Boston Baked Beans

April 13, 2015April 13, 2015

It’s opening day at Fenway Park for the Boston Red Sox! Spring is officially here and America’s great pass time is in full swing! After the rough winter Boston has had, this is definitely cause to celebrate. Growing up, my family would make it to Fenway Park once a season. It was always a big event being one of four children. Through the years we got to see some of the greats, Mo Vaughn, Wade Boggs, Roger Clemens and Dwight Evans. And then later with Nomar Garciaparra, Big Papi (David Ortiz), Manny Ramirez, Curt Schilling and Pedro Martinez. On any given spring/summer (and hopefully fall) day, you could always find a baseball game on either in the forefront or on in the background at my house. My parents were both staunch Boston Red Sox fans and of course passed that love down to us.

Snacks were abundant at our favorite ball park, usually hot dogs, soft pretzels, cotton candy and peanuts. So today, for opening day, I decided to try my hand at a classic side for my Ball Park Franks, Boston Baked Beans. Here’s how I did it.

This is the Navy bean. It is a small white bean. A lot of people like to make their baked beans with pinto beans and if you prefer the larger pinto, that’s fine too. This is just my preference.

The first step is to rinse and pick through the beans… Here are a few of the little guys who didn’t make the cut for me today.

This next step is pretty easy all be it time consuming… Making baked beans is definitely not something you can do in a rush, at least not when you are making them from dry beans. So take one pound of your favorite light colored bean and soak in 2 quarts of water. You need a lot of water here so that the beans can soak it all in and expand. 6-8 hours. A lot of people say to do this over night. I like to do this after lunch because it is just part one of the soaking for this recipe.

Now through the magic of the internet. 8 hours has gone by and look how our beans have filled up our bowl. Stage one of bean soaking is complete, onto stage two. I do this next stage just before bed because this is an easy recipe, but it has a bunch of ingredients and who has time to throw things together when you are rushing around in the morning? Also, I like that stage two of the bean soaking lets the beans start to soak up the flavors of everything you are throwing in the pot.

Start with chopping up two medium onions.

From here on in you are literally just dumping ingredients into your crock pot.

Measure out half a cup of brown sugar. I used light brown, but if you only have dark brown, that’s fine, it just means there is a bit more molasses in it.

Then measure out a half cup of ketchup.

Dump those in to you crock pot.

Mince 1 garlic clove.

Add in 32 oz. of beer and 2 cups of water. Also, add in that garlic and all the preceding ingredients.

Roughly chop up three slices of thick cut bacon. You could also use salt pork here, but I kind of like the extra layer of flavor bacon brings.

Add in Worcestershire Sauce.

Add in molasses.

Add in Sriracha.

Add in Dijon Mustard.

And here is my little secret ingredient, Espresso powder. This is instant, not just ground… it will melt right into the dish.

Fresh bay leaf… if you don’t have fresh, go ahead and use dry.

Keep adding everything in folks. We’re almost there!

OK… Now a few more ingredients and then you can go to bed! Add in some white wine vinegar (this is what I had, you can use apple cider vinegar), little salt (don’t over do it on the salt, it tends to stop dry beans from plumping and some fresh cracked black pepper. Set your slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours.

When you wake up in the morning, your beans will still look like this… that’s OK… you now set it on high for 8 hours.

And this is what you will see when you get home from work. If for some reason, its not quite like this, just transfer to a dutch oven and boil off any excess liquid with the lid off.

Recipe for Boston Baked Beans:

(serves 6-8)

1 lb. dry Navy beans, soaked 6-8

32 oz. beer

2 cups water

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. ketchup

1/3 c. molasses

2 medium onions, diced

1 clove garlic, chopped

3 T. Dijon mustard

2 T. white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)

1 T. Worcestershire sauce

1 T. pure maple syrup

3 slices center cut bacon, cut up into 6 segments

1 Bay leaf

1 t. sriracha sauce (or your favorite hot sauce)

1 t. kosher salt

1/2 t. fresh cracked black pepper

1/2 t. instant espresso powder

Directions:

1st soak: Rinse and pick through beans. Soak beans for 6-8 hours in 2 quarts of water. Drain and rinse again.

2nd soak: Add all ingredients into crock pot. set on low over night 6-8 hrs.

Cook: Stir. Set crock pot on high for 8 hours.

Enjoy!

Planting Peas – Part 1

April 11, 2015May 21, 2015

My kids love peas! They especially love Sugar Snap Peas. For a regular week night dinner, I am not opposed to popping a frozen bag of steamed veggi’s in the microwave. We probably have steam in the bag veggi’s 3x per week in the winter. But, when spring comes, I can’t help but get the gardening bug! I am so tired of the dreary weather that winter brings and living in the Northeast, this year is a prime example of how nasty winter weather can be. But, I digress.

Spring is a happy time. A time of green! This year, I decided to get my kids involved. My son is loving this gardening project. We planted a whole garden full of veggi’s in our front bay window. (Our dog’s favorite spot to lounge out… Sorry Rocky!)

Peas are a GREAT starter vegetable if you’ve never planted a garden before. And an especially great one if you’re getting your kids involved. They germinate quickly and give you lots and lots of yummy veggi goodness in not such a long time. And if you are in the northern part of the country, they are one of the first plantable plants outside. They are actually considered a spring veggi as they don’t do so well in the extreme heat of summer. Peas are a wonderful source of Vitamin K, fiber, manganese, B-1 (all the B’s really) and Vitamin C to name a few!

Today, I will show you a little of how we have started our garden. Disclaimer… Peas normally get planted right outside, but we wanted to start early and inside when it was much too cold, so I’ll show you how we will remedy that at the end.

We started with some ‘starter soil’ that is good for seeding your own vegetation. Placed that in a recyclable paper pot.

Sugar Snap Peas

We put two little peas in the dirt. My son loved this part!

It took about a week before we saw a little green coming up through the dirt. And about 5 weeks later we saw this.

A week later we saw this! Peas are vine growers, and these are ready to start grabbing on to something!

My son reminds me every day that we need to water the plants. (No, that is not actual spring water he is watering with… we recycled the bottle and it gives him a lot of control over where the water ends up)

Our next step, is to bring the plants outside each day this week and plant them next week sometime… Stay tuned!

Pasta alla Carbonara

April 10, 2015April 10, 2015

My husband and I were lucky enough to spend some time in Italy on our honeymoon. We got to see the Colosseum in Rome, stayed in a 16th century private villa with an olive grove in Florence, toured Pompeii, rode on a Gondola with a singing Gondolier in Venice and even got a glimpse of that leaning tower as we passed through Pisa on a train ride. We loved every moment of it… Did some shopping, site seeing and I even got in some cooking in that villa! But, the food. The food in Italy was amazing.

Each region offered up something new and delicious. Pizza in Naples, Lasagna in Florence, Salami in Genoa. I even made a red sauce that I paired with some fresh pasta, yum. All of which was paired with a red wine… it had no name, just red, which was perfect. My husband, however, ordered the same dish everywhere we went… Spaghetti alla Carbonara. Sure, he would always try a bite of whatever I ordered, but he just couldn’t get enough of the Carbonara.

So, when we returned stateside, I had to learn how to make it. I discovered there are lots of variations to the famed Italian dish… But, the basics are all the same. There is cheese, egg, fresh herbs and bacon. I will try to explain some of the variations throughout the recipe guide below, but if you see something you like more or less, then add more or less of it! Make it your own or follow my recipe, either way it will be a quick, delicious and satisfying meal your family is sure to ask for again and again!

This dish is all about the preparation. It is very quick and easy to put together, but can be screwed up royally if your ingredients are not prepped and ready to go when they need to be. Timing is everything! Follow these steps and you will be eating this delectable plate of pasta in under 20 minutes!

First start off with bacon or pancetta. (Pancetta is uncured Italian bacon.) Today, I had bacon on hand, so that’s what I used. The important thing to remember is that the bacon should not have any sort of flavoring. Try to avoid ‘applewood smoked’ or ‘maple’. A nice smoked or uncured bacon is fine here. Fry it up to the style you like your bacon. We like crispy, but not burned in my family.

Drain bacon. I like to set aside about 2 pieces per person to be served. I hide the bacon at this point so it is not confiscated by passers-by! Reserved the rendered bacon fat in the pan.

Next, you will want to set a pot of water to boil. While the water is coming to a boil, you should have enough time to prepare the rest of your ingredients. Once the water comes to a boil you can add in the pasta (we will get to which variety of pasta in a minute). Cook to the package instructions or a minute less if you like it aldente.

Crack a couple of eggs in a bowl large enough to include not only the eggs, but the parmesan cheese.

Scramble the eggs. Set aside.

Shred up the parmesan. Some people like to use Parmigiano-Reggiano, and hey, if you have it, use it… I happened to have Parmesan at my disposal. The two are similar although the Parmesano Regiano is a higher grade and more traditional. Also, some like to use Pecorino cheese here as well… I say, use whatever you have on hand and whichever you like. Any hard, salty, italian cheese will do just fine.

Add the parmesan into the scrambled egg you have set aside.

Now onto the parsley. This is Italian Flat Leaf Parsley. It is not the same as the curly variety you may see garnishing buffet tables across the country. This parsley has a distinct flavor and adds a great pop of freshness to the dish, please don’t skip this, It’s like a buck at the grocery store fresh. note: Do not confuse this with Cilantro although they are similar in appearance, they have two totally different flavors.

Chop up about a cup of parsley, set aside.

Now chop up your bacon. Set aside.

Now let’s talk about your pasta. After all that chopping, your water is probably boiling, so it’s time to drop the pasta. (Don’t forget to salt the water! – Like the sea… I typically use about 3T. kosher salt for 6 qts of water) But, I digress… you can really use any type of pasta you like. This dish is traditionally made with spaghetti. I have here Fetuccini Rigata. The Rigata is denoting the ridges that are on this pasta. I normally like to get Spaghetti Rigata or Rigati… But the grocery store didn’t have it, so I got the Fetuccini Rigata this time. I like the ridges because it holds on to the sauce better, but if you just have plain ole spaghetti, use it! (My kids like this with Angel Hair, so sometimes I do that for them too)

OK… So, after reading that last paragraph on the pasta, your pasta is probably almost ready to come out of the water. Let’s make sure you have everything you need because once the pasta comes out, it’s go time! So, in addition to the scrambled eggs with parmesan, chopped bacon and chopped parsley, you will need some kosher salt, fresh cracked black pepper and about a cup of frozen peas.

Once the pasta is done… Be sure your reserved bacon fat is still warm, if not turn it on medium. Then, drain the pasta and coat all the noodles in fat. Just wiggle it around a bit and stir.

Now, this is important. While the pasta is piping hot, pour the egg and parmesan mixture over it and have a pasta tool at the ready to very quickly stir it in. Your goal here is not to end up with scrambled eggs… you want to coat the pasta with the egg mixture just like you did with the rendered bacon fat. This must be done quickly.

Again, while it is all still hot, quickly add in the peas and the parsley and stir. The heat from the pasta will be enough to cook the frozen peas.

Add in the bacon and stir again… Now drizzle with some olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Please taste this before plating it.

Shred some additional parmesan atop the pasta and add just a touch more of the fresh parsley and enjoy!

Pasta Carbonara Recipe:

(serves 6-8)

1 lb. dry pasta, spaghetti, fettuccine, Angel Hair etc.

6 qts. water with 3 T. kosher salt

1/2 lb. bacon or pancetta, fried, chopped, rendered fat reserved

3 eggs, scrambled

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/2 cup shredded parmesan

1 cup frozen peas

salt and pepper to taste

Extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

Prepare all ingredients in recipe. Boil pasta. Add drained pasta to the rendered bacon fat, coating pasta. Add parmesan to the scrambled eggs, quickly stir into hot pasta. Add in parsley and peas. Add in bacon. Drizzle with olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Shred additional parmesan over the top with some additional chopped parsley. Enjoy!

Chouriço & Peas (Ervilhas com Chouriço)

April 8, 2015May 19, 20156 Comments

My father migrated to the United States from St. Michael, Portugal in 1966 when he was just 11 years old. His family, two parents, 7 sisters and a brother couldn’t all come together at the time, although they eventually all made it through. He has told me time and time again the story of the long journey that took them first to family who lived in Canada before settling in their final destination of Fall River, Massachusetts. His most vivid memory of that trip is the first meal he ate with his Portuguese-Canadian family as they arrived and it was “Ervilhas com Chouriço” – Chourico and Peas.

I have often tried to imagine what it must have been like for my adolescent father and the thousands of other children to include my mother (age 9) who emigrated here in the 1960’s from Portugal. They came to America, with their families, in search of a new life – a better life for their children. They left behind family and friends and everything they knew. I try to imagine, at the tender age of 11, trying to learn a new language. I imagine entering a school where everyone including all my teachers can not communicate with me. To learn a new culture and a new way of doing just about everything. What becomes vivid to me is being scared, excited, confused and very dependent on anything familiar I might come upon. So, nearly 50 years later, my father recalls his family in Canada serving him and his siblings and parents “Ervilhas com Chouriço” a Portuguese comfort food. Funny how food has a way of comforting and connecting people.

Here is my version of “Ervilhas com Chouriço”:

Start out by chopping onions. For this recipe, I like to quarter and then slice.

Add onions to a pot with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat, saute.

This is Portuguese Chouriço. It is a bit different from its cousins, Spanish and Mexican Chorizo. It comes in two varieties, hot and mild. (If you only have chorizo available in your area, that is a fine substitute)

Slice chouriço fairly thinly. I like to go about 1/8″, if you like it thicker, be my guest. But, this recipe calls for one link of chouriço, so slicing thinly ensures everyone gets plenty in their portion.

Mince up about a clove or two of garlic.

Add garlic and chouriço to your pot and continue to saute over medium heat.

Add 2 lbs. frozen peas. I use frozen peas because we are not quite in the season for fresh peas and I find frozen peas to be far superior to canned. If you have fresh peas available, by all means use them.

Add in one can of beer. (An ale is best for this recipe, whatever you have in the fridge or left over from your last party) If you prefer not to use alcohol or are on a gluten-free diet, just add in about 16 oz of chicken stock.

Pepper! This has to be my favorite Portuguese ingredient. Ground Portuguese red pepper… My family grinds our own pepper each year and preserve it to use all year long. Our pepper is not terribly spicy because we remove most of the seeds and inner flesh before grinding, so be careful, know what you are using.

Portugese all spice. Please don’t be confused by the allspice you put in your pies at Thanksgiving… This is not that. This is paprika based and has a bit of turmeric some orange peel and some mystery spice. If you don’t have this available, just use a run of the mill paprika. (Adding a smoked paprika will change the flavor of the dish, if you like that, go for it, but be aware, this all spice is not smokey)

1/2 cup of plain tomato sauce.

Add in the sauce, pepper and spice along with a pinch of salt, stir. Continue cooking over medium heat.

Turn down heat to a medium/low. Stir periodically and allow to cook for about 15-20 mins.

Last step… gently add in whole cracked eggs one at a time and nestle them in their own little spots in the pot. I like to give everyone an egg. So I put as many eggs as people I plan to feed.

And here is your completed Chouriço & Peas dish. Enjoy!

Chouriço & Peas recipe:

(serves 4-6)

1/2 lb. Hot Chouriço, sliced

2 lbs. frozen (or fresh) peas

1 medium yellow onion, quartered and sliced

1 T. ground red pepper

1/2 cup tomato sauce

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can beer

2-3 T. olive oil

1/2 t. Portuguese all spice

4-6 eggs

kosher salt to taste

Directions:

In a large pot saute onions in olive oil over medium heat. Add in chouriço and garlic, saute. Add in fresh or frozen peas, mix and then immediately add in beer, tomato sauce, pepper, all spice and salt. Bring to a boil and turn down heat to medium low. Cook for 15-20 mins. Add in eggs one at a time. Cook 5-6 mins. Enjoy!

note: For gluten-free preparation, substitute beer with chicken stock or a gluten-free beer.

Split Pea Soup

April 6, 2015March 28, 2016

I don’t know about you, but I always have a ton of left over ham after Easter or any holiday really. But, I don’t mind because I love me some Spit Pea Soup and there is nothing like a homemade ham roast to make a great Split Pea Soup with! Spring is beautiful and it’s nice to see all the winter snow melting away, but there can still be some pretty brisk and chilly weather. What better to combat that than a nice steaming bowl of soup? Yum!

For this recipe, I used my Pineapple Honey Glazed ham and turned it into this creamy deliciousness. If you didn’t make ham or don’t have any left overs, you can always make this recipe with some deli ham, just ask the deli to cut you some thick ham or you can grab a ham steak too. Here’s how I did it:

I start off with one bag of split peas, any brand is fine. Wash them and set them aside.

Dice some onions. I like a lot of onions, so I use two medium onions and give them a medium chop (maybe the size of a dime).

I trim my carrots next (sometimes I don’t peel them, but this time I did, so its up to you).

Then chop them to about the same dimensions you did your onions… so for me they are about the size of a dime.

Now add the onions and carrots into a large pot and sautee with some olive oil on medium heat.

Take a couple of cloves of garlic and mince (or use a garlic press). Add to your onions and carrots after they are tender. You want to make sure your garlic doesn’t burn, so add it in toward the end of the sauteeing phase.

Now it’s time to trim up the ham hock. Add this to your vegies. Admittedly, this is not the pretties thing ever, but it is super tasty and adds a hearty dimension to your soup you can’t get with anything else… still if it freaks you out, or if you already threw out your hock, just leave it out.

Add in chicken stock, here I have homemade stock that I made earlier in the week. (If you don’t have homemade stock, just add in an extra large can of low sodium stock.) Also, add in about the same amount of hot water. And one chicken bullion or one packet of bullion powder.

Dice up about a cup of ham… if you have more or less, then use more or less to your taste. I chop this about the size of a quarter, I like chunky ham, if you like more delicate, then give it a smaller chop.

Add in one bay leaf. If you have fresh, that’s great… I only had dry on hand.

Chop up about a teaspoon of fresh thyme and add to the pot. (If you only have dry that’s o.k., just reduce by half and add it in when you are sauteeing your onions and carrots)

Now add in a few cracks of black pepper and a good pinch of kosher salt. Also, add in a dash of white pepper if you have it on hand.

Add in your split peas now and stir. Bring the liquid to a boil on high and then reduce to a simmer and let cook for about 1 hour stiring periodically. When the soup starts to thicken and you can no longer see the shape of your split peas, then you know you are ready for the next and final step. (this could take up to one additonal hour… so keep your eye on it!

When your soup is just about done… You can remove the ham hock and add in about a cup of dilatini pasta (or whatever your favorite soup pasta is ie. elbows, stars, orzo etc)

And you’re done! Enjoy!

Split Pea Soup

(serves 8- 10)

1 package split peas, washed

1 ham hock, trimmed

1 cup diced ham

2 medium onions, chopped

4 medium carrots, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 t. fresh thyme, chopped

1 bay leaf

14-16 cups of liquid, chicken stock and water

1 chicken bullion or bullion powder packet

kosher salt to taste

fresh cracked black pepper to taste

dash of white pepper

2-3 T. olive oil

Directions:

Pepare all ingredients. Sautee onions and carrots in olive oil until tender over medium heat in a large pot. Add in garlic. Add in ham hock and liquid. Add in all other ingredients except the pasta. Cook on high until boiling. Turn down to a medium/low boil or simmer on medium/low heat for about an hour, stirring periodically. Check for dissapearing of peas in soup and thickening of liquid. This could take up to an additional hour. When liquid is thickened, add in pasta, cook an additional 20 minutes or so until pasta is done. Taste for seasonings. Enjoy!

note: This can very easily be made gluten free by omitting the pasta or using gluten-free pasta.

Pineapple Honey Glazed Ham

April 4, 2015March 13, 2016

Baked ham… an Easter tradition in my house growing up. I’m part of a big Portuguese family, so of course that wasn’t the only thing on the table, there would usually be some sort of roast or stew as well… but, my favorite was always the ham. My mother always put sliced pineapples on her ham. So, what I’ve done is incorporate that into my pineapple honey glazed ham. It’s simple and delicious.

A lot of people like spiral hams, and they are yummy, but they can also be quite pricy. I’ll be using a 10 lb. ham here and with Easter sales at my grocery store, I paid under $10 for this one, score! Spiral hams usually come with a nice little packet, usually brown sugar based that can be used to glaze the ham with, but regular run of the mill hams don’t. So, I’ve included a simple pineapple honey glaze with this recipe that is almost as simple as opening up that packet.

You’ll want to start with figuring out what size pan you’ll use. It’s a good idea for it to have room enough for the drippings, but not be so overwhelmingly big that the glaze doesn’t hang out near the meat. For this 10lb ham, I am using a 9×12″ baking dish.

You will want to prepare your ham to accept the glaze. This can be done by placing the ham cut side down in your baking dish and scoring in a lattice style, criss crossing over the entire skin.

Here are all the ingredient’s you will need for the glaze: honey, 1 20 oz . can of sliced pineapples, with the juice reserved, 1 T. butter, salt and whole pepper corns.

Take your ingredients and add them in all together to a small sauce pan over medium heat and stir. 1 T butter, 1 t. pepper corns, 2 T. honey, 1/2 t. salt and reserved juice (don’t add the actual pineapples to this mix) The goal here is not to cook it down, but just to get them all mixed in the warmth helps the butter and honey to incorporate. 2-3 minutes should do it.

Next, just pour the glaze over the ham.

Place the pineapples on the ham.

If you have a tough time getting the pineapples to stay put, you can secure them with toothpicks… I didn’t have any trouble due to the shape of my ham.

I like to add a bit more honey to the top for fun… this is about a tablespoon’s worth.

You should cover the ham for cooking, but first what I like to do is spray some cooking spray on the foil so it doesn’t stick to the pineapples.

Next, loosely cover with foil, sprayed side down.

Bake at 325°F for 15 minutes per lb.

It’s a good idea to baste the ham a few times… after your calculated cooking time is through, i like to uncover the ham and put into a 375°F oven for another 20 minutes or so to get some color on your pineapples and crisp up the skin of the ham a bit.

And that’s it… Check to see that the internal temperature is up to 140°F (because ham is fully cooked before you put it in the oven), put it on a platter as seen here with my Rockstar Potatoes. (Be sure to remove toothpicks at this point if you used them)

Baked ham, Rockstar Potatoes and peas! A perfect Easter dinner!

Pineapple Honey Glazed Ham

plan on 1/2 lb. per person for a bone in ham

Ingredients:

1 cured ham, bone in

1 20 oz. can sliced pineapple, juice reserved

2-3 T. honey

1 T. butter

1 t. black pepper corns

1/2 t. kosher salt

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 325°F.

For the glaze: In a small sauce pan over medium heat combine juice, honey, butter, pepper corns and salt. Warm through mixing.

Score the ham in a cross hatch fashion.

Pour warmed glaze over ham. Place pineapples on ham. Add extra honey if desired over top. Cover with foil. Bake 15 minutes per lb. Baste 2-3 time throughout cooking time. Remove foil after cooking time and baste again. Bake for an additional 20 minutes uncovered at 375°F. Check to see that ham is hot throughout and the skin has started to crisp up, internal temp should be 140°F.

***Gluten-free

Rockstar Potatoes

April 3, 2015September 27, 2015

Why Rockstar Potatoes you ask? Why, because you feel like a rock star when you serve them to your family and friends! If you are tired of humdrum mashed or baked potatoes, try these, they are sure to be a hit!

These potatoes will be a welcome side to any weeknight meal or any holiday table. They are simple and delicious. Once you get the method down, you can make this with regular white potatoes as seen here, red bliss would be yummy too or you can think way out of the box and chop up some sweet potatoes and have a tasty savory sweet potato side!

Let’s get started…

You will want to begin where many delicious creations start… with bacon. Here you see thick center cut bacon in a medium skillet. It’s nothing crazy, just out of your grocer’s cooler. Use any type of bacon you like or have on hand. This is what I had. Place 4 slices in a pan and fry them up crispy.

Next, set bacon aside on some paper towels to drain. But, don’t get rid of that bacon grease that is in the pan… that will now become your cooking fat. (OH, and make sure if you have people with wandering hands roaming your kitchen, that you cover this up, otherwise you may end up with no bacon in your final product!)

Next, take about 5-6 potatoes and chop them up to the size of a half-dollar and place them in the pan with your bacon grease… then add your onions and thyme.

Take one small onion and slice sort of thinly. (if you like more onions, use a bigger onion, I won’t tell)

Now for the thyme… I really think fresh thyme is key in this recipe, it adds that little something special… but if you don’t have it, use dry (just reduce the amount because dry herbs can get over powering, so take it slow) For the fresh thyme, remove the leaves from the stems and discard stems.

After you have browned up the potatoes and onions a bit (say 10 mins or so) Add in one clove of chopped garlic. I add this later on because I don’t want the garlic to turn bitter from over cooking. Also at this stage add a pinch of salt and some fresh cracked black pepper. (Keep in mind the bacon is salty, don’t over salt)

As you allow the garlic to make friends with the potatoes and the onions, chop up the bacon you have reserved, it’s going in next.

OK… so here is everything together… as soon as you mix in the bacon, double check that you have added in all your ingredients and then pop it into your oven at 350 degrees F for about 15-20 mins. until tender. (note: Make sure your skillet is oven safe, if you aren’t sure… just place ingredients into a baking dish and continue)

And Wala… You’re a Rock Star!

Rockstar Potatoes Recipe:

(serves 4)

5-6 medium white potatoes, cut into 1/2 dollar size

4 slices thick cut bacon

1 small onion, sliced

1 clove garlic, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Fry up bacon in a medium skillet, set aside on paper towels to drain. Use reserved bacon grease to fry up potatoes with onions and thyme, 10 minutes, stir occasionally. Add in garlic, cook about 2-3 minutes. Chop reserved bacon and add in. Place skillet in oven (be sure skillet is oven safe! – if not, transfer to a baking dish). Check for tenderness 15-20 mins. Enjoy!

note: Gluten free. So long as your bacon is gluten-free (always check for packing ingredients) then this is a naturally gluten-free recipe.

*** note: For a slightly healthier version, toss out the bacon grease and replace with olive oil. You won’t be a rock star, but you’ll still be a pop star!

Peep S’mores

April 2, 2015April 9, 2015

This year we are adding a new tradition to our usual Easter fun… Peep s’mores! As a Portuguese American mom, sweetbread is the good ole standby tradition (a post for another time) and then of course there is coloring and decorating Easter eggs, but I like to shake things up! I’m crazy like that!

Recently I’ve been seeing people having lots of fun dipping their Peeps in chocolate… I have even seen them packaged this way from the company. I, however, am taking this a step further. Every year at Christmas I make s’mores on a stick as little treats to give out and they are a BIG hit (check back around Christmas time for that fun project). Soooo… I thought elevating the chocolate dipped Peep to a new level was just the ticket.

I have a one and a two year old and this project is perfect for them to help with. It’s cheap, its colorful, fun and their little hands do great with the soft tactile nature of a Peep. But, I think this is fun at any age!

Here’s what you’ll need:

Peeps… any color… you can even do this with Peep bunnies if you are really feeling like jumping out of that box!

Peeps, chocolate chips, graham crackers and sprinkles

Crush your crackers with your fingers.

Place your chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl. Start out with a minute, mix and then do 15 second intervals until it is mostly melted. Don’t add anything extra to the chocolate. (If you don’t have a microwave or if you prefer, this step can be done with a double boiler)

Mix until smooth.

This is what you should have now… along with whichever Peeps you decide on.

Now, give your Peep a little bath… dip him about half way in.

Now, into the crackers he goes!

Now, get him over to a piece of wax paper. I like to like a cookie tray so that it is easily moved into the fridge if need be.

Now, get him over to a piece of wax paper. I like to line a cookie tray so that it is easily moved into the fridge if need be. tip: place cookie sheet in the fridge beforehand to speed up cooling time… if you didn’t do this, you can just pop the whole tray in the fridge for 5-10 mins and you’re good.

sprinkles

Now dress him up with some sprinkles and let him cool.

…and repeat

Now you have these little guys! Enjoy!

Peep s’mores recipe:

20 Peeps

8 graham cracker squares

1/2 package of chocolate chips (I use semi-sweet)

colorful sprinkles

You will also need a microwave safe bowl and some wax paper or parchment.

Directions:

Get all your ingredients prepped before you begin because once the chocolate is melted, you will want to work fairly quickly. So, be sure to lay out some wax paper on a cookie sheet, set aside. Crush the graham crackers with your fingers, set aside. Separate the Peeps; I do this by cutting them with a knife so they stay neat, if you don’t care about that, they can just be pulled apart. Then, place the chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for one minute, then in 15 second increments until melted, stirring throughout the process.

Now dip a peep into the chocolate, about half way in. Then directly dip into the graham crackers. Place onto a the cookie sheet and sprinkle. Let cool. Cooling may mean placing the tray into the fridge for 5-10 mins.

Once cooled, they can be packaged for Easter gift giving or just gobble them up! If you are keeping them, they will keep for up to a week or two in an airtight container… do not store in the fridge, but in a cool dry place.

Have fun!

Mom’s Portuguese Rice Pudding (Arroz Doce)

April 1, 2015May 19, 20153 Comments

Arroz Doce! Mmmmm… This is a great way to start off my blog for a couple of reasons. #1 – This is Easter week and coming from a Portuguese family, no Easter (or any holiday really) is complete without rich and creamy, Portuguese Rice Pudding. Growing up, I can’t recall a gathering without it. #2 – This is a super easy recipe, but for some reason, it took me years to master it. My mother can attest to the many times I called her reviewing her recipe and trying to figure out how I possibly could have missed a step. So, what I would like to do is take you through the process to help you avoid the pain I endured from failed attempt after failed attempt and lead you to a perfect rice pudding in one shot for your Easter table!

Now please, please, please don’t confuse Portuguese Rice Pudding with traditional American style rice pudding you may find on your grocer’s shelves which is little more than vanilla pudding with cooked rice mixed in for kicks. No, no, no… My mother’s rice pudding is anything but!

A couple of tips I have learned over the years before we get started. First, you will need a heavy bottom stainless steel pot with a lid. I’ll be honest, most of my cooking is done in non-stick cookware, but it just doesn’t work so well for this recipe because sometimes the rice will stick to the bottom (regardless of what type of cookware you use) and if it does, we need it to stay there; otherwise, you will end up with a bunch of brown bits floating through your final product, not so pretty or tasty. Next, the type of rice you use for this dish is pretty critical. You will need to find regular medium grain rice. Please don’t try this with a brown rice or a boil in the bag rice or any type of minute rice and absolutely nothing parboiled. Just plain cheap medium grain white rice is fine. If you want to get fancy, you can get the slightly pricier River Rice, which is my Mom’s preferred brand, but its not necessary if you just follow these guidelines. Also, I want to note that this recipe is very easily doubled or even tripled if you have a big enough pot, but I would not go further than that.

OK… Let’s get started…

Start off with 3 cups of milk and one cup of water in that heavy bottom pot I mentioned.

Whole milk is preferred, but 1% or 2% works just fine too… however, I would stay away from skim… note: I have done this with lactose free milk and it works out just great!

Add a small pinch of salt, don’t go crazy here.

Add in one lemon rind, just like this and turn the burner on to medium/high until the liquid comes to the start of a boil… so, you’ll want to watch that pot because the start of a boil can turn into a boil over in seconds with that much milk in the pot. (if you don’t care for lemon, you can absolutely leave this ingredient out, it will still be delicious… this method leaves the dish with a subtle undertone of lemon – nothing strong)

Next, add in the rice and stir. Then cover the pot and turn the burner down to med/low – low. (so just above the lowest setting on your knob) Be sure to stir periodically.

After about 20 minutes or so, this is what you should see in your pot. If not, give it a bit more time, but keep your eye on it, because it can happen quickly.

Sugar is essential to this recipe… Please don’t reduce this ingredient as you will not have the results you are looking for. Stir this in when your rice is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed as shown above. The sugar will then cause your rice to have more liquid as the sugar melts in. (((Here is where I always messed up… for some reason I skipped this step, DON’T SKIP THIS STEP! This is what gives the pudding it’s proper consistency))) Cover the pan and cook another 5-10 minutes on med/low heat… Stir frequently! (every 2-3 minutes)

Once the liquid has once again mostly absorbed into your rice, very very quickly stir in the yolk of one large egg… you want to mix in rapidly so you don’t end up with chunks of cooked egg… this is meant to thicken your pudding and add some richness. And you are done! (If you have an egg allergy, this step can be left out, it will be a little different, but still pretty yummy)

Now you will have something that looks like this… pour into a shallow dish and gently shake back and forth to disperse the pudding… at this point, fish out the lemon rind as it has done it’s job.

While your pudding is still hot, grab some cinnamon and a cookie cutter or anything with a small rim, it’s traditional in my family to use a shot glass as seen here, for decorating.

Gently touch the rim of your glass on pudding to moisten. Then dip into the cinnamon. Then back to the pudding to start your design. Repeat in any pattern you like. If I’m not doing this for a party or to serve as dessert for a dinner party or something, I will totally just sprinkle the cinnamon on top. But, since we are talking about Easter, this is what I do. A fun bunny design cut out of paper and laid on top would be great too… be creative.

And here it is! Yum!

Portuguese Rice Pudding recipe:

(serves 6)

1 cup rice, medium grain, white

1 cup water

3 cups milk, whole (1 or 2% also works)

1 cup white sugar

1 lg. egg yolk

1 lemon rind

1 scant pinch of salt

cinnamon for dusting

Instructions:

Bring water and milk to a boil with the lemon rind and salt on medium high. Add in rice and stir, turn burner down to just above the lowest setting, cover the pot. Stir occasionally. About 20 minutes later most of the liquid should be evaporated… also, test the rice to see that it is fully tender… this is when you add in the sugar and stir. The mixture will become liquefied again, continue cooking on low for another 5-10 minutes, stirring more frequently. Once most of the liquid has once again absorbed into the rice, add in the egg yolk, stirring vigorously. Pour into a shallow dish and sprinkle with cinnamon or form a design with cinnamon. Enjoy!

note: this is a naturally gluten free recipe… just ensure that each ingredient brand you use specifically is gluten free (as it should naturally be) and you are good to go!

the portuguese american mom

stay awhile… have a cup of tea, let's get creative!

Month: April 2015

Boston Baked Beans

Planting Peas – Part 1

Pasta alla Carbonara

Chouriço & Peas (Ervilhas com Chouriço)

Split Pea Soup

Split Pea Soup

Pineapple Honey Glazed Ham

Pineapple Honey Glazed Ham

Rockstar Potatoes

Peep S’mores

Mom’s Portuguese Rice Pudding (Arroz Doce)