Published by mel on August 7, 2009 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
I don’t want to get into a whole thing about girly foods versus manly foods. As a woman, I do love my salads, dainty cheese tarts and chocolate. But not any more than I love big, beefy burgers, buffalo wings and nachos. Food is delicious and I will not take sides!
Even after all that, I have to say, this pasta salad is a manly salad. It’s hearty and bold and full of freshly grilled steak. It is not a side dish. It’s an aggressive, filling entree. The first time I made this, I tossed everything with a little vinaigrette and topped it with diced avocado and crumbled blue cheese. It was good, but it was missing something to tie it together.
I tried again, this time making a creamy dressing with the avocado and blue cheese and … success! The dressing pulled everything together like mayonnaise usually does. The rest of the ingredients – pasta, tomatoes, red onion and steak – completed the salad.
I loved it, Tom loved it. This is a salad for all the sexes.
Continue reading ‘Pasta Salad w/Steak & Blue Cheese Avocado Dressing’
Published by mel on April 8, 2009 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
I’ve been a little more than under the weather this week. When I’m sick, all I want is comfort food. Chicken soup and pasta and things my mom used to make when I was growing up. Picadillo is a really simple Cuban dish that’s basically cumin-spiked ground beef with onions, garlic, tomato and pimento-stuffed olives. Some people also add raisins, but I am not down with that. At all. This isn’t fancy food or weekend food, but it’s perfect for weekday dinners or quick lunches. It’s simple, delicious and versatile.
Like everything else with Cuban food, Picadillo is most often served with white rice and black beans. Since I’m not a big rice person (and I can never make it as good as my mom does), I put mine on top of creamy polenta. It also makes a great taco stuffing or baked potato topping. Picadillo also makes a pretty good, Cuban-style sloppy joe.
If you’ve never had Picadillo, give it a try. You might just find that it becomes one of your go-to weeknight dishes. Either way, it made me feel a little better this week.
Continue reading ‘Cuban Picadillo’
Published by mel on February 27, 2009 in entree and recipe.
On this busy, busy week I’m experimenting with new ways to get dinner on the table faster. Or in this case, lunch into my lunchbox in record time. This beef stew went from fridge to photograph in 45 minutes. Including vegetable washing and chopping. One of the many reasons I love my pressure cooker. That and I never, ever remember to soak beans.
I used the pressure cooker because I wanted my stew fast, but this recipe would be equally good cooked in a dutch oven with a little more time. Either way, it’s a simple hearty stew made with flank steak, potatoes, carrots, celery, leeks, garlic, rosemary and wine. Simply season and brown the meat, add the remaining ingredients and walk away. Twenty minutes in the pressure cooker (or 1 hour in dutch oven), and you’ve got a hearty, flavorful and healthy meal.
I’m really not a fan of too many kitchen gadgets, but if you’re thinking about investing in a pressure cooker, I’d highly recommend it. I love the idea of putting everything into a pot and walking away. I also love throwing dried beans, a ham hock, onions and dried chipotle peppers into the cooker for 45 minutes for some of the tastiest beans around.
Continue reading ‘Pressure Cooker Beef Stew’
Published by mel on January 16, 2009 in entree and recipe.
Vaca Frita is one of my absolute favorite Cuban meals. It’s simple, but super flavorful and everyone usually loves it. Especially my college roommate. She really loved it. Vaca Frita literally translates to “Fried Cow”. Sounds appetizing, no? Well, no. But I promise you, it is mouth-watering, addictive and delicious.
So, what exactly is this fried cow? It’s flank steak, chopped into squares and boiled with an onion and a bay leaf until tender, then shredded and sauteed with onions, lime juice and orange juice. Traditionally, the beef is sauteed in a skillet with lots of oil until crisp and brown. This method is a little greasy for me, so I saute everything in a pan, then spread it onto a cookie sheet and pop it under the broiler to get the same browned and crispy results.
It’s a tangy, beefy meal that’s great on rice, with salads and definitely in sandwiches! As a bonus, you get some deeply flavorful stock for soups. If you’re looking for a unique and tropical way to prepare flank steak, this dish is for you.
Continue reading ‘Vaca Frita: Flank Steak with Lime & Orange Juice’
Published by mel on October 20, 2008 in entree and recipe.
A couple of years ago I found and made a recipe for Turkey Pumpkin Stroganoff that was absolutely delicious. Since then, I’ve moved twice and lost the recipe along the way. Yesterday was the first almost-cool day of the year in Miami. It was overcast and breezy and I wanted to make something a little spicy, beefy and noodly. Stroganoff was just the thing.
Although I’m loving pumpkin and turkey right now, I decided against trying to recreate the lost recipe, and used butternut squash and lean ground beef instead. Mostly, because I was too lazy to drive out to the good grocery store and the one nearby doesn’t carry organic ground turkey. This happens a lot. Anyway, I spiced it up with sweet and smoked paprika, nutmeg and caraway seeds for a warming fall dish.
This Stroganoff would be equally delicious with your favorite winter squash or pumpkin, and you can add chunky cubes of it, or creamy pureed squash. Go ahead and use ground turkey or beef, or even thinly sliced steak in the traditional method for Stroganoff. I would also add some portabello mushrooms next time to give it more of an earthly flavor and I might even bake it with some breadcrumbs scattered on top. I love baked pasta (who doesn’t?) and this just might be the best way to reheat the leftovers!
Continue reading ‘Butternut Squash Beef Stroganoff’
Published by mel on October 3, 2008 in entree and recipe.
Ropa Vieja can always make you feel better. Especially if you scoop it straight from the pot with a crisp soda cracker or crusty piece of Cuban bread while no one is looking. It’s warm and meaty and you can sop it up with bread, which places it firmly in the Comfort Food category. Just like her Arroz con Pollo, my mom’s Ropa Vieja is the best I’ve ever tasted. It’s still the dish she makes for my brother when he’s home, and the dish for which I’ll forever steal the leftovers.
Ropa Vieja literally translates out to “Old Clothes”. Doesn’t sound very appetizing, does it? But nothing is better than shredded flank steak stewed with peppers, garlic, tomato, tons of onions and ladled over white rice. Some people add all kinds of spices and seasonings, but I like to err on the side of simplicity. The result is bold, tangy, beefy and super delicious.
Ropa Vieja is perfect for a homey Sunday Supper during the Fall or Winter. But be warned that post-meal naps are pretty much required.
Continue reading ‘Cuban Comfort Food: Ropa Vieja’
Published by mel on May 12, 2008 in entree and recipe.
Yesterday was Mother’s Day. Normally, I would spend the day with my mom, but my parents are on vacation in Argentina. When they first announced their plans, I was envious of all the beautiful leather shoes my mom would buy and the delicious steaks they’d eat. But as it happens, all of the pilots in Argentina went on strike this weekend.
Last week, my parents were in Patagonia, on a glacier, enjoying nature’s beauty and were supposed to catch a plane to Buenos Aires on Saturday for some shopping, eating and sight-seeing. Instead, they ended up on a 40-hour bus ride from the bottom of the earth back to civilization. And that’s how my mom spent her Mother’s Day. I don’t think I envy the beautiful leather shoes anymore. And the steak? Well, I made up for it by buying some thick and meaty short ribs of my own.
While my mom was taking in the beauty of the Argentine countryside, I was braising those short ribs for my Nana. If you ever want to make someone feel special, make them short ribs. They’re fall off the bone, melt in your mouth, barely even have to chew, decadent and delicious. And the leftovers will be finding their way into a nice, crusty baguette tonight. I can barely wait!
Continue reading ‘espresso and pasilla braised short ribs’
Published by mel on February 21, 2008 in entree and recipe.
Tom’s family is in town defrosting from the Michigan weather. I had planned on inviting them over for meatloaf last night, but forgot that they had tickets to a basketball game. So I bought enough to feed 7 people, but instead made a meatloaf (with 3.5 lbs. of ground beef and lamb) for just myself. Needless to say, there are leftovers galore which Tom delivered to his family this morning. Can anyone say meatloaf sandwich?
Anyway. I wanted to make something a little more interesting than the traditional meatloaf, so I used Greek yogurt, Dijon mustard and lots of fresh tarragon to add more of a bite and to pair well with the bit of lamb I was using. Overall, it felt lighter and tangy-er than the traditional version. I liked that the lamb flavor was there, but not overwhelming and the tarragon gave it a super fresh taste.
Continue reading ‘tarragon meatloaf’
Recent Comments