Roasted Beets Lemon Salad

I just love the color nature has created in fruits and vegetables. One of the most vibrant is the color in the beets, is a purple and red hue that is so unique.  You can garnish a plate with beets and make it more attractive immediately.  However if I wanted to eat cooked beets and avoid the ones from the can, the boiling process was a little annoying. First wash them, boil them for a long time and then discard the rosy water that might spill on your clothes and never goes away, it doesn’t sound like fun. Does it?

 But it was until very recent that I found out you can roast beets. Roasting them sounded farfetched because I thought I needed a barbeque grill and special trays, but no, it turns out you can grill them in your oven and the results are delicious.   The fresh flavor is present, the texture is somehow crunchy, and there isn’t as much mess as there is with the boiling.  Since I learned how to prepare them I have been using them in many ways: as a side dish, in soups, etc. But my favorite way to eat them is in a salad with lemon dressing. The sweetness of the beet and the zest of the lemon create a sweet and sour flavor that is really appetizing.

*Roasted beets can be refrigerated for up to one week in a plastic container, discard them if they look dull.

Roasted Beets

I usually buy 4 large beets to use during 1 week.  WASH the beets, PEEL them and CUT THEM in thick slices (I will say 4 to 5 slice per beet). In my experience if you dice them before roasting, they get a mushy texture. PREHEAT the oven at 375 F.  In a cookie sheet or any baking tray spread 1 TBSP of Olive Oil.  PLACE the beets slices and roast them for 20 minutes.  After the first 10 minutes I open the oven and with a fork I turn the beets around so they can evenly roast. TAKE THEM OUT of the oven and LET THEM COOL for 10 to 15 minutes. You can slice them in tinnier pieces or use the whole slice.

 

LEMON DRESSING SALAD

1 Bag of Baby Lettuce Salad

2 Tbsp of finely chopped white onion    

20 cherry tomatoes cut in half

1 Cup of diced Roasted Beets

Juice from 1.5 lemons

1 Tsp of Paprika

1 Tsp of Black Pepper

1 Crushed Garlic Clove

½ Cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Fetta Cheese to garnish (optional)

Salt to season

In a salad bowl, mix the onions, tomatoes and lettuce. And refrigerate it until you are ready to eat it  (the onion flavor permeates to the lettuce leaves if the ingredients are mixed before eating). In a separate container mix the oil, lemon juice, garlic and spices.  Whisk it until all the ingredients have incorporated. Let it stand for at least 1 hour. When you are ready to eat the salad, add the dressing and mix it. At the end add the beets and the cheese, so they won’t smudge while you shake the salad.  Enjoy a fresh and healthy salad.

Calabacitas con  Elote or  Mexican Zucchini  with Corn

Today it was an unusual cold day in Los Angeles; I wanted to eat something satisfying, warm and tasty, with homemade flavor.   However I didn’t want the calories that a “cozy meal” frequently has. So I took my calabacitas or Mexican zucchini as you find it in the store, and made this common and simple, but delightful plate.  I could easily say that if you have grown in Mexico there is a 90% possibility that you have eaten Calabacitas con Elote  as part of a regular lunch meal. Everybody has its recipe and there are many variations, but this is the recipe I have been using for years.

Ingredients

6 Medium Mexican Zucchinis

1 Cup Whole Corn Kernels (cooked, canned or frozen)

1 Large Tomato Diced

1 Medium White Onion Diced

3 Tablespoons of Tomato Sauce

1 Garlic Clove Chopped

3 Tablespoons of Mexican Cream or Sour Cream

¾ Cup of Water OR Vegetable OR Chicken Broth

Salt and Pepper

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

Shredded Mozzarella or Chihuahua Cheese to Garnish (Optional)

In a large skillet warm the oil at medium heat for 2 minutes.  Add the onions and move around with a wooden spoon until they start to look tender and transparent.  Then add the garlic and the tomatoes. Keep moving until tomatoes become soft and smashed.  While the onions, garlic and tomatoes cook, you start to dice the zucchinis in big chunks. Put in the pieces of zucchini and mix with the wooden spoon.  Pour the water or chicken broth on top; add the tomato sauce and the cream. Mix again in order to incorporate all the ingredients.  Once the liquid in the mix starts to boil add the salt and pepper to season, then lower the heat and cover. Let it stay at low heat for about 5 minutes.  Turn off the heat and let it set the flavor for another 5 minutes. Then serve and garnish with cheese if you want. The cheese will melt into the mix making it creamier.

 *The beauty of this recipe is that can easily transform in a vegetarian plate if you change the chicken broth for vegetable broth and skip the cream and replace it by soy milk. 

Shrimp and Mango Salad

Shrimp and Mango Salad on Toast

 

If you want a casual and easy to make appetizer, tasty and fresh at the same time, then the Shrimp and Mango Salad on Toast is a great option. You can pair it with drinks in a cocktail party or serve it as first course in a dinner and be sure to open appetite. Anyway you serve it, just enjoy it!

 

Ingredients

 

2 cups of cooked salad shrimp

1 cup of diced mango *you can use frozen mango, do not use mango in syrup

4 tbsp of finely chopped onion

2 tbsp of finely chopped cilantro

2 tbsp of lime juice

2 tbsp of chipotle sauce

3 tbsp of light mayo  *if you don't like mayo you can use olive oil however it won't be as creamy as in the pic.

Salt and pepper
 

 

Mix the onion, cilantro, lime juice, chipotle and mayo in a bowl. Then incorporate the shrimps and mango.Once you have all the ingredients together, salt and pepper to season. Pour the mix in the food processor  and chop it but don't blend it. This recipe is better when it has pieces of shrimp and mango in the mix and you can have a bite of them.  Put the mix in the refrigerator for at least one hour it will help the flavors to become tangy and lightly spicy. Serve it on toast, water crackers or a lettuce leaf.  

You may garnish it with a piece of mango and some cilantro leaves.



 

Almond Cookies with Apricot Preserves



 

These cookies were a hit on the Christmas table.  The recipe I used to make them comes from a Mexican cooking magazine from the 1960's.  Most of the recipes in that publication are very complicated and precise. I have tried some of them but this is the one I keep coming back to. This is the simplified version with great results.  The warm and golden color, the almond crunch when you bite and the flavor and consistency are delicious and fulfilling.

 

Ingredients

 

2 cups of flour

1 cup of sugar

2 tbsp of baking powder

2 tbsp of almond flavor

8 egg yolks

300 grams of butter at room temperature

1 cup of ground almonds *grind whole almonds in the food processor

Apricot Preserves to Garnish

 

 

The magazine's instructions recommend and incorporate the ingredients with bare hands, except for the butter, eggs and sugar which are to be mixed with a fork or a whisk. However nowadays we can use the food processor or blender to make the cookie dough. I have tried both ways the "old style" and the "modern style" and the results are pretty much the same.

First step is to mix the dry ingredients flour, ground almonds and baking powder.  Then mix the butter and the sugar and  add the yolks one by one.  When you have both mixes ready, add them together (hands or food processor) until you have a yellowish and soft dough. Make balls with the hands of about 1.5 inches  (about 3 or 4 cms) of diameter. Place them on cooking sheets, leaving a space of  2 inches between each cookie. Preheat the oven at 375 F.  Bake them for about 15 mins or until they have almost doubled their size and flattened. If they are golden on the bottom, they are ready.  Take them out of the oven and pressing a spoon in the center make some space to put the apricot jam once they have cooled down.

Let them cool and then fill the cookies with the jam in the center.  They are great as dessert or as a snack and have healty protein from the almonds.

 

 



Jamming!!

The other day the blackberries at the supermarket were on sale but sadly they aren’t a big hit with my family. They can be sour and not as mouth melting as raspberries. However I wasn’t going to let the great price of 1 dollar per box to go away.  I thought of making fruit salad, or blending them in a juice drink, but while I was strolling around the supermarket aisles I had the great idea to make a jam.  A good quality jar of jam or fruit preserve can be expensive, for example Sarabeth’s jams, this delicious New York brand sold in gourmet specialty stores such William and Sonoma costs around 11 dollars for a 18 oz jar. There is also the French brand Gran Mere which is more affordable but still more expensive than the mainstream brands, although is highly recommendable to pay the difference because of the great consistency and flavor.  Jams are great because they are very versatil,  you can use them on toast in the mornings, mix them with yogurth or oatmeal, or eat them over ice cream as a topping, or simply enjoy them from the jar with a spoon. I found them very easy to make and store.  This recipe came out too yummy that I can’t wait for the supermarket to have another fruit special to make morejars  and give them as Christmas presents.

TURKEY MEMORIES

Even though during the holidays I enjoy making a robust and juicy turkey for the family , carving and serving it with all the trimmings, I have to confess I’m not a big turkey fan.  It probably has a connection with my full of turkey childhood memories.  Coming from a big family, our holiday’s gatherings were always around a generous served table: mushroom spaguetti, mashed potatoes, soup, buñuelos, warm punch and three turkeys .  I remember my mom and aunt attentively following my grandmother’s instructions (as nurses follow doctors´during a surgery) for the preparation of one smoked turkey, one stuffed turkey and one Pavo al Cuñete (an unusual recipe of pickled turkey).  An abundance of poultry meat!! Few days after Christmas or New Year´s celebrations the turkey tamales would arrive to our table. These tamales are made with the remnants of turkey fat instead of using the traditional lard.in the mix. They are stuffed with shredded beef or turkey; or in a sweet version, flavored with vanilla and raisins.   Since they are difficult to make they are considered a delicacy.  A delicacy I was never able to appreciate! maybe because of my short age or perhaps because I still have memories of the turkey  grease aftertaste in my mouth after I gobbled the soft tamales. 

However many years after, with no more than one bird per table, per holiday and living in another country, knowing all the benefits of eating lean meat and the different ways to prepare turkey. I like to use it in my everydays meals. This is a simple recipe that even my picky five years old son Gabriel would devour.

BREADED TURKEY CUTLETS

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds of turkey breasts cutlets
• Half cup of milk
• 1 egg
• 2 cups of bread crumbs or Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
• 1 quart cup of Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and Pepper (about one tbsp of each)
• Oil to fry (canola, vegetable or olive)

PREPARATION

Cut the cutlets in 10 pieces that are about the same size.  Keep them long and less than an inch thick.  In a bowl mix with a fork or a whisk: the milk, the egg, the Worcestershire sauce and the salt and pepper. Soak the pieces of turkey in the liquid mixture and let them stay for few minutes. Meanwhile warm up the oil at medium heat. Take the pieces and place them over a plate where you have previously spread the crumbs. Cover them on both sides with crumbs. Then proceed to fry them two minutes each side, two times, until is golden brown outside and fully cooked inside (take one piece and cut it in the middle to prove the meat is fully white and tender). Serve them with a side of rice, potatoes or salad.  They should be crispy and delicious.

Fall Cravings: Creme Brulee

Crème Brulee
There is an undeniable connection with psyche and food. When I start to see all the fall decorations around me, immediately I start to crave sweet and warm desserts made with apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, vanilla and pumpkin flavors. I picture myself drinking coffee with friends and eating my treat (even though when fall in LA has thrown us couple of days at 105 F, not much need for a hot beverage). For me Apple pie is a favorite and I actually find it easy to make, so I decided to challenge myself and go for something different like Crème Brulee with vanilla cinnamon touch. I had never prepared it before; certainly I had eaten it so many times. Preparing it was easy, tasteful, and inexpensive. Above all I loved the fact, I didn’t need a torch to melt the sugar, you can use your broiler and voila! You can achieve the crunchy delicious layer of caramelized sugar. If you contain yourself and eat only one portion, it’s not as caloric as the ones you have at a restaurant; you can garnish it with berries, eat it warm or cold, enjoy it by yourself or impress your guests.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 and half cups of heavy cream
• 6 egg yolks
• 6 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract 3 tablespoons of brown sugar

PREPARATION

• Preheat the oven at 325 F In a large bowl mix the yolks, the sugar, the cinnamon and the vanilla extract. You don’t need to use the mixer, you can whisk it until all ingredients are incorporated and look creamy.
• Pour the cream in a saucepan and stir over low heat, remove it just before it boils.Let it cool for 3 minutes.
• Then mix together the cream and the eggs mixture until you create a yellow cream.
• Pour the mix in individual ramekins, you can make between 4 and 6 portions, depending how big you want them to be.
• Place the ramekins in a large baking or roasting pan and add water to cover up to the half of the ramekin in order to bake them in Bain Marie (Water Bath). Bake them for 35 minutes approximately, until they are set but the center still is soft.
• Let them cool and place in the refrigerator for at least three hours.
• Once they are cold, sprinkle the brown sugar (1/2 tbsp by ramekin) on top. Place the recipients under the broiler in your oven until sugar melts in 3 minutes approximately.
• Let them reach room temperature and ready to enjoy!!

* Never try just melted sugar since it can seriously burn your mouth