A gift and a story . . .

My friends Ylia and Margarita came back from Cancún, Mexico a few days ago and they were thoughtful enough to bring me a little something from their trip.  I must clarify though that they were working over there and not on vacation!  We have this event at the office called the "Annual Meeting" which takes place in different countries every year (and every four years in a city here in the States).  This meeting always happens around the end of March or begining of April . . . and it's what kept me also busy for most part of March, like I stated a few postings ago! :)

Anyway . . . as I was saying, Ylia and Margarita thought of me and decided that they were not going to bring me any candy from Mexico, but something I could actually use for cooking . . . so they brought me this "salsa picante" . . .

and they also got me something called an "Alebrije".

“Alebrijes” are brightly-colored Mexican folk art sculptures of fantastical creatures, and the story about how they came to be is a very interesting one! Pedro Linares López—a papier mache artisan born in Mexico City in 1906—started out as a common “cartonero” (papier mache artist) who eked out a living in La Merced, on the outskirts of Mexico City, by making traditional piñatas, carnival masks, and Judas dolls for local fiestas. In the 1930s, he broke from tradition and started creating elaborate decorative pieces that represented imaginary creatures he called alebrijes. Inspired by a dream when he fell ill at age 30, these papier mache sculptures were painted with bright colors and intricate patterns, and frequently featured wings, horns, tails, fierce teeth, and bulgy eyes. Although Pedro Linares was the first one who used the term to describe his creations; nowadays it is also commonly used in reference to the Oaxacan woodcarvings popularized by Manuel Jimenez.

One day, at the age of 30, Pedro got very sick. Poor people didn’t have any access to doctors or medicine, so Pedro’s sisters were doing the best they could by giving him home remedies and herbs. Apparently, Pedro got worse, and the only thing the family got left were prayers to their saints.

In bed and unconscious, Pedro had this dream where he was in a very strange, interesting and peaceful place, kind of like a forest, with trees, rocks and animals, and where he could also see the sky and the clouds. Pedro said that everything was quiet, he wasn’t feeling any pain at all, and he was happily walking around when, all of a sudden, the rocks, clouds and animals turned into weird creatures: a donkey with wings, a rooster with bull horns, a lion with a dog’s head. All these creatures were yelling just one word: “Alebrijes”. He said that they were yelling louder and louder and just repeating that same word “Alebrijes, Alebrijes, Alebrijes!”

Pedro claims that the noise was terrible and that he wasn't able to stay there for a long time because he got a terrible headache and left. He then found himself on this road and saw a man walking along. He asked for help—he wanted a way out! The man told Pedro that he wasn’t supposed to be there yet, that he had to keep walking and that a few steps away he would find an exit. Pedro started running and soon found a narrow window. He was barely able to escape through it and then he woke up.

Some versions tell that Pedro suddenly woke up in the middle of his own wake, and that he heard expressions of astonishment and prayers from friends and family when they saw him “coming back from what seemed his death”. After that moment, Pedro recovered completely and started remembering his dream. He wanted his family and everyone else to know about these fantastic animals. And taking advantage of his artistic ability, Pedro grabbed some paper and molded it into these figures, painted them—just like in his dream—giving life to the “Alebrijes”.

That first of Pedro’s alebrije caught the eye of a gallery owner in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The gallery soon commissioned additional pieces. Eventually, museums around the world purchased the extraordinary, one-of-a-kind alebrijes, and Pedro traveled to participate in exhibitions throughout Latin America, the United States, and Europe.

Pedro’s family says that he used to work 16 hours every day—from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m.—until the day before he died, on 26 January 1992, at age 86. His family still keeps the tradition alive.

I found a video on YouTube, "The Colors of Mexico: Alebrijes" . . . I thought you might want to watch it! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXn0VE66VmE&feature=related

A gift and a story . . .

Guinness Chocolate Cake

Last Friday I posted this recipe on my Facebook wall and had been "dreaming of it" during the weekend.  This morning I wasn't feeling well (remember I told you on Saturday that I had been harboring a cold?) so I had to call in sick, something I do on very rare occasions!

Around 3 p.m. I was feeling a little bit better and hungry . . . but I knew I didn't have many things left in my pantry. After coming back from Michigan last week I kept postponing ordering groceries online, thinking that I might have the time Friday afternoon after work to go shopping.  And, even though we were released at 1 p.m. because of Good Friday, it didn't happen (going shopping, that is) . . . I wasn't feeling that great and decided to go straight home.

Well, going back to my pantry . . . I found a box of Velveeta Shells & Cheese—not exactly something I like or crave, but I guess I bought it to have some sort of "life saver" on a rainy day (or sick day)!  Reluctantly, I set a saucepan with water on the stove to boil it for the shell pasta and went into my fridge looking for some Parmesan cheese.  To my surprise, I found half a jar of mild chunky salsa . . . hmmm . . . "I can mix that with the Velveeta cheese sauce", I said to myself . . . and then, at the very bottom of the fridge, I found a can of Guinness beer!  Oh wow!  That meant I could probably make the "Guinness Chocolate Cake"!  I double-checked the recipe and . . . voilà . . . I found out I had everything I needed!

I turned off the stove in the meantime I started preparing the cake . . . and here are the pics . . .

I have to admit though that I made a couple of changes to the recipe:  used Greek yogurt instead of sour cream (because I didn't have any) and added chopped pecans.  The cake turned out really good!!!  You can find the recipe here:  http://www.justapinch.com/recipe/guinness-chocolate-cake-by-linda-isaacs-yogismom-feature.

Oh yeah . . . I ended up making the box of shells & cheese with the chunky salsa and it didn't turn out that bad! :)

Guinness Chocolate Cake

The Best Thing I Ever Ate . . .

. . . Totally Unexpected!  That's the name of the show I was just watching on Food Network.  I've seen it a few times and some of the dishes they mention are mind-blowing!  Oh . . . and there are some items that are "mind-blowing" as well, but not in a good way:  Deep Fried Candy Bar? . . . Proscuitto Ice Cream??? . . . give me a break! lol

I like olives and artichokes . . . so when I heard that this dish "Eggs Rose" had those two things, I wanted to find out more about it.  Cat Cora—one of the Iron Chefs—was commenting about the best breakfast she had ever had at "D'Angelo Bread", in Santa Barbara, California.  "The Eggs Rose is one of my favorite breakfast items I've ever had. Poached eggs on top of fresh baked Kalamata olive bread with an artichoke spread, delicious!"

Of course, I wanted the recipe!  And, sure enough, I couldn't find it anywhere! :(

So, I started looking on the Internet for the different components of the dish by separate and came up with these recipes:

Artichoke and Sun-Dried Tomatoes Spread















1 jar (6 ounces) marinated artichoke hearts
6 sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 Tablespoon toasted pine nuts
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Pinch of salt


Drain the artichoke hearts and tomatoes. Place all ingredients in a food processor and process to consistency that you like. This recipe is from "The Pampered Chef".

Artichoke and Goat Cheese Spread







1 can artichoke hearts, well drained
1 pound mild soft goat cheese, such as Montrachet
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
3/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 roasted red bell pepper or pimiento
2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon minced fresh basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes


In a food processor, add the artichoke hearts, goat cheese, olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, roasted bell pepper, parsley, chives, basil, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper and process until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Place in a nonreactive bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve, up to 2 days in advance.  This recipe is from Emeril Lagasse.

Kalamata Olive, Sun-dried Tomato, and Feta Bread

400 g water
14 g instant yeast
625 g bread flour (I used King Arthur—you might need a little more flour depending on how wet your olives and tomatoes are)
42 g dried milk powder
18 g sugar
7 g salt
1 egg, beaten
180 g pitted Kalamata olives, cut in half or thirds (I used a drained 6.5 oz. jar of TJs)
8 oz. julienned sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained (can use reconstituted dry pack if you prefer; I used an 8.5 oz. of TJs julienned sun-dried tomatoes)
25 g chopped fresh parsley (fresh basil would also be delicious)
8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
Egg wash


Combine water, yeast, flour, dry milk, sugar, egg, and salt in mixer bowl. Mix with paddle just to combine. Add in tomatoes, olives and parsley at the end being careful not to break them up too much.

Let dough rest 15 minutes in covered mixer bowl. Turn out onto lightly floured counter and knead a few turn to form a ball. Place in oiled covered container and let rest another 15 minutes. Do a stretch and fold. Return dough to bowl. Wait another 15 minutes and do a 2nd stretch and fold.

Return to covered bowl and let rise until double (about an 1 1/2 hours—I can't remember exactly how long this took).

Divide dough into two equally sized balls and roll each out into a cylinder about 12" long and 1/4" thick. Sprinkle each rectangle with half the feta, and then cut the rectangle in half length-wise.

Roll up each strip of dough tightly to form a long cylinder, and then roll each cylinder back and forth until each is 24" long. Braid two cylinders together and then coil them to form a round loaf.
Place each loaf on parchment, spray lightly with pan-spray, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let proof until almost double, about one hour.

Place oven stone on rack in middle position and preheat oven to 375º F. Just before baking, brush loaves with egg wash. Bake directly on stone for about 35 minutes until center reaches 190º F. Makes two round loaves (can also be baked in loaf pans).  This recipe is from "The Fresh Loaf".

The Best Thing I Ever Ate . . .

Happy . . .

"Easter" . . . "Pesah or Passover" . . . "Semana Santa" . . . depending on your roots, background, and where you are, you might be celebrating any of these.  I have Catholic and Jewish roots in my family . . . and I'm living now in the States, so there is a little bit of everything here and there.  I'm not precisely what you would call "someone religious" and I think the conflict started in my mind "ages" ago, back in my native Lima, Peru.  Just picture this:  a Catholic maternal side, a Jewish paternal side . . . and attending a Methodist school!  Any way . . . whatever it is that you believe in and are celebrating, have a nice time! :)

I know I sort of deserted my blog for the whole month of March, but it was a really hectic time at work and it was really difficult to keep up with everything going on!  Had even forgotten all about the "2010 Census" and was only able to find, fill out and mail my form yesterday!  And just to make things a tad more complicated, I've been harboring a cold for the past few days . . . ah, the joys of life! lol

Growing up, my maternal side of the family was the predominant one around this time of the year and we would celebrate "Semana Santa".  Of course, "Good Friday" or "Viernes Santo" meant having "Bacalao a la Vizcaína" which was served with steamed rice and garbanzo beans (chickpeas) with spinach.  The "Bacalao" we used to buy was Norwegian salt-dried codfish and you had to soak it in water for a couple of days (keeping it in the fridge and changing the water every few times) to desalt and reconstitute the fish.  I have to admit that I only acquired the taste for this dish over the years and really learned to appreciate it when I was in my early 20s.  In fact, I would ask my mom how come we couldn't have "Bacalao a la Vizcaína" more often!  But, apparently, salt-dried codfish was only available around Holy Week.  "Bacalao" imported from Norway was, of course, the most traditional, coveted, less salty, and pricy one, but we weren't always able to afford it, so we would just buy the least costly—but equally flavorful—local salt-dried "Bacalao style" fish.

Even though I saw my maternal grandmother and my mother preparing this dish many times along the years, it's really hard for me to recall exact measures, but after chatting online with my brother Kike and exchanging thoughts, we came up with this version:

Bacalao a la Vizcaína (Basque Style Codfish)

Ingredients:
1 lb Norwegian salt-dried codfish fillets
1 lb onions cut in thick julienne
1/2 cup of tomato paste
2 red bell peppers, cut into thin strips
3-4 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 tablespoons of "ají panca molido" (sundried red chili paste or "Panca Pepper"—found in Latin markets)
Olive oil
1/4 cup of white wine
2 cups of water or low sodium stock
1 lb Yukon gold potatoes, boiled and cut in slices
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

Preparation:

Soak the salt-dried codfish for 12 to 24 hours and keep it in the refrigerator, changing the water at least three times a day, until the water doesn't taste salty anymore.  Drain the water, gently pat dry the fish and remove bones, if any.  Put aside. Heat 5 tablespoons of olive oil in a heavy skillet or pot and sauté onions until translucent.  Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Season with salt (not too much) and pepper to taste.  Then add tomato paste and "ají panca" and cook for another minute.  Add bell peppers and sauté until they soften a little bit.  Deglaze with white wine and let alcohol evaporate  Add 2 cups of water (or low sodium stock) and then add shredded "bacalao".  Cover skillet or pot and cook on medium heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring once or twice and making sure there's enough liquid.  Also, taste and rectify seasoning.  Serve with steamed rice and boiled potatoes.  It can also be served with garbanzo beans cooked with spinach or chard.  Serves 4.

Happy . . .

Happy New Year . . .

. . . Chinese New Year, that is!

 

 

Just what is Chinese New Year?  There's actually a lot more to it than lion dances and firecrackers, although these two pieces of tradition are integral and more visible, Chinese New Year to China is like Christmas to the West.  In essence, Chinese New Year is spending time with family, gift giving and, the all important, food-fest.  While—if you're lucky—may get Christmas Eve day off in addition to Christmas Day, Chinese New Year festivities officially last for 15 days!!!

 

Chinese New Year celebrations have their origin with end-of-harvest celebrations when people would offer thanks to gods for good harvests and pray for a good crop in the following year. Although they varied according to the different calendars used, the customs were formalized under Han Dynasty (206BC-AD 25) rule.

 

2010 brings the Year of the Tiger on the Chinese lunar calendar and the New Year started on 14 February.

 

In Lima, Peru—where I was born and raised—a traditional arch welcomes you to the "Barrio Chino" (Chinatown) at the corner of Jirón Ucayali and Jirón Andahuaylas, right next to Lima’s "Mercado Central" (Central Market). And between blocks 7 and 8 of Jirón Andahuaylas you'll find the well-known "Calle Capón" (Capon Street), where all the "chifas" (Chinese restaurants) are located.

 

 

 

"Chifa" is a term used in Peru to refer to a style of food produced by the fusion of creole Peruvian food with Chinese food brought by Chinese immigrants mainly from the southern province of Guangdong and particularly its capital city, Canton, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is also used to define a restaurant where this type of food is served. "Chifa" has become one of the most popular types of food in Peru and has achieved international fame.  Nowadays, "chifa" has evolved enormously and has acquired its own personality forming part of Peruvian gastronomy.  A few interesting tidbits:

• There are more chinese restaurants in Peru than in any other Latin American country: around 6,000, just in Lima.
• In Peru, ginger is known by the Chinese world "kion" rather than the Spanish "gengibre", and soy sauce is "sillau" rather than "salsa de soya".
• Fried rice is known as "arroz chaufa" or simply "chaufa" rather than the Spanish "arroz frito" or "arroz chino".
• There are no "fortune cookies" at the end of your meal . . . rather, you get a white, soft, chewy candy wrapped in a thin edible paper-like wrapping made from sticky rice.

Everyone who knows me well is aware of my "passion" for Peruvian-Chinese cuisine or "chifa".  I've been known to eat "chifa" for three days in a row whenever I'm back in Lima on vacation! :)  When I was a kid, I would await with delight Friday nights . . . it was "chifa" night!  We always went to the same restaurant, "Chifa Taiwan", which was an unassuming, small but clean place.  We would always take one of the private booths, closed off with red curtains.  The dinner fare typically included fried wontons with tamarind dipping sauce, wonton soup, pork or chicken fried rice, chicken in oyster sauce, roast pork with scallions, and sauté noodles with snow peas, mushrooms and quail eggs . . . all washed down with Inca Kola! :)  It was a feast!  Ahhh . . . those times!  As I grew up, I realized there were "other" Chinese dishes, equally tasty, that soon became part of my favorites:

• Chi Jau Kai chicken (boned chicken pieces marinated in oil, salt, pepper, sugar, ginger, garlic, pisco, soy sauce, and "mensí" or black bean paste sauce, vapor cooked, then drenched in cornstarch, deep fried, and served with oyster sauce and sesame seeds)

 

• Chicken Roll-ups with Asparagus (chicken filets stuffed with asparagus, drenched in cornstarch, deep fried and served, also, with oyster sauce)

 

• Crab Claws (Crab claws wrapped in a paste prepared with shrimp, egg white, salt, pepper, sugar, cornstarch, and sesame oil, drenched in cornstarch, fried, and served with lime juice and Chinese cinnamon)

Happy New Year . . .

Still snowing . . . still at home . . .

Seriously . . . this is really ridiculous!  Have been snowed in since Friday last week!!!  The bad news:  it is still snowing and can't even see outside the window!  The good news, on the other hand:  my flight to Detroit tomorrow hasn't been cancelled so far!!! Yay!!! :)

I was checking my "News Feed" on Facebook and got across this:
"Food & Wine: We're proud to announce the winner of our first-ever Home Cook Superstar Search, Sarah Simmons, a digital marketing consultant in New York City! To learn more about Sarah and for more great entrants we loved: http://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/home-cook-superstar/Home-Cook-Superstar."

So, I clicked on the link and started reading about the winner . . . then went to the second entrant and read the following: "Contestant Melissa Ainslie of Miami, blogs about her cooking adventures at bitchincamero.com."  And, of course, had to check her blog!

I looooove figs!  And, guess what?  Melissa's current posting is precisely about figs . . . here it is:

Fig & Balsamic Jam

Published by mel on February 8, 2010 in breakfast, recipe and sides & bites

Anyone who knows me knows I’m a bit persnickety about my kitchen. I like everything to be immaculately clean and orderly – counter tops shining and everything put away. No toaster or blender or mixer out on the counter. I like as much space as possible to make a real mess on when I’m cooking. So, it’s an absolute wonder that I’ve kept my new Ad Hoc at Home cookbook on the counter for the past month. It’s just so beautiful and inspiring and I like to peruse it while I’m wondering what to make for dinner.

One of the recipes that kept catching my eye was a Fig & Balsamic Jam that sounded like the perfect accompaniment to a large hunk of Manchego taking up room in the cheese drawer (Yes, I keep an entire drawer of cheese… Don’t judge me.). Of course, it’s winter and fresh figs are still a few months away. But I wanted some fig jam now! So, I tweaked the recipe to see if it would work with dried figs. And happy surprise – it did!

This jam is super quick and endlessly delicious. Paired with cheese, it’s just dreamy. Brings a little bit of summer to your plate. I highly recommend you make it as soon as possible.


In case you’re wondering, that’s a Fig jam, Manchego and chorizo sandwich in the background. My favorite kind of food…

Fig & Balsamic Jam
Adapted from Ad Hoc at Home.


1 lb. dried mission figs (or other dried figs), roughly chopped
1 cup demerara sugar (or cane sugar)
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp. lemon juice


Place the figs, sugar, balsamic and water in a medium-sized sauce pan over medium heat. Once it comes to a bubbling simmer, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until the figs have absorbed most of the cooking liquid.


Remove from heat and carefully use a blender or food processor to puree the jam, breaking up any large pieces of dried figs.


Stir in the lemon juice and let cool completely to room temperature. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 month.

Makes about 2 cups jam.

Still snowing . . . still at home . . .

Blog surfing . . .

After being trapped in my apartment for three days now, I'm starting to feel just a tad bored.  There's nothing particularly interesting to watch on tv, I'm bored of playing Bejeweled Blitz and Mah Jongg Toy Chest on Facebook, there's not much happening on Facebook itself, and can't spend all day long eating or talking with Bobby on the phone! lol . . . I'm not quite sure how I ended up on this blog—Baking Obsession—but, I'll try to retrace my steps:  Let's see . . . I went to my blog, then clicked on the link "Next Blog" (on the top part of the site) and it took me to "Crabby Days".  Then I clicked on a couple of the links under "Places I am Currently Lurking ...":  "Anne's Food" from Sweden, and "Cooking the Books" from Scotland, both with interesting recipes.  On "Cooking the Books" clicked on the author's "View My Complete Profile" link. Once there, went over the list of her "Blogs I Follow" and decided to click on the last link of the list, "The Goddess's Kitchen".  Again, interesting recipes, and even got sidetracked for a minute with a cute photo of a cat named Coco!  On the right side of the blog found several other links, but the one that caught my eyes was "Member of Cook It, Blog It", so I went in there.  OMG!  I found a huge list of—you guessed it!—more food blogs!  OK . . . I was going through the whole list of sites and, somehow, resisted the temptation of clicking on any of them.  Finally, decided to click on the last link, "From My Motorhome to Yours", but quickly left the site after listening to the music being played: "Shake Rattle and Roll" from Bill Haley and his Comets!  Not precisely my favorite type of music!  So, decided to go to the link immediately before that one, "Ria's Collection".  The author is a young girl from India—and I'm not particularly keen on Indian food—but, nevertheless, I kept looking through her postings . . . I thought there might be something interesting if she had 130 followers!  Well, my sight stopped on a Tiramisu Cake recipe which claimed to be made with homemade Mascarpone cheese!  Skipped the Tiramisu recipe and went straight to the cheese recipe, just to find out that it had been copied form another site:  "Recipe adapted verbatim from Vera's blog Baking Obsession" . . . so, obviously, my next stop was "Baking Obsession", and that's how I ended up with this recipe:

Homemade Mascarpone Cheese

Much easier to make than it might seem, homemade mascarpone is a tastier and less expensive alternative to a store-bought cheese.

Makes about 12 oz
Ingredients:
500 ml whipping (36 %) pasteurized (not ultra-pasteurized), preferably organic cream
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Preparation:
Bring 1 inch of water to a boil in a wide skillet. Reduce the heat to medium-low so the water is barely simmering. Pour the cream into a medium heat-resistant bowl, then place the bowl into the skillet. Heat the cream, stirring often, to 190 F. It will take about 15 minutes of delicate heating. Add the lemon juice and continue heating the mixture, stirring gently, until the cream curdles. Do not expect the same action as you see during ricotta cheese making. All that the whipping cream will do is become thicker, like a well-done crème anglaise. It will cover a back of your wooden spoon thickly. You will see just a few clear whey streaks when you stir. Remove the bowl from the water and let cool for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, line a sieve with four layers of dampened cheesecloth and set it over a bowl. Transfer the mixture into the lined sieve. Do not squeeze the cheese in the cheesecloth or press on its surface (be patient, it will firm up after refrigeration time). Once cooled completely, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (in the sieve) overnight or up to 24 hours.

The first time I made mascarpone I had all doubts if it’d been cooked enough, because of its custard-like texture. Have no fear, it will firm up beautifully in the fridge, and will yet remain lusciously creamy.

Blog surfing . . .