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Saturday, September 3, 2011

Last few posts

The mail lady accidentally delivered a neighbor's Latina magazine. It was 115 out when I got it, so I was going to wait until it was cooler to walk it over. I looked at the cover and saw "Cream Cheese Flan" and knew I had to read the recipes. I've shared them with you, and I will be giving my neighbor her magazine later today.

Arroz con chorizo

1/4 c olive oil
1 lbs Spanish chorizo, casing removed, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 large onion, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 c tomato sauce
1 bay leaf
2 c long-grain white rice
1 tsp Bijol
1/4 c dry white wine
3 1/2 c chicken stock
Hot sauce, optional
Salt and pepper

In large saucepan, heat olive oil over med heat. Add chorizo and saute 3 to 5 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic, and cook until onion is translucent (5 to 7 minutes). Add tomato sauce and bay leaf and cook 5 minutes. Add rice and stir well. Add Bijol, dry white wine and stock, and bring mixture to boil. Cook, uncovered, 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, fluff with fork, cover and cook until rice is tender (17 to 20 minutes). Add hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste.
Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Ana's Advice: Another option is just making a sofrito (onion, pepper, garlic, 1/2 c tomato sauce), chorizo and a packet of yellow rice mix (reduce stock accordingly). You can throw the bay leaf in to make it look more homemade!

Cream cheese flan

1 c sugar, divided
4 large whole eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 can (14 oz) condensed milk
1 can (14 oz) evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 oz whole cream cheese at room temp
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a small saucepan, heat 1/2 c of the sugar over medium-low heat until it turns light caramel color (about 15 to 20 minutes), and pour into foil loaf pan.
Combine remaining ingredients thoroughly in blender and pour evenly into loaf pan.
Fill large rectangular baking pan halfway with water. Carefully place flan pan into water pan, and place on center rack of oven. Bake until center of custard is set (about 45 minutes). Let cool to room temp.
Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.
Before serving, run knife around edges and invert onto plate. May be eaten plain or topped with guava marmalade, dulce de leche, or dulce de coco (all are available in Hispanic section of most supermarkets).
Makes 6 servings.

Ana's Advice: The great thing about the foil loaf pan is that you can pull it apart on the sides. I've had many cakes not unmold correctly, but I've never had it happen to a flan.

Cuban-style sugar cookies

1 c vegetable shortening (like Crisco)
1 c sugar, more for garnish
3 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp lemon zest, grated (optional)
1/2 tsp salt

In a large bowl, combine shortening and sugar. Gradually add flour until firm, but not flaky. Mix well. Stir in lemon zest.
Place dough in plastic wrap and form into 2 1/2-inch wide cylinder. Wrap plastic around dough and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350.
Cut dough into 1/2-inch slices and place on greased baking sheet. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown. After taking cookies out of oven, immediately sprinkle with additional sugar.

Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Ana's Advice: I've made these for Christmas with different colors of sugar, and they look nice too. They're also great for topping with guava or dulce de leche.

NOTE: I'd probably use butter instead of Crisco.

Cuban Shepherd's Pie

Mashed Potatoes
3 lbs deli mashed potatoes (not instant)

Picadillo
1/4 c olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 small green bell pepper, diced
1 lbs ground sirloin or ground round
1/2 c dry white wine
1 c tomato sauce
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 c raisins, optional
1/4 c pimento-stuffed olives, roughly chopped
2 tbsp capers
1/2 c Parmesan cheese, grated

In frying pan, heat half of oil over med-high heat. Add garlic, onion, and bell pepper. Saute 5 to 7 minutes. All pan to return to med-high head, then add beef. Saute until thoroughly cooked (10 to 15 minutes), breaking up large chunks. Drain excess liquid.
Add white wine, tomato sauce, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper and remaining olive oil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Add raisins, olives, and capers. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Layer half of mashed potatoes evenly on bottom of large, oiled ovenproof casserole dish. Cover with picadillo. Top with remaining potatoes, sprinkle cheese evenly over top. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until top of casserole turns golden brown.
Makes 6 servings.

Ana's advice: There are many things you can omit, such as the raisins, olives, or capers, if you don't like them.

NOTE: If you're going to make the picadillo, make the mashed potatoes too. Deli mashed potatoes in this will be fine, I'm sure, but homemade will be SO much better, especially if they're garlic. Just a suggestion.

Brie and Guava en Croute

1 can (8 oz) Pillsbury crescent rolls
1 round (8-10 oz) Brie cheese
1/2 c guava preserve
1 egg, beaten
Crackers, for serving

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Roll dough into rectangular sheet (ignore perforations). Cut 1-inch strip off longer ends. Carefully place Brie in center of dough and pour preserves on top. Fold shorter edges over Brie, then two longer edges. Press to seal. Brush top of pastry with egg. Bake pastry 15 to 20 minutes on greased baking sheet until dough is golden and flaky. Remove from oven. Let rest 10 minutes before cutting. Serve with crackers.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Ana's advice: I've used the red pepper jelly with this and it's awesome too. You can use any kind of preserve.


NOTE: I don't normally eat Pillsbury products, I'm not testing this recipe, I just thought it sounded good, sans Pillsbury product.