While I don’t eat cod fish salad often, I always enjoy it when I do…and this week I had a hankering. I like the Italian version with oil-cured olives and tomatoes — and I equally like the Puerto Rican version with avocado and lime juice.
It didn’t take a brainstorm to come up with the idea to combine my favorite elements of each. They certainly are complementary. Two traditional ingredients to the Puerto Rican version that I forgot are hard-boiled eggs and pimentos so we’ll call them optional. 
I love using familiar ingredients in unfamiliar ways. All of the ingredients in this dish are familiar to the FOODalogue kitchen but they’ve never appeared together this way before. The idea came to me as I looked at the lone plantain (soon to turn ripe) in my vegetable bowl. Then I remembered the leftover rotisserie chicken in the fridge. The wheels started turning, the cabinet doors were flung open and I started pulling out the rest of the ingredients. Continue Reading
This one is so simple! And quick. It involves 2 products and little-to-no cooking. Spaghetti Squash is an interesting vegetable, especially when you pair it with something tasty like black beans. You can roast it in the oven or – equally satisfying and quicker – microwave it as I did this time. It takes less than 10 minutes and during that time you can open the can of beans.
You know how basil, tomatoes and garlic are like the holy trinity of Italian cooking? Another combo I love is chipolte, lime juice and honey. It is definitely my ‘go to’ dressing when I’m doing something with a Mexican or Southwestern flair. And once I get started with that combo, invariably one of the finishing touches I employ is toasted pumpkin seeds. They just all seem to compliment each other so well.
This dish, like many in the FOODalogue kitchen, began with leftovers! Continue Reading
Quinoa has been an important food in the South American Andes for 6,000 years. It’s only in the last decade or so that it has penetrated the American consciousness. It’s a grass-like grain grown primarily for its edible seeds. Quinoa is reputed to contain a balanced set of amino acids, making it an unusually complete protein as well as a good source of dietary fiber. It is also gluten free and high in iron, magnesium — and a better nutritional choice than rice or pasta.
It was time to experiment with it in the FOODalogue kitchen…so I made a Quinoa Paella. Continue Reading
The guests ‘may’ be sober, but the bird is definitely juiced! It arrives with a few cups of tequila and Grand Marnier in its belly.
Yellow rice and black beans are yummy in the tummy…but try adding plantain salsa made with a citrus vinaigrette for a new and brighter taste. It’s rice, beans and sweet plantains with an updated twist — and the fact is it was born out of leftover plantains made the traditional way.
It’s also good with grilled chicken, pork chops, over fried fish, in a ceviche, and alongside a grilled steak that has been drizzled with chimichurri sauce. Oh hell…just grab a tortilla chip and dig in! Continue Reading
Chayote (also known as sayote, chow-chow, mirliton, vegetable pear) is a gourd and a member of the melon, cucumber, squash family. Costa Rica is the major producer of this vegetable and exports it worldwide. Like its relatives, chayote is a light and watery fruit/vegetable(?).
I am most familiar with Chayote Relleno, 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. Continue Reading
Top Round Steak Stuffed with Boniato Mash on a Black Bean Purée
OK, now the surprise is out of the bag. It’s a pork meatball with a surprise chorizo filling served with Mojo Rojo (piquillo pepper sauce).
Ingredients/Recipe for the Meatball
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