Happy New Year: Throwback Tuesday, recipe-style
Happy new year to you and yours! Before we usher in a new batch of recipes, here's a recap of recipes that almost didn't see the light of day (blame my unplanned hiatus).
The first of many forgotten recipes is the feijoada, a Brazilian black bean stew that's chock-full of different kinds of meat, beans, and parsley. Heavy as it may sound, it was surprisingly very light and refreshing.
It was a joy to make and an even greater joy to eat. I think I served myself thirds. Kudos to Brian for this really unique find.
I had such a hankering for elotes (corn-on-the-cob with all the fixins) after a lunch at La Carnita (106 John St) that I began looking for recipes online. After I had given them a go, I suggested making esquites (the cup version) to Brian for our cooking date. I even bought tajin and cotija cheese to complete the dish. Unfortunately, neither my elotes nor my esquites matched the awesomeness that I had at La Carnita. Sad face. With that said though, the esquites found a fan in my sister.
Leave it to Brian to pick out the most interesting recipes. One afternoon, we made salsa chicken and Mexican rice.
There is something to be said about making everything yourself, and we certainly enjoyed making our own salsa. I know, I know. It isn't impressive, but it definitely beats buying a jar of the premade stuff. I mean, why do I always defer to Tostitos? Insert shrug here.
My mom was a big fan of the chicken; meanwhile, Brian and I were huge fans of the rice. I often make rice using a rice cooker, so it's always interesting to try different techniques to make the same dish. The recipe Brian had chosen gave the rice a really nice flavour and a fluffy consistency. I made this recipe again for a party in October with a couple of modifications: (1) I added chopped green and red peppers to give it some more colour, and (2) I reduced the cumin content in the rice to make it more subtle... And also because I'm just not a big fan of the spice. :P
I wanted to replicate Brian's and my success with the roast chicken with roast beef, another classic recipe that often makes its appearance at the dinner table on Easter and on Christmas. My favourite version was the one my uncle had made for the fam three Christmases ago. But every time I ask him for the recipe, I get vague answers or overarching ones like "just use lots of garlic". See what I have to deal with? LOL.
So I surfed the net for a roast beef recipe as well as a gravy and a mashed potatoes one to complete the meal. Then Brian and I got started.
The roast beef shown above is in black-and-white for a reason: It came out bloody rare. So did Brian's in some parts. I was disappointed not only because it was undercooked but also because it was less than flavourful. The gravy we made, which tasted more winey than anything, was just as disappointing. And the proportions were way off. Maybe it's because we're not used to British cooking and tastes, but I don't think we needed a jug of gravy for so small a cut of beef.
As mentioned, it is a seafood-filled stew that looks beautiful in a soup bowl and pairs well with white wine and cooling weather. Both Brian and I put our own personal spins to the dish with the seafood (and the other ingredients) that were available to us locally. In the end, the two of us ended up with the same fantastic stew.
When we made this dish the second time around, we made it together in Santiago and bought our ingredients from Mercado Central, Santiago's local wet market. It was awesome picking out our own fish and seeing it get cleaned and filleted in front of our very eyes. Talk about fresh!
I wish I had taken a picture of our second go of cioppino, but we essentially inhaled everything before we took a walk through centro and had dessert at Cocteau Café (Miraflores 622).
---
And there you have it, folks! The remaining recipes of 2017. Happy new year again to you and yours. To many more recipes!
Feijoada
 |
| Delicious! |
The first of many forgotten recipes is the feijoada, a Brazilian black bean stew that's chock-full of different kinds of meat, beans, and parsley. Heavy as it may sound, it was surprisingly very light and refreshing.
It was a joy to make and an even greater joy to eat. I think I served myself thirds. Kudos to Brian for this really unique find.
Esquites
 |
| Esquites for days |
I had such a hankering for elotes (corn-on-the-cob with all the fixins) after a lunch at La Carnita (106 John St) that I began looking for recipes online. After I had given them a go, I suggested making esquites (the cup version) to Brian for our cooking date. I even bought tajin and cotija cheese to complete the dish. Unfortunately, neither my elotes nor my esquites matched the awesomeness that I had at La Carnita. Sad face. With that said though, the esquites found a fan in my sister.
Salsa Chicken and Mexican Rice
 |
| The makings of a salsa |
 |
| Yummy, yummy salsa chicken |
Leave it to Brian to pick out the most interesting recipes. One afternoon, we made salsa chicken and Mexican rice.
There is something to be said about making everything yourself, and we certainly enjoyed making our own salsa. I know, I know. It isn't impressive, but it definitely beats buying a jar of the premade stuff. I mean, why do I always defer to Tostitos? Insert shrug here.
 |
| My take here at home |
My mom was a big fan of the chicken; meanwhile, Brian and I were huge fans of the rice. I often make rice using a rice cooker, so it's always interesting to try different techniques to make the same dish. The recipe Brian had chosen gave the rice a really nice flavour and a fluffy consistency. I made this recipe again for a party in October with a couple of modifications: (1) I added chopped green and red peppers to give it some more colour, and (2) I reduced the cumin content in the rice to make it more subtle... And also because I'm just not a big fan of the spice. :P
Roast Beef
 |
| Roast beef |
 |
| Mashed potatoes |
I wanted to replicate Brian's and my success with the roast chicken with roast beef, another classic recipe that often makes its appearance at the dinner table on Easter and on Christmas. My favourite version was the one my uncle had made for the fam three Christmases ago. But every time I ask him for the recipe, I get vague answers or overarching ones like "just use lots of garlic". See what I have to deal with? LOL.
So I surfed the net for a roast beef recipe as well as a gravy and a mashed potatoes one to complete the meal. Then Brian and I got started.
The roast beef shown above is in black-and-white for a reason: It came out bloody rare. So did Brian's in some parts. I was disappointed not only because it was undercooked but also because it was less than flavourful. The gravy we made, which tasted more winey than anything, was just as disappointing. And the proportions were way off. Maybe it's because we're not used to British cooking and tastes, but I don't think we needed a jug of gravy for so small a cut of beef.
 |
| Brian's version |
On the upside, the mashed potatoes came out fluffy and tasty. And I had enough roast beef leftovers to repurpose for steak. Hahaha!
Cioppino
 |
| Yummy stew! |
And the last of the forgotten recipes is the cioppino, a seafood stew recipe that Brian found on Allrecipes. This was another interesting dish, one that we would make a second time in the fall for lunch with Enrique and Maria Inés.
 |
| Love this stew! |
When we made this dish the second time around, we made it together in Santiago and bought our ingredients from Mercado Central, Santiago's local wet market. It was awesome picking out our own fish and seeing it get cleaned and filleted in front of our very eyes. Talk about fresh!
I wish I had taken a picture of our second go of cioppino, but we essentially inhaled everything before we took a walk through centro and had dessert at Cocteau Café (Miraflores 622).
---
And there you have it, folks! The remaining recipes of 2017. Happy new year again to you and yours. To many more recipes!
Comments
Post a Comment