Not Just Regular Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes are an American tradition, no thanksgiving or christmas is complete without a hearty bowl of it. So in keeping with tradition here is my contribution, my own mashed potatoes recipe.

Ingredients:

5 lbs of your favorite type of potatoes

or 13.3 oz (377 g) box of potato flakes ( dehydrated potatoes)

16 oz container of sour cream (regular, light or fat free)

8 to 12 oz cream cheese (regular, light or fat free)

1 bar of butter (can substitute the butter with margarine)

2 1/2 cups of milk (warm before adding it to the potatoes)

5 cups of water (follow directions on the box if using potato flakes)

Salt to your taste.

Directions

If using potatoes, peel, boil until soft and mash the potatoes adding the milk and softened butter or margarine as you mash. Make sure the milk is warm so that the potatoes remain hot enough to thoroughly melt the cream cheese.

Once your potatoes or dehydrated potatoes are completely mashed or mixed well with no lumps, add the softened cream cheese, and sour cream, and mix well until fully incorporated. Add desired amount of salt, transfer to a serving bowl and top with fresh chopped chives and serve hot.

Simple and delicious!!!

ENJOY

Hummus

Hello
My neighbor sent me his recipe for his Hummus, this is probably the best hummus I have tried to date, it has to be he is Lebanese, so here it is, give it a try, seems very easy to make. Enjoy!!


Ingredients
Canned chickpeas
Tahini
Olive Oil (Extra Virgin)
garlic
Lime
salt
paprika

Directions
For every can of chickpeas use on or one and a half spoonfulls of Tahini.
(The ratio hummus/tahini is a personal taste, if you want a stronger taste of the tahini add more)
blend (you may have to add some water as it will thicken)
add olive oil (one or two spoonfulls), while blending
add garlic, (2 or 3 cloves) continue blending
add lime, while blending (to your taste)
add salt, while blending (to your taste)

Serve the mixture in a bowl or plate and pour some olive oil over it. Sprinkle with Paprika.

Essential Seasonings in Cuban Cuisine

Maybe this should have been my first post on this blog, because to cook Cuban food the right way you have to use the correct seasonings, so I have a compilation of items that I personally coinsider essentials of Cuban cuisine, so i'm gonna start listing them.

1- Badia Sason Completa










2- Mojo Criollo
3- Sazon Goya
4- Ground Cumin (Comino)
5-Tomato sauce or paste
6- Cilantro
7- Culantro
8- Bay leaves (laurel)
9- beef or chicken bullion or stock cube

So these are items I consider essential in Cuban cuisine, of course I am no chef, and I am sure some people might disagree with me but i have been succesfully using these for dishes that are finger licking good!!!

Cuban Style Ground Beef with Raisins (Picadillo Cubano con Pasas)

This is one of my favorite dishes, because it is quick and easy to make and goes with any combination of rice and beans or just rice. Today I am going to combine it with yellow vegetable rice and fried sweet plantains.

As always my seasoning is pretty much the same, you all know I use, Mojo criollo ( Spanish Marinade to season the meat, also Badia brand Sazon Completa (Badia complete seasoning).
You can buy your meat already ground but I usually buy my meat whole, and i clean it well at home and grind it in my food processor.


1 pound of ground beef ( can substitute with ground turkey)
3/4 cup of raisings
1/2 a cup of stuffed olives
1 tbsp of badia complete seasoning
1/2 cup of Mojo criollo (spanish marinade)
1 small can of tomato sauce or paste
1 beef bullion cube
1 red bell pepper
3 cloves of garlic
1 red onion
2 bay leaves
Salt to your taste

Directions

Pour the mojo criollo (spanish marinade) and the tbsp of complete seasoning in a bowl containing the ground beef or turkey. With your hands (wash them before ) mix everything well, kneading the ground beef to ensure that the seasoning is well distributed. Let it sit for an hour.

In a medium size frying pan or cast aluminum pot ( caldero), heat 1 tbsp of olive oil on high. Chop the onion and garlic, slice the red bell pepper, and saultee for a couple of minutes or until the onions are translucent but not brown. Mash the beef bullion cube and drop it in, then ad the beef. Cook the meat with the onions and peppers for about 7 to 10 minutes, stirring, untill all the red is gone. Add the tomato sauce or paste (if paste, dilute with a bit of water), the raisins and olives, bay leaves and mix well. Add 1/2 cup of water let the whole mix come to a boil and then lower the temperature to medium, add desired amount of salt and cover and let it cook until the liquid has reduced, but not dried up.

Yellow rice with mixed veggies

2 cups of rice
1 can of mixed veggies of your choice or you can use just corn or peas
2 packets of goya seasoning with zafram ( sazon goya con azafram) ( can be substituted with yellow food coloring)
2 tbsps of oil or butter
Salt to your taste
Directions

pour the rice in your rice maker, add the oil or butter, the two packets of goya seasoning with zafram, and the can of mixed veggies and salt to your taste. Stir well start the rice maker.

Fried sweet plantains

2 whole ripe plantains

Peel plantains, cut diagonally in about 1/2 inch slices, and fry in very hot oil untill brown.

Serve hot and enjoy another great Cuban dish!!!!

If Cuban products are not available in your city, you can purchase them by going to: http://www.cubanfoodmarket.com/

Berenjena Rellena (Stuffed Eggplant Cuban Style)

So I have decided that so many blogs out there just talk about current events and politics that i have decided to make my blog about something that is a passion to me, food, and Cuban food which happens to be my favorite. These are my own recipes, once in a while i will post a recipe for something other than Cuban food, but always with that Cuban touch. So enjoy this recipe.

Ingredients (1 medium size eggplant serves 2)

4 medium size eggplants
1 pound of ground beef (can substitute with pork, turkey or chicken)
1 pound of rice
1 green bell pepper
1 small can of tomato sauce or paste
2 green or red onion, medium size
Fresh Cilantro
2 large tomatoes
3 Culantro leaves ( a.k.a Thai Parsley)
2 bay leaves
one lime or lemon
3 cloves of garlic
*Badia Sazon Completa ( Badia Brand complete seasoning. can be substituted by a mix of Black pepper, oregano, basil, rosemary and thyme)
1/2 cup of Mojo Criollo ( spanish marinade)
1/4 cup of dry white cooking wine
1 beef bullion cube

Directions

Season the raw meat with the Mojo criollo, sazon completa, chopped garlic. Mix well and let sit for about an hour.

Next, mix the raw rice with the seasoned ground meat and make sure they are both well incorporated.

Take the eggpland cut the narrower end in a cone shape so that the end can be replace to close the eggplant with the stuffing andbe held in place with toothpicks.

Remove the inside of the eggplant untill it's hollow. Fill the eggplant with the mix of raw meat and rice, replace the end and hold in place with toothpicks.

On a medium size pan, pour some olive oil or canola oil. Chop one onion and cut the bell pepper in strips, saultee untill the onions are translucent but not brown or burned, add the culantro leaves, the bay leaves, the can of tomato, about a tablespon of sazon completo (complete seasoning), the Mojo Criollo ( spanish marinade), the cooking wine and the beef bullion. Lower the heat to medium and let it simmer for 5 to 7 minutes. In a large pot, place the 4 eggplants and add enough water to cover the eggplants. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to medium. After the seasoning mix has cooked for the 5 to 7 minutes, add to eggplants in water, cook in medium heat for approximately an hour making sure that the eggplants dont fall appart. After 45 minutes take one of the eggplants out, make a small cut in the thicker part, and scoop out some of the rice mix from the deep in the center to verify it is cooked.

once cooked cut the eggplant in half, serve on a large plate pour some of the sauce over it.Chop the cilantro, the second onion, and the tomato, mix, add some lime or lemon juice and serve on top of the half eggplant as garnish, serve with mashed potatoes, steamed asparagus and a glass of red wine, and VOILAAAA!! another great Cuban DISH for your dinner table!

If Cuban products are not available in your city, you can purchase them by going to: http://www.cubanfoodmarket.com/

Arroz con pollo (Cuban Rice and chicken)

So this time i am posting a recipe for one of my favorite Cuban dishes. We Cubans, love food, we love having people over and cooking exuberant amounts of food. So here is the recipe.

Ingredients (This recipe serves 4 to 6)

2 lbs of pearl rice ( arroz valencia)
1 whole chicken, or you can use just drumsticks or thighs, I normally do not use breast alone because it is not as flavorful and juicy as other parts of the chicken
1 can of green peas
1 small can of tomato sauce or paste
1 medium size yellow or red onion
A bit of fresh cilantro ( up to you how much cilantro you add)
2 Culantro leaves (Thai cilantro)
1 small bay leaf (laurel)

1 small can of red bell peppers (pimientos morones)
2 packets of Goya brand seasoning with zafram ( could be replaced with yellow food coloring)
2 cubes of chicken bullion
2 bay leaves
1 bottle or can of beer ( i use bud light or miller light)
Salt, to your taste
** Instead of water you can use chicken stock to cook the rice**
Additional seasoning

if available in your town, 1/4 cup of Badia brand or available brand of mojo criollo (spanish marinade)

A generous sprinkle of Badia Brand Sazon Completa (Badia Brand Complete Seasoning. If not available replace with sprinkles of black pepper, oregano, basil, rosemary, and thyme)

Directions

Cut the chicken in individual pieces, I normally use a cleaver and chop the thighs in two pieces.

In a cast aluminum pot or a regular pot big enough to hold 2 pounds of rice pourabout 3 tablespoons of canola or olive oil. Allow the oil to heat up and then add your chicken. Saultee the chicken for 7 to 10 minutes in high, enough to cook the outside. Add the chopped onion and saultee for about 4 minutes with the chicken.

After the chicken has been cooking for about 7 to 8 minutes add the badia complete seasoning, or the replacement spices, the chicken bullion, the small can of tomato sauce or paste (if you use paste, dilute in a bit of water before adding it to the pot). Simmer on high for about 3 to 5 minutes, add the cilantro, bay leaves and stir.

After the mix has cooked for about 3 to 5 minutes, add the rice, the beer, and water. This dish has the consistency of rizotto, therefore you will add more liquid than normally required to cook two pounds of rice. After you add the beer you will add 1.5 cups of water (or chicken stock).

Bring everything to a boil. Once it boils, lower the heat to medium, cover and cook until rice is tender and most of the liquid has consumed, but without letting the rice dry up all the way. Watch the liquid and add water(or chicken stock) as needed, remembering that the rice must be moist at serving time.

Once the rice has cooked open the can of peas and pour on the rice and stir, mixing well the peas with the rice and chicken .

Open the can of red bell peppers, chop in small square piece to garnish the rice.

Serve while hot, and enjoy a typical Cuban dish.

If Cuban products are not available in your city, you can purchase them by going to: http://www.cubanfoodmarket.com/