These not only make a great tasting appetizer, but served with a few slices of fresh challah bread to dip in their rich sauce, with a side of coleslaw makes a perfect meal.
SWEET AND SOUR MEATBALLS
2 8 oz cans Hunts tomato sauce
1 small chopped onion
1 can of water- 8 oz
1/2 teaspoon sour salt
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 pounds extra lean hamburger meat
2 eggs, beaten in small bowl or glass
1 tsp Seasonall (it’s a spice)
1/2 cup matzoh meal
1/2 cup brown SUGAR
1/2 cup Heinz Ketchup
1. Into a soup pot, over low heat, place onion and steam for about 5 minutes, until translucent.
2. Add tomato sauce, can of water, sour salt, tomato paste, mix together, and lower to simmer.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together the meat, eggs, Seasonall, matzoh meal, ketchup, and garlic powder.
4. Make into golf sized balls and put into pot, and cover.
5. Cook for 20 minutes over low heat.
6. Stir around very gently with wooden spoon, and see if all the meat has browned, if not, wait a bit more.
7. Add brown sugar, and stir in gently.
8. Lower flame to simmer, and leave on another 15 minutes.
9. Turn off heat and cool about 45 minutes, and then put in frig overnight.
10. Reheat over low flame, and serve the next day.
These coconut macaroons are heavenly! Crispy and chewy coconut – drizzled and dipped in chocolate – and finished with a swirl of more delicious chocolate, for a lovely finish. It’s definitely a chocolate and coconut lover’s dream.
This is another easy recipe. Just be prepared to get your hands messy. I’ll admit it’s quite a sticky process, but don’t fret, all you’ll need is a bowl of cold water on the side, so you can dip your fingers and wet your hands. Mold the macaroons – firm, but not too tight. Place them about an inch and a half apart on the sheet. They’ll keep their shape well after they’re baked.
Once they’re baked, and they cool down, you can dip them and decorate them with the melted chocolate as you wish. You can make them festive for the holidays by adding maraschino cherries, red and green jelly beans, or candied colored almonds. Parchment paper is a must. Once they have been refrigerated they will come off the parchment paper very easily. They’ll stay intact too. Absolutely no worries.
I promise … you’ll be impressed with your pretty chocolate dipped coconut macaroons.
Tip: Before making the coconut balls, refrigerate the dough for a couple of hours, resulting in a much firmer macaroon, which can easily be dipped in chocolate.
Ingredients
2/3 cup all purpose flour
5 1/2 cups (14 oz) sweetened coconut flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp milk
2 cups of semi sweet chocolate
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, stir coconut flakes and flour.
In a separate large bowl, mix together the sweetened condensed milk, vanilla and salt.
Combine coconut mix to the sweetened milk bowl. Blend well.
Seal the bowl and let the dough sit in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Form golf ball size cookies. Place them an inch and a half apart. (Don’t forget to have a bowl of water nearby, so you can wet your hands.)
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until coconut is toasted. Allow to cool down.
Once the have cooled down, melt chocolate in a small heatproof bowl set over a pan of almost-simmering water, stirring once or twice, until smooth. Remove from the heat; stir in the remaining 2 ounces chocolate until smooth.
Dip each cookie into the melted chocolate. Place them back onto the parchment paper.
Pour the remaining chocolate in a Zip-Loc bag, make a small snip on a corner, and gently squirt and decorate the top of the cookies.
Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes, until chocolate sets.
In Puerto Rico, pasteles are a traditional side dish served on Nochebuena, which is Christmas Eve. They’re like a big dumpling filled with meat, squared and flattened out a bit as they’re folded and tucked away. Pasteles are similar looking to tamales, a Mexican dish which are made of cornmeal and wrapped in corn husks. Typically, the dough (masa) for the pasteles is a combination of grated green bananas (guineos verde), green plantains (platanos), and taro (yautia). Pasteles made with green bananas are delicious, but in my opinion, the ones made with cassava (yuca) are even better! If compared to the pasteles de guineo are which are slightly denser and more filling, the yuca ones are lighter, and have a unique creamy texture. The flavor is to die for! Eating one is never enough for me.
My wonderful sister was kind enough to share her recipe, and also send me plenty of pictures that she had taken while she was making pasteles last Christmas. I’m in awe of her… Kudos to my baby sis! This truly was a big feat for her to make these single handedly. ( She’s a proud mommy of four little ones, which includes a 6month old, and a toddler.)
Watch the video I made compiling all of her pictures showing the preparation and ingredients she used to make her fabulous pasteles de yuca. Thanks Ron!
The dough is seasoned with flavorful sauce from the meat mixture, milk, and annatto oil. Annatto (achiote) oil is infused with flavor and fascinating red-orange color released from the annatto seeds. The filling is made with of pieces of pork prepared as a stew seasoned with sofrito. Chickpeas, olives, capers and raisins are also added. Everything is layered on top of a banana leaf which also adds its fragrance and flavor. Finally its folded and tightly wrapped with parchment paper and butcher string.
Heat the oil in a small saucepan, add the seeds and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until a rich orange color is obtained.
Allow to cool, then strain. Set aside. (Extra may be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator.)
Cut ham, and pork into small chunks.
On low medium heat, in a large pot add oil, sautee sofrito, add meat and cook until done.
Add a little of water if necessary before removing it form the heat. Add olives and capers. Set aside.
Shred yuca, place it in a large fine strainer to drain out the starch.
Add oil, salt, and milk. Add extra milk if necessary to soften the mixture. Set aside.
Cut sheet into 10″ squares, damp clean the sheets and dry them over low heat.
Rub oil on each sheet and place 4 large spoonfuls of yuca mixture spread over 6″ x 6″
Over half of the mixture, add 2 large spoonfuls of meat mixture on top one half.
Fold over sheet so the yuca mixture covers the meat. Make sure the corners meet evenly and fold.
Press mixture form a rectangle, fold ends.
Tie and boil for 30-45 minutes.
Tips: Be extra careful grating the tubors if you’re using a box grater! Organize your ingredients and make sure you have plenty of space to assemble.
To be perfectly honest .. they’re hooked, its so darn good! (LOL – It’s half-caf, of course). Super easy to make, topped off with a little whipped cream, caramel sauce and a dash of cinnamon. Yum! Looks impressive, and tastes just as good as the ones you’d buy in the coffee shop. Move over Starbucks! You too Dunkin Donuts!!
Ingredients
12 cups brewed coffee (chilled overnight)
12oz evaporated milk
12oz water
14oz sweetened condensed milk
Cinnamon
Whipped cream
Caramel sauce or chocolate
Preparation
Brew 12 cups of your favorite coffee. Allow it to cool down. Refrigerate overnight.
Pour cold coffee into a large pitcher, add evaporated milk, water and sweetened condensed milk.
Mix well. Refrigerate for at least an hour. (Best if stored in a sealed container, so you can easily shake it before serving.)
Stir before serving. Serve immediately over ice.
Add whipped cream, caramel sauce and a dash of cinnamon to spruce and spice it up.
I love to prepare Chicken stew (Pollo guisado); it’s definitely one of my favorite Puerto Rican comfort foods. As it simmers, all of the flavors meld, and you’ll be intoxicated by its aroma. Tender pieces of chicken, chunks of soft potatoes, smothered with a rich, delicious sauce. It’s mouthwatering.
Smells can take you back to a time and place. This one gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling, and a reminder of how happy I’d get when mom was cooking pollo guisado.
She used a whole chicken cut into to parts. It was absolutely delicious, but cooking it with the skin on made it bit on the fatty side. So, in order to adjust to our healthier lifestyle, without sacrificing taste, I use a combination of boneless thighs and breasts. Whenever I do make it with thighs (bone-in) and split chicken breasts, I remove the skin.
The savory melody begins in a large pot, searing the chicken to seal in its juices, then quickly setting it aside in a bowl.
Using the chicken drippings, add sofrito, toss in the chopped potatoes, carrots, and celery, then pour the water, broth, tomato sauce, and you can’t forget the aromatic bay leaf.
Cooking this stew low and slow allows the sauce to thicken as the potatoes become so tender that they begin to fall apart. One bite into them and they practically melt in your mouth. After bringing it to a boil, and reducing the heat, the final step is adding in the seared chicken, along with the mushrooms. (Mushrooms are optional .. but not for me. )
My mom always serves this over white rice, but a healthier choice would be brown or parboiled rice. When the rice is layered with the amazing sauce from this delicious chicken stew, it really doesn’t make much difference.
It tastes exactly as I remember it.
Don’t forget to cut your boneless breast into nice thick chunks, and not into bite sizes. Boneless breast meat can easily overcook. To prevent this, cut the pieces thick and brown them, so they stay tender and moist inside.
Ingredients
2-3 large chicken boneless breast and 9 boneless thighs cut into thick pieces
all you’ll need is a bowl of cold water on the side, so you can dip your fingers and wet your hands. Mold the macaroons – firm, but not too tight. Place them about an inch and a half apart on the sheet. They’ll keep their shape well after they’re baked.
