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In a small bowl, add the cabbage, 1 tsp salt, red onion, and lime juice.
Ensalada de Papa Rusa (Russian Potato Salad)
September 18th, 2009Lately I have craved different recipes cooked by my grandmothers. Even though I do not have written recipes, I remember flavors and seeing the way my grandmother prepared these tasty dishes.
Despite the name of the salad, I am not half Russian and it is not a Russian recipe. 🙂 This is not a typical potato salad or usually a salad served at a picnic. My Chilean grandmother made this very often accompanied with Carne Asada, or savory grilled beef and a tomato salad with marinated onions and parsley. My recipe turned out very nice! I think my grandmother would be very proud of me!
Ensalada de Papa Rusa (Russian Potato Salad)
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Serves 4
8 red potatoes
5 carrots
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground pepper
1 cup parsley, chopped
Boil the potatoes whole for 15 minutes. Then add the carrots with the potatoes and cook additional 10 minutes. Stick a knife in the potatoes to test if cooked. Drain the water and cool the vegetables. As soon as their warm to the touch, peel the skin off the potatoes and carrots. Cut the potatoes in 1 inch cubes and dice the carrots. Add the rest of the ingredients and refridgerate for 1-2 hours. The salad CAN be eaten when finished but it tastes better cooled.
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Eggplant Timbale and Peach Phyllo Tarts
September 17th, 2009So I have not had time to post my latest recipe, because, between music rehearsals and work, it seems like I have had one thing after the other, but I am just glad that I am able to cook this week, am I right?
We had company over on Tuesday and I was totally inspired to make something I had seen Giada De Laurentiis cook on her show Everyday Italian. If you have not seen her show, you are missing a lot! Well, anyway, 2 weeks ago she demonstrated how to assemble and cook a timbale. What is a timbale, you ask? Well, a timbale is a savory pie traditionally made of meats or vegetables and cooked in a drum-shaped mold, according to FoodWords.com . Even though the recipe was rated as difficult, I refused to let that get in my way. Giada made it seem so simple! The only thing you do need for this recipe is time. Between preparing, cooking and assembling, the total process takes about an hour. Since company was already over, I was not able to take a picture of the finished product, but I borrowed Food Network’s picture that somewhat looked like mine.
Eggplant Timbale
adapted from Giada De Laurentiis’ Everyday Italian
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Serves 6
2 medium eggplants, sliced 1/4-inch thick
1/3 cup olive oil, plus 2 tablespoons
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound penne pasta
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound Italian pork sausage
1/4 cup Marsala wine
1 cup frozen peas, thawed (I left out the peas since my husband dislikes them with a passion)
2 cups store-bought marinara sauce (I used 6in1 all-purpose sauce which is all natural)
2 tsp Italian seasoning (My own addition)
3 garlic cloves (My addition)
1 1/2 cups diced smoked mozzarella cheese (about 6 ounces) (Smoked not available; used reg)
3/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus 1/4 cup (left it out, trying to reduce calories)
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Special equipment: 9-inch springform pan
Directions
Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or pre-heat a gas or charcoal grill. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the eggplant slices with 1/3 cup olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill the eggplant until tender and colored with grill marks, about 4 minutes per side. Set aside.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta.
Meanwhile, warm the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the beef and pork, and brown the meat, breaking it into bite-sized pieces with a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes. Add the Marsala and cook until the liquid has evaporated, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat. Add the peas and marinara sauce and stir to combine. Add the cheeses, basil, and cooked pasta. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the springform pan with the grilled eggplant. Be sure that the slices overlap and hang over the edge of the pan.
Fill the pan with the pasta mixture, pressing down to make sure the pan is filling up evenly.
Fold the eggplant slices up over the top of the pasta and add a few more slices on top to completely enclose the timbale. Bake the timbale until warmed through and the cheese has melted, about 30 minutes. Let rest on the counter for 10 minutes to set. 
To serve, invert the timbale onto a serving plate and remove the springform pan. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese over the top. Slice and serve.
I then proceeded to make dessert, which was my own creation!
Peach Phyllo Tarts
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Peach compote filling
20 ripe fresh peaches, peeled and pitted
1 cup sugar
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 Tbsp apple fiber (optional: it makes it thicker)
Boil peaches in a big pot for 5-10 minutes. This makes the peeling easier. Drain the peaches and cool until a warm to the touch. Peel all the peaches and remove the pits. Slice the peaches and place in a pot. Add the rest of the ingredients, except for the fiber. Let the mixture boil on medium-high heat for 30-45 minutes. Add the fiber and boil for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and place in a glass jar. Cool until lukewarm.
Phyllo Cups
8 phyllo sheets, thawed and divided in 2 piles of 4 sheets
2 Tbsp melted butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place one Phyllo sheet on wooden cutting board. Brush melted butter over the entire layer. Place the second sheet on top and repeat. Do the same for the rest of the phyllo sheets. Makes 2 sets of 4 sheets. Cut 4×4 inch squares and place each section in a regular muffin pan. 
Fill each cup with the peach compote and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Cool on cookie sheet and refrigerate. Top with whipped cream and cinnamon. Makes a dozen.
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Mexican Sopes and Watermelon Margaritas
September 14th, 2009
So since I knew that my hubby would have to study I thought I would prepare a treat. Actually, I had a craving for some Mexican food, which, to be specific, I wanted sopes. Now what are sopes you may ask? Well, Google helped me with a great definition:
Definitions of sopes on the Web:
•A sope (pronounced “SOH–peh“) is a traditional Mexican dish originating in the city of Culiacán, Si. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopes
•Miniature fried corn-dough bowls filled with beans and sauce and topped with cheese. Many varieties can be found.
www.texmextogo.com/Glossary.htm
I remember my mom and grandmother making this at one point, but I mostly remember trying them at this great restaurant in Houston called 100% Taquito.
I proceeded to mix and match ingredients I remembered my family using and what this restaurant used. I think the result was delicious!!!
Now comes the assembling of the sopes. Take one corn pattie and layer with 1 tablespoon beans. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon fresh cheese and then add the tomatoes. The cabbage salad is the last thing to add.
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Caramelized Onion, Garlic and Green Olive Focaccia
September 10th, 2009I have had pretty hectic days this week, but I was DEAD set in making this focaccia no matter what! The good thing is that we have been eating dinner way before 7, so it did not matter if we had a light or heavy dinner. I made meaty tomato sauce and thin spaghetti for dinner, so I knew the focaccia would be a grand slam. Thanks Katie for a wonderful recipe!
The only thing I DID not do on this recipe was not let the dough rise an extra hour after adding the onions and fixin’s on top. We had a choir rehearsal and needed to be at another rehearsal at 6pm. I left the dough rising the first time at 2:30 until 4:15pm. I punched the dough and proceeded to add the toppings and just bake. My husband and I liked it ALOT! I did not have the lemon and the fresh thyme so I opted for choices that I had available. I will make it again as Katie intended.
Ingredients:
Adapted from: Good Things Catered
1 Tbsp active dry yeast
1/2 c. warm water, 110 degrees
1 1/2 c. milk, room temp
4 Tbsp olive oil, plus 2 tsp for onion
5 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp dried thyme (I didn’t have fresh thyme, so I used what I had)
3 small yellow onions, peeled, halved and sliced
5 garlic cloves, roasted (or roasted while dough is rising) and halved from end to end
1/2 cup green olives(I decided that I wanted something tart but not lemony so I omitted the
1/2 lemon, sliced very thin)
kosher salt
Directions
-In medium bowl, combine warm water and sprinkle with yeast.
-Let stand until frothy, about 5-10 minutes.
-Meanwhile combine flour, salt and thyme in bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment.
-Once yeast mixture is frothy, add milk and olive oil and stir to combine well
-Add wet ingredients to flour mixture and turn mixer on low to combine well.
-Fit mixer with bread hook and knead until mixture is not sticky, but springy and elastic, about 5 minutes.
-Remove dough from bowl, wipe out, spray with non-stick spray, knead dough on counter into a ball.
-Place dough back into bowl, cover with a cloth and let sit in a warm area until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
-Meanwhile, in a small pan over medium low heat, add an additional olive oil until hot.
-Add onions to pan as well as a hefty pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, on low until caramelized, about 25-30 minutes.
-Place in bowl and set aside.
-Once dough is risen, spray a large jelly roll pan with nonstick spray.
-Punch dough down and spread out over jelly roll pan evenly.
-Top with caramelized onions, halved roasted garlic, and lemon slices.
-Cover with towel and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
-Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
-Using finger tips, make small indentations across the dough.
-Drizzle very lightly with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle top with kosher salt to taste, and place in oven to bake.
-Bake until turning slightly golden brown, about 25-30minutes.
-Remove from oven, let cool for at least 5 minutes, cut and serve.
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Black Bean Tortilla Casserole and Fennel Salad
September 8th, 2009After such a restful weekend, I did not feel like cooking something gourmet! Actually, my husband and I have not had Mexican food since moving to Michigan. We were told not even to waste our time so we have not dared try any new place. As a result, I decided to make something Tex-Mex. I have been looking at Cooking This and and That’s blog over the weekend and I decided I needed to try one of her recipes. Even though my husband prefers authentic Mexican food, he also like the occasional Tex-mex dish.
Since we have been having a lot of meat lately, I thought I would try Colleen’s yummy adapted recipe from Reading, ‘Riting, and Recipes blog. Here are the results:
Even though this was my first time making this recipe, I thought I would put either more beans or a few more tortillas. My husband and I enjoyed the flavors, especially with the salad I created on the side.
I know it might not sound like a GREAT combination, but it the Fennel Salad was lovely! Here is the recipe:
