About these wierd codes… apologies

October 31, 2005 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment 

10 Important Tools Needed in the Kitchen

October 28, 2005 | Filed Under Kitchen: Utensils/Gadgets | Leave a Comment 

Five piece stainless-steel tools from Williams-Sonoma.com

 

 

I recently read an old Parade magazine column by Sheila Lukins called “What’s Cookin.’” It featured an article entitled, “10 Kitchen Tools I Can’t Live Without.” (Page 8, April 3, 2005).

The author listed the following 10 kitchen tools, which she found necessary in the kitchen. I have to agree with her on most of them.

Here are the items:

Food processor (Just bought one)

Electric juicer (Don’t have one. Would be cool to have one.)

Pepper grinder (Need a new one. I have a cheap one that’s annoying)

Mini-chopper (I’m not sure about this one.)

Food scale (I have a small cheap one, but rarely use it.)

Measuring cups (Yes!)

Microplane rasp (Oh, yeah!)

Measuring spoons (Could always use new ones)

Instant-read meat thermometer (Hmmm… I dunno about this one…)

Mixing bowls (Could definitely use these)

 

What tools do you consider necessary in your kitchen?

Paz

Steak Salad

October 26, 2005 | Filed Under Salads, Beef | Leave a Comment 

 

I made a nice steak salad courtesy of Giada’s recipe: Pan fried rib eye steak, cut in stripes, then placed of a bed of a salad mix of romaine lettuce, baby arugula, endive, cherry tomatoes, and red onions. Splash some Red Wine Vinaigrette and you’re good to go.

The mix of the salad and the dressing go well together and taste very good. I liked the combination of the crunchy, cool, fresh romaine lettuce, together with the spicy, smooth, flat arugula. The color of the red onion and cherry tomatoes offset by the different colored greens from the romaine lettuce and arugula, and then the dark-colored steak slices make a colorful presentation.

The recipe calls for Gorgonzola cheese, but I left it out since I didn’t have any on hand. The missing ingredient did not take away from the success of the salad. It still tasted good and filling.

Paz

Steak Salad

1/2 head romaine lettuce, cut into bite-size pieces
1 large head Belgian endive, thinly sliced crosswise (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced into rings
3 cups fresh baby arugula
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
4 ounces Gorgonzola, coarsely crumbled
Red Wine Vinaigrette, recipe follows
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound steak (such as New York, rib-eye or filet mignon), pan-fried or grilled and chilled

In a large bowl, combine the romaine lettuce, Belgian endive, red onion, baby arugula and cherry tomatoes, and half of the cheese.

Toss the salad with enough vinaigrette to coat. Season the salad with salt and pepper, to taste. Arrange the salad on a platter.

Cut the steaks crosswise into thin slices. Arrange the steak slices atop the salad and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Drizzle more vinaigrette over the steak slices and serve.

Red Wine Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup olive oil

Mix the vinegar, lemon juice, honey, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually blend in the oil.

Yield: 1 2/3 cups
Prep Time: 5 minutes

Lamb with Herbs

October 23, 2005 | Filed Under Lamb, African Cuisine | Leave a Comment 

 

I finally made one of Farid Zadi’s Algerian dishes – Lamb with Herbs. First, I went grocery shopping for lamb, onions, cilantro, parsley, green pepper, and lemon. The recipe calls for marinating all the ingredients along with olive oil, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Then everything is cooked in a Dutch oven over medium heat for 1 ½ - 2 hours.

I’m not sure what the Lamb with Herbs is served with in an Algerian household, but I served it with rice. No one complained.

Paz

Grilled Spanish-Style Snapper with Tomato and Green Olive Salsa

October 21, 2005 | Filed Under Seafood | Leave a Comment 

 

After watching one of Rachael Ray’s 30-Minutes Meals shows, I became anxious to try her Grilled Spanish-Style Snapper with Tomato and Green Olive Salsa. I finally got a chance and bought my ingredients from the new Citarella store in my neighborhood. They sell fresh fish, meat and good vegetables. Here’s there recipe:

Grilled Spanish-Style Snapper with Tomato and Green Olive Salsa

4 (8oz) portions of red snapper fillet

Extra Virgin Olive Oil for drizzling

1 ½ tsp (1/2 palmful) cumin

1 ½ tsp (1/2 palmful) sweet paprika

1 tsp (1/3 palmful) coarse salt

1 tsp (1/3 palmful) black pepper

1 tsp (1/3 palmful) coriander

 

 

 

Tomatoes and Green Olive Salsa:

3 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Handful of cilantro, finely chopped (You can substitute with flat leaf parsley)

½ small red onion, chopped

12 large green olives cracked from pits and coarsely chopped

1 lime, juiced

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Preheat grill pan; drizzle snapper with extra-virgin olive oil; combine spices in a small bowl; rub fish with spice mixture; cook fish for 5 minutes skin side down first; turn the fish and cook for 5 to 6 minutes longer; combine salsa ingredients in a small bowl and allow it to marinate until ready to serve. To serve, plate spiced snapper with a generous serving of salsa.

 

 

First, I prepared the salsa and let it sit before starting with the snapper. I enjoyed all the chopping involved to make the salsa. My favorite part of the process was chopping the cilantro on my new cutting board — a nice, big, wooden one. As soon as the knife hit the cilantro on the board, it’s distinct smell wafted towards my nose and had me salivating in anticipation of the finished meal. I love cilantro. It not only brings color to the dish but tastes so good with the tomatoes, lime, and green olives.

Next, I concentrated on the red snapper, prepared on my handy small grill pan. The aroma of the spices floated up into the air. From the smells alone, I knew it would be a good meal.

While waiting for the fish, I started on the green beans with toasted almonds that Rachael suggests goes well with the snapper. It’s another simple recipe:

Green Beans with Toasted Almonds

1 ½ pounds fresh green beans, trimmed

1 Tbs (1 turn around the pan) Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Tbs butter

Salt

Toasted slivered or sliced almonds for garnish

Cook green beans for 5 minutes in one inch boiling water, covered; drain beans and return the pan to the heat; add the oil and butter to the pan; toss the beans in the oil and melted butter; season the beans with salt and transfer to serving plate; garnish the green beans with the toasted slivered or sliced almonds.

Rachael also recommends a sangria to drink with this meal. She calls her special mixture, Sunset Sangria. I haven’t made it yet. When I do, I’ll let you know how it tastes, but I can tell you that the snapper, topped with the salsa, and served with the green beans with toasted almonds was very good.

Paz

Sofrito (Freshly made)

October 19, 2005 | Filed Under Vinaigrettes/Salsas/Sauces, Latin Cuisine | 1 Comment 

 

When I make certain Latin recipes like rice and beans, macarroni with chicken, or a simple sauce, part of the ingredients I use include sofrito — the special base used in many Latin recipes. It is also used to flavor other dishes like chicken and sautéed shrimp.

You can buy the sofrito from a store that sells Latin food products or you can make your own from scratch. I’ve found that I prefer the homemade version by T.V. Cook Daisy Martinez.

I love the smells of the fresh cilantro, sweet peppers, garlic, onions, tomatoes, and ajicito dulces as they are pureed in the food processor. It’s as if the sofrito brings life to the kitchen aromas and meal preparation. It tastes very good, and adds an extra special flavor to the dish. As the sofrito recipe suggests, I store the rest of it in the fridge or freezer to use when needed.

Paz

Sofrito

Makes about 4 cups.

If you can’t find ajices dulces or culantro, don’t sweat. Up the amount of cilantro to 1 ½ bunches.

2 medium Spanish onions, cut into large chunks 3 to 4 Italian frying peppers or cubanelle peppers 16 to 20 cloves garlic, peeled 1 large bunch cilantro, washed 7 to 10 ajices dulces (see note below), optional 4 leaves of culantro (see note below), or another handful cilantro 3 to 4 ripe plum tomatoes, cored and cut into chunks 1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into large chunks

Chop the onion and cubanelle or Italian peppers in the work bowl of a food processor until coarsely chopped. With the motor running, add the remaining ingredients one at a time and process until smooth. The sofrito will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It also freezes beautifully. Freeze sofrito in ½ cup batches in sealable plastic bags. They come in extremely handy in a pinch. You can even add sofrito straight from the freezer to the pan in any recipe that calls for it in this book.

Pantry Notes: Ajices Dulces, also known as cachucha or ajicitos are tiny sweet peppers with a hint of heat. They range in color from light to medium green and yellow to red and orange. They add freshness and an herby note to the sofrito and anything you cook. Do not mistake them for Scotch bonnet or Habanero chilies (which they look like)—those two pack a wallop when it comes to heat. If you can find ajicitos in your market, add them to sofrito. If not, up the cilantro and add a pinch of cayenne pepper. Culantro is not cilantro. It has long leaves with tapered tips and serrated edges. When it comes to flavor, culantro is like cilantro times ten. It is a nice, not essential addition to sofrito. (See Sources for both the above.)

 

Macarrones con Pollo

October 17, 2005 | Filed Under Pasta, Poultry | Leave a Comment 

My new authentic paella pan from Spain!

Last week, I received a special surprise gift when Tattum sent me an authentic, gigantic paella pan from Spain! I couldn’t believe my eyes! It’s so large that it takes up two burners on my stove and I can cook for a whole army on it. Perfect to make food for family and friends!

Not long ago, I’d made paella and realized that the pan is also an important part of the cooking process. My paella turned out fine, but I knew that it would turn out even better when prepared in the proper pan.

Now, I have the chance to make the best paella dishes that I can with my new pan.

Shortly before I received the pan, I’d seen two recipes demonstrated by T.V. chef Daisy, which called for the use of a paella pan. They weren’t the normal paella recipes that I’d become accustomed to seeing because instead of rice, pasta was used. Tattum later explained that one of the recipes is called a fideua. I plan on preparing that next.

I christened my new pan by making Macarrones con Pollo (Maccaroni with chicken). It’s basically pasta, chicken, and a spicy tomato sauce. What fun I had cooking in my new paella pan!

Unfortunately, Daisy’s site does not have the recipe listed, so I had to estimate on some of the measurements.

The recipe basically calls for putting salt and pepper on chicken. You can use a whole chicken cut into pieces. I used separate pieces (dark meat – legs and thighs); brown the chicken in olive oil on a medium flame in the paella pan. When the chicken is brown, add cut chorizo pieces (sausage) in the middle of the pan. Remove the chicken and place aside. Add about ½ Cup sofrito (the special base used a lot in Latino cooking, which I first mentioned here – I made it from scratch or you can use a store-bought version); roughly chop and add about ¼ Cup Alcaparrado (pimento stuffed olives and capers). If you can’t find the Alcaparrado, simply take about 6 pimento stuffed olives and 3 Tablespoons of capers, mix and roughly chop them. Add about 3 - 4 ajicito dulces (peppers) If you can’t find them, you can substitute them with a handful of chopped cilantro. Add it to the pan. Add 1 tsp cumin, ½ Cup White wine, 28oz. can tomatoes (whole or crushed); tuck 2 bay leaves (preferably fresh) into the sauce. Add the chicken back to the pan and top the sauce with a generous handful of chopped fresh cilantro. Add freshly ground black pepper. Let it simmer for about 30 minutes. In the meantime, boil Macarrones #28 (pasta) in separate pot. When the sauce is ready, the chicken should be falling off the bone. Put it in a platter. Put the pasta in another platter and spoon a little sauce over it. It’s ready to serve. To make a plate, take some pasta, then place chicken over it. Spoon the sauce over the pasta and chicken. Totally delicious! I served this dish with garlic bread.

In addition to the pan, Tattum also sent me a paella cookbook, with 180 recipes from the Andalusian region of Spain – Secretos de los fogones del Sur (Secrets of the Stoves of the South) by Esperanza Peláez. I look forward to making the different types of paella in the book. So stay tuned to my paella dishes here. Thank you Tattum!

Besos,
Paz

Maccarones con Pollo ready to eat!

Tunisian Chicken Chorba

October 15, 2005 | Filed Under Soup/Chowder/Gumbo, Poultry, African Cuisine | Leave a Comment 

 

Tunisian Chicken Chorba almost ready in the pot

 

 

It had been raining non-stop for the past couple of days and I decided it was a good day to make something warm to eat, after being drenched by the weather.

 

I made Tunisian Chicken Chorba, which Anis Toumi contributed to the Ya Rayi Our Ray blog. He explained that ‘chorba’ means ‘soup,’ and the Tunisian Chicken Chorba is one variation of Tunisian chorbas.

 

Anis continued to enlighten the reader that “a Tunisian chorba should have the robust flavors of garlic, peppers and spices…. Tunisians will usually agree that most dishes should be hot. A wife who does not love her husband makes him mild dishes.”

That’s certainly one way to show some love. I like it! Like many people, I like spicy and hot dishes. However, if I cook the chorba for someone not used to hot food, I know that I have the liberty to cut back on the spices (and it won’t mean that I love them any less.).

According to the instructions, I first sautéed onions and added the garlic. Next, I added the carrots, celery, then tomato paste, chicken pieces (the recipe calls for a whole chicken), chick peas, potatoes and last, the pasta. The recipe called for vermicelli, but I used Angel Hair pasta, as that is what I had available.

In addition to salt, I used the spices cumin, coriander and cayenne pepper. The chicken chorba is a good meal to have. I think especially during the upcoming winter season.

Paz

Chorba cooking in pot

The finished product

Staples in Your Kitchen

October 14, 2005 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment 

Carrot, Orange, and Radish Salad

October 12, 2005 | Filed Under Salads | Leave a Comment 

 

The other day, when I made Chicken Tagine, I also made a carrot, orange and radish salad to go with the meal.

My sister is of the opinion that if the dish doesn’t have lettuce, it shouldn’t be called a salad. She mentioned the cantaloupe salad I’d made some time ago and said that although she liked it, I’d initially surprised her when she only saw the cantaloupe in my so-called salad. Yet, as with the cantaloupe salad, she gobbled my carrot, orange and radish salad with appreciation. I couldn’t blame her. It tasted very good.

As the title suggests, I made it out of carrots, oranges, and radishes. I added fresh mint and cilantro leaves, along with ground cinnamon, sugar and fresh lemon juice. The combination of the flavors were out of this world, especially when the ingredients sat for about an hour or two and were allowed to blend even more. The cilantro, mint, and cinnamon woke up the salad and their smell teased my senses.

I’d never been very fond of radishes before but to my surprise that I liked the way they tasted when combined with the carrots and the juices of the oranges and lemon. The soft and mild with a peppery hint in the background was the perfect flavor.

The recipe also called for orange flower water. I had no idea what that was or where to find it, so I left it out. Perhaps it enhances the taste of the salad, but no matter; without it my salad still tasted divine.

Paz

Carrot, Orange and Radish Salad
4 carrots
6 radishes (or 4-inch piece daikon radish)
1 handful fresh mint leaves
1 handful fresh cilantro leaves
2 navel oranges
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon orange flower water
Kosher salt

Slice carrots and radishes as thinly as possible and add to a large bowl. Add mint and cilantro. Remove the peel and pith from the oranges. Working over a bowl to catch the juice, cut between the membranes to remove the orange segments; add them to the carrots. Squeeze the membrane to extract the rest of the juice and add the cinnamon, sugar, lemon juice, orange flower water, and salt, to taste. Mix to dissolve sugar and salt. Pour over the carrot mixture and gently toss to coat. The salad can be served immediately but allowing it to sit for 1 or 2 hours will help the flavors to blend. Just before serving, taste and adjust seasoning.

 

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