Monday, February 28, 2011

Burn

Today I burned myself for the first time since starting the blog.  OUCH!  I even had a mitt on, but it was a little damp and as soon as I grabbed the handle of the pan that was in the oven...sizzle.  Remember, always use DRY cloths and mitts to pick up hot pans.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Mexi Soup

This is a hybrid of a tortilla soup and a chili.  It's one of those ultimate comfort foods that warms you up and is full of flavor.  Right now it's one of the favorite things I make.  Perfect for the cold rainy days we are having here in Porto.  The recipe is for 2 - 4, like all my recipes, but easily doubles or triples for more guests!






Sophie wants a taste.

Ingredients:
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro + a little more to garnish
3 garlic gloves minced
1/2 onion chopped
1/2 red bell pepper chopped
1 cup tomatoes chopped
1 carrot chopped
1 cup of zucchini cut up into chunks
1 can white beans rinsed
1 can black beans rinsed
1 small can of corn rinsed
1 tsp Sea salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1 jalapeno
1/2 TBSP fish sauce
2 TBSP brown sugar
2 limes  (one juiced and one for serving)
Chicken:
Salt
Pepper
1/2 chicken breast (or more if you want more chicken)
1 TBSP olive oil
Crema (optional)

Directions:
Start with the chicken stock, water, garlic, 1/2 the cilantro (1 cup), onion and fish sauce over medium heat.  When that starts to get hot add the salt, pepper, jalapeno, sugar and cumin, and let simmer for a few minutes.
Add the carrots, tomatoes, and corn, and let simmer for 10 minutes.  Add beans, zucchini, and bell pepper.  Cover and let simmer for another 20 minutes.  Stir in lime juice and the other half (1 cup) of cilantro.
Cut up chicken into strips and mix with 1 TBSP of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Saute the chicken strips and use to top the soup.
Top with a bit of fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime.  You can also top with a little crema if you want.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Sriracha


I finally found some Sriracha in an Asian food market so you can bet this will be in some up coming recipes!  In case you don't know it's a spicy and sweet Thai chili pepper sauce.  It's powerful so you don't need much, but it's not all about the heat.   It's also really tasty. 

Monday, February 14, 2011

Thai Green Curry

Thai food is something that does not exist at all in Porto (at least I haven't found it).  That's a real bummer for me because I love it and it used to be so easy to get when we lived in Brooklyn.  There were at least 5 Thai places in our old neighborhood.  This recipe is actually pretty easy to make.  It's basically curry paste, coconut milk and what ever else you want to through in there.  The fish sauce and sugar add a lot of depth to the flavors so you should really make an effort to include them.  Green curry sauce can be found at most supermarkets and I even read somewhere that people in Thailand use pre-made curry sauce so don't feel like your cheating.






Ingredients:
2 TBSP green curry paste
1 Can coconut milk
1/2 onion chopped
1 cup potatoes chopped
1 carrot chopped
1/4 cup red bell pepper chopped
1 chicken breast cut into bite size pieces
2 tsp Olive oil
1/4 cup Fresh cilantro chopped plus a little more set aside
1 Lime
1/2 TBSP Fish sauce
1 TBSP brown sugar
Jasmine rice Cooked as normal

Directions:
Over medium heat, stir fry curry paste in 2 tsp of olive oil for 30 seconds and add onions.  Continue to cook for another 30 seconds constantly stirring and add potatoes and carrots.
Pour in coconut milk and stir. 
Add fish sauce and brown sugar and stir.
Cook for 2 minutes and add the chicken and red bell peppers.  Stir and cover.
Turn the heat to low and cook for about 10 minutes.
Stir in 1/4 cup of fresh cilantro and serve over rice.  Garnish with fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Zucchini and bismatti rice

This is a quick and easy vegetarian meal that I make when I don't feel like cooking.  Zucchini is something that they almost always have at the market here so you may end up seeing it quite often on the blog.


Ingredients:
1 Medium zucchini cut into rounds then quartered
5-6 grape tomatoes quartered
2 Garlic cloves minced
1/2 Red onion
1 TBSP olive oil
1 TBSP butter
Salt
Pepper
Bismatti Rice

Directions:
Heat up the olive oil over medium heat in a saute pan and toss in the onions.  Keep the onions moving around the pan and when they start to become a little translucent add the zucchini, tomatoes, and garlic to the pan.  Toss every couple minutes so nothing burns.  After about 5 minutes add the butter and toss to coat everything.  Season with salt and pepper.  The vegetables are done when you can easily pierce them with a fork.
Rinse the rice for about a minute and place in a medium size pot with water (It's 1 cup rice and 1-1/3 cups of water for the rice I use but check your bag of rice for it's directions).  Boil the water and rice and as soon as it begins boiling stir, cover and reduce heat to low.  When the rice is done cooking fluff with a fork.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Pork chops and Broccoli

This broccoli was inspired by my favorite broccoli at Ki Sushi in Brooklyn.  I'm not really sure what they do to it but this is my nearest approximation of it.  Sometimes I will toast some pine nuts and throw those in with the broccoli too.


Ingredients:
2 Pork chops about 1 inch thick
1 head of broccoli
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 TBSP of butter
2 Garlic cloves minced
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil

Directions:
Broccoli:
In a large steamer pot fill with 1-2 inches of water, keeping the water level below the steamer basket.  Turn the heat on high and salt the water.  Cut your broccoli up into smaller florets and place in the steamer basket.  Steam the broccoli with the lid on until you can pierce the florets with a fork, taking care not to overcook the broccoli.  The broccoli should still be a little firm.  Transfer the broccoli to a mixing bowl with the chicken stock, butter and minced garlic and toss to coat everything.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Pork Chops:
Pat the pork chops dry with a paper towel and season them with salt and pepper.
Heat a pan on high with 2-3 TBSPs of olive oil.  When the oil starts to smoke add the pork chops.  Pan fry for about 4 minutes per side.  Make sure you turn on your stove vent because this can get a little smokey.  It also helps to use a splatter shield over your pan to catch the oil.


Ki Sushi
122 Smith Street
Brooklyn, NY

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Mexi chicken and black beans

This is sort of a combination of a few different food loves of mine.  One being Mexican food and the other being Puerto Rican and Cuban food.  The beans have a little sweetness to them which perfectly compliments the zest of the chicken.  It's one of my favorite things to make and the apartment smells amazing while it's cooking!  Just as a heads up, this one does take a little bit of planning.


Ingredients:
Beans:
1 can of black beans
2 TBSP of cilantro minced
2 TBSP of onion minced
1/4 cup of red pepper chopped
2 garlic cloves minced
1 TBSP of brown sugar

Chicken:
2 chicken breasts
1/2 onion minced
4 garlic cloves minced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped
2 TBSP olive oil
1 tsp white vinegar
1 Lime (Juiced)
1 TBSP cumin
Salt
Pepper

Bismatti Rice
1/4 cup Fresh Cilantro chopped
Creme Fresh
Lime

Directions:
This is the planning ahead part - 
Chop up the chicken into bite size pieces and place in a tupperware container with all the other ingredients for the chicken listed above.  Mix it all up and let this marinate for at least 1 hour before cooking (I usually marinate the chicken for 2 hours).
When it comes time to get cooking, start with the beans (they should simmer for at least and hour so maybe start these while your chicken is marinating).  Place all the ingredients for the beans in a pot over a low heat.  Stir everything together and put the lid on to hold in all moisture.
Rinse the rice for about a minute and place in a medium size pot with water (1 cup rice and 1-1/3 cups of water is what I use for the rice I have but your rice may be different).  Boil the water and rice and as soon as it begins boiling stir, cover and reduce heat to low.  When the rice is done cooking stir in 1/4 cup of chopped fresh cilantro. 
Heat a sauté pan and sauté the chicken over medium heat.  Since they are chopped into bit size pieces it doesn't take long.
Plate everything and top with creme fresh and a squirt of lime.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Ramen

So, sometimes I am even lazier than normal.  But not too lazy to jazz up a 99cent ramen packet. 


Ingredients:
Ramen noodles with seasoning packet of your choice (i went with chili lime)
Water
1/2 cup frozen veggie mix
1tsp fish sauce
Fresh cilantro

Directions:
Use as much water as you normally would for the Ramen and stir in frozen veggies over a medium heat.  Stir in the seasoning packet and fish sauce.  Let boil for a few minutes and add the ramen noddles.  Cook until the noodles are soft and serve in a bowl topped with a little fresh cilantro.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Pan Fried Pork Chops with Apple Compote

Pork Chops are cheap and easy but for some reason they were something that I didn't bother trying to cook until recently.  I love all things pork so I figured I would give them a try.  I made a little apple compote with some pancetta to top the chops and finished out the plate with bismatti rice and zucchini. 


Ingredients:
Pork chops about 1 inch thick
1/2 apple chopped up
1/4 onion diced
1/4 cup pancetta chopped in small pieces
1/2 Cup grape tomatoes halved
1 medium zucchini cut into bite size pieces
2 Garlic cloves minced
Bismatti rice
Butter
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
Season the pork chops with salt and pepper and set aside.
In a small pot heat a little olive oil over medium heat and add the onion and pancetta.  After a few minutes add the apples, stir, reduce the heat to low and cover.
Rinse the rice for about a minute and place in a medium size pot with water (1 cup rice and 1-1/3 cups of water).  Boil the water and rice and as soon as it begins boiling stir, cover and reduce heat to low.
Heat a pan on high with 2-3 TBSPs of olive oil.  When the oil starts to smoke add the pork chops.  Pan fry for about 4 minutes per side.  Make sure you turn on your stove vent because this can get a little smokey.  It also helps to use a splatter shield over your pan to catch the oil.
Put the zucchini, tomatoes and garlic in a bowl and mix together with enough olive oil to lightly coat everything and season with salt and pepper.  Heat another sauté pan on medium-high heat and add the zucchini and tomato mix.  Sauté for a few minutes, add 1 TBSP of butter and continue to sauté until the zucchini is easily pierced with a fork. 
Enjoy!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

A Variation

Here is a variation on the potato, string bean, chicken that I posted earlier. 



Ingredients:
Hand full of String Beans
1 Chicken Breast cut into bite size chunks
2 cups of New Potatoes quartered
1/2 cup Grape Tomatoes
1/4 Onion chopped
2 cloves of Garlic minced
1/4 cup Milk
1/4 cup Chicken Stock
Olive oil
Butter
Salt
Pepper

Directions:
Mashed Potatoes:  Boil a pot of water large enough for the potatoes.  Salt the water and add the potatoes.  Let them cook until they are fully cooked and soft.  Drain the potatoes and return them to the pot.  Add 1 TBSP of butter, 1 TBSP of milk and 1 TBSP of chicken stock and mash your potatoes.  Add more milk, chicken stock, and butter until you get the consistency you want and add salt and pepper to taste.
Mash potato topping:  In a small pot heat a little olive oil over medium heat and toss in the onion. Stir and cook for 1 minute and add the garlic and tomatoes and let simmer on low heat.  After a few minutes add 1 TBSP of butter stir and cover pot.
Chicken:  Coat the chicken with about 1 TBSP olive oil and salt and pepper.  Heat a pan on high.  Toss in the chicken and brown on all sides.
String Beans:  Boil a pot of water large enough for your string beans to have room to cook.  Salt the water and throw the beans in there for 3 minutes.  After the 3 minutes strain them and place in a bowl with a lump of butter and salt and pepper to taste.
When everything is finished plate and enjoy!