Ropa Vieja

After hosting a whole slew of family for a couple weeks, LeGreg and I thought my parents might like to have dinner cooked for them.

We were right! Imagine that!

I thought ropa vieja was a stew, based on exactly nothing, but it turned out to be more of a shredded, delicious, soupy meat.

Served with firecracker corn and black beans.

This is out of my favorite cookbook, Isabel's Cantina.

For the meat:
1 flank steak (about 1.5 lbs), cut across the grain into 4 pieces
1 med yellow onion, halved
4 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp cumin

For the sauce:
2 Tbl olive oil
1/2 med yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
3/4 cup dry white wine
2 Tbl tomato paste
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced
1/2 tsp salt
3 green onions, green parts only, sliced
1/2 cup sliced green olives (optional)(gross. nope)

To cook the meat, combine the steak, onion, garlic, bay leaves, and cumin in a large pot and add enough water to cover completely. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat so the water simmers gently. Cook until the meat is very tender (it will shrink A LOT) and falling apart, 2 to 2.5 hrs.

Remove the meat from the liquid. Strain the liquid, serving the broth but discarding the solids. Place the meat in a bowl to cool. When cool enough to handle, shred the meat into small pieces.

For the sauce, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Saute until the bell pepper is tender and onion is soft and translucent, about 4 mins. Add the white wine and tomato paste. Stir well and cook for about 5 mins.

Add the reserved broth, the chipotle, and salt. Continue simmering for another 5 mins. Add the beef, stir, and cook until the beef is heated through. The ropa vieja can be stored, covered in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days. Reheat over medium heat before proceeding. Stir in the green onions and garnish with sliced green olives, if desired, before serving.

Easy Cranberry Souffle

This was the other side I brought for Christmas.

Recipe and picture from My Life as a Mrs.

ingredients:

For the Cranberries:
3 cups fresh cranberries (12 ounce bag)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)

For the Topping:
3/4 cup melted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
2 eggs, beaten

directions:

For the Cranberries:
Preheat oven to 325ºF. Spray a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray. Wash cranberries and pick out any rotten ones. Place into prepared baking dish. Mix together the sugar and walnuts and sprinkle over the top of the cranberries. Gently shake dish to help spread out the sugar mixture.

For the Topping:
Mix together butter, sugar, flour, and eggs in a bowl and spread mixture evenly on top of cranberry mixture. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until golden brown.

Ok, so I only have one square dish, and it was used for the sweet potatoes. I used one of those rectangle, tall casserole dishes, which I think sort of messed up the topping. It was still delicious, but there was equal parts topping to cranberry, which was just....a lot. As the originator mentions in the recipe, though, toss a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of this "side" dish, and it makes a killer dessert, too. I will definitely make this again....in the correct dish. 

Mashed Sweet Potatoes Brulee

Recipe and picture from Skinny Taste.

We had Christmas dinner with LeGreg's family, and I wanted to contribute. I found a couple recipes that I could semi- make ahead of time and could HOPEFULLY not screw up.

I made the potatoes and put them in the dish ahead of time and made the topping and stuck it in some tubberware in the fridge. It made the 2.5 hr drive just fine.



Ingredients:

• 5 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and boiled until soft (6 cups cooked)
• 3/4 cup 1% milk
• 3 tbsp light butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cup unpacked light brown sugar

Directions:

When the potatoes are cooked and soft, combine them with milk, light butter, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and mash or puree until smooth.  


Spoon into a 9 x 9 or 11 x 7-inch baking dish.

Preheat the broiler. Sprinkle 1/2 cup brown sugar evenly over top. Broil 2 minutes or until sugar melts, careful not to burn. Let it stand until the melted sugar hardens (about 5 minutes).

Holy crap. The little hint of cinnamon and nutmeg in this? And the BRULEE? SO GOOD!! These were absolutely delicious and will for sure be made again. 

Southwestern Cheeseball

Picture and recipe from Taste and Tell.

I wanted to bring something snacky to Thanksgiving, so I opted for....MY FIRST CHEESEBALL!

Who doesn't love balls of cheese, right?

Ingredients

• 8 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 8 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup finely diced onion
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles
• chopped cilantro (I used chives)
• crackers, for serving

Instructions

• In a medium bowl, combine the cheddar, cream cheese, butter, onion, garlic powder and green chile. Mix completely.
• Turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Form into a ball and wrap tightly. Refrigerate until set up, 2 hours to overnight.
• Place chopped cilantro on a plate. Unwrap cheeseball and roll in the cilantro until coated. Serve with crackers.

I'm not huge on cilantro, and a friend suggested chives. Good choice! Loved them. This turned out pretty tasty, but it could have used a liiiiiittle bit more of a bite. I'm not sure what exactly I would add, but I will probably play with it a bit, next time.

BBQ Chicken Enchiladas

Recipe and pictures from How Sweet Eats.

How Sweet Eats is just.....she just....NEEDS TO BE MY BFF AND COOK FOR ME EVERY DAY. That's all.

makes 8 enchiladas

8 large whole wheat tortillas 

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

28 ounce can red enchilada sauce

1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce (or more depending on your tastebuds) (I will use more next time)

1/2 large sweet onion, sliced

1 tablespoon BBQ seasoning

pinch of cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded colby jack cheese

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on low-medium. Add sliced onions with a pinch of salt, and let caramelize until soft and golden – about 10 minutes. While onions are cooking, dump enchilada sauce into a bowl and whisk in your favorite BBQ sauce until combined.

Add shredded chicken to onions with BBQ seasoning and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Mix thoroughly. Pour in about a half of a cup of enchilada/BBQ sauce mixture, and add 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup colby cheese. Stir until mixture comes together and turn off heat.

Pour a drizzle of enchilada/BBQ sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Take each tortilla and fill it with 1/2 + of chicken mixture. Roll each up and set it in the baking dish. Dump remaining enchilada/BBQ sauce on top of tortillas and add remaining cheese. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes. 



I snagged a rotisserie chicken at the store, and shredded that sucker right up. Easy peasy. These were SUPER easy to put together and came out really good. The sauce was pretty much enchilada sauce with a touch of bbq sauce. I would have liked it to be a little bbq-ier, so I'll probably add a bit more of that, next time.

Turkey, Kale and Brown Rice Soup

Recipe and picture from The Food Network.

Oh soup season.

You were so desperately missed.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 5 to 6 large shallots, chopped
• 3 medium carrots, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 1/3 cups)
• 1 large red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 8 ounces ground white turkey meat, broken into small chunks
• 1 tablespoon herbes de Provence (yeah, idk, I just threw a bunch of herbs in there. Oregano, savory, thyme)
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth, plus more as needed (I used about a cup more)
• One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice, drained
• 1 cup cooked brown rice (I used one bag of that Trader Joe's frozen rice stuff)
• 1 small bunch kale, coarsely chopped (about 4 packed cups)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, optional

Directions

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, carrots and bell pepper and saute, stirring frequently, until the vegetables begin to brown and soften slightly, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the ground turkey and stir until the meat turns white and begins to color very slightly around the edges, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the herbes de Provence and stir, 1 minute. Add 4 cups broth, tomatoes and rice. Bring to a boil. Stir in the kale and season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and the freshly ground black pepper. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Season with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle each serving with parsley and Parmesan, if using, and serve.

So, I used a crap ton of kale and carrots (CRAM ALL THE VEGGIES IN YOUR SOUPS!), which I'm sure is why I ended up adding a little more broth to it. This was pretty simple to put together, didnt take too long (maybe 45 mins from start to finish), and is GOOD! A nice hearty soup. 

Now just cross your fingers we get one of the stock pots on our wedding registry so I don't have to make soup in a wok, anymore.

Butternut Squash and Pancetta Orecchiette

Recipe and picture from SpoonForkBacon.

I cooked, AGAIN!!! I've realized something.

I cook more when I DON'T have food in the house. If I have to go to the grocery store, then I might as well check out a recipe or two and actually MAKE something, you know?

I got back from my trip, immediately left for another, and came back to bowls full of air and emptiness in my kitchen.

BARE.

I had half a butternut squash leftover from a recipe I made...eh...ok kind of a long time ago. But it wasn't moldy or smelly! My two tests. If it's 9 months past the expiration date but isn't smelly or moldy? Get in my face.

So, a couple things.

1) When I first glanced over this, I was all "Thyme! I totally have that left over, too!". Nope. I had sage left over, so I used that. I have ZERO regrets. It was great.

2) What I love about this type of pasta recipe is that you can pretty much chuck whatever amount of the "topping" ingredients that you have in there. My half a squash ended up being WAY more than the amount called for, I just tossed my whole thing of pancetta in there, I have no idea if it's anywhere near the amount it was supposed to be, AND I halved the actual pasta. I'm a fan of a large topping to pasta ratio.

On the good stuff.

And it was GOOD.

Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients:
1 lb orecchiette pasta
3 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 ounces pancetta, diced (I used the package from Trader Joe's)
1 shallot, diced
1 medium carrot, peeled and diced
1 celery stalk, peeled and diced
1 garlic clove, minced
2/3 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups butternut squash, peeled and diced
8 to 10 threads saffron
1 tablespoon minced thyme (....or sage)
2 teaspoons thinly sliced chives
2 egg yolks
1 cup pasta water
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano, plus more for garnish
salt and pepper to taste

1. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Once the water has been brought to a boil, add pasta and stir. Cook pasta until al dente, drain (reserving 3/4 cup pasta water), toss with 1/2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and set aside.
2. Pour 1 tablespoon of oil into a large sauté pan and place over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and sauté for 3 minutes. Drain pancetta onto paper towels and set aside.
3. Pour remaining oil to pan and sauté shallots for 1 minute. Add carrots, celery and garlic and continue to sauté for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Add the squash and continue to sauté for an additional 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, stir in the saffron threads (I own saffron now! How fancy of me!!) and cook until the liquid has almost disappeared or until the squash has softened.
6. Return pancetta to the pan, with the vegetable mixture and stir in the orecchiette until well combined.
7. Reduce the heat to medium-low and gently fold in the herbs.
8. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and pasta water. Pour the mixture over the pasta and stir together. Sprinkle cheese over pasta and stir until just combined. Adjust seasonings and serve with extra pecorino sprinkled on top.

Egg yolk and pasta water sauce, you say? Huh? JUST DO IT, TRUST ME. I don't even know how, but it works. It works so so well. This was DELICIOUS. It was a pretty easy and quick dish to put together, too.