Midweek Food Musings: From Salmon Ceviche to Salmon Taco!

Ceviche and tacos de pescado (fish tacos) are two of my favorite things... so why not combine them?

Let me explain! Since I made salmon ceviche yesterday but, as sometimes happens, I couldn't finish all of it. What did I do? Well, since I also made mango salsa yesterday, and had  my favorite, locally-made corn tortillas on hand, and since I was craving something warm and toasty on the outside...smooth and tasty on the inside, I took the logical next step: I toasted my tortilla and made my ceviche into a taco filling! (Fabuloso...by the way!)

And this reminded me. I've written about leftover food before, but sometimes we all need a reminder. Leftovers can be so cleverly reinvented...and "new" the second time around. Adding fresh vegetables, herbs, and condiments in one form or another can make all the difference.

Several years ago, I had the privilege of working on a Katharine Hepburn project. One of her rules, as far as leftovers, was that they had to be reinvented (she was a very thrifty woman and didn't want to toss remaining food...but didn't want to be bored, either!). So, I guess you could say I like living the Katharine Hepburn credo!

This idea, recreating something in a different way, is a great way of not only not wasting food (which, unfortunately many of us do all too often) but also being creative. In fact, they present a kind of fun challenge.  In fact, right now I've got the following in my fridge: sliced pork chops, gallo pinto, mango salsa. I will be combining them for my parents' dinner tonight. I'll let you know how it goes...and would love to hear about your reinventions!

Sunday Dinners: Spinach and Tomato Sauce

Yesterday I decided (with help!) to do the dinner as opposed to the brunch thing. (Well, next Sunday I'm making a big brunch for my mom's 80th birthday, and needed yesterday daytime to get some work done...and, okay, work out and more!)

One of the things that came up on Friday morning (ah--I was making mojitos at dawn at Telemundo, which I hope you'll check out and try! Here's the recipe in English!) and on Friday afternoon (where I was giving a conference to teachers on the subject of teaching reluctant writers to write!), was that many people feel that they CAN'T cook. My usual line is: Can you read? Then you can cook!
But I do get that just as in the case of writing, people feel intimidated by the process. My message is this: you can make simple and fabulous dishes to start, and then build from there (IF you want to!).
So, my friends, here I share with you a simple yet fabulous concoction!

How did I come up with Sunday's menu? Well, I knew that my parents had eaten steak the night before (my dad is a huge steak fan!) and so I wanted to do something a bit lighter. I was thinking chicken...using some of my oranges and maybe my gorgeous blood orange marmalade, and then maybe some pasta and more.

So, after inventory, I found that I had a lovely bunch of tomatoes and some baby spinach that needed to be used right away, and so began my inspiration for this sauce! (The recipe is below, after our hat shots!)

Here was the menu:

Green leafy Salad with Kumkwats and a Light Orange-Balsamic Vinaigrette
Snow Peas, Tomatoes, Onions and Pancetta
Broccoli Sautéed in Olive Oil and Garlic
Pasta with a Tomato-Spinach Sauce
Baked Chicken with a Light White Wine, Blood Orange Marmalade, and Blood Orange-Sauce

As you can see, it was a colorful meal and, well, lots of green (to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day!) as always...

Susan--the giver of the hats--and Norrie, dressed in their finest St. Patrick's greenery!

And after eating, we celebrated by donning our new hats, thanks to Susan!

Norrie and Mom! 

Two Grandpas in Berets! 

With Mom and Dad--Showing of our Berets!

Sunday Meals: Coconut Pancakes, Lemon-Ginger Champagne Cocktails, and more!

Well, the Sunday bunch thing is working well! It gets my parents out of the house (!), and it gets me thinking about fun foods to serve (such a different "mood" than dinner) and playing with what will be my restaurant brunch menu!

Sunday's brunch was no exception! This week I made coconut pancakes (made with coconut flour, coconut milk, and toasted coconut!), scrambled eggs with corn, tomatoes, and cilantro, fresh strawberries and blueberries (with and without whipped cream), banana bread, and lemon-ginger champagne cocktails! The result? Happy people all around!

Brunch Plated! 

So my friends, first I apologize for only one post last week on this blog! I may be leaning that way--as the restaurant plans get bigger (closer! yay!) and time gets sucked away. Still, please know that I post every Friday on my LoHud blog, Latin Twist.

Okay, so here I'm sharing my scrambled egg secrets! If you're a purist, this may not be for you...though I do encourage you to try playing around with your eggs (YES! Play with your food!); the sky's the limit! I use butter here (I love butter...), but you could use an alternate oil. Also, I've been heating my plates. Because I'm serving everyone (thanks, to all my lovely friends/family and especially to YOU Miss Norrie for help with this!), I don't want the food to cool off too quickly...so the plates are warm, but not crazy hot (to burn or heat up the fruit!). 

Scrambled Eggs with Onion, Tomato, Roasted Corn, and Cilantro

Serves 12 to 15

Butter

1 bag frozen organic corn kernels (16 ounces) 

1 red onion, diced 

1 1/2 cup of or your favorite small red tomatoes, diced 

2 dozen eggs

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cilantro (or flat-leaf parsley) to taste

Heat butter in a sauté pan and sauté the corn, letting it brown before stirring, until nicely golden. Add the onions let soften, stirring frequently (a couple of minutes). Add the tomatoes and cook until well blended, about 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. 

Mix the eggs in a large bowl until frothy. Add the vegetable mixture to the egg mixture. Heat a large sauté pan (or two smaller pans) and add some butter or oil. Once hot, add the eggs. Cook, stirring frequently (burnt eggs are the worst!) until done (I like them not too dry, but not too loose, either!). Add salt and pepper, your cilantro or parsley, stir well, and serve. 

Sunday Meals: Southwestern-Style Brunch!

When I started writing this blog last year, Sunday dinners were my "big" family meal. Lately I've moved to brunch; it's easier for my almost 80 and almost 90 year-old parents, and, well, it's kind of nice to focus on a different meal. Like dinner, the possibilities are endless!

So this Sunday I went for a Southwestern theme: chili con carne (with fresh sour cream, cheese, and cilantro toppings), fresh-roasted tortillas, guacamole, scrambled eggs, toasted Italian bread slices, cheese (Dubliners and a very interesting gouda with pesto), jams (blood orange and mango-key lime), mixed grapes, and a salad (mixed greens, clementines and fresh tomatoes) with orange balsamic vinegar and basil oil. And to finish, dessert:  fresh blueberries, strawberries and blackberries—and brownies! The fans liked it! (Now I did make another dessert last week which would have been lovely with this meal: Peruvian-style Flan (crema volteada), which I wrote about on Friday in my Latin Twist Column!) 

Scrambled Eggs & Chili + Toppings 

Brownies, Fresh Fruit Medley, Clementines and a Pineapple

The recipe I'm going to share with you today is for the chili. This was a super-fast one. I had 2 pounds of chopped beef, and 2 cans of white kidney beans...so, well, I put 'em together! 

White bean and Beef Chili 

Serves 6 to 8 

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium-size red onion
Red wine
2 pounds ground beef 
1 small can tomato paste
1 teaspoon chile powder 
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional) 
Salt and pepper 
2 cans (15 ounces each) white kidney (or your favorite!) beans (Of course if  you have the time to soak and cook dried beans, that's always best!) 
1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (optional...I didn't add this because my parents would have liked it!) Fresh cilantro leaves, chopped 
Shredded cheeses (cheddar, Monterey Jack, or a combination!) 
Sour cream 

In a large sauté pan (or stock pot), heat the olive oil. Add the onion and sauté, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes or until transparent. Add a splash or two of red wine and let it absorb into the onions. Then add the ground beef, tomato paste, and cook, stirring frequently. Add the spices. Once the meat is cooked, add the white beans (and jalapeño, if using). Simmer for about 15 minutes. Taste and correct seasoning.  Garnish with cilantro, and serve with additional bowls (for self serving!) of cilantro, shredded cheese, and sour cream. (People seemed to prefer putting the chili in the tortillas!) 

Midweek Food Musings: Pork Chops with Mango, Blood Orange, Onion, and Grainy Mustard Sauce

Many of you know that in my "other" life, I'm an ESL nerd (English as a Second Language!), and that I do workshops/presentations--and even write books on the topic! Well, one of my ESL specialties is writing which, my students have heard me say a bazillion times, is not unlike cooking.

Stay with me here!

So, when I talk to teachers, and try to help them to help their students conquer this oh-so-difficult task of generating ideas, organizing them, and then putting them forth in a piece of writing, I often talk about  the "scaffolding" of steps.

Still with me? If so, you can probably see where I'm going: the scaffolding of ideas/steps in writing could be compared with those in creating a dish. And so, my friends, the sauce for the dish I am sharing here was born.

Dinner of Roasted Pork Chops topped with a Mango-Blood-Orange-Mustard Sauce, Baby Spinach and Tomato Salad, Gallo Pinto, and Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Many of you also know that blood orange has been on my mind! I used it in creating the Caribbean Cosmopolitan I shared on Latin Twist, and on Telemundo before that! Well, my love affair continues...After being enhanced by tasting blood orange marmalade (check out the  marmalades here!), my playing with this fruit continues! 

Here I'm not sharing a recipe, but rather some ingredients that you can combine for a sauce, according to your liking, and to what you'll serve it with! So here they are:

Red onions 

White wine

Mango nectar

Blood orange juice

Whole grain mustard

Salt and pepper

Cilantro (or, if you're not a cilantro fan, flat leaf parsley)

The only thing I would tell you is that you should scaffold: sauté the onions in olive oil and then, once, they start to soften, add the white wine. After that's absorbed, add the mango and orange juices (and let thicken), and then add the mustard....and then salt and pepper. And finally, finish with the cilantro. Serve on top of grilled or roasted meats, fish, chops, or roasted turnips/potatoes....the list goes on! 

Sunday Dinners: Peruvian Peppered Chicken (Ají de Gallina)--and The Comfort Food Thing!

Maybe it's the season, or maybe it's the fact that life has just starting going so quickly that it's hard to keep up. But, whatever the reason, it seems that comfort foods are what I crave these days. Throw in my last week's Peruvian-themed lunch and subsequent post for Latin Twist, and the result is my yen for  Peruvian comfort food. And that brings me to today's recipe: Ají de Gallina.

It was definitely in Peru where I first tried this dish; I was staying at my friend Cynthia's and I remember that—like so many other first-time flavors I was sampling—this was really tasty. But the big difference with this one was that there was that additional comfort element! (Could be because of the Saltine-thickened sauce?! Which, by the way, is always under debate: many people will tell you you must use bread instead of Saltines!)

 I first documented the recipe when I was working on Viva la Vida with Chef Rafael Palomino (ah, way back in 2002!).  Since then, I've made it on several occasions, and always with great results (happy customers!).

This home-style Peruvian dish is quite different from many others that hail from there; it's a chicken/rice based dish, topped with a creamy pepper sauce (that can be turned up or down!). Hearty, warm, and cozy, this dish is perfect on chilly days, and perfect for larger crowds (simply double amounts!).  ¡Buen provecho! Enjoy!

Peruvian Pepper Chicken—Ají de Gallina

Adapted from Viva la Vida, by Rafael Palomino and Arlen Gargagliano ©2002

Serves 6

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, preferably free range

Kosher salt

1 ají mirasol, a teaspoon of ají amarillo (sold in jars in Latin American markets) or one guajillo, Mexican dried chile , or ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (adjust according to your liking!)

1 twelve-ounce can of evaporated milk

1 package (check ounces) of saltines, crumbled into small pieces

6 ounces of Queso Tropical (white cheese sold in Latin American markets) or  mild  feta cheese, crumbled or cut into small chunks

1 teaspoon canola oil

1/2 red onion, finely diced

1/2 teaspoon turmeric (or Peruvian palillo, sold in Latin American markets)

Peruvian or Kalamata olives and cilantro leaves for garnish

In a medium-size saucepan (large enough to fit the chicken and plenty of water) with about 4 to 6 cups of water and one teaspoon of salt, simmer the chicken breasts over medium heat until they’re cooked through (about 20 minutes). Remove the chicken from the water, but don’t discard the water (you will use it).  When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it, using your hands, into thin 1/4 to 1/2- inch long pieces. Set aside.

In a blender or food processor, combine the ají, evaporated milk, saltines and cheese and mix until puréed. Set aside.

In  a medium-saucepan, heat the canola oil over a medium flame.  Add the onion and turmeric and stir. When the onions soften (about 3 minutes), add the creamed mixture from the blender and stir. Turn the flame to low. Stir in  the chicken, followed by about two cups of the caldo, or water that you cooked the chicken in. The mixture will be quite soupy at first, but it will thicken after a while. Stir frequently, and add more caldo as needed. After between 8 and 10 minutes, the mixture will start to thicken. Turn off the heat and taste. Correct seasoning, and serve with plenty of white rice, topped with several Peruvian olives.  

Wednesday Food Musings: Banana Bread...Still Loving It~!

It's funny but when I mention banana bread, it seems like everyone has their own tale about it!

For me, banana bread is one of those things that conjures up memories of my childhood...and it's a definitely a comfort food and perfect for breakfast/brunch, or an afternoon treat along with a nice café con leche!  My mom—who still loves hers toasted with cream cheese—made banana bread regularly, for years. In fact, my first versions were just like hers. But in recent years, I've changed it up a bit. Purists (!) may object, but I now have Kahlúah, toasted pecans, and raisins in the mix... However you make it, the key is using very ripe bananas (and, of course, you don't want the bread to be dry!). Hope you'll try—and enjoy—this interpretation!

Arlen's Banana Bread

Makes one loaf

1 cup Turbinado sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 large eggs

4 very ripe bananas

½ cup raisins (optional)

½ cup chopped pecans

1 tablespoon Kahlúa

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

Cream the sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl, mash the bananas with a fork. Mix in the Kahlúa, vanilla, cinnamon, raisins, and pecans.

In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add the banana mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and stir until combined. Add dry ingredients, mixing just until the flour disappears.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan, invert onto rack and cool completely before slicing.