Macaroni and Cheese

Cellentani pasta is truly the best noodle for my decadent Macaroni and Cheese recipe. Cellentani has a great curl to it, and the best inset ridges to hold all the cheesy goodness a great mac and cheese recipe has to offer.
I use Cracker Barrel Cheese for this recipe in particular but if that's not your preference, go ahead and use your favorite cheese. Play with the recipe, use crumbled bacon, chopped baby spinach leaves, broccoli or even mushrooms. I like to use muffin tins sprayed with non-stick cooking spray for personal size portions and easy storage.
Here's my version.

Macaroni and Cheese

1 box Cellentani Pasta (cook in salted water and according to directions on the package, al dente)
1 container Sour Cream
1 can Evaporated Milk
2 large Eggs
1 teaspoon Mustard
1/4 teaspoon Cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon Chili powder
1 teaspoon White Pepper
1 teaspoon Black pepper
1 teaspoon Salt
1 lb Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese grated
1 lb Vermont White Cheddar Cheese grated
(If you prefer super cheesy mac and cheese like my husband, use another 1lb or 1/2 lb of shredded cheese)
1 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
1/2 stick of salted Butter (I use Smart Balance butter)

Have the muffin tin or casserole dish sprayed/greased and ready.
In a large bowl combine the sour cream, evaporated milk, eggs, mustard, cayenne/white/black pepper, chili powder and salt. Whisk until smooth (be careful not to over mix)
Add the prepared Cellentani to the bowl and stir to coat. Add 3/4 of the grated cheese to the bowl, stir again.
In a skillet, melt the butter and add the panko crumbs. Stir to coat them evenly.
With a large spoon, start filling the muffin tin/casserole dish 3/4 of the way, add the remaining shredded cheese, sprinkle the breadcrumbs liberally and evenly throughout the dish.

Place the muffin tin/casserole dish on a cookie sheet to prevent spilling, and bake 25 minutes on 350 degrees F.

Curry Chicken

This recipe is not your regular curry recipe. I've tasted so many different varieties and heard of so many different ways of making it, that I've decided to take the best tips and put them together with my own little spin on it. I must say that the best tips came from my husbands mom and grandmother, they showed me that the way to a good curry is through marinating the meat properly, and cooking down the spices correctly. The kind of spices and ingredients you use are also very important. I use Chief Curry Powder because that is what my husbands family uses, it's also my favorite curry powder. The herbs can be found at most Asian, Latin/Caribbean or Indian markets. Try your best to use fresh herbs instead of dry, they really make the difference.

So, take your time and indulge in the process of making this dish because it will result in amazing curry every time.

Curry Chicken

1 Whole Chicken cut into pieces

Juice of two Limes

1 Tablespoon each Salt and Pepper (I use my homemade Adobo but you can use Lemon Pepper seasoning or any seasoning salt you like)

1 bunch Cilantro (wash well as these tend to be sandy from the store!)

6 sprigs Culantro (also known as Recao and Shadow Beni)

1 Celery Stalk

1/2 cup Parsley chopped coarsely

5 cloves of Garlic minced

1 bunch Scallions (also known as Green Onions)

2 Onions thinly sliced

2 Plum Tomatoes diced

2 Tablespoons Ginger minced

1 can Coconut Milk

1/4 cup Curry Powder

2 Tablespoons Cumin (also known as Gheera)

1 1/2 Tablespoons Garam Masala

1 whole Hot Pepper (optional but if you like very spicy curry, mince your favorite hot pepper and add to the pot!)

2 Teaspoons Worchestershire sauce

1 cup Water or Chicken broth

4 Potatoes, preferably Yukon Gold (peeled and cut into quarters)

1 can Chick Peas (also known as Garbanzos)

3 Tablespoons Canola Oil (you can also use vegetable oil, grapeseed oil or even coconut oil)

Rinse the chicken pieces in cold water and remove the skin (or keep the skin on if that's what you like) Place in a bowl or glass baking dish to marinate. Season the chicken pieces then squeeze the juice from the two limes right in. Set aside.

Cut the roots off of the cilantro if any and rinse well. Cut off the stems and reserve the tops for the last few seconds of cooking. Repeat this step with the parsley and scallions.

Some people prefer using the food processor for this step but I like to use the mortar and pestle.

I find the flavors really come together nicely when the ingredients are fixed this way but the food processor works nicely in a pinch.

Combine all of the herbs, garlic, celery and ginger in the mortar and smash all of the ingredients well with the pestle (or process if using the food processor) until you have a chunky paste or until you have smashed every ingredient well. Massage this mixture onto the chicken parts along with the worchestershire sauce, set aside.

Gently heat the oil in a large, heavy bottom pot. Saute the sliced onions, masala, cumin and curry powder for a few minutes on medium/low heat. Raise the heat to medium/high and carefully add the marinated chicken pieces, along with all the ingredients of the marinade. Stir the pot so that the onions are on top of the chicken and not sticking to the bottom. Cover and let simmer on medium heat for 15 minutes.

Add one cup of hot water or chicken broth and stir. Add the potatoes and the chick peas, then carefully sit the whole hot pepper in the center of the curry, cover and let simmer 30 minutes more.

Gently remove the hot pepper. Now is the time to add your reserved cilantro and parsley tops, along with the scallions and coconut milk, stirring them into the curry well. Cover and let simmer 2 minutes more.

I love to serve curry with hot Jasmine rice, brown Basmati rice, salad or Roti.

Sancocho

This recipe is a CLASSIC in the Caribbean culture. It may not have the same name in different countries but the basic ingredients are about the same. This is my version.
A rich, velvety soup with an earthy mix of root vegetables, soothing herbs and melt-in-your-mouth morsels of meat.
Another ordinary soup you say? I truly beg to differ. I know entire families that swear by this soup, claiming that it can cure colds, hangovers and other ailments. All I can say is that it's a soup that speaks for itself. So get out those winter soup bowls, your favorite crusty bread, and that Snuggie you got for Christmas last year, and indulge in a bowl of Sancocho.

Note* Before peeling and chopping the root vegetables and bananas, be sure to have a cold water bath with 2 squeezed lemons or limes ready so that the vegetables don't oxidize while they wait.

Sancocho

1 1/2 lbs. Top Round Beef cut into 1" cubes
1 1/2- 2 lbs. Pork Roast Boston Butt cut into 1" cubes
3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive oil
5 cloves of Garlic minced
1 Spanish Onion diced
2 Ajicitos Dulce Peppers diced (this can be replaced by 1 Italian frying pepper)
1 of each Red and Green bell Peppers diced
2 Stalks of Celery diced
2 Bay Leaves
3 Culantro leaves chopped
1/2 cup Cilantro chopped (stems and leaves)
2 teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
5 cups of Beef Stock
1-2 ears of Sweet Corn cut into 1/4's
3 Plum Tomatoes diced
1 Yellow Plantain cut into 1/2" slices
1 Green Banana cut into 1/2" slices
1 Batata (white sweet potato or yam) peeled and chopped
1 cup Calabaza (West Indian Pumpkin) peeled and chopped, seeds and membrane removed
1/2 cup Taro peeled and chopped
2 Potatoes peeled and diced
1 tablespoon Annatto Seeds (tied in a Soup Satchel) or use 2 packets of Sazon con Culantro y Achiote

Have a large soup pot with lid ready. Season the meat with the salt and pepper and set aside.
Heat the olive oil on medium. Brown the meat, then remove and set aside.
In the same pot, saute the onions, celery and peppers for 10 minutes covered.
Next add the garlic, bay leaves, and tomatoes. Simmer covered for 5 minutes then add the meat back to the pot. Simmer for 10 minutes then add 2 1/2 cups of the beef stock to the pot along with 1/2 of the chopped cilantro and culantro. Simmer 30 minutes more adding more stock if necessary.
Start adding the potatoes, taro and the soup satchel. Simmer 10 minutes then add all the other ingredients and simmer until the bananas are tender.
Squeeze a little fresh lime juice into the bowl and ladle the hot soup right over. Serve with a good crusty bread.

Papa Relleno de Bacalao

There is nothing better than a hot Papa Relleno on a cold Autumn or Winters day. Actually, I know many people who would eat them year round, scorching hot summer days included. Yes, they're that good!
Papa Rellenos are fried balls of lightly seasoned mashed potatoes stuffed with seasoned ground beef (Carne Molido or Picadillo). Growing up I've seen them as big as baseballs, but I like to make them small and serve them as appetizers.
In this recipe, I opted to use stewed codfish that I would usually serve with hot Jasmine rice, instead of the usual ground beef. The codfish stewed with herbs and bits of pumpkin (Calabaza) go beautifully with the delicate mashed potatoes and the crunch of the crispy exterior.
Comfort food at its finest.

Papa Relleno de Bacalao

1 pkg. Boneless Salted Codfish
12 peeled and diced Russet Potatoes
1 cup Instant Mashed Potatoes
2 1/2 teaspoons Homemade Adobo (see recipes)
4 tablespoons Achiote Oil (see recipes)
1 1/2 cups fresh Sofrito
2 tablespoons Tomato Paste
1/2 cup chopped fresh Cilantro
1/4 cup chopped fresh Parsley
1 cup diced West Indian Pumpkin (Calabaza)
3 Scallions thinly sliced
3 tablespoons Evaporated Milk
4 Eggs beaten
4 Eggs beaten + 1/2 cup milk (for dredging)
2 cups Plain Breadcrumbs (for dredging)
1 cup Tapioca Starch or Flour (for dredging)
Oil to fry

Have 2 large sheet pans ready, 1 lined in wax paper and 1 lined in paper (newspaper or paper bags do fine).
Remove Codfish from its packaging and rinse the salt off with cold water. Soak the fish in a covered bowl of cold water in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 8 hours. Drain and boil the fish in a pot on medium high for 20 minutes. Set aside until cooled.
Boil the prepared potatoes for 20-30 minutes or until a fork slides right through a piece. Drain and while its still very hot, add the instant mashed potatoes, 1/2 cup sofrito, 2 tablespoons achiote oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons adobo, and the 3 tablespoons milk. Mash and mix well. Set aside and let it cool until it's room temperature. Place in the refrigerator to get cold.
Drain and flake the fish with a fork. In a saute pan, add the remaining achiote oil and saute the remaining sofrito, adobo and tomato paste. Add the pumpkin and the flaked fish, saute 5 minutes and add 1 cup of water to the mixture. Simmer on medium heat until the liquid reduces to a sauce and the pumpkin pieces are soft. Remove from heat and add the remaining herbs and scallions while the mixture is still hot. Let this cool to room temperature and place in the refrigerator to get cold.
This "cooling" time not only allows me to handle the mixture better, but it also gives me some time to straighten out my kitchen.
Now create your dredging work station. Have a separate bowl of each ready: starch or flour, 4 beaten eggs + 1/2 cup milk and breadcrumbs. Set them in front of you in that order.
Retrieve the potato and fish mixture bowls from the refrigerator. Add the other 4 beaten eggs to the cold potato mixture.
This is the messy but fun part. With WET hands, form lime-size balls with the potato mixture and press an indentation with your fingers into the middle. Fill the indentation with the fish mixture. Work it back into a ball with your wet hands and roll in the starch or flour completely. Shake off the excess flour then dip the ball in the egg mixture. Lastly, roll it in the breadcrumbs. Shake off the excess crumbs and place the ball on the sheet pan lined with wax paper. Repeat until all of the mixture is finished. Refrigerate until ready to fry.
Heat a deep frying pan or pot on medium high. Add the oil and when the oil is hot enough (insert wooden spoon and watch for dancing bubbles) gently lower a ball on a slotted spoon or kitchen spider into the hot oil. Add only enough in the pot at once so as not to touch while frying. Fry until golden brown and drain on the paper lined sheet pan.
Serve hot with Chimichurri dipping sauce or fresh Sofrito and a dollop of Sour Cream.

Peaches and Herb Pork Chops

I created this recipe after Hurricane Irene hit New York in August. Many people lost their homes, experienced terrible damage and major power outages in some New York/ New Jersey areas, but there were many of us that just got rain, flooding and high winds.
Thank goodness my family and I were all okay. We were well prepared and stocked to the point of having too many canned goods on hand. So, I decided to use them up however I could. Although I am a strong believer in "the fresher, the better" I also feel strongly about not wasting food.
One of my goods were canned peaches in lite syrup. Somehow, this worked so well in this recipe that I will definitely try it with fresh peaches next summer. Use thick-cut pork chops for this recipe, I find them to be less fatty, and they go well with the flavor combination.

Peaches and Herb Pork Chops

4 Garlic Cloves minced
3 Shallots thinly sliced
1 sprig of Rosemary (remove leaves and discard stems) minced
3 sprigs of Thyme (remove leaves and discard stems) minced
2 sprigs of Marjoram (remove leaves and discard stems) minced
1/2 cup Vermouth
1 tablespoon Kosher Salt
1/2 tablespoon Black Pepper
6 thick cut, bone in Pork Chops
1/2 cup Grape Seed Oil divided
1 large can Sliced Peaches in Lite Syrup drained halfway
Good quality Balsamic Vinegar for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Have a 13x9 glass baking dish ready, coat with non-stick spray and set aside.
Season the pork chops with 1/4 cup of the Vermouth, salt, pepper, Rosemary and 1/4 cup of Grape Seed oil. Rub all of the ingredients into the pork chops using your fingertips. Set aside.
Heat a large skillet on medium high heat and add the rest of the Grape Seed oil. Very carefully, place the pork chops in the pan leaving space between each one. Turn the pork chops when they have a good sear around the bottom and edges, and turn only once. When the other side has also seared, place them into the glass dish that we've set aside earlier and arrange the peach slices on top of them pouring the lite syrup over as well. Don't be alarmed if you see blood running from the pork chops, they will continue the cooking process in the oven.
When all of the pork chops are done, lower the heat to medium and add the remaining ingredients to the pan (garlic, shallots, and herbs) saute a few minutes then carefully deglaze the pan with the remaining Vermouth. Pour this mixture over the peaches and pork chops then cover with foil.
Bake for 20 minutes, let cool and garnish with a light drizzle of good quality Balsamic Vinegar.