Carne Fria de Nora (Cold Meat Roll)

Last Sunday Nora and her husband J.C. welcomed us into their beautiful home so that we could learn how to make the traditional party food Carne Fria, served sliced with crackers. It also makes a delicious snack or light meal.

There was wine, and all kinds of yummies to munch on while we worked and home-made arroz con leche (rice pudding) for dessert. As a bonus, Nora showed us a culinary treasure – she had bound two composition notebooks full of her mother’s handwritten recipes! They were wonderful, and may be the source of future cooking lessons from Nora.

Ingredients








For Meat Rolls
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
½ lb. ground ham
1 onion – minced
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup garlic cloves
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp oregano
4 eggs
1 cup cracker meal

For Coating
6 eggs scrambled
1 cup cracker meal
Pinch of salt
Cheese Cloth
Cooking Twine

For Cooking
1 onion – halved
1 tbsp salt
12 garlic cloves
4 bay leaves
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
Water to cover meat at all times
Aluminum foil


The Process

This recipe makes enough party snacks for 40-50 people.

Meat Rolls

1. Puree onion and garlic in a blender or food processor.

1. Combine the ground meats, salt, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, egg, cracker meal and spices with the onion and garlic.


2. Knead the mixture into the consistency of a thick paste.

1. Make three or four cylindrical rolls, approximately 8 – 10 inches long.

Coating

1. Scramble and salt the eggs.


2. Dredge each meat roll in the cracker meal, brush off any excess cracker meal.

1. Dredge in the egg mixture.

1. Dredge in the cracker meal again brushing off any excess cracker meal.

• TIP: The carne fria can be prepared ahead of time and frozen in aluminum foil after breading.

1. Double wrap each meat roll in a piece of cheese cloth.

1. Tie the ends securely with twine.

Cooking

1. Add halved onion, salt, garlic cloves, bay leaves, and spices to the water and bring to a boil.

1. Place the meat rolls in a single layer into the boiling water for two hours.

• NOTE: As the water evaporates add more as needed so that the meat rolls are always covered. Add a pinch of salt to the water each time.

1. Take the meat rolls out of the water.

1. Remove the cloth from the meat rolls while still hot.

1. Wrap the meat rolls in aluminum foil and allow them to cool.

• NOTE: The carne fria should be prepared at least 24 hours prior to serving having been placed in the refrigerator over night.

1. To serve slice into thin rounds – preferably with an electric knife.

• TIP: To make the carne fria in a pressure cooker, use one cup of water and cook it for 25 minutes.

We each got to take some carne fria home - talk about a great party favor!

Make this for your next party and you'll have a taste of a traditional Cuban "saladito".

Until next time...¡Buen provecho!

Picadillo de Joaquin (Cuban Ground Beef)

Saturday we spent the afternoon learning how to make Joaquin's picadillo. It's a twist on the traditional Cuban version, let's call it *enhanced* as it includes Spanish chorizo! After lunch, as usual we enjoyed a fabulous "sobremesa" or post meal conversation - lots of stories, lots of laughs.


Joaquin, our Teacher









Ingredients








¼ cup olive oil
2 medium onion – chopped
1 medium green pepper – chopped
3 garlic cloves – minced
1 cup tomato sauce
1 tbsp tomato paste
½ cup of cooking wine (vino seco)
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
½ lb ground ham
1 medium chorizo – minced
2 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
Olives – to taste
Capers – to taste
1½ oz Raisins
¾ oz. pack Sliced Almonds
1 tsp steak sauce (optional)


The Process

Make the sofrito by heating the oil, adding garlic, pepper and onions (in that order). Lower the temperature and stir until the onions are translucent.




Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce and cooking wine to the sofrito. Stir occasionally.








While the sofrito continues to cook, combine the beef, pork, ham and chorizo salt and pepper until all the meats are well incorporated. This is best done the old fashioned way, with your hands.




Add the meat to the sofrito for about 20 minutes or until browned. Stir often breaking up any large chunks of meat.







Stir in the olives and capers. Cook for about 5 minutes. Taste for spices and add steak sauce if desired.







Add raisins and almonds. Mix thoroughly and take off the stove.

The Finished Product!

This recipe makes 8-10 servings and can be served traditionally over white rice with fried ripe plantains.

For a heartier meal, we added hash brown potatoes on the side and two fried eggs atop the picadillo – this is called “a caballo”.


Do you have interesting variations in your recipe? Let us know.

Until next time...¡buen provecho!

Frijoles Colorados de Mery (Red Bean Soup)

We spent a wonderful afternoon at Mery and Angelito's (Cris' in-laws) house not only learning how to make a fantastic Cuban style red bean soup, but also looking at old pictures, telling stories and drinking wine!

This soup recipe makes about 8 servings and can also be served in the traditional Cuban fashion over white rice.

Mery, our teacher!

The Ingredients

12 oz. bag Red Kidney Beans
4 cups water - enough to cover the beans
1 lb. Smoked Pork Shank - leave whole
1 lb. Smoked Pork Shoulder (ham) - chunked
6 oz. Spanish Chorizo (3-4 sausages) - leave whole
1/3 Medium Green Pepper - chopped
1/2 Medium Onion - chopped
2 large garlic cloves - minced
2 Bay Leaves
1/4 cup corn oil
2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
Black Pepper to taste
Salt to taste
3 Small Potatoes - peeled and cubed
2 lb Calabaza - peeled, seeded and cubed

The Process

1. Soak beans in plain water for 2 hours. (You can do this in the pressure cooker to avoid using another pot)

1. Add 4 cups water, put the lid on the pressure cooker and seal. Cook on High until the cooker pressurizes.
2. Once the cooker has pressurized change the stove temperature to Medium. Cook for 30 minutes.
3. Remove from heat until all pressure is gone. Remove the lid.
4. Set on low heat and add the smoked pork shoulder, smoked pork shank, chorizo, green pepper, onion, bay leaves, garlic, corn oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.
5. Without replacing the lid return to heat, taste for salt and pepper, add more if needed. Set on Medium for about 45 minutes until the soup is thick enough to coat a spoon.
6. Add the potatoes and calabaza.
7. Leave on Medium for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
8. Remove from heat.

TIP: When you're making any Cuban-style bean "potaje", if it doesn’t thicken properly, for whatever reason, scoop out some of the beans and puree them in the blender. Add the pureed beans back into the pot to help the thickening process.

The Finished Product

Mery served the red beans in the traditional Cuban style over white rice and with a green bean and onion salad. A California Pinot Noir was a great accompaniment.

In keeping with traditional Cuban dining, we enjoyed the most traditional of Cuban desserts, guava and cheese! We had Guava marmalade with cream cheese and Guava paste with Gouda cheese - fantastic! And to finish it all off, delicious cafecito.

Nice and simple...Another beautiful afternoon spent with wonderful food, stories and people!

¡Buen provecho!

Pastel de Guayaba de Aba (Guava Pie)

This was a surprise cooking class, literally planned two days before it happened. Our "teacher" Maria Cristina (Aba) is - OK stay with me here: our friend's brother-in-law's grandmother. How cool is it that she was willing to teach us?
We got together on a Friday after work. One of the participants was very pregnant and "due any minute" - well she gave birth to a healthy baby girl the very next day! I think it was the guava fumes that did it. Now, enough dilly-dallying, let's get to the cooking.

1. The Ingredients

4 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup COLD shortening (have the shortening in the refrigerator for at least an hour)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 egg yolks for the dough + 1 egg yolk mixed with a little milk for the egg wash glaze
1 cup cold water (you probably won't use it all)
2 cups guava marmalade
Note - we used 9 inch foil pie pans, but you can use rectangular tart pans or whatever pan you like.

The Process - makes four 9" pies

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Sift the flour with baking powder, salt and sugar

1. Add the cold shortening and two egg yolks.
2. Mix with your fingertips (no kneading) until the mixture becomes small crumbles. Don’t use the palms of your hand because that will warm the shortening and make it harder to work with.

1. Add the water a tablespoon at a time as you mix the dough with your hands (again without kneading) until the dough separates from the bowl (similar to making a pie crust).

1. Form a ball with the mixture and put it in the refrigerator for at least 15 minutes.
2. Grease four pans with a little shortening , flour lightly and set aside.

1. Sprinkle flour on two large sheets of wax paper.
2. Divide the big dough ball into 4 smaller balls.
3. Place about 2/3 of a dough ball on one sheet and cover it with the other. Reserve remainder of dough ball for lattice strips.

1. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 of an inch. Do this with each dough ball.

1. Place the rolled out dough in each pie pan trim to fit pan.

1. Spoon out and spread 1/2 cup of the marmalade on the dough for each.

1. Roll out more dough to create lattice strips.
2. For each pie, cut out lattice strips long enough to go across the pie just short of the actual edge of the pie and lay them on top of the guava. Make a border with additional strips covering all the short ends of lattice.

1. Trim off excess bottom crust.

1. Brush the milk and egg wash over the lattice strips and borders.

1. Bake the pies for approximately 30 minutes until golden.

Note: This pie dough can also be filled with chicken fricassee, ground beef, tuna, etc. to make savory pies. For savory pies, rather than using a lattice topping, you can make a solid top.



Not bad for an impromptu session, huh? Let us know how you like the pastel or if you make a savory version of it. Also, we're planning the next few classes now, so check back often for some new "old" recipes.

¡Buen provecho!