Sloppy Cubanos

It's been a very long time since I've blogged!  I've had requests to get back into it but life has a funny way getting in the way.  I'm still marathon cooking every weekend, along with being head chauffer and laundress.

I've found lots of new recipes on Pinterest so I'll try to post as many as I can.  You can follow me on Pinterest as well.  I've wasted spent many hours looking for recipes there!  I've pinned more than I've tried but I'm starting to work through what I have. 

So, on to the title of this post: Sloppy Cubanos.  This is actually an oldie but a goodie recipe that I pull out for my crew every once in a while.  It's a Rachel Ray recipe that I've tweaked a little.  You can do it as is, but I eliminated things and cut down on others.  My changes are in blue.



Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)

• 1/4- 1/3 pound chorizo, casing removed, finely chopped (about 1 cup)

• 1 pound ground pork

• 1 onion, finely chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped

• 2 teaspoons paprika (about 2/3 palmful)

• 2 teaspoons ground coriander (about 2/3 palmful) (--I used about 1.5 teaspoon)                       

• 1 teaspoon allspice (about 1/3 palmful)  (--I didn't use this at all.  Me no likey allspice) 

• Salt and pepper

• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (eyeball it)

• Grated peel and juice of 1 lime  (--I used one of those little plastic limes full of juice so no zest.  The juice of 1 lime is about 2 tablespoons)                       

• 1 cup chicken stock                        

• 1 8 ounce can  tomato sauce

• 4 Portuguese rolls or submarine rolls, split (--I use hamburger buns) 

• 4 deli slices Swiss cheese

• 3 - 4 large dill or half-sour pickles, chopped   (--Claussen Kosher dill burger slices are perfect!) 

• 1 bag plantain or other chips

Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat the EVOO, 1 turn of the pan, over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and cook, stirring, until browned, 2 minutes. Add the pork and cook, crumbling it with a spoon, until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the onion, garlic, paprika, coriander and allspice; season with salt and pepper to taste and cook for 5 minutes. Add the brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, lime peel and lime juice and mix well; stir in the chicken broth and tomato sauce and simmer for a couple of minutes.
2. Lightly toast the rolls under the broiler. Pile the meat mixture onto the roll bottoms. Cover with the Swiss cheese and broil until melted, about 30 seconds. Scatter the pickles on the sammies, cover with the roll tops and serve with the plantain chips alongside.

Chili Con Carne a la Food Network Magazine

It's been a loooong time since I've posted a new recipe and it's probably been about that long since I've tried out new recipes.  Now that I'm working again I haven't had much opportunity to experiment.  I saw this one in my new Food Network Magazine January/February and had to try it.  We usually do the simple chili with the McCormick seasoning packets but this one just looked too good.  This recipe for Chili Con Carne does call for a bottle of amber beer, but if you don't have that you can substitute in more beef broth.  I personally loved adding the fresh scallions at the end and mixing them in for a little crunch.  I also did it without the beans.  Yes, yes, I know.  Some find that sacreligious, but the cook doesn't like beans so the cook doesn't put them in!  :o)

Chili Con Carne

Lucky Pot Roast

Ok, so it wasn't a lucky pot roast.  I was just lucky that I usually keep a supply of seasonong packets and broths on hand in case I need it.  Last week I needed it!  I defrosted a pot roast and was all ready to sear it and realized I didn't have everything I needed.  I dug through my cabinets to see what I could find.  I came up with a box of chicken broth and packet of Montreal steak seasoning.  I'm so glad I did!

I put a nice sear on both sides of the chuck roast in my dutch oven and then added the chicken broth.  Once the broth was in I poured the Montreal all over the chuck and the broth.  I brought the broth to a boil and then covered it and put it into a 375 oven for about 3 hours. 

Everyone noticed that this was something different than what I normally made.  The kids really liked it and my hubby actually wanted to take left overs for lunch and he hardly ever does that with pot roast.  Lucky Pot Roast will definitely be on the menu again!

Happy Friday!

I decided today that I wanted to try my hand at making spinod.  For the uninitiated that is Italian Easter bread.  My grandmother used to make it with anisette and without the hard-boiled eggs that the traditionalcEaster bread braids have.  I tried out a recipe today that worked pretty well.  Thank goodness for my professional Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook!  I got to catch up on The Guild while the mixer did all the work.  All in all this bread turned out really well and I'll be making it again soon.

Italian Easter Bread

Showing My Geekiness

As you can tell by the name of this blog, I'm a geek.  I love Star Wars, Star Trek, and Tolkien.  I'm currently home for the next few months (hopefully only a few months!) so I don't have to do marathon cooking on the weekends.  While I'd much rather be working, I'm glad that I don't have to use my entire Sunday to cook!  So, a while ago I was feeding my geeky needs for LOTR and new recipes and I came across this website Middle Earth Recipes that has lots of new recipes for main dishes and desserts.  I was reminded of it today because my son is currently reading The Hobbit (yes, I have a geek of my very own!).  Now that I have time on my hands I need to start using some of these recipes and reporting back.

Until next time!

Quinoa Salad

I made an awesome quinoa salad the other day!  It's part Food Network Magazine recipe and part my own.  Here goes:

1 cup quinoa rinsed
2 cups vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Add vegetable stock and rinsed quinoa to a sauce pan.  Bring to a boil.  Once boiling, cover and reduce to simmer for 12 to 15.  Toss with the thawed corn, scallions, and salt and pepper to taste.

Very very tasty!!

If it's Sunday it must be Sunday Gravy!

Today has been a very busy cook day!  I'll post more later about the other things I made but I wanted to put the recipe out there for the Sunday Gravy that I've been making.  I remember my Granny making this sometimes when we would visit for dinner.  Every Italian family probably has their own.  Since I don't have my Granny's recipe I had to rely on the good people at http://www.foodnetwork.com/ to provide one for me and it does not disappoint!  It's a crowd pleaser in my house.  I make beef brasciole and stuff it with whatever they'll eat like garlic and fresh Italian parsley.  I also add hot Italian sausage and today I made the meatball recipe I blogged about a few months ago, not the recipe above.  I'll try those another time.  I know Big Jim's Meatballs are a hit so I don't want to mess with what works!  Can't wait to dig in!!

It would have made my Granny proud!  Here she is with her Italian sisters, Pia, Mary, and Jae.  My Granny, Etalia, is the one in white.