Pan Seared Filet Mignon

After pigging out on Latino food all day on Nochebuena, we changed it up on Christmas Day with Filet Mignon and Spicy Rock Shrimp Macaroni and Cheese.  This cut of beef is softer and lower in fat than other cuts and just needs to be simply seasoned with salt and pepper to let the delicious caramelized taste of the beef shine through.

1 inch thick Filet Mignon steaks (1 1/2 steaks per hungry person)

1 tablespoon Butter

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

Kosher salt and Black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and remove steaks from refrigerator to allow them to become room temperature.  Season generously on both sides with salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Heat pan over high heat until very hot quickly add butter and oil and lower to medium high heat.

Sear both sides of steaks for 2 to 3 minutes until crust forms.

Finish cooking in oven approximately 5 minutes. These steaks were only one inch think so if thicker cuts adjust cooking time longer from medium/medium well.

Spicy Rock Shrimp Macaroni and Cheese...Que????

So while the majority of the food we eat in our home is Latino, my husband does love a good steakhouse meal. So while watching the Boston Celtics on Christmas Day, I thought it would be fitting to serve him Filet Mignon with Spicy Rock Shrimp Macaroni and Cheese.

1 1/2 pounds rock shrimp

1/2 pound short pasta (penne, macaroni, etc.)

1 cup whole milk

1 cup cream

1/4 cup flour

3 tablespoons Olive Oil (approx 2 tablespoons to saute shrimp and 1 tablespoon for pasta water)

1 1/2 cups grated Gruyere Cheese

1 1/2 cups grated sharp Cheddar Cheese

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

4 tablespoons butter (1/2 a stick)

Crushed Red Pepper to taste

Kosher salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Boil large pot of water with splash of salt and olive oil for pasta.  Also, warm olive oil in a saucepot large enough to hold shrimp over medium heat. Rinse and dry rock shrimp and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper.

Saute shrimp in oil and add generous sprinkle of crushed red pepper to make dish mildly spicy. The cheese and milk will dampen the spice so do not be afraid to use alot of spices. Cook until just pink because shrimp will cook further in oven. Set aside off heat.

Once water boiling, cook pasta one minute less than directed on box. Drain and also set aside off of heat.

Grate cheese...

In a small saucepan, heat milk and cream gently over medium heat but do not boil.  In a large pot that will eventually hold everything, melt 3 tablespoons of butter and once melted add flour and continue to stir. Once well combined for 2 to 3 minutes, begin to slowly add milk while stirring. You will create a thick sauce after approx 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and add the grated cheeses, drained and cooked pasta, drained and cooked shrimp and seasonings - 1 teaspoon of salt, generous sprinkle of pepper and generous sprinkle of red crushed pepper. Pour into glass dish.

Melt one tablespoon of butter over stovetop or in microwave and combine with breadcrumbs. Sprinkle on top of pasta dish.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes. Delicious!!!

The sweetness of the rock shrimp combined with the tang of the Gruyere cheese and the subtle spice of the chili pepper creates an incredibly decadent dish! It takes a few more steps and creates a few more dirty dishes than a normal weekday dish but it really made the meal very special. I combined this with Filet Mignon which is extremely easy to make so that the whole meal was done in approx an hour and it was one of the best we have had!

Some tools used:

Lechon Asado (Roasted Pork Shoulder)

We had a wonderful Nochebuena.  We ate and opened presents all day long.  We had our traditional Cuban Lechon and Puerto Rican Habichuelas and finished off the night with chocolate Flan. Only this year, I brined our pork roast first to give the meat more flavor all the way through. We ate until we could barely move only to dig into leftovers the next day!

Brine:

7 1/2 cups water
6 tablespoons kosher salt
15 cloves garlic smashed and chopped
1 onion chopped
1 package Goya seasoning
1 teaspoon dry oregano

1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon pepper

5 lb Pork Shoulder (my butcher tied it up)

Marinade:
1 cup Olive Oil
10 cloves garlic
1 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon dry oregano
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat water over high heat until salt dissolves. Take off heat and allow to cool completely before you add to pork. You can speed up cool down process in refrigerator once is is slightly cooled if needed.

Once brine is cooled, add to non reactive pot. Add pork roast and refrigerate for approx 12 hours.

Once ready, rinse brine off pork, dry and add to large roasting pan.  In food processor, grind garlic with generous pour of olive oil and seasoning. Pour over pork with fruit juices and additional salt and pepper.  Marinate for at least 4 hours in refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Take out of refrigerator 30 minutes before you cook so meat can become room temperature. Reserve marinade and dry off pork. Roast for approx 2 1/2 hours. Baste with reserved marinade and take temperate of meat. At this point, my 5 lb roast was approx 150 degrees but skin was soft so I increased heat to 400 degrees for approx 45 minutes until center of pork read 175 degrees and skin was crispy.  Cooking time will depend on size of your roast.

Remove string and serve

Some ingredients used:

Chocolate Flan

While it was almost sacrilegious to alter our family's flan on Nochebuena, I thought that I would try something new. With my family's full support, I added 5 oz of the best semi-sweet chocolate I could buy to my flan recipe.  The result was a rich, decadent dessert that was closer to the taste of a chocolate pudding than our family favorite, but still delicious!

1 cup of sugar

6 eggs

5 oz semi-sweet chocolate

1 can condensed milk

1 can evaporated whole milk

1 small splash of the best vanilla extract you can find

1 small pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and put rack in center of the oven. Melt the sugar in a small saucepan over medium high heat. It is very important to continue to stir the sugar so that the heat distributes evenly, the sugar does not burn and you minimize lumps.  Stir until sugar becomes golden brown and have pan you are going to use for flan waiting near by because sugar stiffens quickly. Pour sugar into bottom of pan and allow sugar to cool. (See my earlier post of traditional Flan for pictures regarding each of these steps)

In a small saucepan, warm evaporated milk and chocolate over medium heat until chocolate melts.

In a blender, combine eggs, vanilla, salt and condensed milk. Slowly add warm chocolate milk to blender and pulse in between as to not cook your eggs with warm milk. Pour combined liquid into pan with hardened sugar on bottom.

Bake for one hour.

Once cooled, cut around edge of pan and flip over onto large plate.

Some tools and ingredients used:

Arroz con Pollo (Chicken and Rice)

My husband and I always found Arroz con Pollo on the bland side so my mom helped me create this recipe that heavily seasons the dish every step of the way. She also blends the sofrito, tomatoes and pimiento into a very flavorful paste to mix back into the sauce instead of leaving it chunky. It gives every bite more flavor and has made the dish one of our favorites. You can also add chorizo to make it even better but today I cooked without it.

2 lbs Boneless Chicken (I use thighs or breasts but if cooking with bone-in chicken, cook 3 lbs)
1/4 cup Olive Oil
Sofrito (1 green pepper, 1 white onion, 6 garlic cloves)
1 can tomato sauce or plum tomatoes
1 can chicken broth
1 cup white wine (can also use a light  beer)
3 pimientos
3 packages Goya Sazon con Azafran
2 bay leaves
2 cups white rice
Kosher Salt and Black Pepper very generously at every step (see recipe below)

Take chicken out of refrigerator to become room temperature. Rinse off, pat dry and salt and pepper both sides generously. Create sofrito by cutting white onion, green peeper and 6 cloves of garlic. You can cut in bigger chunks than usual because you are going to blend after cooked. Heat up olive oil over medium heat until fragrant and saute sofrito until onion soft. Salt and pepper sofrito very well as arroz con pollo can get bland and needs to be salted correctly every step of the way.

Once onion is soft, not browned, add chicken and brown both sides lightly. Then add liquids (wine, tomato sauce and chicken broth) pimientoes and spices (Goya packages, bay leaves and more salt and pepper). Simmer and then reduce heat to low for one hour.

After an hour, remove chicken from broth. I use cooking tongs to remove and place on platter. Allow it to cool and the shred (or debone and shred if you are using a whole chicken).

Once chicken is removed from pot, blend tomatoes, onion, pepper and garlic into a smooth consistency. This step is alot easier with a hand blender but if using a regular blender please let broth cool down first or else it tends to splatter out of blender and onto everything - including yourself - not fun. Once cooled down, scoop out vegetables with a slotted spoon into blender and make puree.  Return chicken, now shredded, into pan over low heat.

Add one and half cups to two cups of rice, depending on the rice to chicken ratio you like in your completed dish.

Cook for approximately another hour until rice is soft. Stir and check on rice often - taste for additional salt as well. I use a thick bottom pan and cook on low temperature. It is very easy to burn rice on bottom of pan so stir every 10 - 15 minutes to combine flavors and prevent burning. You can garnish with peas by adding frozen peas toward the end or strips of pimientos but we like it just as is. Enjoy!

Special Products used:

Carne con Papa (Cuban Beef Stew)

This is my oldest daughter's favorite dish. The other day she saw me getting ready to cook and told me she loved my big blue pot because her mommy makes yummy things in it. The beef softens until it can be easily cut with a fork and the potatoes soak up the flavor of the beef, wine and tomatoes.

2 lbs beef stew meat (I use chuck)

1/4 cup Olive Oil

Sofrito (1 onion, 1 green pepper and 4 cloves of garlic)

1 cup White Wine

1 can Tomato Sauce

2 tablespoons Tomato Paste

1 can Beef Broth

2 Goya Seasoning Packets

1 Bay Leaf

Kosher Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Take beef out of refrigerator half an hour before you cook to get it to room temperature. Dry off the beef and salt and pepper generously. Warm olive oil over medium heat and pan sear the beef over medium high heat in batches as to not overcrowd the pan and create a nice brown crust.

Transfer beef to a plate in batches and cut up an onion, green pepper and 4 cloves of garlic to create sofrito. Lower heat to medium and add sofrito scraping up brown bits of beef as you cook.

Once onion is soft, add back beef to pot and add that rest of the ingredients except the potato to create the broth. Once simmering, lower heat to low and cook beef in liquids for an hour. If you are running low on liquid, add equal parts of wine and beef broth to cover beef. After an hour, taste for salt and pepper and add peeled and cut potatoes. Cook for another hour to hour and half until beef very tender. Serve over white rice.

Flan

If the cliche "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach" is true, then this recipe is why my husband fell in love with me. While dating and learning how to cook my family's Latino food, my sister sent me this recipe and labeled it The Big Guns and the rest is history....But seriously, it is a very simple (but a bit labor intensive) classic Cuban dessert that can be modified with different flavorings - but our family prefers it plain.

1 cup of sugar

6 eggs

1 can condensed milk

1 can evaporated milk (we prefer whole milk, but can even be low fat or fat free if you like)

1 small splash of the best vanilla extract you can find

1 small pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees and put rack in center of the oven. Melt the sugar in a small saucepan over medium high heat. Here is where the dessert becomes a labor of love because it is very important to continue to stir the sugar so that the heat distributes evenly, the sugar does not burn and you minimize lumps.

Stir until sugar becomes golden brown and have pan you are going to use for flan waiting near by because sugar stiffens quickly.

Pour sugar into bottom of pan, I like a simple glass pan.

Bake for one hour. We have a very hot oven so this is enough time. If you gently shake the pan, the center should wiggle but not be liquidy. If it is, cook a little longer.

Let flan sit for at least 15 minutes before you flip it over. This is the hardest part as we always start digging in and eating warm flan - it tastes great but will fall apart. Cut around edge of flan and put large plate on top of pan and flip over.

Frijoles Negro con Arroz (Black Beans and Rice)

Nothing can beat the taste of my mom's black beans and rice but these beans come close. I soak the beans overnight and they take hours to cook so this is a perfect weekend recipe to make and save in portioned out containers to quickly heat up during the rest of the week.

1 lbs dried Black Beans soaked in 4 cups of cold water overnight

1 White Onion (1/2 for initial boil and 1/2 for sofrito)

1 Green Pepper or 2 cubanelle pepper (again half for

initial boil and half for sofrito)

4 cloves of Garlic

1/2 cup Olive Oil

1 bay leaf

2 packages Goya seasoning sin achiote

1 tablespoon Salt

Black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon Sugar

1 cup White Rice

Soak black beans overnight in 4 cups of cold water and do not discard the water. Add more cold water before cooking to make sure that water covers the beans. Add 1/2 green pepper (or 1 cubanelle pepper cut in half and seeded) and 1/2 onion to beans. Boil beans then lower heat to medium once boiling and cook for approximately one hour until beans are soft.

When hour is almost up, make sofrito with generous amount of olive oil warmed over medium heat in separate skillet, rest of onion, green pepper and smashed and chopped up garlic cloves. Once sofrito is soft but not browned, add one cup of soft beans into skillet and mash with fork.

Remove onion in pepper from pot of beans and replace with sofrito and mashed bean mixture. Add herbs and seasonings and let boil until soft - over an hour. Check on beans often to stir and add hot water to keep them covered in simmering water over medium heat.

After an hour of cooking with sofrito mixture make one cup of white rice. I boil one cup of white rice in 2 1/2 cups water and a splash of olive oil. I do not add salt because I have made seasoned beans heavily. Once most of the water is evaporated from the rice, I turn to low and cover pot. When rice is finished I add to beans and stir well and cook together another 10 -15 minutes so flavors mix together.

Once off the heat, some families add a splash more of olive oil or add balsamic vinegar. Enjoy as you wish!

Pork Two Ways - Roasted Pork Loin with Bacon

When trying to find a way to keep a center cut pork loin juicy, I took a method my aunt used on turkey - wrap it in bacon! I was afraid it might be too much - but everything tastes better with a little bacon - even pork! It turned out so well seasoned and tender that my husband and I almost ate both loins in one sitting!

Marinade:

1/4 cup lemon infused olive oil (or 1/4 regular olive oil with rind of 1/2 lemon)

1 package Goya seasoning con culantro y achiote

Pepper to taste - no salt needed because of bacon to be added later

Pork:

2 pork loins

1 package center cut bacon

Put pork in large plastic bag with marinade for at least four hours. Massage pork to distribute marinade evenly and remember to turn bag a few times in refrigerator so every side of the pork gets marinade.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and remove pork and package of bacon from refrigerator so they reach room temperature. Wrap bacon around pork so that bacon is touching but not overlapping.

Roast pork approximately 45 minutes, thickest part should reach 155 degrees.

Roasted Chipotle Chicken Thighs

While we are big beef and pork eaters in our house, there

are a few chicken recipes that make it into the rotation (as long as I don't have to deal too much with the bones). Boneless chicken thighs stay juicier longer than breasts so they are a new favorite. I had half a can left of the chipotle peppers after making the pork chops from an earlier post so I combined it with a similar marinade and created my own version of an easy weeknight chicken.

Marinade:

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1/2 Lime and Zest

10 smashed and chopped Garlic cloves

2 packages of Goya seasoning con Azafran

Chicken:

2 lbs Chicken Thighs (I used skinless and boneless

but any cut would work just watch cooking times)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Rinse off chicken and pat dry. Put in large plastic bag with marinade. Seal bag and massage chicken to evenly spread out marinade. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours with bag in a bowl in case of leakage. I was able to leave overnight and turn bag of chicken a few times so marinade distributed evenly.

Remove from refrigerator and preheat oven to 375 degrees. Let chicken become room temperature and salt and pepper generously.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes turning chicken over after 30 minutes. The picture below is missing a piece they smelled so good cooking that my husband grabbed a thigh as soon as they were done - one of the best complements a cook can get!

Marinated Skirt Steak with Chipotle

We love steak! All cuts are great but given we eat steak medium to medium well, this cut is easier to make without smoking up the whole house!

Marinade:
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1 Chipotle pepper in Adobo Sauce

1 lime
5 cloves Garlic smashed and chopped
1 package Goya seasoning

Steak:
Vegetable Oil
1 lb Skirt Steak (Hangar steak would work also)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Combine Olive Oil, Chipotle Pepper with approx 1/4 cup sauce, juice of 1 Lime, Garlic and Goya seasoning in large ziploc bag. Marinate steak in refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Take out of refrigerator approx 30 minutes before cooking to bring to room temperature.

Heat pan over high heat and add vegetable oil once hot. While pan heating, remove steak from marinade and wipe off extra. Salt and Pepper liberally and add to pan before oil begins to smoke. Lower heat to medium high and cook 3 minutes on each side.

Finish in 375 degree oven if you like your steak done more than medium. Cooking times vary even in thickness of this fairly thin steak.

Brined and Marinated Chuletas (Pork Chops)

My husband grew up on pan fried Chuletas so when we got married I wanted to make his favorite but change it because you can never make something as good as your mami made it for you! After watching countless cooking shows and reading books, I decided to take some of the cooking techniques of American pork chops with the spices of Latino cooking.

Brine:

2 1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 tablespoon sugar

8 cloves garlic smashed and chopped

Fresh herbs (Sage, thyme or rosemary all wonderful with pork. I used Sage so as not to overpower pork.)

Heat water over high heat until salt and sugar dissolve. Take off heat and allow to cool completely before you add to pork. You can speed up cool down process in refrigerator once is is slightly cooled if needed.

Pork:

4 pork chops

Olive Oil

1 package Goya seasoning

Once brine is cooled, add to gallon sized plastic bag. Add pork chops and refrigerate for approx 4 hours. Once ready, rinse brine off pork chops, dry and add to another gallon size plastic bag with generous pour of olive oil and seasoning. Marinate for a couple of hours in refrigerator and take out of refrigerator 30 minutes before you cook so meat can become room temperature. Heat dry pan over high heat (I used a grill pan) and cook 3 minutes each side. Depending on the size of your pork chops, you may have to finish off in a 375 degree oven because pork needs to be cooked through. When you push on top of cooked it should be firm but still give a bit.

Habichuelas con Arroz (Red Beans and Rice)

I grew up in Miami eating black beans and rice as all Cubans do and then I fell in love with an incredible Puerto Rican man and wanted to learn how to cook all of his favorite dishes. I searched high and low for a good recipe and have tweaked a few to create a very easy and delicious recipe that most importantly my husband loves!

3 slices thick cut bacon or 4 slices regular bacon

Sofrito made with half an onion, green pepper and 3 cloves garlic (see earlier post)

1 can habichuelas (red beans)

1 canful water

1/2 cup rice

1 bay leaf

1 package Goya seasoning (I like the Goya seasoning con azafran)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cut raw bacon with kitchen scissors if you have them, if not, cook over medium heat in whole pieces and cut with a knife into bite size pieces once they are done and cool enough to handle. Once bacon is browned but not crispy, remove bacon from heat and add sofrito into warm bacon oil. If browning too quickly, lower heat to medium low. Once onion in sofrito is soft, add bacon back into pan and season with salt and pepper. Add one can of red beans, water, rice and spices. Turn heat up to high and allow most of the water to evaporate. Turn heat to low and cover until done, approximately 10 more minutes.

Picture above is the recipe doubled.

Sofrito

The basis of all great Cuban dishes is a good sofrito. Take a few extra minutes to warm oil and soften vegetables without browning and the rest of the dish will be that much better.

Splash of Olive Oil (approx 2 tablespoons)

1 White Onion

1 Green Pepper or Cubanelle Pepper

3 cloves Garlic (smashed then chopped)

Salt and Pepper to Taste

Warm olive oil over medium heat until able to smell fragrance of oil. Meanwhile cut onion and pepper in similar sized pieces so that they cook evenly. Saute onion and pepper for a few minutes and then add garlic. Once onion soft add salt and pepper to taste.