Tag Archive for 'chorizo'

Spanish Collards w/Chorizo, Sherry & Almonds

Published by mel on February 25, 2010 in recipe.

Spanish Collards w/Chorizo, Sherry & Almonds

Finally a recipe that doesn’t revolve around carbs! I’ve been getting a lot of collard greens in my CSA box lately which usually means a big pot of Caldo Gallego soup. After scouring the fridge and freezer for a smoked ham hock (I usually have a couple in my freezer for emergencies like this) and coming up short, I decided that Caldo Gallego wasn’t an option and came up with something new to do with my greens.

This is a simple side of collards is flavored with what you all might recognize as my favorite ingredient – chorizo. I think it might be my most-recurring ingredient after olive oil or salt. What can I say? I’m a sucker for spicy cured pork products. I also love how the rendered fat – bright orange and flavored with pimenton – coats everything with a luscious meaty flavor. And it takes these collard greens to a whole new level.

Chorizo makes them spicy and smoky, sherry lends them a nice bite, honey balances the bitterness in the greens and toasted almonds add the perfect amount of crunch. I actually ate this as a main dish with some brown rice and it was one of my favorite things I’ve made all year. Definitely a keeper!

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Chicken Cordon Bleu (but with chorizo & piquillos)

Published by mel on February 17, 2010 in entree and recipe.

Yeah – I have no business whatsoever calling this Chicken Cordon Bleu. It’s more like Spanish-style stuffed chicken breasts wrapped in ham and cheese. But that’s not the most eye-catching title. Whatever you call them, these chicken breasts are pretty amazing. Also, pretty simple to make.

Just butterfly some chicken breasts and stuff them with spicy Spanish chorizo and Piquillo peppers (roasted red peppers work too). Close them up, wrap them in ham and cover with a slice of provolone cheese and a sprinkle of smoked paprika. Into the oven for a bit, and out comes a one of the best chicken dishes I’ve ever made.

Chicken Cordon Bleu (but with chorizo & piquillos)

Tom says that only a Cuban would come up with the idea of chicken stuffed and wrapped in pork. And he’s kind of right – we do think pork makes everything taste better. (Sorry vegetarians!)

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Squash, Chorizo & Hazelnut Pasta

Published by mel on November 6, 2009 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.

Squash, Chorizo & Hazelnut Pasta

Hello blog! I’ve missed you so very much this week! Silly things like traffic and being sick have kept me away, but I’m back and I want to tell you about this pasta I made. It’s got roasted delicata squash, lots of spicy Spanish chorizo, toasted hazelnuts and sage. It’s smoky and nutty, a little sweet and just right for fall.

If you think nuts and pasta are a kind of weird together, you shouldn’t. Hazelnuts add a nice toasty flavor and some textural contrast to the squash. Without them, this pasta would be missing something. Some might even accuse it of being mushy. Go ahead, add the hazelnuts. (unless you’re allergic, of course. Then, please skip the nuts!)

It’s a simple meal that hits the spot.

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Pumpkin Nachos

Published by mel on October 20, 2009 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.

Pumpkin Nachos

It’s that time of year again. Time for pumpkin-everything. Tom gave me the idea for these when we were watching football, drinking pumpkin ale and munching on nachos. Pumpkin nachos? Why not? Nachos are really just a vehicle for cheese and toppings.

So, I roasted some pumpkin. That went over tortilla chips with some hot Spanish chorizo (smoked paprika + winter squash = awesome), green onions and shredded Colby and Jack cheeses. Into the oven until the cheese was seductively melty, then a squeeze of lime and sprinkling of fresh cilantro.

roasting pumpkin
Behold my terrible knife skills!

Salty chips, sweet pumpkin, spicy chorizo all under a blanket of cheese. It’s delicious. The perfect Fall football food. Actually, the perfect Fall food, no matter what you’re doing.

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Baked Turkey and Chorizo Meatballs

Published by mel on August 21, 2009 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.

Baked Turkey and Chorizo Meatballs

I wonder how many variations of the meatball exist. Of course, there’s the traditional meatball with marinara that’s ladled over spaghetti – a classic. There are meatballs made of beef, pork, veal, lamb, chicken and turkey. Even meatballs made without any meat at all. You can have them fried, braised, steamed, baked, poached and probably confit-ed and sous-vided too, though I’ve yet to see that.

Baked Turkey and Chorizo Meatballs

I found a recipe for baked Chicken meatballs in last month’s Gourmet that promised to be super moist and delicious. Thinking they’d make a great weeknight meal, I immediately bookmarked it. I started out with the best intentions of following the recipe to a T. I swear I did. But of course I didn’t. Anyhow, these meatballs are really quite tasty – moist and flavorful and they hold their shape well. Everything I want out of a meatball and everything you should want too.

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Chorizo Radicchio Shrimp with Plantains

Published by mel on March 20, 2009 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.

Chorizo Radicchio Shrimp with Plantains

This is one of those recipes where you think…Do these things really go together? I came up with this recipe by accident. I had bought an assortment of ingredients to use in other dishes, but things got hectic and I never got around to them. Not to be wasteful, I sauteed some chorizo with garlic, added shrimp and some ribbons of radicchio. Then I tasted. Not bad. Pretty good actually.

But what should accompany my shrimp and chorizo? Of course pasta was the first thing that came to mind, but I’ve been posting so many pasta recipes lately, I thought I’d give y’all a break. Only other thing I had on hand were some just ripe plantains. The sweetness was a perfect contrast to the slightly bitter radicchio.

And so there it is, the story of the accidental recipe. I actually love the way it turned out. Spicy, a little sweet and really unique. It also goes to show that cooking without a recipe just requires a little bit of thought. Here are some pointers from the bitchin’ Camero kitchen:

  1. Think about Texture. You want some kind of contrast between soft and firm. Nothing too mushy or too tough. In this recipe, the plantains are soft, the chorizo is a little tough and the shrimp add an almost-crunch. Another traditional combination? Steak and mashed potatoes.
  2. Color. You want as much color as possible on your plate. Not only will it be prettier, it will also be more nutritious. Contrast is key – no one likes an all-brown plate of food.
  3. Taste constantly. Taste your meal while your cooking it (make sure all meat is cooked!) so you can adjust the salt and flavoring as you go. Not spicy enough? Add red pepper flakes. Too bitter? Try some honey. Add flavor in small doses. You can always add more, but it’s hard to take it out.
  4. Flavor. Balance your flavors. Think of salty, sweet, bitter, spicy and acidic. Pay the most attention to your food’s acidity. Most people will think a dish needs salt, but usually some citus zest or juice or a dash of vinegar will make all the other flavors pop.

Cooking should be fun. Play around in the kitchen and experiment by changing up a favorite recipe or coming up with your own from scratch. Sometimes, it won’t work out, but don’t be discouraged. Order pizza and try again tomorrow.

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Drunken Beans

Published by mel on January 14, 2009 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.

Drunken Beans

Since it’s January, food magazine and blogs everywhere are posting their top food trends for 2009. This year’s trends include upscale comfort food, cheap cuts of meat, pork, lots of egg dishes and beans. Beans are trendy? Apparently. Since I love beans of all kinds, sizes and colors, this is a trend I can definitely get into.

This weekend, I was browsing the Rancho Gordo site looking for some bean-cooking ideas, and I came across this recipe for Drunken Beans. Beans with beer? Yes please. I cooked some dried Good Mother Stallard Beans (sub pinto or anasazi beans) with dried chiles de arbol and dried chipotle peppers. Then I sauteed spicy Spanish chorizo and garlic, added some pale ale and stewed the beans in that.

The result? Something like baked beans, but infinitely more flavorful. We ate them with some Guava BBQ Chicken for a seriously hearty, spicy and delicious Sunday supper. So, be trendy this year and make yourself some drunken beans!

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Our Thanksgiving Menu & Two Pie Recipes

Published by mel on November 18, 2008 in dessert, entree, recipe and sides & bites.

Carrot Pumpkin Soup
Pie recipes are from last year and I can’t seem to find any photos…will update the post with pie pictures next week!

Thanksgiving is 10 days away. Menus are finalized, grocery shopping is in full force. Thanksgiving recipe testing is complete! And so, here’s the final menu and recipes for Pupmkin Mascarpone Pie with a Gingersnap Crust and a Crunchy Apple Pie.

Carrot Pupmkin Soup with Crushed Hazelnuts
…flavored with smoked paprika, shallots and sherry vinegar.

Bacon-Wrapped Turkey Roulade
…filled with caramelized onions and figs, goat cheese, toasted pecans and fresh cranberries. Wrapped in peppered bacon and basted in pear jam.

Corn-bread and Chorizo Stuffing from Gourmet
…Olive oil instead of vegetable oil, fresh tarragon instead of dried oregano, chicken stock instead of broth, and probably some dried fruit (apricots?) soaked in brandy.

Potato Gratin with Roasted Garlic and Manchego from Food & Wine
…Probably remove the rosemary (my mom’s not a fan) and replace half and half with whole milk. Maybe add some caramelized shallots too.

Roasted Butternut Squash stuffed with Wild Mushrooms, Leeks and Chestnuts
…Halved and roasted butternut squash, stuffed with wild mushroom and leeks, sauteed in butter and tossed with chestnuts. Sprinkled with panko breadcrumbs and baked until slightly browned.

Pumpkin Walnut bread, Banana Pecan bread, Lemon Poppy bread

Pumpkin Mascarpone Pie with Gingersnap Crust (Recipe below)

Crunchy Caramel Apple Pie (Recipe below)

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Mom’s Chicken Chorizo Spanish Empanada

Published by mel on November 17, 2008 in entree and recipe.

Mom's Chicken Chorizo Spanish Empanada

Aside from devouring my dinner last night, I really had nothing to do with this recipe. It’s my mom’s famous Spanish-style Empanada that she makes once a year for my dad’s birthday. He has proclaimed his undying love for Spanish-style Empanada and ordered it in every city in Spain when we were visiting. But I digress…

Unlike the more common South American and Latin American Empanadas, Spanish empanadas are baked like a chicken pot pie in a casserole dish and cut into squares for serving. Wikipedia says they’re usually filled with tuna, beef or chicken. My mom’s is made with chicken stewed with piquillo peppers, ham, onions, tomatoes, olives and chorizo. (Can you say yum?)

The thing that makes this Empanada different, is its slightly sweet crust. Instead of a simple tart or pastry shell, my mom makes a sweet, crumbly dough that contrasts nicely with the savory chicken filling. If you like a sweet/savory contrast, this dish is for you. Like a casserole, it’s a perfect make-ahead meal. Just pop it in the oven when your guests arrive and you’ve got an impressive, bubbling Empanada to warm you up on a cool evening.

I’m glad my mom finally wrote out the recipe for me. It’s one of those dishes that gets a rave review every time she makes it, and it’s time to share the love.

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Mussels in Chorizo Polenta Broth

Published by mel on October 8, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.

camero_ilefrance-19
Photo Credit: Agustin Sanchez

It’s been 2 months since our big trip out to the Pacific Northwest and I’m still trying to recreate some of the dishes we had out there. One of my favorite meals was at Higgins in Portland. We weren’t really in the mood for a fancy place, so we sat at the bar and ordered from the “bistro” menu. Of course, the Mussels with chorizo and polenta caught our eye right away. So did the house-cured charcuterie plate, the local beers and the shortbread cookie with basil ice cream and nectarine syrup (which reminds me…I have to make this!).

So, back to the mussels. I finally made them over the weekend and they were every bit as magical as I remember them from Portland. The broth was bright and flavorful and spicy from the chorizo, the polenta added a nice heft to the broth, and the mussels were the perfect briny contrast to the chorizo. I ate until I was too full and washed it all down with a cold, bitter beer.

Honestly, this might just be the perfect recipe for mussels. But if mussels aren’t your thing, this “broth” would be perfect for shrimp, lobster or even chunks of fresh fish. In fact, you can even skip the seafood and substitute chicken or omit the extra protein altogether and think of it as a thin chorizo polenta soup. Just delicious!

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