Monthly archives "September 2010"

Blogiatus

Anamaris 13 Comments

Hello my blogies,

I am sorry to say I will have to take a break from the blog for a few weeks while I go back home and mourn my mom’s passing with the rest of my family. I will be back here soon, with more recipes and tips I learned from my Mami.

Anamaris

Perfect BBQ Sides: Pasta Salad

Anamaris 5 Comments

Ensalada de Coditos (Macaroni Salad) is a common side dish at family BBQs and beach outings in Panama, trumped only by potato salads. I love them both, but have to admit I most frequently go for potato salads.

Boy, was I happy last week when I found no potatoes in the fridge and was too lazy to go to the grocery store for some. I didn’t have elbow macaroni either, just large pasta shells. Lucky, really, because the salad was too delicious for words. The Hubbz and I are still thinking and dreaming of it today.

It makes for a great side with grilled meats. I cannot stress how easy it is to put together. Feel free to add or remove ingredients at will. Use shells or elbow or penne, fresh or frozen corn, green or red bell peppers, or…, you get the drift, use what you like or have available. This is another non-recipe recipe.

Anamaris’ Excellent Pasta Salad

Pasta shells, cooked and cooled
Eggs, boiled and diced
Fresh corn, chucked and cooked
Red bell pepper, diced
Carrots, cooked & diced
Green onions, finely diced
Mayonnaise, about 2/3 cp
Cajun or Dijon mustard, 1-2 tbsp
Heavy cream, 2 tbsp
Sugar, 2 tsp
Sea salt & black pepper
Piment d’Espellete or cayenne, to taste

In a bowl combine the pasta, eggs, corn, bell pepper, carrots and green onions, set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients until smooth, adjust the salt & pepper as necessary before mixing it into the pasta.

Stir until well incorporated, serve cool or at room temperature.

Enjoy!

Cookingly yours,
Anamaris

Perfect BBQ Sides: Corn

Anamaris 2 Comments

Fiesta is a popular grocery store here in Houston, it caters to almost every culture of the world. We have a very large Mexican-American population here in Houston, so it makes sense to find a lot of Mexican influences throughout the store, including the parking lot. Yes. The parking lot.

I think my first experience with a food truck, was outside my neighborhood Fiesta. There was a truck that served roasted corn on the cob. Let me tell you about this delicious little treat. They roast it, husk and all, then smear it with butter, crema fresca and chili powder. Insert dramatic pause here.             .  O. M. G. I still remember the first time I had it. A real thing of beauty.

Fast forward some years later and here we are. I made minimal changes to the concept, but the resulting side dish is absolutely. divinely. cornily. DELICIOUS. And fresh. A true Summertime side dish. Super fácil (super easy).

There’s no need for a recipe. I used crema fresca, creme fraiche, but if you can’t find it in your area, sour cream will work or a bit of cream cheese loosened with milk. In addition, I threw the corn onto a burning grill, but you can chuck the corn and cook it on the stove top or you can use frozen/canned corn.

Elote con Crema (Corn with Creme Fraiche)

Corn on the cob, roasted & chucked
Sea salt & black pepper
Crema fresca
Queso Cotija or Fresco, shredded
Chipotle pepper powder

Once you have removed the corn from the cob, simply mix all the ingredients and serve warm. Sprinkle extra cheese on top.

Cookingly yours,
Anamaris

As long as the grill is on…

Anamaris 3 Comments

Some months ago I posted a recipe for tamarind ribs. It was hit with many of you and I was excited to share as much insight as I could. One of the many questions was what else would the tamarind marinade and sauce make better. I’m here to tell you it is KILLER on chicken.

I followed the same recipe and marinated the drumsticks overnight. Instead of cooking them in the oven, which would work just as well, I opted to have The Hubbz grill them. I have to say, the smokiness gives it another delicious layer.

Other questions were regarding the tamarind pulp. Here’s a picture of packaging, pulp and, in the background because it doesn’t ‘look pretty’, the process of dissolving said pulp in water.

I hope you start your grill this weekend. I know I will.

Cookingly yours,
Anamaris

The grill is calling. RIB IT!

Anamaris 5 Comments

Summer is the time when people start thinking about firing up their grills. When you have block BBQs. When you picnic. Depending on where you live, Summer may be on its way out. For me, living in Hell’s Waiting Room aka Houston, TX, Summer is still in full swing and will be for another 3 months or so. No kidding.

The Hubbz is in charge of the grill in our family. That’s because I’m unwilling to stand in the heat and then take on the heat and smoke from the grill. I don’t enjoy smelling like hickory or maple or any kind of smoke, for that matter. So he does it because he loves, but mostly because he loves grilling. And since I love him, I try to keep him from the grill while Hell’s Waiting Room is in the triple digit range.

I’ve rambled on. Heat does that to my brain. So do delicious, falling-off the bone, tangy sweet pork spareribs. Yep. That’s what this is all about. Pork. Isn’t that what it’s always about? I’ve shared other recipes for spareribs: oven-q’d and tamarind glazed. This time we’re talking grilled and basted with my Dad’s secret recipe. It won’t be secret after this post, sorry Dad.

Spareribs tend to have more meat and fat than baby back ribs, they’re also not as tender but they ARE much less expensive than the skinny little baby ribs. Besides, who wants to be accused of eating baby parts? I say, if you’ve not tried spareribs, give them a chance.

Dad’s BBQ Spareribs

For the ribs
1 spare rib rack, fat trimmed (approx 5 lbs)
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp brown sugar

Mix all the ingredients into a dry paste, and rub it into the ribs. Allow them to marinate for a few hours or overnight if you have the time. Keep them refrigerated until 30 minutes before cooking. In the meantime, prepare the bbq sauce.

Dad’s Awesome BBQ Sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, pureed
3 thyme sprigs, chopped
1-1/2 cp ketchup
1-1/2 tbsp English dry mustard
1 tsp allspice
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cp water
Salt & pepper
Hot sauce, to taste

Heat the oil in a small saucepan and add the onions, cooking them until translucent. Then add the garlic and thyme, cook for just a couple of minutes, be careful not to burn the garlic. Add the next 7 ingredients and stir well. Allow them to simmer for about 20 minutes or so, until it thickens nicely. Adjust the seasoning as necessary, to include some hot sauce for a bit of a kick. Set aside to cool.

Cooking the ribs:
The secret to great spareribs is to cook them slowly, at low temperatures. We use one of those Lil Smokey grills, nothing fancy, but gets it done every time. The Hubbz builds the fire and let’s it cool down to low on the Lil Smokey gauge. You want to cook them at a temperature no higher than 325. While your grill reaches the right temperature, get the ribs ready for their tan-time.

Create a steam tent by measuring out 2 pieces of heavy foil paper to the length of the rib rack. Align both pieces together and fold the seams together to about 1/2-in wide. Then fold again, the objective is to seal it so you have no leaks. Now you should have one long and wide piece of foil.

Place the ribs in the middle of the foil tent, then join the edges together and seal them closed. Carefully place the foil-wrapped ribs over your preheated grill, put the lid over and let them cook undisturbed. You’re looking at about 1-1/2 to 2 hours, so keep an eye on the heat and add a bit more charcoal as needed.

At the end of 90 minutes, remove the tented ribs from the grill, don’t panic, they’re not done cooking. It’s time to heat up the fire a bit. Add more charcoal and, if you like the smoky flavors of bbq, add some wood chips–hickory, apple, maple.

Remove the ribs from the foil and baste both sides with the sauce. Once the heat has come up, place the ribs back on the fire. You will need to stay close by, because the sauce will begin to caramelize and can burn if you’re not paying attention. Give the ribs a flip and baste. If you do this at about 5 minute intervals, you’ll be able to bake on that sauce after 2 or 3 flips. Believe me, you want to bake it on. 

Notice how the meat has shrunken away from the bones? That’s prove positive you’re about to eat some ‘fall off the bone ribs’. Alternatively, you could cook the ribs tented in the oven for the first 90 minutes, then transfer to the grill to add some of that smokiness and char marks. This goes great with potato salad and roasted corn on the cob!

Cookingly yours,
Anamaris

Camarones Entomatados (Shrimp in Spicy Tomato Sauce)

Anamaris 7 Comments

Shrimp, shrimp, shrimp. I cannot get enough shrimp. I could eat them in the morning, I could eat them in the dark, I could eat them all day long. That was kinda corny, wasn’t it? I didn’t promise musical abilities or poetry, I can cook, that’s the gift the muse saw fit to bestow upon me. It’s a good gift, I’m not complaining.

Back to the shrimp business. They’re good for you, they’re easy and quick to make. They are INCREDIBLY delicious, don’t you think? I love shrimp, did I mention that already?

Camarones Entomatados (Shrimp in Spicy Tomato Sauce)

1 lb shrimp, peeled & deveined
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1-1/2 tsp Jugo Maggi (or Worcestershire)
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt & black pepper
4 green onion sprigs, finely chopped
1 small serrano pepper, finely diced
3 Roma tomatoes, seeded & chopped
Cooking wine/sherry
1 avocado, cubed

Season the shrimp with the oregano, cumin, Maggi, about 1 tbsp olive oil and S&P and set aside for a few minutes while you chop the rest of the ingredients.

In a medium-sized pan, heat another tablespoon of olive oil over medium. Add 2/3 of the green onions and serrano, cook until the onions soften a bit, be careful not to burn the onions. Add the tomatoes and cook them for  a few minutes, they’ll begin to soften. Add the wine, about 2/3 cp, and allow it to come to a boil to get some of that alcohol to burn off. Lower the temperature and simmer them down for about 15 minutes. Remove from the pan.

Add about 1 tbsp of butter and olive oil to the same pan, heat  to medium high and brown the shrimp, you may need to do this in batches. Once the shrimp are browned, add the tomato mixture and the avocado, stir it in, cover and turn off the heat. Allow it to steam in for a few minutes before serving.

Cookingly yours,
Anamaris