Jun 16, 2010 | Main Dishes, Recipes, Uncategorized
I went a little crazy with the manicotti yesterday. I made two huge pans- one cheese and one turkey & cheese. Luckily I had enough to have some wonderful friends over today for lunch and swimming!
Manicotti
2 pkgs of manicotti noodles (cook until ALMOST done, drain and cool)
1 large container of ricotta cheese
1 lb. of ground turkey
1/2 onion chopped finely
herbs to taste (I used fresh oregano, nutmeg, and basil)
Mozzarella cheese (grated)
Any other cheese that you would like to get out of your fridge (I used goat cheese and some provelone also)
Tomato sauce of your choice (or homemade)
- Cook onion in skillet, when glazy add ground turkey (or beef or sausage) and basil and oregano. Add red wine if you have some (I didn’t and used some balsamic vinegar.) Brown and set aside.
- While meat is browning mix ricotta cheese, egg, nutmeg, and other cheeses (saving some mozzarella for top. This will be your filling if you want cheese only. If you want to add the meat mix it to this cheese mixture when it’s browned.
- In a large casserole dish pour some tomato sauce to cover bottom of pan.
- Take one manicotti noodle in your hand and stuff with cheese or cheese/meat mixture. (I use a large icing bag without the tip to fill mine.) Lay in pan.
- Continue to fill until they are all filled and lay in pan.
- Cover with a little tomato sauce and then top with mozzarella cheese.
- Bake at about 350 degrees until melty and bubbly!
Jun 3, 2010 | Panameña, Recipes, Sweets, Uncategorized
My daughter had a Spanish final project to do and decided to do a presentation on flan.
She did the project by researching the history of flan (which was very interesting believe it or not) and then making a traditional flan and making a power point presentation on it all. I think she did a great job.
Her finished project (not quite cooled so it looks a little lumpy)
Here is the recipe she used from Cocine A Gusto, a great cookbook I picked up when mom lived in Puerto Rico. It’s published by the University of Puerto Rico, but is actually a really old cookbook originally- I think the first publishing date is in the 1950’s. (That made for interesting Spanish cooking terms.)
The recipe: (translated for your pleasure)
Flan
6 eggs
3/4 cup of sugar
3 cups milk
1/2 teaspoons of salt
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla (we used 2)
For the Caramel-
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons of water
Beat the eggs enough to mix the yolks and whites. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir. Prepare the caramel and pour a little in the bottom of each of the molds or ramekins. Fill the molds and place in a pan with some hot water (water bath or bain marie.) Cook in the oven (not preheated) at about 350 for one hour.
Makes 8 flans.
Making the caramel (cook the sugar in a pan stir until it browns and bubbles)
Filling the Ramekins
Jun 2, 2010 | Recipes, Sweets, Uncategorized
My little guy wanted chocolate pie for lunch, and of course I wouldn’t buy him a piece. To console him (yeah, he gets worked up over food like his mama) I promised we’d make a chocolate pie together for dessert tonight and he could be the taste-tester. (It worked.)
I’d made apple pie last week for a neighbor and made extra crusts and froze them so we had a crust ready.
We baked the crust- I failed to put beans or such in to keep it from rising so it shrank and puffed a bit, but oh well.
Then he helped me make Chocolate Pudding for the filling.
Chocolate Cream Pie
Filling
3/4 c sugar
1/4 c cornstarch
3 c milk (I use whole organic)
4 ozs of unsweetened dark chocolate, chopped up (I used Ghiardelli)
4 egg yolks, beaten lightly
2 Tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons (good) vanilla
In saucepan on medium high heat whisk together first ingredients quickly.
Add chocolate.
Stir and cook until it boils and thickens. Then once this happens boil 2 minutes more and then remove one cup of to the bowl with the beaten egg yolks. Mix with a whisk or fork and add back to the saucepan with the rest. Boil 2 more minutes, add butter and vanilla, and take off heat. Pour into buttered ramekins or dishes (or in this case put in fridge to cool.)
The messy pan after we filled the pie (lots left! Yum!)
While this cooled I made my whipped cream (1 pint of cream, some powdered sugar, some vanilla)
When the pudding is cooled off spoon into the cooled pie crust, then top with the whipped cream and chocolate shavings if you desire! YUM!
May 8, 2010 | Panameña, Recipes
My Abuelita and Fidelia Hernandez (Panamá)
Chicas are homemade drinks in Panama. In Mexico they call them “aguas frescas” I think, every country has their own versions and names for these yummy beverages.
Arroz con piña is my favorite. It is a frothy, yummy, sweet, drink that instantly brings back memories of shopping on Avenida Central with my mom and Meme (mi abuelita.) They would have big jugs of this for sale in little stores and it tasted so good when you were hot and sweaty from shopping with two shopaholics all morning! I learned how to make this by watching one of our babysitters, Delia. She was a wonderful cook and an even better person!
Recipe for Chicha de Arroz y Piña
1. First cut top and bottom off of pineapple (piña.)
2. Continue by cutting rind off. (Do not throw away!)
3. Cut into quarters. Then cut down edge to get rid of center core. (SAVE.)
4. This is what you will have. A bowl of the cut up fruit, a top piece (to plant,) and a pot with all the end pieces, core, seedy pieces etc.
5. Cover the scraps in the pot with water. Add about 1-2 cups of rice, cinnamon to taste (or cinnamon sticks,) a little dash of cloves, sugar to taste (I like raw or turbinado about a cup,) and boil until the rinds are soft and rice is done. You can substitute the sugar with a can of condensed milk at the end if you like that taste, but I was trying to keep it lower calorie and this tastes as good. When it’s done take out scraps and toss them in your compost. Put what’s left in the blender and puree. Then pour into a pitcher over some ice to cool. To serve I like to get a glass of ice, pour glass about half full of milk, then the rest with the chicha.
Sprinkle with cinnamon.
You can add vanilla if you like and more pineapple juice if you like.
(Also, if you didn’t add sugar you can add the condensed milk to the pitcher and add a bit more water.)
Apr 23, 2010 | Recipes, Sweets
The kids wanted those stupid Molten Lava Cakes that they get when we go out to eat sometimes. I told them we’d make them tonight. So easy!
I used Paula Deen’s recipe here. (Thank you Paula and the Food Network!)
Talk about bad for ya! Don’t think this on is on “Lose It.” I won’t be able to eat anything tomorrow!
Molten Lava Cakes
(Makes 6)
Ingredients:
- 6 (1-ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate
- 2 (1-ounce) squares semisweet chocolate
*I didn’t have bittersweet chocolate, so I used chocolate chips and some unsweetened dark chocolate to equal 8 ounces.
- 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 stick) butter
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 3 egg yolks
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons orange liqueur (*I was out so I used good rum instead.)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Grease 6 (6-ounce) custard cups. Melt the chocolates and butter in the microwave, or in a double boiler. Add the flour and sugar to chocolate mixture. Stir in the eggs and yolks until smooth. Stir in the vanilla and orange liqueur. Divide the batter evenly among the custard cups. Place in the oven and bake for 14 minutes. The edges should be firm but the center will be runny. Run a knife around the edges to loosen and invert onto dessert plates.
Apr 18, 2010 | Recipes, Sides & Salads
I LOVE the beet salad at Ya-Ya’s, a restaurant my honey and I go occasionally, usually sans kiddos. The last time we were there I thought, “This has got to be the easiest salad on earth to make, why don’t I ever make it?”
So tonight:
Beet Salad
- Spring Mix of lettuces and arugula (whatever greens you have)
- Goat cheese, queso fresco, or feta (I’m using chevre)
- Some pickled beets (The recipe I found online used roasted beets, but I don’t have any so I used the pickled.)
- Slivered almonds (roast til light golden brown)
- Section or slice an orange (or tangerine, or clementine…)
- chopped green onions or sliced red onion
For the dressing I took:
- Juice of one orange
- Juice of two lemons
- 2 Tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
- 4 Tablespoons olive oil (more or less)
- Salt and pepper
- fresh parsley
*Mix the dressing with a whisk and chill.
I tossed the greens and almonds with some dressing (yes, I used too much- will know better next time.) Then I finished it with the beets, cheese, and oranges.
It was almost exactly like the restaurant! (Much cheaper!)
Salad with Yummy Cornbread Hits the Spot on a Spring Night!
