Homemade Chorizo

Well since I just put up a batch of Chorizo I wanted to share this. I have been tweaking this recipe for a couple of years and this works very well. You can cut everything in half if you don't want to make 5 plus pounds, but who would ever think "wow I have too much chorizo"?

5lb ground pork (fatty like a picnic or shoulder, not lean like a loin)

6 -8 Tbs chili powder (ground anchos & pasillas is my favorite)

4 cloves garlic

3 Tbs Smoked Paprika

2 Tbs Oregano

2 Tbs Cumin

2/3 cup Sherry Vinegar

2 Tbs salt

Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. Work into the meat well. Crush the garlic into the vinegar and pour over the meat, work it together well. Put the mixture in a ziptop bag and lt it sit in the refrigerator for 2 to 4 days. Then it can be put into casing to dry (Kitchenaid has a great attachment), or divided up into smaller bags. It does freeze well, or just have lots of friends over and have a chorizo party with 5 lbs of meat ;-)

I like to make chili powered, but a good store bought chili will work. The Sherry vinegar is must, and should not be substituted.

The Kitchenaid meat grinder attachment is one of the best things I ever bought for the kitchen, If you don't have a meat grinder, you could buy ground pork, or buy a boneless boston butt roast, and ask the butcher to grind it for you. Most good stores will do this for you at no extra charge.

maple-oatmeal scones

so this recipe is from Barefoot Contessa on FoodNetwork. I made these on a whim and found out a few things:

1) you don't have to use the oats if you don't care for them {I accidently forgot them, and the recipe turned out quite well hehe}

2) I substituted 1c of all-purpose with buckwheat flour. It gives it a very different taste, but if you like buckwheat, it's great!

3) in the glaze, you can substitute with agave syrup if you're out of maple. I ran out after about 1/8c maple syrup, topped off the 1/2 cup with agave syrup {it's a sugar substitute}, and added 1 tsp maple extract. you still get a great maple taste!

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats, plus additional for sprinkling
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 pound cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1/2 cup cold buttermilk
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 4 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon milk or water, for egg wash

Directions

Glaze:

• 1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the flours, oats, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Blend the cold butter in at the lowest speed and mix until the butter is in pea-sized pieces. Combine the buttermilk, maple syrup, and eggs and add quickly to the flour-and-butter mixture. Mix until just blended. The dough may be sticky.

Dump the dough out onto a well-floured surface and be sure it is combined. Flour your hands and a rolling pin and roll the dough 3/4 to 1-inch thick. You should see lumps of butter in the dough. Cut into 3-inch rounds with a plain or fluted cutter and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Brush the tops with egg wash. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops are crisp and the insides are done.

To make the glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. When the scones are done, cool for 5 minutes, and drizzle each scone with 1 tablespoon of glaze. I like to sprinkle some uncooked oats on the top, for garnish. The warmer the scones are when you glaze them, the thinner the glaze will be. {I would recommend leaving the scones on the parchment until the glaze has dried some as it does run quite a bit!}

Cook like a Cuban

I really love the food I grew up with - Cuban/Puerto Rican. (Cuban and Puerto Rican cuisine are very similar to each other, but very different than Mexican). Cuban and Puerto Rican cuisine is mostly traditional Spanish with a Caribbean influence.

To create the flavor profile of many Cuban dishes you need four things: Achiote Oil, Sofrito, Adobo, and Sazon Completa.

Achiote oil gives Spanish food the deep yellow color and smokey flavor. The easiest way to make Achiote oil is to put 1/2 cup of good olive oil in a custard dish with one tablespoon of achiote (aka annatto seeds). Microwave on high for 60 to 90 seconds - done!

Sofrito is to Cuban food what mirepoix is to French food — aromatic vegetables and herbs for braising and simmering to create the base layer of flavor. Course chop one large onion, two cubanelle peppers (aka Italian frying peppers) or poblano peppers, one large red pepper, one or two serrano peppers (remove the seeds and veins if you don't like the heat), 15 to 20 cloves of garlic, about one cup of cilantro, half cup of culantro - if you can find it, usually only found in a bodega. If you can't find culantro use extra cilantro. Put it all in a food processor and work it to a course paste. If you don't have a food pro, be ambitious with a knife and cutting board.

I put about 3/4 cup of the sofrito in a zip top bag and freeze for easy use.

Adobo is available everywhere now, it is a blend of salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin and coriander. I think the Goya version contains msg, so if you are sensitive to msg, you can mix your own adobo, see the google for a multitude of recipes.

Sazon Completa is a blend of savory herbs. I think it is sage, thyme, oregano, basil and parsley. You can buy it on amazon here.

A box of sazon will round out your Cuban kitchen starter kit.

Next post will be basic Arroz con Pollo.

easy whoopie pies

{my husband's platoon describes these as "oreo cookies on steroids"}

Ingredients

1 1/4 c granulated sugar

1 stick butter

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 c flour

1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder*

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 tsp baking powder

6 oz melted semisweet chocolate

1 jar marshmallow fluff**

* Dutch-processed is hard to find sometimes, you can use Hershey's Special Dark cocoa powder, which is a blend of Dutch-processed, but you can't straight substitute with regular cocoa powder

** you could also substitute with a cream recipe instead of the fluff, this would give it a more traditional whoopie pie taste!

Directions

Beat granulated sugar and butter until fluffy, then beat in eggs, semisweet chocolate, and vanilla. Whisk flour, Dutch-process cocoa powder, salt and baking powder; stir into the butter mixture.

Chill 30 minutes.

Roll into balls and bake 6 to 8 minutes at 375 degrees; cool slightly.

Flip over half the cookies, top each with a marshmallow and return to the oven to soften, 2 minutes.

Top with the remaining cookies. {I would test first with one sandwich and wait a minute or two, if the marshmallow is too soft, the top cookie just slides off!}

from Food Network Magazine

Caribbean Jerk Tempeh Wrap

Ingredients
Serves 4
2 Tempeh Burgers
EVOO spray
4 whole grain wraps
 
Marinade:
1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
2 tsp Worcestershire
2 Tbsp agave
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp jerk seasoning 
1 Tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
3 slices of orange
 
Sauce:
3 Tbsp light mayo or vegenaise (I typically do half Greek yoghurt)
1 Tbsp reserved marinade
Jerk seasoning, to taste
1 tsp agave 
Cayenne pepper, to taste
 
Slaw Mix:
1 cup slaw mixture (I used a broccoli, carrot, red cabbage mix)
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup green onions
1/4 red bell pepper, sliced thinly
1/2 green pepper, sliced thinly
1/8 c red onion 
Sprouts (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix the marinade in a blender, set aside one tablespoon to reserve for sauce.  In a small zip top bag place the two tempeh burgers and the rest of the marinade.  Marinate for 24 hours.

2. While tempeh is marinating, in a small dish whisk together the sauce ingredients and in a larger bowl combine the slaw mix.  

3.  Oil and preheat your grill over medium heat or George Foreman.  For the GF cook the tempeh for 4 minutes total, for the grill cook tempeh for 4 to 5 minutes per side.  Set aside to cool a bit then slice.

4.  Mix the slaw and sauce together.  Lay out the tortillas and evenly top each with half a grilled sliced tempeh burger and 1/4 of the sauce/slaw mixture.  

*NOTE:  I actually have made mine with hamburger, chicken, or portabello mushrooms and regular mayo, and omitted the agave, red onion, and raisins, and it was still pretty amazing.

Found at http://floridacoastalcooking.blogspot.com

Pumpkin Bread

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 t. salt
1 cup sugar
1 t. baking soda
1 cup pumpkin puree (not the spiced kind)
1/2 cup olive oil (I use non-sweetened apple sauce)
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup water
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. allspice

1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
Sift flour, salt, sugar, and soda.
Mix pumpkin, oil, eggs, water, and spices.
Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, stirring lightly until just mixed.
Pour into greased 9x5x3 loaf pan.
Bake 50-60 minutes.

I've also made muffins from this recipe- they take 25-35 minutes to cook usually.

Rice Pilaf

This is probably my favorite rice pilaf recipe ever.  Extremely simple, makes for great leftovers, and practically anything can be added to it.

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients
1 small onion, finely chopped
4 T butter
1/2-3/4 cup coarsely chopped carrots
1 cup long grain white rice
1 can (14 1/2 oz) regular strength chicken/beef broth  (I use 1 2/3 cup hot water with 2 bouillon cubes)

Salt and Pepper
1 T chopped parsley (optional)

- any other chopped vegetables that you like.  Try: green/red pepper, mushrooms, corn, zucchini

In a 2 quart pan over medium heat, cook onion and carrot in butter until soft.  Add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until rice is golden (about 5 minutes).
Add broth and salt and pepper to taste.  Cover and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until rice is cooked and liquid is absorbed (20-25 minutes).  Fluff rice with a fork and toss gently with parsley.

If adding other veggies, add in to the butter and onion before rice gets added.

how to make buttermilk

{from about.com- I've used this- works like a charm! don't think I'll ever buy buttermilk again!}

Making a recipe that calls for buttermilk? Use this simple substitute, and you won't need to buy any:

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

• Milk (just under one cup)
• 1 Tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice

Preparation:

1. Place a Tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup.

2. Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the one-cup line.

3. Let stand for five minute. Then, use as much as your recipe calls for.

buttermilk pancakes

{from The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham}

MAKES: 14 three-inch pancakes

1 cup buttermilk

1 egg, room temp

3 TB butter, melted

3/4c all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

Put buttermilk, egg, and butter in mixing bowl. Stir until smooth and blended.

Stir flour, salt, and baking soda together in a small bowl until well blended. Add to buttermilk mixture only until the dry ingredients are moistened- leave the lumps.

Ladle about 3 TB of batter per pancake onto pan or griddle. Cook over medium heat until the bubbles break on top. Turn pancake over and cook briefly.

** this batter keeps well for several days in the fridge

** wrap extra pancakes in foil and pop in the freezer for later

** for Whole Wheat pancakes, replace up to 1/2 the flour with whole wheat flour

** I substitute half the flour with spelt flour

** cooking these on an iron skillet with a little olive oil = best pancakes ever!

Baked Potato Soup (Crock Pot)

The Ingredients.

--5 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced in 1 to 2-inch chunks
--1 teeny onion, diced
--4 cloves garlic, minced
--1 teaspoon seasoned salt
--1/2 teaspoon black pepper
--1/2 teaspoon red pepper
--2 quarts chicken broth
--2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, to add at the end
--crumbled bacon and green onion or chives as garnish; also shredded cheddar cheese or steamed broccoli (optional)

The Directions.

Use a 6 quart or larger slow cooker. Peel and dice the potatoes, and put them into the stoneware. Add onion and garlic. Sprinkle in the seasonings, and pour in the broth. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4. The potatoes should be fork-tender. You can use a potato masher to mash the potatoes in the soup, or a hand-held immersible blender. You can also leave the potatoes in chunks, if you want.

After smashing the potatoes, crumble in both packages of cream cheese, and put the lid back on. Cook on high for about 30 minutes, or until the cream cheese is completely dissolved. Stir a few times with a whisk during the 30 minutes.

Garnish with crumbled bacon, green onion or chives, cheddar cheese, or steamed broccoli.




Recipe Originally from 'A Year of Slow Cooking' blog