Cooking In General

Remove all ads!

Dfly I make my own curry pastes so making another wouldn't be a bother, cos of my no salt diet I try and make everything fresh, that's why I have freezers.

 

Ok, ready everyone...
This is for soup lovers out there!!

Ajiaco (Bogota's Chicken and Potato Soup)

Ingredients :

2 x chicken breasts
garlic and onion
chicken stock
12 sm yellow potatoes, cut in halves
2 x ears of corn, cut in halves
8 med potatoes, peeled and cut into 5mm slices
1 bn scallions
1 bn cilantro
8 tsp guascas
1 cup heavy cream
2 tsp capers, drained
2 x avocados, peeled, pitted and thinly sliced
salt

The night before marinate the chicken breasts with garlic, onion and salt. In a heavy 4-liter casserole, put the breasts, add water, cover and cook until the chicken is tender. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Remove the skin from the chicken and discard. Cut the chicken breasts into strips. Cook the yellow potatoes in the casserole with the chicken stock until they start to disintegrate. Add more chicken stock to taste. At this point the soup should be thick and fairly smooth. Add the bunch of scallions, the bunch of cilantro, the sliced potatoes, the guascas, and the corn. When cooked remove the bunch of cilantro and the bunch of scallions. Serve the chicken on soup bowls and pour the soup into the bowls. Pour 3 T. of cream and 1 t. of chopped capers on each bowl. Float the sliced avocado on top.

Serves 4/5

Note : You definitively have to use guascas if you want to call your soup Ajiaco. It's not easy to get them out of Colombia, but they give this soup its characteristic flavor. Francisco Uribe wrote "Ajiacos a traves del mundo" which is the most comprehensive description of this herb I've read so far.

EDIT: Even if you cannot find "guascas" is still a great meal!!!

 

Anybody have a marinade or sauce or coating for salmon fillets? I need something to hide that 'river' taste. Oh, if it's got mustard or mayo/Miracle Whip, I won't eat it. Yuck.

@Dfly - I only eat green beans and those are not good in chili for some reason.

 

Kuemp, what I do is rub them with lemon, salt and pepper, cover them in cream and sprinkle dill on top. would that do?

 

Kuemp or make a foil parcel and put lime, chillis, cilantro (coriander) and glass of white wine and bake for about 30 mins in a 190C oven

 

DS, does that work with fish other than salmon? I should have some trout cxcoming my way next week and want to try something different...

 

Ara works well with any fish, make sure you seal the foil well , cos it steams more than bakes the fish, you can also use stuff like fennel and shallots to add flavours.

 

hot chips + chicken salt
If you don't know already, I can't really cook. But I can bake!

 

@Kuemper - We like teriyaki on our salmon, right out of a bottle. What kind you like is up to you, of course, but I tend to have very good luck with the "Soy Vey" line.

Yesterday I made a double-batch of mac and cheese FROM SCRATCH. Half was for a family in Marcus' daycare - the mom is fighting breast cancer so folks at the school are helping by provinding dinners and giving their little girl rides home. That and a big salad and some brownies should help for a day.

 

Home made mac and cheese as 1000% better than the boxed kind. It is very kind of you and the other families helping out that poor woman with cancer.


Rally - Surely you must have some good baby-food recipies? Say for a fellow about 8 months who seems to enjoy soft chunks but still isn't showing any teeth.

 

Dragonfly, we gave both Arlyn and Marcus the same stuff as we were eating, processed through this thing. There aren't many baby products I recommend more highly! Granted, you have to tone down the spiciness for the baby's portion, and there are plenty of avoid-until-1-if-there's-a-history-of-allergies foods to consider, but this little thing took care of the texture issues beautifully.

I have to give it some of the credit for why my boys as such good eaters now.

 

Thanks Rally I'll have to see if they have those in my local stores because we don't order things off the net in our house.

@ Kuemper - You being the cookies expert, can you give me a good recipe for soft thick sugar cookies? My son loves them.

 

From Company's Coming: Cookies by Jean Pare:

Thick White Cookies
butter or margarine 1/2c
sugar 1/2c
brown sugar 1/2c
egg 1
milk 1/2c
vanilla 1tsp
flour 3c
cream of tartar 2tsp
baking soda 1tsp

Cream butter/margarine and both sugars together. Beat in the egg. Add milk and vanilla. Stir in flour, cream of tartar and baking soda. Mix well. Roll out dough on a well floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness. (I pat it out to 3/8 inch, the thicker they are, the softer they will be) Cut with cookie cutters (or if desperate, pizza cutter for squares). Place on greased baking sheet at 375* for 4 minutes. Turn the pan 180* and cook another 4 minutes. Makes about 2-3 dozen.

If your cookie sheet is dark or coated with non-stick stuff (T-fal), turn the tempurature down to 350*. They might look not done, so count the first batch as 'testers'.

 

O.K., that is very strange considering that I pulled out my Companies Coming cookbook while I was waiting for you to post and made those very same cookies! Bizarre!

I also made sure to cook them 4 minutes on each side .

* On a side note - When I was in grade school, one of my very good friends named Carla was Jean Pares niece. I never met Jean Pare though.

 

Rice with Coconut
Ingredients
1 fresh coconut
4 cups boiling water
3 1/2 cups water (including coconut water)
2 cups of rice
1 T. salt (to taste)
1 T. sugar (to taste)


Take a fresh coconut, open the "eyes" with a nail and drain the coconut water in a cup and reserve. Brake the coconut, remove the hard core, cut it in rather small pieces and divide in two portions. Put one portion at a time in the blender with one cup of very hot water and liquefy for 2-3 minutes (carefully cover the top of the blender with a folded kitchen towel to avoid getting splashed with the hot mixture). Pour through a sieve and squeeze all the water out in a pan. Blend again the squeezed coconut with another cup of hot water and squeeze again. Discard the residue. Repeat procedure with second portion. Set this coconut milk to boil until it is almost reduced and the oil starts showing. Reduce the heat to medium and stir the bottom continuously with a wooden spoon to avoid sticking to the pan; let the cream brown. Do not let it get too dark, this cream should not be bitter. Add the 3 1/2 cups of water, which include the coconut water reserved from the beginning. Increase the heat to high and when the water starts to boil, add the two cups of rice, the salt and the sugar (it should taste a bit more sweet than salty). When the rice is starting to dry, reduce the heat to simmer, stir gently with a long fork, cover and let it cook for about 20 to 25 minutes.

NOTE : You can add one cup of raisins when the rice is starting to dry. Depending on how fresh the coconut is, you may get enough oil to make three cups of rice; then add 5 1/2 cups of liquid. I find it is excellent to serve with ham or any spicy meat, fish or shrimp.

 

Mmmmm, that recipe sounds very good Maurolava. I think I might try it the next time they have fresh coconuts in my local supermarket. Very different from what I usually serve for side dishes.

@Kuemper - Do you have any idea why they use cream of tartar in that cookie recipe? What does it do?

 

Cream of tartar is a 'leavening agent' much like baking soda. In lay(wo)man's terms - it makes the cookies fat and yummy.

I found an easy recipe for salmon fillets. It was okay. Next, I will try marinating in teryaki sauce. Thanks for the help! I realized why the fish tastes 'rivery' - I didn't wash the fillets.

 

Here's the recipe for Ara's Lazy-arse curry

1 lbs of chicken, sliced
1 biggish onion, preferably red
1 can of peeled tomatoes
1 can of cocnut milk
a little oil
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1 - 6 tbsp of curry paste of your choice (vindaloo works best)

1. heat the opil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. Ket therm brown, before adding finely-cvhopped onion. Wait till theonion goes soft, then add the chicken bits. cook thoroughly, then add the curry paste. cook for an addittional 5 mionutes before adding the can of tomatoes and about haf of the cocnut milk.

On mmedium heat, let it cook for a minimum of 30 minutes, no upwards limit as long as you have more coconut milk' (or cream if you don't like coconut) to add During the cooking, add the remaining cocnut milk until the consistency is gravy-like, and the 30 minute minimum has passeds. Eat with rice/ppitas/or other supplement of choice.

I know trhat is not v. clear but ask and I shall try to elaborate

 

[Another favorite here, even thought is not Latin food. I provided some background to the dish also]

Chicken Scarpariello

Scarpariello means "shoemaker-style", and it is thought its name might have originated as the chicken bones protrude from your mouth as you eat them much as if a shoemaker might hold tacks in his mouth as he works. Another southern Italian origin to the name comes about from the fact that even the family of a poor shoemaker in southern Italy could afford to make this dish, while another version is that all of the ingredients in this dish can be easily "cobbled" together. Whatever the source of its name might be, the dish is awesome.

Some versions of this dish add sausages and vinegar in place of the lemon I have used in my version. Cut the chicken breast into two or three pieces to ensure all of the chicken pieces cook evenly. You can remove the skin as well if you prefer. I like to serve simple side dishes to accompany this dish such as mashed potatoes, and vegetables.


1 (2 1/2 to 3 Pound) Chicken Cut into Pieces

1 Cup All-Purpose Flour

Salt & Pepper

1 Teaspoon Oregano

4 Tablespoons Olive Oil

3 Cloves Garlic, Peeled & Sliced

1/2 Cup Chopped Onions

1 Sprig Fresh Rosemary

1 Cup Chicken Broth

1/2 Cup White Wine

Juice from one Lemon

3 Tablespoons Unsalted, Softened Butter

1 Tablespoon Flour

1/4 Cup Chopped, Fresh Parsley


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Mix together the flour and oregano, and season with salt and pepper. Rinse and dry the chicken pieces, and then dredge them lightly in the seasoned flour mixture. In a heavy, ovenproof skillet, large enough to hold all of the chicken pieces, heat the olive oil, and then brown the chicken well on all sides over medium heat. Be careful not to burn the oil by using too hot of heat. Once all of the pieces are well browned, remove them to a plate. Pour out the left over oil in the pan, leaving just a tablespoon or two with the browned bits at the bottom. Add the onion and cook until soft, and then add the garlic. As soon as the garlic begins to sizzle, add the wine, and stir the browned bits at the bottom while you reduce the wine by half over medium high heat. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Break up the rosemary into pieces, and add it to the sauce. Return the chicken pieces to the skillet, and spoon the sauce over top. Bake the chicken until done, about 20 minutes.

Remove the chicken to a warmed platter, and bring the remaining sauce to a boil. Add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Mix the tablespoon of flour with 1 tablespoon of softened butter. Add the remaining butter to the sauce in the skillet, and mix well. Remove the rosemary pieces from the sauce. If the sauce is thin, stir in a little of the flour and butter mixture, whisking continuously to prevent lumps. Once the sauce has thickened, add the chopped parsley, and pour the sauce over the chicken on the platter. Serve immediately.

Buon Appetito!

[ February 05, 2006, 02:49: Message edited by: Maurolava ]