Ingredients:
6 strips bacon
2 white onions, sliced
2 green peppers, sliced
1 garlic clove. minced
1 can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 lb spaghetti
3 liters water
1 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup olives, chopped
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup parmesan, grated
1. Fry the bacon in a pot until all the grease has been rendered.
2. Set the bacon aside on paper towels to drain excess grease.
3. Fry the rings of onion, garlic and green pepper strips in the bacon grease.
4. Add tomato sauce, salt, pepper and the bacon, crumbled, to the sauce.
5. Cover pot and set heat to low.
6. Boil the pasta in the water, salt and olive oil for 10 minutes.
7. Strain the pasta and add it to the sauce.
8. Add the olives and sugar and mix well.
9. Cover and leave on low heat until you are ready to serve.
10. Serve hot with grated parmesan on top.
Makes 8 servings.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Brazilian Spaghettis?
Memorial Weekend is traditionally the official kick off of BBQ season. To my family’s dismay, I decided to make a pasta dish for their enjoyment. I had never heard of Spaguettis a la Brasilera and have no idea why it’s even called that, but I’m always looking to learn something new so if you know, then clue me in. What I can tell you is that these spaghettis (which were actually ziti because that’s what I had) were just so bad, so evil, so delectable. So good.
Recipe #224: Spaguettis a la Brasilera
Any recipe that starts off by asking you to make lots of bacon grease as your base for a sauce can’t be good. I was cooking for about a dozen of my family members so I had to double the original recipe. Frying up 12 strips of bacon in a pot creates a lot of grease. And smoke. And splatter. And, well, let’s just say my family was looking for any window and sliding glass door to open in order for us to get some fresh air. But not once did I hear them complain. They’d just swing by the frying and walk off with eyes wide open.
Once you’ve got your vat of grease ready and your bacon is set aside, it’s time to add the Cuban trilogy: garlic, onion, green pepper.
You add tomato sauce, salt, pepper and our good friend, the culprit of your smoked piggy smell for days and days – the crispy, crumbled up bacon.
As you boil the pasta, you leave the sauce on low heat. Once your pasta is ready, you strain it and you add it to the sauce. Once the pasta is in love with its new found friend, veggie bacon sauce, you add olives and sugar, just to top it off and make it the most absolutely amazing thing you’ve tasted.
Serve with freshly grated parmesan and a salad to keep your system from going into food coma.
Sit back and watch the faces on your guests. Heaven.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
76: Arroz Frito Especial / Special Fried Rice
Ingredients:
3 cups white rice
4 1/2 cups water
3 Tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger (fresh minced, or powdered)
1 pound smoked pork (boneless smoked pork chops that are pre-cooked)
6 eggs
3-4 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 bunches scallions
1/2 lb boiled shrimp
1/2 lb ham
1. Boil the water, add the rice and let it cook over low heat for 30 minutes (do not add salt).
2. Let the rice cool completely.
NOTE: I used previously made killer white rice that I had frozen and it worked great.
3. Beat the eggs and make an omlette.
4. Cut the omlette into cubes.
5. Cut the pork, ham and shrimp into cubes.
6. Chop the scallions, including the green parts.
7. Heat the olive oil and fry the garlic cloves until golden brown.
8. Remove the garlic cloves.
9. Add the white rice that has completely cooled to room temperature.
10. Stir often so the rice does not stick to the pot.
11. When the rice starts to heat through, add the cubes of egg, pork, ham and shrimp, along with the ginger.
12. Slowly add the soy sauce, a Tablespoon at a time until the rice is fully coated.
13. Add the scallions on top.
Makes 8 servings.
3 cups white rice
4 1/2 cups water
3 Tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger (fresh minced, or powdered)
1 pound smoked pork (boneless smoked pork chops that are pre-cooked)
6 eggs
3-4 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 bunches scallions
1/2 lb boiled shrimp
1/2 lb ham
1. Boil the water, add the rice and let it cook over low heat for 30 minutes (do not add salt).
2. Let the rice cool completely.
NOTE: I used previously made killer white rice that I had frozen and it worked great.
3. Beat the eggs and make an omlette.
4. Cut the omlette into cubes.
5. Cut the pork, ham and shrimp into cubes.
6. Chop the scallions, including the green parts.
7. Heat the olive oil and fry the garlic cloves until golden brown.
8. Remove the garlic cloves.
9. Add the white rice that has completely cooled to room temperature.
10. Stir often so the rice does not stick to the pot.
11. When the rice starts to heat through, add the cubes of egg, pork, ham and shrimp, along with the ginger.
12. Slowly add the soy sauce, a Tablespoon at a time until the rice is fully coated.
13. Add the scallions on top.
Makes 8 servings.
75: Arroz Frito / Fried Rice
Ingredients:
3 cups white rice
4 1/2 cups water
3 Tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger (fresh minced, or powdered)
1 pound smoked pork (boneless smoked pork chops that are pre-cooked)
6 eggs
3-4 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 bunches scallions
1. Boil the water, add the rice and let it cook over low heat for 30 minutes (do not add salt).
2. Let the rice cool completely.
NOTE: I used previously made killer white rice that I had frozen and it worked great.
3. Beat the eggs and make an omlette.
4. Cut the omlette into cubes.
5. Cut the pork into cubes.
6. Chop the scallions, including the green parts.
7. Heat the olive oil and fry the garlic cloves until golden brown.
8. Remove the garlic cloves.
9. Add the white rice that has completely cooled to room temperature.
10. Stir often so the rice does not stick to the pot.
11. When the rice starts to heat through, add the cubes of egg and pork, along with the ginger.
12. Slowly add the soy sauce, a Tablespoon at a time until the rice is fully coated.
13. Add the scallions on top.
Makes 8 servings.
3 cups white rice
4 1/2 cups water
3 Tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1/4 teaspoon ginger (fresh minced, or powdered)
1 pound smoked pork (boneless smoked pork chops that are pre-cooked)
6 eggs
3-4 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 bunches scallions
1. Boil the water, add the rice and let it cook over low heat for 30 minutes (do not add salt).
2. Let the rice cool completely.
NOTE: I used previously made killer white rice that I had frozen and it worked great.
3. Beat the eggs and make an omlette.
4. Cut the omlette into cubes.
5. Cut the pork into cubes.
6. Chop the scallions, including the green parts.
7. Heat the olive oil and fry the garlic cloves until golden brown.
8. Remove the garlic cloves.
9. Add the white rice that has completely cooled to room temperature.
10. Stir often so the rice does not stick to the pot.
11. When the rice starts to heat through, add the cubes of egg and pork, along with the ginger.
12. Slowly add the soy sauce, a Tablespoon at a time until the rice is fully coated.
13. Add the scallions on top.
Makes 8 servings.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Cuban Fried Rice
My son’s birthday was coming up and since I had ventured to make my daughter’s birthday cake and frosting, I knew I wanted to make a big Sunday dinner feast for my son. No cake this time, as I was going to order a Cookie Monster cake from Sweetness Bakeshop for my little cookie monster.
What better recipe than a Cuban favorite – Arroz Frito and Arroz Frito Especial. In case you’re wondering, it’s Fried Rice. Traditional Chinese fried rice. But, for some reason, it’s a staple in so many of our homes. It may be because us Cubans love arroz con cosas (rice with things) and you can always take care of leftovers by making a good arroz frito.
In reading the recipe again for this post, I realize that Nitza asks you to make white rice from scratch specifically for this recipe, but I had so much rice left over from the Killer Rice I made for my mother-in-law’s house on Mother’s Day that there was no way I was abandoning all that rice. I froze that leftover rice a few weeks back and knew I’d be using it for my little boy’s feast.
You prep all the ingredients – chop the meats into cubes (yay!), make the omlettes and chop that into cubes (yippee!) when they cool and chop the green onions.
Once that’s done, you fry up the white rice in hot oil that you infused with garlic (doubly for me, since my Killer Rice was already made that way) and when it’s fully heated through, you add in the chopped meats, omlette and some ginger. Then, you add in the soy sauce and mix it up well. When you’re done, you top it with the chopped green onion.
Homemade Chinese food!
Recipe #195: Arroz Frito Especial
I had to make two batches because I was expecting close to thirty blood relatives for our dinner. This second batch included cooked shrimp and ham, chopped into cubes. Done with another recipe.
My son had a blast on his second birthday. The Cookie Monster cake took the, well, you know, cake. And the family had a wonderful dinner. The ladies even had a chance to weigh in as I ventured to make some honey chicken on my own. Must remember to never do that again – rubbery, pale, faintly taste of honey chicken is more like it. Good thing I made enough rice.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
74: Albondigas a la Milanesa
Ingredients:
For the meatballs:
1 lb. ground beef (80/20)
1/2 lb ground pork
1/4 lb ground ham
1/4 lb Gouda cheese, grated
2 Tablespoons onion, finely chopped or put through food processor
1 garlic clove
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup ground cuban crackers (galleta molida)
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup oil
For the sauce:
1 onion, chopped
2 cans tomato sauce (small)
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1. Mix all the ingredients for the meatballs in a mixing bowl. Use your clean hands for best mixing.
2. Form each meatball into golf-sized balls and pass through flour as you make each one.
3. Gently place your meatballs into hot oil until all are browned on each side. Strain on plates with paper towels to soak up any excess oil.
4. In oil and fat left behind from frying the meatballs, fry your chopped onion to start the sauce.
5. Once the onion has softened, add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt, sugar, dry white wine, bay leaf and black pepper.
6. When sauce starts to boil, add the meatballs into the sauce and cook over low heat, covered, for 25 minutes.
7. Make your white rice or pasta while the meatballs cook in the sauce.
8. Serve hot over your rice or pasta.
Makes 8 servings.
For the meatballs:
1 lb. ground beef (80/20)
1/2 lb ground pork
1/4 lb ground ham
1/4 lb Gouda cheese, grated
2 Tablespoons onion, finely chopped or put through food processor
1 garlic clove
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup ground cuban crackers (galleta molida)
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup oil
For the sauce:
1 onion, chopped
2 cans tomato sauce (small)
1/2 cup tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1. Mix all the ingredients for the meatballs in a mixing bowl. Use your clean hands for best mixing.
2. Form each meatball into golf-sized balls and pass through flour as you make each one.
3. Gently place your meatballs into hot oil until all are browned on each side. Strain on plates with paper towels to soak up any excess oil.
4. In oil and fat left behind from frying the meatballs, fry your chopped onion to start the sauce.
5. Once the onion has softened, add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt, sugar, dry white wine, bay leaf and black pepper.
6. When sauce starts to boil, add the meatballs into the sauce and cook over low heat, covered, for 25 minutes.
7. Make your white rice or pasta while the meatballs cook in the sauce.
8. Serve hot over your rice or pasta.
Makes 8 servings.
Cuban Spaghetti & Meatballs
I’ve made Nitza’s albondigas (meatballs) before, but this time, we’re making it Milanese style. The difference between this version and her regular albondigas? The meat is a mix of beef, pork and ham instead of beef alone and in this version, you add queso Patagrás (Gouda cheese). This Milanese version also omits green peppers, which the original albondigas have, so I’d venture to say that this is more of an Italian throw on the meatball.
Recipe #59: Albondigas a la Milanesa
You go through the pretty basic moves to get golf-ball sized, juicy meatballs:
Roll the meat into bolitas (little balls).
Fry them in hot oil and take them out when browned on all sides.
In the fat that’s left behind, fry up your onion.
Add your tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt, sugar, dry white wine, bay leaf and pepper.
When the sauce starts to boil, dunk in the meatballs and let them cook in the sauce, over low heat for about 25 minutes, while you cook your pasta or rice.
We went traditional Italian for our Cuban dish and did Spaghetti and Meatballs. My kids ate it. My kids ate it.
My kids ate it!
Success with the little ones in this Nitza dish.