Mondongo Wednsday!!!!!!!

This has got to be one of my favorite hearty stews made in PR and of course here.. Served with a side of white rice its sure to be a hit.....


Mondongo Tripe Stew

2 pounds honeycomb tripe, cut into small pieces
4 cups lemon juice combined with 8 cups cold water

3 quarts cold water mixed with 1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon annatto oil
1 tablespoon corn oil
¼ pound smoked ham, diced
½ cup basic Recaito
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup alcaparrado
½ lb yautia, peeled and diced
½ lb yucca, peeled and diced
½ lb calabaza (West Indian pumpkin), peeled and diced
2 green plantains, peeled and sliced
4 bay leaves
½ tablespoon black pepper
salt to taste
1 cup canned garbanzo beans

Soak the tripe in the lemon water for 30 minutes. Rinse and put in a large soup pot with the 3 quarts of cold salted water. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer for about 2-1/2 hours, or until the tripe is tender. Drain and rinse.

In a clean pot, heat the oils. Add the ham, recaito, tomato sauce, and alcaparrado. Saute over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the tripe, root vegetables, plantain, bay leaves, and enough cold water to cover. Add pepper and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 35 minutes, or until the root vegetables are cooked. Add drained garbanzos and cook another 5 minutes or so.

 

Buen Provecho...

 

G

PIONONOS...

This was one of my favorite dishes that my mother made when I was growing up. It's basically a stuffed "maduro" ripe (yellow) plantain. It's sweet and meaty and delicious. I have to say that alot of people mistake what is a a pastelon de platanos and this recipe because they basically have the same ingredients..


Ingredients:

• Ripe plantains (yellow) 3 will make about nine to ten piononos.
• Ground meat: beef, pork, turkey
• Meat seasoning: bell pepper, tomato, ajicito/Scott peppers, onion, garlic, Sazon with achiote
• Two eggs beaten and place in a bowl
• Tooth picks

Chop peppers, tomato, ajicitos, onion, garlic and mix into ground meat with Sazon. Brown meat and put aside.
Cut off tips and peel ripe plantain (don't get plantains that are too ripe or they will be too soft) and slice them length wise to yield about three to four lenght long slices. Fry the slices of plantain until brownish on each side.
Place fryed plantain strips on a large plate and place browned meat on the plantain and wrap plantain around meat letting plantain overlap a little and hold together with tooth pick.
Carefully dip both ends of pionono into beaten egg and fry each side of pionono in vegetable oil until eggs are cooked.


Serve and enjoy

Buen Provecho...

G

El Coquito Flan

 

So I was looking for something different to post and I found and experimented this recipe during the holidays... This was a little on the sweet side but it was delicious..

 

Good Luck..

 

 

Coquito Flan

2 cups coquito (yes, must have Puerto Rican rum, of course)
6 eggs
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare bain-Marie and caramelize the mold as per instructions at the top of this page. Beat the cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth add eggs and mix. Add the rest of the ingredients. Blend smooth but do not over mix. Pour custard into caramelized mold, cover with foil, and sit in the baño de María. Then pour hot water into the baño and into the oven for 1 to 1½ hours until done and knife comes clean.

 

 

Bien Provecho,

 

G

La Tripleta

 

This has got to be one of my favorite sandwiches to eat and prepare... Most of the time Less is more but in this case... no way ..

I give you:

La Tripleta
Ingredients:   10 oz Cube steak 10 oz Roasted Ham (Pernil) 10 oz Boiled Ham 10 oz Swiss Cheese 4 oz Cabagge 2 tsp Mayonaise 4 oz Potato Sticks 4 tsp Ketchup 1 lbs French Bread

Cook the meats. Cut the french bread the long way, spread the mayonaise, add the cheese, stack the meats, the french fries(optional) already cook, and the cabbage.
Heat in sandwich finnish in sandwich press untill bread is toast


Bueno Provecho,

G
 

FOOD TRUCK RECONSTRUCTION

As I begin the journey of reconstruction of a 1988 chevy GMC G15 series lunch truck at the first sight of it I was like well this thing is a hunk of junk but once my vision starts taking place I had to step back and see what my boyfriend saw.. A place to showcase my talents. The good part is that my boyfriend owns a auto body shop and we currently have Orlando's top talent working for us. so this is what the Lunch Truck looks like currently this week it will finally undergo body repair and paint.. after that graphics takes over to give it personality.. The inside is all me... My bf's sister and I will be pressure washing, and painting.. Lastly new equipment comes into play Where I get a new stove, grill, already inhouse are the fridge, deep freezer, tables, sandwhich maker. and AC.. Im excited and scared at the same time...

Business cards are in, flyers are ordered, signs are being made...

Next on the agenda are patio chairs and tables, trash cans, all cutlery, take out containers, and lastly the core of the food truck FOOOODDDDD.... MY FAVORITE PART MY CREATIVE MOJO IN PLAY!!!!

TIL MY NEXT POST... THIS WEEKEND ADVENTURE RESTAURANT WORLD!! WOO HOO

HURRICANE RECIPE "SANCOCHO"

Well those of us that grew up on the Island remember our moms and grandmothers preparing for a hurricane.. Mainly the food that was cooked was a hearty soup called sancocho.. This soup is so filling it would make for a great meal with a side of white rice.... Now I am hungry.....

Here is the recipe for Sancocho..



2 tablespoons olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 pounds top round beef, cubed into 1-1/2-inch pieces
1/3 cup chopped yellow onions
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
1/3 cup chopped celery
1 aji dulce; seeded and minced
5 sprigs of cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 medium tomatoes, cored and chopped
4 quarts beef stock
2 green bananas, peeled and slice into 1-inch pieces
1 yellow plantain, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium sweet potato (1/2 pound), diced into 1-inch pieces
1/2 pound butternut squash, peeled and cubed into 1-inch pieces
3 medium new potatoes, scrubbed clean and quartered
1 large chayote, peeled, cored, and diced into 1-inch pieces
2 ears of white corn, cleaned and sliced into 6 parts each

PreparationIn a preheated kettle over low-to-medium heat, combine olive oil, garlic, beef cubes, and onions, stir until beef is brown on all sides and onions begin to caramelize. Fold in chopped pepper, celery, aji dulce, cilantro, salt, pepper, tomatoes, and 1 quart of beef stock. Cook down until stock is reduced by half.

Stir beef, then fold in all the remaining vegetables and beef stock. Continue to cook until meat is tender and the vegetables soft.

Serving Suggestions: Since this soup contains beef and vegetables, it is hearty already. Serve alongside a freshly baked french bread and use the bread to soak up some of this delicious flavor.  Or a side of white rice...

Thank you and Buen Provecho,

Hugs,

G

Sofrito

As many of us know all to closely the familiar smell when we were growing up of our mothers making sofrito in their kitchen. Here is a recipe from my good friend and fellow foodie Carlos Vazquez who was eager to share some of his family secrets with us. Here is the recipe to the staple to every puerto rican kitchen:

Sofrito Recipe

Ingredients:
3 large green bell peppers
2 medium red bell peppers
40 - 60 stems of culantro
20 - 30 stems of recao
5 medium onions
4 heads of garlic
1 tbsp of salt

HOWTO:

Get all the garlic cloves seperated from each other. Put into a container and fill with water until the garlic cloves are fully covered. Set aside. This will help peel the garlic easier later on. Wash the peppers, culantro, and recao. Open the bell peppers and remove the stems and the seed from inside. Cut the peppers into strips along the length about 1/4" wide. Set these items aside. Peel the onions and cut into 4 to 8 pieces each. At this time remove the garlic from the water and peel the garlic. Mix all the items in a blender or a food processor, starting with the onions and the garlic, then adding peppers and the culantro and recao. You might have to fill the blender more than once. Mix until everything is pureed. Pour the contents of the mixture into a large container and add the salt. Mix by hand until the salt is more or less evenly distributed. Put a small amount of this mixture in a container in the refrigerator for everyday use and store the rest in the freezer.


Thank you carlitos and to all Buen Provecho!!!!

G