Seared Pork Center Loin Chops

Seared Pork Center Loin Chops & Salad

Ingredients:
4 Pork Center Loin Chops
Chef Merito Steak & Meat Seasoning (Or any good meat seasoning that you like.)
2 tablespoons of Colavita Natural Garlic cooking oil blend.

Directions:
Drizzle and rub all the chops with the Colavita Natural Garlic cooking oil blend and make sure they are all covered with the oil. Season the pork chops with Chef Merito seasoning or your preferred meat seasoning.

Place a sauté pan large enough to accommodate all the chops over medium-high heat. Add the chops and lower the heat to medium. Cook until well-browned on one side, about 5 to 6 minutes. Turn the chops over and cook 2 to 3 minutes more.

Be careful when searing the chops, a pork chop that is ½-¾ of an inch should not be seared on high heat, searing a thin chop will brown the exterior but quickly dry out through the center.

Gongonzola & Black Olive Green Leaf Salad ( click for recipe)

Tips:
Colavita Natural Garlic Cooking Oil Blend is garlic infused oil. It is a combination of It is so wonderful for cooking all kinds of dishes. The oil is an all-purpose cooking, frying, and salad dressing oil which combines the delicate hint of fresh garlic in a light Canola Oil and Virgin Olive Oil Blend. If you enjoy garlic, this oil is a definite for you! Colavita also has Lemon and Orange infused oil that is just as so wonderful.

Chef Merito Meat Seasoning is excellent! I prefer this seasoning because I love the flavor and the coloring it gives to the meat. The Chef Merito Chicken Seasoning and Fajita Seasoning is also so wonderful!

Gorgonzola & Black Olive Green Leaf Salad

Gorgonzola & Black Olive Green Leaf Salad

Ingredients:
1/2 a head of Green Leaf Lettuce
2 tablespoons of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
2 tablespoons of sliced black olives
1 medium cucumber
1/8 medium white onion, paper thin slices
1/4 cup Hidden Valley Original Ranch dressing (or your most liked dressing)

Directions:
Remove leaves and wash the lettuce, remove hard center stem and shred lettuce leaves in good size pieces, and place in large salad bowl. Wash and peel cucumber, slice in half lengthwise, remove the seeds with a spoon. Slice the cucumber in strips and add to salad bowl. Add Gorgonzola cheese, paper thin onions, and last dressing,. Mix well and serve. Enjoy!

Pink Beans and Rice (Arroz con Habuichuelas)

Pink Beans and Rice ( Arroz con Habuichuelas )

Pink Beans Recipe
Ingredients:
6 oz bacon
1/2 medium white onion
1 can of Goya Pink Beans
1 tablespoon Achoite Oil
1 tablespoon chopped Goya Spanish stuffed olives
1 teaspoon Goya capers
1 tablespoon Goya Recaito seasoing
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt or more to your taste, remember that the Achoite oil already has salt and the coloring for the beans.

Directions:
In a heavy 2 1/2 quart pot, cut the bacon in pieces and fry , and then drain all the bacon fat once the bacon is nice and crispy.
Chop the onions in large pieces, and add onion, sauté for 3 minutes until slightly softened.
Drain and rinse the beans
Add the beans, olives, capers, Achoite Oil, Recaito seasoning and water.
Bring to a boil, then lower heat and slow simmer for 25 minutes.

Tip: What is Recaito?
Goya Recaito, is a unique cilantro-based seasoning. Goya sautés cilantro, green pepper, onion and garlic in olive oil to create this rich, thick base that enhances the flavor of your beans, rice, soups and stews. If you cannot find Goya products in your store, you can order them from My Amazon store under the foods category.

White Rice Recipe
Ingredients:
4 oz salt pork, diced
2 cups rice, extra long grain
2 1/2 cups of water
Salt to taste 

Directions:
Wash rice under cold running water and drain.
Heat heavy bottomed pot brown the diced salt pork.
Stir in rice and add the water. Salt to taste but be careful not to over salt. Pork salts vary on who the producers are and how salty they are. After adding the water, stir and taste to see if it has enough.
Boil, uncovered, on moderate heat until water is absorbed and rice is dry (about 4-5 minutes).
Cover tightly and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes. Turn off heat and let the rice sit for 10 minutes before serving.

The added bonus of this recipe is the “pegao” or crusted over rice that forms when grains of rice stick to the bottom of a heavy cast aluminum pot after it cooks. For many, it is the best part of this dish.

To Serve:

In a medium size bowl, add a scoop of rice, then ladle the beans around the rice. Ladle a couple of spoons of the bean liquid. See above photo. Enjoy!

Potato Cake, Eggs & Salsa Verde

Potato Cake, Eggs & Salsa Verde

These potato cakes are great for breakfast! But you can have them anytime and top them with a variety of toppings. I enjoy these for breakfast and are easy to make! If you don't like sunny side up eggs, you can top them with poached, scrambled or any style egg you like.

Ingredients:
3 large Buttery Gold potatoes
4 1/2 tablespoons of butter
6 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
Salsa Verde (any brand) (optional)

Directions:
Wash and Peel the potatoes. Slice thinly and cut the slices into very fine strips.

Press the potato strips well so that all the water oozes out (try sandwiching the strips between two boards, using a light book to weigh down the top one.)

Form the potato strips into 3 little cakes. Now sauté' them each separately at a time in a tablespoon of butter, in a frying pan that is, ideally, the same size as the cake, if not much bigger, in order to keep the cakes shape, no thicker than 3/4". A non-stick sauté pan, approximately 6"'s would be great. If you do not have a small sauté pan, you can use a large pan and cut the pancake in 3 or 4 smaller pieces if you desire. Just be careful, not to burn yourself, when flipping the pancake on to a plate. Sliding back into the pan is easy.

Cook for 5 minutes. Once the potatoes have been pressed down into the frying pan, leave them to cook for 5 minutes so that they go golden . You notice the edges turning a golden brown.

Turn the potato cake over. This isn't like flipping a pancake, because the potato cake is too crumbly. You need to tip it out onto a plate, put another plate over the top and turn the plates over.

Before sliding the potato cake back into the sauté pan. Add a 1/2 tablespoon butter to the pan, then slide the potato cake back into the pan so that the uncooked side is on the bottom. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Serve. Now that both sides are cooked, the potato cake is ready to serve. First lay the potato cake down on a plate, egg(s) and last salsa. For a variation you can top with anything you desire. Cheese, Pico de Gallo, Bacon, etc... Enjoy!

Servings:  3

Awesome Caramelized Roasted Vegetables

Caramelized Roasted Vegetables

Roasting vegetables is an age-old technique that releases natural sugars. By combining several vegetables and cooking them slowly until they are caramelized and sweet. You could serve these vegetables alone or with almost any roasted meat, game or poultry.  The aroma of the roasted vegetables is so wonderful as they are roasting.

Ingredients:
2 medium Chinese eggplants
2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon of Italian Dried Herbs
pinch of fresh coarse ground pepper
2 gloves garlic, minced
4 small Buttery Gold skinned potatoes
3 1/2  tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
14 Brussels Sprouts
6, small bulb onions with stems, washed

Directions:
Position a rack in the top third of the oven and preheat to 425°F. Foil a rimmed baking sheet, preferably a 17 X 13-inch half-sheet pan. Lightly spray with 100% Olive Oil spray.

Wash, peel and cut eggplant into 1 1/2" cubes. Sweat the eggplant to remove any bitter taste by sprinkling 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, over all of the pieces. Set the salted eggplant into a colander and let it rest for about 30 minutes. The eggplant should begin to sweat. You will notice little droplets of moisture being extracted by the salt from the surface of the eggplant. Rinse and remove the eggplant from the colander, and place on a paper towel. With a second paper towel, blot off all the excess moisture which has formed.

Mix well olive oil, remaining kosher salt, the Italian dried herbs, and minced garlic together in a small bowl.

Scrub and wash the potatoes and cut into 1" pieces.

Cut off the brown ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves, then cut in half.

Put the potatoes, eggplant, onions and Brussels sprouts, mixed salt, coarse pepper, Italian herb and garlic, olive oil mix in a large bowl. Toss until the all are well coated. Spread on the baking sheet. Don't pile your vegetables on top of one another — lay them out in one layer. Roast for 40 minutes. Serve hot.

Servings: 6 Large Servings

Flavor it Up! Achiote Oil

This oil is used both to color and to flavor dishes. Use to rub all over pork roast, chicken, and fish prior to baking for an excellent flavor! I also use this oil when making my spanish style rice.  A recipe for my rice will be coming soon!

Ingredients:
1 cup of Olive Oil
1 tablespoon of Achiote/Annato Seeds
1 tablespoon of Dried Minced Garlic
1 teaspoon of Dried Minced Onion
¼ teaspoon Coarse Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Dried Parsley
2 packs of Sazon (Con Cilantro and Achiote)
1 tablespoon of Adobo

Directions:
Combine the oil and Achiote seeds in a non-reactive heavy saucepan, allow to simmer on very low for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. You do not want to cook on high heat, it will become bitter.

Remove saucepan from heat and allow to cool thoroughly. Strain through a very fine sieve and pour the strained oil into a bowl.  Add all the other ingredients. Pour into a tight covered container.

Tip: Achiote is one of the pillars of Puerto Rican cooking. The oil infuses a subtle flavor as well as contributing to the color of the dish.This oil will remain up to 6 months if it is refrigerated and capped tightly. 

A Sad Day...

Today I received news that a close friend of mine has passed away.  Carolyn Carter was a wonderful, caring and just good friend.  She will be missed dearly....  Carolyn was a wonderful cook and we talked about our different recipes and all her cookbooks she cherished.