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Legs tired, we chose an outside table at a restaurant in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico and collapsed into chairs, ordering dos cervezas. It was a pleasant afternoon on the plaza, watching the world go by. We asked the waitress what was good to eat and she recommended Plantain Cups. They really hit the spot that day. Once home, I tried to recreate the dish because of how delicious they are. Plantains are readily available here, but I’ve never cooked with them before. I found a recipe at SimpleByClara on her Dominican Cooking website and used her basics of how to make the cups. They are really yummy and quite easy to make. I’m still not sure how to select a plantain at the grocery store and I suspect what I’m choosing are not as good as they could be, but it’s a work in progress.
- Ingredients for Cups
- 3 large (or 4 medium) ripe plantains, peeled
- 1 tsp. salt
- Oil for basting
Cut the plantains in half and place into a large saucepan. Try to disabuse yourself of the notion that these are bananas. They’re not. They’re more like potatoes. Add water to cover and add salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer until plantains are soft, about 15 minutes. Remove plantains from water and let cool a little. Mash the plantains. I always end up using a food processor, which works well. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m not cooking them long enough or if they’re old plantains. In any event, mine are always too hard to mash by hand, but the food processor works great.
Prepare a muffin tin by spraying or greasing. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Mashed plantains are sticky, and so it’s easy to form the cups. Grab a handful of mashed plantain and press it into a muffin cup. Make them very compacted. I got 10 plantain cups last time. Brush oil lightly over each cup. I used olive oil, but any type of oil should work.
Bake at 425 degrees for about 18-20 minutes.
Remove from oven and fill with your favorite topping.
The ones we had in Puerto Rico were filled with little tidbits of spiced beef and a tasty sauce. Here is what and how I did what’s pictured (they were delicious), but I’ll probably never make these the same way twice.
I cut beef Tri-Tip Steak strips into 1″ cubes. I sprinkled taco seasoning over the meat. I preheated a skillet on high heat and added a bit of olive oil. I added the meat to the pan and seared it on all sides as well as possible. I removed the meat from the pan and set it aside. To the skillet I added diced onion, diced sweet mini peppers, and diced garlic. I let it saute until the onion was translucent, then I added some chopped jalepeno peppers. I stirred the beef back into the pan and cooked a bit longer. I scooped a little bit of the filling into each plantain cup, then sprinkled with Monterey Jack cheese. I baked at 425 degrees F for about 10 minutes. I served these topped with mashed avocado, fresh jalepeno slices, and salsa. Umm, umm, good!
Alternative fillings would be spiced chicken, cheddar cheese, beans and/or corn. Whatever you want to do will be great.
Another reason I like these is that it takes the place of wheat or gluten foods at dinner time. It’s something I can feed my relative with the wheat allergy.
This is my new favorite way to make polenta. It is so simple and versatile. I found the basic recipe at dinnerthendessert.com. I’ve only ever made half Sabrina’s recipe because it makes too much for us. Even so, I’d say half her recipe still serves six people. I think we could get away with halving it again, but I’ve been pretty happy using up the leftovers (think eggs over polenta-yummy!). I think any kind of cheese would do, it just depends upon what you’re going to serve with it. I’ve used Parmesan. I’d like to see a slightly firmer product, but I’m working on it. I buy polenta, but Sabrina says you can use corn meal. Lastly, she also says you can stir in a lot of different things, like shallots or garlic or lemon. I haven’t yet tried that.
Since there are no wheat products in this, I think we can safely say it is gluten-free. I use polenta in the same way I use mashed potatoes.
- Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 3/4 cup polenta
- 1 tsp. Kosher salt
- Dash pepper
- 1 or 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together water, polenta, salt, pepper, and butter in a 2-qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cream and cheese. Return to oven and bake another 10 minutes, uncovered. Serves 6.
This is extremely simple, but really yummy. The lemon juice and tomatoes are a nice tart contrast to the earthy bean flavor. You will need small white beans, grape tomatoes, green onions (scallions), lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. There are no set measurements, just use your eyes and your taste buds.
I start with one can of small white beans, drained. Rinse and drain again. While it’s draining, cut grape tomatoes in half. Slice green onions. Stir the beans, tomatoes, and green onion together gently. Sprinkle with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, then stir gently again. Boom! Done. If not serving right away, keep it refrigerated and then give it a stir when you’re ready to serve.
I make this dish a lot. It’s based upon the one found at carlsbadcravings.com. I don’t brine my tenderloin, and maybe I’m really missing something there, but this is super simple and very tasty. I buy pork tenderloin at Costco in a 2-pack. Each package has two strips of pork in it. This recipe is for one package, or two strips pork.
Ingredients: 1 Tbsp. butter 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 tsp. grated fresh ginger 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes 1/2 cup seedless blackberry jam 1/4 cup hoisin sauce 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar Salt and pepper Pork tenderloin Olive oil Salt and pepper Fresh blackberries, optional Green onion, sliced, optional
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a small saucepan, melt butter and saute garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes until garlic is fragrant — about a minute. Stir in blackberry jam, hoisin sauce, red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer until it is all well incorporated and then keep warm over very low heat.
In the meantime, heat an oven-proof skillet over high heat. Rub pork tenderloins with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add a little bit of olive oil to the hot skillet. Add the pork tenderloins. You’ll probably need a spatter guard here. Brown the pork on all sides.
Once pork is browned, dollop blackberry sauce over it. Place a meat thermometer into the thickest part of one of the pork strips. Pop into preheated 425 degree oven. Check the meat at about 20 minutes, spoon a little bit more blackberry sauce over, and then check frequently until pork reaches 170 degrees F. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes. Remove meat to cutting board and slice tenderloins into 1-1/2″ slices. Place sliced meat onto serving tray and pour over the remaining blackberry sauce. Sprinkle optional fresh blackberries and sliced green onion over all. Serve.
This is a mishmash of several recipes. I am serving a family member with a wheat allergy, so gluten-free flour has solved that. I make sure to read the flour ingredients so there is no part of wheat in it. It starts with agirldefloured‘s adaptation of Hershey’s chocolate cake. I’ve made this twice now and they are really rich cupcakes.
2 cups sugar 1-3/4 cups gluten-free flour (I used Namaste Perfect Flour Blend) 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt 3 eggs, slightly beaten 1 cup milk 1/2 cup canola oil 2 tsp. vanilla 1 cup hot coffee
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 30 cupcake pans with paper liners.
Whisk the dry ingredients together well. Add the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla. Whisk in the hot coffee. The batter will be runny. Evenly distribute into cupcake pans and bake until the centers bounce back when tested with finger, about 20 minutes. Let cool.
The next step is to make the mocha filling. That recipe is from myrecipes.
5 Tbsp. gluten-free flour (I used Namaste Perfect Flour Blend) 2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder 2 Tbsp. instant coffee granules 1 cup half-and-half 1 cup butter, softened 1 cup powdered sugar 1 tsp. vanilla
In a small saucepan whisk together the GF flour, cocoa powder, instant coffee and half-and-half. Over medium heat continue whisking for about 5 minutes until it is thick. Remove from heat and pour into a dish. Cover with plastic wrap, push it onto the surface so a skin does not form. Let stand for 30 minutes or until cool. I did not chill this and in retrospect I do not think it would work well if you did chill it. Stick with the directions.
Beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add cooled mocha mixture, one tablespoon at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Add vanilla and beat mixture until it’s the consistency of whipped cream.
And the final piece is the coffee liqueur ganache found at myrecipes.
12-oz. bittersweet chocolate baking chips 1-1/4 cups whipping cream 1 Tbsp. butter 2 Tbsp. coffee liqueur (Kahlua)
Place chocolate in bowl. Heat whipping cream just to boiling and pour over chocolate. Stir until smooth. Stir in butter and liqueur. Let stand until spreading consistency. It took longer than 45 minutes, keep testing this.
Assembly: Remove centers from the cooled cupcakes. I used a teaspoon to dollop mocha filling into the centers. I let the cupcakes then sit for a few minutes before using a tablespoon to pour the ganache over each cupcake. It firmed up fairly quickly then.
REALLY, REALLY YUMMY!
Credit goes to Annalise at Completely Delicious for the basic recipe and the idea for this piece of heaven. I am mostly posting this in order for me to remember how I did it.
My husband is a home wine maker. He usually buys kits that include a hermetically sealed bag of juice that he dilutes by adding water. His latest kit was called Strawberry White Merlot. It’s a low-alcohol-content “wine cooler.” What’s different about this particular wine is that he reconstituted his bag of juice with birch water that he tapped from our birch trees. Then oh, la, the wine was ready at the same time the rhubarb was ripe. A match made in heaven.
Rhubarb Filling Recipe:
You’ll have to wing this part, it’s what I did. I made my filling the night before I baked and finished the cupcakes. I wanted to give the filling a chance to really thicken. In a large saucepan, add 3 or 4 cups chopped rhubarb, 1 cup sugar and 1 Tbsp. water. Bring it to a boil and then let it simmer until it’s thick. How thick? Filling thick. It was sort of like jam. Let cool and then chill, if possible. I was disappointed the next day to see liquid around the edges of my filling, like it had seeped. But in the end it was really fine. No problem at all.
The cupcake recipe:
Prepare for 15 cupcakes. I used paper liners, but you could spray or grease 15 regular “muffin cups”. However you usually do it. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup blush-colored wine
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1-1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
Cream together the butter and the sugar in a mixer until it’s light and fluffy. In a separate bowl beat eggs and egg yolk, mix in the wine and almond extract. In another bowl stir together flour, baking powder, and salt. Into the butter mixture stir in about 1/3 of the flour mixture, then stir in 1/3 of the egg mixture, repeating by thirds until it’s all stirred in the mixer together. Beat briefly until it’s incorporated.
Divide the batter evenly into the cupcake liners or greased cups. Each cup will be about 2/3 full. I found this recipe to be true to quantity. Nice!
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Test by pressing lightly in the center of one of the cupcakes. If it bounces right back, it’s done. Mine took 18 minutes exactly. Like I said, this was a really true recipe.
Remove from the oven. I always let mine cool in the tins. That’s probably wrong, but I never have any raw centers. Let the cupcakes cool to room temperature.
Caveat: I can’t take pictures for anything.
Remove the centers from the cooled cupcakes. I have this REALLY handy device that cores the cupcakes. I kid you not. It’s a cupcake corer. Makes the task really simple. Before I got it, I used a piping tip (upside down) to cut out the center and then scooped out the rest with a small spoon. It’s not hard. The challenge is keeping people from popping those centers into their mouths. But why should you care, you’ll only throw them away once they dry out, right? So, go for it. Eat away. I envision someday making a trifle out of cupcake centers, custard, and fruit. Okay, now I’m thinking this through, it would be great with rhubarb!
Why rhubarb? What you see laid out on the lawn is a very small percentage of what’s growing at my house. That’s why!
So, once you’ve got the cupcakes made and cored, the filling ready to go, fill them. I used a teaspoon to scoop filling out of the bowl and then dribble it into the holes in the cupcakes.
Frosting recipe:
1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
¼ to 1/3 cup rhubarb filling
1-2 Tbsp rhubarb syrup (optional)
Pink food coloring (optional)
Once again, you’ll have to wing it. I put the butter into my mixer and softened it, adding 4 cups powdered sugar and then adding rhubarb filling a tablespoon at a time. I had earlier made a rhubarb syrup and I slowly added a couple tablespoons of it. [I had meant to make a simple syrup, but lost track of time and ended up with a very thick rhubarb reduction, not jelly but definitely not simple syrup. It is more like a rhubarb sauce without pulp. That’s it.] I also added a few drops of pink gel food coloring. Once you have frosting at the appropriate consistency for spreading, frost your cupcakes. I piped mine because I knew trying to use a knife over that loose rhubarb filling in the centers would be a mess, no thanks. So, as much as I hate piping because I’m so bad at it, I piped.
I took half a batch to my daughter’s workplace and they loved them! They are really good.
**Note: the next day, because I had leftover filling and frosting, I made another batch of cupcakes, but this time I used Namaste Perfect Flour Blend instead of all-purpose flour. I have a relative with a wheat allergy. They browned across the top, but it did not affect the flavor or the moisture. The cupcake corer didn’t get enough friction to remove the cores easily, so the cake’s crumb is much lighter than regular wheat flour, I guess. Everything else about it was good and they were enjoyed! See picture below . . .
As you can probably see, I didn’t have enough filling, or frosting, to do a second batch properly, but they were delicious none the less.
This recipe comes from Epicurious.com. I have made this many, many times. It is quite easy and exceedingly delicious.
Ingredients:
1 cup sliced shallots (red onion works as a substitute)
10 coarsely chopped scallions (green onions)
1 3″ piece of fresh ginger, sliced
8 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup cilantro, chopped
6 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
2 Tbsp. sugar
4# pork baby-back ribs, cut into individual ribs
Sweet chili sauce
Place all ingredients, except the ribs and sweet chili sauce, into a food processor and whir until it forms a paste.
Put the ribs and paste into a plastic bag and mash it around a bit. Place in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
Prepare a couple baking sheets with parchment paper and lay the ribs out in a single layer.
Bake at 350 degrees F for one and a half hours. Serve dipped in sweet chili sauce. YUM!
This makes a great side dish to burritos or barbecue brisket. It’s based upon a recipe found at Food Network. I don’t have frozen corn, never have, but I try to have canned corn on hand for occasional use.
Beat 4 ounces softened cream cheese, a 15-oz. can creamed corn, a 15-oz. can whole corn, 1/2 cup cornmeal and 1/2 chopped onion.
Stir in 2/3 cup milk, 3 Tbsp. melted butter, 1 beaten egg, 1 Tbsp. sugar, 1/2 cup shredded cheddar, and salt and pepper.
Spread in a buttered 2-quart casserole dish and bake 50 minutes at 350 degrees.
Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
This is our ultimate comfort food. It is so, so good! This recipe is based upon one found in Betty Crocker’s Cookbook (1969).
Cut potatoes into 1” dice to make four cups and cook them.
I cover the bowl of diced potatoes and microwave for about 3 minutes, shake them around, microwave another three minutes, shake, and then 3 more minutes. So, microwave for about nine minutes total. But you may cook the potatoes however you choose, just don’t make them too soft.
Dice cooked ham into 1” to make four cups. Mix with potatoes.
In a small saucepan mix 1 cup cream with 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
Heat and stir until cheese is melted and sauce is creamy.
Remove from heat and stir into potatoes and ham. Stir in 4 ounces of sliced pimiento.
Pour into an ungreased 3-qt. baking dish. I use the same dish to cook the potatoes, mix the casserole, and then bake it. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. I cover with my cute silicon cover which works in the microwave and the oven and then the dishwasher.
Serves 4.
I served today with BLT Salad and Creamed Spinach. Lots of comfort!
Ham & Cheese & Potato Casserole Ingredients
4 cups cooked potatoes, diced 1”
4 cups cooked ham, diced 1”
1 cup cream
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
4-oz. sliced pimientos
