Category: Cook’s Treat from Caridad

Caridad loves to cook and is sharing these recipes and cooking tips for you!

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Cuban Coffee How-To #TuesdayTip

I love Cuban coffee. It’s sweet and strong and I usually drink mine either with milk (cafe con leche) or with condensed milk (one of the variations of a cortadito). When my daughter asked me how to make “Cuban coffee” it turned out that I knew nothing about how to make it without milk. I especially didn’t know about the whole beating the coffee with sugar in order to get the forth that you find when you drink it straight. I guess I’m not a “real Cuban” that way. LOL! So today, a lesson on how to make “real Cuban coffee.” Thanks to SAVEUR Magazine for the video.

A Video How-To

How to make Cuban Coffee

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Easy Prep Breakfast – #TuesdayTip

You’ve heard it said time and time again that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Eating a healthy breakfast helps kick-start your metabolism, but if you’re like me, getting up super early to rush to work, making breakfast can be tough and eating out usually does not involve healthy items. What’s a girl to do? Thanks to my daughter for her suggestions on meal prep in order to eat healthy. That has me sharing with you today two easy prep breakfast items that are truly healthy and tasty as well! Plus you can mix them up to add whatever fruit you happen to love. I usually eat mine with strawberries and/or blueberries which are both excellent sources of vitamins and fiber.

Overnight Oats

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened Almond Milk (or substitute other nut milk, soy milk or milk of your choice)
1 cup rolled oats (Not steel cut as these are too tough)
1 tbsp honey (or sweetener of your choice, like agave syrup or raw sugar)

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a container and let sit for at least 6 hours, but preferable overnight. In the morning top with fruit of your choice, nuts, cinnamon, or any topping of your choice. You can also mix this up by adding some yogurt to the oats or cocoa powder, peanut butter, you name it. You can also toss some chia seeds in there as well for extra protein. It’s very versatile!

Chia Seed Pudding

Your first question may be “What are chia seeds?” Chia seeds are what some are calling a “superfood.” They are a plant seed packed with fiber, anti-oxidants, protein and more. For more info, please see https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/truth-about-chia#1. Besides using them in this pudding, you can also add them to salads, etc. for some extra nutrition.

Ingredients

1 cup unsweetened Almond Milk (or substitute other nut milk, soy milk or milk of your choice)
1/4 cup chia seeds
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Mix liquid ingredients and then add chia seeds and mix. Place in a container and refrigerate, preferably overnight. The seeds tend to clump on the bottom of the container so shake after an hour or so. Like the rolled oats, you can mix in a number of other ingredients or change out part of the almond milk with coconut milk, etc. It’s all up to your own personal preferences. If you don’t like the feel of the seeds (kind of like poppy seeds), then zap everything in a blender before allowing to set overnight.


Original Chia Seed Image by Milada Vigerova from Pixabay

Overnight Oats Image by Depositphotos

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A Good Wine under $10 – #WineWednesday

My husband and I have this running “challenge.” He’s a bit of a wine snob and I’d prefer not to spend way beyond $10 for a bottle. Maybe $15. I had one particular favorite that was right around $15 but now has shot up to $25 or more. Sigh. I’ll tell you that name anyway because it is a favorite: Beringer’s Knights Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 2016 if you can find it. Knights Valley is in Sonoma County in California.

But for a good wine with some slight sweetness and right around that magical $10 mark, try Apothic Red. It was recommended to me by one of the vendors at the store and it didn’t disappoint. Apothic red is a blend of zinfandel, merlot, syrah, and cabernet sauvignon. The “dark” version

Hubby thought it was a little too sweet, so next time we’re trying the Apothic Dark which is supposed to be a much darker and more intense flavored wine. It originally was a limited release, but now it’s available all year long. There is also and Apothic Rose and an Apothic Inferno which is a red wine aged for 60 days in whiskey barrels. For more info on the Apothic wines, you can visit www.apothic.com.

What could be better than a little wine, nice loaf of bread and cheese while chilling with your loved one?
best wines under $10

Original Photo by Oldiefan from Pixabay

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Guava Basted Spare Ribs #TuesdayTip

I love ribs! They are one of my favorite foods. I also love guava, usually as a jelly or paste. Not so much as a fresh fruit. This spare rib recipe calls for a dry rub the night before, a slow bake in the oven, and basting with the guava jelly once you’ve got the ribs on the grill. I hope you enjoy it.

Ingredients

For the Dry Rub
(FYI – This will make enough rub for more than one day depending on how many ribs you are making)

2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup onion powder*
1/8 cup garlic powder*
1/8 cup chili powder
1/8 cup paprika
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper

*Please be sure you are using powder and not onion salt or garlic salt!

Whisk together all of the above.

For the Guava Basting Sauce

One 17 ounce jar Guava Jelly (look for it in the Ethnic/Spanish aisle)
2 shots Worcestershire sauce

If you’d like a little kick and smokiness in your baste, add a spoon of Korean Gochujang sauce (available at Korean/Asian markets) or a some more paprika with a shot of Tabasco.

Cooking Directions

Rub your ribs with the dry rub, both top and bottom. Let sit overnight preferably to allow those flavors to work into the meat.

In the morning, drain off all the juice from the night before and place the ribs in a baking pan. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 325 for about an hour.

While you are doing that, please guava jelly basting mix in pan and melt jelly at low heat.

Once you remove the ribs from the oven, place on a grill at low and baste with the guava jelly mixture. Start with basting the top, flip in about 10 minutes and baste the bottom. Continue flipping and basting for about another thirty minutes. Cut and serve the ribs! I usually love some cole slaw on the side for mine.


Image by RitaE on Pixabay

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Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup Comfort Food #TuesdayTip

My all time fav comfort food on a cold day is a hot grilled cheese sandwich with a bowl of tomato soup. Don’t know what it is about that combo, but it just says home on a snowy day for me. Apropos since we are supposedly getting snow today here in NY/NJ. There are so many variations on grilled cheese, but I normally like to keep simple and today I’m offering up my recipe for it. As for the soup, likewise, keep it simple. I’m so not a fan of all the latest heavy basil tomato soups. Give me rich and creamy and all tomato!

Grilled Cheese a la Caridad

Ingredients

    2 slices country white bread
    3 or 4 slices medium cheddar or slicing cheddar
    Mayonnaise

Directions

    Heat a cast iron pan until it’s grilling hot. If you don’t have cast iron, non-stick is okay, but there’s something about the cast iron that just produces a better caramelization on the bread. Spread a thin layer of mayonnaise on the slice of bread. Yes, I thought it was gross also when I first heard it, but after I tried it I discovered that it really worked! Lay that bread mayo side down on the pan. Add the cheese. Spread the second piece of bread with the mayo and lay it mayo side up on the cheese. Press down gently on the sandwich and listen for that searing sound on the hot pan. Cook for about four to five minutes and check to see if the bread is golden brown. If so, flip and cook on the other side until golden brown. Serve with some tasty tomato soup!

    You may be wondering why not sharp cheddar? It’s too dry and crumbly and won’t melt well. Keep in mind that the more moisture in a cheese, the better it melts.

Want to play around with your cheeses? These are some other good melting cheeses:

    Fontina
    Gruyere
    Asiago
    Gouda
    Provolone
    Mozzarella (not the fresh kind)
    Camembert
    Velveeta (yes, I still love Velveeta)
    American Cheese

Want to know more about the science of melting cheese? Check out https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/08/the-science-of-melting-cheese.html. You can also visit https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/articles/50-grilled-cheese for more grilled cheese recipes.

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Caldo Gallego aka Galician White Bean Soup #TuesdayTip

There is nothing more satisfying on a cold winter day than a nice bowl of hearty soup. One of my favorite soups is Caldo Gallego which is a dish from my grandparents’ native Galicia in Spain. Caldo Gallego is a mix of chorizo, ham, beans and greens in a tasty broth. Paired with a nice crusty loaf of bread and some wine and it’s a perfect winter meal. I hope you’ll try out my version which has some additions to the traditional recipe, mostly because I just love carrots! Also, I find turnips too strong in flavor and because of this and to cut carbs, I omit them. They are in the traditional recipe.

Ingredients

    32 oz Chicken Bone Broth
    1 Ham Hock
    1 lb. Ham steak cut into large chunks
    2 chorizo sausages cut into slices
    2 large carrots in large chunks
    1 large onion chopped
    3 medium potatoes in large chunks
    1 lb bag white navy beans (or 2 16 oz cans cannellini beans rinsed)
    4 cups chopped turnip greens/collard greens/Kale
    2 bay leaves

Directions

    Saute the onion in olive oil until soft.
    Add sliced chorizo and chopped ham and cook for another 5 minutes or so.
    Add ham hock, bone broth and bay leaves.
    Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a low boil. Cooking at too high a boil will make the broth even cloudier. FYI you can start this with just water or chicken/vegetable broth. I’ve started using bone broth as it contains more protein.
    Simmer for 45 minutes. If you’re using hard unsoaked navy beans, add them now and cook for another 45 minutes before adding the carrots. If you’re using soaked beans, add them when you add the carrots. Cook for 15 minutes and check the beans. If they are almost soft, add the potatoes. If not, cook for another 15 minutes or so, checking the beans to see if they are soft. Once soft, add the potatoes.
    Remove the ham hock and take the meat off the bone. Add the meat back to the pot. Once the potatoes are almost fork tender, add the canned beans and also the chopped greens. Cook until greens are just soft.
    Serve with warm bread, butter and wine!

Hope you enjoyed today’s Tuesday Tip!

Cuban Caldo Gallego – Galician White Bean Soup.
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French Toast Casserole #FoodieFriday

French Toast is one of my fav breakfast dishes, but what can you do to prep this when you have a crowd coming over? How about trying out one of these fabulous French Toast Casserole dishes? Most of these are prepped the night before so that gives you plenty of time in the morning to make my next fav breakfast food – bacon! LOL!

I love using challah or panettone in this recipe and you can also mix it up by using raisin bread! Yum!

    Philadelphia Cream Cheese Puffy French Toast Casserole: http://bit.ly/2zIBUCA
    Simply Recipes: http://bit.ly/2zLFITE
    Food Network Baked French Toast Casserole with Maple Syrup: http://bit.ly/2zMuFJK
    Taste of Home: http://bit.ly/2zMuJsY
    All Recipes: https://armagazine.com/2zPSoc9

Hope you all have a great Friday and let me know if you try out any of these dishes. I’ll be making the Food Network one for this weekend!

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