Getting creative on Taco Tuesday

So this past Tuesday I was craving tacos, but my craving could not be satisfied by Taco Bell or traditional tacos, so I decided to get creative.

Home made Tacos my way!

Fish tacos and Beef tacos!










Ingredients

The quantities of the ingredients depend on how many people are eating. For two people I used two tilapia fillets and two thin sliced steaks cut into strips.

1. Fish of your choice - I chose Tilapia fillets   -
2. Flour to lightly coat the fish
3. Thin sliced beef
4. Corn or flower tortillas- your choice
5. Tomatoes 
6. Lime juice
7. Vinegar
8. Lettucce- Any type you like
9. Cilantro
10. Onions- your choice
11. Bell pepper- combination of colors
12. Grated white cheese, there are many types of white cheeses to choose. I used Cojita cheese for this recipe.
13. Green Salsa

Directions

Preparing the fish
1. Slice the tilapia fillets in 2 inch strips
2. Mix flour with dry seasonings of your choice and lightly flour the fish strips
3. Fry the fish strips and set aside

Preparing the beef
1. slice the thinly sliced steaks into strips
2. season with your seasonings of choice, but you can use packets of taco seasonings to flavor the mear.
3. Saute the beef with strips of onions and peppers

Preparing Pico de Gallo

1. Chop the desired amount of cilantro
2. Cube 2 large tomatoes 
3. Chop 1/2 of  the onion as small as possible
4. Mix all three, add the juice of one lime, a sprinkle of white vinegar and salt to your taste.

Preparing the tacos
1. Lightly pan toast the tortillas on a skillet
2. Choose fish or beef and place it in the center of the tortilla
3. Add some chopped lettuce
4. Add tsp of pico de gallo
5 . Add green salsa
6. Top with grated cheese and enjoy.

This is my personal recipe, but be creative, add other ingredients, some hot sauce for some kick. Play with different types of cheeses. Its up to you how creative you want to be, but if you want to enjoy a light and fresh meal try my recipe, it was really delicious!

Rosh Hashanah Feast, A time to share friendship and traditions.

This year I celebrated Rosh Hashanah the Jewish New Year with an amazing group of friends. Having also shared with family previously, I felt that having friends over and sharing a great meal in the Sephardic tradition would be great. The menu was very interesting, there was a mixture of sephardic dishes, Cuban dishes as well as traditional American dishes, like Meatloaf. Everytthing came out great and we all had an amazing time.

Menu:

1. Rice(Basmati) with lentils
2. Meatloaf
3. Couscous Salad
4. Malanga fritters (Taro root)
5. Avocado
6. Pumpkin squash soup
7. Challah Bread
8. Kosher grape fruit fpr the blessings
9. and a couple of bottles of red wine to finish it up!

All in all it was a great meal with a great bunch of friends.

Garlic Shrimp

Click the link below and enjoy!
Garlic Shrimp

Parmesan Sage Pork

Click the link below, and enjoy!!!
Parmesan Sage Pork

Chicken and Mushrooms, by Chef John

Chicken and Mushrooms: Simple and Delicious
by Chef John

Click the link below, and enjoy!
Chicken and Mushrooms

Coming soon.......!

Well it has been some time since I have posted anything, but the truth is with all my dieting I really have not been cooking much, so to make up, I am also going to start posting about wonderful dishes I try when i eat out.

As far as cooking the only thing I made lately were two wonderful Challahs, I brought them to work and they were gone in no time. Had I left them at home they would have been gone as well, the only difference is that I would have been the one that ate them.

So from now on I will be posting about restaurants that I visit as well as a short review of the service.

Chicken Fricassee (Fricase de Pollo)  Served with Cilantro-Infused Rice

Fricassees and stews are a staple of latin cuisine. Different from other regional latin cuisine, Cuban cuisine still retains many characteristic of Spanish cooking  mixed with some african culinary traditions.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken cut in pieces
4 medium size potatoes
1 cup of dry cooking wine ( I use Edmundo brand)
1 medium size red onion
1 teaspoon of chopped garlic
1/2 cup of chopped green and red bell peppers
1/4 cup of finely chopped cilantro
2 leaves of Culantro (Thai Cilantro)
(http://www.caribbeanseeds.com/cilantro-culantro.htm)

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp of complete seasoning (sazon completa)
1/2 cup of Mojo Criollo (Liquid Spanish Marinade)
1  8 oz can of tomato sauce/paste


1/3 tsp of yellow food c

Grilled Salmon Served with Potatoes with Basil Lemon Cream Sauce

This is a very simple but satisfying dish.

Ingredients

 1 or 2 small salmon fillets
Dry oregano
Black pepper
1 lemon
3 small potatoes or one large potato of your choice

For the Cream Sauce
2 tbsp of salted butter or margarine
8 fluid ounces of heavy whipping cream
juice of 1 lemon
1 chicken bouillon cube
4-6 fresh basil leaves finely chopped
1 chopped garlic clove

Marinate the salmon in lemon juice for about 15 to 20 minutes, sprinkle a bit of oregano and black pepper. Grill the salmon for 8 to 10 minutes in medium heat, do not overcook and do not let it dry out.

In a small skillet melt the buter and saute the garlic and incorporate the bouillon cube. Add the lemon juice and stir, slowly incorporate the cream as you stir, lower the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Once the potatoes are cooked (boiled) serve and pour some of the cream sauce on them. Place the salmon on a bed of lettuce, garnish with a lemon slice, and enjoy with a good dlas of wine.

Italian Sausage, Chicken and Broccoli Risotto

This is my first attempt at Risotto  and I can safely say that it was very very good. So here we go:











Ingredients

3 cups of pearl rice (valencia rice)
1 cup of cubed chichen
3/4 cup (or as much as you like) sliced  spicy italian sausage
1 cup of chopped broccoli
1/2 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of white wine ( or dry season cooking wine)
1/2 of grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated romano cheese
3 cups of water
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes
1 tbsp of finely chopped garlic
1 tbsp of chopped fresh basil
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/4 cup of chopped onions
1/2 cup of chicken stock (you can use a chicken bulion cube)
1 tbsp of butter (or margarine)


Saute sausage, chicken and onions in about 3 tbsps of extra virgin olive oil for about 10 minutes or until cooked on medium-high. Once cooked, add the garlic oregano, onions, heavy cream and butter. Lower the heat to medium and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the rice, chicken stock, wine, water, cheeses, chopped sun dried tomatoes, and basil. Reduce the heat to medium, make sure that there is enough water to cover all the ingredients. Cook until the rice is tender. Continue adding water as needed. Do not allow the rice to dry, serve while hot, and enjoy with your favorite wine.