Ensalada De Nochebuena (Mexican Christmas Eve Salad)

Forgot the camera, so here's an iPhone pic of this yummy salad.

In many Latin American countries, the most festive Christmas celebrations occur on Nochebuena, or Christmas Eve (literally "Good Night").  Ensalada de Nochebuena is a traditional Mexican Christmas Eve salad.  It's a great mixture of colors, flavors, and textures for Christmas Eve or any festive meal.

For The Dressing:
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Mexican or Salvadorean crema (you can substitute sour cream if crema isn't available)
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Juice of one lime
3 teaspoons chili powder
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
Pinch of salt

Mix well, taste, and adjust seasonings to your taste.  This recipe will yield enough dressing to dress a Nochebuena salad and have some left over to dress another fruit salad.

For The Salad:
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (to taste)
1/4 cup roasted salted peanuts, chopped
Seeds of one pomegranate
Salad greens for presentation (optional)

And use any combination of the following ingredients, according to your taste:
2 tangerines or oranges, peeled, segmented, deseeded, and cut into bite-size pieces
1 medium jicama, peeled and julienned
20 oz. can of pineapple tidbits or chunks
2 bananas, sliced
2 medium-size cooked beets, peeled, cut in half, and sliced into "half moons"
2 small apples, cored and chopped
6-8 radishes, sliced thin

Toss together your choice of salad ingredients with the chopped cilantro.  Drizzle enough dressing onto salad to lightly coat and mix well.  If desired, line serving platter with salad greens.  Spoon salad onto platter.  Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and pomegranate seeds and serve.

Jonathon Erdeljac's Beer-and-Cheddar Soup

I'm anxious to visit Jonathon Erdeljac's new Oak Cliff restaurant, Jonathon's Oak Cliff.  In the meantime, I made his Beer-and-Cheddar Soup recipe, which has received the stamp of approval from my family.  My version of this soup doesn't make the prettiest picture, as I sacrificed vanity in favor of flavor and used my favorite Cabot extra sharp white cheddar instead of yellow cheddar.  I think this recipe has the perfect ratio of broth to cheese to beer, very savory, not cloyingly cheesy, no overpowering elements.  We try to limit our simple carbs, so we didn't serve the soup with the garlic-rubbed toasts as the recipe calls for, but that would certainly be a great textural addition.  And I didn't have a jalapeno handy, so I used a couple of pinches of cayenne pepper instead. 


Jonathon Erdeljac's Beer-and-Cheddar Soup

2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 celery rib, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Garlic-rubbed toasts, for serving
1 tablespoon chopped thyme
1 large jalapeño, seeded and chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
One 12-ounce bottle lager or pilsner
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 pound piece of slab bacon, sliced 1/3 inch thick and cut into 1/3-inch dice
About 2 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 pound sharp yellow cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded
4 ounces smoked cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded

1.  In a large saucepan, cook the bacon over moderate heat until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crisp, 7 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a bowl. Add the celery, onion, jalapeño, garlic and thyme to the saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, 8 minutes. Add half of the beer and cook until reduced by half, 5 minutes. Add 2 1/4 cups of chicken broth and bring to a simmer.

2.  In a small skillet, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Whisk this roux into the soup until incorporated and bring to a simmer.  Cook until thickened, about 8 minutes. Add the heavy cream, cheddar cheeses and the remaining beer and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick and creamy, about 5 minutes. Stir in the bacon and season with salt and pepper. Add a few tablespoons of broth if the soup is too thick. Serve the soup with garlic toasts.

Make Ahead:  The cheddar soup can be refrigerated overnight. Rewarm gently and thin with additional broth.

Pernil (Roasted Pork Shoulder) For Christmas Eve

Pernil is the centerpiece of the traditional Puerto Rican Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) meal.  It's a delicious alternative to turkey or ham.  Pernil takes a bit of planning and a long cooking time; however, it's easy to make and doesn't require much hands-on prep time and it's made with budget-friendly bone-in pork shoulder.  Be sure to cook more than you need for the holiday meal so you can make Cuban sandwiches later. 

Recipe For Pernil (Roasted Pork Shoulder)

8-10 lb. bone-in pork shoulder (you may also see the word picnic on the label)

For the marinade:
15 black peppercorns
18 cloves garlic, peeled
1 1/2 tablespoon dry oregano
4-5 tablespoons olive oil
4-5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt for each pound of meat
Optional:  I had some naranjas agrias (sour oranges), so I added some juice from them as well

Crush and mix the marinade ingredients in a pilon (mortar and pestle) or in a blender.  Allow the flavors to marry while you prepare the pork.

Lightly score the surface of the pork skin in a criss-cross pattern, as you would an Easter ham.

Using a very sharp knife, carefully separate the skin from the top of the pork shoulder, starting at the large end, peeling it back toward the small bony end of the shoulder, stopping before you completely separate the skin from the bony end.


Use your sharp knife to jab deep holes into the meat all over, turning the knife to make the holes larger.

Reserve a bit of marinade for the surface of the skin.  Rub the remainder of the marinade all over the pork, using your fingers to work it deep into the knife holes.  Carefully re-position the skin back into place and use butcher's twine to tie it securely.  Rub reserved marinade into the skin.

Place in ziptop bag.  Either double-bag or put a tray underneath in case of drips.  Refrigerate at least overnight and up to 2 days.


Perniles resting in the fridge, marinating for the big day.  We made two Perniles so there'd be plenty of leftovers for Cuban sandwiches ... yummy!

One hour before cooking, remove the pork from the refrigerator, remove it from the bags, place it on a rack in a roasting pan, skin side up, and cover with foil.  While pork is coming to room temperature, preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Place pork shoulder in oven and bake for 30 minutes per pound.  Increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees, remove the foil, and roast until the skin is brown and crispy, about an hour.  When done, the skin will literally sound crunchy if you tap it.  While roasting keep an eye on the Pernil to avoid burning the skin.

Although the USDA now says pork is safe if cooked to 145 degrees, this cut needs to be cooked low and slow to allow the fat to tenderize the meat and I recommend a finished internal temperature of 160 to 180 degrees.

Remove the Pernil from the oven and let it rest for 15 to 30 minutes, tented with foil.  Remove the butcher's twine and separate the skin from the meat.  Carve and shred the meat.  Cut/break the crunchy skin into bite-sized pieces.  Serve the meat on a platter with the crunchy skin on the side.

Homemade Dark Beer Mustard




This mustard is malty from the vinegar and beer, spicy from the horseradish, and with every bite the mustard seeds pop, flooding your mouth with their savory flavor.

1 cup malt vinegar
1 cup dark beer (a dark ale or stout works well)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup brown or black mustard seed, toasted in a skillet until very fragrant
1 tablespoon caraway seed, crushed and toasted in a skillet until very fragrant
2 tablespoons freshly grated horseradish
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
pinch cayenne pepper
pinch cardamom
pinch ground mace
pinch nutmeg
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
4 teaspoons Steen's Pure Cane Syrup
4 tablespoons Colman's mustard powder

This recipe will make about 3 cups of mustard.

Sterilize a canning jar and lid.

Bring the vinegar, beer, and garlic to a boil in a small saucepan. Turn off the heat and let steep for 15 to 20 minutes, then strain the mixture and discard the solids. Bring back to a boil, then add the mustard seeds and caraway, turn off the heat, and let steep for 30 minutes.

Combine the vinegar/mustard mixture with the horseradish, coriander, cayenne, cardamom, mace, nutmeg, salt, and cane syrup. Whisk in the mustard powder.

Pour into the sterilized jar, put the lid on, and process in a water bath for 15 minutes. When cool, tighten the lid and make sure the jar is sealed. Place in a cool, dark place and let mature for 3 to 4 weeks before using to allow the flavors to marry and mellow.

Refrigerate after opening.

Two Must-See Programs For Foodies (Especially Texas Foodies) Coming Soon

The new season of Next Iron Chef featuring two of my favorite chefs, Anne Burrell and Chuck Hughes, and an overall incredible cast of contestants, begins October 30th on Food Network.  Don't miss it!  Check out this link for more info:  http://eater.com/archives/2011/04/19/the-next-iron-chef-lineup-includes-anne-burrell-spike-mendelsohn-and-marcus-samuelsson.php

And as a Native Texan, I'm anxiously awaiting Top Chef Texas on Bravo, which premiers on November 2nd.  Check out this link for more info:  http://www.bravotv.com/blogs/the-dish/top-chef-is-bigger-in-texas

Don't forget to set your DVRs for these great food competition programs!

Puerto Rican Carne Mechada/Cuban Boliche Hybrid Recipe

All us good ole southern girls grew up with pot roast.  Here's a Latin twist on our down-home favorite.

Puerto Rican Carne Mechada and Cuban Boliche are variations on a theme of succulent stuffed beef eye of round roast, with a savory sauce, cooked either on the stovetop or in the oven until tender.  There are lots of recipes out there with varying ingredients and cooking methods.  The following recipe combines my favorite elements from each version and was inspired by a couple of recipes, namely Carne Mechada -- Puerto Rican Stuffed Pot Roast from the blog Platanos, Mangoes and Me, and Cuban Boliche from the blog CDKitchen.

This is so yummy.  Savoriness inside the roast, savoriness in the sauce, super yum.  The roast is tender because of the pre-salting and the slow braising, even though it's a totally affordable cut.  I hope you'll enjoy it.

Just a note:  I had intended to cube up some potatoes and add them to the Dutch oven during the last 30 minutes of cooking and just totally forgot (probably because we're so in the habit of limiting our intake of starchy carbs).  That would have been a really great addition, though, to soak up the yummy sauce, either that or a scoop of the fabulous white rice that Puerto Ricans and Cubanos are famous for.  This recipe absolutely screams for some potatoes or rice to sop up all the crazy good sauce.

Puerto Rican Carne Mechada/Cuban Boliche Hybrid Recipe


3-4 lb. beef eye round roast
Kosher salt
3.5 oz. package Goya (or your favorite brand) Spanish chorizo (divided use)
2 oz. manzanilla olives with pimientos (divided use)
1 head of garlic, separated into cloves (divided use)
1 packet of Goya sazon seasoning
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cubanelle peppers or 1 green bell pepper
1 medium onion
1 tablespoon dry oregano
4 bay leaves
1 cup red wine (I used Merlot, but I think the best option would be Chilean Carmenere if I hadn't finished off that bottle last week)
2 tablespoons capers
15 oz. can of tomato sauce
1 cup beef broth (I had homemade chicken broth so I used that instead)
1 bunch of cilantro

Rinse the roast and pat dry with paper towels.  Pierce a hole through the middle of the roast lengthwise.  I used a bread knife because it's really long and the blade is the same width along its entire length so it can make a nice even hole.  Rub the roast with a teaspoon of Kosher salt.  Rub the salt all over the outside and into the hole you just pierced as much as possible.  Let it sit at room temperature for about 2 hours.

While the roast is sitting and "salting," cut the chorizos into quarters lengthwise, peel away the casings, and slice the quarters.  Drain the olives.  Peel the garlic cloves and cut any large cloves in half.

Rinse the salt off the roast and pat dry with paper towels.  Time to stuff the roast with yumminess.  Starting with two chorizo pieces in each hand, insert them into the holes in the roast from each end until they meet in the middle, then insert a garlic clove or garlic clove half from each end, then an olive from each end.  Continue inserting two chorizo pieces from each end, followed by a garlic clove from each end, and an olive from each end until the cavity is filled.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Sprinkle the sazon all over the "stuffed" roast and rub it into the meat.  Let the stuffed, seasoned roast sit at room temp while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Dice the cubanelles or bell pepper and the onion.  Mince the leftover garlic cloves.  Cut the leftover olives in half.  Drain the capers.  Rough chop the cilantro.

Heat a Dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add olive oil.  Add roast and brown on all sides by cooking 2-4 minutes on each side, turning until it's browned all over.  Remove browned roast to a plate.  Reduce heat to medium low and allow the Dutch oven to cool until the oil isn't smoking.

When the olive oil in the Dutch oven has cooled a bit, add the leftover chorizo.  Cook and stir a couple of minutes.  Add the diced cubanelles or bell pepper and the diced onion, oregano, and bay leaves.  Cook, stirring frequently, until pepper and onion is opaque.  Add the leftover garlic and cook for a couple of minutes, allowing the moisture released by the veggies to cook off.

Add the red wine, stirring to deglaze the pan.  Add the leftover olives, the capers, tomato sauce, broth, and cilantro.  Bring to a simmer, then add the roast back into the pan.  Spoon the sauce over the roast.

Put the lid on the Dutch oven and put it in the oven to braise for 2 hours.

Remove roast, slice, and serve with lots of sauce.

Kisir (Turkish Bulgur Wheat Salad)




Kisir is a Turkish salad made with bulgur (cracked wheat).  I'd never heard of it until my husband's coworker from Turkey told him about it.  It's similar to Lebanese tabouli, but incorporates red pepper paste that gives it a nice tangy flavor and pretty color.  This recipe is an amalgamation of what I found when I Googled-searched Kisir recipes.  I can't tell you if it's authentic since I've never had it before, but it tastes really good.  And it's loaded with fiber and nutrients, always a bonus.


Turkish bulgur and red pepper paste.  Cool, huh?

Kisir Recipe

1 1/2 cup fine bulgur
water

6 green onions, white part and some of the green part sliced thin
2 Kirby cucumbers, seeded and diced
2 tomatoes, diced
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped mint
2 tablespoons chopped dill

3 tablespoons Turkish red pepper paste (there are mild and spicy versions; I used mild)
juice of 2 lemons
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
crushed red pepper to taste (omit if using spicy red pepper paste)
salt to taste

Put the bulgur in a medium-sized bowl.  Add enough simmering water to just cover; that will be roughly 1 1/2 cups water.  Let sit for 15 minutes to absorb the water.  While you're waiting for the water to absorb you can prepare the veggies and herbs.

In a large bowl, mix the onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley, mint, and dill.  Add the red pepper paste, lemon juice, olive oil, pomegranate molasses, crushed red pepper if using, and a few pinches of salt.  Mix well and let the veggie mixture sit for a few minutes for the salt to dissolve and the flavors to blend.  Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Pour the soaked bulgur into the veggie mixture, mix well, and serve.