Tania's Blog

Happy Friday!

2015-11-06T07:54:00.000-05:00

I absolutely love this video, it conveys exactly how I feel about the end of the work week. YES!

RT if you've got that #FridayFeeling pic.twitter.com/GYHWpEdNG6
— David Brent Fans (@DavidBrentMusic) November 6, 2015

Cooking from a cookbook

2014-09-08T18:58:00.002-04:00

I have been trawling through blogs lately. Looking for recipes and checking out what people are cooking or baking out there. As I wrote about before, I noticed a lot of people put up their "daily" recipes or at least I would classify those as daily meals so I decided to put up some myself. My brother recently sent me Stanley Tucci's cookbook, "The Tucci Cookbook". It's a great cookbook and I highly recommend it. I can't wait to tackle lots of recipes! He sent me the book and a special cooking vessel for one special recipe that we have been making for years every Christmas. The timpano. My sister and I saw this in the movie The Big Night and have done our best to re-create this wonderful dish. After trial and error we came up with what we all enjoy thoroughly and has become a tradition for us. My brother saw the recipe in The Tucci Cookbook and ordered a special vessels especially for this recipe and now I have a real recipe for this dish! He was excited to try this for a special visit soon but have I mentioned that the temperature is in the 90's here in So Flo?? Oh yea, with a heat index of 105!! that's Farenheit! I just can't stop complaining about this heat.

Anyway, the timpano will wait until December and cooler temps but I did go through the book and select something that I thought would be simple enough even for me. Page 137 has a recipe for ziti with broccoli and I had these ingredients around the house! well it turned out great! very clean, simple and fresh that is perfect for this weather. Here is a pic of my first attempt and I just say it looks just like the one in the book!

I am already going through the book looking for some recipes to make and have my eye on one that I hope to make soon.

Even though I consider these "everyday" recipes I think they are pretty great and now understand why people blog them.

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

2014-08-18T10:26:00.000-04:00

Yes, blueberry pancakes. I have always noticed how so many people put "everyday" recipes up on YouTube, their blogs, etc and have always wondered why anyone would put such a popular and common recipe up. I would always say to myself "what's so special about that?" or "really? a tuna sandwich?". Well here I am putting up blueberry pancakes.

My odyssey of discovery started one week ago when I had a crazy hum for blueberry pancakes. There is something to the power of persuasion. I was seeing blueberries all over the grocery stores. 2 for $5 here, 2 for $4 there. Now I have always enjoyed blueberries, but in a more traditional sense. I just eat them right out of the container. In a fruit salad. But then I saw a container of buttermilk and there it was. It hit me like a meteor. "I want pancakes." I have always enjoyed buttermilk pancakes and the best are a very simple, straight forward recipe of home made buttermilk pancakes. So here I was under the influence of summer fruit and buttermilk pancakes. That's just a natural combination. "I want blueberry buttermilk pancakes." So I buy all my stuff last Saturday, August 9 and am very excited because Miami isn't exactly a hub for buttermilk sales and notice that the buttermilk does not expire until 8/16. So I am psyched. I can have my blueberry buttermilk pancakes on Sunday morning. That's Sunday August 10th. But Sunday August 10th comes along and did I make my blueberry buttermilk pancakes? No. I was just lazy and thinking about a grueling work week and now I can't remember if I even ate breakfast. But in the back of my mind, and fridge, there was a bottle of buttermilk just waiting to expire. It came and went in my head several times and each time I pushed it away like a bad memory. "Don't think about the buttermilk!" I would scold myself. I'll find something else for it before he dies. I'll make fried chicken! But that was just a fleeting thought, there was no way in hell I was going to stand in my 93 degree kitchen, before a bubbling cauldron of boiling oil looking like one of the witches from MacBeth and fry chicken. Oh hell no. It is just too hot for that. This is a Florida August. It just can't be explained.

So in my mind, back crept the blueberry buttermilk pancakes. That pesky buttermilk just waiting to turn into something blue and goopy in my fridge weighed heavily on my mind. Saturday, August 16th, yesterday, came and went, but I was intent on my breakfast of champions. I woke this morning and was determined to make those damn blueberry buttermilk pancakes. So I trudged into the kitchen and boldly grabbed that expired buttermilk. I looked at that bottle with fear and courage. A strange mix to be sure but there it was. I did the only thing a person could do in such a quandary. I marched over to my sister and said, "taste this and smell this and tell me if it's still good." Now she is the kind of person who believes that expiration dates are something of a lie. I am the kind of person who goes by the rules and even though my buttermilk was about 8 hours expired, that was enough for me. She looked, smelled and tasted and said it was fine, then noticed the date and smirked. This is typical of her behavior, but I am very secure in her knowledge about expired foods. She was even on to some bad milk that went bad before the expiration date. Now that's a food detective. But I digress going on about her food prowess. Everything was ready.
Flour,
Sugar
baking powder,
baking soda,
salt

sift this into a bowl and then,

buttermilk,
eggs,
melted butter

mix until just blended. plenty of lumps no smooth batter here.

pour your desired amount into your hot skillet and top with those plump blueberries.

And there they were, after at least 2 weeks of waiting I got my pancakes.

Now I don't know if they were absolutely the best pancakes I have ever had because I waited so long, because of all the obstacles we faced, or because they were just that damned good, but they were absolutely perfect! A small smear of unsalted butter and a drizzle of maple syrup. How do I describe that bite? I can't. You just have to try it yourself.

I only thought of taking the picture after I started eating.

I Missed Easter and Now it's May and a vegan chocolate cake is one of my favorites?

2014-05-04T10:31:00.002-04:00

Easter Sunday came and went and I have been neglecting my blog for about 5 months. I cook on a daily basis and never deem my daily cooking worthy of my blog. I guess it's because it isn't complicated enough, or good looking enough for me to take pics. I really need to work on that.

On Good Friday I made a fish dish that is one of TV chef Ingrid Hoffmann's. It sounds very odd but I simply had to try to make it because I am not a fish fan but am a bean fan. The recipe calls for cooked rice, white or brown or any rice you prefer, 1 can of rinsed black beans, 1 small jar of prepared salsa (mild or hot), and about 1 cup of fresh pineapple cut into chunks. This is the important part, canned pineapple would simply not work for me, but again, whatever you prefer should be fine. You mix all these ingredients and spread them into a 9x13 inch baking pan. Then you simply season some (about 4 fillets fit perfectly) raw tilapia fillets with your desired seasonings and lay them over the top. I like to season with the pineapple juice, some lime/lemon or orange juice, a little salt, pepper and fresh chopped garlic. Then cover the dish tightly with foil and bake in a 325 to 350 degree oven until fish is done to your liking.

When I saw her make it I was kind of weirded out, but I really like beans and rice so I gave it a shot. It has become one my favorite fish dishes and I'm not exactly a fish dish kind of gal. I'm not exactly a seafood kind of gal either. Although I made a very good Asian style salmon dish recently with a mango salsa. I really need to take some pics. The salmon dish was easy peasy and I just marinated some salmon steaks in soy sauce, fish sauce, bruised lemon grass, Thai basil (one of the perks of living in SoFlo I can grow all those exotic tropical plants), sugar and lime zest and juice. But only marinate for about 10 mins. Then throw into the oven. My salsa was easy enough, 1 mango chopped into small cubes, red onion in a very small dice, juice of about 1 lime, chopped coriander leaves (cilantro), S&P to taste. When your fish is done to your liking simply serve along with some jasmine rice (I like to add coriander leaves and lime zest while the rice is cooking), and scoop the salsa liberally over the fish.

Easter was a pretty productive day. I got a ham in the oven covered with mustard, bourbon and crushed gingersnap cookies. Plain buttermilk biscuits and chive & cheddar biscuits were made Easter morning, brownies just came out of the oven and a lemon pudding cake is rearing to go in. I haven't made up my mind on a side dish for the ham just yet. I am thinking of some simply steamed veggies (broccoli, cauliflower...whatever I have on hand). Just for the hell of it, I breaded and fried some chicken breasts and threw it between one of the chive/cheddar biscuits with a slice of cheese as I have been hankering for a cheddar-chicken biscuit that I saw on a food special that they serve in a Chapel Hill, North Carolina restaurant for years now. I finally made it and it made for a very delicious lunch. Didn't get a pic of that lovely biscuit but this was what I got from my Easter dinner, some in the process of being made like that ham and the biscuits when they were done. I must say I preferred the plain rich delicious buttermilk biscuits to the flavored ones. Below are the plain biscuits, the ham before the heat, the lemon pudding cake and the cheddar/chive biscuit, in that order.

I must say the lemon pudding cake was superb and perfect for a spring desert. It came out like one of those "magical' cakes where it comes out like a rich pudding covered in light airy cake. Very good stuff.

As the days went on I wanted something made out of chocolate so I made some very normal brownies that came out well. I always feel I have to explain my baking because it is not always a sure thing with me. I will make the same recipe and it won't always turn out a consistent product. I never seem to realize what the nuances are that made something turn out well in the first place. But then, I guess that would be the case when you are not a professional chef.

I think I under baked them and that gave them their rich fudge consistency.

Still thirsting for chocolate a few weeks later I wanted to try a recipe called "busy day chocolate cake". I saw this on Lucinda Scala Quinn's Mad Hungry recipes and I was immediately thrown back into time to my 8th grade home ec class. In the 8th grade in Home Ec we made a simple chocolate cake with Mrs. Morris. It was great and I understand now why she made us bake this simple cake without dairy or eggs of any kind. It turns out this is actually a vegan cake and has become my favorite chocolate cake! You can find this recipe online at Martha Stewart Living just search for everyday chocolate cake. It is so easy and is made right in the pan! I use an 8x8 non-stick 'brownie' pan.

Simply whisk :
1.5 c ap flour
1 c white granulated sugar
3 tbls unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
.5 tsp course salt
in an 8x8 nonstick pan and make sure it is well incorporated. make a well in the center of this dry ingredient pile and add:
6 tbls canola oil
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
1 tbsp. white vinegar
1 c of cold water

Mix well and make sure you get the dry mix out of the corners, I use a for for this. and that is it! Just throw this in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for approximately 20 to 30 minutes. Keep checking after 20 to ensure you do not over bake this otherwise it will be dry. Just make sure you insert a toothpick and it comes out with a few crumbs.

To continue along with the vegan theme I made the following frosting.
3 tablespoons cocoa, sifted
2 tblsp. coconut oil ( to keep it vegan) or butter
1 c powdered or icing sugar, sifted
about 4 tablespoons of dark chocolate chips
3 tblsp. warm water
.5 tsp. vanilla

Melt the coconut oil or butter in a non-stick sauce pan. then just add the rest of your ingredients and stir like crazy until absolutely smooth and shiny.

I never thought I'd say this but this vegan cake is my absolute favorite and the easiest because I always have these ingredients on hand. It is a keeper!

If you have leftovers, you should zap in the microwave for a few seconds because I keep it in the fridge and it gets quite firm. I said it was vegan and no matter how good it is, remember that eggs and/or dairy keeps baked goods moist and provides a wonderful texture so this is best eaten the day its made.

Today is Sunday and I have braising and roasting on the brain because it is the kind of lazy day made for this type of cooking as far as I'm concerned.

Braised chicken? In a pot with potatoes? I might post my own recipe for this next.

Portuguese Sweet Bread (Masa) Or Is It Hawaiian Bread?

2013-12-28T10:21:00.000-05:00

If you believe everything you read, Portuguese sweet bread called Masa is the origin of our Hawaiian sweet bread. Now I ask, how and when did the Portuguese get to Hawaii? or their bread? I can't find anything that will provide me with this information. I would love to get to the bottom of this.

I saw a video on ChefSteps (excellent!) about this wonderful sweet bread. I highly recommend that website, they have some awesome recipes and their Hawaiian bread recipe is amazing. I fell in love with their crumb. The texture of their Hawaiian bread is very bread-y and I got the recipe for my bread from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice and I must say it turned out exceptionally well. My only tweaking of the recipe is the addition of liquid. Living here in South Florida I always have to adjust liquids to any recipe that includes flour. It has been a real Christmas in July for us down here as the days have been hot and wet in true Florida form, YUCK! But I digress, the bread has been a shining beacon for sunshine and cool days.

Here is my yeast foaming up in a sugar, water and flour mixture to create a sponge. The sponge sits around at room temperature for about 60 to 90 minutes.

Add the sponge to sugar, salt powdered milk, unsalted butter, vegetable shortening, eggs, lemon extract, orange extract, vanilla extract and flour. Then you add up to 6 tablespoons of water until it comes together into a soft but firm dough and then knead. I veered from my usual hand kneading and used the machine for about 15 minutes. Then removed it from the machine and did my traditional hand kneading for about 5 minutes and made sure it wasn't sticky and passed the "window pane test". I learned this from the book where you rip off a small bit of dough and pull it just so it becomes translucent and does not tear.

My next step is the boring rising situation. Just the standard oiling of the bowl and rising for about 3 hours. I however, had started late in the day and let it slow rise in the fridge for about 9 hours. This actually turned out very well and I made the same recipe the next day and did not notice any difference in the final product.

There is a short final rising in the actual baking tin. Next came the shaping and I stuck with a traditional boule for my shape. I was very tempted to make a large conglomerate of rolls but I did not want to take the time to weigh and shape the small rolls. Hey, it's Christmas and I didn't have time. I am still surprised I found time to make not 1 but 2 boules! So as is the case with all these involved and time consuming baked goods the baking time is usually 350 for about 1/10th the time it took you to put it together. In my case 40 to 55 minutes in the oven until very dark and mahogany brown. The recipe states that the dark color is due to the sugar content. It actually doesn't contain much sugar, go figure.

It turns out crusty but soft which is a very nice combination. The crumb resembles a brioche type of bread even though there isn't the same high amount of butter, or in fact, fat of any kind in this bread. I can totally see this bread taking the place of a babka or brioche bun in any way. I made my version of bahn mi because I always use a sweet bread when I make my own version of bahn mi and I must say it turned out quite well. So this has been my more complicated recipe this Christmas and I hope to get some more stuff together. I've got a prime rib roast in the fridge drying and that will make it to the oven sometime this evening. Crossing my fingers!

Happy Thanksgiving

2013-11-29T07:18:00.001-05:00

Thanksgiving is here and I started my cooking yesterday. I began with the pies. I made pecan and pumpkin and my sister made not 1 but 2 sweet potato pies. She is experimenting with crusts and made one with a graham cracker crust and one with a traditional crust. I am not one for sweet potato pie or really in any form but since I consider myself someone who wants to give all foods a chance I always try to see if I can enjoy it in another way. The menu this year is:

Roast Turkey with chicken apple, sausage stuffing

Green beans

roasted brussel sprouts

mashed potatoes

stuffing (not dressing)

Some kind of dish mother is contributing (hmmm)

canned cranberry jelly (yuck)

Colombian empanadas w/encurtido

Dominican yucca empanadas

regular dough empanadas

Olive Cheese rustic loaf

2 sweet potato pies

1 pumpkin pie

1 pecan pie

My sister made the bird and stuffing. The turkey began brining the day before with vegetable broth, wine, sour oranges (from our tree!), onions, lots of salt, sage, thyme, rosemary, mustard seeds, celery seed, and garlic. Then you remove from brining liquid, rinse and dry. Then came the stuffing, organic herb stuffing bread cubes (mix from Whole Foods, yes a mix) chicken apple sausage (cooked), dried cranberries, golden raisins, celery, chopped apples, chicken broth and red onions. The turkey will be basted with warmed brandy and apple jelly. Pictures to come.

So I began yesterday with the olive cheese rustic bread. It is a very simple recipe from Martha Stewart and requires no kneading. So I simply had to try that! The recipe calls for an 18 hour rise and then an additional 2 hour rise after punching down. Here he is resting for the next 18 hours.

Then I had to get the pies together. They are very simple! Traditional pecan pie, nothing out of this world, just corn syrup, eggs, sugar, salt, vanilla and pecans. The pumpkin is my fave, just 1 can pumpkin, 1 can sweetened condensed milk, eggs, cinnamon and nutmeg. That's it! It's great and the nutmeg is very subtle, it's really 1 tsp cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg. I don't go for all those heavy spices in my pumpkin pie.

The bread snuck into the picture up there in the 3rd spot.

Then I made the meat filling for the empanadas. I decided to only make a beef filling and this will fill all the different shells because it's really the doughs that make them so unique. The only one with a little different filling are the Colombian corn empanadas because they require some mashed potato in with the beef and the outer corn dough gets so crispy that the encurtido provides a lovely acidic spicy tang to the whole thing. The beef filling is my own traditional recipe of picadillo.

1.5 lbs of ground sirloin
1 tblsp olive oil (or your choice of oil)
1 small white onion
1/2 green, red, yellow or orange bell pepper
3-4 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh herb (coriander leaves (cilantro), or parsley, etc)
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tbls red wine vinegar
2 tbls tomato paste
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 c wine of choice
3 tbls. capers (smaller the better or chop the big ones), optional
3 tbls. chopped green stuffed olives, optional
3 tbls. chopped raisins (golden or dark), optional
1 hard boiled egg, (optional)

Brown the ground beef in the olive oil until completely cooked and very small, make it as fine as possible because bulky filling will burst open anything you fill! Drain the fat.
Put onion, peppers garlic and vinegar into a small food processor until very finely ground. Add this to the beef and cook for about 5 mins, add all herbs and wine. Cook out alcohol make sure all your veg is soft and add your optional ingredients except egg. Cook until raisins are soft. After it's cooled add the chopped hard boiled egg.

I let this cool in the fridge over night to fill my stuff.

I separate the beef mixture (without egg) into 3 separate fillings for these empanadas. 1 is just beef, the other with egg and the third with just beef and some mashed potato.

The plain beef is for the yucca (manioc, cassava, tapioca) empanadas. The one with egg is for the regular wheat dough empanadas and the beef and potato is for the corn (Colombian) empanadas.

The encurtido, for the Colombian expanadas or on anything else!)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup white vinegar
1.5 tsps sugar
1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves (cilantro leaves)
1/2 cup chopped curly or flat leaf parsley (your choice)
2 stalks of green onions (spring onions), chopped small
1 tbls. olive oil
1/4 small tomato, peeled, de-seeded and finely chopped
2 of those tiny peppers that come in the Goya hot pickled peppers bottle (see pic) but the amount of peppers depends on the amount of heat you can tolerate! I'm a wuss.)

In that same little food processor ( I have a small 1-2 cup size that is great!), process water, vinegar, sugar, salt, tomato, and little peppers just until very small or even paste, depending on your preference. Then I mix in the herbs, but you can process everything if you so choose. This is great with the Colombian corn empanadas. There is the finished sauce sitting in the fridge overnight to marry those flavors in an old pickle jar.

This was huge! I got caught up in eating and didn't take too many pics of the finished products but it was a lot! The turkey turned out very flavorful and tender, the stuffing moist, the empanadas crisp, the mashed potatoes always my fave no matter I have to eat, cranberry jelly was not sampled by me, the pumpkin pie was good, the pecan had waaay too many nuts I don't know what I did, but all in all, I had a great feast.

An Asian food kind of day

2013-10-06T09:06:00.001-04:00

I happened to be watching a program of one of those TV chefs who is traveling through Southeast Asia and cooking all these fabulous meals. This put me on a panAsian (is that the correct phrase?) course to cook an Asian food kind of Sunday. I have to start with something I really enjoy and have some kind of recipe for. So I made a bahn mi. I don't have the patience or experience to make the proper pork belly for this scrumptious sandwich and besides, I have no pork belly anyway. That may not be entirely true as my freezer is busting, but I digress. I start with some lovely lean ground pork that I had ground for me at the butchers.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of it while the mixture was raw. The real misfortune is that you can't smell the lovely fragrance of all those wonderful aromatic ingredients. Start with ground pork, chopped scallions, chopped garlic, Thai basil (very important! Thai basil is best but hard to find, I just started growing it, but sweet Italian will work even though it won't taste exactly the same), fish sauce, Sriracha chili sauce, sugar, pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well and let sit in the fridge for at least 4 hours to come together. Shape into meatballs, or meatspheres like I did, and you can either pan fry or roast in the oven like I did.

Make your pickled veg. Shred some carrots and daikon radish (I suppose a regular red radish would work as well but I've never tried), then just dump these puppies in a mixture of equal parts rice wine vinegar and sugar with a pinch of salt and a small amount of water. Let this sit for at least 1/2 hour before consuming. I like to keep a jar in the fridge. Then mix your spicy mayo. Just some good quality mayo spiked with Sriracha hot sauce, some sliced scallions, sprinkling of bright green coriander leaves (cilantro) and a drop of toasted sesame oil if you would like that extra warmth in the mayo.

You can make this as spicy or not as spicy as you like. Ah we get to the bread. This is a very important part of this whole operation because the bread is the vehicle that brings all these luscious, simple yet complicated flavors together. The traditional French baguette is not my favorite for this. I find the French baguette a little too hard and crusty, then again, perhaps the crisp crustiness of the baguette is better for a traditional pork belly and pate bahn mi. However, I find a soft, semi-sweet, eggy bread to be perfect. In SoFlo we are inundated with sweet-types of breads.

This is the bread for a "medianoche" and is very easy to find here, so use what you can get your hands on, a slightly sweet brioche would be marvelous as I think the sweetness in the bread is what complements the spicy heat in the meat and mayo. Cover with your pickled veg, that happens to be acidic and sweet and you have an outstanding sandwich!

Garnish with some coriander leaves and very skinny strips of scallions (green onions) and don't forget to provide a little sprinkling of that gorgeous pickling liquid very sparingly over the meatballs! My recipe is a take on any bahn mi meatball recipe you can google and play around with, so go nuts.

And now for dinner! Dinner will come from the Kingdom of Cambodia, or what used to be called the Kingdom of Cambodia? Oh well, Cambodia. It is clay pot chicken, but not in a clay pot because I don't have one. So it goes like this, 1 chicken dried well. Then come the aromatics. I stuff the cavity with some bruised lemongrass stalks, 2 or 3 chopped shallots, galangal is traditional but I couldn't find any so I used some thickly sliced ginger, some kaffir lime leaves (my friend has a huge tree) and made my own addition of a garlic head sliced in half then I mixed all this together with some oyster sauce. Stuffed this lovely mix into the chicken cavity and brushed the outside with some teriyaki sauce and poured about half a can of coke over the chicken. Like I said no clay pot, so all this was in a roasting pan and covered with aluminum foil. Into a 350 oven for as long as it will take to cook this chicken. No pictures, but trust me it was delicious!

For my side I made some steamed jasmine rice and studded it with fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves. The smells are amazing. I think I shall finish this lovely chicken with a brushing of either hoisin or oyster sauce and place back in the oven for a few minutes and then serve! I also have some of my spicy mayo concoction left over that will go beautifully with the chicken, not to mention some leftover pork bahn mi meatballs. All this and some Alfred Hitchcock movies make for a perfect Sunday to complete a weekend that is just begging for my favorite time of the year. Autumn. This means baking for me so I should be busy updating my blog after my spring/summer hiatus. Keep cooking.

Apple Crumb Pie

2013-08-07T18:49:00.000-04:00

Apple pie is usually reserved for July 4th festivities. However, I had no festivities this year but that doesn't mean I can't make a pie. So, I made an apple pie for B. We had discussions about my baking and how I love to make pies when she mentioned that her mother used to make an apple pie with a crumb topping and it was very delicious. So I took this as an opportunity to not miss my apple pie making for the summer and to make one of these pies. I have always wanted to make a crumb topped apple pie and this was a great opportunity. So here goes.

My usually crust recipe that is very basic and simple; just flour, ice water, some sort of fat (butter or shortening or a combo depending on what I have on hand), salt and sugar. Stir together the flour, sugar and salt and then cut in the fat. After you have a mix that resembles course sand, mix in the ice water until it is still dry not over mixed or over handled. I finished this step about a week ago because crust keeps well in the freezer and my kitchen is so crazy hot sometimes I can only go one step at a time. :-)

There are the lovely golden delicious apples that work so well in a pie because they stand up well to cooking and have a lovely tartness and pronounced apple flavor that works well with the simple ingredients. Peel, core and slice the apples, just add lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon and a touch of flour to thicken the juice as it bakes.

Pour this lovely concoction into the crust covered pie plate, mix my stand by crumb topping from a previous blog and voila!

A delicious apple crumb pie!

And here is the final product as B and her family get ready for what I hope they enjoyed very much!

Colombian Empanadas

2013-08-03T16:52:00.000-04:00

I discovered Colombian empanadas about 3 years ago. I went to a Colombian bakery and sampled various goodies. They have a bread called "pan de bono", I have no idea how to translate this except that it is bono bread because I don't know what "bono" means in Spanish. Therefore I will provide a description. It is a gluten-free bread made of yucca flour and one of those bland homestyle fresh cheeses much like farmer's cheese or mozzarella. Those are really the basic ingredients and I know because I have tried making these little buns and they are really good and very easy to make. Absolutely wonderful fresh from the oven and only about 20 minutes of prep time along with about 12 minutes in the oven. I had one of their typical big breakfasts with sausage and salted potatoes and I think they call them mountaineers breakfasts, cause that is one big honkin' breakfast!

That was when I tried the empanadas. They are very different from anyone else's, with the exception of the yucca ones I made before (still my favorite ones!). These shells are made from cornmeal, water, salt, and oil. That's it and then you let it rest for about 20 minutes and it comes together in a beautiful way!

While this lovely concoction sits, you make the filling. This filling is a little different from the ones I usually make as you incorporate your choice of minced meat (I used pork and beef), with semi-mashed boiled potatoes.

You combine the potatoes and minced meat for your filling. The general Colombian spices are actually very simple and the recipes I found had only a little onion, garlic, cumin, tomato S&P. This simple seasoning in the filling paves the way for a spicy dipping sauce.

The dough is very tender and should only be handled initially to form a ball then put between 2 sheets of plastic to pat out into a disk. Ummm my pictures are kind of messed up so above is the disk, below is the meat and potato mixed together.

Here is the ball of dough. You rip off about 2 tablespoons and roll it between your palms then pat out under the cling film.

Add about 1tablespoon of filling and use the cling film to fold over the other side. Press to seal.

That's it! Just fry fry fry in some oil. I use canola oil in a cast iron pan as my lovely pan has become my favorite tool in the kitchen. I must confess I only use it to fry but I really need to expand my repertoire and make a bunch of stuff in there! One important note, the dough is VERY sensitive, so use a tool to drop the empanada in the hot oil. I finally figured out that I could use a metal spatula.

Here is one cut in half as you can see the potato chunks. Now the sauce!

The sauce imparts a large amount of flavor and some spicy heat. Just use a chili pepper, any one you want, habanero for the brave ones, jalapeno for those who want a little less pain, etc. I remove the seeds and ribs because I don't want to die. You combine this with a white vinegar to water ratio of 2 to 1 and add salt, little caster sugar. In one of those tiny food processors (I have a 1 cup size), add bunch, coriander, parsley, green onions, your hot chili pepper of choice, and lime juice. Blitz it and add to your liquids along with some veg or olive oil. I use olive oil. You can spruce up with some dashes of your fave hot sauce and you are good!

This is very different from the empanadas you may be familiar with but you will not be disappointed. Give it a whirl if you enjoy these little meals in a package.

2013-06-22T14:19:00.001-04:00

Summer is here...officially. It actually started yesterday. We have been having hot days for a few months now but the arrival of June 21st makes it so...official. I need to examine my masochistic tendencies because if it is in the upper 80's outside this means that my kitchen is actually in the mid to upper 90's. No kidding. So why do I get a crazy desire to bake with weather like this? God only knows because I certainly have no answer. But there it is. I have been yearning to bake.

I recently made a pineapple upside down cake and Martha Stewart's recipe for New York crumb cake. They came out delicious. I really love chocolate and other delicate but complicated recipes, but I have a very soft spot for a simple cake. The New York crumb cake is a very simple cake that does not even contain butter in the batter but yields this lovely yellow cake with a tender fragrant crumb. The top is bursting with buttery, cinnamon sugar crumbs that complement the tender crumb beautifully. This is how I started:

Next came the mixing of the crumb that became very moist from the heat and humidity in my kitchen. Did I mention that the kitchen is unbearable? I am constantly complaining about the heat but can't stay out of the kitchen. Then came the crumbs, very simple mix then doused with butter to make them moist and clumpy.

Assembly!

And final product!
It's not a good picture and my shadow is covering the crumb along with a liberal dusting of confectioner's sugar.

Turned out very well! I highly recommend this simple and delicious cake. It flew and there is nothing left and this is my proof that it turned out well. I hope I don't disappear for another 6 months so I will try to keep this up.

Cheers!

French Confit

2013-01-21T13:43:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year! I know it's almost February but I only waited three months to post. I have "almost" kept up with my blog and one of my new year resolutions to post more entries onto my blog this year. I have to start somewhere and here it is. I became very intrigued with the French practice to confit clementines when my brother found a picture of one that is sold in a Paris bakery and immediately sent me the link. If you have seen this blog you will see a previous post of candied sour orange pith from a family recipe. Really good and interesting because I've never seen it anywhere else. Then my brother finds this and sends it to me so I simply had to try it. It is just as complicated as my family recipe except that it takes about 2 weeks to complete.

I started the clementine confit around mid-December and knew it would only be complete around the first week or so, of January. Here it is! It was a success and I must say I had to wing it as I could not find many recipes for French clementine confit. I found one, in French and about 2 more with very vague instructions. So here I go. It is very easy to find clementines at this time of year and I found a nice big box at the grocery store.

First, the clementines must be pricked by a long needle to ensure that the boiling liquids get inside the fruit thoroughly. I didn't have one so I used a thin knife. First you boil the clementines in plain water to soften them up. I don't know how long this took or how much water I used, I simply covered them and boiled them till my kitchen smelled orange-y. Then you add sugar and some corn syrup to prevent the sugar from crystalizing.

As soon as the syrup comes to a boil, remove from the heat immediately. Pour the syrup and the clementines into a large bowl and cover. Leave the clementines in this syrup and soak for 2 days. Remove the clementines and add the syrup into a pot, add about half cup of sugar and bring the syrup to a rolling boil. Pour the boiling syrup over the clementines and soak again. Repeat this step, every 2 days for 14 days. I had to do this for a few more days because, my guess, is that I didn't boil the clementines long enough in the first boil without the sugar. And here they are:

They become translucent and candied all the way through. They should remain in the syrup and become candied as the clementine would otherwise be much to bitter to consume. It is uber sweet but very delicious. The one my brother sent me is covered in dark chocolate and looks a little drier than mine. I think I should have pricked them with pins instead of a knife, however, it was pretty fantastic for just winging this recipe. If anyone should come upon this please let me know how you are doing and how you did it. I want to try again!

It's a holiday today and won't have another for a few months. I want to make entries to my blog a little more often than once a month so let's see what else I can come up with.

Cheers!

Gluten Free Empanadas

2012-11-25T15:51:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday and I love it. Perhaps not for the traditional reasons like eating until you explode, but because I get to cook and I have the time to cook. The 4 day weekend is wonderful to relax and recharge. I also get to make complicated recipes. Making something complicated is very satisfying to me. I enjoy trying to make something that is difficult and different. This Thanksgiving was no different. I started with my great aunt Laly's orange candy. This was fun because I had to make it up as I went along. She didn't write anything down so I had to remember everything I had witnessed during her preparations. I did it!! It turned out great and wasn't as crazy as I thought it would be.

This time I wanted to make something crazy as well. I found a recipe for Cassava Pasties. These are made from grated cassava (yucca). They are gluten free and that's a plus for anyone who can't consume gluten. But they are amazingly good! These beauties are very popular in the Dominican Republic and called catibias. I found a recipe and adapted it from a Dominican cookbook.

The recipe starts with raw cassava root (yucca). Grate it until it is a fine paste. Bring a small amount of salted water to a rolling boil in a heavy bottomed pot. Add the grated yucca and lower heat. Cook, stirring constantly! until it is translucent and most of the mixture becomes a translucent dough. Turn out onto an oiled surface and knead until cool. Keep your hands wet to avoid sticking. Tear off 1/8 cup amounts and pat them into disks. Fill with desired filling. I used cooked ground beef.

Fill the disks and fold over to form an empanada and press edges with the tines of a fork. After you are done with the entire amount you can refrigerate until you are ready to deep fry them. I think you can freeze them at this point also, but I didn't try.

Then deep fry and this is what they should look like. They are very crispy on the outside and very soft and delicious on the inside. You can also opt out of filling and just fry up the disks and that is very good also.

This didn't make very many so it looks like I'll be upping my ingredients next time!

Delicious!

Tis' the Season

2012-11-18T14:58:00.003-05:00

Why do I disappear during the summer months? I think it may be the dreadful heat. It is painful to have to cook anything in my kitchen when it is easily almost 100 degrees. This summer was particularly harsh and I don't just mean the heat, work really took up all of my free time as well. I quit a part-time job that allowed me the time to bake and cook but had me flat broke. In better news I got a job that allowed me the purchase power for ingredients but no time. It's always somethin'!

Tis' the season though and that means I need to make the time to get into the kitchen. I started with my great-aunt Laly's sour orange candy. Like many recipes that involve very little ingredients, it is complicated and time consuming. In this case all you need are about 25 or so small to medium sour oranges, lots of sugar and water. That's it believe it or not. The hard part is finding about 18 hours of free time. Let me walk you through this delicious and complicated holiday treat.

First I need to actually be able to get the sour oranges off my tree. This is no small feat here in Miami where sour oranges, avocados, mangos, and mamey sapote are quickly stolen by anyone who can a) jump your fence, b) destroy your fence, c) get past your pets, and want to steal them to to sell them off a truck on the street corners or just take them home to eat. The sour oranges are different and to understand this you must know that the juice is popular on pork meat (and any other meat really) as a marinade. This complicates matters because citrus begins to flourish now, just around the holidays. But I digress, first I had to fight for my own sour oranges. After I secured as many as I needed I duly shared with my deserving neighbors, friends and co-workers. Here is my first pic:

This isn't all the ones I used, you will need about 25 or so to make a decent amount of this marmalade candy concoction. The next step is just as difficult, remove the rind only. Leave the pith! The pith makes the candy! You can try to grate the rind off using a grater but I find it leave way to much rind and therefore leaves too much bitterness in your final product.

After you grate and/or cut away the colored rind, you have to remove all the pulp from the oranges. This is where I squeezed all the lovely juice out and saved it in my bottle for future marinading. These are juicy oranges.

Just so you know this takes a few hours. No kidding.

Next you need to soak the cleaned piths in water overnight with about a teaspoon of salt. I omitted this step for my first batch last week and the end result was a little too bitter for my taste. So I made sure not to omit this for yesterday's/today's batch. Now comes the boiling. Discard the soaking water and cover the piths in fresh water. Bring to a boil over high heat, rinse and repeat a minimum of 2 times. At this point you should taste the piths and see if it is to your liking but I took it to 1 more boiling round.

After the last boiling round drain again and add equal parts sugar and water to cover the piths. Cook until the syrup becomes thick, reduced and a light amber color.

The syrup is thick and sweet and the piths keep a very mild bitter orange flavor that works well with the cloying sugary syrup. This is why you need sour oranges as sweet oranges will not have the flavor punch necessary.

And so, here I begin some holiday stuff. My next challenge is to make empanadas out of cassava. This will be another journey into culinary hell but I need to start the engines and stop neglecting my blog. I am following the recipe of another blogger and of course, 3 ingredients to make this cassava dough. Peeled and grated yucca (cassava root), a little water and a little salt. Why do I try these crazy things? I also want to take more pictures again. Ugh, responsibilities always gets in the way but I hope to have lots more time for this year's holiday season.

I found a kitty on election day at my voting station, I named him Romney. Looks like he will be around when I'm blogging.

So was it the heat or my lack of time? I think it's a combo because the hot oven warms the house during the cool months. Till next time (hopefully this coming week as I already will not be at work from Tuesday through the end of the week, some black friday shopping maybe? ;-)

What did I eat this week?

2012-02-10T11:35:00.000-05:00

I have decided to keep a food diary and recap my weekly culinary attempts. Let's see if I can remember...I know I made a throw together kind of pasta dish. I didn't feel like marinara so I threw a couple of glugs of olive oil in a pan and added fresh tomatoes, garlic, and dried chillies, heated this up gently and added some cooked spaghetti and just tossed it around with a little pasta water and shredded parmesan cheese. Turned out rather well and made for a satisfying meatless Monday night dinner. I am trying to go meatless at least one day a week. On the other hand I also made some great peppery steaks with roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions and garlic one night this week. One of my favorite meals. Because I have been sick as a dog with a horrible cold and throat infection, I spent two days eating a huge batch of chicken soup I made. My chicken soup starts with boiling whatever parts of the chicken you like to eat, but must include the bone as this makes the best base for any soup or stock. To this chicken and water I add, salt, pepper, sliced onions, minced garlic, saffron and/or turmeric because I like that yellow color in my chicken soup. After or when the chicken is almost done I peel my root veggies. I love to add, potatoes, batata (white sweet potato), taro (very little because my mom is the only one who eats this stuff, it tastes like rotten potatoes. If you have ever had poi then you know), and green and ripe plantains. The ripe plantain adds a nice touch of sweetness but it must be yellow with very few black dots, if it is too ripe it will become mush. I boil these in salted water because I never add root veggies to boiling water. They should always be started in cold water in order to cook evenly. They boil in the salted water until almost done then I add them to my soup along with some diced carrots. When this is done I shut off the heat, but leave it on the burner, and add some pasta. That is my chicken soup and I never give quantities because I think cooking is personal and should be adjusted according to taste. It isn't like baking which has to be precise.

I made some banana muffins and these turned out great. I followed a basic muffin recipe and just switched out some of the ingredients. I swapped the butter for oil and sour cream that provided plenty of moisture and a lovely tang to balance those overly sweet mashed ripe bananas. I also added some mini semi sweet chocolate chips, that I always have on hand, and created a lovely crumb topping with brown sugar, flour and butter.

I haven't baked in a while and it is because it has been unseasonably hot even for South Florida and you really don't want your oven heating up the house. So what else did I make this week...I am making burgers tonight. I will put these lovely patties on Hawaiian sweet bread buns. I love this stuff. I also make my take on bahn mi on this bread it is absolutely delicious, soft and ever so slightly sweet. I will season the ground chuck with salt, pepper, some minced garlic and onion because I find that the minced veggies keep the meat moist. After these patties get fried I will top with lettuce, tomato, mayo, ketchup (food of the gods!), mustard, sliced Vidalia onion and cheese. I will serve with oven fries both regular and sweet potato fries. If I remember anything else I will add to this post. Cheers! Happy eating.

Samhain

2011-10-31T14:17:00.000-04:00

Happy Halloween! I love this holiday and everything about it. The folklore about the slim veil that separates the living and the dead on this eve of All Saints Day. All Saints day, isNovember 1st, and All Souls Day is November 2nd. All Souls Day is, El Dia De Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. The end of harvest spawned this wonderful holiday. This day marked the end of the "lighter half" of the year and began the "darker half" of the year. Like everything rooted in ancient traditions and times, the hardships of those times marked all occasions. The coming of winter and cold weather put an end to harvest and the beginning of harsh winters and less food. And like all holidays the advancement of human engineering and knowledge put an end to making people slaves to their environment and the elements and now it's a happy, fun holiday! Woo hoo!

I love the cheesy old Hammer horror movies and the few good ones, like The Exorcist, The Shining, (Stephen King never had it so good!), all the great candy and chocolate and the scary haunted houses. I've been trying to catch all the movie marathons on the different cable channels. I love the costumes the best. It is fun to get dressed up in a wild costume. Here is my cute pup, Nano, trying on many costumes.

Finally settled for the clown, mailman, banana split and pumpkin. I will post those later.

It is also the start of my baking season. I begin with cookies and cakes and move on to more complicated stuff as the season progresses. I entered a baking contest and ended up third. Blah! I think that it was because I submitted a chocolate cupcake.

I always try to keep my focus on who will eat what I am baking, but I lost to a pumpkin cheesecake smothered in dulce de leche and a nut torte thing with marshmallow-y topping. My cupcakes were good but could not beat out the über sweetness of the first and second place winners.

I hope to get lots of baking done this season, let's see what happens. Time to return to my cheesy horror flicks and maybe squeeze in some yoga!

FTBG Chocolate Festival 2011

2011-01-23T14:59:00.000-05:00

Today is the final day of the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens Chocolate Festival. I try to make it every year and made it this year on the last day. I was so bummed that I would, yet again, miss my chance to eat from a food truck called the GastroPod. But there they are, like a mirage!

First I got there early and manage to snag a parking space right next to the entrance. The thrill of this set the tone for the rest of my day. Walking through the lush green foliage I come upon the old 1962 gleaming silver Airstream shining bright in the beautiful sunlight of a clear cool day. It was like a mirage in the desert tempting a poor soul dying of thirst. YUM! All this and chocolate too? Too much for yours truly. I simply had to stay until noon so I could have lunch. I ordered the banh mi pork tacos and the short rib sliders. My sister and I tried this and the highlight of both of the sandwiches were the delicious pickled veggies. The tiny pink orchid plant below actually emits a smell of chocolate! It is called...the chocolate orchid plant. And believe me, it smells like chocolate. What a wonderfully scented plant and I can't wait to get one for myself. It was a nice crowd and picked up some lovely spices and teas to round out my day. I actually didn't buy chocolate. Just wasn't in the mood but I can't wait to make some strawberry dream tea! Wonderful day with perfect weather!

Cooking Vs. Baking

2010-12-30T11:12:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I last blogged about anything. I have been cooking but I never seem to give my savory dishes the same attention that I give my baked goods. I think it is because I see cooking savory dishes as something much easier than baking. I have always believed that cooking is something intuitive and driven solely by each and every person's individual tastes experiences and exposure to flavors when they were growing up. There is nothing wrong with that because it makes us unique individuals. Baking is a science. I am of the opinion that the sciences deserve a special respect and attention. Sciences are the backbone of life, all matter and living; and must come together precisely in order to be able to provide life and living and a normal organism. This is what baking is about. All ingredients must come together exactly in order to yield a finished product and there is no forgiveness. If one thing isn't right then the final product will be...off. I made cookies for Christmas and immediately ran for my camera. I made some savory dishes and others had to take pics because I completely dismissed it. I need to get on the ball!

Le Croque

2010-12-30T11:06:00.000-05:00

I saw a recipe for a croque madame and simply had to try it. I made it for a brunch for family on Christmas eve and I do believe it was a hit. Thick slices of artisan sourdough bread filled with ham, bechamel sauce, gruyere cheese and topped with a lovely fried egg. One of the egg yolks got a little more firm than I would have liked but...I didn't have to eat it :-) The other 3 were perfectly runny. This classic was simply served with a side of warm spinach salad. I enjoyed trying this recipe as I have never attempted to make this sandwich before and those who ate it thought it came out quite nicely so it was a success!

I hope to make some nice nibbles for New Year's Eve along with various drinks. I don't know what it is about those around me lately, but nobody drinks. I have never been a drinker and now it feels as though everyone around me is dry as well. How odd. I have all this alcohol and nobody wants it.

I think I'll start drinking.

Whipped Cream

2010-10-11T21:58:00.000-04:00

Whipped cream is everywhere lately. It is my friend's birthday today. His favorite dessert is tiramisu. I had to make this for him but also do not like to serve raw eggs to people. Most of the recipes called for folding raw egg yolks into softened mascarpone and sugar. So I made the egg yolks, sugar and some chocolate liqueur into a zabaglione and that was it. I made a chocolate zabaglione and folded in whipped cream. The rest is a traditional tiramisu with the espresso soaked lady finger-style cookies and topped with coffee and rum flavored whipped cream unsweetened cocoa and shaved dark chocolate. He tried it and and seemed happy!

I made powder puffs a few weeks ago. They are almost like tiramisu except for the chocolate and coffee. Lady finger-like cookies (homemade this time), filled with sweetened whipped cream and raspberry jam.

I want to make different desserts now because with the holidays approaching traditional desserts will grace my table.

Is that Autumn in the Air and Sky?

2010-10-03T13:47:00.000-04:00

Do I feel, see and smell autumn? Every season has its appeal, but autumn is my favorite. The end of the dog days of summer where you sweat like a pig 24 hours of the day without a break when the sun goes down and only intensified when the sun is up. Summer here in Miami is rough. The humidity engulfs you and keeps you sweating and looking like a wilted flower. Every time the temperature rises I can't help but think that heat breaks DNA bonds and always wonder if this affects our bodies?

"DNA doesn't actually decompose when heated. It just melts. DNA comes in two

mirror image strands that you could visualize as a zipper. The chemical bonds that make up each strand of the zipper are permanent joins, but the teeth that connect the two strands are much weaker and sensitive to heat. So when you expose DNA to heat (for instance, by boiling it), the two strands of the zipper separate. By

very slowly cooling that denatured DNA, you could actually get the strands to

reanneal or zip up again.

Christine Ticknor, Ph.D.
Ireland Cancer Center
Case Western Reserve University"

As you can see above, slow cooling gets it to "zip" up again, but can it do that inside the body?  It just freaks me out and gives me yet another reason to dread summer temps and sets my mind to thinking about all sorts of things.

I find the turning of the season to autumn, rejuvenating, inspiring and uplifting.  This means the best time of year beginning with my favorite holiday, Halloween! Everything about it is fun and unique.  Dress up in costumes, eat lots of candy and decorate with fun items.  Then have a more relaxed holiday with Thanksgiving where I can eat delicious turkey and enjoy my favorite pies that I only really eat once a year. Pumpkin, apple and pecan/nut.  Rich decadent pumpkin pie with globs of whipped cream.  Delicate apple pie, simply made with a touch of cinnamon and minus all those other heady spices, served up with a giant scoop of cinnamon ice cream.  And pecan/nut pies so rich and buttery and flecked with milk, white or dark chocolate!  Christmas is unnecessary to go into.  It is simply "the most wonderful time of the year," and the perfect time to get together with family and friends.

The weather is changing folks I can feel it in the air because our 90+ degree days are giving way to mid 80's and that is cool for us.   Our leaves don't change color, but instead our skies become orange-coral at dusk and breezes take on the burnished fragrance reserved for northern leaves.

Pear Frangipane Tart

2010-09-29T21:21:00.000-04:00

Short crust pastry shell, almond frangipane filling and luscious ripe pears over the top. I think this turned out very good. I must admit it is not great because there is something way too subtle about it. Pears are one of my favorite fruit. When they are ripe they are yielding and soft, sweet and delicate. I thought they would pair well with an equally delicate frangipane filling. But everything was just...too subtle. It really needs a punch and I am thinking that maybe peaches would pack enough flavor to balance out the subtle frangipane. Maybe even cherries or possibly chocolate or a combo of those? I must say, each element on its own is perfect, the buttery crust, the almond-y flavor of the filling and the ripe juicy pears, and I am proud of my dish.

Eclairs

2010-09-07T10:35:00.002-04:00

Have you ever had a freshly made eclair? It's all in the dough. Eclair dough is pate choux and it is not difficult to make. Unlike most baking it is not contingent on weather, humidity or heat. It is like a pop over only lighter. It starts with the usual suspects in dough making like flour, butter, water and a pinch of salt. First you cook this lightly over the stove and then add your eggs. That's it. Then pipe the dough onto a baking sheet and bake into the lovely boat shape for eclairs or round for cream puffs. I prefer a combination of pastry cream "lightened" (HA!) with whipped cream for my filling and they must be covered in bittersweet chocolate glaze. All culminating into a perfect eclair.

I used to think desserts like this were impossible to make at home. But don't be afraid! Try them! You will not be disappointed and if you don't get it right the first time, try again. It is worth it.

Doughnuts

2010-09-06T22:35:00.004-04:00

You know what I love about working with dough? The weird fact that even though most doughs for breads, sweet breads, even pizza, etc., are basically all the same ingredients that are introduced just a little differently. That makes all the difference in texture in the end product and during the process. Most doughs for sweet things are soft and tender even when they are raw. Bread and pizza doughs are firm and hearty. This is fascinating to me and I love it when everything clicks and I can "feel" how the product will turn out.

I love all sweets but my favorite home made sweets have to be doughnuts. I make some pretty mean cookies and cakes but doughnuts always turn out beautifully. There is one particular chain of doughnut shops that has a flashing sign that alerts all in the vicinity that they are removing fresh doughnuts from their fryers. I used to drive about 20 miles on the off chance that the sign was blinking. Sometimes I would even make the drive and just loiter around the area until the sign flashed. This all came to an end when I discovered home made doughnuts.

Have you ever had a home made doughnut? They are not difficult to make. As a matter of fact the ingredients are quite simple. You take some AP flour, a little sugar, dash of salt, little bit of butter, milk or water, maybe eggs and yeast. That's it. Those innocuous ingredients merge to create a heavenly little bite. Yeast raised doughnuts are my favorite. They even smell like doughnuts when the dough is raw. Creepy, trippy and absolutely maaaahvelous. These cuties come together in about 3 hours with most of your time spent waiting for the dough to rise. The actual cooking time is over in about 4 minutes in 365 degree oil.

My sister put these together today and I made the toppings. I had to have glazed. The glaze is just confectioner's or icing sugar and a little water, some were topped with chocolate icing, or a cinnamon sugar mixture. The filling today was either cherry or raspberry preserves. The jelly doughnuts weren't really filled. I just took a bite of the doughnut, either icing glazed or sugar coated and slathered on the raspberry jam (my fave!!). The chocolate glazed got the cherry preserves, sort of like a black forrest doughnut. They may not have had the perfect round shape of those you can buy at the store but I must say they are definitely more delicious because a fresh doughnut is something everyone must try. You can use any doughnut recipe. My sister "M" followed The Joy of Cooking recipe for these doughnuts.

Key Limes Rule

2010-08-15T15:11:00.005-04:00

It happened suddenly. I have spent my entire life running from key lime pie. I am not a picky eater. I like to try new things and always look for a way to enjoy foods. This happened with yogurt too. I never enjoyed yogurt until I made a very concerted effort to enjoy yogurt. I just picked myself up by the ears and said to myself, "You will eat this and learn to like it because it is good for you." Of course, yogurt is good for you, in it's low-fat or non-fat healthy versions. This is not the case with key lime pie, so I simply avoided this dessert. I couldn't put my finger on it but it just didn't taste right to me. I thoroughly enjoy citrus in everything I can think of and how can you go wrong with sweetened condensed milk? These two ingredients are the bulk of this simple pie. Getting your hands on key limes can be tricky if you don't live in South Florida. These little cuties grow in someone's backyard and are easily accessible for us in supermarkets here so I have always enjoyed them in any recipe where you use the large green Persian limes. So what was the problem with me and the key lime pie?

Well folks, I went to the keys last week to mind my friend's house and dogs where she has about 4 carambola (star fruit) trees, 1 Japanese plumb tree, and key limes. (don't be too jealous it's August). In addition to the fantastic seafood, key limes (in season) and key lime pie are all over the place. I don't know if it was the oppressive heat every time I walked outside or I just got caught up in the drama of key limes. I sauntered over to a small place and purchased a slice of frozen key lime pie. Why frozen? Didn't I just mention it s August?? I was desperate for relief from the heat and didn't feel like eating ice cream or swilling any more diet soda, so I just went for it. I was flabbergasted. Key lime pie is the best! I had 2! As I devoured this beautiful thing I couldn't believe myself. Why am I doing this? Is the heat really getting to me? Is my brain fried? Is it the coating of chocolate? NO! A loud, resounding NO! This is key lime pie made with real, honest to goodness key limes! NOT Persian limes! And what a difference this makes friends. You MUST have key lime pie made with key limes and not Persian limes! The delicate, flowery, and softly tart flavor of key limes makes all the difference. Key limes are small, see above for scale against your average Chinese restaurant fortune cookie, but juicy as hell. I went nuts and made key lime ade, squeezed it in my Diet Coke and almost ate them with nothing else. I urge you to try to get your hands on this little miracle citrus and make your own key lime pie. It is very simple and for that very reason your ingredients must be perfect and the little key lime is perfect.

Ham and Cheese Croquettes

2010-07-27T20:50:00.003-04:00

It was 93 degrees in my kitchen at 1 pm today. I don't know how I survived to write this. It was 91 degrees in my kitchen when I made Martha Stewart's Serrano Ham and Manchego Cheese croquettes. Well, let me be honest. I did use Serrano ham (sweet Serrano ham), but I used Swiss cheese because when I went to the supermarket to purchase the Manchego it would have cost me approximately $10 for the small amount I needed for the recipe.

You can pick up croquettes almost anywhere here in Miami. They can be found to be made from ham, cheese, chicken, and I have even seen them made from spinach. But if you eat them on the street and compare them to these you will taste the difference. Martha Stewart's recipe is absolutely fabulous and very simple. I was reading her website and saw a video where she prepared them with Antonio Banderas. He is so charming and easy on the eyes so I stopped to see what he did on the show and this just took me in.

The ingredients are items I keep around the house like onion, milk, flour, salt and pepper. I only went out to pick up the Serrano ham and the cheese (Swiss worked great).

This is the link:
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/croquettes-with-serrano-ham-and-manchego-cheese?video_id=0

Please make these, you won't be sorry. I know they are fried and everybody is the frying police and lard police, but the recipe only yields approximately 15 croquettes so invite people over. You can even play with the recipe, substitute cream cheese for the ham, or chicken or even any cooked meat you have on hand. Add spices and herbs.