Saturday, December 22, 2012

Flank Steak Rolls


This was the first year I cooked for Thanksgiving. My In-laws were coming over and I had to impress them. I didn't know what to make that would wow them, so I came up with steak rolls stuffed with veggies. It was a hit!
 
Ingredients
Flank steak
1 large onion
1 large green pepper
1 zucchini
Salt, black pepper, cilantro, oregano
Adobo (optional)

Prep time:
30 min.
Cooking time:
35-45 minutes

Directions
Pre heat your oven at 350 degrees. The flank steak comes in a package about 1 inch thick.
With a shape knife split the beef butterfly style, this way you'll have two large slabs.
Season the beef well with salt, pepper, adobo or your favorite herbs and set aside.
Dice your veggies and sauté in a pan until you've almost cooked them through, add salt to taste.
Lay down aluminum foil on a flat rack.
You should butter or spray the rack to prevent the beef from sticking to the foil.

 








Lay the slab across horizontally and spread the saute veggies across. Roll the beef up not too tight.








Once you’ve rolled the beef, you can use cooking string to tie it or toothpicks if you don’t have string.




Place in the oven for about 35-45 minutes.
Remove string or toothpicks and slice them into rolls


Serves
8 people

Happy Holidays!






  
  

Saturday, September 22, 2012

Wheat Carrot Cupcakes


Ingredients
villardishes.blogspot.com
3 eggs
½ of vegetable oil
½ - 1 cup of brown sugar
½ cup of vanilla extract
2 ½ cup of wheat flour
1 ½ teaspoon of baking soda
½ teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
3 cups of grated carrots
½ cup of butter, softened
3-3 ½ cups of confectioner sugar

Makes approximately 2 dozen.

Equipment:
Large bowl
Cupcake pan
Whisk
If you have a mixer, or hand mixer.

Prep:
Grate your carrots. Pre-heat your oven to 350ᵒ

Directions:
 If you do not have a mixer, in a large bowl combine the wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, brown sugar, and veggie oil. Use a whisk and give it a quick stir.
Add the eggs, vanilla extract, carrots, butter, and confectioner sugar. Stir in the ingredients thoroughly. Taste for flavor. If it tastes grainy just add more confectioner sugar and vanilla extract. Batter should have a smooth consistency.

Fill the cupcake pan half way with the batter. Place in the over at 350ᵒ degrees for 18-23 minutes. Check to see if its cooked by placing a toothpick in the center. Remove from the oven and cool for about 5 minutes.

Homemade Frosting
3 cups confectioner sugar
½ cup of melted butter
Vanilla extract

In a medium bowl combine the confectioner sugar, butter, and vanilla extract. Wisk the ingredients together; add more sugar for a thicker consistency.  Plate by drizzling your frosting on the cupcake. Serve your cupcake with coffee or milk.

Enjoy!

Note: this recipe has approximation of measurements. 

Friday, June 22, 2012

Tempura Tostones (Fried Plantains)



A few weeks ago I was in the kitchen trying to figure out what I was going to eat. I noticed I still had some plantains on the counter, and then I hit me. Why not make Tempura Tostones? I’ve never seen it made before and decided to try it out.


2 green plantain
1 ½  cup of wheat flower
½ cup of seltzer water
Salt, black pepper, oregano (or your choice of herbs)






Preparation:
In a medium pan, heat about ½ a cup of vegetable oil.
Peel the plantains and cut them at a slight angle into 1 inch pieces.
In a medium bowl, combine your wet and dry ingredients. Add the herbs and season to the batter.

Directions:
Add a few pieces to the hot oil and cook until a light crisp on both sides, then remove from the pan. 
Once removed flatten the plantains and dip them in the batter and re-fry again to a crisp, or to your liking.

For a quick and easy condiment you can use is to mix some ketchup and mayo to serve on the side.






Tuesday, May 8, 2012















My fiancé and I were doing some grocery shopping the other day. As we were going down the rice aisle she grabbed a bag of Guyanese style chow mien noodles and asked if I can make it for her, so I said “sure” and I decided to make Spicy Beef and Chicken Chow Mein.

Ingredients:
Pack of cubed beef
1 boneless chicken breast
1 package of chow mein noodles
3 cups of broccoli (fresh or frozen)
3 cups of string beans (fresh or frozen)
1 onion
Oregano, cilantro, basil flakes, salt, black pepper, and adobo 
1 table spoon of sazon
1 table spoon of soy sauce

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Serves: 4 people

Prep:
Clean the chicken breast with lemon or vinegar.
Dice the onion.
Boil water

Instructions:
In a pan cook your beef and chicken at medium heat, add your spices the onions half way through with a bit of soy sauce. When cooked take off the flame and chop up the beef and chicken and set aside. Clean the pan you cooked the meat in.

In a small pot boil water to cook your broccoli and string beans. If you are using frozen veggies just defrost in the microwave.

Boil the chow mein pasta for about 5 minutes or until cooked. Drain the water and toss the chow mein in the pan at medium heat, with a bit of olive oil and add the veggies with beef and chicken. Taste for seasoning and serve.

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Pizzelles a Christmas treat




Every year my colleague Serio creates batches upon batches of Pizzelle, which are Italian wafer cookies to those that have been on his nice list each year for Christmas.

Two years ago Serio came into our office to drop off his world renowned Pizzelle cookies. At first bite I was hooked. The light crispy wafer like cookies had me in a trance. We are fortunate to have a sneak peak as to how the Pizzelles are made. Check out the video below.

Equipment needed:

Mixer or hand mixer
Pizzele iron

Ingredients

6 Eggs
2 sticks of melted butter
1 ½ cups of sugar
2 table spoons of vanilla
4 tea spoons of baking powder
3 cups of all purpose flower







Special thanks to Serio for providing the video.

Video edited by Serio, and Cecil for VillarDishes

Happy Holidays!



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