Black Bean and Plantain Rice

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 cup long or medium grain rice
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, peeled and finely diced
1 20 ounce can of black beans

2 ripe (black and soft) plantains
3 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup chopped parsley or cilantro (optional)


Instructions

1. In a sauce pan with fitted lid, measure oil in pan and set over medium heat. Add rice and onion, and cook, stirring regularly, until both are lightly browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Mix in garlic and cook a minute longer.

2. Drain the liquid from the beans.  Add the beans, broth and salt to the rice and stir. Cover pot and reduce heat to low. Cook 15 minutes, then turn off the heat and let the rice stand 10 minutes, covered, until the grains are tender.

3. Dice plantain into 1/4 inch cubes, and finely chop parsley or cilantro.  Fluff rice and mix in plantain and parsley or cilantro.

Pork Tamales

makes 48 tamales / 16 servings

INGREDIENTS

FILLING

4 pounds pork leg or shoulder

16 guajillo chiles

3 cloves garlic

3 cups water

½ teaspoon Mexican oregano

DOUGH

6 cups Maseca brand Masa for Tamales

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 cups Lard

6 cups warm chicken stock or water

Corn husks- at least 50

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Remove stems and seeds from chiles.  Place chiles in enough hot water to cover them for 20 minutes.  Transfer chiles, water, and whole garlic cloves to a food processor and puree.

2. Remove any skin or bone from the meat, and trim as much fat as possible.  Cut into ½ inch cubes.  Add chile puree, 3 cups of water, and pork to large pot.  Simmer over low heat for an hour or until pork is tender enough to pull apart with a fork and puree has reduced to a thick sauce.  Remove from heat, and shred with a fork.  Add optional Mexican oregano.

3.  Whisk the Maseca, baking powder, and salt together.  Add the lard and mix to a uniform consistency.  Form it into a volcano and mix in stock or water 2 cups at a time.

4.  Soak corn husks in warm water for 20 minutes.  Tear 2 or 3 husks into thin strips to use as ties for the formed tamales.

5. Form tamales by flattening a corn husk, spreading a large spoonful of dough onto the husk with the back side of a spoon in the shape of a rectangle with about a ½ inch border around the edge.  Place pork in the middle of the dough, roll husk lengthwise, fold up the small end, and tie with one of the thin strips of corn husk.

6. Heat a pot of water to a boil over medium heat.  A tamale steamer (sold as a tamalera or vaporera in Mexican supermarkets) works best, but you can also use a large stock pot with a vegetable steamer placed in the bottom.  Steam tamales for 90 minutes.

Thai Pasta Side Salad

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked bow tie pasta
• 4 cups chopped red cabbage
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat creamy peanut butter
• 4-1/2 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup dry roasted peanuts

Directions

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the cabbage, peppers and onions. In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar, peanut butter, soy sauce, honey and oil.
• Drain pasta and rinse in cold water; add to cabbage mixture. Pour dressing over salad; toss to coat. Just before serving, sprinkle with peanuts. Yield: 10 servings.

Amanda

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

8 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

8 slices ham

8 slices Swiss cheese (I used provolone instead)

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup white wine or milk instead if you prefer

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 (6 ounce) package herb-seasoned dry bread stuffing mix (you can use crushed ritz crackers or even bread crumbs, tonight I used a combination of the last 2)

Place chicken breasts in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Lay a ham slice, then a cheese slice on top of each breast.
In a medium bowl combine the soup, sour cream, wine, garlic powder, parsley, salt and pepper. Mix well and pour mixture over chicken/ham/cheese pieces. Top all with the dry stuffing mix to cover.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear.

Johan

Note: Tonight I used chicken tenderloins to cook it all faster, I just put enough pieces to fill the 9x13 (it probably was around 3lbs), it took 25-30 minutes

Stromboli & Calzones

For the dough we use Alton Brown's pizza dough recipe, except that we don't split it like the instructions say.  It is best to prepare this a day ahead of time.

Italian Stromboli
5 oz. Genoa Salami
5 oz. Large Pepperoni
5 oz. Cappicola
5 oz. Ham
6 oz. Mozzarella Cheese

Veggie Stromboli
2 cups spinach
1 cup broccoli
6 oz. Crimini / Baby bella mushrooms
4 oz. roasted red peppers
4 oz. Sun dried tomatoes
6 oz. Mozzarella cheese

1. Preheat oven to 500°.

1. Make pizza dough and stretch into a rectangle.

2. Layer ingredients one at a time leaving some room around the edges.

3. Roll the dough and seal all the edges.  Cut slits into the top so it doesn't explode.

4. Bake for about 8 minutes or until the dough is golden brown.


Calzone

6 oz. Mozzarella cheese
6 oz. Ricotta cheese


1. Preheat oven to 500°.

1. Make pizza dough and stretch into a circle.

2. Place cheeses on one side of the dough leaving about an inch of dough around the edge.

3. Fold the dough in half and seal the edge.  Cut slits into the top so it doesn't explode.

4. Bake for about 8 minutes or until the dough is golden brown.


Sauce (called gravy in South Philly)
Olive Oil
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic
2 cans stewed tomatoes
Fresh Basil- about 8 - 10 leaves
2 tsp. oregano
1 cup chicken stock
Salt
Pepper

1. Heat enough olive oil to coat the bottom of a stock pot over medium heat.

2. Sautee onion for about five minutes, then add crushed garlic cloves and sautee for another minute.

3. Add the tomatoes, chopped basil, oregano, and chicken stock.  Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to low and simmer for 3 hours.

4. Add salt and pepper to taste.  To achieve your desired consistency use an immersion blender or food processor to puree some of the sauce.

Simple Whole Wheat Bread

This is a pretty easy recipe is usually my go to recipe for bread. However, I always forget that I need time to let it rise. It is best if you start in the morning so you can let it rise a few times. 

Ingredients

• 3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup honey
• 5 cups bread flour
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.
2. Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.
3. Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely