"The Smithfield Cookbook" & "Mrs. Wilkes' Boardinghouse Cookbook" - Ham with Honey Orange Glaze and Cheese Grits

Date I made these recipes: April 4, 2010 (Easter Sunday)

The Smithfield Cookbook – 350 years of Dining Traditions from Smithfield and Isle of Wight County, Virginia by The Junior Woman’s Club of Smithfield – Smithfield, Virginia
Published by: The Junior Woman’s Club of Smithfield
© 1978
Recipe: Ham with Honey Orange Glaze – p. 8

Mrs. Wilkes’ Boardinghouse Cookbook with a history by John T. Edge
Published by: Ten Speed Press
ISBN: 1-58008-257-2
Recipe: Cheese Grits – p. 111

People, you know it’s going to be a good day when you wake up, turn on the TV, and the movie Easter Parade is on! I LOVE that movie/musical. It’s got Fred (Astaire) and Judy (Garland) and Ann (Miller) and lots of singing and dancing (“a little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants”) and great fashion and more! That movie had me whistling and singing “Happy Easter” all day.

And what a great day it was—no snow, high about 65 degrees and sunny. Between the weather and the movie, I was tempted to laze out all day but alas, I had some Easter food to make!

Although I toyed with not making a ham, it is Easter after all and given that I used The Smithfield Cookbook it became almost mandatory that I make a ham.

Long before Paula Deen became a spokesperson for the Smithfield (ham) company, Smithfield was synonymous for country ham—hams that are hung up and dry-cured in a ham house (and by dry-cured I mean “allowed to mold”—no worries, the mold is to be removed before cooking). Actually, make that southern country ham since I don’t know of anyone or any company in the northern clime that can pull off the process like a southern ham producer. (Likely because we are usually buried in snow for a good portion of the year.)

So ham it was and once that decision was made, I decided on a glaze. I actually leaned toward one that involved cinnamon candy pieces but my husband vetoed that so we went with a basic honey orange glaze. It was good but I thought it was rather dull. (By the way, I looked for a Smithfield ham but the only one I found cost $30—ouch! Well, Paula Deen’s picture on that package isn’t free, you know!).

Since I was making a southern ham, I felt the urge to conquer a dish that I have turned my nose up on for a long, long time—grits. I do not have a fond memory of grits the way southerners do and have to say the worst I ever tasted was at a Waffle House years ago. Just the very thought…

But I’m a big girl now and so it was time to just get a grip and get them made although I must confess that in order to eat them, they needed to be cheese grits or else forget the whole deal.

And so I turned to one of my southern cookbooks and found the recipe in Mrs. Wilkes’ Boarding House Cookbook.

I don’t remember when I learned about Mrs. Wilkes but she was a lady who ran a boarding house in Savannah, GA for years and years until she passed away in 2002 at the age of 95. Her place is still overrun by visitors who line up to get some (by all accounts) fantastic Southern home cooking. Mrs. Wilkes’ menu lists a lineup of meats and veggies and it just cracks me up to no end that macaroni and cheese as well as cheese grits end up in the “veggie” category. That is just so southern, isn’t it?!

Now one of the downfalls of being a northern gal living in a northern climate is that it was darned difficult to find “regular” (as opposed to quick-cooking) grits as called for in the recipe. After visiting three grocery stores, I finally found Bob’s Red Mill Corn Grits (bless his heart) and was off and running. (The label indicated that corn grits are also known as polenta and while that is probably true, I’m not envisioning a true-blue southerner claiming to love polenta. I’m just saying….).

And so I made my ham and had me some grits (and asparagus) and concluded Easter 2010. And in the process I think I might have been converted to liking grits (although the cheese probably didn’t hurt at all). In fact Mrs. Wilkes promises that these grits “can convert even a steadfast Yankee into a believer in this Southern staple.” Maybe a road trip is in order?

Ham with Honey Orange Glaze (submitted by The Smithfield Packing Co., Inc.)
¼ cup frozen orange juice concentrate, defrosted
¼ cup honey
½ teaspoon dry mustard

Cook your ham as directed. (Ours took 1.75 hours) During the last 15-30 minutes, combine ingredients and brush on the ham, basting several times.

Cheese Grits – serves 6 to 8
1 cup regular grits (do not use quick-cooking grits)
4 cups water
¼ cup butter
1 (6-ounce) package garlic cheese or sharp Cheddar cheese
1 teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks, beaten well
2 egg whites, beaten stiff
Cracker or dry bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 350. Cook the grits in the water according to the package directions. Slowly add the butter, cheese and salt. Add the egg yolks and fold in the egg whites. Pour into a greased 1 ½-quart casserole. Sprinkle cracker/bread crumbs on top. Bake for 45 minutes.

"Pasta - a passion" - Hot-and-sour shrimp pasta

Date I made this recipe: March 28, 2010

Pasta – a passion by Nina Dreyer Hensley, Jim Hensley and Paul Lowe
Published by: Ten Speed Press
ISBN: 0-28195-08106-2

Recipe: Hot-and-sour shrimp pasta – p. 28

“And now let’s turn to the weather….”

People, the weather in these parts has been unbelievable—no snow, no cold, just mostly sunny with highs in the 50’s—in March! And not to jinx it, but it appears we are set to cruise into April in the low 70’s—unbelievable.

But this unbelievable weather snap has wrecked havoc into my “spring” menu planning. Normally I’d be up to my eyeballs in soups and stew recipes as we have often had basketball tournament snowstorms to contend with but not this year. So a major rethink was in order.

And so I toyed with lighter foods – maybe something Middle Eastern or even chicken but nah, too boring. And then I fixated, and I mean fixated on pasta. I don’t know why (except I had the TV commercial of old “Wednesday is Prince Spaghetti Day” on the brain). So then I pulled out my battery of Italian cookbooks and leafed through and contemplated and considered and then settled on an Asian pasta dish. So much for red sauce!

This cookbook had such yummy-sounding recipes that I almost felt guilty about going for something Asian but I tell you what, it was the right choice. This recipe is delicious and easy. In fact, I prepared it just after my husband and I got back from a walk around our neighborhood. It wasn’t the warmest walk we’ve ever taken (as evidence by my freezing cold ears) but the sun was out, the snow was gone and ahhhhh….

Hot-and-sour shrimp pasta – serves 6
1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined
3 tablespoons sake
1 ½ tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 pound tagliatelle (or fettucini)
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, cut into thin slices
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small red pepper, crushed (or use red pepper flakes)

Hot-and-sour sauce
2 cups chicken broth
¼ cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sake
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Put the shrimp in a bowl with the sake, ginger, and sesame oil. Let sit for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of salted, boiling water until al dente. Drain.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a saucepan. Add the shrimp and cook until pink. Transfer the shrimp to a plate. (Note: I purchased already-cooked shrimp and it didn’t seem to make much difference as to taste. Just make sure you don’t overcook the shrimp.)

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the pan. Add the red onion, garlic and red pepper. Saute until the onion is soft. Set aside. Mix all the sauce ingredients together and stir into the vegetables then stir constantly until the sauce boils. Cook the sauce for 2 to 3 minutes, until it thickens. Gently mix in the shrimp and pasta. (Note: these instructions just didn’t make sense! Why set the vegetables aside then turn around and say add the sauce to the vegetables and then stir until the sauce boils? Am I right? So I added the sauce to the vegetables and then cooked as directed and then added the shrimp and pasta and all was well with the world and with my stomach!).

"The Complete Book of Soupds and Stews" - Green Split Pea Soup with Wine

Date I made this recipe: March 17, 2010 (St. Patrick’s Day)

The Complete Book of Soups and Stews by Bernard Clayton, Jr.
Published by: Simon & Schuster (A Fireside Book)
ISBN: 0-671-43864-6
Recipe: Green Split Pea Soup with Wine – p. 328-329

Well, here we are at St. Patrick’s Day and I thought I had a “regulation” corned beef and cabbage meal all set and ready to go until I talked to my husband.

Me: “So, what do you think of corned beef and cabbage for St. Paddy’s Day?”
Him: “Huh.” (In husband speak, this means “No.”)
Me: “Okay…hmmm… what about pea soup?”(Hey, it’s green, it works!)
Him: “I could get behind pea soup.”
Me: “And it has potatoes in it and potatoes make us think of Ireland so there it is!”

You have to admit, it was a pretty good save, right?

While my husband might have some Irish blood in him, I have not a drop – not one tiny little drop. And frankly, crowded beer halls are just not all that fun if you’re not Irish. But I can cook and I can distinguish colors (my husband is colorblind) and so I went with green soup with potatoes and so there we are – instant Irish!

The author notes that “a hint of mustard and sesame oil and a nip of wine (Me: it’s St. Paddy’s day—go for broke!) and vinegar give this hearty soup a special character that sets it apart from the dozens of other dishes made with this legume.” And sure and begorrah, this soup turned out to be pretty tasty indeed!

This concludes my salute to St. Patrick’s Day! Slainte ! (To your health!)

Green Split Pea Soup with Wine – serves 8
1 pound green split peas, washed and drained
5 or 6 cups water, depending on consistency desired
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup minced onion
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup minced celery
1 medium potato, thinly sliced
2 cups thinly sliced carrots
1 cup chopped tomatoes
¼ cup dry red wine
¼ teaspoon dry mustard
¼ teaspoon thyme
Several drops dark sesame oil (very potent)
3 tablespoons vinegar
¼ cup freshly chopped parsley
Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Wash and pick over split peas. In a medium (4-quart) saucepan, cover the peas with 5 cups of water. Add the bay leaf and salt. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat and cook until tender, about 1 hour.

While the peas are simmering, cook the onions, garlic, celery, potato and carrots in a large covered skillet over low heat until the vegetables are soft and translucent, about 10 minutes.

Add the contents of the skillet to the soup and continue simmering for an additional hour, or a total of 2 hours.

Fifteen minutes before serving, add the tomatoes, red wine, mustard, thyme and a few drops of sesame oil. Stir to blend well. If the soup seems thick, add a cup or so of water.

Just before serving, add vinegar, parsley and freshly ground pepper to taste.

NOTE: You will likely have to add water way before you get to the final 15 minute mark.

"Dude Food" & "Cakes Men Like" - (Heavy Mental) Pot Roast and Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Date I made these recipes: February 28, 2010

Dude Food – Recipes for the Modern Guy by Karen Brooks, Gideon Bosker, and Reed Darmon
Published by: Chronicle
ISBN: 0-8118-1679-6
Recipe: Heavy Mental Pot Roast – p. 32-33

Cakes Men Like by Benjamin Darling
Published by: Chronicle
ISBN: 0-8118-0007-5
Recipe: Pineapple Upside Down Cake – p. 36

Well, tomorrow is my hubby’s birthday and so of course I made him dinner and a cake. And he had full reign over what he wanted for those two items except I directed which cookbooks he had to peruse. Never mind that it’s his birthday; it’s my collection and my blog so there!

Since our nicknames for each other since we started dating have been (a very tongue-in-cheek) “Dude” and “Babe,” it was not at all unusual for me to have him select the main course from Dude Food. If you’ve been reading my last couple of blog postings, you’ll know that my last couple of meals have been underwhelming but this one was a winner. As Andy so aptly said: “This combines my favorite food groups of beer and chocolate—how bad could that be?”

Similarly, I hit the jackpot with the Pineapple Upside Down Cake from the book Cakes Men Like. If that isn’t simplistic enough for you then I don’t know what is.

This being the last day of the Olympics, I had to tune in to the USA v. Canada Hockey game and let me just say that hockey and loose cake flour do not go well together! I ended up with (seemingly) half the dry ingredients on my fleece jacket. Although the US lost, it was a great game, even going into sudden-death overtime. Eh, you can’t win them all but at least I won where it counted the most—my man’s birthday dinner!

And so here they are - Andy Martin’s birthday selections! (Both of these dishes cook at the same temperature, 325F. Was that a considerate husband, or what?!)

Heavy Mental Pot Roast – serves 6 (Note: total cooking time is 4 hours, 30 minutes)
Two 1.4-ounces boxes onion soup mix, such as Knorr
One 1.2-ounce package brown gravy mix, such as Knorr Classic
½ cup brown ketchup
One pint strong dark stout, such as Guiness Extra Stout
1 square Mexican sweet chocolate, chopped (or substitute 1 square semisweet chocolate plus ¼ teaspoon cinnamon)
3 ¼ pounds beef pot roast
3 baking potatoes, quartered

Combine the onion soup mix, brown gravy mix, and brown sugar in a mixing bowl. Blend in the ketchup and stout. Let stand for 30 minutes. Add the chopped chocolate.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325F.

Pour the stout mixture over the bottom of a roasting pan and add the pot roast, turning once to coat. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Bake 2 hours.

Remove the pan from the oven and turn the meat over. Add the potatoes and tightly recover the pan. Cook 2 hours, or until the meat is fork-tender. Remove the pan again and carefully pour off any liquid into a saucepan. Cover the roast and set aside.

Cook the liquid over medium-high heat until thick and gravylike, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Slice the meat and arrange on a platter with the potatoes. Pour 1 cup of the gravy on top. Serve extra gravy at the table.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake – makes one 8-inch layer
1 ¼ cups sifted Cake Flour
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons shortening (I thought they meant Crisco until I read the recipe instructions and found I needed to use butter)
½ cup sugar
1 egg, well beaten
½ cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup brown sugar
4 slices pineapple
1 cup pecan meats

Sift flour once, measure, add baking powder and salt and sift together three times. Cream butter thoroughly, add sugar gradually, and cream together until light and fluffy. Add egg; then flour, alternately with milk, a small amount at a time. Beat after each addition until smooth. Add vanilla. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in 8-inch iron skillet. (Big Note: I don’t have a cast iron skillet so I used a regular cake pan and it was fine…except the sugar will not melt as well as it should. Mine glopped all over the place—so much for presentation!). Add brown sugar and stir until melted. (Big Note #2: This instruction was fraught with peril. First I melted the butter in the microwave then added the sugar and that took forever so I went with stovetop. In what seemed to be seconds, I went from barely melting sugar to practically on fire. I had to stop and open the back door to air out the kitchen! Then I poured the burnt mixture down the drain but that created quite the clog. All in all, I spent more time trying to chisel off hardened sugar than I did anything. Step 3 was to go back to the microwave and this time, it melted just fine but it didn’t pour in the pan. Geez, Louise!)

Arrange the pineapple and nuts over the sugar mixture then pour the batter over the contents of the skillet. Bake in a 325 oven for 40 minutes. Loosen cake from sides and bottom and serve upside down.

"Out of Old Nova Scotia Kitchens" - Maple Syrup Cookies

Date I made this recipe: February 22, 2010

Out of Old Nova Scotia Kitchens by Marie Nightingale
Published by: Nimbus Publishing Limited
ISBN: 0-920852-10-6

Recipe: Maple Syrup Cookies – p. 158

And now, another salute to the Winter Olympics…

Oh Canada, Canada, Canada. I really wanted to like these recipes I made from your cookbooks but…no. Just say “no.” (As opposed to the Canadian “eh” that usually means “yes”).

This recipe sounded deceptively easy; I mean, how hard is it to melt shortening, maple syrup and sugar and then add dry ingredients? But sometimes, kids, the easiest recipes are the most problematic.

Take this for example: the recipe called for 2 cups all purpose flour but then in the directions it said to add “flour enough to roll out.” So…this could mean that you need more than 2 cups of flour (which I did) or it could mean only add enough so you can roll it…or it could mean that I over-thought the recipe. Either way, deciphering this took more work than it was worth.

In the end, I added the two cups of flour and then kept adding more to get the mixture to bulk up, and then because it was no where near being able to be rolled out and because time was speeding by and because I had actual Olympic events to watch, damn it, I mixed and plopped and threw it in the oven and voila – cookies! My husband laughed at my oven antics but I mean really!

The result of this whole mess was that the cookies came out okay (despite me making drop cookies instead of nicely-cut cookies) but the flour I added (which I’m telling you, you will need to add as well) overshadowed the taste of the maple syrup and that was a darned shame.

Overall, the night was fraught with peril—the cookies were a pain, I developed a splitting headache and my eyes, my eyes—can we TALK about the ice dancing “outfits?” I could just picture Michael Kors from Project Runway sighing deeply and saying “Where to begin?” (The phrases “train wreck” and “hot mess” came to mind—you chose.) And call me crazy, but isn’t ice dancing supposed to be uh, dancing? And to a song I can recognize? Because excuse me, when the one American couple came out and “danced” (ahem) to a religious piece, I about died. And that outfit – oy!

So, overall, a big hands down on my Canadian food fest. Let’s hope the rest of the games pick up after this—although what am I saying? The ladies ice skating competition starts tonight!

Maple Syrup Cookies – serving amount not listed (but probably makes about 2 dozen)
1 ½ cups maple syrup
½ cup white sugar
½ cup shortening
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup rolled oats
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups (or more) all purpose flour

Heat the maple syrup, sugar and shortening to boiling point. Remove from stove and add the soda which has been dissolved in a little warm water. Let cool. When cold, add the rolled oats, salt and flour enough to roll out. (See above—this is a little confusing). Roll not too thin and cut with a cookie cutter. Bake in a 375 oven until light brown, about 8 to 10 minutes.

As noted above: I made drop cookies out of these and baked them for 9 minutes and they were perfect.

"Downhomer Household Almanac & Cookbook" - Tuna Noodle Casserole

Date I made this recipe: February 21, 2010

Downhomer Household Almanac & Cookbook (Canadian Best Seller) Edited by Ron Young
Published by: Downhomer Magazine
ISBN: 1-895109-02-7
Recipe: Tuna Noodle Casserole – p. 232

And now, a salute to the Winter Olympics…

“O Canada! Hmmmm, hmmm, hmmmm, hmmmm, hmmmm, hmmmm…” (leave it to Canadians to leave off the “h” in “Oh.” Must be a British-influence thing!)

Folks, we are now entering week two of the Vancouver Olympics and I have to tell you that I am glued to the set! Glued. I mean, what is not to love about the luge (single or two-man—can somebody explain what is up with that?!) or the bobsled or curling or [men’s figure skater] Evan Lysacek…or Evan Lysacek…and did I mention Evan Lysacek? Some advertising agency with the Brylcreem account should sign that man pronto!

So…Canada. I’m afraid I do not have much in the way of Canadian cookbooks save for the two I’m writing about here. Both of these provinces are easterly and as we (should) know, Vancouver is in the west, but hey (or “eh” as the Canadians say) they’re close enough for my blog.

Believe it or don’t, I have a Canadian Olympic tale to tell…well, sort of. Way back when (and I do mean way back when), my brother participated in the Upper Peninsula Winter Olympics, held in Sault St. Marie, Michigan, a hop, skip and a jump from the Canadian border. He played, of all things, ping pong (???) but we got to watch athletes from around the U.P. participate in ski jumping (very big in my hometown area) and figure skating and even curling. So I’m a curling aficionado from way back. (Okay, not really but at least I’ve seen the sport before).

As for Canadian food, I haven’t visited Canada much in recent years but if memory serves the food is underwhelming. Let’s just say if you don’t like fish (and I don’t) you are out of luck. (I reference the book, The Shipping News, where they ate cod…and more cod…and some more cod…and potatoes.)

So fish was out and gosh darn it, I forgot to put in my order for moose (and seal—ew!) (and I am not kidding when I say there are recipes for these meats in the cookbook) and so I took the coward’s way out and went with a tuna casserole. It’s as close to an homage to fish as I’m ever going to get. And besides, what with the two-man bobsled and the speed skating going on, I didn’t want to miss a second. (And can we all just agree that watching skiers on the moguls track automatically triggers a trip to an orthopedist?!)

This dish will not have you running to the supermarket anytime soon but it was fuel on a winter (dare I say almost spring-like?) day and so there it is. I rather like peas in my tuna casserole so I opened a can and added them after the fact which did nothing at all to the dish but so be it. I wasn’t out for an Olympic (culinary) medal I just wanted to cross the finish line.

O Canada!

Tuna Noodle Casserole – serves 6 to 84 cups cooked noodles (I recommend cooking them to “firm” rather than “well-done”)
1-7 oz tin (can) tuna
1 can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp onion, grated
2 tbsp pimento
½ cup milk

Combine all ingredients. Mix with a fork until blended. Place in a buttered casserole. Bake in a 350F oven for 50-60 minutes.

NOTE: To cover or not to cover, that was the question. I went with a cover for a bit and then went uncovered for the last half as I desperately wanted to avoid a dish of crunchy noodles.

"Bread and Chocolate - My Food Life In & Around San Francisco" - Chocolate Pots de Creme

Date I made this recipe: February 14, 2010

Bread and Chocolate – My Food Life In & Around San Francisco by Fran Gage
Published by: Sasquatch Books
ISBN: 1-57061-153-X

Recipe: Chocolate Pots de Crème – p. 38

Yesterday was Valentine’s Day. I made a chocolate dessert. The end.

Okay, that seems a little sparse, doesn’t it? Let me rephrase: “Yesterday was Valentine’s Day. I made a chocolate dessert. While watching the Olympics. The end.”

Much better!

Because I tend to find many contradictions in life amusing, the fact that I was preparing a decadent chocolate dessert while watching the end of the Nordic Competition (ski jumping—as if!—and cross country skiing) just cracked me up. (Even worse—I ate this dessert after consuming half of a take -out turkey dinner with all the fixings from one of our favorite restaurants while watching the new season of the TV show Ruby. Ruby [Geller] is this delightful southerner who once weighed over 700 pounds and now weighs around 330. The show chronicles her quest to lose weight. Not that Ruby knows me or anything but I felt kind of guilty eating all this rich food right in front of her (so to speak)). On the other hand, dark chocolate has been proven to be good for you and so I say when it’s Valentine’s Day, some chocolate, in moderation, is appropriate.

Now in my humble opinion, the author could have skipped the “bread” and focused on the chocolate portion of her book but hey, it’s her book and her story and so if she wants to include bread, so be it. Actually, this cookbook has little to do with either food group and instead offers us quite the selection of recipes with stories to boot. And this recipe was such a hit that I’d suggest making some other delectable goodies, sweet or savory, from this book.

But for now, let’s focus on the matter at hand: Valentine’s Day calls for chocolate and this pot of chocolate is a winner. It is easy, it is delicious and it makes a lot! How can that be bad?

Chocolate Pots de Crème – serves 8
Note: the author describes this dish as a “thick, creamy custard that is very smooth” but I felt the texture was more like a mousse than a custard. And this is why you must make it and judge for yourself!
Eight 6-ounce ramekins
2 cups (16 ounces) whole milk
2 cups (16 ounces) heavy whipping cream
½ cup (3 ½ ounces) granulated sugar
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate, such as Scharffen Berger or Valrhona, finely chopped. (Note: I found both of these but they are rather expensive – almost $4.00 for 3 ounces. So I substituted Ghirardelli bittersweet morsels instead; I think a 10-ounce package (how did they know?!) cost around $6.00 or so. I then ground them in my Cuisinart so that they were finely chopped)
8 extra-large egg yolks
2 extra-large eggs

Preheat the oven to 325F. Bring the milk, cream and sugar to a boil. Turn off the heat, add the chocolate, and whisk until melted. Cook to lukewarm.

In a medium bowl, whisk the yolks and eggs together. Whisk in the cooled chocolate mixture. Pour it through a sieve into a pitcher and divide among eight 6-ounce ramekins.

Make a bain-marie: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place the filled ramekins in a large baking pan. Pour boiling water into the pan until it comes halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan with foil. Bake until the custards are just set, 50 to 60 minutes. They will still jiggle in the center. Remove the ramekins from the bain-marie, let them cool, then refrigerate them until serving.

Serve the custards with a dusting of powdered sugar or with a dollop of whipped cream.

"Three Guys from Miami Cook Cuban" - Cuban Pot Roast (Boliche)

Date I made this recipe: February 7, 2010 (Super Bowl Sunday)

Three Guys from Miami Cook Cuban by Glenn Lindgren, Raul Musibay, and Jorge Castillo
Published by: Gibbs Smith, Publisher
ISBN: 1-58685-433-X; © 2004

Recipe: Boliche – Cuban Pot Roast – p. 112

So today was Super Bowl Sunday, one of my favorite days to watch TV because as we all know, it’s all about the commercials. And the game. But if we’re honest, it’s really about the commercials, right? The thing that cracks me up is that I didn’t want to leave the room during the commercials but I didn’t want to miss key plays of the game, either. And for the record, it was quite the game. I liked both teams (the New Orleans Saints v. the Indianapolis Colts) but was leaning toward New Orleans (especially after they beat the evil Vike-Queens and stopped their advance to the show) and toyed with making something from one of my New Orleans cookbooks but thought that would be rather unfair, seeing as how I don’t have anything to represent Indianapolis. (Although I do have cookbooks from Baltimore and seeing as how I still think of Baltimore Colts as the home of the Colts (not to mention Johnny Unitas), that would have worked…except it wouldn’t, you know what I mean?).

So to even the playing field, I made a recipe from a Miami cookbook to represent where the game was actually played and since Cuban food represents a big part of Miami’s edible offerings, I went with the three guys from Miami (one of whom is originally from Minnesota – guess which one!).

Now in the interest of full disclosure, when I first got the cookbook, I made the recipe for the Tres Leches (3 milks) cake but it didn’t work out very well, in all likelihood because I had dry ingredients that were just past their “use by” date. Baking is a funny thing as fresh ingredients are often keys to the recipe’s success whereas in regular cooking, they often don’t make that much difference.

Now I have to say a word about the Spanish chorizo called for in this recipe. Although the recipe itself didn’t say anything about what kind of chorizo to buy, the back of the book said that chorizo is a “dry, hard sausage” and I know this to be true since I bought some dry links one time at El Burrito Mercado in West St. Paul. But the day I went shopping, we were pressed for time and so I bought chorizo from my local Rainbow Foods that was not dry but rather very wet, just like regular sausage and it did not come in a casing as the other sausage did. And this made the recipe greasier than would have otherwise happened. The taste was still the same, which is to say it added a little bite to the meat, but we could have probably done without the grease. So just be aware of that when making the recipe.

The other thing I have to say is that I thought this dish would be more flavorful the next day but having just polished off some leftovers, I can say that the dish was tastier yesterday when it was fresh from the stove than it was today. That’s not to say the dish still wasn’t delicious, but it wasn’t what I expected.

What I liked best about this dish was that it involved my favorite cooking task—stick it on the stove and ignore it for a couple of hours. And seeing as how I had the Super Bowl commercials to watch (all 68 of them – yikes!), I just couldn’t be bothered with something more complex to make (even though I have a TV in my kitchen. But I mean one wrong move when watching the game or the commercials and I could have lost a thumb!).

So congratulations, Saints, better luck next time Colts, and Betty White, you made me want to go out and buy a case of Snickers bars, you were so funny in that commercial. And to see Abe “I thought he was dead” Vigoda was priceless. (For those who don’t know, for years now, radio shows have been doing this “Dead/Not Dead” contest featuring celebrities and someone always assumes that poor Abe has died when in fact, he’s still going strong. Abe is best known for his role as “Fish” on the TV show Barney Miller). I’m going to have to track down a recipe for Snickers pie or something or maybe go the deep fried route like they do at the Minnesota State Fair where there are two food groups—things that are deep fried and things on a stick. We love us our sticks!

Boliche – Cuban Pot Roast – serves 6 to 8
6 links Spanish chorizo
3 to 4 pounds chuck or rump roast
7 cloves garlic, mashed
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
Flour
½ cup olive oil
1 (14 ½-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon oregano
4 medium potatoes, quartered
1 large onion, sliced
¼ cup green olives
1 cup water
½ cup red wine

Remove casings from the chorizo. Cut a slit in the beef and insert the chorizo and some of the garlic inside. Salt, pepper and lightly flour the roast; brown on all sides in a frying pan with the olive oil. Place all ingredients except the water and wine (including the roast and the oil you browned it in) in a large covered pot or Dutch oven with the potatoes, onion slices, and green olives on top.

Mix the water and the wine. Add just enough of this mixture to cover the bottom 2 inches of the pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer partially covered (leave your lid slightly ajar to let some of the steam escape) for approximately 3 to 4 hours. Check the roast occasionally and add the water/wine mixture as necessary. When the roast is fork-tender, remove it from the pot. Remove bay leaf and discard.

Arrange meat and potatoes on a large serving platter. Garnish the plate with the cooked onion slices and green olives. Slice beef at the table.