Chocolate Chip Cookies

For years I have been baking cookies for my nephews and specially my cookie monster husband.  Chocolate chip cookies go perfect with a nice cold glass of milk..at least that's how I like to eat them.  I have been making this recipe for years.

The recipe is pretty straight forward and I guarantee you, this will be your go to recipe for years to come.  I baked a mixed of different cookies, about 300  for the Cancer Center and they all went within a couple of hours.  People were coming to me saying how delicious they were.  Here is one of the recipes.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup walnuts or pecans (optional)

Preheat oven at 375 degree F

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy and smooth.  Add the white and brown sugar and beat until fluffy.  Beat in eggs one at a time, making sure they are well mixed.  Scrape the side of the bowl and add the vanilla, mix well.

In another bowl mix the flour, baking soda and salt.  Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture.  Mix well then add the chocolate chips and the nuts.  Mix until well incorporated.  Use an ice cream scooper, for these I used a medium size, but if you want to make a lot of cookies use a small one.  If you don't have one then drop about two tablespoons of dough into a the prepared baking sheets and bake cookies for about 10-14 minutes or until the edge of the cookies are nice and golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!!

Makes about 4 dozen small cookies

Baked Mac and Cheese

Mac and Cheese is everyone's favorite at my house.  Between my hubby and my nephews there are never any leftovers...and if there are you better be first on line.  Mac and Cheese is good for the soul.  That's why they call it soul food.  This is a perfect dish with country fried chicken and some mashed potatoes.

 

Ingredients:

1 pound elbow macaroni

2 tbsp of butter

2 tbsp of flour

2 cups of milk

2 eggs (beaten)

6 cups of extra sharp cheddar cheese (very cheesy)

(or use a mix of cheeses like Monterey Jack, Colby, Asiago)

Set oven to 350 degree F

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente.  In a separate pot melt the butter and then whisk in the flour.  Keep cooking and stirring for about 5 minutes.   Stir in the milk slowly and make sure to break down the flour and there are no lumps.  Keep stirring and simmer for about 7 to 10 minutes. Until thick, then add 4 cups of the cheese.  Fold the macaroni and eggs into the mix and pour into a baking casserole dish. Top with the remaining 2 cups of cheese.  Cook in the oven for 30 minutes until cheese is crusty and bubbly.  Enjoy with some grilled chicken or ribs!!

Kansas City BBQ Sauce

Summer is all about BBQ.  Ribs or chicken..which one?  I decided to make ribs today with a homemade Kansas City BBQ Sauce.  If you like a sauce with a kick, then this is the one for you.  This sauce is spicy, tangy, with a sweet tomato sauce.  You can't go wrong.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp oil

1 med onion, chopped

1 cup tomato sauce

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 cup molasses

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground mustard

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook for about 5-6 minutes.  Then add all other ingredients.  Cook for about 10 minutes on low.  

Get some bone in or boneless country style pork ribs.  Season with onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Grill the ribs to your preference..then baste on some of the Kansas City BBQ sauce, and cook for a few minutes until the sauce is nice and hot!  Enjoy with corn on the cob and some mac and cheese.

Raspberry Margarita

This is the perfect way to start your weekend.  This is a really easy recipe that you can make your own by substituting the raspberries for strawberries or blackberries.  Enjoy your weekend, relax and drink away!!

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz of tequila

1 oz of triple sec

1 oz of lime juice

1 oz of simple syrup

1/2 cup of Raspberries, Blackberries or Strawberries

1 cup of ice

Mix all ingredients in your blender until smooth.  Pour into a cold margarita glass, Cheers!!

Coquito-Puerto Rican Egg Nog

Coquito is a traditional Puerto Rican drink served mainly during the Christmas holidays. But, you don't have to wait until Christmas to enjoy it.  Coquito usually includes raw eggs in the recipe.  This recipe is simple but tasty and raw eggs are not included.

Ingredients

2 15-ounce cans cream of coconut -Coco Lopez

2 14-ounce cans sweetened condensed milk

1 14-ounce can of coconut milk

1 12-ounce can of carnation evaporated milk

White rum to taste

1 tbsp of cinnamon

1 tsp teaspoon ground cloves

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla extract extract

Mix all ingredients in the blender.  Refrigerate for about two hours.  Enjoy!!

Alcapurrias

Alcapurrias are a puertorican fritter filled with ground beef.  Alcapurrias are made from green plantains, green bananas, yatia (taro root)  and potatoes.  These items are put through a grater and a masa (batter) is made.  Everyone has their own recipe..some people include other root veggies too. My recipes is really good, I must say.  Here is my recipe.

Masa (batter)

5 green plantains peeled

3 green bananas peeled

1 med size yautia peeled (taro root)

1 med size potato peeled

1/2 cup of milk

1 envelope of culantro and achiote (coriander and annato)

2 tbsp of oil

salt to taste

Oil for frying

Start by grating the plantains, bananas, yatia, and potato. This process has to be done by hand.  Using a food processor does not give you a good consistency.  Once done grating these veggies add the milk (this makes the masa maintain a nice light color) annatto envelope, oil and salt, mix really good. Set aside

Now lets make the filling for the Alcapurrias

1/2 pound of ground beef

1 cup of water

2 tbsp of sofrito

4 oz of tomato sauce

1 envelope of cubito (chicken bouillon)

1 envelope sazón with annatto (achiote) coloring

salt to taste

In a sauce pan start cooking the ground beef with a cup of water...once it starts boiling take all that grease sitting on top and get rid of it. Then add the sofrito, tomato sauce, cubito, sazon and salt.  Let this cook for at least 15 minutes on med heat.

Now lets make the Alcapurrias

In a deep frying pan on med heat add enough oil to reach half way.  Make sure the oil is hot before dropping in the first Alcapurria.  The Alcapurrias must be covered at least half way in the pan.

In the palm of your hand add a big scoop of the masa (batter), about 3 tablespoons. Make a dent in the middle and add the ground beef.  Using a spoon cover the meat with the masa (batter), and sort of shape them a little bit.  Make sure that you can't see the meat.  Then slowly take a big spoon and place it under the Alcapurria and lift it and drop it in the frying pan slowly so they won't break.   I suggest cooking one and tasting it to make sure is good in salt.   Fry until golden brown. Enjoy!!

TIP: If you find it hard to work with the masa..refrigerate for a least half hour, then try again.  The masa being cold will make it easier to handle.

Reduced Red Wine Sauce for Steaks

If you enjoy drinking red wine, then this is a  red wine sauce that you are going to love with your steak. As a side I made some Au Gratin Potatoes.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 cup of chicken stock

1 1/2 cups dry red wine

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt. Add the garlic and oregano and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in the chicken stock and wine. Simmer until the sauce reduces by half, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.

 Remove the skillet from the heat. Strain the sauce into a small bowl, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids in the strainer and return the sauce to the saucepan and bring back to a slow simmer. Cut the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter into small 1/2-inch chunks and whisk in the sauce a little at a time. Season the sauce, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Drizzle the sauce over the steak, or pour into individual serving ramekins. Enjoy with your favorite piece of steak.

Roasted Pork Loin

As a Puertorican I can tell you that we love eating pork.  I used a dry rub for this Roasted Pork Loin and cooked it really slow.  For this particular meal I used a pork loin instead of a shoulder or butt.

The pork loin is lean and all white meat.  Because this meat is all white, if you don't cook it right, it might turn out dry.  Cooking it slow and low is key. This rub can also be used on chicken and ribs.  Is really tasty.  

The roasted pork loin is tender and juice.  Cooking it at a low temperature is really important when you want the meat to stay moist and tender.

 

Ingredients:

4-6 pounds Pork (Loin, Shoulder)

4 pieces of garlic cut in half

1 tbsp of garlic powder

1 tbsp of onion powder

1 tbsp of black pepper

3 tbsp of salt

1 tsp of ground cumin

1 tsp of ground mustard

1 tsp of cayenne pepper

1 tsp of oregano

1 tsp of thyme

Set oven at 300 degrees F

With a knife cut into the meat in a few places and insert the garlic into each hole. Mix all of the dry ingredients and rub it on the meat, be very generous.  If you are using a shoulder or butt make sure to go under the skin.  Cover it and let it marinade for up to 8 hours before cooking or overnight.  Cook in the oven for about 4 hours or until the meat is falling apart.  Keep any leftover rub in a tight jar.  Enjoy!

Pineapple Mojito

Talk about a refreshing drink that is so versatile.  My favorite mojito is from Tides Hotel on Miami Beach, Florida.  They make a mango mojito that is so delicious I can't stop drinking it.  I can drink about 5 or 6 of them.  Thankfully, they are not too strong.  But you can pretty much do any kind of mojito as long as you add the basics like the rum, the sugar syrup and specially the mint and sugar cane sticks if you can find it.  My husband makes a really nice pineapple mojito, however is so strong..it will knock you out.  Here is the recipe, make it your own and add as much or as little rum as you want.

 Ingredients:

2 oz of light rum

3 oz pineapple juice

5 pieces of Mint

2 lime wedges

splash of club soda

splash of simple syrup

Ice

* Try, Passion Fruit, Watermelon, Mandarin or Apple, make it your own!

Muddle the mint and the lime, add ice, simple syrup, pineapple juice and rum.  Shake it in  a cocktail shaker then pour into glass.  Add a splash of club soda and garnish with lime and sugar cane stalk if available..Enjoy!!!

Pot Roast and White Rice

The house is smelling so good right now.  Pot roast is one of those go to dishes when the day is rainy or cold outside.  You could never go wrong with a pot roast, I always make extra because the leftovers taste even better the next day.