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Rajas con Queso

Anything wrapped in a warm tortillas can steal my heart

I originally saw this in Food Network show that has since been cancelled and thru the years have modified it.

This is an easy recipe and a life saver, because if you have all the ingredients and you organized yourself a day or two before cooking, it should take you no more than 10 minutes to have it on the table for anyone to gobble it up. .

The other plus about it? It’s a proven crowd pleaser as party food.

I mean tortilla and melted cheese, can’t be beat people. Trust me.

The ingredients

5 or 6 fresh Poblano chilies
3 tablespoons corn oil
2 large onions, halved and sliced about 1/4-inch thick
1 (16-ounce) container sour cream
1 Chicken bouillon granules
1 1/2 cups Oaxaca or Mexican cheeses (those shredded cheese packages are perfect for this)

In order to save on prep time, I usually roast the Poblano a day or two before I put this together, since it keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Then when I make this, all I have to do cut the onions and whip it up in less than 5 minutes.

If you have a gas stove, you can roast the Poblano chilies over an open flame until blackened, but not charred. If you don’t have a gas stove, then turn your oven to broil, on high and place the Poblano chilies in a baking tray, lined with aluminum foil. Coat each of the chilies with a bit of oil and sprinkle with salt. Cook until you get the same results as noted before. If you do use the oven, remember to check then every 2-3 minutes and given then a turn so they roast evenly all around.

Before roasted, after roasted - pretty!

Once they are cooked to the right color. Wrap the chilies in a towel and place them in a plastic bag for about 10 minutes. Remove the chilies and with the help of a kitchen towel rub the skins off. The chilies should be firm. Do not rinse them, since it will take away the roast flavor. Cut them in 1/2-inch strips discarding all the seeds and the ribs. At this point you can store them and use them up later.

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the chilies and the onions at the same time. Stir often. When everything is soft add the chicken bouillon granules to taste and stir, once is incorporated, add the sour cream and stir some more

Onions and chillies together with creamy sour cream - YUM!

At this point turn off the burner and add the cheese. Cover immediately.

Melted cheese and warm tortillas - ready to FIESTA!

At my house we have this with warm tortillas, but you can also serve it with white rice.

Tip 1: If you choose to dish up at a party, I have found that if you use a small crock pot, to keep it warm and provide with warm tortillas your guest can make their own.

Tip 2: Other variations that I have tried are instead of Poblano chilies I have sautéed some mushrooms until tender and then add the onions and follow the rest of the recipe as noted above.

 

Helado de Frescolita (Cola Ice Cream)

Oh yeah, it taste even better!

We are going down memory lane today. You have been warned.

I was born and spend my early years growing up in Venezuela. And like most people those food that you eat in your childhood just stay there, in your soul.  Just the smell of them brings me down memory lane.

I lived in a small town (back then) in the most southern part of the country.  We were knows as the last stop before going to the Amazon jungle and experiencing the Salto Angel. In Venezuela (and like most latin countries), neighborhoods have a sense of community. Most people live in a house for years and years, so everyone knows everyone’s business; kids grow up together and play together.  My fondest childhood memory was that of playing outside our house on the street with other kids around the neighborhood. It was as tacky as any movie, where kids were left to run a bit free and pretty much do whatever we could do before being called back into the house by our parents.

Most of the “barrio” (Neighborhoods) have families that sell something to make a bit of extra cash on the side. I remember in my barrio we would have the house that would sell homemade cakes, another one that would have “Pastelitos” and “Empanadas” (pastry filled with all types of filling). And the tequeños (which trust me I will be making some and posting it here) Some when as far as having a “Bodegita” and part of a small business - think of it as a raw version of a “Farm Store”

Many of times I was given money and told to go to the bodega to get something my grandmother needed or forgot to get at the big supermarket. It love doing that because then, I could sneak a “real” (the equivalent of 25 cents) from the change to buy a Toronto, or a Cocosete.

And sometimes I would collect my “reales” and have enough (1 Bolivar = 1 dollar) to go to the green house down the corner and buy a “Helando de Frescolita” (Soda Pop ice cream). They were delicious, and creamy, sweet and ice-cold, a great treat for the hot days.

When I left Venezuela and came to the states, those were the treat that I would miss, those homemade cakes and ice creams, made by the women in the “Barrio”. As I got older and traveled back for vacation, I finally go the guts to ask how to make them and was surprise that all you needed was 2 ingredients.

Frescolita and sweeten condense milk.

Oh yeah, see where this is going?

To deliciousville on the fast train! (because anything with sweeten condense milk is ok with me)

Frescolita is a Venezuelan cola. It is very similar to cream sodas found here in the United States, with a taste similar to bubble gum. It’s yummy and one of my favorite soda drinks.

Most Latin markets sell them, or in some cases a version of the same thing, so it should not be hard to find, you can also buy it here

So let’s get cracking… you will need:

Ingredients

1 can of Frescolita
1 can of sweeten condense milk (we will use about ½ of the can more or less and some more to coat the inside of our cups)

Equipment: 

A blender, some small plastic cups, a container to hold them in the freezer (Tray, cake pan, etc).

This is a 5 minute dessert

We start off by pouring the can of frescolita into the blender, then take the sweeten condense milk and pour some of that yummy liquid into the individual cups, coating the bottom. It should be about 1 tablespoon per cup (you can put more or less, depending on how much you like sweeten condensed milk).  then pour about 1/2 of the can of condensed milk into the blender. Hit mix and swirled it up until well mixed, about 2 minutes or so.

Taste it and if is not sweet enough, pour some more condensed milk.  I usually don’t like it too sweet, plus the freezen will intensify the flavors as well.

Pour the mixture into the coated cups about 1/2 way full, place into a tray or pan, cover wtih aluminum foild and into the freezer they go.  Freezer for about 24 hours. 

Almost done

When ready, to eat just take out of frezer and spoon it up! 

Delish!

Hot Spinach Dip

Creamy, Hot, yummy and good for you!

I love to have people over to my house and shower them with food.  Blame it on my Italian heritage.  We are natural host.  We love to have people sit at our table to eat and drink and totally enjoy every bite.

Since I have moved to Tampa, I have not had the chance to do this. Because well, most of my friends live in other states, cities and I frankly to lazy to go make new friends. Yes, I’m shallow that way.

When I meet Tom, I glad, because that meant 2 things: One, I could stop cooking for one! and Two, I was going to heritage friends by proxy.  I was not disappointed, so far his friends are witty, funny, smart and just good people.  Which means that my Italian host kicked into overdrive and now we are having dinner parties more often.

And a dinner party must have appetizers!  And Internet, this appetizer is the easiest thing you will make and people will beg you for the recipe once they smother the first piece of toasted goodness with the creamy Hot Spinach Dip.

ingredients

1 box of frozen Spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 onion, cut into small pieces
1 clove of garlic mince (or garlic paste)
3 tablespoon Butter
3 tablespoon Olive oil
2 cups of fresh spinach, chopped rough (if desired)
1 envelope of Vegetable soup mix
1/2 cup of mayo
1/4 cup of sour cream
2 tablespoon of cream cheese (soft)
1 teaspoon of mustard (Dijon type)
1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of cheddar cheese
1/4 cup of Gorgonzola cheese
2 round of bread (or similar country, crusty bread) for bowl, another for dipper pieces.

Follow directions to unfreeze the frozen spinach and make sure its squeezed dry.

In saute pan, place the butter and olive oil on medium heat.  Add the onions and cook for a bit until a bit soft, add the garlic and cook a bit more, then add the drained frozen spinach as well as the fresh (if using).  Mix and cook for about 5 minutes or so, then mix in the dry vegetable mix. Stir and cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Remove from heat and place in a bowl to cool down.

Easy, and full of iron, even with the mayo!

When spinach mixture is cooled.  Mix in the rest of the ingredients (Mayo, Sour Cream, Mustard and the cheeses)  Stir until everything is incorporate.  At this point you can store in the refrigerator for up to 2 days before using.  If you are preparing the same day, then turn the oven to 350 degrees

Take the bread and form a bowl by cutting the top and scooping/hollowing out the inside, reserved and put it aside.  Spread a bit of butter inside and then scoop the spinach mixture inside, spreading in and around the bread bowl.  Spread a bit of Parmesan cheese on top.

Creamy inside a bread box, what more can you ask for>

Cover the bread bowl in aluminum foil, place in a baking sheet pan and into the oven it goes for about 20 minutes.  At about the 15 minutes mark uncovered and cook another 5 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Take out of the oven, and let sit for about 5-10 minutes.  Turn your oven to broil (medium setting) During this time, take the scooped pieces of bread and break off until small bite side pieces.  The same for the additional bread break into rustic pieces with your hands.  Spread on a baking sheet, drizzel with a bit of olive oil and place into the oven to toast up.  About 2 minutes or so.  Need to keep a watch on it so your broiler does not burn the bread.

Melted cheese on top of all that goodness!

Take out and arrange the bread bowl dip in a serving plater, with the toasted pieces of break around it.

Served and bask in the praises

Lesson: Making Rice

Remember the Picadillo recipe that I posted a couple of weeks ago? Yeah, well what goes with Picadillo?

Fluffy, white rice

RICE!

Why is everyone running? Come back! This is so easy its ridiculous!

I know, I know, to some of us, making good rice is such an intimidating mystery that an entire industry thrives on selling crappy instant rice products! But, let me give you a HUGE TIP here, homemade rice is extremely easy once you get the hang of it, plus is a valuable skill that you’ll use many times over a lifetime of eating.

First lets start with the most basic question: What type of rice?

There are dozens types of rice, with very different flavors and applications. Most people will be familiar with at least one or two varieties. White and brown. There are many sub-types within brown and white, not to mention the wild and other specialty types.

My preferences (when cooking for a savory dish) run towards Basmati or Jasmine rice. Basmati is a long grain rice with delicate flavor and a nice medium density bite. It is excellent for most Asian dishes, as well as rice pudding and fried rice. Jasmine, has a distinct sweetness to it and falls somewhere between “No wonder it is the staple food for most of the world”. In the Latin cuisines most cook use parboiled rice.

Now a day, most people have a rice cooker which is fine for making large batches, but since there is only 2 month to feed in my house, I usually do the tried and true pot on the stove method.

The art of cooking rice and having it come out all nice and fluffy is to understand the proportions of the two main ingredients, the rice and the liquid (water, broth, etc). The rations range from 1 part rice to 1.5 parts water to as much as 1 part rice to 2 parts water. I usually use the 1 part to 1.5 parts water. I have found that this makes the rice perfect. After you cook it a few times you’ll have your own ideas about how much water to use.

In the following recipe I use 1 cup of rice, which feeds up to 2 people to eat along side something else. Even if I’m cooking rice for myself, I still make the 1 cup ratio, mainly because I then use the left over to make fried rice the next day. In terms of serving sizes, figure on about 1/2 cup of rice per person eating. And adjust quantities of water accordingly.

Ingredient

1 cup Rice (Jasmine or Basmati type) pre-washed in water
1.5 cup of water or other liquid (depending on the dish I serving the rice with, I may use stock, instead of water)
½ tablespoon of oil (Canola or Vegetable)
Salt and Pepper to taste (about ¼ teaspoon of each is a good starting point)
1 or 2 slices of red/green pepper
1 or 2 slices of onion
½ teaspoon of garlic, cut fine or you can use garlic paste as well

I usually prep all my ingredients ahead of time before I even put the pot I’m using in the stove, because the steps will be pretty quick. Plus it makes you feel like a Top Chef pouring things in order!

First measure your rice, and pour into a sieve, then wash under cold water, put aside. Measure the amount of liquid you will be using and put aside. Cut the onion into long slices as well as the red/green pepper and have the garlic ready.

Place a pot on the stove on medium high heat, and pour the oil, warm it up a bit, and then throw the peppers, onion and garlic in. Mix it up and cook for about 1-2 minutes. Pour the washed rice into the pot and cook the rice moving it around the pot. At this time I season the rice with salt and pepper. Then I pour the liquid that I’m using. For this recipe I used water. Move the rice a bit and then, I TASTE the water to make sure it has some flavor to it, at this point I can add more salt and pepper if I want.

Pretty easy

Stir it up one more time and let it come to a full boil and bubble, about 3-5 minutes. As soon as it reaches a full boil, immediately turn the heat down to the point where it is just at a low simmer, the lowest setting on your stove. Cover as soon as you get it to the right heat for a simmer. Set your timer for 20 minutes and walk away. DO NOT OPEN it even to peek until the 20 minutes are up. This is of paramount importance if you want to end up with a successful pot of rice. I am not kidding. Not even a slight tilt of the lid! Leave it alone!

Once the time is up, remove the lid and your rice should not have any moisture left. Time to FLUFF the rice! FLUFF with a fork, but don’t crush it, just fold it over a few times. Place the lid back on the pot, turn the heat off, and let the rice just sit there for 10 minutes. If you are using an electric stove, switch the pot to a different burner.

All nice, Fluff and ready to serve

Once the 10 minutes are up, you are ready to serve with your favorite food.

This is the basic way of making rice.  But the possibilities are endless when it comes to flavors.  Add coconut flakes, almonds or pines nuts! Or you can go the strong route of flavorville  by using chicken stock instead of water, or coconut milk!  How about tossing it with chopped cilantro or parsley.  Its insame how much variety this ingredient gives you, no wonder it provides more than one fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by the human species.

Now, no excuses, go make it a pot of rice!

Quesillo

Yum, Yum

Ok folks this is so easy, there is no excuse to make one every weekend.   It’s rich, its creamy and oh, so good.

In Venezuela, as well as most of Latin America, everyone makes Flan and most of you probably have tastes some type of version of this creamy custard dessert.  In Venezuela we make our version of Flan and call it: Quesillo.  The ingredients are your basic eggs, milk, vanilla, caramel and sweeten condense milk.  It is bake either in a pressure cooker, or in the oven using the  bain-marie (also known as a water bath) technique.  Or the most original way will be in a cracker/cookie can, which I will talk about later.

The desert gets its name because, “Queso” mean “cheese” in Spanish and when its bake right and un-molded, it comes out looking like a “cheese”.   And while its super simple to make,  oddly enough, most of the Venezuelan makes it only during a special celebration.  Every birthday party has a cake and a Quesillo.

The cast of ingredients is composed of eggs, sweeten condense milk, whole milk, vanilla, lime peel and rum.  But first we need to make the yummy caramel sauce – all it takes is sugar and a bit of water.

In a heavy sauce pan and mix the sugar and water, over high heat. The sugar will start to boil and then will start to slowly turn colors on you, first into a pale amber, and escalating into a medium, dark color; NOTE: Once you hit the pale stage DON’T WALK AWAY FROM IT, because it will jump into the medium and then dark very, very fast and if there is nothing more horrible, is BURNED sugar! So, make sure you are on top of it at all times. When you see it turn into a dark rich color,  remove from heat and pour into the baking dish.

Tilt back and forth to cover the bottom and sides of dish. get it nice and coated. Again, be careful, the caramel at this stage is very hot and may burn you (Badly!).  I usually cover my baking dish with a towel while I’m coating it. Let the caramel in the pot cool, so put aside.

The 4 stages of caramel

Side note: Lets talk about the baking dish for a bit.  You can use any you like.  But, my grandmother taught me to use a cracker or cookie can as seen below.  Don’t let the look fool you, this is the best thing to make the Quesillo in.

In its previous life, this use to store chocolate morsels

Yep, you read it right, a can! Which its the perfect baking vessel, it has a lid, which fits nice and tight and its the right height and it may sound totally off the wall, but the can gets cured with  past baking and the caramel and custard just taste better.  But ,you can use anything you like if you can not find, or feel comfortable using a can.

Back to making the actual quesillo custard.

Turn your oven to 400 Degrees.

The next step are simple enough, in a blender,  pour the can of condensed milk – YUM! (lick those finger – go ahead you are allowed, I can wait) Then take the empty can and measure the whole milk and pour into a separate glass container (I use a measuring cup) with the strip of lemon peel and  put in the microwave for about 2 minutes to warm up.  Back to the blender I go and pour the warm milk, then the vanilla and run (if you are using, which I highly recommend you do) the blender at medium speed for about 1-2 minutes, while you are running the blender, you start adding the eggs one by one until fully incorporated.

How can you say not to those ingredients?

Pour the custard mixture into the baking dish that you coated with caramel and place inside a larger pot.  I usually like the specs of the lime peel, but if you don’t you can strain the custard before it goes into the coated caramel baking dish.

You are ready to bake it!  Take your baking dish and cover the top with aluminum foil, nice and tight. Then place into a bigger heavy dish/pan. You are ready for the water bath – Pour in enough hot water into larger pot to reach halfway up the sides of the baking dish.  TIP: if you squeeze the previous peeled lime into the water, the pot you are using will not turn black during the baking process.

Slowly place into the middle rack of your hot oven and bake about 55 minutes, covered.  Then uncovered and bake another 20 minutes.  The custard is ready when you touch it and it feels firm but a bit wiggling in the middle.  Take out of the oven – again, be very careful, since the water inside the large pot it’s very hot!  Set aside to cool off, about 30 minutes or so.  Once is cooled, place in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours before serving.  I recommen you leave it overnight.

When ready to serve and un-mold, dip the flan in a saucepan of hot water, or in the sink full of hot water from the tap for a few seconds.  It should lose up, but sometimes, you need to run a knife around the edge to help it a bit. Invert the quesillo onto a plate with lip in order to save all that yummy caramel!

Served and enjoy the praises

Ingredient 
(makes a medium size Quesillo) if you need to make a bigger one, double the ingredients

Caramel Sauce:
6 tablespoons of sugar
2 tablespoons of water

Custard
1 (14-ounce) can of  Condensed Milk
1 (14-ounce) can of whole milk (use empty condensed milk can for measure)
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 lime peel or 1/4 teaspoon of grated
1 tablespoons of dark rum (could omit if desired, but I highly recommend not do do so)
6 eggs (4 whole eggs, 2 yolks)

Steps: See above

Picadillo

Picadillo in a bowl

There are numerous versions of Picadillo.  It’s usually made all over Latin America, but living in Florida, most people identify it as a Cuban dish. But, pretty much everyone in Latin America has their own version. It is often served with rice and in some cases as the filling for pastries, like empanadas. In my house it’s basically a quick dish that is made when Tom begs for it. Its simple and quick and everyone pretty much loves it.

You start with the ground meats. I use a half mixture of ground beef and ground turkey or pork, in this case whatever is on sale in the meat department in your local supermarket. Plus using a leaner type of ground meat makes the whole dish lighter.  I season the meats in a bowl with salt and pepper, a bit of milk (about 1/2 tablespoon) and a bit of cumin (1/2 teaspoon), mix it all and let it rest for a bit.

In a large skillet, that has been pre-heated on medium-high heat, pour about 2 tablespoons of  oil (regular, I use corn/vegetable oil) and change the heat to high, take my bowl of meat and start to brown it, breaking up the pieces and letting it cook until all the fat moisture is dry, I also add about 2 bay leaves at this point as well and some dry oregano, about 1/4 teaspoon.

Doing the happy dance in the skillet

Then while that is going, I chop up into small pieces  1 red pepper and 1 green pepper.  I do the same with 1 large onion (or 2 medium) and about 2-3 cloves of garlic.

Ready to go, Onions? Peppers?

I then add it to the brown meat and mix it all around… making it look like this:

Playing nice with eachother

I go back to my cutting board and cut up about 4-5 tomatoes (at this point you can also use 1 large (or 2 medium) can of diced tomatoes).  If you use the fresh tomatoes, before I mix them into the meat in the skillet, I season with salt and pepper and then in they go.  Give it a swirl and go back and mix in about 1/4 cup of raisins (or more if you want a bit of a sweeter dish), give it another swirl.  And get working with the olives.  Some people like them whole or cut in half.  I like them chopped, not too much but enough that they become part of the dish.  (for those that have picky eater kids, this is a good way to “hide” them in plain sight). Dump them in the skillet and give it another swirl.

Next up the liquids!  I use red wine, but you can also use dry white wine. I usually pour about 1 cup of red wine,  1/4 cup of tomato paste or ketchup and about 1/2 cup of water.  A tip: if you use the can tomatoes (which you can), the liquid will take place of the water.  I give it a good toss around.  After about 5 minutes of that bubbling along, I taste it and adjust the season by adding a bit of salt and pepper, I also add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and 1 or 2 chicken flavor bouillon cubes depending on the taste.  At this point, I reduce the heat to Medium-Low and I let it cook about 20 minutes of so, stirring it from time to time, adjusting the liquid (more wine or water) for more sauce/less sauce.  I like my picadillo on the dry side with enough juices to sort of coat it, if you like it soupy, then by all means, finish cooking it once you hit your desire consistency.

Soupy? Dry? Your Choice!

I usually served it in a bowl, over white rice and with a spoonful of sour cream (optional!).

ingredients

1 1/2 pound of ground meat (Beef, Turkey, Pork)
1/2 teaspoon of milk
1/2 teaspoon of cumin
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoon of cooking oil (corn/vegetable)
1/4 teaspoon of dry oregano
1 large red and green pepper (each) chopped
1 large (or 2 medium) yellow onion chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic minced
4-5 tomatoes chopped (or 2 medium cans of tomatoes)
1/4 cup of raisins
1/4 cup of chopped pimiento-stuffed green olives (drained of liquid)
1 cup of red (or dry white) wine
1/4 cup of tomato paste or ketchup
1/2 cup of water (if needed)
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1-2 cubes of chicken flavor bouillon cube
Salt and ground pepper to taste

how to:

In a bowl mix the milk, salt, pepper, cumin and oregano with ground meats.  Heat the oil in a skillet and brown the ground meats with the bay leave and oregano until liquid evaporates.

Mix in the rest of the ingredients all the while stirring and tasting and adjusting the salt and pepper.

Cook about 20 minutes until desired consistency, let it rest for a bit and then served over white rice.

Enjoy!