Bring a Bib: Enchilada de Langosta for Two

How do you like my Spanglish title?
So I was at the supermarket a couple of weeks ago looking for shrimp when I spotted packages of frozen (I know) lobster claws on special. I haven't had lobster in forever so I snatched up a bag.  I'm used to Florida lobster which has no claws, so I wasn't quite sure what to do with these. I opened the bag and there were seven of them. Doing a little math I figured it was only enough for 2... my daughter and me, and we like them enchilada.  For those of you who have been following my blog you've seen me make this sauce before, but what the heck? Here we go again.

7 lobster claws
1 cup onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, pressed
2 cups water
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp hot sauce
1 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
2 tbsp ketchup
1/4 cup dry sherry
salt to taste
olive oil
a few sprigs of parsley, chopped

Make sure your lobster is cracked. Heat a pot with about 2 tbsp olive oil. Sautee your onions and garlic. Add the water and the lobster. Add your soy sauce, hot sauce, Worchestershire sauce, ketchup, sherry and salt. Simmer on low for about an hour for the flavors to meld and the liquid to reduce. Add your chopped parsley in the last 15 mintues.

Halfway through the cooking process I thought I should test the lobster, so I pulled one out and realized that the shell was so hard that I was going to have to crack it further; otherwise, the mess at the dinner table would be tremendous. I ended up taking them all out and cracking them to expose the claw meat which ended up better in my opinion because the sauce saturated the lobster meat even more.

Meatless Monday: Sopa de Ajo • Garlic Soup

 

The first time I had Sopa de Ajo was 25 years ago in a well-known restaurant called Las Cuevas de Luis Candela in Madrid, Spain.  It was so filling that I did not order an entree. This is a simple peasant soup that is easy to make and very tasty.

4 thick slices of day old bread such as French or Italian

6 cloves of garlic peeled and sliced

4 eggs

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp paprika (smoked or sweet)

Salt

5 cups vegetable broth (traditionally it should be beef, but I'm making this vegetarian)

Heat a skillet with your olive oil and lightly cook your 'til aromatic, do not let it burn! Remove the garlic. In the same skillet with the oil, brown your bread slices and set aside. In a large pot heat your vegetable broth with the olive oil from the skillet, the garlic you set aside and the paprika. Add salt to taste. (Traditionally, the next step would be to drop your bread into this pot and let it all cook for about 15 minutes at which point you break open your eggs and drop them in one by one until cooked – about 5-10 minutes)  I'm going to prepare the soup in individual servings because I'm only going to serve myself. (I can freeze the leftover soup broth and add the bread and egg when ready). So, to make individual servings, heat your oven to 350F.  Place a cookie sheet in the oven. Using individual oven proof soup bowls, place a slice of bread on the bottom of your bowl, add your broth, and drop your egg on top. Place your bowls on the cookie sheet and heat for about 10 minutes until the egg is cooked. Carefully remove your soup bowls and enjoy.

Petit What?

I had every intention of making petit fours. I figured I'd practice now, so that I could astound everyone during the holidays, but you know how you get an idea in your head and you rationalize: "It can't be that difficult." Then you convince those around you –– "Hey, it'll be fun!" ... HA! I'm not even going to tell you the mess, the time, the expense and how much frosting was wasted on what turned out NOT to be petit fours, but small, not very attractive little cakes. Either way, my daughter, niece and I had a fun afternoon and although these little cakes aren't even worthy of this display, they are quite delicious! Enjoy your Sunday.

Cuban Shepherd's Pie???

I've been meaning to make this for a while. It's difficult for me to make all the recipes I would like to  because of the likes/dislikes and food restrictions of my family. My daughter can't eat dairy... that eliminates a lot, no cheeses, no creamy sauces, no mashed potatoes! My mother can't eat eggs or red meat.... yeah, I know! My husband doesn't like olives, peppers or raisins... and here I am going to make a meat dish (which my mother can't eat) with olives, peppers and raisins (which my husband doesn't like) and mashed potatoes (which my daughter can't eat). The only ingredient that suits everyone on is the sweet fried plantains that lay on the bottom layer! Here we go.

First we are going to prepare our PICADILLO. I have posted this recipe before, but I will repeat it again here as I'm adjusting it slightly.

1 lb ground beef
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4-6 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 cup tomato sauce
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 cup Sherry
about a dozen pimento stuffed Spanish olives
1/3 cup raisins (optional)
1 cup water
1 carrot, sliced
salt to taste

Brown and strain the ground beef. Set aside. Warm olive oil on medium heat and saute onions, peppers, and garlic until limp. Add the bay leaf. Add the ground beef, tomato sauce, sherry, water, cumin and Sherry. Add the olives and carrots and salt. Cover and let simmer for about 40 minutes.

MASHED POTATOES...
You can used instant mashed for this if you like, prepare enough for about 8. Otherwise, while your picadillo cooks, peel 5 large red potatoes, slice and boil. Prepare your mashed as you normally would. I mash mine until creamy with milk, butter and salt.






MADUROS...
I cheated and bought a couple boxes of GOYA frozen sweet plantains that only require frying. It's difficult for me to find ripe plantains here, but if you have access to them you need to buy some that are turning black (if they are black they may be too soft and fall apart). You will need about 3 plantains.  Peel them and slice them diagonally about 1/2 inch thick and fry them in vegetable oil. (see picture) Let them sit on a paper-towel lined plate 'til ready to assemble.

THE ASSEMBLY...
Preheat your oven to 350F. In a rectangular baking pan place your plantains in a layer at the bottom. (I was a little short on plantains, it's best to have enough to fully cover the bottom of the pan). Next, using a slotted spoon (you don't want too much liquid) transfer your picadillo in a layer on top of your plaintains. Next comes the potatoes, smooth them out with a spoon to cover the picadillo completely and form a seal to the edges of the pan. Bake for 30 minutes. (I turned on the broiler for the last 5 to brown the potato top).

Meatless Monday: Black Bean Dip & Yucca Chips

Black Bean Dip

I cooked a pot of black beans for this recipe (scroll to the bottom), but you can use canned black beans.

16 oz black beans, drained
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp fresh cilantro
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Place all the above ingredients in a food processor and blend 'til creamy. Garnish with cilantro and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve with Yucca Chips (see below).

Yucca Chips

You need a fresh yucca root for this not frozen
oil for frying
salt and pepper

Peel your yucca. Diagonally slice your yucca with a knife into thin slices. Be careful! I wasn't going to fry my yucca right away so I let the slices sit in a bowl of water with some lime juice and salt. Heat a skillet on high with about and inch of oil (I don't really measure, but enough oil to fry chips). Pat dry your chips (if they were sitting in water) and drop them into the oil in batches. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate, sprinkle with salt and pepper.















 To cook your black beans, wash a pound of dry beans in cold water and let soak overnight in enough water to cover 2 inches above the beans, (you can soak them in the pot you're going to use the next day). Now here is an old Cuban tip or is it a tip from an old Cuban? (sorry tia, I love you). Put a teaspoon of baking soda into the pot of beans and bring to a boil. The baking soda really helps to soften the beans nicely, but you will get a lot of foam which you will have to skim out – so have a bowl nearby and don't walk away from the beans at this point, or you'll have a big mess (look at the picture)! Once you've skimmed your beans, drop in 2 bays leaves, a drizzle of olive oil and about a teaspoon of salt (you can adjust the salt later). Bring the heat down to medium low, cover and let cook for about 2 hours. We are going strain 2 cups of beans for this recipe and you will have plenty leftover that you can freeze for another time to make soup or use in salads, etc.

Meatless Monday: Croquetas de Yuca

So, no... I did not make this up. Turns out this is quite common in the Colombian cuisine.

1 lb or more of frozen yuca (you can use fresh peeled yuca)
3 tbsp olive oil or butter
salt and pepper to taste
all purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
bread crumbs
oil for frying

Boil your frozen yuca until tender. Strain and let cool. Remove the center root piece and any other hard pieces. Cut up into small pieces add your olive oil or butter and mash it. Add your salt and pepper to taste. You can used your hands to knead it into a ball making sure the oil and seasonings are distributed evenly. (Sorry, I did not get a picture of this step).

Line up three shallow bowls. In the first one pour some flour. In the second the beaten eggs with a bit of water, and in the third your bread crumbs (I used seasoned bread crumbs which is what I had on hand, but any bread crumbs or cracker meal will do). Using a tablespoon separate a small amount of yuca and roll it into a ball and then a cylinder. Coat it with your flour, then your egg wash, and lastly the bread crumbs. Place onto a plate. Repeat this process until you've used up all your mashed yuca.

In a heavy skillet heat about 1/2 inch of oil, fry your croquetas in small batches, regulating the temperature of the oil so that they don't brown too quickly. Transfer when golden brown to a paper towel lined plate. Serve as is or with your favorite dipping sauce.... in my case, Heinz Ketchup!

This was a very basic recipe. To your mashed yuca you can add ingredients such as garlic, parsley, pepper flakes, chives, etc or if you don't want to go meatless you can add bacon bits or chopped ham. Be creative.

Vaca Frita • Fried Cow (Fried Shredded Beef)

I had bought a one pound flank steak thinking I would use it in a stew, but then the temperatures soared this week and I put the stew out of my mind. I decided to make Vaca Frita. Vaca Frita translates to Fried Cow. Who in their right mind would come up with such a name? We're not frying a whole cow!... It's really fried shredded beef and it's simple to make, but I like to complicate things a bit. You see, the flank steak has to boil for about 2 hours, so why not kill two birds with one stone and go ahead and prepare a yummy beef broth which I can use for soup or separate into containers and freeze for another day?

For the Vaca Frita
1 lb Flank Steak
1/2 onion, sliced
1/2 green bell pepper, sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1/2 tsp cumin
2 tbsp dry sherry
olive oil


You can boil your flank steak in water with just a bay leaf and some salt for about two hours, maybe less, just until the meat is tender.

I boiled my flank steak in water to make a broth. I added garlic, onions, bell peppers, celery, carrots, bay leaves, beef bouillon, bijol, and half a tomato.

Once your meat is tender let it cool. Slice it across the grain, cover it with plastic wrap and then pound it with a mallet or rolling pin to separate. Coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil and bring to a medium high heat. Sautee you onions, peppers and garlic. Add your meat, salt, cumin and dry sherry and quickly toss it in the pan, adding more oil if necessary browning your meat until some pieces become crispy. Serve with white rice and fried plantains. Or if you prefer, you can make a sandwich, a wrap, a taco, etc. Be creative.

Meatless Monday: Tostones de Papa con Mojo • Crushed Potatoes with Mojo

These new potatoes are boiled then pressed and fried as you would to make plantain tostones. They even look like them! The dipping sauce (mojo) gives it the Latin flavor; otherwise, all you get is fried potatoes. You may think I made this up, but I did not! (Okay, I made up the name) I got the idea from a recipe called  "Papas Pelayo" from Memories of a Cuban Kitchen by Mary Urrutia Randelman and Joan Schwartz. I just made some modifications of my own; they are as follows:

10-12 small to medium sized new potatoes, unpeeled
oil for frying
1 cup fresh parsley chopped
1 cup onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tbsp olive oil

Boil the potatoes in salted water to cover until tender.

While the potatoes are boiling prepare the mojo. Chop your parsley and onions, press your garlic with the salt. Place these ingredients in a non-reactive bowl. Ad you lime juice and olive oil. Stir.

Drain the potatoes and let cool a bit on paper towels. Cut a piece of aluminum foil and place one potato at the end, fold the aluminum foil over and gently press with the palm of your hand to flatten. Don't press them down too thin or you'll get mashed potatoes. Repeat this process for all your potatoes. Heat your oil to medium high and fry the potatoes in batches until crisp.

Fried Breaded Pork Chops

I bought a new computer and have been fooling around with iMovie. Let me know what you think of the little video.

3 Bone-in Pork Chops
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/4 cup lime juice
juice of 1/2 orange
1 egg
seasoned bread crumbs
oil for frying

If your pork chops are thick as mine were, you should pound them to flatten a bit. Cover with plastic wrap and go at it. Prepare your marinade with the garlic, salt, rosemary, lime juice and orange juice. Pour over pork chops and refrigerate for about an hour. After the hour has passed beat an egg in one bowl and pour bread crumbs into another. Pass your pork chop through the egg coating both sides and then coat both side of the pork chop with the bread crumbs. Repeat this process. Heat about 2 inches of vegetable oil in a frying pan ad drop in your pork chops. Let brown on one side then flip and brown on the other. If they are browning too quickly turn down the heat. If your chops are thin enough they should cook within about 10 minutes. If the chops are very thick you may have to finish them off in the oven. (I always have a hard time judging the doneness of fried food... so I cheat. I pull one out and cut down the middle to check.)

Posts that never made it

I was deleting photos from my computer when I came across some dishes that never made it onto the blog. I cook all the time. Of course many times I repeat recipes, so no use in taking pictures, but sometimes I start to take pictures and somewhere along the way I lose my impetus and never follow through to the end. Above are four examples: (1) I'm not sure where I was going with the potatoes  (2)  fried breaded pork chops (3) shrimp wrapped in bacon (4) a stove top pot roast. The last is the most pathetic of all.... I never even started....(5) stuffed peppers! LOL. Well, maybe another day.

Mejillones al Ajillo • Mussels in Garlic Sauce

My daughter and I love mussels. When she was in elementary school I would pack her lunch and sometimes I would put canned mejillones en escabeche in her tupperware container. The other kids would make fun of her, but she was thrilled to eat it.

3 dozen mussels
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 mild onion, chopped
4-6 garlic cloves, pressed
1 cup dry white wine
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup minced parsley
1 tsp Salt

I used frozen mussels which is what I was able to find here. If using fresh mussles discard any with open or broken shells. Scrub the mussels with a stiff brush, debeard and rinse under cold water.

In a large skillet heat your olive oil over medium heat. Saute the onions and garlic. Add the wine and bay leaf and boil 2 to 3 minutes to reduce liquid slightly and concentrate flavors. Add mussels and parsley. Cover and boil over high heat, shaking pan frequently, until shells open, about 5 minutes.

Potaje de Garbanzos • Chickpea Stew

Time to clear out the freezer. I found a ham bone, 1/2 a large Spanish chorizo, some frozen butternut squash and frozen green bell pepper... hmmmm.... check the refrigerator....onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots.... okay Chickpea Stew... check the pantry... oh noooo! No garbanzo beans. Easily resolved. Send the hubby to the market. Here we go.

1 lb dry garbanzo beans (chickpeas) soaked overnight
1 ham bone or two ham hocks
Spanish chorizo (whatever you have on hand be it 2 small links or one large one)
2 medium sized onions, chopped
1 bell pepper, quartered
1 bay leaf
1 can tomato sauce (8 oz)
6-8 garlic cloves, pressed
2 medium sized potatoes, quartered
1 carrot, sliced
3 to 4 cups worth of calabaza or butternut squash cut in large chunks
olive oil
salt to taste

The big question in all this is how much water to use, and since I eyeball all of it, I'll just tell you to fill a large pot with plenty of water, enough to cover all your ingredients (including the ham bone) and then some, you can always let it reduce by simmering uncovered or you can always add more water if  thickens too much. Just check it periodically.

Okay so on high heat bring your large pot of water to boil with the garbanzo beans, ham and bay leaf and a drizzle of olive oil. After  a few minutes this will start to foam, you can remove the foam with a slotted spoon. While this boils prepare your other ingredients. Now some people may want to sautee the onions and pepper and garlic and chorizo with the tomato sauce, but I just drop them in the boiling pot. So whichever way you prefer, go ahead and add the mentioned ingredients to your pot. You are going to have to let this boil on medium heat for about 2 hours (covered) after this time, check the tenderness of your garbanzos and the level of the water. Remove your ham or ham hocks at this time and pick off any meat that you may want to put back into the stew. If your garbanzos are still hard, you need to cook longer, if they are tender then go ahead and add your potatoes, carrots and calabaza (squash). Bring to a gentle boil, cover and cook for another hour or so.

Meatless Monday: Homemade Rice-A-Roni

Considering Cubans love rice, I don't believe there is a Cuban recipe that calls for a rice/pasta combination. In doing some research I read that the inspiration for the famous San Francisco Treat came from an Armenian recipe. Go figure, and you thought you had never tried Armenian food.
This is a very basic recipe to which you may add parsley, mushrooms, peas, etc.

1/4 cup pasta, cracked into small pieces (I used angel hair)
1 cup long grain rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 1/4 cups vegetable broth (or water plus vegetable bouillon)

Heat your olive oil in a skillet, drop in your garlic, pasta and rice and stir until well coated and the pasta browns slightly. Add your broth and bring to a boil. Stir. Turn heat to low and simmer covered for 15 - 20 minutes. Fluff rice with fork and serve.

Meatless Monday: Black Bean Veggie Burger with Plantains and Avocado

I have been thinking of trying something like this for a while. I have seen modern chefs preparing steak sandwiches with plantains, and it ocurred to me to create this vegetarian Cuban flavored sandwich. I thought it was very tasty.

Black bean veggie burgers
ripe plantains, fried (mine were still a little yellow, but they worked out well)
avocado, sliced
red onion, sliced
hamburger buns

I used the Morning Star Spicy Black Bean Burger which I thought went well with the combination and the black beans make it so Cuban.

I grilled them in a little olive oil with some onions and sprinkled on some seasoned salt.

I fried the plantains and sliced the avocado.

I toasted the buns and started layering.

 Finished it off with a little ranch dressing. Yum.