Sunday, March 23, 2008

My friend Maritza served this potato dish to us in Costa Rica and we were absolutely amazed at how the Jalapeños enhance the flavor the potatoes. They are so tasty.... Yum Yum!

Ingredients:
2 pounds of potatoes
1 large onion
1 5.5 ounce can of pickled "Malher* Chilies Jalapeño" halves in brine
2 teaspoons seasoning salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup grated Romano or Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Wash potatoes and cut up into 1 to 2 inch chunks. Slice onion into 1/2 inch slices and then quarter each slice. Toss potatoes and onions with seasoning salt in olive oil and place in a baking dish. Pour the brine from the Jalapeño over the potatoes and onions. Remove any stems on the Jalapeño halves and slice each half in thin strips lengthwise and toss them with the potatoes & onions. Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove cover, top with cheese and return it to the oven for another 15 minutes or until the potatoes are done and cheese is toasted. Serve

* The Malher brand of Jalapeño chili peppers are found everywhere in Costa Rica, but they are hard to find in the States. These peppers are milder Jalapeños than what you'll find in most of the grocery stores Stateside. This particular brand will enhance the flavor of any food and not over power it. If you can't find the Malher brand, you will need to adjust the amount of brine and Jalapeños to suit your taste.
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Monday, March 10, 2008

John is not fond of most vegetables, but he is crazy about this dish.

Ingredients:
1 Medium Spaghetti Squash
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sweet peppers (bell)
1 clove garlic minced
Olive oil
1 10 ounce can of Ro-Tel Tomatoes and Peppers (If Ro-Tel is not available, use a finely diced large tomato with all it's juice and dice up a couple of mild to medium chili peppers.)


Directions:
Cut squash in half, lengthwise. Place it in a large baking dish cut side down with about 3/4 cup of water. Bake in the oven @ 350 for 45 minutes. Allow it to cool until you can comfortably handle it. Scrape out the seeds and discard them. Now scrape all the squash out into a bowl and set it aside. In a large skillet, saute the onions, sweet peppers and garlic in olive oil until the onions are clear. Add the squash and the can of Ro-Tel to the skillet and toss. Bring it to a boil and let it simmer for about 15 minutes before serving. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Variation:
Follow all of the instructions above, but just before serving add about 4 tablespoons of pesto sauce and 1/4 cup of diced sun-dried tomatoes.
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When I first lived in Costa Rica almost 40 years ago every home and restaurant used a "Chorreador de Café" to make the best tasting cup of coffee I have ever had. Today, most folks are using electric coffee makers to brew coffee. But I still make coffee with the Chorreador because it just tastes better.

Chorreadors are usually made with a wooden base and either a wood or wire frame is used to hold a cloth bag for the filter about 12 inches above the base. We prefer strong coffee so we grind a dark roast very fine and place about 3 tablespoons of coffee grounds for every 2 cups of coffee. I bring the water to boil in a tea kettle and slowly pour it over the coffee grounds where it filters into the coffee pot sitting on the base below.

You can buy the flannel coffee filters in most grocery stores in Costa Rica, or you can make your own out of cotton flannel cloth. For best results, you should always start with dry filter and rinse it after use with just clean water. Never wash your filter with with soap or detergent because it will leave an aftertaste in the coffee. The filter will stain a coffee color, but this won't affect the taste in the least. After time, the oils from the coffee beans will build up on your filter. You can dissolve the oil by scrubbing the filter with salt. I prefer to use a course ground kosher or sea salt. Rinse the filter well to remove all of the salt before you use it again to make coffee.

John and I have three Chorreadors, one stays in our kitchen, one is used at John's office, and the third stays with our camping gear. Nothing beats the taste of fresh "Café Chorreado" with a tent side breakfast "en el Campo".


For instructions on how to make your own Chorredor de Café go to this link Duck Runner Resources
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Sunday, March 9, 2008

Banana Bread - Pan de Banano

Ingredients:
1/4 pound (1/2 cup) butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 pound ripe bananas (2 or 3 large)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 egg, well beaten
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder


Directions:
Soften the butter at room temperature and cream it with the sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Mash the bananas and add to the butter and sugar mixture. Add the salt, cinnamon, lemon juice, and egg. Sift the flour with the baking powder and fold it into the liquid mixture. Pour the batter into a greased (9 by 5-inch) loaf pan. Bake in a preheated moderate (350 F.) oven for 1 hour, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Serve with honey as a cake bread, or as a pudding with cream or ice cream.

7/28/2011 - Note:  This can be cooked in an electric skillet! Just pour the batter in the preheated skillet and baked it for 50 minutes @ 275° F. It will brown on top, but the sides and bottom will be nicely toasted, perfectly moist and delicious.
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Pollo en Pepian Dulce

Ingredients:
3-1/2 to 4-pound chicken, cut into serving pieces
2 cups chicken stock,
about 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1/2 cup pepitas (Mexican pumpkin seeds)
3 red bell peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped, or 5 canned pimientos, chopped
3 medium tomatoes, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons lard or vegetable oil
1/4 cup Seville (bitter) orange juice, or use two-thirds orange juice and one-third lime juice
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice salt,
freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup seedless raisins
butter
1/4 cup chopped almonds

Directions:
Put the chicken pieces into a heavy casserole, pour in the stock, adding a little more to cover, if necessary. Cover and simmer until almost tender, about 30 minutes. In a blender or food processor grind the sesame and pumpkin seeds as fine as possible and shake through a sieve. Set aside. Put the peppers, tomatoes, onion, and garlic into a blender or food processor and reduce to a coarse puree. Mix the puree with the ground sesame and pumpkin seeds. Heat the lard or vegetable oil in a skillet, add the puree, and cook, over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for 5 minutes. Drain the chicken, reserve the stock, and return the chicken to the casserole. Add to the puree 1 cup of the stock, the Seville (bitter) orange juice, allspice, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir to mix, and pour over the chicken. Cover and simmer gently until the chicken is tender, about 15 minutes. Add a little more stock if necessary. The sauce should be thick. Soak the raisins in cold water to cover for 15 minutes. Drain thoroughly. Heat a little butter in a skillet and saute the almonds until they are golden. Drain. Transfer the chicken and sauce to a warmed serving dish and sprinkle with the raisins and almonds. Serve with rice.
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Beef in Tomato and Pepper Sauce

Ingredients:
1/4 cup peanut oil
1 med onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 red or green bell peppers seeded & chopped
1 fresh hot red or green pepper seeded & chopped
3 lbs lean boneless beef chuck cut into 1 inch cubes
A 10 oz can Mexican green tomatoes w/ liquid
4 med tomatoes peeled and coarsely chopped
1 bay leaf
2 cloves
1/2 tsp oregano
Salt and Pepper
1/2 cp beef stock more or less
2 stale tortillas, or 2 Tbs masa harina or
2 TBs cornmeal

Directions
Heat oil in heavy saucepan or casserole and saute onion garlic and peppers until the onion is soft. Add the meat and the other ingredients except the tortilla. The liquid should barely cover the meat. Add a little more stock if necessary. Covered simmer gently until the beef is tender, about 2 hours. If using tortillas soak in cold water, and crumble like bread crumbs. Add to the casserole and simmer uncovered, until the sauce is thickened. If using masa harina or cornmeal mix with a little cold water and stir into the stew, cooking just until the sauce is thickened. Serve stew on a bed of rice.
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There are many variations of this favorite cake recipe!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
9 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
9 egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 (5 ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 cup white sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Sift together the flour and baking powder. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk; beat well after each addition. In a large glass or metal mixing bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until whites form stiff peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter using a rubber spatula. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

In a small bowl, stir together the 2 cups heavy cream, evaporated milk and sweetened condensed milk. Pour the mixture over the cake until it wont absorb any more. You may have 1/3 to 1/4 left over. That's okay.

Combine the whipped cream and sugar, spread over soaked cake. Refrigerate cake until serving, Pour leftover milk mixture onto plates and swirl in jam if desired, before setting cake on the plates.
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INGREDIENTS:
1 - 3 pound chicken, cut into pieces
1-2 lemons
1/4 cup margarine
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 cup peeled and chopped tomatoes
2 big carrots, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
5 medium potatoes, cut into cubes
1 cup green peas
1 tsp chopped parsleyt
tsp vinegar
salt, pepper and oregano to taste
2 cups water with a bouillon cube

DIRECTIONS:
Soak the chicken pieces in lemon juice for about 2 minutes. Take out and drain. Heat margarine and fry the chicken together with all the other ingredients, adding the potatoes and the consomme last. Add water if needed. Let it cook for an hour and serve with rice.
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Ingredients:
4 Large bananas
½ Stick butter
2 Tablespoons honey
Lemon juice
Sour cream

Directions:
Peel the bananas and cut them in half, lengthwise. Turn the oven on to 350 and grease a baking dish. Arrange bananas halves in the dish, dot with butter. Spread honey and lemon juice over the bananas. Bake for 15 minutes. Put the sour cream into a bowl and serve it with your baked bananas.
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(Served at Dona Luisa's Restaurant in Antigua, Guatemala)

INGREDIENTS:
3 Plantains, not very ripe
1 cinnamon stick
1 1/2 cups fried black beans
2 ounces sugar
3 tbsp cooked cornmeal (polenta)
oil

DIRECTIONS:
Wash the plantains and cut each into 5 to 6 pieces. Cook them in a small amount of water together with the cinnamon stick. Peel them and mash tem or put them through a sieve, adding the cornnmeal. With this dough make pancakes 4 inches in diameter, not very thin, put some black beans in the middle and fold them over.

Heat oil in a skillet and fry the rellenitos. Serve them with a little sugar on top.
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Christmas Buñuelos


Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/2 t anise seed
1/4 t salt
1/8 t baking soda
1 1/4 cup sifted flour
5 eggs
Oil for frying

Glaze:
2 to 3 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cinnamon stick

Directions:
In a saucepan over medium heat, mix the water, aniseed and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, then add the baking soda and flour. Remove pan from heat and beat until flour is well mixed. Let the dough cool. Add eggs one by one, waiting until one egg has been completely mixed into the dough before adding the next. This process can be done by hand or with an electric mixer. Let the dough sit for at least one hour, covered with plastic or a cloth. Once the dough has set, heat enough oil in a saucepan so that small balls will be submerged for frying. Drop spoonfuls of the dough into hot oil. Do not crowd pan. Fry until golden brown.

Place on a paper towel to remove excess grease. In a small pot bring sugar, water and cinnamon stick to a boil, and simmer about 5 minutes. Add vanilla, liquor or other flavors to taste. Serve with syrup and enjoy!

Makes 15-20 buñuelos.
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