I am playing around with a new blog and have moved my entire blog to it. Please check it out.
http://cristinacomida.tumblr.com/
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Key Lime Pie
I apologize for my lack of entries recently. I haven't stopped baking...don't worry. I just haven't had time to blog about it. Lately, I have been experimenting with different types of pies. I made Pecan pie at Christmas which I will talk about on another occasion. I made an apple pie in November that wasn't really worthy of the blog (Yeah that bad) and then yesterday I made a Peanut butter torte which I plan to blog about in the near future. Now to discuss Key Lime pie. This recipe comes to you straight from Southern Living. Of note, I don't eat Key Lime pie very often... so my knowledge of this pie is limited but now growing. :)
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Paella Night
Last month, Mitchell surprised me by coming in town. For a date night, we went to a cooking class where we learned how to make Paella See below...
For those of you who don't know, paella is a traditional Spanish dish. Historically speaking, the dish originated in the region of Valencia, Spain where people began cooking rice with various meats over an open fire. The word paella itself is the word Valencians use for all pans. The term paella is more commonly known as the items that are made in a special shallow pan. It typically consists of rice, saffron, seafood, chicken and other various spices. In 1800s, poorer Spainards were known to put snails in the dish due to lack of access to other various meats. Lucky for you... we skipped on the snails when we made the dish.
--> This recipe serves 6 (we made 1.5 times this recipe)
Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virign olive oil
6 jumbo shrimps, unpeeled
12 medium shrimp, unpeeled
3 medium tomatoes, seeded and grated
3 cloves garrlic, peeled and minced
1 large pinch saffron threads
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 lb fresh Italian style broad green beans, cut into 2" inch pieces
Salt
Freshly ground Black Pepper
3 cups Spanish Paella rice or short grain Italian rice
12 mussels, scrubbed and debearded
6 Chicken Thighs (with skin)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Heat oil in a 16" or 18" paella pan or large skillet over medium heat. Pan will span two burners; rotate occasionally for even cooking. Add all shrimp, saute for 5 minutes, then remove and set aside.
3. Take chicken and cover with salt and pepper. Place chicken in paella pan and cook until brown on each side. (Approximately 4 minutes on each side). Then take chicken off the paella pan and place chicken in a preheated oven and cook for approximately 15 minutes. (Until completely cooked through)
4. In the meantime, while the chicken cooks, reduce the heat of the oil on the paella pan and add garlic and tomatoes t oil in pan. Cook for 3-5 minutes
5. Place saffron in foil. Then toast saffron in a small skillet over medium heat for 1 minute. Crumble into 5-6 cups of water. (You will need more water...add as needed later)
6. Add water to the pan. Stir rice into pan, then add mussels and press down to submerge in liquid as much as possible. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, whout stirring, until rice begins to swell, about 10 minutes. Discard mussels that do not open.
7. Place chicken, shrimp and green beans on top of rice, reduce heat to low, and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, cover with a clean dish towl, and let cool for 20 minutes. Serve from pan at room temperature.
Overall, the cooking class we took was a success. I highly recommend Urban Chef here in Houston where we took the class. It was a very fun experience where I learned a lot of cooking tips and some new techniques.
For those of you who don't know, paella is a traditional Spanish dish. Historically speaking, the dish originated in the region of Valencia, Spain where people began cooking rice with various meats over an open fire. The word paella itself is the word Valencians use for all pans. The term paella is more commonly known as the items that are made in a special shallow pan. It typically consists of rice, saffron, seafood, chicken and other various spices. In 1800s, poorer Spainards were known to put snails in the dish due to lack of access to other various meats. Lucky for you... we skipped on the snails when we made the dish.
--> This recipe serves 6 (we made 1.5 times this recipe)
Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virign olive oil
6 jumbo shrimps, unpeeled
12 medium shrimp, unpeeled
3 medium tomatoes, seeded and grated
3 cloves garrlic, peeled and minced
1 large pinch saffron threads
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 lb fresh Italian style broad green beans, cut into 2" inch pieces
Salt
Freshly ground Black Pepper
3 cups Spanish Paella rice or short grain Italian rice
12 mussels, scrubbed and debearded
6 Chicken Thighs (with skin)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 F
2. Heat oil in a 16" or 18" paella pan or large skillet over medium heat. Pan will span two burners; rotate occasionally for even cooking. Add all shrimp, saute for 5 minutes, then remove and set aside.
3. Take chicken and cover with salt and pepper. Place chicken in paella pan and cook until brown on each side. (Approximately 4 minutes on each side). Then take chicken off the paella pan and place chicken in a preheated oven and cook for approximately 15 minutes. (Until completely cooked through)
4. In the meantime, while the chicken cooks, reduce the heat of the oil on the paella pan and add garlic and tomatoes t oil in pan. Cook for 3-5 minutes
5. Place saffron in foil. Then toast saffron in a small skillet over medium heat for 1 minute. Crumble into 5-6 cups of water. (You will need more water...add as needed later)
6. Add water to the pan. Stir rice into pan, then add mussels and press down to submerge in liquid as much as possible. Increase heat to medium-high and cook, whout stirring, until rice begins to swell, about 10 minutes. Discard mussels that do not open.
7. Place chicken, shrimp and green beans on top of rice, reduce heat to low, and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, cover with a clean dish towl, and let cool for 20 minutes. Serve from pan at room temperature.
Overall, the cooking class we took was a success. I highly recommend Urban Chef here in Houston where we took the class. It was a very fun experience where I learned a lot of cooking tips and some new techniques.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
White Chocolate Peppermint Bark
It has been over a month since I last blogged and I am sorry for the delay in blogging. The Christmas season took over and I was busy working and traveling. In the midst of the holiday season, I wanted to make a Christmas gift to take to the hospital. Mitchell came up with the idea to make White Chocolate Peppermint Bark which he made the previous year for Christmas. I found this recipe on the food network website and this recipe is from Paula Deen.
