Onion Pepper Flank Steak.

It's been a while since I last posted but...

I'm so excited to share my new recipe with you!

 I found my newest favorite brand of seasoning at a glorious place called the Savory Spice Shop!

Go to their website at www.savoryspiceshop.com

What I love most about their seasonings is that they do not contain MSG's and they're Gluten Free!!! This is huge, given the fact that so many people in this country have chronic gluten allergies! Give them a try; I promise you won't be disappointed!

Ingredients:

3 heaping tbsp Family Style Fajita Seasoning mix (Savory Spice Shop)

2 lbs. thinly sliced flank steak

1 large onion chopped or sliced

Yellow, Red, and Orange Bell peppers sliced

5 Tbsp good quality olive oil

3 to 4 Tbsp Oyster Flavor Sauce (Panda Brand)

Hot Sauce to taste...(I make my own, but you can use your favorite one)!

Directions:

Combine sliced flank steak with family style fajita seasonings and 1 Tbsp olive oil and let it marinate  for 10 to 15 minutes.

In a pan large enough to accommodate steak, over medium/high heat, add the olive oil and steak.

make sure steak is seared, before stirring it, for about 3 to 5 minutes. (trust me, since the steak is thinly sliced it won't take that long to cook)!

Give it a stir and then add the rest of your ingredients. Cook for 2 to 3 minute or so.

Serve over white rice, tortilla, or try it as a Taco salad in shell bowls!!!

Picture of New York Style CheeseCake

New York Style CheeseCake-With homemade Blueberry Topping!

I used Emeril Lagasse's recipe and customized it to fit my family's preferance!

I read a quote on a magazine that a recipe is just a suggestion...you can make it your own. Don't let it intimidate you go for It!!!

What you'll need.

1 cup graham cracker crumbs...I used chocolate flavor

2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 tablespoons sugar, plus 1 1/2 cups

2 1/2 pounds cream cheese, softened

1 lemon, zested 

the zest of one meduim size orange

1/2 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

5 eggs

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup sour cream

**(I didn't have vanilla bean nor did I have the bourbon, I omitted these; and it didnt seem to make that big of a difference).**  

1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped from inside of pod and reserved

1 teaspoon bourbon

Blueberry topping recipe follows.

Remember you don't have to make the topping, you can purchase your favorite topping instead

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Butter the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.

In a mixing bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, and 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar and mix well.

Press onto bottom of springform pan and bake until golden, about 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

When completely cooled, butter the sides of the pan.

Lower oven temperature to 350 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, 1 1/2 cups sugar, zests, and vanilla and beat until light and creamy.

Add the flour, then the eggs and yolks 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the sour cream, vanilla extract and mix until smooth.

Wrap the pan in foil and place in a roasting pan

Pour mixture into prepared pan.

. Fill the roasting pan with enough hot water to come half way up the sides of the pan.

Bake for 1 1/2 hours.

Transfer cake to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Refrigerate cake overnight before serving.

Blueberry Sauce:

make a day in advance 

1 larger frozen blueberries

1/2 cup brown sugar...or add to taste 

1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

2 cinnamon sticks

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Combine all the above ingredients into a crockpot and cook overnight untill  the liquid is thick, if its to runny disolve a tablespoon of cornstrach in a little bit of water and add to mixture and cook 5 more minutes and let cool. 

 

 Spoon on top of the cheesecake and serve and enjoy!!!

cook over night in crockpot.

Lumpia

Ingredients

1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground chicken 
1 cup chopped shrimp (optional)
1/2 cup finely chopped onions
1 cup finely chopped carrots
1 whole egg
3 tbsp. soy sauce
4 dashes of sesame oil
salt and pepper, to taste

1 Tbsp oyster sauce

1 Tsp garlic powder

1 ½ Tbsp of corn starch

In a bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix until well belended.

let marinate for an hour.

Now we're ready to wrap!

Add 1 to 1 1/2 Tbsp of meat mix to wrap...

fold as illustrated below. Fold in left and right sides, then roll, wet your index finger and dab the end to seal.

These can be made ahead of time to be used later.

They freeze really well.

Deep fry these and ensure oil is hot...fry 6 at a time as this will bring the oil temp down to cook evenly.

Fry until golden in color.

Enjoy with Plum Sauce or sweet and sour sauce.

Chicken Soup to wake up the DEAD!!

Part One

Ingredients

1 small to medium size whole chicken, remove excess fat and skin.

1 whole celery stalk, washed and the ends removed

3 medium to large onions, ends cut off and peeled

1 large head of fresh garlic peeled and minced

2 chicken cubes (Knorr)

1 small to medium size Spanish quash, peeled and cut into quarters (You can substitute the squash with any other squash you prefer…however if using butter nut squash remember this squash has a sweet taste and it may change the taste of the soup)

1 bunch of Fresh Cilantro rinsed in cold water. Tie cilantro with cooking thread so it’s easy to remove later.

1 large pot with lid

Enough water to cover chicken and then some.

Rinse chicken and place in a large (at least 8 quart) stock pot and add all of the above ingredients listed in part One.  Add enough water to cover chicken and then some. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce heat to a vigorous simmer. Simmer until chicken is tender. Once chicken is tender, remove chicken and let it cool completely.  Once cooled, remove meat and set aside. Remove all veggies from chicken stock except for the squash…using a slotted spoon pick out pieces of Spanish squash and mashed them and return to the chicken stock.

Part Two

  Ingredients 

2 carrots sliced

4 to 5 medium potatoes diced into small cubes

2 packets chicken flavor noodles soup (Maggi)

6 whole Jamaican Allspice

For a hint of heat add THAI RED CURRY PASTE (Optional)

Add mixed frozen veggies (Optional)

Add Part two ingredients to chicken stock Part One and simmer until veggies are tender and soup has thickened a little.

Serve with white rice or dinner rolls. 

I normally make this soup and freeze some for those long winter months!

Pasteles Wrapped in Banana Leaves

This is a time consuming project. I strongly suggest that you get together with friends or family members to make these.  I normally make the meat a couple of days before and freeze until I’m able to find the green bananas.   They need to be a deep green, and sometimes they can be difficult to find.  Once you have gotten the green bananas... its showtime!  Don't wait because they will ripen before you know it and you can no longer use them for Pasteles! 

Ingredients for the masa:

40 green bananas (they need to be completely green!!!)

3 Yellow Plantains

2 pounds yautia (taro root)

2 pounds calabaza

1 medium carton chicken stock or beef stock

3 tablespoons annatto (natural color)

Salt to taste

½ cup olive oil (using a good quality olive oil is key!!)

3 packs sazon Goya with Achiote Seasoning  

Thread to tie Pasteles

2 packs frozen banana leaves. (I use the frozen ones because it saves time, no need to wilt them…just rinse and dry them)

Parchment paper…you’ll need 3 ½ doz. Which is the same amount you’ll get from the banana leaves

The juice of 2 sour oranges

Makes 3½ doz. medium to large Pasteles

Preparing la masa:

Peel the veggies and place in cold salted water (enough water to cover them - this will keep them from turning dark until you’re ready to grate them.) After all veggies are peeled, remove from water and dry with towel. Grate all the veggies (you can also use a food processor - which will make the process faster and easier!)  In a bowl, add sazon packets to oil.  Add it to the masa ( the grated veggies) and blend by adding the broth, and sour orange juice. Add salt to taste. Set aside.

Meat filling:

I find that cutting the meat into small cubes helps the meat absorb all the marinade better and it cooks faster as well!

2 pounds beef or ground pork leg or cuts

1 box raisins (optional)

2 large red peppers

2 large onions diced

5 hajises gustoso

6 cloves garlic minced

3 tablespoons of olives
3 tablespoons of capers

1 tsp oregano

3 tablespoons tomato paste

Juice of 1 sour orange

3 chicken cubes, knorr

Rinse meat and place in a bowl and set aside.

In a food processor, place all the seasoning ingredients with the exception of the raisins, olives, capers, chicken cubes and tomato paste. Add the seasoning mix to meat.  Add the olives and capers and let it marinate over night.

Preparation:

Heat a large skillet that will accommodate all the meat without crowding it.  Add 1 tbsp oil to the skillet, when oil is hot, but not burning, add the meat and saute. Once meat turns a nice golden brown, reduce heat to medium and simmer until meat is tender and falling apart.   Add the chicken cubes, tomato paste and raisins (if you chose to add them). Simmer just until cubes have dissolved. Make sure you have enough sauce as you will need some when you’re filling the Pasteles.

Now here comes the best part…assembling the Pasteles!!!!

As you can see, I place the parchment paper under the banana leaf before spreading the masa onto the banana leaf.  You'll need to brush olive oil onto the banana leaf…to do this, pour olive oil into a cup and using a BBQ brush apply the oil as if you were painting a wall.

Don’t add too much oil, you don't want your Pasteles to come out greasy.  The only reason for brushing the oil is to prevent it from sticking. 

The picture below gives you an idea of  how it looks.

Add meat filling on top of the masa. 

Sorry, I should have illustrated how to wrap the Pasteles and I totally forgot to

Take a picture of that process; it took me a couple of them before I got the hang of it.

You can always Google on how to wrap Pasteles.

You can elect to freeze them to cook at a later day,

or you can cook it straight away!

Depending on how many you want to cook, You'll have to determine the size of the pot you’ll use. 

Bring a pot of water to a boil - you'll need enough water to cover the Pasteles.  For every gallon of water add 1 tbsp of salt.  Make sure water is boiling before adding the frozen Pasteles. 

Add Pasteles and cook for 1 hour.

Serve as a side dish or as a main dish.         

Some people like to add ketchup or hot sauce…its your choice.  Enjoy! 

Coconut Delights

These coconut cookies are an amazing treat!

I came across this delightful recipe at www.PastryPal.com 

These are filled with chocolate ganache and strawberry rhubarb....let your imagination take flight and go wild! 

Lighting McQueen Car and Halloween Spider Cake

The first "advanced magnitude" cake I ever made was Lighting McQueen for the love of my life, my Grandson!

 My first mistake, when attempting to take on the making of the "Lighting McQueen Cake", was making the cake too far in advance!  I can't tell you how stressed I was.

It took about two weeks to complete, only because I elected to carve and make a "tester" cake.  I thought this way any challenges I had to face would be head-on and when it was time to make the actual cake, it would be a walk in the park.....not so FAST my friends!!!    

 I quickly learned that unexpected and unpredictable things do happen, and they force you to think outside of the box!!!! 

This was truly a labor of LOVE!

My latest creation - The Halloween Spider Cake!

 This time it only took me two full days to create...but trust me when I say it was a challenge!

You see, I'm not an artist that can draw a picture or a sketch.  The sketch/picture is in my head and nowhere else.  I start the project and step by step, it starts to come together. 

Don't get me wrong, I tried to draw a picture and I ended up discouraging myself.  So I quickly gave that up and went with the image I had in my head. 

 This is an 11 x 15 x 3 

Initially, I iced it all in orange the night before.  However, when I woke up the next morning I thought I was going to pass out!  All of the icing had dried and cracked so bad that it wasn't presentable...  I had to think fast! 

This is where thinking outside of the BOX comes in handy...

I scraped off as much of the icing as I could, and instead covered it with chocolate fondant.  The saving grace was the fact that it was a Halloween-themed Birthday Cake - so the color scheme worked and it all came together beautifully!

I was very happy with the outcome and so was my client!!!  

Chayote Squash Salmon Salad

Not only is this salad a fantastic dish, it is filling and satisfying and loaded with Omega oils!!

The fruit is roughly pear shaped with coarse wrinkles. It has a thin light green skin, and a single large flattened tip. The flesh has a fairly bland taste and it's texture can be described as a cross between a potato and a cucumber. 

The fruit does not need to be peeled and can be eaten raw in salads. It can also be boiled, stuffed, mashed, baked, fried, or pickled. Both the fruit and the seed are rich in amino acids and vitamin C.

Chayote Squash

As a child,  every so often my mom would make this salad and at times she would pair it with pork and white rice.

 Another option would be to baked and stuff it with spinach, feta cheese and sundried tomatoes.  Let your imagination run wild!

What you'll need....

4 to 5 medium to large potatoes-scrubbed and washed

1 to 2 Chayote squash-quartered lengthwise

2 to 3 eggs 

1 Tbsp salt

1/3 lb to 1/2 lb Smoked Salmon 

1/2 each of a yellow, red, and orange Bell Pepper - cut Julian style

1 medium red onion-cut into rings 

1/4 cup apple-cider vinegar

1/3 cup olive oil

1 Packet Italian seasoning

1 to 2 crushed garlic cloves   

Cooking Directions 

Place onion rings on a dish and add vinegar till all are covered.

Place potatoes, squash, eggs, and salt into a pot and cover with water.  Cook on medium heat for about 1 1/2 hours or until tender.  The chayote squash tends to take a little longer to cook than the other vegetables.  When vegetables become tender, remove and set aside to cool. Once completely cooled, peel all vegetables and remove the heart of the chayote (which is in the center part of the squash). 

Using a large casserole dish, start slicing the potatoes into circular pieces as illustrated above and arrange around the dish leaving the center clear, as this is where the salmon will be placed. Now cut the chayote julian style and arrange over the potatoes, doing the same with the eggs.  

Remove any skin from the smoked salmon, crumble the fish, and place it at the center of the casserole dish. 

Last step... you're almost there.

Over medium-high heat, add the olive oil to a pan allow it to heat.  Once hot (not burning), sauté the garlic for approximately 30 seconds.  Remove the onions from the vinegar and add them to the pan with the garlic and continue to sauté.  Add the peppers, vinegar, and Italian seasoning packet.  Sauté for another 30 seconds.  Pour over the salad making sure every bit of the salad gets coated with this mixture.