Entraña, mi favorita!

Today, as I left class and wandered into the technicolor sea of flowers, fruits, vegetables, meats and fish of my Parisian marché, I stopped at a butcher stand and my eyes caught sight of what I thought would not exist here...entraña! I had to rub my eyes a couple of times and verify with the butcher at once to make sure the meat I saw was what I thought it was. And it sure darn was! Entraña, or hanger steak, is my FAVORITE from the Argentinian parrillada, well, apart from chorizo. It is extremely flavorful, juicy, and tender when done right. In my eyes, it is sacrilege to have this well done, I will personally berate you (jk, but Karma is a sneaky sneaky thing). I use to have it on the medium well side when I was younger, but I learned better in the recent years. It is unnecessary to marinade or put a sauce on it, just salt and pepper. Even by itself! Or sliced thinly in a homemade pho...mmm. Possibilities endless!

Serves 2

500 grms     hanger steak (a nice piece each...pretty much!)
2     cups     chopped mushrooms
1     cup       chopped leeks
1/2  cup       chopped bell peppers
1/2  cup       chopped white onion
1     tsp        minced ginger
1/2  tsp        olive oil
2 splashes   low-sodium soy sauce
sprinkle       basil
sprinkle       oregano
2  large        potatoes
2     tsp        cream cheese
1     tsp        butter
to taste         salt, pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 400 F/205 C, place the rack towards the top and get some aluminum foil greased to place the meat on in the oven and hold the juices.
Saute pan

Add all of the above (except the steak, potatoes, cream cheese and butter) to the pan and saute 6-8 minutes or until the veggies are cooked through. Seal each potato in cling wrap, poke a couple of holes and cook in the microwave about 5-7 minutes depending on the size. While those are cooking, salt and pepper the steak and cook in the oven for 3-4 minutes on each side. When the potatoes are done, mash them with the cream cheese, butter, salt, and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!


Redacciones:
- For the gluten intolerant, use balsamic vinegar!
- Instead of cream cheese, use boursin ail et fins herbes/rondele
- Serve with garlic mash pots or if you want to be super Argentinian, serve it with chimichurri, a nice side of fries/rice, a mixed salad and a good ol' Malbec.

Picks for Thanksgiving

These are in case you need a last minute recipe to make before the big feast.

Appetizers/Side dishes:

My favorite Thanksgiving dish:

Wild Rice
Buy a box of wild rice mix with spiced, have about 3 cups of rice extra of parboiled rice, 1 large can of mushrooms, 2 tsp cooking oil, 1/2 stick of butter and salt to taste. Measure out how much rice is in the packet by cup in a measuring cup in order to find out how many cups of water you need.  Each cup of rice needs about 1 1/2-2 cups of water but for parboiled go with 1 1/2 cups of water for each cup of rice. Add the rice, spices, water, mushrooms, cooking oil and salt to a large sauce pan. Cook in high heat so the water starts boiling and when the water has boiled down so there's like pockets in the rice, or what I call "eyes," add about 1/2 stick of butter in slices on top, cover with a paper towel and the lid, and bring the temperature down to low-medium say #4. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, but keep checking the rice for when it is cooked through. Serve and enjoy :).

Recipes to check out online:
Check out my cornbread recipe blog post
Hot Artichoke-Spinach Dip
Goat Cheese Spread
Spinach and Gruyère Gratin
Grill some plums with shallots and ginger!
Easy Asparagus
Quick and Simple Broccoli and Cheese
Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Hazelnut Brown Butter
Pesto-Topped Grilled Summer Squash
Sautéed Mushrooms with Caramelized Shallots
Cornbread & Sausage Stuffing
Bacon Mashed Potatoes
Spiced Carrot Fries
Spicy Glazed Sweet Potatoes with Bacon
Pumpkin and Pecorino Gratin
Maple-Whipped Sweet Potatoes
Redacciones:
- Extra fast: instead of cooking in the oven, wrap each of the sweet potatoes in cling wrap (very sealed) and pierce the plastic with 3 small wholes (a knife or a couple of pokes with a fork or use microwave steaming bags for vegetables. With the cling wrap, place in the microwave and cook the potatoes for about 5 minutes, and check them until they are soft. Then scoop out the insides and discard the skin. Follow the rest of the recipe :).
Polenta
Redacciones:
- Add extra cheese and freshly sautées chanterelles, oyster, or even portabella mushrooms.
- Instead of regular salt, use it with truffle salt!
- Add chopped bell peppers, onions, shallots, carrots.
- Place it in a loaf pan, let it cool, then slice it and pan fry it! You can make all the shapes you want.


Main dish
Turkey
So, if you need something last minute for the turkey, this is what I used to do! Buy a turkey breast (like butterball), defrost it, early the morning, poke it with a knife and leave it marinating for about 1-2 hours.  Cook it in the microwave I believe each side (4) for about  35 minutes on low - the instructions are on the tag, and yes, it will come out with a nice golden crust. I've done this at least 3 times for Thanksgiving already and the turkey breast came out super juicy and flavorful. Add white wine, mustard, honey, thym, salt, pepper, paprika, ground ginger. curcuma as suggestions for spices. You can even make small slits with a knife and push in vegetables like carrots, green beans, olives, capers, even chipotle!

Pork loin
This was one of my favorite main dishes to make while I was in New Orleans. Along with the turkey breast, I would pick up a pre-marinated pork loin in the grocery store and a nice amount of fresh (REAL) crab meat. Follow the cooking instructions on the pork loin packet and when it's almost done, saute the crab meat with shallows, white wine, butter, and salt. Serve the pork loin sliced with the crab drizzled on top. The beauty of this combination is that the pork loin pieces then absorb the juices of the crab. The both times I've made it, not one complained.

For the vegetarians:
Wild Rice-Stuffed Squash
Redacciones:
- Try it with Pattypan squash!

Dessert:
Pecan Cheesecake Pie
The twist on pecan pie! One of my favorite Nola treats from Tee Eva's (5201 Magazine St. NoLa  70115) is amazing for Thanksgiving. This recipe is based on the Pecan Cheesecake Pie by Bake or Break. The recipe is in the link, so I will add my redacciones.

Redacciones:
- Switch the topping to a crumble with pecans and caramel/balsamic creme/dulce de leche/creme de marrons/peanut butter.
- Add an extra yolk for extra creamy cheesecake filling.
- Make the crust from scratch with cinnamon cookies and pecans.
- I'm going to go with is on a whim but add some caramelized bacon. Yes, I said it, BACON. Perhaps lardons..
- Instead of cheesecake filling, make it a custardy fresh pumpkin pie filling.

Pecan Pie
Pumpkin creme brulée
Salted Caramel Bread Pudding with Caramelized Apples

For those who absolutely need chocolate in their Thanksgiving:
Gooey Milk Chocolate, Coffee and Toffee Butter Cake
Check out my nutella cake recipe
Chocolate Bourbon Pie
Croissant and Chocolate Bread Pudding


Want to know how to make some Thanksgiving things? Here you go!
How to make pumpkin purée
Pie Crust by Bake or Break

Cocteaucotion: Incidentajine

My incidentajine came about one afternoon when I was craving some form of merguez as lamb meatballs and instead of couscous, eggplant a la fettucini by way of shredding long strands out with a knife - I was craving pasta. Enjoy!

1 med.    eggplant shredded
2             merguez cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup      cubed white onion
1 cup      cubed green bell peppers
2 cups     chopped mushrooms
a nice     splash of datte(date) vinegar
2-3 cups tomato sauce, nice and pulpy with sauce
to taste    lavender salt
to taste    black pepper
1/2 tsp    paprika
1/4 tsp    nutmeg
1/4 tsp    ras el hanout
2 tbs       olive oil


Medium sauce pan with boiling water and salt
Medium bowl (fitting the eggplant) with ice cold water
saute pan

Add to the saucepan the eggplant and boil for about 5 minutes  "al dente" consistency, depending on how thick the strands are.  Then add to the iced water, empty out the sauce pan and place it back on heat and saute for a bit in olive oil. Add the merguez onions, bell peppers, date vinegar, spices, and olive oil to the saute pan at medium-high heat and cook for about 5-7 minutes. Then add the tomato sauce and cook for another 5-7 minutes until the flavors are nicely incorporated. Serve on top of the eggplant fettucini and enjoy :).

Redacciones:
- use balsamic vinegar to caramelize the vegetables and merguez before adding the tomato sauce.
- use zucchini for the fettucini
- add fresh chopped ginger to the vegetables
- use ground lamb, bison, porc, even chorizo to substitute the merguez
- add fresh chopped chipotle with the vegetables
- Eat with a side of sliced bananas, and add cinnamon to the meatballs
- Instead of regular mushrooms, add chanterelles, oyster mushrooms

Cocteacoction: Banafoster

Single serving for the indulgent gourmandise :) great as a late night snack!

1               banana thick slices
1 tbs          butter
1 tsp          cinnamon powder
1 tsp          brown sugar
1 tsp          bourbon
2 tsp          unsweetened chocolate powder
2 tbs          thick creme fraiche

Melt the butter in a small saute pan at medium heat, add the bananas, cinnamon and brown sugar - mix in well. Once the bananas are a nice brown, bring the heat to medium-high and add the bourbon. Let it cook until the alcohol has evaporated. Meanwhile, mix the chocolate powder in a small cup with the creme fraiche until the mixture has no grains and is practically a mousse. Serve the "pudding" in a small bowl and top with the bananas foster.

Redacciones:
- Add nutmeg
- Use sugar loaf instead of sugar
- Mix nutella with the creme fraiche
- Substitute the creme fraiche for sour cream
- Substitute the banana for strawberries, peaches, plums,  or even blueberries.

Bailey's hot chocolate

Needed a break from work and this is what occurred :) Enjoy!

1 shot     bailey's Biscuit flavor! (as big or small as you choose..)
2 tbs        unsweetened chocolate powder (I used 1848)
2- 3 cups milk
1 tsp        powdered panela*/brown sugar
1 cup       boiled water*
sprinkle  cinnamon
sprinkle  nutmeg
Whipped cream

Heat up the milk and on the side slowly integrate the powdered chocolate with about a 1/4 cup of milk until it becomes a paste. Slowly mix into the heating milk and incorporate well. Sprinkle the cinnamon and nutmeg to taste. When the chocolate milk is a hotter than your preferred temperature, take off the stove, add to your mug the bailey's cream and add the chocolate milk. Top with whipped cream, cinnamon and nutmeg.

*only use the panela with the water together to dissolve the brown sugar loaf before heating the milk, If using brown sugar, add to the heating milk and no need for water, unless you want to dilute the chocolate a lil' more. Scrape the loaf with a knife and add to the soon to boil water.

Redacciones:
- use with orange truffle, hazelnut, or even regular Bailey's.
- Top with chocolate sprinkles
- Serve with biscotti or snickerdoodles
- add caramel! or even peanut butter to the hot chocolate milk