Ropa Vieja

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck stew meat
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 14-ounce can whole tomatoes
• 2 carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large onion, halved and sliced
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 cloves garlic; 2 crushed, 2 minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 1 red or yellow bell pepper, sliced
• 1/2 cup halved pimiento-stuffed Spanish olives
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley  (I used Cilantro)
• Crusty bread, for serving (optional)

Pat the meat dry, then season all over with the oregano, cumin and a generous amount of salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a 6-quart pressure cooker over medium-high heat. Add the meat and sear on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, carrots, onion, tomato paste, crushed garlic, bay leaf and 1 1/4 cups water. Lock the lid in place, increase the heat to high and bring the cooker to high pressure. Lower the heat to maintain high pressure and cook 18 minutes. Remove from the heat and use the quick-release valve to bring down the pressure according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the bell peppers, season with salt and pepper and cook until soft, about 10 minutes.

Carefully remove the pressure-cooker lid. Discard the bay leaf, then transfer the meat mixture to a bowl and shred the meat into thin rope-like pieces with a fork. Add the peppers, olives, parsley and minced garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with bread, if desired.

Recipe

Homemade Three-Cheese Ravioli

 

• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 Tablespoons fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon of salt, divided
• 1 recipe Pasta dough
• Water

 

1. In a bowl, combine ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, eggs, thyme and 1/2 teaspoon salt, mix well. Set aside. Fill a stock pot with water and bring to a boil on the stove. 
2. Meanwhile, working with a small portion of dough at a time (such as one-quarter of the dough recipe), roll pasta dough into a thin sheet, about 5 to 6 inches wide, according to your pasta maker’s instructions. Lay a piece of dough lengthwise on a floured work surface. Place teaspoon-sized dollops of dough about 2 inches apart in the center of the bottom half of the dough. Use your finger to moisten the area around each dollop of filling, then fold the top half of the dough over the filling to meet the other edge. Press down around each dollop of filling, making sure to press out any air bubbles. 
3. With a sharp knife, a pasta cutter or a small pizza cutter, cut each ravioli apart by making a cut halfway between each portion of filling, as well as trimming the bottom edge of the pasta. Place ravioli on a parchment-lined sheet pan and repeat with the remaining pasta dough and filling. At this point, pasta can be refrigerated, covered with plastic wrap, for up to a day. 
4. To cook pasta, add 1 tablespoon salt to a stockpot of boiling water. Drop ravioli into boiling water. Cook in boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes (pasta will float to the surface). Serve with the sauce or topping of your choice, such as Chanterelle, Sun-Dried Tomato and Kalamata Olive Sauce.

Recipe

Fried Mozzarella

 

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 1/2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 quart oil for deep-frying
• 1 (16 ounce) package mozzarella cheese sticks ( I used fresh Mozzarella ball and cut into strips)

1. In a small bowl, mix the eggs and garlic salt.
2. Mix the bread crumbs in a medium bowl. In a medium bowl.
3. In a large heavy saucepan, heat the oil to 365 degrees F (185 degrees C).
4. One at a time, coat each mozzarella stick in the egg mixture, then in the bread crumbs and finally into the oil. Fry until golden brown, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and drain on paper towels. (I served mine with homemade marinara sauce I made)

Recipe

Peppery Hush Puppies

I made these for my Hubby to take to a Super Bowl Party. It was a Cajun theme so I thought these would go well. And they Did. They were a HIT and went well with the Gumbo that was there. I made two batches and they were gone…

• 2 cups cornmeal
• 1/2 cup pancake mix
• 2-1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 3 jalapeño peppers, seeded and finely chopped
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• Oil for deep-fat frying

 

• In a large bowl, combine the cornmeal, pancake mix, sugar, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat the egg, buttermilk, oil, jalapeno, onion and pepper sauce. Stir into dry ingredients just until combined.
• In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375°. Drop batter by rounded tablespoonfuls into oil. Fry for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm. 

Recipe

Thai Chicken Sauté

• 1 1/2  pounds  chicken breast tenders
• 1  tablespoon  cornstarch
• 1  tablespoon  fish sauce
• 4  teaspoons  canola oil, divided
• 1  cup  sliced onion
• 2  teaspoons  bottled minced garlic
• 1  teaspoon  bottled ground fresh ginger (such as Spice World)
• 1/2  cup  light coconut milk
• 2  tablespoons  Sriracha (hot chile sauce, such as Huy Fong)
• 1  tablespoon  sugar
• 1  tablespoon  fresh lime juice
• 2  tablespoons  chopped fresh cilantro
• 4  lime wedges

Toss chicken with cornstarch and fish sauce. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; sauté 5 minutes. Remove chicken from pan. Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in pan. Add onion, garlic, and ginger to pan; sauté 1 minute. Return chicken to pan; cook 1 minute or until done. Stir in coconut milk, Sriracha, sugar, and juice; cook 45 seconds or until thoroughly heated. Sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cilantro. Serve chicken mixture over rice with lime wedges.

• Recipe

Asian Salmon

• 2 1/4 pounds center-cut salmon fillet (1 1/2 inches thick)
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon toasted (dark) sesame oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili paste
• 1/2 cup sliced scallions (2 scallions)
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic (8 large cloves)
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
• 1 1/2 cups panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

 

Line an 8 by 12-inch baking pan with aluminum foil. Place the salmon in the pan.

In a mixing cup, combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, lemon juice, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, chili paste, scallions, garlic, and ginger. Pour 1/3 of soy sauce mixture over the salmon fillet. Sprinkle the panko evenly over the fillet. Pour the rest of the soy sauce mixture evenly over the panko. Be sure to soak the panko completely and if any runs off, spoon back onto the salmon. Set aside for 15 minutes, leaving all the sauce in the pan.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Roast the salmon for 18 to 20 minutes, or for about 12 minutes per inch at the thickest part of the salmon. The internal temperature will be 120 degrees F on a meat thermometer when it’s done. Remove from the oven, wrap tightly with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Recipe

Grilled Cheese

• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
• 10 to 12 basil leaves, torn
• 4 slices bread
• Pinch salt
• Pinch cracked black pepper
• 2 to 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

 

Preheat a grill over medium-high heat.

Assemble the sandwiches by arranging some sliced mozzarella and basil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, between 2 slices of bread. Repeat for the remaining 2 slices of bread. Brush both sides of the sandwiches with olive oil. Put on hot grill and cook until the cheese is evenly melted, about 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to serving plates and serve hot.

Recipe

Tomato Soup

• 3/4 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 Vidalia onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 4 large tomatoes, sliced
• Red pepper flakes
• Cracked black pepper
• Kosher salt
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon ground chicken bouillon
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

 

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add the olive oil.

Stir in the onion, garlic, tomatoes, red pepper flakes, black pepper and salt, to taste. Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes. Add the chicken stock and chicken bouillon and cook for an additional 10 minutes. Stir in the sherry at the last-minute and remove from the heat. Allow to cool before adding it to a blender. Puree until smooth and return to the pot, over low heat, to keep warm until ready to serve.

Recipe

Fresh Pasta

A couple of years ago my mother got me a pasta maker for x-mas and I have only used it once. I had just gotten into cooking at the time and used only all-purpose flour. I have learned as I have gotten more into cooking that you defiantly need to add semolina flour makes a difference! I don’t believe in making it easy when making homemade pasta. So when asking for a homemade pasta maker I did NOT want the attachment for my Mixer. No I wanted the one where you crank the handle yourself. I think it makes the pasta that much better when you work extra hard. So I got my pasta maker out, Turned on some Frank Sinatra and made some yummy pasta!

 Buon appetito (have a good meal): (boo-on app-èt-it-oh)

• 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup semolina flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 4 eggs
• 2 Tbs. water, plus more as needed

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, combine the all-purpose and semolina flours, salt and olive oil. Beat on low speed just until combined, about 30 seconds.

In a small pitcher or other pourable container, whisk together the eggs and water. With the mixer on low speed, slowly drizzle in the egg mixture and beat until the flour has been absorbed into the egg mixture, about 2 minutes.

Stop the mixer and, using your hands, squeeze a small amount of dough into a ball. It should be moist enough to hold together but not sticky; if it is too dry, add more water, 1 tsp. at a time.

Transfer the dough to a work surface and shape into 2 balls. Wrap separately with plastic wrap, then flatten each ball into a disk. Let stand at room temperature for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.

Attach the pasta roller to the electric mixer according to the manufacturers instructions.

Unwrap 1 dough disk and dust lightly with all-purpose flour. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick and no wider than the pasta roller. Roll the dough through the rollers once at the widest setting, then lay the pasta on the work surface and fold it into thirds. Repeat the process 2 more times, rolling out the dough, rolling it through the rollers at the widest setting, and folding it into thirds each time.

Now thin the dough by rolling it through the rollers at the second-to-widest setting. Repeat, setting the rollers one notch narrower each time, until the desired thinness is reached. Transfer the dough to a baking sheet, cover loosely with plastic wrap and roll out the other dough disk.

Attach a pasta cutter to the mixer according to the manufacturers instructions and cut the pasta into the desired shape. If not cooking the pasta immediately, transfer it to a baking sheet and dust lightly with flour to prevent sticking. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Makes about 1 lb. dough.

Recipe

Chimichurri

• 1 bunch parsley, leaves finely chopped
• 1 bunch cilantro, leaves finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons capers, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Put the parsley, cilantro, capers and garlic in a medium mixing bowl and toss to combine. Add the vinegar, salt, red and black pepper and stir. Pour in the olive oil and mix until well combined. Let sit for 30 minutes so that the flavors blend.