Fried Yuca

The cassava, manioc, casava, or yuca (Manihot esculenta) is a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae (spurge family) native to South America that is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates. Indeed, cassava is the third largest source of carbohydrates for human food in the world, with Africa its largest center of production.

The soft-boiled root has a delicate flavor and can replace boiled potatoes in many uses: as an accompaniment for meat dishes. Deep fried (after boiling or steaming), it can replace fried potatoes, with a distinctive flavor, which is exactly what we do!

I am a huge fan of easy recipes which take little time. Therefore, I use Sanso Yuca, which is ready to eat, and deep fry them like french fries... and the results are great, easy and fast!

If you don't have a deep fryer, you can fry on a stove; I use vegetable oil and ensure the oil is real hot; add the yuca, being very careful not to splatter the oil. Turn frequently to cook all around. When golden, remove from heat and enjoy. Add salt for taste.

http://tinyurl.com/245jmr

Guava filled crescents!

Saturday's breakfast was just heavenly. I decided to turn some boring crescents from Pillsbury into some homemade pastelitos! Very easy to make, and they were delish.

Unroll the crescents. Add cream cheese and Cubanita guava. Roll into a crescent, and bake according to instructions on package (approximately 13 minutes at 375 degrees). And viola, home made guava and cheese pastelito.

Tortilla Española

(Sorry, no pictures)

Friday, my husband and I ventured into creating a Tortilla Española for dinner... and I must say it was amazing! One of my better meals, so I had to share, and hope you all enjoy too! The entire process took approximately 30 minutes (from start to finish).

Ingredients:
10 eggs
2 large potatoes
1 sweet onion
Olive oil
Butter
Salt
Pepper

Preparation:

• Preheat on broil.
• Peel potatoes; cut into small pieces (like home fries); fry them. I have a small deep fryer, so I just fried them there, and it took all of 10 minutes.
• Chop onion; caramelize the onion using the olive oil and butter until golden. Remove from pan and set aside.
• Separate the yolk and the egg whites from the eggs; beat each separately until frothy. Combine both mixtures and mix again. Add salt and pepper for flavor
• Drizzle the large pan with olive oil, and add the eggs. Immediately following, add the caramelized onions, and fried potatoes.
• Cook on medium until the sides are ready; in order to avoid having to flip the tortilla, I finish cooking the top in the oven on broil. However, if you are brave enough to flip the tortilla flip and continue cooking for another 2-5 minutes (both in stove and oven).

Our Valentine's Dinner....a little late.

This was Alexis's Valentines Day Dinner and he loved it!
I'll add the dessert in aother post
There was also a Crab Cake appetizer but I forgot to take a picture of it :(

Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms

Stuffing:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, one turn of the pan




• 24 large Porcini mushroom caps, stems removed and reserved brushed with damp towel




• Salt and pepper




• 3/4 pound sweet bulk Italian sausage




• 4 cloves garlic, chopped




• 20 stems mushrooms, finely chopped




• 1 rib of celery and green, leafy top from the heart of the stalk, chopped




• 1/2 small onion, chopped




• 1/2 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped




• 1 (10-ounce) box chopped frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed




• dry 3 slices white bread, toasted and buttered, chopped into small dice




• 1/3 cup grated Parmigiano or Romano, 2 handfuls

1. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.




2. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and mushroom caps and season caps with salt and pepper. Saute caps 5 to 7 minutes, until they are lightly browned and tender on edges. Turn caps up and let juices drain away from caps.




3. Transfer caps to a small nonstick baking sheet.
   




4. Wipe out skillet and return to heat.




5. Add a touch of oil and sausage to the hot skillet. Brown and crumble sausage for 3 minutes.
   




6. In a food processor pulse and chop the garlic, add mushroom stems and pulse to chop the mushroom stems. A




7. Add celery, onion and red bell pepper to the mushrooms and pulse to chop.




8. Remove mixture from the processor and saute veggies and mushrooms over medium high heat another 3 to 5 minutes.




9. Add dry, defrosted spinach and stir into stuffing.




10. Add chopped bread and cheese to the pan and toss stuffing until bread is moist and stuffing is combined, 2 or 3 minutes.




11. Fill caps with stuffing using a small scoop or large spoon.




12. *If you have on hand sprinkle some fresh grated Parmasean Cheese on top.




13. Place caps in hot oven and reduce heat to 450 degrees F.




14. Bake 6 to 8 minutes to crisp edges of stuffing and set stuffing in mushrooms.




15. Transfer stuffed mushrooms to a serving plate.

Ribeye Steaks, Asiago Cheese Mashed Potatoes, Scampi Shrimp and Sauteed Asparagus.

Ribeye's

• 
  
  2 Ribeye Steaks



• 
  
  Sea Salt



• 
  
  Fresh Ground Peppercorn



• 
  
  Worcestershire Sauce

Covered in Sea Salt, Fresh Ground Black Peppercorn, and a bit of Worcestershire Sauce.

Seared using a cast iron skillet on the stop top then placed in the oven for about 10 minutes for Medium cooking.

Asiago Cheese Mashed Potatoes

I took a little cue from Jen for these but made a few changes

• 
  
  1-2 cups of Fresh Asiago Cheese (shredded).



• 
  
  Baby red potatos (cut in halves or fourths)



• 
  
  7-10 Garlic Cloves



• 
  
  Butter



• 
  
  Heavy Cream



• 
  
  salt and pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes and the garlic cloves together until potatoes become tender (skin will start to peels). Drain. Mash all together, add heavy cream, 2 tablespoons of butter, shredded Asiago Cheese.

Voila!

Asparagus

Sauteed in a pan with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper till tender.

Scampi Shrimp

• 
  
  1 1/2 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined


• 
  
  Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


• 
  
  2 tablespoons unsalted butter


• 
  
  2 teaspoons minced garlic


• 
  
  1/4 cup dry white vermouth


• 
  
  1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice


• 
  
  2 teaspoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves


• 
  
  lemon juice

I just throw it all in a pan till the shrimp cooks. :)