Christmas Recipes and A Hint of Things to Come in the New Year
December 27, 2008 by Joan in Desserts, Family-Size Meals, Holidays, Nuevo Latino, Party Menus | 10 Comments
Here’s the recipes I promised. They’re so worth trying.
Picadillo Stuffing may not be the most photogenic…but it’s definitely the most tasty! While I’m surely not the first person to make this, I didn’t follow anyone’s recipe — so here’s what I did (to the best of my recollection).
Ingredients: 4 lbs. ground meat (I used beef and pork), 2 links of chorizo minced small, 1 lb. corn bread stuffing. (Yes, this is definitely a meat lover’s stuffing with that ratio), onions, garlic, green pepper (all finely diced), yellow raisins and prunes soaked in 1 cup of red wine, 2 small cans of Goya tomato sauce, stuffed olives, capers, cumin, oregano, Sazon (or adobo seasoning), S&P, splash of sherry vinegar, splash hot sauce.
Method: Made 1 day in advance. Saute onion, garlic, pepper. Add chorizo and tomato sauce to create a sofrito (base to build on). Add ground meat breaking it up as it cooks down. Add raisins, prunes & wine, dry seasonings and cook over medium heat. Taste. This is supposed to have lots of flavor. Continue to adjust seasonings until the taste is BOLD. Splash sherry vinegar and hot sauce to taste.
The next day I brought the meat to room temperature and then blended it with a bag of cornbread stuffing and a little chicken broth to moisten it. Baked covered for about 30 minutes and uncovered for an additional 15 to toast top.
Chimichurri Sauce: 1 bunch of Italian parsley, 1 bunch of cilantro, garlic, olive oil, red pepper flakes, S&P, juice of 1 lemon, and a splash of red wine vinegar blended to desired consistency.
Note: (1) Leftover chimichurri is great as a marinade or topping with any poultry or meat or as a base condiment for a casserole. (2) It also makes a delicious vinaigrette. I took some sauce thinned it out a little, added a little sugar (well, a packet of Splenda…one has to watch one’s calories. What a joke during the holidays!) It was a great dressing for the avocado salad.
Pumpkin Flan with Praline Brittle: The recipe for the pumpkin flan was not ‘original’, but it was perfectly executed by Jim. Click here for recipe.
COMING IN 2009
• I got a ‘light tent’ and some new plates for food photos for Christmas. I’m being forced into upping my game and I’m exploring some new food art opportunities.
• Announcement of new event coming January ’09. Hint: You’ll need a passport.
Note: Any recipes found on FOODalogue are offered as a guide to food pairings and techniques to be experimented with…in your own kitchen…to your own spice and taste levels…and to your preferred portion sizes.
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You have to show us that light tent Joan. I have been thinking of buying one as well. Looking forward to your new event. Your recipes all sound delicious.
I’m a lover of chimichurri sauce. Your blog is beautiful and filled with great ideas. Thanks for sharing and for visiting my blog.
Joan, the praline and that stuffing sound wonderful…chorizo makes everything good!
I think I too will finally splurge on some photo props to improve lighting.
ive never made my picadillo with stuffing. must be interesting. other than that, most of the recipe is similar. love the look of the flan! wow! I’ll have to check out where it came from!
Hope you had a great Christmas and that your New Year will be joyous!
Joan,
I have never come across such an interesting stuffing. It looks excellent and so does the pumpkin flan. I look forward to seeing your new pictures for 2009. Happy New Year!
Thanks for sharing, very inspiring!
Happy New Year!
The Picadillo stuffing might taste more “Cuban” if it had old cubed Cuban or french bread instead of corn stuffing, and just the combination of olive,caper, and raisins without the prunes.
Mmmm…. and used to stuff a turkey seasoned with lots of bitter orange, salt, and garlic. YUM!
I agree with Peter nothing can be bad that has chorizo in it.
It sounds amazing and who cares what it looks like.
That picadillo stuffing sounds delicious! It has so many delicious flavors; it’s something that I haven’t tried but need to very soon!
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show trackbacks[...] a popular dish in Puerto Rican kitchens. There, the vegetable is boiled, halved, stuffed with picadillo*, covered with cheese and some condensed milk and baked in the oven.But you know me…I like to [...]