Off to the Press: Spindletop
I had not been back to this spot in eons. It was nice to find it redecorated and still as unforgettable as it was the first time. Follow this link to Eating Our Words for my full post.
Anamaris!
Food Porn
Remember these?
Patacones or Tostones (fried green plantains)
Bacon-wrapped asparagus
Salmon with Beurre Blanc Sauce
Seared Scallops with Red Pepper Sauce
Kick-ass Pasta Salad
Hungry yet?
Cookingly yours,
Anamaris
Salad days
With Spring almost over and Summer staring me right in the face and its heat chasing me around Houston, I’ve had no choice but to start thinking about lighter, cooler meals. I’m also supposed to be making an effort to eat healthier, which is always a battle for me, but I’m trying–get off my back already!
So, since I’m not the biggest salad fan, I have to find ways to get them in, but they have to be interesting. That’s how this one came about. For some reason I found thoughts of sofrito running around my head; I guess that’s not so unusual, since that is the base to almost every Latin/Caribbean dish. Onions, bell peppers, garlic, tomatoes, culantro and sometimes carrots –standards in most sofritos. Then the lightbulb moment happened: I bet that would make for a good salad! Add some cheese, a vinaigrette, oooooh roast the veggies…YUM!
And so it happened. And, let me tell you. Oh.eM.Gee! This turned out so amazingly delicious! I roasted everything in the oven for a few minutes to bring out the natural sweetness of the ingredients and to tame the zing of the onion and garlic. You can opt to use them fresh, uncooked, but I do hope you take a few minutes to roast them, because, well, its just heavenly. No real recipe here, just a bit of this and that. Make it! Do it today!
Roasted Sofrito Salad
Sweet or red onion
Red & orange bell peppers
Garlic, whole
Baby carrots
I sliced the onion and peppers into 1/4-in or so pieces, not too big, not too small. Left the garlic and baby carrots whole. If you go for regular-sized carrots, then cut them into sticks. You want the veggies to still have a bite to them after roasting.
I threw it all onto a lined baking sheet, drizzled about 1-2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkling of salt & pepper and popped it all under the broiler. I tossed the veggies around after 5 minutes or so, when they starting caramelizing, I didn’t want them to burn. 10 minutes was enough. Allow them to cool, while you work on the vinaigrette.
Culantro Vinaigrette
Culantro/cilantro, chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
White wine vinegar
Salt & fresh black pepper
Blend the culantro into the oil to puree. Remove from blender, add vinegar, then slowly drizzle in the culantro oil until creamy. Adjust seasoning as necessary.
Plating
Iceberg lettuce wedges, very cold
Tomatoes, wedges
Culantro vinaigrette
Queso Cotija or Fresco
Combine the roasted veggies with the lettuce, add tomato wedges and dress with the vinaigrette. Serve with crumbled Cotija or Queso Fresco. Ay, que rico!
Freshly yours,
Anamaris
Off to the Press: La Finca
Hello my Bloggies!
No, I haven’t run off with the milkman. I’m still around, lurking, throwing yummy looking food on the screen to keep you glued to your seats… Weird, all of a sudden my voice (in my head, yes!) sounded low and creepy as I typed that sentence. Uff!
Anyway. I have something for you to read, but you’ll have to follow me over to Eating Our Words. Remember? That’s where I’m leading my secret agent double life. Click here. Do it quickly, this message will self-destruct in 5 4 3
See ya after the jump!
Anamaris
Out & About: Buenos Aires
I’m a lucky girl; I have a pretty cool day job. When they’re not making me work for my money, I get the opportunity to accrue travel miles. Imagine my delight when I found out I was Argentina-bound. As The Hubbz’ new t-shirt says ‘Buenos F*ckn Aires’. Yeah, baby!
I have often dreamt of visiting this city and getting lost in its architectural beauty. The dream didn’t include spending hours upon hours locked up in a basement attending a conference, but hey. I’m a clever girl, I found ways to sneak away and play a little.
As I share some of the pictures with you, let me tell you my impressions of Buenos Aires. The layout and architecture reminded me of 2 of my favorite European cities: Madrid and Paris. It especially reminded me of Paris, buildings so ornate and fancy looking. Incredibly wide thoroughfares dissected by tiny-cobbled streets. Plazas at every turn. Locals casually, yet elegantly clad.
I think I’ve mentioned my love of Paris, well Buenos Aires felt to me much the same, but better because I was surrounded by fellow Spanish speakers. There is just something that makes my heart sing when I’m surrounded by Latinos. The guys were GORGEOUS, there are some seriously good genes running through those veins. I hadn’t even made it out of the airport before I was texting my single friends to book their next vacation to Bs. As. Seriously. It didn’t matter what age they were, young teens to old men in their 70s, they looked GOOD! Then they start talking and swoon over their accent. Sigh.
I have often heard that Argentines are stuck up, as a matter of fact, they’re referred to as the French of South America. I’m here to tell you that I didn’t have an unpleasant exchange with a single person in Paris or in Buenos Aires. There was a dismissive waiter at the first cafe I stopped at for lunch, but even the local sitting next to me found him to be a pill. It really was no biggie, though. OK, I tend to limit my advice tidbits to the kitchen, but let me share this little travel nugget: when you go to another country, think of it as going to someone else’s home.
My new bestie!
If you invited yourself to someone’s home, you would go out of your way to be gracious, unimposing and to appreciate their customs and traditions, even if they didn’t resonate with yours. You would respect their space and find enjoyment in their way of living. It’s the same with travel, once you let go of the mentality of the way things are supposed to be, which is probably based on American standards, and open up to the way things are in this new, undiscovered place, I promise you the locals will welcome you with open arms and hearts and your visit will be unforgettable. Trust me on that.
Anyway, no more talking or typing, for more shots, follow this link. It will take you directly to the photostream. It seemed every time I spoke to an Argentinean and thanked them for their help, they had this little reply which I need to commit to memory:
Me: Muchas gracias (thanks so much)
Them: No, por favor! (no, please!)
As if to say ‘it was MY pleasure to help you’, ‘really, don’t mention it’. I will take that with me and make it a part of my repertoire.
Still crying for more Argentina,
Anamaris
Fideos a la Shun, sorta
My dear friend Shun, as I affectionately call her, shared this dish with me many moons ago, and I was hooked after my first try. Fideos (noodles) are a simple symphony of spicy, smoky and fresh flavors. It is sometimes called sopa de fideos, which translates to dry noodle soup.
It makes for a great side dish, but I often eat it as a main course. Traditionally, it is served with crema fresca (creme fraiche), queso fresco and avocado. A great option for a meat-free menu, and delicious to boot. Another plus, it is prepared in a jiffy or rápidito! I made this batch at the last minute to take to a party and was unable to find tomatoes that were ripe enough, so I opted for good canned ones. Likewise, I had no luck in the avocado front, so no avocados for me! You decide how much heat you want and adjust the number of serranos accordingly, you may also remove the seeds, this will further reduce the heat level.
Fideos a la Shun
12 oz fideo pasta or angel hair
4 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion
2 garlic cloves, whole
1 or 2 serrano peppers, to taste
5 fresh Roma tomatoes, ripened OR
1 can (15 oz.) stewed tomatoes
2 tbsp chicken flavor bouillon (like Knorr or Maggi)
Water
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cumin powder
Salt and pepper to taste
For plating:
Queso fresco, crumbled
Crema fresca
Avocado slices or small cubes
I would suggested getting the sauce ready first. Shun’s recipe calls for the onion, garlic, serranos and fresh tomatoes to be roasted first. You can skip this step, but it does add an intensity and complexity to the dish, so if you have the time–about 10-15 extra minutes–you should do it.
I use my comal or grill pan for this, getting it nice and hot, then sear the sliced onion, whole serranos, garlic and tomatoes (fresh). Once seared, dump the whole thing into your blender or food processor, adding the chicken bouillon, cumin, oregano, salt & pepper and enough water to get things moving. Set aside.
Heat a large saute pan over high heat add the oil and break the pasta into it, the purpose of this step is to toast the pasta, but don’t walk away, it burns rather quickly and that will ruin the flavor of the dish. The noodles will change color and turn golden brown.
Carefully, VERY carefully add the pureed sauce and watch yourself! It becomes the evil spitty monster at this point, add enough water to ensure the noodles are submerged in liquid. Lower the heat so it simmers gently, check the seasoning and adjust as necessary.
The noodles should be al dente, when done. It will take about 20 minutes for the pasta to cook and you may need to add more water as it cooks down. To plate: spoon some noodles onto a plate, top with crema, avocado and the crumbled cheese. Pull up a chair and enjoy!
To see more of the step-by-step process, click here.
Cookingly yours,
Anamaris
PS: Thanks, Shuni!
Sick as…
Yep. A dog. I’m dealing with The Terminator of allergy attacks, but hope I’ll soon say: I’ll be back.
Eating Out: Houston
Here it is. My second review for the HoustonPress food blog, Eating Our Words. This time it was some good Chinese food from the Hong Kong Chef.
A paella wannabe
This is another winning recipe from my old Panamanian cookbook, El Arte de Cocinar, by Berta de Pelaez. Berta must be Martha Stewart’s sister from another mother. I don’t remember if I saw Julia on TV when I was growing up, I do know Berta’s show was a daily event for my mom and I. She inspired my mom to expand her cooking and fueled her entertaining dreams.
I don’t believe I ever had this dish while I lived in Panama, but I’m definitely gonna make up for that with gusto! This turned out to be an easy, quick and delicious recipe, almost a quick take on a paella, really. I must admit, I made this a few months ago and didn’t share, it got lost amongst files and trips and lazy days. Now, I don’t want you to think it lacks luster, it really is a dish you should make. Soon.
I’m not sure about the name of the recipe, don’t really know what makes it ‘provincial style’, but it’s not my recipe. Also, the original called for fish pieces and salchichas–these would be wieners, instead, I opted for shrimp and soft Spanish chorizo. Enough of that, here’s the food.
Arroz a la Provinciana (Provincial style rice)
1 cp pork shoulder, cubed
1 cp Spanish chorizo, cubed
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1/2 tsp cumin
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Salt & pepper
1 can stewed tomatoes, diced
1 cp white wine
1/4 lb squid, cleaned & sliced to rounds
1/2 lb shrimp, peeled & deveined
1/4 cp olive oil, approx
3 cps rice
Season the pork with the cumin, salt, pepper and garlic. Add a bit of oil to a medium saucepan, heat it over medium high and add the chorizo. Once the fat begins to render, add the pork cubes and brown for a few minutes. Remove from the pan, leaving the oil behind, then add the onions and bell pepper. Continue to cook until the onions are translucent, then remove from the oil and combine with the shrimp and squid.
Return the pork and chorizo to the pan over high heat, add the wine and allow it to burn off the alcohol before adding the tomatoes. Add about 1 cp of water and coo until the pork is tender. Remove pork mixture from the pan and reserve any liquid. Add a bit more oil and heat over high temperature.
Rinse and drain the rice and add to the heated pan, stirring to coat all the grains with the oil and until the grains look white and not translucent. Stir in the pork and chorizo. Measure any liquid that you reserved and add enough water to measure 5 cps of liquid. Add to the rice, check and adjust the seasoning as needed. Do not stir once it begins to boil!!!!
Allow the rice to cook without disturbing it, until the liquid evaporates. When it is almost dry and you can see the top of the rice, delicately add the shrimp, squid and onion mixture, spreading it evenly across the top DO NOT STIR INTO THE RICE.
Lower the temperature to low and cover with a tight-fitting lid. Allow the rice to steam for about 15 minutes. At that time, you can feel free to stir with wild abandon, but be careful not butcher the cooked seafood. Now get a fork and start eating!
Cookingly yours,
Anamaris
Off to the Press
The HoustonPress, that is. Wondering why there isn’t much to read on this post? That’s because I wrote a post for the HoustonPress’ food blog, Eating Our Words.
I’ll be writing for them on occasion, getting the background story on some of Houston’s old-timers. Restaurants, not peeps. I’ll be checking out restaurants that have been around for at least 20 years and still rocking.
Go on! Go to Eating Our Words and look me up! Then stay there, but don’t forget to come back. jiji
Cookingly yours (even if elsewhere),
Anamaris
Here’s a taste.
