Shrimp in Cilantro Cream Sauce

There is a special place in my heart (and stomach!) for Rosa Mexicano. As I’ve written in previous posts, my first date with my wife was at Rosa Mexicano, and we try to go on our anniversary whenever possible. I even have the Rosa Mexicano cookbook, an anniversary gift from my wife a few years ago. I was looking for some inspiration because I haven’t been cooking as much as I used to, so I turned to this cookbook and found this great recipe. I did change a few things, but the spirit of the recipe is mostly intact. The changes: I used shallots instead of red onion, added roasted corn, and used only one jalapeño pepper, instead of the two that the recipe called for (thought it would be too spicy for my wife but it ended up being too mild).

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Notes: I served this dish with white rice and refried beans, but I didn’t take pictures of the sides.

Ingredients:

1.5 pounds peeled/de-vained shrimp (I used large, 21-25 shrimp)
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup corn (about one large ear)
1 large shallot, sliced thin
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large bunch cilantro, chopped fine (stems included, no roots)
1/2 tsp each salt, ground cumin, and dried mexican oregano, plus another 1/4 tsp salt for shrimp.
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Procedure:

Season shrimp with 1/4 tsp salt, set aside.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the corn on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet (to prevent sticking), sprinkle with a pinch of salt and roast for 10-12 minutes, tossing 2-3 times to ensure even roasting. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan over medium heat, then add the shallots, jalapeños, garlic, cilantro, salt, cumin, and oregano. Saute for 5-7 minutes, until the shallots are translucent. Turn heat up to medium high, add the cream and bring to a boil. Reduce to medium heat, and simmer until cream is reduced by 2/3rds (about 7-8 minutes). Stir in the shrimp, cover, and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring once or twice to ensure even cooking.

Use a slotted spoon to remove the shrimp to a bowl, then turn the heat back to medium high, add the corn, and reduce the cream sauce by half (the shrimp will release water, and this will need to be evaporated). Remove from the heat when the cream is just a little runnier than you would like and wait 3-4 minutes, then return the shrimp to the sauce and toss to combine. Serve with your favorite sides and enjoy!

Buen Provecho!

Homemade Mayonnaise

Homemade mayonnaise is so simple, I can’t imagine ever buying another jar of mayo. It’s superior to store-bought in every way I can think of, and cheaper to boot! Even if you’re a person who doesn’t like mayo, I suggest you give this recipe a try and then decide. Just think of it as a hollandaise sauce, except you use oil instead of butter. You can also personalize the recipe and make your mayo unique by adding lavender, garlic, rosemary, thyme, dill, and even horseradish! All you have to do is make a flavored-oil (heat the oil with the product you want to flavor it with, let it cool to room temp, and strain it) and then use it in your mayonnaise recipe.

I use my immersion (or stick) blender whenever I make mayonnaise. I’ve written about immersion blenders before, and I highly recommend you go out and purchase one (you can get one for around $25). I would imagine that it’s possible to use a food processor or a blender, but I would drizzle the oil in slowly instead of adding it all at once.

Check out the video at the end of the post and see how easy it is to make.

Prep Time: 1 minute
Cook Time: Zero
Difficulty: Very Easy
Notes: I suggest using a neutral oil, such as cannola, but feel free to use any oil you have on hand. If you want to use olive oil, I suggest using a “light” version instead of extra virgin, which tends to have a stronger flavor.

Ingredients:

1 cup oil
1/8 tsp dijon mustard
1/8 tsp salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar, or any combination (I like to use apple cider vinegar)
1 egg yolk

Procedure:

Combine all the ingredients except the oil in a measuring cup (or the beaker included with your immersion blender), then insert the immersion blender. Slowly pour the oil over it and wait for it to settle over the original ingredients (remember, oil and vinegar tend to not mix well, so the oil will settle on top), about 5 – 10 seconds. Blend for 15-20 seconds, then start moving the blender up and down to ensure you get all of the oil incorporated and stop when it reaches the desired consistency. The mayo will be a bit tangy at first, but it will mellow out after a few hours in the refrigerator.

Leave the mayonnaise on the kitchen counter, at room temperature, for at least one hour (two is better). Don’t worry about bacteria or spoilage, there is plenty of acid in the mayo to kill anything that would harm you. Then place in a glass jar and refrigerate for up to two weeks (mine rarely lasts that long).

Buen Provecho!

Pasta alla Vodka

Pasta is a comfort food in my house. It’s a quick way to make a satisfying meal that my wife and I can enjoy while not making much of a mess. I prefer to use fresh pasta (the kind you find in your grocer’s refrigerated section) since it cooks quicker and has a more appetizing texture than dry pasta. It’s a bit more expensive but well worth it.

I normally just settle on a quick red sauce, usually out of a jar, but sometimes I like to make something a bit more labor intensive. In this case, I took my marinara sauce and added vodka and cream to create a wonderfully delicious and comforting sauce. The marinara recipe I just linked to is enough for one pound of pasta but if you don’t want to make it, you can purchase a pre-made marinara from your grocery store and just add the vodka and cream.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 4-5 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Notes: You are going to want to have the sauce prepared before you drop the pasta in the water. If you’re using dry pasta, cook it for 7-9 minutes and then add it to the vodka sauce and cook an additional 2-3 minutes in the sauce.

Ingredients:

16-18 oz marinara sauce (from my recipe above)
4 oz heavy cream
1/4 cup vodka
1 pound fresh pasta (I recommend fettuccine)
1 tbsp salt
Grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheeses for garnish

Procedure:

Place a large pot with 4 cups of water and 1 tbsp of salt over high heat and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, heat the marinara sauce in a large skillet over medium heat. Once the water is boiling, add the vodka to the marinara sauce and light it on fire either with the stove burner or with a long lighter/match (you want to encourage most of the alcohol to burn off). Once the fire dies out (maybe 30 seconds), add the cream and stir to combine.

Drop the pasta in the water and cook for two minutes, stirring frequently. Once the pasta is almost cooked, drain it and add it to the pot with the vodka sauce and allow it to cook over medium heat for one more minute. Serve immediately, garnished with some grated cheese on top.

Buen Provecho!

Marinara Sauce

While it’s true that you can purchase a jar of marinara sauce just about anywhere, you will be hard pressed to find one that tastes as good or better than a home-made version. A classic marinara sauce only needs five ingredients (not counting salt and pepper): tomatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil, and herbs (typically basil and/or oregano). I, however, cannot just make a plain-Jane version so I add quite a bit of ingredients.

I’ve had a problem in the past with my sauces turning out more orange than red and I think I’ve figured out why: air. I use diced tomatoes and cook them with the vegetables and then puree it all together right before it’s done. It’s the air incorporated in the mixture while I puree/blend it that makes it turn from red to orange. If you want to avoid this, and keep a deep red color, try starting with crushed/pureed tomatoes instead of whole/diced and allow the sauce to simmer long enough to melt or disintegrate the vegetables into the sauce (typically 2-2.5 hours of simmering). Alternatively, you can puree the vegetables and then use a potato masher on the tomatoes. I don’t mind the color as long as it tastes good, so I just stick with my immersion blender method.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Notes: You can use fresh or canned tomatoes, but make sure you remove the skin if you use fresh tomatoes. This recipe is enough to coat one pound of cooked pasta.

Ingredients:

1 14.5 oz “No Sodium Added” canned tomatoes (or 5-6 fresh tomatoes)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced fine
1 medium yellow onion, diced fine
1 rib celery, diced fine
1 carrot, diced fine
2 oz tomato paste
1/2 tsp anchovy paste (optional but highly recommended)
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1 tbsp each dried oregano and basil (or 3 tbs fresh herbs, chopped)
1/2 tsp each salt and black pepper
1 tsp red wine vinegar (you can substitute balsamic if you’d like)
2 tbsp red wine
2 cups water, divided in two
1/4 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, grated (Parmesan cheese works, too)

Procedure:

Add the olive oil, onion, celery, carrot, red pepper flakes salt, pepper, and dried herbs (If you’re using fresh herbs, add them with the tomatoes) to a cold straight-sided sautee pan and place it over medium high heat. Cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the vegetables have released all their water and it has evaporated. Lower the heat to medium, add the anchovy paste, garlic and tomato paste, and sautee for 1-2 minutes longer, then add the vinegar and wine and stir until it evaporates. Stir in the tomatoes and 1 cup of water and allow it to come to a simmer, then cover, reduce heat to medium low, and let it cook for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Add the second cup of water and cook, uncovered, until most of the water has evaporated and the sauce is the consistency you’d like. Puree the sauce in a blender or in the pan with a stick blender, or mash with a potato masher. Add the cheese and stir until the cheese melts and incorporates into the sauce, adjust the salt if needed.

Here is what the sauce looked like prior to blending (the top picture is the finished sauce, after blending):

Buen Provecho!

Crunchy Fish Taco with Chipotle Crema

When I think of fish tacos, I think of Fred’s Mexican Cafe.  We discovered this restaurant after diving in Maui on our honeymoon.  I asked our dive instructor where we could go to get good, inexpensive food with big portions (we were starving after two 60-minute dives) and he recommended Fred’s.  While it is a chain restaurant, we found their food to be very good and very reasonably priced.  We ended up eating there twice on our 8-day trip because it was that good (Fred’s was one of the two restaurants that we ate at more than once); we even visited the restaurant when we went to San Diego, CA (where they are based) a year later.

I wanted to make a quick, delicious dinner for us and these seemed like the right choice.  We had all of the ingredients already, so it was just a matter of putting it all together.  I did cheat on the fish, though, as I used a pre-breaded fillet that we found at Sam’s Club (wild-caught Flounder filets) that only needed to be crisped in the oven (400 degrees for 20 minutes).  Feel free to use fresh fish and batter/fry it at home or just sauté it in some butter and use unbattered fish.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Notes: If you don’t have the time to make the crema yourself, go to your local supermarket and look for pre-made mexican crema in the yogurt section.  If you can’t find it, feel free to just use sour cream or creme fraiche.  Then just blend the chipotle and adobo sauce in and you’re done.

Ingredients:

For the Chipotle Crema:

1 chipotle pepper, seeded
1 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp buttermilk
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp adobo sauce (from the chipotle can)

For the Tacos:

3 breaded Flounder fillets
1/4 avocado, diced
6 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup shredded cabbage
20 pickled red onion slices
4 flour tortillas

Procedure:

I followed Alton Brown’s recipe for the crema.  Basically, pour 1 cup of cream into a jar and heat it in the microwave for 1 minute (make sure it’s between 100-110 degrees with an instant read thermometer).  After it’s heated, pour 1 tbsp of buttermilk into the jar, lid the jar, and leave it on the counter for 24 hours.  Once this time has passed, place the chipotle pepper, adobo, and salt into the jar and blend with an immersion blender (or put it all in a food processor).

As for the taco itself, cook the fish according to the package’s instructions or use fresh fish in the manner in which I described above.  After it’s done, cut the fish into strips, place on the tortillas, and top each taco with the 1/4 of the cabbage, avocado, tomato, pickled onions, and crema (in that order).  Serve with chips and salsa or some mexican rice.

Buen Provecho!

Ahi Tuna Sliders

I’ve seen my share of tuna burgers on restaurant menus for years now.  I’ve never ordered one because I’m not a huge fan of seared tuna steaks and I was afraid that the non-steak burgers were made from canned tuna (which I don’t really care for, either).  I’ve also seen cooking shows where they use either tuna steaks or canned tuna to make burgers but I usually change the channel as it’s something I never thought I’d be interested in.  However, I was inspired to do something different after watching an old episode of Iron Chef America where Morimoto took a large piece of tuna and chopped it up with two knives into very small pieces and than created a beautiful tuna tartar out of it.  My thought process was as follows: “Why can’t I take small pieces of tuna and mix them as I would a crab cake, then make a burger/slider out if it?”

It’s been a few weeks since I saw that episode and had almost forgot about it until I was looking through the sale items in my local Harris Teeter and saw that sashimi-grade Tuna was on sale for $7 a pound.  I usually try to stick to more sustainable fish like Basa, trout, and tilapia (US Farmed only) but we don’t have many options around North Carolina when it comes to tuna (this particular one came from the Philippines but you should look for US or Canada line/pole caught if you can find it).  If you’re interested in finding out what type of seafood you should look for and which you should avoid, I suggest you go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s website and download their PDF here.

I thought long and hard about what to serve it with.  Being as I was going to fry them, I didn’t want to serve it with another fried side, such as fries, and was interested in keeping to an “Asian” theme.  I decided to make some coleslaw with some Asian flavors blended into the mayonnaise and was very happy with my choice.  The sauce I created to mix in with the mayonnaise is something I came up with as a stir-fry sauce and have been planning on posting it for a few weeks but never got around to it.  Just know that if you want to make some stir-fry, you can just use the sauce I made here instead of your normal store-bought sauce.

Prep Time: 60 minutes (including a 35-40 minute wait)
Cook Time: 4 minutes
Difficulty: Medium (but almost Easy)
Notes: I pan-fried my tuna burgers and found that they cooked all the way through. If you want your tuna to be a bit on the rare-to-medium-rare side (and why spend the money on sashimi-grade tuna if you don’t), I suggest you deep-fry them for 2.5 minutes instead and you should end up with a nice medium-rare center.  Also, feel free to use canned tuna (packed in water, not oil) if you don’t want to cut up fresh tuna.

Ingredients:

8 oz tuna steak
2 tbsp scallions, chopped fine (about 3/4 of one scallion)
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
1/2 cup panko
1 tsp lime zest
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp water
1/2 cup peanut oil
4 slider buns

For the Stir-Fry Sauce:
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp wine vinegar
1 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp fresh lime juice
1.5 tsp honey
1/4 tsp garlic (grated with microplane)
1/4 tsp ground Chinese 5 Spice
1/4 tsp sesame seeds
1/2 tsp corn starch
1/4 tsp chili paste (Sriracha), OPTIONAL

For the Coleslaw:
1 cup pre-cut coleslaw mix
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tsp stir-fry sauce

Procedure:

Prepare the stir-fry sauce by combining all the ingredients except the corn starch in a bowl and whisk to combine. Add the corn starch and whisk until it has been incorporated. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 60 seconds, then remove and whisk it. Place it back in the microwave for an additional 30 seconds and whisk it again upon removal. Set it aside, uncovered, and let it cool and fully thicken (about 15 minutes). The reason you want to microwave it is because the corn starch won’t thicken the mixture until it has come to a simmer.  Here is what the sauce should look like:

Look at the tuna steak and identify the grain (it should be easy to find):

Slice the tuna thinly (about 1/8″) against the grain (in this case you would go horizontally). Once you’ve sliced the entire steak, take the slices and cut them into small 1/8″ cubes. Alternatively, you can do a Morimoto and take two knives and hack away but I find that to be dangerous and best left to the experts (i.e. probably not anyone reading this blog).

Once the tuna is cubed, place it in a bowl with the chopped scallion, lime zest, mayonnaise, bread crumbs, salt, and 1/2 the beaten egg and mix to combine (use your hands). Divide the mixture into 4 2-ounce portions and form them into slider patties. Place on parchment paper (to avoid sticking) and put them in your freezer for 35-40 minutes or until they begin to firm up but not long enough to freeze (this way they won’t fall apart when you bread them later on).

The stir-fry sauce should be cool enough now so combine 2 tsp of it with 2 tbsp of mayonnaise and whisk to combine. Pour it over the coleslaw mixture and toss to combine. Refrigerate until the tuna burgers are done (about 35 minutes) so that the flavors have a chance to marry.

After 35-40 minutes, remove the tuna from the freezer. Place the peanut oil in a frying pan (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat until it reaches 375 degrees. Add 1 tbsp of water to the remaining 1/2 beaten egg and whisk to combine. Place the panko into a bowl and place it next to the egg wash (creating a dredging station). Dip the tuna burgers into the egg wash (on both sides) and then into the panko, ensuring you shake off the excess breading without breaking the burger.

Once the oil reaches the right temperature, place the tuna burgers in the skillet and cook for 2 minutes per side (or deep fry for 2 minutes and 30 seconds). Meanwhile, use the cooking time to toast your buns if that is how you like them. Remove the tuna burgers to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Serve them plain or with your choice of lettuce, tomato, and/or avocado and a bit of mayo on the bun (feel free to use some of the mayo you made for the coleslaw).

Buen Provecho!

Skirt Steak Sandwich (Sandwich de Churrasco)

Inspired by the Man vs. Food episode that aired last week, where Adam traveled to Puerto Rico, I set my sights on creating a homemade Sandwich de Churrasco (skirt steak sandwich) that would rival any I had growing up.

When I was growing up in Puerto Rico, food trucks were as much a part of our culture as hot dog carts are to New Yorkers today.  There aren’t as many as there were 20 years ago, when you would find trucks selling everything from guarapo (sugar cane juice) to roasted pig on a spit to pinchos (chicken or beef kabobs), but there are still some good ones to be found.  Most of these food trucks are open late as it’s a tradition to drive to a sandwich truck at 3-5am, after leaving the bar, club, or pub, and chow down on a big sandwich to try and avoid a hangover the next day.

If you’ve ever been to Puerto Rico, then you’ll no doubt know that one of the most popular dressings on the island is mayoketchup – a mixture of mayonnaise, ketchup, lime juice, and sometimes garlic.  It’s a common condiment used to top everything from sandwiches to fried finger foods; sometimes, it’s even used as a salad dressing and is a very traditional ingredient in almost any sandwich.  Another traditional ingredient is potato sticks – those shoestring potato chips that usually come in a can.  Puerto Ricans love to top their sandwiches and hot dogs with them to add a layer of saltiness and crunch that would otherwise be missing.

I’m breaking a bit from tradition in this recipe by using bison instead of beef, but it’s what I had available. Also, knowing that buffalo meat is so lean compared to regular beef, I decided to add a bit of fat to the marinade to ensure the meat remained moist.  Since there is no point in adding fat if it doesn’t bring flavor, bacon fat seemed like the right choice.  I wouldn’t recommend substituting it with any other type of fat or oil, either.  If you want to leave it out, I suggest you use beef skirt steak instead.

So, here you have it, my version of the sandwich de churrasco.  I wish I had some pan sobao (massaged bread) on which to build my sandwich, but I’ll have to make do with some Martin’s unseeded hoagie rolls.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 5-6 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Notes: The longer you let the meat marinade the more flavor it will have.  However, anything longer than two hours is overkill since the meat is sliced so thinly.

Ingredients:

6 oz Bison skirt steak
1 Martin’s unseeded hoagie roll
1 handful shredded romaine lettuce (about 3-4 leafs)
2 slices of tomato
1 handful of  potato sticks (or crunch up some kettle-cooked regular potato chips)
2 tbsp Recaito Goya (use the green kind, not the red)
2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
1 tsp bacon fat

For the mayoketchup:

2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tsp ketchup
1 tsp lime juice
1/16 tsp garlic powder

Procedure:

Combine the recaito, soy sauce and bacon fat in a bowl and whisk.  Set aside.  Cut the skirt steak with the grain into pieces that are 1-1.5 inches long, then slice against the grain into 1/4″ thick strips.  Place the skirt steak in a resealable bag and pour the marinade over it.  Allow it to marinate at least 15 minutes on the counter or 2-3 hours in the refrigerator.  Here is a picture of the skirt steak being sliced and you can clearly see the grain running vertically away from the camera lens:

Make the mayoketchup by combining all the ingredients in a bowl and whisking together.  Refrigerate if you are going to let the meat marinate for longer than 15 minutes.

Remove the meat from the refrigerator at least 15 minutes before cooking it to allow it to come to room temperature.  Heat a cast iron skillet to medium-high heat but don’t add any oil (remember there is bacon fat in the marinade).  Once the skillet is hot, add the skirt steak and marinade and let it sit, untouched, for 3 minutes to brown and develop some color.  Stir the meat and cook for another 2-3 minutes until it’s just cooked through, then remove from the skillet and set aside.

Split the hoagie roll in half but make sure it’s still connected at the spine (i.e. you don’t have two separate pieces of bread).  Place the lettuce on the top part of the bread.  Cut the tomato slices in half and lay them on top of the lettuce (you can sprinkle them with a bit of salt if you’d like).  You can look at the first picture below to see how I placed them in a staggered pattern. Basically, I place the halves of each tomato slice so that the end of one slice is in the middle of it’s partner so that the two tomato slices cover the entire length of the sandwich. Next, you’ll want to place the skirt steak on the bottom part of the bun and top it off with half the mayoketchup (this will help the potato sticks to stay in place).  Place the potato sticks in the middle of the sandwich and use a knife to hold everything in as you close it.  Cut it in half and enjoy!

P.S. – I had a moment of clarity when eating this sandwich.  I noticed that the tomatoes (I used very ripe heirlooms) brought a bit too much moisture to the sandwich and remembered what I wrote when I reviewed Only Burger’s Breakfast Burger.  I much preferred the fried green tomato to the regular, ripe tomatoes that you normally find in a hamburger and, since the meat remains very moist, the fried green tomatoes would make an excellent substitution here.  I’ll try substituting them the next time I make this sandwich (and leave out the potato sticks) and report back once I do.

Buen Provecho!

Rigatoni with Crock Pot Tomato Sauce and Meatballs

I was searching for a hearty, comforting recipe to make on a lazy Sunday evening and decided to make an all-day tomato sauce without having to simmer it all day (or fussing over the stove).  I chose to use the crock pot because it maintains a constant heat and doesn’t have to be fussed over (like the infomercial says, you can set it and forget it).  It was a bit involved in a few steps, namely the caramelization of the onions, but it was more than worth it in the end.  The best part was the leftovers, which tasted better on the second day than they did on Sunday (most long-cooked foods, such as pot roasts, tend to taste better the second day).

This recipe is a fancied-up version of a typical American comfort food.  I chose to use caramelized onions and roasted tomatoes but you can skip those two and just use freshly crushed tomatoes if you don’t have an hour to spend before placing the ingredients in the crock pot.  Just remember to seed and peel them, or feel free to used your favorite canned tomatoes.

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 5 hours
Actual Time Spent Cooking: 1.5 hours
Difficulty: Easy
Notes: Most of the cooking time in this recipe is taken up by the tomatoes roasting in the oven and the sauce cooking in the crock pot, which are unattended steps.  The most involved steps are in the caramelization of the onions and they are described in that recipe.

Ingredients:

2 lbs Roma tomatoes
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced fine
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced fine
2 large white onions, caramelized (recipe here)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup red wine
1 cup chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp honey
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil (reserve some for garnish)
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1 lb rigatoni
8-10 meatballs (recipe here)
1 tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Procedure:

Cut the roma tomatoes in half and place on a baking sheet. Toss with 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp salt. Place them in a cold oven and turn the oven on at 350 degrees. Roast for one hour then remove them from the oven and wait 15 minutes for them to cool down. Once they are cool enough to handle, remove the skins (they should peel easily) and stem tips, then crush them with your hands and place them in the crock pot.

While you’re waiting for the tomatoes to cool, place 1 tbsp olive oil in a sauté pan and heat it to medium-high. Sauté the green and red peppers for 4-5 minutes, until softened, then add the garlic and sauté another minute. Place the veggies in the crock pot.

Once the crushed tomatoes, garlic, green and red peppers are in the crock pot, add the basil, oregano, 1/2 the caramelized onions, wine and chicken stock, stir to combine. Turn the crock pot on high (make sure you cover it) and allow the mixture to cook for 3 hours. Remove the bay leaf and blend the sauce with a stick blender. If you don’t have a stick blender then you can put the sauce in a food processor until smooth (don’t use a regular blender as hot liquids and blenders don’t mix!).  Here is what it should look like after you blend the sauce (the deep red color comes from roasting the tomatoes):

Add the other half of the caramelized onions and the honey, stir to combine.  Place the meatballs in the sauce and cover the crock pot.  Allow to cook on high for one more hour.  You’re going to want to start boiling the water for the pasta about 30 minutes before the sauce is done.  After the meatballs have been in the sauce for 30 minutes, place the pasta in the boiling water (along with 1 tsp salt) and cook until al dente, about 10-12 minutes.

Remove the meatballs from the sauce, drain the pasta, and place it in the crock pot with the sauce, tossing to combine.  Place about 1/4 of the sauced pasta on a plate along with two meatballs.  Garnish with the grated parmesan cheese and some chopped basil.

Buen Provecho!

Recipe: Cuban Cordon Bleu

I love Cuban sandwiches.  I grew up in Puerto Rico and went to school right down the street from a Spanish pastry and sandwich shop called Panadería y Repostería España, where I would stop by for a sandwich at least once a week.  A good Cuban sandwich is hard to find but, when I find one, it makes me feel warm and cozy all over (and it’s not because of the beer I’ll drink with it).

The hardest part about making a good Cuban sandwich is getting the right bread.  So many people pick the wrong type of bread and it just doesn’t taste right.  My inspiration for this dish was a combination of two main factors: I wanted to eliminate the biggest flaw in most Cuban sandwiches (not having the correct type of bread) and the fact that Mrs. Belly Full doesn’t much care for sandwiches at dinner time.  I’ve had a craving for some good Cuban food lately and have been wanting to try a pork roulade for some time, so I decided to combine the famous Chicken Cordon Bleu with a Cuban sandwich.

I’ve made roulades with lamb, chicken, and beef before, but never with pork.  The main reason why I never tried doing it with pork is because I felt it would dry out before it cooked through.  Now that I’ve grown to love eating my pork cooked to medium, this wasn’t a concern anymore.

I started out with a nice two-pound section of Nieman Ranch pork loin.  I used them because their pork isn’t 30% solution, by weight, like most other pork products available at the grocery store.  Let’s be honest, if I’m going to pay for a good cut of pork, I don’t want 30% of my money being spent on salty water.  I cut the loin in half since I decided to use only one pound for this recipe.  I butterflied the loin (fat side down) at the 1/3 mark (leaving 2/3 on the upper side) and then butterflied that section down the middle and ended up with a long piece of pork that was about 1/3 as thick as the original piece.  I then pounded it out to about half as thin as that, to about 1/4 of an inch thick.  If you don’t feel comfortable butterflying your meat, you can ask your butcher to do it for you or you can just make a stuffed pork chop with the same ingredients.

Ingredients:

For the Pork Seasoning:

1/4 tsp each salt, pepper, ground coriander
1/2 tsp each ground cumin and Mexican oregano
1/2 tsp grated garlic (with a microplane), about half a large clove
1 tsp lime juice
2 tsp olive oil

Combine them all in a dish and make a paste.

For the stuffing:

5-6 thin slices of ham
3 thick slices of swiss cheese
8 pickles

For the Mustard Sauce:

1/3 cup white wine
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp finely chopped shallots (about one small shallot)
1/2 tsp grated garlic
4 tsp dijon mustard

For the Cilantro Rice:

2 cups water
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 cup long-grain rice
4 tsp lime juice
2 tbsp fresh cilantro (chopped fine)

Procedure:

Take the seasoning paste and spread half of it on each side of the pork, then place the ham, cheese, and pickles inside the pork and roll it up.  This is what it should look like before it goes in the oven:

Place in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 40-50 minutes. An instant-read thermometer should read between 145-150 degrees when the temperature is taken at the center (I pulled mine out of the oven at 140 because I like my pork cooked medium, but some people might not want to eat pink pork). Remove from the oven and cover in foil. Let the meat rest 10 minutes before carving.

While the pork cooks, start working on the other two parts of this recipe:

Mustard Sauce:

Place the wine and shallots in a small saucier over medium-high heat. Once the wine reduces by half (about 5-7 minutes), add the cream, reduce the heat to medium, and again allow to reduce by half (about 8-10 minutes). Strain the sauce into a bowl or measuring cup (you should have about 1/4 of a cup of liquid) and stir in the mustard. You can place the unused portion in a jar and keep in the refrigerator for about 1 week (or until expiration date for the  cream you used, whichever comes first).

Cilantro and Lime Rice:

Feel free to cook the rice according to the package’s instructions; I do it a bit differently than instructed. Pour 2 cups of water in a pot and bring it to a boil, then add 1 1/2 tsp salt and stir to dissolve.  Once the salt is dissolved, add 1 1/3 cup long-grain rice and stir.  Let it sit and boil for about 1 minute, then stir again, cover, and lower the heat to low.  Let the rice cook for 20-25 minutes, then remove from the heat and fluff with a fork.

Once you have fluffed the rice, pour the lime juice over the rice, add the chopped cilantro and stir to combine.  Serve with the pork and a nice salad on the side.

Buen Provecho!

Easy Hollandaise Sauce

So, I thought I’d show off my immersion blender with whisk attachment for today’s post.  It makes my life in the kitchen so much easier that it deserves a mention here as an indispensable kitchen tool.

This post is for those of you out there who haven’t enjoyed home-made eggs Benedict in a while because you think Hollandaise is too hard to make.  Sure, there are packets out there that you whisk together with milk to form the sauce, but they’re flat-out disgusting compared to the real thing.

Interesting facts about Hollandaise:

Hollandaise sauce is nothing more than an emulsion (just like Mayonnaise), and is one of the French Mother Sauces.  They are called  Mother Sauces because they can be used as a base for other sauces, such as a Bearnaise sauce is a variant of our beloved Hollandaise.  The two most important things to remember when creating an emulsion are that you need constant agitation (mostly via whisk) and you need to add the fat (in our case, the butter) into the mixture very slowly.

Ingredients:

Hollandaise sauce uses very simple ingredients that most people will have in their homes at any given time.
These are:

1 egg yolk
1/2 stick of butter (4 Tbsp), melted (I place it in a measuring cup and microwave it)
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

The sauce is very easy to scale up, too.  Just remember that each egg yolk will need 4 Tbsps of butter and 1.5 tsps of lemon juice for a proper emulsion.

Preparation:

First things first, use every tool you have that makes your life in the kitchen easier.  In this case, I suggest using the microwave or an electric kettle to boil some water (about 3/4 of a cup).  You will use the water to “thicken” the egg yolk and form sort of a custard.  Our goal is to cook the egg yolk gently so that it doesn’t scramble.  The classical way is to use a double boiler, but they can be cumbersome and most people just end up scrambling the egg anyway.  My solution is to boil some water and set it in a bowl and then dip a glass or plastic measuring cup (whatever you have handy) containing the egg yolk, lemon juice, salt, and cayenne pepper into the water so that it comes to temperature slowly.  I use the plastic measuring cup that came with my immersion blender and I dip it into the hot water for 15 seconds, then pull it out for 10 seconds, and repeat until it reaches the right consistency.  Make sure you whisk it continuously so that it heats evenly (I pulse with my immersion blender whisk since it works better this way).  In about three minutes, you will have a thickened egg that looks like a custard.

You may now begin to slowly pour in the melted butter.  You want to do this in a very thin, constant stream so that your sauce doesn’t break.  Once about half of the butter is incorporated, you can add it a bit faster (just not all at once).  Here is a video of what the sauce consistency should be when you finish.  Click on this Hollandaise link and the video will play.  By the way, it’s the first time I’ve used my iPhone camcorder so I apologize for the resolution and size.  I will re-record it the next time I make hollandaise and upload an updated video.

If, for some reason, the sauce ends up being too thick, feel free to add a few drops of the hot water you used to temper the eggs with (add 3-4 drops and whisk to combine).  This should thin out the sauce just enough.  If you’re not using it immediately, the best thing to do is to store it in a thermos that  has been primed (i.e. you fill it with boiling water, put the lid on, and let it sit for about 2 minutes).  If you do this, your sauce should remain warm for up to 90 minutes.

And, of course, one the best use for your Hollandaise is to make eggs Benedict:

Buen Provecho!