Fáilte!

The people we choose to share our ups and downs with in life are our best friends, our confidants.

Friday, October 29, 2010

A mouth watering copycat

I forgot to credit David’s grandmother for her Picadillo recipe. It was a family recipe that she passed on to her daughter and grandkids.  David told me that it was a treat that all the kids looked forward to having at the family dinners when his family got together at his mother’s parents house.  It was a weekly event that was much anticipated. In the end, I think David is very excited/happy that I am enjoying some of his families recipes.
This recipe is from Food.com and it’s their “copycat” recipe for the Macaroni Grill. It’s for the delicious bread they give to you when you get seated and are waiting for your food to come out. I love it especially with their dipping oil. So, when I saw this recipe I was excited, but I wasn’t expecting it to ACTUALLY be a copycat. Copycats usually aren’t replicas of the original, instead, they’re mostly recipes that are inspired by the original. So imagine my (delighted) surprise when this really did come out smelling, and even tasting, like the stuff you get with an overpriced dinner!  
Rosemary Bread
Makes 1 loaf
-         1 tbsp yeast
-         1 tbsp sugar
-         1 c warm water
-         2 ½ c flour
-          1 ½ tsp salt
-         2 tbsp rosemary, fresh and chopped or dried
-         2 tbsp butter

1.     Place yeast, sugar and water in a large bowl and let sit for about 10 minutes, until it’s frothy.
2.     Mix in butter, salt and flour. Add rosemary. Knead for about 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
3.     Add more flour if necessary. Oil the bowl and put dough in it to rise for an hour or so (until it doubles in size), making sure to cover with a towel.
4.     Punch down the dough and divide in half. Let it rest 5 minutes. Spray loaf pan and shape into the pan.
5.     Sprinkle the remaining rosemary over the loaf and press lightly into the surface. Let rise another hour (until doubled again).
6.     Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until lightly browned. Carefully remove from the oven. Brush with remaining butter. Liberally salt the top with salt (kosher, sea, or table) or to taste.
*Serve with some dipping oil (extra virgin olive oil) and some fresh cracked pepper.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

My Introduction to Picadillo

Picadillo is a traditional dish in many Latin American countries and the Philippines (where it is known as giniling) that is similar to hash. In the Philippines, picadillo is traditionally made with beef and either potatoes or chayote. I had reservations about this because I had nothing like it in my experience, but I was pleasantly surprised.

·         1 ½ lb lean ground beef
·         6 cloves garlic, minced
·         1 tbsp vegetable oil
·         1 medium sized onion, chopped
·         2 medium sized tomato, chopped
·         2 c cubed potato, in small pieces
·         2 tbsp light soy sauce
·         1/3 c water
·         ½ c sweet red pepper, cubed into small pieces – optional
·         Salt and pepper to taste

Brown the meat with the garlic and onions. Season lightly with salt. Add tomato, cook until soft. Add potato, soy sauce, water, salt and pepper.
Cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes or until meat and potato cubes are tender. Add pepper cubes last to add color. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
Correct seasonings to taste. Serve immediately.

(If you decide this is something you want to try, let me know how your picadillo experience goes!)
Being the first Filipino recipe I've tried making from David's recipe book, I was surprised at how easy and tasty the dish was. Mixing potato chunks with rice was different, but come on, who doesn't love carb on carb? Far be it for me to say carb on carb is a combination that doesn't work. In fact, it works, it works REALLY well. Overall, it was a successful and fun culinary adventure :)

Monday, October 25, 2010

In the (New) Beginning

Now that I am in a new city, a new life started with David, and trying to find a job, it's been a little disorienting/overwhelming. The few familiar things I have in my life that have made these transitions easier are cooking and the things David and I get to do together. Don't get me wrong, David is loving all the delicious meals my time investment has created. So, I thought I would share one of those recipes.

Usually, David doesn't like to snack on things, but if he does he particularly enjoys my homemade granola. I found this recipe on the internet but it was so long ago I don't remember where.
Granola
  • 2 c oats
  • 1 tsp cinnamon, ground
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2/3 c raisins
  • 3 tbsp and 1 tsp oil
  • ¼ c honey
  • ¼ c packed brown sugar (dark)
  • 2/3 c almonds
  • ¼ c maple syrup
  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Oil baking sheet.
  2. Toast almonds in the oven for 8-10 minutes (I prefer doing it for 9 minutes).
3. Toss together oats, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl.

4. In another bowl, mix honey, oil, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk together until mixed.

5. Pour liquid into oat mix and stir until combined.
6. Pull out almonds when they’re done and put into a dish. Mix with almonds to warm them.
7. Pour oat mix onto the baking sheet evenly. You can squeeze clumps in your fist for texture but I don’t find this necessary.
8. Bake for 20 minutes, you can bake for 10 then stir it around then bake for another 10 minutes but I also didn’t find this necessary.
9. When it’s done take out and pour on the almonds and raisin mix. 
10. Let cool then break up the granola into bits and store in an airtight container.
YUM! It usually doesn't last very long in our kitchen, because David devours it quickly, but we've made it a staple in the kitchen because it's so darn good.
While fall is in full swing and winter is just around the corner, David and I have been enjoying the changing of the leaves. Recently, we drove to visit our families and the drive provided David many subjects to photograph while I drove. Lots of interesting lighting on clouds, and valleys of trees with all different colors. It was a great trip and an even better visit, and we were both sad to leave. One thing that we both look forward to is the upcoming holidays so we can visit our families more often and for longer periods of time (hopefully).
While visiting our families we were talking about different recipes and recipe books that his parents have, or that I have made, etc. What I realized from that is how very different growing up was for us, especially cuisine-wise. While I was more likely to have pasta or steak and potatoes at home, he was having dishes like picadillo, pancit, or Ćevapčići. I feel that he got to experience a much wider range of dishes since his families are Filipino and Serbian.
Since getting married I've been lucky enough to not only try some of these dishes but also make them. It's been a culinary adventure! While some of the more exotic ones (for me) are exciting, I've also done more familiar dishes like Chicken Parmigiana. Both of those I will post later for your enjoyment, and maybe, just maybe, for you to try it yourself! 
I do miss being closer to my family, but one thing that they have done to make it easier is receiving letters from my sisters. We prefer to write them and send them via 'snail' mail because it's SO much more exciting getting a letter in the mailbox than an email in your inbox. Plus, the phone calls are pretty awesome too. So, while transitioning to a new place and a new life with my spouse, my family has done a ton for me and continues to do a ton for me by keeping in touch. In short, I wanted to say THANK YOU for everything you have done and continue to do.