Wordless Wednesday
Because the best part of baking is licking the beaters. Or the spoon. Or the spatula. Or the bowl….
I know that wasn’t completely wordless but I could not help myself.
ShareLatin Flair – Tostones (Double Fried Green Plantains)
Even though I was born and raised in New York City, my heart belongs to the Dominican Republic. So today, Dominican Independence Day, I wanna send a HUGE shout-out to all of my Dominican Brothers and Sisters. As a first generation Dominican child, I was less than proud. We ate weird foods and didn’t speak English. The part of the country where my family was from didn’t not have indoor plumbing or steady electricity. And despite being on an island in the Caribbean, we were a long way from the beach.
My maternal grandparents house where I spent many summer vacations as a child.
As I got older, I saw things in a different light. Our weird foods made us special. Not many people in the world understand the joy of eating morcilla (blood sausage) or pigs feet. (I know it sounds less than appetizing, but trust me, few things are more delicious.) Not having indoor plumbing meant we bathed “al fresco”. And not only have I gathered water from a well, but have witnessed one being dug from scratch.
My paternal grandparents house where I stay now when I visit.
The Dominican Republic is known by most as the birth place of stellar baseball players and the home of some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. But there is so much more! And to celebrate it’s independence, today I bring you a side dish made from it’s National Food – Platanos (Plantains). Read more
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
This is my favorite cookie and favorite frosting in cake form! And can you believe it is in the breakfast section of the awesome book Baked Explorations. At first, I thought having this cake with cream cheese frosting for breakfast was a bit of a stretch. But I guess the oatmeal counts for something, huh.
Breakfast, lunch, or dinner - enjoy it any way you like but make sure to enjoy it. Read more
Latin Flair – Cajeta (Mexican Caramel)
Who would have thought that milk, sugar, vanilla bean and a dash of salt and baking soda could come together into something so luscious and sinfully delicious. No work needed, just dump the ingredients in a pot and let it go for about an hour. You can’t stray too far from it though. Like you can’t distract yourself playing with your new red lipstick or browse the net for a new purse or have a Sunday dance party with your dog.
Instead get it started and take the next hour to clean out your kitchen. By clean your kitchen I mean get rid of those impulse cereal purchases that seemed like a good idea but tasted like cardboard when you finally opened the box. Or get rid of that left over chicken that you didn’t remember was there because you had it like a month before.
So hang in the kitchen and give the pot a stir every so often. It’s going to look like nothing is happening for most of the time. Until the mixture starts to change color. By that point, keep more of an eye on it and stir it more often. And before you know it, you will have in front of you the most delicious, thick, rich sauce and a dilemma – you will want to pour it on everything. Read more
Coconut Bread
There has been a new addition to my kitchen. No it’s not new oven mitts to replace the ones I currently have that are quite burnt, dirty and torn. No it’s not ladle so that I stop pouring soups and batter with a measuring cup. And no it’s not the cookbook holder that would keep me from having to maneuver through books with dirty hands and keep the pages clean.
It’s a hammer! Yes – a hammer. It’s the hammer that caused me to almost crush my pinky finger this past weekend. Well, it actually wasn’t the hammer’s fault. You see, I was trying to show off in front of my father-in-law and show him how I had turned into a coconut cracking expert. Being the gentleman that he is he of course offered to help but being the stubborn lady that I am I just had to do it myself. Then I had to act as if nothing happen when my my hand slipped, stuff fell into the sink and I temporarily lost sensitivity on the tip on my pinky. (He doesn’t read the blog…so don’t tell him.)
My pinky is fine! And this coconut bread was well worth the pain. Read more
Thank You
I know we all focus on love today. But before the day is over, I actually want to tell the person I love most – THANK YOU. Thanks for working so hard to make me happy and keep us together. Thanks for letting me be me. Thanks for being my biggest fan.
Remember these words the next time you call me while I’m at work in the middle of the day to ask me where (insert random thing you should not have left laying around while I was trying to clean) is. It’s in the “Eliana Was Cleaning Vortex” and who knows when it will resurface.
Te quiero muchisimo.
Cornmeal Lime Cookies
I’m recovering from some baking fails over the last week as well as some occupational hazards. Yes, food blogging can be quite hazardous to your health…or at least your hands and arms. I wear my kitchen injuries like a badge of honor but the latest was the worst ever. What can be worst than burning your arm with a screaming hot cast iron pan that just came out of the oven? Well, smashing your pinky finger with a hammer. Yes…a hammer. Why I was using a hammer in my kitchen you’ll find out later this week. For right now, I bring you these cookies – the only treat you will ever need to recover from just about any injury. And just the thing I needed to nurse my pinky finger back to health. Read more
Chocolate Bread Pudding
I know you guys want chocolate but I just wanted to remind you all of this awesome giveaway – The great folks over at CSN have offered to give one of my readers a gift certificate for $55 to put towards the purchase of anything in their online stores. Have you heard of them? Well, they sell just about anything AND the kitchen sink. From modern bedding to shoes to kitchen essentials (of course), there isn’t anything you won’t find on one of CSN’s 200+ websites.
Click here to find out how you can enter.
Now on to chocolate! Forget Valentine’s Day. Any day is as good a day to make this wonderful dessert. Proceed with caution though as copious amounts of challah may be consumed in the process of making it and never make it into the baking dish. (Not that that happened to me…I’m just sayin…be careful.) And you may feel an impulse to drink the chocolate custard before pouring on top of the bread. (Not that I for a second thought that…cuz remember…I’m a vanilla girl through and through.) Read more
Caramelized Onion and Radicchio Quiche (and a Giveaway)
The perfect lazy Sunday at my place starts on Saturday night. With the fixings for a homemade pie crust. Mix them up. Roll the dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic. Stick in the fridge. And hit the sack.
Fast forward to Sunday morning. 8am. (While the husband is still…um…sleeping) Wake up. Stumble into the kitchen. Take the dough out of the fridge and prepare yourself for quiche. You all know my (and my husband’s) favorite filling – turkey bacon and cheddar. Much to my husband’s dismay, I recently decided to try something different – a vegetarian quiche with caramelized red onions and radicchio from Melissa Clark’s newest cookbook – In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite. Read more
