Cuban Feast!

I was inspired to make Cuban cuisine after my husband reminded me of Cuban sandwiches. I will be the first one to admit that I did get a bit carried away with the meal. In the end, it was worth it and delicious! Can't wait for the Cuban sandwiches tomorrow. I have enough salad dressing for a side salad too!

From left to right: Mixed salad greens with Cuban vinaigrette, mojito dipping sauce, brown rice and beans, roasted pork, fried plantains, and tostones.

Marinated Pork (I added 1 teaspoon of ground cumin to marinade)
Rice (I used brown rice)
Black Beans
Salad Dressing (I used lime juice instead of the vinegar)

I didn't use a recipe for the plantain dishes. This is what I did:

Fried plantains
Cut 1 green plantain into rounds and then halves. Fry over medium heat in a light oil. Once fried, toss with 2 cloves fine chopped garlic, 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and pinch of salt).

Tostones (twice fried ripe plantains).
Cut 1 ripe plantain into rounds. Fry over medium heat in a light oil until light golden. Once fried, let round cool. Smash the cooled fried rounds with the bottom of a plate, or large mug. Fry the plantain once again until golden brown. Once you remove the plantain from the oil, sprinkle 1 teaspoon raw sugar and a pinch of salt.

***Update***

I made Cuban sandwiches the next day with the leftovers.
My husband suggested we dip them in the leftover dipping sauce. Score!

Pork Chops with Apple Cider Dijon Reduction

Something sweet and spicy. These pork chops pair well with mashed potatoes, and garlic-green beans. I can also picture this in a sandwich with Swiss cheese, spinach, grilled onions, green and red pepper and a mayo made with the remaining glaze ...


Pork Chops with Apple Cider Dijon Reduction (4 servings)

What you Need

2 pounds bone-in pork loin chops, about ½ inch think (I like Niman Ranch)
1 cup unsweetened apple juice
4 tbs honey
4 tbs Dijon mustard
½ tsp red pepper flakes

What to Do

Mix everything except the chops in a sauce pan. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then let simmer until reduced to half. Once done (when you can coat the back of a spoon with it), let it cool. Fire up a grill to med-high (or indoor grill), and grill the pork until done brushing half of the glaze on the chops while cooking. Cook until a thermometer reads about 145°F to 150°F, take off heat source and let rest for 5 mins. Serve the remaining glaze on the side.

Whole Wheat Strawberry Tart with Vanilla-Lemon Creme Fraiche

I was invited to a gathering and decided to create this dish for someone who is diabetic. My goal was to make a tasty sweet without traditional sugar, using coconut sugar as a substitute (GL of approx. 35), using wheat flour instead of white, and using tapioca starch instead of corn starch.

Whole Wheat Strawberry Tart With Vanilla-Lemon Creme Fraiche
(Makes an 11 inch tart)

Whole-Wheat Tart Shell

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (210 grams) Whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) salt
2 tablespoon (25 grams) coconut sugar
Half of a scraped vanilla bean
1 teaspoon lavender thyme or lemon thyme (can be omitted)
1/2 cup (1 stick) (113 grams) unsalted butter, chilled, and cut into 1 inch (2.54 cm) pieces
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 - 2 tablespoons ice water

In your food processor, place the wheat pastry flour, salt, and coconut sugar and process until combined. Add the butter and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal (about 15 seconds). In a small bowl, whisk the egg and vanilla. Then gradually pour in a steady stream, with the motor running, through the feed tube until the pastry just holds together when pinched. Add water, if necessary. Do not process more than about 30 seconds.

Transfer the pastry to an 11 inch (28 cm) fluted tart pan, and press evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Cover and refrigerate for approximately 20 minutes to chill the butter and allow gluten to rest.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line unbaked pastry shell with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Fill tart pan with pie weights, rice or beans, making sure the weights are to the top of the pan and evenly distributed over the entire surface. Bake crust for 20 to 25 minutes until crust is dry and lightly golden brown. Remove weights and cool crust on wire rack before filling.

Strawberry Filling

Ingredients

1 quart and 1 pint of fresh strawberries
¾ cup coconut sugar (or less to taste)
3 tablespoons tapioca starch
¾ cup water
1. Arrange a little more than half of strawberries in baked tart shell. Mash remaining berries and combine with coconut sugar in a medium saucepan. Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together tapioca starch and water. Gradually stir tapioca starch mixture into boiling strawberry mixture. Reduce heat and simmer mixture until thickened, about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour mixture over berries in pastry shell. Chill for several hours before serving. Serve each slice of pie with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla lemon crème fraiche.

Vanilla Lemon Crème Fraiche

Ingredients
One small container of crème fraiche
Half of a scraped vanilla bean
Half zest of one Meyer lemon

Mix ingredients together, let chill overnight. Spoon over tart.

Chipotle n' Chicken Chowder

Long time no post, due to a lack of camera and a busy schedule. Here goes ...

I've made this chowder several times during the past few years and it's become a favorite. The chipotle adds a little heat but not too much, adding flavor more than anything else (if you want more heat .. add more chipotle!). Do try this recipe!

You may omit the chicken altogether, use vegetable broth to make it vegetarian. Tofu as a replacement would also be delightful. A nice crusty french bread would pair well with this dish.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 chipotle chile minced(canned in adobo sauce) and 1 teaspoon of the adobo sauce
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
6 garlic cloves, crushed
Salt and pepper to season (depends on broth purchased; salted versus non-salted)

6 cups chicken broth
3 cups shredded cooked chicken
2 medium red potatoes (about 12 ounces), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup whipping cream (optional)

8 lime wedges
1 Avocado, cut into cubes
1/4 cup sour cream (optional)

What to do:

Place oil in a large heated Dutch oven over medium-heat. Add chopped chile, adobo sauce, onion, carrot, celery, cumin, herbs de Provence, and garlic. Add salt and pepper to season. Cook mixture for approximately 7 minutes or until onion is tender, stir frequently. Next, add broth and bring to a boil. Once a boil is reached, turn the heat down to low-medium, heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Once vegetables are fork tender, remove the pan from heat and let it stand 5 minutes. Place mixture in a blender in several small batches and process until smooth. Return pureed broth mixture to pan. Add potatoes and chicken and bring the chowder to a simmer over medium heat. Let cook, uncovered, at low-medium heat 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Add cilantro (and cream if you are adding it)and simmer 5 minutes. Top with a tablespoon of sour cream, cubed avocado, and fresh cilantro for garnish. Serve with lime wedges.

You could also add a few fine chopped tomato bits to add color.

Hi Hat Cupcakes

I made these cupcakes once before for a night of fun and games. This past weekend a friend of my husband and I came to town and I knew this was the perfect occasion to make them again. These are not the type of cupcakes you make on a whim, but for special occasions they are wonderful.

As a guide and recipe for the 'frosting' I used a recipe from one of my cookbooks, Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans. For the cupcake base I used a recipe I've tried and loved from Magnolia's Bakery. The Magnolia recipe makes enough for 24 cupcakes and for about 72 mini cupcakes. There will be more cupcakes than the frosting can cover ... I made a peanut butter frosting to top off the rest which resulted in two distinct cupcakes. I also added a split vanilla bean to both recipes for a bit more flavor, but this is optional.

Cherry-Pear Nut Bread Pudding

Long time no post, and part of the reason for this is that our camera broke. So I've been trying to taking pictures blindly as the "lens" is cracked. Please excuse the lack of photos.

And on to the food ...

My husband and I enjoyed lasagna last night and I happen to have some french bread leftover. Not wanting to be wasteful, I thought I should make a bread pudding. One of our friends had been on the other side of the pond lately and if I remember correctly, she had a fantastic looking bread pudding with a whiskey sauce. I didn't have any whiskey, so I had to think something else up. I could have made a basic recipe, nothing but custard and bread, but when I looked around, we had a beautiful organic pear, some cherries (use some frozen if you would like), and some walnuts. Hmmm ... sounds yummy. However, after the bread pudding was in the oven, I decided that something was missing. Taking another look, I found some cream ... more eggs ... and ahhh ... Creme Anglaise would do!


Cherry-Pear Nut Bread Pudding

4 Servings

Ingredients:

4 cups Cubed French Bread (stale is best, dry bread in a 350 degree oven if not stale. Do not brown)
1 medium sized pear, pealed and cut into cubes
1/2 cup pitted cut cherries
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
2 Eggs
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar
2 cups Milk
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract (optional)
1 tsp. Cinnamon
Pinch of Salt
Butter for Baking Dish

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350°F

Butter baking dish (8x8 pan or deep pie dish works well)

Whisk together milk and eggs. Add sugar, salt, and spices and whisk well.

Add bread and fruit and nuts (if used) gently turning over with a spoon until the bread is completely and evenly penetrated with the milk.

Pour bread pudding into prepared dish, and bake for 1 hour or until the custard has taken. Serve bread pudding right out of the oven, or if you have patience wait until warm. Serve as is, or with Raspberry Coulis and/or Creme Anglaise. A simple Creme Anglaise and it was divine!

Chicken-Bean Spinach Stew

Yum! I love this recipe so much, it's one of those that I will keep making for years to come. You can omit the bacon if you want, but it doesn't add too many calories because it is a small amount and the flavour is wonderful!

Serves 3 very hungry people, or 4 with a side salad.

Ingredients ....

3-4 roma tomatoes (depending on servings, one for each person)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 chicken breasts
2 carrots, sliced
2 stalks of celery, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 slice of thick bacon (or two depending on taste)
1 15 oz can drained and rinsed white beans(navy)
2 - 3 cups vegetable or chicken both
2 cups spinach
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon herbes de province (optional)
salt and pepper to taste


What to do ...

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Cut tomatoes in half, season with salt and pepper and drizzle olive oil on them. Bake for about 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a medium pan and add bacon. Cook bacon until ready, chop and set aside.

Add chopped onions, celery, and carrots to the pan with bacon grease, which shouldn't be too much if you use a good quality bacon which should just coat the pan. Let cook for 4-5 minutes, and set aside for later.

If the pan needs a little oil, add some olive oil to coat, now add the chicken breast. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and herbs de provence, repeat when you flip and cook until done. Place the chicken out of the pan and let rest, then slice into mouth-sized pieces.

Place spinach and garlic in the pan, cook until the spinach is wilted. When the spinach and garlic are ready, add beans, vegetables, chopped chicken, and chopped bacon, cover with broth. Bring to simmering for about 5-7 minutes and season to taste. When spooning into bowls, place two baked Roma tomato halves in each bowl.



Serve and enjoy!