's a bonus: Many of these cuts will be less expensive than the ones you might be used to using. Learn more.

All in the Pepper Family
Did you know that peppers have been grown in South America for over 6,000 years? It's true! And if you want to make your cooking truly delicioso, you're going to want to make friends with these marvels of flavor. Learn more.

Guavalicious
There's a fruit out there that is one of the most versatile, nutritious, abundant and delicious things on the planet, and I'll bet you've never eaten one fresh. It's the guava! Throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean, the guava is very much like the apple is the U.S. It's a fruit you can find everywhere and everyone has their favorite way to cook with it. Learn more.