"Biftek Encebollado" or Spanish Steak with Tostones

For some reason I have been feeling my Puerto Rican roots much more lately and it reflects in all that I cook. Recently I made my daughter Caitlyn's (the 21 year old) favorite dish that her Abuela would make for her every time she spent the night at her house, and it was called Biftek Encebollado, or as we renamed it for all of our non-Puerto Rican friends, Spanish Steak. It was so delicious! All of the familiar aromas just emanating from the stove. Garlic, onions, oregano, beef, and vinegar, can't you just smell it now? It makes all of our senses go wild! You may have to be Puerto Rican to relate, or not. You just have to love garlic and onions!! Since Caitlyn happened to be over the other day and we decided to make a dish for dinner to honor her Abuela. Every time we all get in the kitchen and try to recreate these recipes of old, it just feels like my mom or their Abuela is still with us. Of course she is with us! How could she not be with all of the wonderful memories, and the out of this world recipes she left us and the familiar aromas that take us back EVERY single time?! So I made the Spanish Steak, rice, and peas, and Caitlyn made all of the tostones. Auutmn just enjoyed the aromas and watching us put this all together. She also reminisced with us some of our favorite Abuela stories. We have so many!!

Now for the tostones, fried green plantains. What can be said about tostones? They are like a chip but thicker and so much more delicious. I have memories of visiting Puerto Rico when I was younger and going to restaurants and instead of a basket of bread on the table they would put a basket of tostones. Some times there would be a garlic sauce to dip it into, or a kind of Thousand Island type thing to dip them in. They were dee-lish all by themselves, but oh so fantstic with beans and soups. In case I had not mentioned before, my husband absolutely loves tostones. I think he was not sure he wanted in to our family and then he tasted the tostones and the plantanos maduros and he was hooked! I will have to say he prefers plantanos maduros (fried ripened plantains) more because he loves the sweetness, but he will NEVER turn down tostones. When he and I went to Cost Rica for our 10 year wedding anniversary we stayed at a nice hotel right on the beach near Jaco and they had this home style kitchen at the end of the hotel with a beautiful beach side convered terrace with tables. We were fortunate that they would make fresh Costa Rican (as well as their idea of American food) food for each meal. It was such a treat. One day we went into town and bought some plantains and Michael, my husband asked at the kitchen if they would show him how to make tostones or patacones (as they called them inCosta Rica. so they indulged him and he thought he was so special. It's so funny how many fond memories are surrounded by food.
In order to make this incredible dish you need sirloin steak, good quality olive oil, Spanish (yellow) onions, lots of garlic (1 head), oregano, and red wine vinegar. Don't forget the sal y pimiento (salt and pepper). Read below for the recipe but I can assure you, you will love the flavors. You then take this yummy steak, and serve it over rice, with steamed peas and as with many Puerto Rican dishes, you serve tostones on the side. It is a complete taste sensation for your palette and your tummy! Gracias mami por otra receta exquista! (Thank you mom for another exquisite recipe!)

Biftek Encebollado ~ Spanish Steak

1 ½ lb.’s Sirloin Steaks ¼ Cup Olive Oil
2 Onions 1 Tbsp. Red Wine Vinegar

1 head Garlic
Adobo (fresh garlic, salt, pepper, oregano)

Cut steaks into large strips. Make sure to trim off all of the fat. Tenderize the meat on both sides. Rub adobo onto both sides of the meat. Place the meat into a deep dish to marinate. Sprinkle the meat with red wine vinegar. Slice onions and place into the marinade with the meat. Pour enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a frying pan. Heat the oil on medium heat. Before placing the meat into the pan squeeze all of the liquid out back into the marinade dish. Brown the meat on both sides and then take it out of the pan and place on another dish. Begin to cook the onion slightly browning. Pour the remainder marinade liquid onto the onions and continue to cook on medium heat. When the onion is translucent, place the meat back into the pan. Turn the meat several times in the pan to make sure the meat is well saturated on both sides. Allow it to boil for a few minutes. Do not over cook as it will make the meat tough. Serve the steak over rice and a side dish of peas.

Tostones

2 green plantains
6 oz oil
salt to taste

- Peel plantains and cut them in cubes about one inch long. Dip them in salted water for a while.
- Drain and fry them in 6 oz of oil at moderate heat until light brown. Remove from oil and pound them with a tostonera.
- Dip them again in salted water. Drain and fry again at low heat until golden brown. Drain on absorbent paper and serve hot.

Garbanzos Guisados ~ Chick Pea Stew

I don't know why but recently I have been trying to replicate dishes that my mother would make. Garbanzos guisados or chick pea stew was one of my favorites, athough I got the distinct impression from my mom that she felt that this dish was not one of her best. Again, I am not sure why. Perhaps she thought it was a quick dish, as the garbanzos were canned and all she had to do was make the sofrito (garlic, onion, bell pepper, cilantro and oregano), a little diced ham, and some tomato sauce. It was considered a poor man's stew. But I loved it and so did all of my children as well as my husband. Now keep in mind my mother was a phenominal cook and so she had many dishes that we loved and tabbed this as one of our favorites. I think that since the 5th anniversary of my mother's death in February I felt that I needed to honor her some how. One of her greatest passions was cooking and so to serve these dishes to my husband and children would be a great honor. If nothing else it would serve to bring back the fond memories and delicious aromas of their childhood at their abuela's house. So we served the garbanzos guisados over white Jasmine rice. I will say I ran out of time to make the salad. Sorry Mom. but I did complete the meal with a new dessert. It was a recipe from Giada De Laurentiis that I converted to gluten-free. It is called the Double Choco-Raz Brownie (well that is my name for it anyway). It is a dark chocolate brownie with swirls of raspberry jam throughout, and once it is cooked you pour little spirals of melted white chocolate. I am not much of a brownie fan, but my husbnad and daughter absolutely loved it. Giada's recipe called for a boxed brownie mix, and I said yuck! So I got one of my gluten-free brownie recipes with a few additions. I changed the very little flour that the recipe had in it to 1 cup of coconut flour, and 1/4 cup of brown rice flour. The texture turned out great. Recipes soon to follow (once I figure out how to copy and post recipies on this blog).

Gluten Free Tempura and Chocolate Fondue Party with my Girlfriends

On Saturday, March 14th, 2009 I hosted our monthly gathering with my "girlfriends" that I graduated with from high school. We all graduated from St. Francis High School (an ALL girls high school) here in Sacramento in 1979. I know what you are thinking?! that was eons ago!! Well it was. But we are all going strong, and through thick and thin we are there for each other. So this month was my turn to host and usually we take turns either going out to eat or eating at one of our homes. With the economy so great I decided to do a tempura and chocolate fondue party. This way we would all share the burden of cost and it would still be less expensive than going out to eat at a restaurant.

Each of the gals brought a veggie, a meat and a fruit. I supplied the tempura batter, dipping sauce, homemade pound cake, raspberries, and drinks. It was yummy! This was the first time I had attempted doing a gluten free tempura party. I must say it was just as easy as a regular tempura party and just as delectable!

We had broccoli, asparagus, green beans, sweet potatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, and carrots. As far as meats we had pork, chicken, beef and shrimp. It was so dee-lish!! I took a regular tempura batter recipe and used the Featherlight Flour Mix from Bette Hagman that I use for an all purpose flour. I did not need any xanthan gum in this recipe as it rose perfectly well with the egg and the baking powder that was in it. Then my girl friend, Cathy gave me a recipe for "Suzie's Million Dollar Dipping Sauce". Once again I changed it up to be gluten free by using the wheat free tamari sauce instead of regular soy sauce. This sauce was easy to create and absolutely to die for.

I also made a fantastic cocktail from a recipe from the "Barefoot Contessa". It was Pom Fresh (100% Concentrated Pomegranate juice), the juice of 1 lime, the zest from 1 lime, sparkling water and champagne. Pour all of this over a bed of ice in a large pitcher. It is very colorful, tasty, and actually good for you. It can be made without the champagne with just the sparkling water for a great , refreshing non-alcoholic cocktail.

Now let's not forget the heavenly chocolate fondue! We had apples, raspberries, bananas, pineapple, and pound cake. All of our taste buds were popping!! It was absolutely scrumptious!

It did take a while to fry it all up, but it was definitely worth the wait. And while we waited we caught up with each other. Out of our group I am the only one on a gluten-free diet and my girl friends have been staunch supporters and very encouraging. I love that when they eat my gluten free connections that they cannot even tell that they are gluten free. They seem to enjoy their gluten free fare as the umms, and oh's, and wow this is delicious went around the table several times. It was so great to see my dear friends, to catch up on their lives, and to get the much needed monthly hug! Many thanks to my amazing "Girl Friends"!! Until next month at Mary's!!

Gluten Free Tea Party

On Sunday, March 1st, my 11 year old daughter, Autumn and I hosted a gluten free tea party. Gatherings such as these used to be such a challenge, but are not so much of a challenge any more.

Autumn is also has Celiac and has learned to love cooking and baking. When she was diagnosed, I did not want her to feel deprivation as I had put myself through and so went the search for gluten free baking classes. Thank God for my mentor and friend Amy Radbill who teaches Gluten Free Cooking and Baking Classes out at the Davis Food Co-op. She gave our life back to us by showing us that by going gluten free we could still bake and bake things that no one can tell are gluten free.

At our tea party we had two kinds of tea, served with homemade vanilla milk, and homemade biscuits with either a homemade cinnamon apple cream cheese spread, or a homemade strawberry butter. They were yummy. The biscuits were light and fluffy, and yet oh so buttery. Our next course was gluten free tea sandwiches with toasted brown rice triangles, and two different kinds of cream chees spreads. One had a little garlic, shallots, dill, chives, sea salt and pepper. the other cream cheese spread had sundried tomatoes, calamatta olives, parsley, chives, garlic, shallots, sea salt, and pepper. By the time we finished this course we had to wait at least a half hour before we could move on to the last course of mini desserts. For dessert we had chocolate dipped coconut cookies, lemon curd squares, and chocolate dipped strawberries. Oh my was it all delicious!! Unfortuantely I did not have enough room in my tummy to partake of each dessert. Neither did Nina Cathy, Autumn's godmother, so we sent her home with a nice little goodie box. Nina Cathy does not have Celiac but she enjoys eating our gluten free creations and always has such positive remarks. Our Gluten Free tea party was definitely a success!

Gluten Free Baking Classes

I have been trying for about a year to get a small Gluten Free Business underway, but in this economy it has been a bit hard. For my business I decided to combine my love for teaching (especially children), and my utter adoration of cooking, hence Gluten Free Baking Classes. So far I have taught classes at Whole Foods in Sacramento at Arden, and at Gluten Free Specialty, in downtown Sacramento. I know there is a need out there for the baking classes, but so far it has been a challenge to fill my classes. So I just keep plugging along. I can also do cooking and or baking classes in someones home, church, etc. All we need is a large enough kitchen. My prices are quite reasonable, and I give a great deal of one on one attention. So if you know of anyone in the Sacramento Area that is in need of Gluten Free Baking Classes please send them my way.


Gluten Free Baking Classes
Featured by Joann Mitchell of ¡Buen Provecho!

All About Wheat and Gluten Free Flours (Demonstration)
Sunday, March 1st
2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. $7
Eating gluten free is becoming more popular as people find they are sensitive or allergic to gluten, or have Celiac Disease. We’re also hearing about what gluten does to those with no apparent allergy. This class will introduce you to gluten free flours, their characteristics, which are better for baking, cooking, and more. A few gluten free items to sample included. Open to all ages. It is recommended (but not mandatory) you take this class as a pre-requisite for the other gluten free classes offered this month.

Gluten Free Quick Breads and Muffins (Demonstration)
Friday, March 6th
6:00 p.m. $25
Open to ages 18 and older.
Learn how to create great tasting gluten free items, including lots of tips on baking. Joann will demonstrate Cranberry Orange Muffins, Lemon Blueberry Quick Bread and Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake that doubles as a quick bread.

Gluten Free Pizza and Foccacia (Demonstration)
Saturday, March 21st
11:00 a.m. $25
And you thought not eating wheat and gluten meant giving up pizza? Think again! Learn how to make Italian Style Pizza, Pesto Cheese Pizza, Cheesy Bread Stix and Foccacia with Caramelized Onion, Pecans, Pears, and Feta in this class. Prior sign up required.

Gluten Free Cookies (Demonstration)
Saturday, March 28th
11:00 a.m. $25
Gluten free cookies taste great! Joann will show you how to make four different cookies with four different tastes from one recipe. Scrumptious!

Whole Foods Market4315 Arden Way Sacramento, CA 95864916.488.2800, voicemail 261Fax 916.488.2801CancellationsTo cancel a class please contact Customer Service at 916.488.2800. Seven days notice is appreciated, but a full refund will be credited if you cancel within 48 hours prior to the day of the class. Any cancellations left on the Salud! e-mail or faxed into the store will not be honored.Please sign up for classes early. Salud! has the right to cancel classes 24 to 48 hours prior to a class due to insufficient enrollment or instructor illness. Whole Foods will contact you by phone regarding the cancellation. You will receive a refund or Salud! Credit.

Questions?For more information please call Customer Service at 916.488.2800.

Gluten Free Flours Class

I taught a "Gluten Free Flours" class last night at Gluten Free Specialty. We had a nice turn out and everyone was very nice. I love to teach, but some how when I am teaching classes to adults I always start the class very uneasy. I guess in part it is due to the fact that I don't want to come off like I do not know anything, and yet I certainly do not want to come off like I am an expert or a know-it-all. I just love to share some of the things that I have had to learn by trial and error, in hopes of saving others from the very same experience. I really love imparting some of the historical information on the flours, what their nutritional values are, and what they are best used in. The best part of teaching is meeting new people, the ability to help even just one person, and that I always come out of my classes learning something new myself

Valentine's Day 2009

Valentine's Day was one of thos holidays that my Mother used to love. She would make a heart shaped meat loaf, make individual heartshaped, red jello with chopped up apples, and walnuts adn sometimes mini marshmellows, and then she would serve them with a dollop of whipped cream or cool whip. She would go all out in the kitchen. She was really cute that way. She really loved the holidays.

For our Valentine's gifts she would make sure to give each of the girls in our family (there were three of us) our individual favorites from See's candy(mine was always the walnut squares and the chocolate covered divinity) and our annual pair of taudry underwear decorated with hearts. To our Mom it was not nasty, sexy or even taudry; it was just funny! I even got a pair of white panties with red hearts all over it, with a nice, hard plactic heart zipper. Too cute!! She even continued the tradition with my daughters. It got to the point where they began to expect their panties decorated with hearts and a few special candies from See's. Not to mention, that she would give heart decorated boxers to my dad and my son Daniel. Fortunately for my husband Mike she would not delve into the underwear scene for him. He would receive his little allotment of candy.

So in Memory of my Mom each year instead of going out for dinner with my husband, or a more sensual meal like steaks, I make a heart shaped meatloaf for my husband and my girls. They absolutely love it!! We serve it with a red sauce over mashed potatoes, green beans, and of course salad. At my parent's home, a day did not go by (unless my mom or dad was sick) that they did not serve a salad with each dinner. Oddly enough everyone in our family always looked forward to that salad at dinner. I think it was her homemade salad dressing that was the clincher. So now this has become the tradition with my girls. No matter what their plans are on Valentine's Day they come to the house and partake of heart shaped meatloaf. We have added a new treat instead of jello though, we serve chocolate dipped strawberries that we all make together. I guess that is the best part of the meal is that each of us makes something for this meal. Mike and I are in charge of the meatloaf, Caitlyn is in charge of the mashed potatoes, and we all make the salad together, but Autumn is the main one in charge of dipping the strawberies in chocolate. And every year as we dine we talk about the funky panites that my mom (and my girls' abuela) would give us. We talk about the good times with her and some of our most embarassing moments courtesy of my Mom. It always makes us laugh and feel warm all over like she is right there with us.