Published by mel on November 13, 2009 in entree and recipe.
Last Saturday was one of those busy errand days where you do nothing but run from store to store, then come home and clean the house and go for a run. You know – they kind of day that makes you really hungry, but by the end of it, there’s no way you want to cook. Good thing I started this braise hours before dinner, before I’d cleaned the house and expended all my energy. Good thing it was a mostly one-pot meal and I’d already washed and put away all the prep dishes before collapsing. And dinner? Not to get overly Martha, but it was a very Good Thing.
I used pomegranate juice, fresh orange juice and red wine as my braising liquids and dried guijillo peppers and tart cherries for flavor. The juice and wine reduced into a deliciously concentrated sauce, the peppers lent some good spice to contrast the plump cherries and the meat was so very tender that I had a hard time moving it to the serving dish without it falling apart.
This dish is everything I wanted at the end of that long day. And leftovers were just as good or even better. My favorite kind of meal.
Continue reading ‘Pomegranate & Cherry Braised Pork’
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 August 1, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
Who in their right mind makes a long-simmering lamb ragu in July? Well, I guess that would be me. Me who lives in a city with just two seasons – Spring (Warm) and Summer (Boiling Hot). Me who makes cold noodle salad in January and lamb ragu in July. Maybe you can bookmark this for Fall?
A good ragu is made from simple ingredients you probably already have in your fridge and pantry. Because the ingredients are so simple, it’s key that they’re good quality. Good olive oil, produce, garlic, tomatoes and meat. Throw it all in a pot and let it simmer slowly for a couple of hours until the meat falls apart and everything melds together into something deliciously comforting. A ragu is the perfect Sunday supper.
I made this for my easy, no-machine orecchiete but it’s perfect over any kind of hearty pasta or grain. And it’s even better when followed immediately by a nap.
On that note, recipes will be scarce for a bit because I’ll be exploring the Pacific Northwest with Tom. (I’ve even made a spreadsheet of all the restaurants we want to hit up.) So, I’ll post a sweet treat next week, but I won’t be as post-y as usual.
Continue reading ‘thick and hearty lamb ragu’
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’
Published by mel on January 17, 2008 in entree and recipe.
I’m kind of obsessed with breaded or “crusted” food lately. Why? Because the new kitchen has a new microwave/oven that has a “Crisp” feature. It even comes with a special “crisp”-ing pan and the way it works (I think) is that it microwaves, convects and broils at the same time. So food comes out as crispy as if it were deep fried but without any of the grease. Oh, and a pork cutlet only takes 12 minutes, shrimp only 8 minutes, etc.
I used the leanest pork I could find, and I brined it beforehand to keep it nice and juicy. In lieu of homemade breadcrumbs, which I didn’t have time to make, I used whole wheat Panko made by a brand called Ian’s, which I thought were fantastic. The meat was juicy and the breading was really crispy. I served the cutlets with a nice green salad, homemade croutons made from stale cibatta and some sauteed bok choy. Cutlet recipe below.
Continue reading ‘pork cutlets’
Published by mel on July 12, 2007 in entree and recipe.
I can never make whatever it is that I had planned for dinner. It’s probably the reason that I went to Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods 5 times a week when I was living in New York. My excuse was that I couldn’t carry weekly groceries home in one trip. But I’m a liar. If I get a hankering for a meal, I just want to make it right away, even if it means an extra trip to the store for me (or my poor husband who humors me far too often).
Tuesday night I had homemade burgers and oven fries planned, but ended up with a sort of pasta and meat sauce instead. I happened to have a TON of mushrooms on hand of all sorts — portobello, shitake, oyster. I wanted to make a tomat0-based sauce that was earthy and rich, something that would stand up to the ground beef. First, I sauteed the mushrooms with some butter and red wine. Then I browned the meat and added fresh garlic and whole, peeled San Marzano tomatoes. In order to get that smoky flavor I was after, I added 2 bags of Lapsang Suchon tea. To add some kick, I also threw in about 2 teaspoons of New Mexico chile pepper powder. I only had Whole Wheat Lasagne, so I broke it into smaller pieces for the pasta. The result was a really hearty dinner that was much too heavy for a tropical summer, but was delicious anyway.
Recipe after the jump.
Continue reading ’spicy, smoky, beefy’
Published by mel on July 10, 2007 in dessert, entree and recipe.
I’ve never made lamb, and wasn’t really planning on it. Instead I was going to make a pizza as an appetizer with a big bowl of fettuccine for the entree. But then I passed the meat counter. It was early Saturday morning and these beautiful lamb chops caught my attention. I passed them once and then came back and stared. Menu changed, I asked the butcher to wrap some chops for me. Then i grabbed the last bunch of fresh mint and went merrily on my way.
After some quick research on epicurious.com about cooking times, I felt prepared to undertake the lamb. Since the chops were so pretty, I didn’t want to drown them in sauces or spices and opted for a nice, charring sear instead. The lamb came out beautifully and paired well with the minty, yogurt sauce I used to dress the pasta.
A big ole dinner is nothing without a big ole dessert. I had some peaches and nectarines that were slightly passed their prime, but perfect for making into a bubbling cobbler. Also, since I bought The Perfect Scoop, I’ve been trying out new ice cream recipes. This time, I went with plain vanilla so that I could make my cobbler a la mode. It turned out to be the best vanilla ice cream I’ve ever had, creamy white and studded with black vanilla seeds. Personally, I like vanilla much more than chocolate, especially when it’s made with real vanilla beans. I’m sure I’ll be making this ice cream a thousand times just to try different sauces and mix-ins.
Recipes after the jump.
Continue reading ’seduced by lamb’
Published by mel on June 28, 2007 in entree and recipe.
Ever since Ilan won last season’s Top Chef, I feel like Spanish food has become the trend to follow. For me, Spanish food isn’t new or different, I’ve grown up on it my entire life. My great-grandparents emigrated to Cuba from northern Spain and then made their way to Miami in the late 60’s. Croquettas, tortillas and paella have always been around my house. But, I’ve jumped on the bandwagon and tried to make a Spanish-influenced dish that isn’t an update or a replica, but one that uses Spanish flavors in a fresh way.
I came up with fideos, spicy chorizo and baby lima beans in a fire-roasted tomato broth. I used lots of smoked paprika to add to the earthiness and used the baby limas to lighten the dish up considerably. Recipe after the jump…
Continue reading ‘fideos con chorizo’
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