Me, Aaron Sanchez and a Pork Roast!

Well as you know, this blog is also about cooking, not just baking. And you may not know that Aaron Sanchez is a very famous Chef who can be seen on Chopped, TV Food Network and Iron Chef. The way he carried on when talking about his mother's cooking was the inspiration for this next dish!

Last December, 2009, my darling daughter and I were watching a show called "The Best Thing I Ever Ate". The show varies from episode to episode talking about things that are crunchy, fried, baked, salty, sandwiches, whatever and it is all done by interviewing famous chefs about their favorite things. A pretty interesting show. We happened to catch the segment with Aaron Sanchez, known for his Latin cuisine. He said, "No matter where I am in the world, it just would not be Christmas without my mom's Pernil..." and then he went on to describe in juicy, mouthwatering detail this Latin-style pork roast that his mother makes every year. The pictures defy description but the way he spoke about his mother and how synonymous she was with that dish. You could tell how it just felt like all her love was in every bite.

I just HAD to make it! Apparently so did my daughter because she turned to me and screamed, "MOM!! You HAVE to do it!" and so it was decided. I'm casually familiar with some Latin dishes, afterall, you can't live in Southern California or Southern Florida without learning a thing or two about Latin Cooking. Granted, Mexican food and Cuban Food are barely similar in that they just both happen to be food, but I felt pretty confident in my skill.

I carefully researched several recipes, all the ingredients and different techniques. I purchased my Boston Butt/Pork Roast and made a mouth-watering dinner. It was so good, I impressed myself! The kids ate themselves silly and we even made Cuban sandwiches out of the leftovers the following night!

So, one time is a fluke right? But can it be duplicated 8 months later? Would the results be just as tasty? You betcha! That roast was so tender, so fall-off-the-bone delicious...all I can say is Que Sabroso!!! Es muy suculento!

Here mis amigos y amigas is my recipe for Pernil with a little cooking lesson thrown in for good measure:

You will Need:

1 Pork Roast (I prefer Boston Butt) about 6-7 lbs if it has a bone (Feeds about 6 adults generously with leftover)

1c. Mojo Criollo (any brand will do, look near the Latin foods, Goya makes a decent one)

1 Orange or 1/2c. orange juice

1 lime

1-2 bulbs of garlic

1 Reynolds cooking bag (worth the trouble and expense)

Pinch of Kosher Salt

Here's what you do:

Get out your cooking bag and a bowl large enough for the roast to fit in. Place the opened bag in the bowl with the top/excess of the bag draped up and over the sides. Open your roast carefully and remove from packaging. Place the roast in the bag-lined bowl. With the point of a sharp knife, make about 10-12 slits in the top, fatty part of the roast. Pour about 1-1 1/2c. of Mojo over the roast. Roll your orange on the counter to get it nice and juicy, then squeeze all the juice out over the roast. Do the same thing with the lime. Peel several cloves of garlic and make 1/4" slivers. Stick a sliver into each of the slits in the roast.

Take about 5-6 cloves of garlic and chop it fine on a cutting board. When it begins to get fairly small, add your pinch of kosher salt, right on top. Now continue chopping the garlic and the salt together until you get a paste. Smear the paste over the top of the entire roast.

Wash and dry your hands. Gather the excess cooking bag together to close and squeeze out the air. Begin to twist, winding as tightly as you can, forcing the marinade to come up over the top of the roast. Tie the bag closed and place the roast in the refrigerator for at least 3 hrs or over night. ( You can remove the bagged roast from the bowl if space is a problem. The longer you marinate, the more intense the flavor.)

Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Remove roast from bag but save the marinade! Place the roast on a roasting rack or broiling pan, fat side up. You can score the top with your knife if you prefer or just leave it alone. Cook the roast for 30 minutes at 425. While the roast is cooking, pour the left over marinade in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes and then turn it off. Reduce the oven heat to 325 degrees and continue to cook for several more hours until roast reaches an internal temperature of approximately 160 degrees. Baste frequently with the boiled marinade. It is perfectly ok for the top of your roast to be a little black and crispy. If it looks like it is burning or you prefer it less crispy, cover loosely with foil.

Allow roast to rest for 30 minutes before carving. It will practically fall apart and come clean off the bone. Watch out for all the fingers picking at the crunchy parts as you try and carve the meat! Enjoy!

Bacon Sprinkles?! Cupcake with a twist

I decided to join a blog group called Taste and Create (tasteandcreate.com) where food bloggers gather and also trade recipes. The Owner of this blog came up with and ingenious riff on the recipe swap. You join her website by the 8th of the month and by the 11th, she pairs you up with another food blogger. Each of you has to create, taste and blog about the recipe you tried.

I anxiously waited for my pairing and was teamed up with Dish on Diva Desserts(www.dish-on-divadesserts.com). She made my best ever Chocolate Chip cookies and apparently she was quite happy with the results. Her pictures came out great and I suspect, like me, she has a new recipe in her repertoire! A quick search of her recipes left me with 2 choices, French Toast cupcakes or Mini Kaluah Cakes. Sure I wanted to make the Kaluah cakes but I wasn't going to eat it all alone. I also was thinking about the upcoming back to school breakfast for the teachers, so to the pantry I went.

HOLY MOLY!! I think I may have just made the best twist-on-a-cupcake, ever! Any recipe that includes bacon deserves a shot but then my children came up with ingenious suggestion of bacon as sprinkles. They were quick to point out that I had candied carrot peels so why not bacon as sprinkles? The recipe called for strips of bacon top but I always have bacon pieces handy so we were ready to start.

Here my friends is the recipe:

• 12 slices of bread any kind frosting
• 8 ounce(s) of Philly Cream Cheese

• 1 tsp. of cinnamon

• 1 tsp. of nutmeg

• 12 tbsp. of Maple Syrup pure

• 1/4 cup(s) of Pecans chopped

• 1 cup(s) of diced peaches

• 12 slices bacon cooked and cut into 1 inch strips

• 1/4 cup(s) of Maple Syrup for
• 1 Stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter for Frosting

• 4 cup(s) of Powdered Sugar for Frosting

• 8 eggs

• 8 ounce(s) of Philly Cream Cheese for Frosting
1. Tear or cut your 12 slices of bread into chunks and place in a large mixing bowl. You can use any kind of bread you have in the house. You can also use left over cake such as pound cake.

2. Crack 8 eggs into a large bowl and mix together.

3. Add 8 oz of Philly Cream cheese which has been softened in the micro for 30 sec. to the egg mixture and blend thoroughly.

4. Sprinkle 1 tsp. cinnamon & 1 tsp. nutmeg over the bread and then pour the egg and cream cheese mixture over the bread slices and stir to combine. Make sure the bread is saturated. Allow to sit and absorb 3-5 mins.

5. Stir in the 1 cup diced peaches & 1/4 cup pecans to the bread and egg mixture.

6. While the bread is soaking up the eggs place 12 foil jumbo sized muffin cups on a cookie sheet and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

7. Add 1 tbsp. of Maple Syrup to each muffin cup

8. Scoop the bread, egg, peach & pecan mixture into each muffin cup fill 3/4 full.

9. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 mins. Until the cupcakes are puffy and golden. They should spring back when touched.

10. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes

11. While the cupcakes are baking you can cook your bacon and make the frosting.

12. Once the bacon is cooked drain on paper towels.

13. For the frosting combine 8oz of room temperature Philly Cream Cheese and 1 stick (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium high till creamed and fluffy. About 3 minutes.

14. Add 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup to the butter and cream cheese and blend well.

15. Add 4 cups of powdered sugar one cup at a time to the mixture and blend.

16. Set the frosting in the fridge till ready to frost the cupcakes

17. After the cupcakes have cooled 5 to 10 min. slather them liberally with the maple cream cheese frosting and top with a piece of bacon.

Of course I already told you that I made a change by adding bacon bits as sprinkles. One other change that I made was that we did not use peaches or nuts (although I am sure it would have taken this confection to a whole other level of deliciousness!) because my children don't care for either item. We substituted cinnamon chips (1/2 of a 10 oz. bag) and it was divine!

All in all this is a fabulous recipe. Easy to follow, had all the ingredients in my pantry and didn't make a mess out of the whole kitchen. I would highly recommend this for a brunch or a lazy sunday morning. Hope that the teachers at Bailey Bridge Middle School like them as much as we did because they are definitely going to the teacher appreciation breakfast!

Searching for Gourmet Items

Wow it has been a VRY BZY summer! For not having

any real plans in June, I find myself faced with the waning days of summer and the impending B'nai Mitvot of my younger 2 children, Sydney and Jarrett. I have have cooked some really interesting food, assisted with a friend's retirement party and catered a Bat Mitzvah Oneg (dessert). The photos from the desserts are on Facebook. We made delicious Carrot Cupcakes with Candied Carrot Sprinkles and Chocolate Cupcakes with Bittersweet chocolate/rum ganache. Totally decadent!

I was recently gifted with an enormous box of fresh-picked Virginia Peaches. They are FABULOUS but ripened all too quickly and all at once! This led me on a search for how to best preserve them without canning or a recipe to use them in, that I can freeze for later in the fall.I began my search with Cupcakeproject.com. I am a devoted follower of this lady. I highly recommend her blog, as her hubby is a photographer and the pictures are worth drooling over. She's very creative and I have borrowed quite a few great ideas from her.

Which leads me to today's post. About a week ago, Cupcakeproject was waxing poetic about a spread that she had tasted and used on some peach cupcakes (more to follow in another post!) She was gushing that the spread tasted like Biscoff Cookies in a spreadable form that one would be delirious over eating. For those of you who fly, you know that those Biscoff cookies are a treat; delicious bites of buttery cinnamony goodness! Some of you may even know them by their more common European name of "Spekuloos". Having just eaten those delicious little cookies on my way to and from Vegas, I was intrigued to say the least! Afterall, my sister had introduced me to the joys of Sunbutter, a peanutbutter-like spread that is made from sunflower seeds and can be used as a PB replacement, especially around people with nut allergies. And we had been eating Nutella for years, but a buttery, cinnamon spread with no nuts at all...it sounded to good to be true!

Cupcakeproject explained that she had received her jar of Tamarin Spread from the distributor as a sample to try (a good reason to get my blog up to snuff and get in on those samples!) Cupcake project also explained that this spread is new to the states so if it is not found locally, it could be ordered via Amazon.com (another new thing I learned!) Since my curiosity got the better of me, I went to the Tamarin.com website to read more. Quite interested and still drooling, I clicked on "store locator" and entered my zip code. Amazingly enough, I found 2 locations within 30 miles of my home, where I might actually be able to purchase this product! I was becoming cautiously optimistic and trying to contain my enthusiasm each time I walked past the box of peaches. Wanting to share my joy, I mentioned all of this to my husband who just happened to be going in the direction of one of the 2 stores! Oh fate! Oh destiny! Oh Darn! I had to wait until MONDAY!!!

After a leisurely start to our week, my husband invited me to ride with him to his call and then to go to the market where the Tamarin spread waited for my arrival. I called ahead to the store and was assured they had approximately 10 jars and that they would be there upon my arrival. We took off in a southwesterly direction traveling first to Victoria, VA and then onto Perk's Corner Market in Crewe, VA.

As we traveled farther into farmlands and then onto a two-lane road lined by endless rows of corn on both sides, I was hopeful that we would find a sweet little town with a few antique shops or maybe a great old house to photograph. Arriving in Victoria, we found a downtown that had been abandoned long ago, a Dollar General, a Food Lion supermarket and the Lunenburg County Free Clinic! Oh! and the State prison was just down the road apiece!

After hubby finished up at the clinic, we headed in the direction of Crewe, VA. "Perk's Corner Market" sounded awfully quaint and we did see quite a few more restored homes as we approached. We also saw an enormous train yard and a couple of florists. What an interesting combination! We turned onto the main street again, only to see a lot of abandoned buildings as well as cars but not too many folks out and about. As hubby stated that he would turn around, I spied it out of the corner of my eye! Perk's Corner Market! Located in a building that was once part of a gas station! The old pumps stood out front broken and forgotten. We were incredulous!

Hubby thought for sure I had gotten the information wrong and insisted on driving around the block. No such luck, this was the place. I exited from the car and went inside. A friendly, busty, young lady with some of her teeth yelled "hey y'all" as I entered and asked "whatcha need?" When I explained what I was looking for she pointed me in the direction of the Peanutbutter. Sure enough, located next to the Peanutbutter, the fishing lures, ammo, bait and Vienna Sausages, was my coveted prize! They really did have 10 jars, too. The young lady told me that she didn't think any of them knew what it was, they "never sold none" and had no idea how they came to have it! I purchased 4 jars and was gifted with a fifth. I emerged from the store, victorious, and watched my hubby doubled over with laughter in the car.

Riding home through hill and dale, passing Confederate Flag draped trucks and chicken farms, we cracked the first jar open and dipped in some pretzels. Heaven....yep, heaven in a jar. Next week when hubby goes back to the clinic, we will help the folks at Perk's Corner Market move a little more inventory. I'm buying the last 5 jars. Keep checking to see what we make with it (if I can keep the kids from eating too much of it!)

Not your average Scrambled Egg!

Sometimes when you have company at your house for more than a few days, it is a challenge to come up with an interesting breakfast! After all, you can only eat so many fried/scrambled eggs, bagels or bowls of cereal! And after all those dinners, you probably have lots of its and bits of veggies in little containers that are slowly, quietly, migrating to the back of the fridge only to become next week's science experiment!

So here's a quick and IMPRESSIVE twist on scrambled eggs! In Italian it is called a Frittatta. A similar dish made by adding a layer of fried potatoes is called Tortilla Espanol. Either way, its a winner.

Gather up whatever leftover veggies you have, that you would find appealing to eat in an omlet (ie:broccoli, spinach, asparagus, onions, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, etc) put them all in a 10" skillet with a little EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) and sautee until heated through. While that heats up, scramble about 5-6 eggs in a bowl. Yes, it is ok to use egg substitute!

Pour the eggs over the veggies and cook undisturbed over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes. The eggs will begin to set on the top and the bottom should be getting brown.

Now, in a traditional frittatta, you would put the pan in the oven at 400 degrees and let it finish until golden brown. Since I do not have the required oven-proof skillet, I placed a lid on the eggs and let it get 99% finished. Then I quickly slid it out onto a large plate and flipped it over back into the pan to brown for a minute or two. Sprinkle the top with your favorite cheese and slice into wedges. Serve with fruit and homefries!

Now, if you are making Tortilla Espanol, slice some potatoes and brown them in EVOO in the skillet. When they are nearly done, add the eggs and follow the same instructions. Either way you have an impressive, interesting delicious breakfast or brunch!

That Can't be Low Calorie!! Redux!

For all of you that have asked about those beautiful little morsels posted on my FB page, it is just a smaller version of my previous post!

Yes, these are just adorable mini angelfood cakes that are selling at Costco! They come in a 2-pack with 6 cakes in each. They freeze beautifully. They are certainly more attractive and much tastier than those little yellow spongecake-like flying saucers you find in the produce section around strawberry season. The other great thing about these little cakes is that you can eat a whole one and not feel guilty or cut it in half to share. I made these with strawberries but I have also made them pina-colada style with crushed pineapple mixed in the pudding/coolwhip mixture and topped with coconut. Enjoy!

1 box Sugar-free Instant Vanilla pudding

2c. skim or 1% milk

1 container non-dairy whipped topping

Your choice strawberries, bananas, crushed pineapple, drained

mini angelfood cakes (or 1 whole cake cut in 2 or 3 layers)

Make pudding using 2 c. milk (this is less than recommended on box) and chill for 30 minutes.

Fold pudding into thawed non-dairy whipped topping to fully incorporate. DO NOT STIR OR MIX! Fold gently! put this mousse-like mixture on one layer of cake, top with one of your favorite toppings and top with another layer of cake. Top with more of the pudding mix and then your favorite fruit or coconut.

That Can't be Low Calorie!!

Well since I didn't give you the picture of the finished stuffed breast of veal, I will share with you a fabulous, low calorie and low sugar dessert!

Necessity and a lack of time are a pretty good motivator for invention and experimentation. On a very busy day (is there any other kind?) I got a call that I needed to bring a dessert to temple that night. I was already careening down the aisles of the supermarket trying to beat all the weekend shoppers and so made a mad dash through the bakery section. Oh how I hate store bought baked goods loaded with chemicals!! Read the labels sometime and you will think twice about even buying bread! So I grabbed an Angel food cake and made a dash to the baking aisle for some sugar free vanilla pudding and a bag of coconut. I made a frantic turn through the frozen foods and grabbed a container of frozen non-dairy whipped topping, aka Cool-Whip, and a half gallon of skim milk. Let me digress a moment...Cool Whip only has like 15 calories per serving to start with so who comes up with Fat-free Cool Whip or reduced calorie Cool Whip? And is this really a necessity? Are those 3 calories really going to get you anywhere?

Ok, back to dessert. As we headed out the door of the house, I realized my bananas were at their peak and I was too busy to bake banana bread. I grabbed the bananas, Angel Food cake, Cool-whip, milk, pudding and coconut. My brain was on overload and now I was thinking like those chefs on Chopped. I have a handful of ingredients and what do I make?

Make the pudding using only 1 1/2c. of milk. Just pour the milk and pudding mix in a container, snap on the lid and shake for 5 minutes. Let it stand while you get the cake ready. Cut the Angel food cake in 3 layers. Put the bottom layer on a platter. Get your pudding and fold it into the Cool whip using a large bowl. (FOLD! DO NOT STIR!) Now, take some of the Cool Whip mixture and just plop it on the first layer of cake and spread it around. Slice ripe banana all over the top and sprinkle with coconut. Add the next layer of cake. More Cool Whip mixture, bananas and coconut. You should be looking delicious and sloppy by now. Top it with the last layer of cake. Cover liberally with the Cool Whip mixture (and you'll still probably have some left over to eat later!) and cover liberally with just the coconut. It looks decadent! It tastes delicious! And your girlish figure won't feel guilty!

Cuttin' Up

Ok, so I have been away for a long while. The long and short of it is Jewish holidays, family came to visit, spring arrived, I have been suffering with hives for 3 weeks now and living in a Benedryl haze and now I am trying to get my life back. OK, so during my hiatus from blogging, and while my family was visiting for Passover, a dear friend sent me an article on Butchering. Yes, I mean, pick out your farm animal, humanely end it's life and carve it up. In a word, ICK! Alright so this is not for me but some people may find it rewarding. Julie Powell of Julie & Julia fame even wrote a second book all about butchering and how she hung out with this group in the Catskills of New York that was really into butchering their own livestock. I try to be a locavore, that is buying locally grown produce and if I can, various meats but we all have limits.

So, imagine my surprise when I came face to face with a butchering dilemma! I wanted to make Stuffed Breast of Veal. It was a dish my mom and my grandmother made every once in a while and I guess that is what made it so special. I knew my dad was going to be here over Passover and thought it would be really nice to make this treat. I have tried for months to buy breast of veal in the supermarkets here but I guess it's just not something Richmonders eat. I asked my dad's significant other if she could bring one from FL. when they came up to visit. No problem she said, it's readily available down there.

Now I have to tell you that usually breast of veal will feed 3-4 people easily so if you have a crowd, you might need more than one. So in my mind, I'm expecting something with about 4-5 large bones and about 12-16 inches across the top. So just imagine the look on my face as my father carries in this JUMBO styrofoam cooler and proceeds to remove this flat package, wrapped in butcher paper that is about 31/2 FEET long!!!!! Holy Cow or should I say, Holy VEAL!! it was the whole thing and frozen solid!! It wouldn't even fit in my freezer without being turned on an angle! We debated how best to cut it even considering asking a neighbor with a bandsaw to do the job. However, this was not to be. No, it would be up to me and a very sharp knife to get the deed done and so, for your amusement, here are some photos of me and my brush with butchering.

So now you want to know where is the picture of all wonderful deliciousness? We got so carried away with how good it smelled and wonderful it looked that we ate it and forgot to take a picture! Trust me, it was really good and I doubt anyone but me would be crazy enough to make it! If you want to try it yourself, call me and I'll send you the recipe!

So Saucy!

Just when it seemed that winter would have no end, we got hit with some glorious spring time temperatures. Of course my kids immediately got spring fever and started asking when the 'berry farm' would be open! That would be code talk for "we are sick of frozen/canned vegetables and apples and oranges"! It does seem like we eat an awful lot of apples and oranges over the winter, gorge ourselves on fresh summer fruit and veggies only to become nostalgic for a juicy, ripe apple as soon as the cool weather comes back! I keep a basket of apples and other fruits on the counter in the kitchen but sometimes those apples linger waaaay past their prime. Then we make applesauce (which is sooo good, we don't buy it anymore, ever!).

One day, as I passed through the giant warehouse of institutional sized packages, I had the chance to taste something I had long forgotten, a red pear. They were so good, hubby went back twice and then we bought a bag. What the heck, we thought we could pass them off to the kids as easily as apples and it would be a little change of pace. Hah!! I don't know what happened between the ones we tasted and the ones that we bought, but those skins were so thick, I considered options for new shoes or a hand bag!! Ugh!

Needless to say, they sat in the basket, waiting patiently for inspiration. They didn't have to wait long. About a week after I realized that those pears were not leaving on their own, I came across a bag of frozen cranberries in the freezer. Hmmmmm....cranberries, pears, ginger.....Cranberry Sauce with pears and ginger!!!! Delish! It made a great side dish with pork and chicken, we ate it warm for dessert with an almond cookie crumbled over the top and finally just finished it off as a snack. Next time, it may even find it's way into a pie crust. Enjoy!

Cranberry Sauce with pears and ginger

1 bag whole fresh cranberries

6-8 medium sized pears (the softer, the better!)

1c. white sugar

1/2c. water

1-2t. ground ginger

Peel the pears and core them. Cut in small dice. Put the fresh cranberries in a pot. Add the water and the sugar. Add the pears. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat until the pears break down, the berries pop, the sugar dissolves and the whole thing begins to thicken slightly. Stir in ginger to suit your taste. Pour into glass jars or heat proof containers and refrigerate. It will thicken a little more as it cools.

In the Chips

Here it is. It just may be THE best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever. Crispy, slightly chewy, begging for a glass of ice cold milk, and yes, it stays that way for days if your cookies last that long! Thanks to America's Test kitchen, I share with you the last word in chocolate chip cookies!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks of butter, softened

1c. brown sugar

1/2c. white sugar

2t. vanilla

1 whole egg + 1 yolk (save the whites for something else)

2 1/4c. flour

1/2t. Baking Soda

pinch of salt

1 bag your favorite chocolate chips (I prefer Ghiardelli and I use 1/2 semi-sweet and 1/2 bitter sweet)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In mixer on low, cream butter until light and fluffy. Add sugars and mix until smooth. Add egg and yolk and vanilla. Beat until thoroughly mixed. With mixer on low speed, gradually add in the dry ingredients. Scrape the bowl down as you go. When you have a good, stiff dough, mix in the chips by hand.

I use a 1/2oz. cookie scopp for 2" cookies or a 3/4 oz. scoop for large cookies. If you have no scoop, drop by spoonfuls onto baking sheets and leave enough room to spread. Bake for 15 minutes and remove from oven. They will look barely cooked. Allow cookies to rest on sheets for additional 10 minutes. (They keep baking!) Then remove to a plate or cookie jar and enjoy!

The Italian-Uruguay Connection

So my darling daughter, sensing an easy A, decided to take Spanish this year in school. Afterall, she's been learning Spanish in school since Kindergarten, right? Ahhhh, not quite as easy as she thought! More than just conjugating verbs, she must participate in the International Food Festival at school. She had to pick a Spanish speaking country, write a report and produce a poster. Being the concerned parent that I am (translation-I will ride you like a donkey until this is done!), I had to do a little research myself so I could help her decide on a dish to prepare.

Now, having lived in South Florida for many years and meeting many people from Spanish speaking countries, I figured it would be a pretty easy on my part. Of all the countries that speak Spanish, my darling daughter picked Uruguay!! I have never met anyone from Uruguay. I happened to know where it was on a map but that was only because we had some neighbors from Argentina. Actually, that turned out to be my blessing in disguise! Our Argentinian neighbors ate a LOT of Italian food when they weren't eating beef. In particular, they ate Gnocchi more often than not. Sometimes they ate it as a side dish and some times as an entree but I remember this neighbor making her Gnocchi from scratch at least once a week.

As it turns out, Uruguay is a lot like the U.S. in that it is a democracy, they have separation of church and state and they have a whole lot of immigrants from Europe that have influenced their cuisine. Actually, they eat very little of what anyone would call Latin food, but they eat a lot of things we're all familiar with (good to know you won't find it all weird if you ever go there!) The biggest influence on their cuisine were the Italians spilling over from Argentina and Brazil. As we found out, there isn't hardly an Italian dish that they don't eat.

Of all the pastas, Gnocchi has a special place in the hearts of Uruguayan nationals. It was traditionally eaten on the 29th of each month, just before payday, when most folks were at their poorest. Basically it is just boiled, mashed potatoes mixed with flour and an egg to form a dough. Then the dough is made into little pillows and boiled. They can be served topped with just about anything or any sauce. We did discover though that they have a National Sauce! Turns out that the great Italian Tenor, Enrico Caruso was scheduled to appear in concert in Uruguay. A couple of restauranteurs, who were to be serving him after the concert, wanted to make a special dish just to impress the opera singer. As the story goes, Caruso was so impressed with the dish, that he asked for it wherever he went, not realizing that it was only made that one time, in that restaurant, just for him. Caruso Sauce was born and has been adopted as the "Salsa Nacionale". Ironically, no one ever standardized the sauce so a google search will reveal many variations, many of which include chicken livers (not a good choice for a school project) but almost all include cream, onions and some type of meat. So here, we give you the one we selected; Gnoqui con Salsa Caruso. Enjoy!

Gnocchi en Italien pero Gnoqui en Espanol de Uruguay!

OK, right here let me say that although it is EASY to make Gnocchi, you can buy them in the store and have dinner in 15 minutes. If you're like me, well then, read on because we are about to make short-cut Gnocchi!

Gnocchi

2c. Instant mashed potato flakes

1 1/2c. very hot water

1/2c. milk

1 1/2c. all purpose flour + a little extra

1 egg yolk

2 generous T. parmesan cheese

Caruso Sauce

5T. butter

1/4c. flour

4c. milk

1/2t. nutmeg

1/2t. cinnamon

1c. toasted walnut pieces

1c. cooked ham, small dice (I used cubed ham and diced it small)

2T. Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Boil a good-sized pot of water on the stove and make sure to salt it well. Pour the hot water in a bowl. Quickly add the mashed potato flakes and the milk. Sir with a fork to bring together to a dry nearly lumpy mess of mash. Add the egg yolk and the cheese. Use the fork to incorporate it well. Start working the flour into the mash 1/2c. at a time. After approximately 1 c. you will need to add the last 1/2c. and work it in with your hands. You should have a soft, damp dough; but not wet or sticky. Break off a fist-sized piece of dough and roll it into a 1/2" thick log on a clean, floured surface. Cut the log into 1/2" pillows, they will be almost square. Quickly roll each one into a more round shape. Take the fork you used to mix the mash and turn it over. Roll each piece over the back of the fork, pressing gently, and dropping it into the boiling water. Boil for approximately 2 minutes and remove from water with a slotted spoon, placing in a colander. This part is tricky. All the gnocchi should be floating but if they boil too long they will be mushy and fall apart. As you reach for the next hunk of dough, you will notice it is now sticky. Add a little more flour and then roll into a log and repeat the process. Do this each time you grab a hunk of dough. The whole process moves very quickly and you should have a pile of gnocchi in your colander in about 30 minutes from start to finish.

Let the gnocchi rest in the colander while you make the sauce. It is okay if they sit in a cold sticky pile. Trust me it is all going to work!

Toast the walnut pieces in the sauce pan for a few moments until they begin to toast and are fragrant. Do not BURN! Put them on the side. Melt 2T. butter in sauce pan and sautee onions for a few minutes until wilted and soft. Add the additional 3T. butter to pan. When melted, remove from heat and sprinkle 1/4c. flour over the butter. Mix together with wooden spoon and return to medium/medium-lo heat. Cook for about a minute until the roux becomes golden. Start adding the milk in small amounts stirring or whisking continuously until the sauce is smooth, thickened and all the milk has been incorporated. Do not let the burner get too hot. Cook over medium/medium-lo heat. Be patient! Add the spices,cheese, walnuts and ham. Mix together. Taste sauce and correct seasoning with spices or salt and pepper if necessary. Now add the gnocchi and stir to coat. Serve hot.

HELP! My sauce isn't thick!!!! Ok, don't panic. Sometimes this happens. Take about a Tablespoon of cornstarch and put it in a small cup. Add enough water (about 2-3 teaspoons) to dissolve completely. This is called a slurry. Gentle dribble the cornstarch mixture into the sauce while stirring and the sauce is very hot. It will thicken within a few moments.

Chinese Food in a Jewish Kitchen!

One of the things I remember from being a kid is eating Chinese food. What is this love affair that Jews have with Chinese food? Is it that after all of the meal preparations Jewish women would make all week, finally they had a day where they didn't have to cook?! Remember, I'm going back a long time. Moms and grandmas did not have all of the modern and shortcut things that we have today. No one was writing a cookbook based on 5 ingredients or less or even a 30 minute meal. It used to take 25 minutes just to boil rice! Or maybe it goes back further, I mean first we wander around the desert for 40 years with nothing to eat but manna. As if that weren't bad enough, after we were freed from being slaves in Egypt, we got Matzah, the bread of affliction. Which, by the way, is aptly named because after eight glorious days of eating food with no leavening and consuming copious amounts of matzah, you are afflicted in ways I care not to mention in a food blog! Perhaps Chinese food with its garlicky, saucy, starchy goodness is our reward! I'm not just talking about chicken chow mein here, I mean get past the eggrolls and wonton soup and indulge in a real taste adventure; Dim Sum, Kung Pao, Hot and Sour Soup! (Check out John Pinette on Youtube @ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdwuiyO7hOU. He's hysterical!)

Sadly, like everything else these days, going out to eat with a family of 5 or more can be quite costly whether at the buffet or a sit down- one from column A/one from column B- authentic restaurant. So here for your dining experience I will share with you a delicious option. Even better it can be made mostly from left overs. No fancy kitchen equipment, no funky ingredients, just a delicious dinner accompanied by a quickie convenience of mini eggrolls store bought) and short cut soup. Yes, you'll have a couple of dishes to wash but hey, let the kids do it so you can enjoy the satisfaction of a tasty satisfying meal.

Lo-Mein

(There is no trick to this dish. The secret is in the sauce. I make my veggies separately because I have a picky eater. There's one in every crowd!)

Sauce

3 heaping Tablespoons Hoisin Sauce

3 T. low sodium Soy Sauce

3T. water

1/2c. your favorite Teriyaki Sauce (I like Soy Vay but it has sesame seeds, my kids like Yoshida's Gormet)

Optional: Few drops Hot sauce

Mix all of these ingredients in a bowl and set aside

Lo -Mein

1 lb. spaghetti, cooked and drained (Don't use Ramen! Way too mushy and starchy!)

11/2 lbs. meat (your choice of chicken, pork or beef, or shrimp; any one or a combination) or tofu-cut in bite sized pieces

2t. coriander

1t. ginger (2t. if using fresh grated)

fresh black pepper

4 cloves garlic, minced fine

1/2lb mushrooms sliced or chopped (I like baby bellas)

6 green onions, tops sliced into 3" long slivers-whites chopped up fine

1/2 medium onion, diced fine

1 head Napa cabbage, sliced fine (chiffonade)almost to the root

broccoli florets, carrot slivers, water chestnuts-drained

2-3T vegetable oil

Heat 2 T. of oil in a wok or deep sautee pan. Add your choice of protein and stir-fry for several minutes until nearly cooked. Add slivered green onions and minced white part as well as spices. Continue to cook until the meat is nearly finished. Sautee the vegetables right in the same pan until crisp tender, about 2-4 minutes. Add pasta to the meat and veggies and pour sauce over all. Toss to combine.

IF YOU HAVE A PICKY EATER: Finish cooking the meat. Pour over cooked pasta in a waiting bowl and toss to combine. Add a little of the sauce to coat (it will get absorbed, don't worry). Sautee the vegetables separately. When finished, drain any liquid from the pan and toss with 2-3T. of sauce. Pour the rest of the sauce over pasta/meat mixture and toss to combine. Serve in 2 separate bowls.

Quickie Egg drop Soup

1-2 32 oz. cartons of chicken broth

1/2c. frozen peas

2T. cornstarch mixed with 1/4c. water

2 eggs, slightly beaten

green onions, sliced, tops only

Heat chicken broth to a simmer. Add peas and cook for 1 minute. Add cornstarch while stirring and cook until slightly thickened. Turn off. While swirling the soup with a fork or whisk, add eggs. They should make threads. Serve garnished with green onion.

OK so you want this meal to be a little faster and less clean up? Costco and Sam's Club sell mini eggrolls and frozen wonton soup. If you really feel like a splurge, tell your honey to pickup soup and eggrolls on his/her way home from work. It'll only set you back about $5.

Lemony goodness!

Well here in central VA it looks like spring is imminent and the snow is behind us (but we could always get that freak snow storm those weather guessers never saw coming!) My bird feeders are busier than the by-pass to the Outer Banks of NC or for my Jersey friends, busier than the GSP going "down the shore" that first nice weekend of summer! Everything is starting to bud and hopefully the deer will leave the rest of my liriope alone and let me see a few of those azaleas before they eat it all gone! I've gone back to my new pastime of shooting the squirrels out of the bird feeder with my 35FT Super Soaker. I can shoot 'em right through the screens of the screen room and no one gets hurt, they just get the message! (And don't give me that nonsense about the squirrels have to eat too! Those little bastards stole a whole suet cake right out of the feeder and I feed them corn and peanuts all the time!)

A high temperature of 55 let me shed my heavy coat and definitely got me thinking Spring! which made me think of Lemonade and sitting outside. Ok those days are still a few weeks away but a girl can dream right? So of course that led me to the fridge to see if I had lemon juice, which revealed that I still had almost a full can of raspberry pastry filling from another project. Of course that made me think of raspberry lemonade and tadah! Lemonade Cupcakes with Raspberry filling and Lemon Icing!! Outstanding! Try them and see!

Lemonade Cupcakes

3/4c. butter, softened

11/2c. white sugar

2 eggs

1/2t. vanilla

zest of 1 lemon or 2T. grated lemon peel

1/4c. Lemonade concentrate OR

1/2c. fresh lemon juice + 2T. light corn syrup

1c. milk

2 1/2t. Baking Powder

2 1/2c. all-purpose flour

1/4t. salt

1 can Raspberry or Apricot cake and pastry filling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put liners in the tins. Sift dry ingredients together and set aside. Beat butter on medium for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add sugar and beat until smooth. Add eggs, vanilla, lemon zest and lemonade. Beat on medium for 2-3 minutes until thoroughly incorporated. Add milk. Mix on low until combined. It will look slightly curdled. Gently add dry ingredients a little at a time, mixing on low speed until just combined. Beat an additional 1-2 minutes on medium high.

Fill liners 1/3 full (about 1 large serving spoon or 3/4oz. cookie scoop). Place a small dollop of Raspberry pastry and cake filling on top of batter in center of cupcake. Cover with additional batter to make liners about 2/3 full. Do not over fill! Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 22-24 minutes. Cupcakes will be light and golden. Cool in pans for 2 minutes and then remove to wire rack. When completely cooled, ice with Lemon Cream cheese Icing or Lemon Cream Icing.

Lemon Cream Cheese Icing:

8 oz. cream cheese

2T. butter

Powdered sugar

1/4c. Lemonade Concentrate

Beat butter and cream cheese in mixer until combined. Gradually add powdered sugar and Lemonade concentrate until smooth and desired consistency.

Lemon Cream Icing:

2c. Heavy cream, chilled

2/3c. powdered sugar (maybe a little more depending on your preference)

1 1/2T. fresh lemon juice

Beat the cream in a chilled bowl on LOW until it begins to thicken. Gradually add sugar and the lemon juice until soft peaks form. Frost on completely cooled cupcakes. Maybe refrigerated for later use.

Cheaters Lemon Icing:

1 can vanilla frosting

1-2 T. fresh Lemon juice

Add 1 T. lemon juice to frosting and beat to combine right inside the can. If not Lemon enough, add more juice and repeat. Be careful not to make the icing too soft!

OK, I know you are now scratching your head going what in the world is that orange thing that she has standing next to lemon in the photograph?! It's a JUICER! No kidding! You just screw that contraption into your piece of fruit and turn it over. Juice will immediately pour out; about 2 T. worth! Now if you need more juice, just keep squeezing. After a few minutes, you'll be left with the desicated , empty husk of fruit and about 1/2c. of juice from a single lemon! Next time tyou see one of these little gizmos in a store or a yard sale, pick it up. Definitely worth having in your kitchen!