Dominican Republic- Plantain Tostones

Dominican Republic- Traditional colorful Rice

To you from Amy: It is from www.dominicancooking.com with my own adaptations.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups of rice
• 2 cups of boiled green pigeon peas or 3 cans
  
• 2 cups of coconut milk
• 4 cups water
• 5 tablespoons of oil
• 4 teaspoons of tomato paste
• 1/4 cup of chopped green bell peppers
• 1 chopped jalepeno
  
• 1 pinch of oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon mashed garlic
• 1/8 cup of capers
• 1/4 cup of chopped celery
• 1 teaspoon of finely chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon of finely chopped coriander/cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon of thyme leaves
• 1 cube of chicken bouillon
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 cup of pitted green olives cut into halves
• 1/2 tsp celery salt
  

Preparation:

1. Heat 3 spoons of oil in an iron pot and add the herbs, olives, peppers, celery, garlic, spices and the salt. Stir while adding the tomato paste. Add the peas, also while stirring, then add the chicken stock. Once well heated, add the remaining water and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Add the rice uncooked rice and stir regularly to avoid excessive sticking.
2. When all the water has evaporated cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer on very low heat. Wait 15 minutes, uncover, stir, and add the remaining oil. Cover again and wait another 5 minutes. The rice should be firm but tender inside. If necessary, cover and leave another 5 minutes on very low heat. Don't stir too much, or it will become all mushy. Season to taste.

Dominican Republic- Banana leaf baked Tilapia with Spicy stuffing

Baked Tilapia (or Snapper or Halibut) : serves 4

I doubled the recipe for the stuffing to serve 8. Take that into consideration, but be sure to have atleast 8 tilapia fillets (1 per person), thawed (if previously frozen), with lime juice squeezed over them (juice of 1 lime or about 1 T)

Stuffing:

• 5 T butter
• 2 strips bacon, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 white onion, finely chopped
• 4 green onions, finely chopped
• 2 sprigs fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 green pepper, seeded, finely chopped
• 1 Scotch bonnet (or ANY hot pepper-- I used a mix of hot banana, jalapeno, and habanero) pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 tomato, cubed
• ½ t dried thyme
• ½ t dried marjoram
• 1 t salt
• 1 t freshly ground black pepper
• ½ C bread crumbs
• ¼ C pineapple juice with 1 teaspoon rum extract in it
• 1 large banana leaf (add to appearance and flavor-- can be purchased REALLY cheaply at your local Latin Mercado) or aluminum foil

Garnish:

• Tomato slices,
• Orange slices
• Sprigs of parsley

1. Rinse fish and pat dry inside and out. Squeeze lime juice all over and cover. Refrigerate til ready for use.

2. Saute bacon in ¼ C butter about 4 minutes. Add ingredients through hot peppers, sauté til tender, stirring occasionally.

3. Add tomato, herbs, wine, bread crumbs and stir to combine thoroughly. Simmer, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute. Add pineapple juice/rum extract, stir, simmer another few minutes. Remove stuffing from stove and let cool.

4. preheat oven to 375 F

5. Place fish on top of banana leaf or foil. Stuff with filling and dot top with remaingin T of butter (alternatively, can just spray with butter flavored cooking spray). Fold over leaf or foil to seal the fish and bake 1 hour.

6. Transfer to serving platter along with leaf (discard foil) and garnish platter with whole sprigs surrounding fish and slices on top.

Dominican Republic- Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

Tuscan Navy Bean Soup

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 T olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 14-oz or 15-oz cans Navy beans, drained and rinsed.
• 1 14-oz can petite diced tomatoes
• 1 32-oz chicken broth
• 2 T dried oregano (do not be tempted to skimp on these herbs. Yes, there is a lot in there. That is what makes the soup Tuscan.)
  
• 2 T dried basil
• dash pepper
• pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• parmesan cheese, grated

1. In large stock pot, add olive oil and onion. Cook 4-5 minutes.
   
2. add all ingredients. Cook med-low 30 minutes.
3. Blend/puree in blender or food processor. (hint: work in portions, using another bowl to hold the already processed soup. If you try to do it all at once, you get a huge mess.)
4. Return to pot. Heat and serve.
5. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
   

Enjoy!!!

Ground lamb (or in this case elk) and feta Fatayer

This small Lebanese pastry is often stuffed with spinach, but almost anything can be used. One suggestion is fresh mackerel or red snapper. A suggested accompaniment is yogurt flavored with mint or sumac (which is a lemon-tasting red berry, dried and ground). I think they are also delicious hot and all on their own! The original recipe is from The World in Bite Size: Tapas, Mezze, and Other Tasty Morsels by Paul Gayler, but I altered a few things. Great source for international hor deurves, if you are ever looking.

• 4 T virgin olive oil
• 1 small eggplant, cut into 1/4 in cubes
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 t ground cumin
• sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 ripe firm tomatoes, cut into small cubes
• 1/3 C cooked spinach, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/2 t sumac (or use lemon juice if you don't want to buy exotic sumac)
• 2 T pine nuts
• 12 oz pie dough (You can save time and just buy this in the frozen foods section, or make your own for a fraction of the cost. I like the Crisco recipe.)
• a little beaten egg
• 3-5 oz package of feta cheese
• 1/2- 1 lb burger, browned on the stove.

1. preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
   
2. heat 3 T of oil in a large frying pan, add eggplant cubes and fry 8-10 min until golden. Add onion and cumin and cook for another 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a bowl and let cool.
   
3. brown burger, if you haven't done it already. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.
   
4. Heat the remaining oil in the pan and add the tomatoes, spinach, garlic, sumac (or lemon juice), and pine nuts. Cook until almost dry in texture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
   
5. Roll out the dough to 1/8 in thick and cut out 12 3-inch circles with a cookie cutter or glass. (I found that I could get more than 12 out of my dough. More power to ya. There is plenty of filling to go round, I promise. You could probably even fill 24 of these guys without having to double the filling ingredients, I think.) Brush the edges with beaten egg.
   
6. Place a heaped spoonful of eggplant mixture, then a spoonful of the spinach/tomato mixture, then a spoonful of meat, and a small amount of feta cheese in each one, working 1 at a time. Roll up the stuffed pastry, seal, then gently twist and press each end using your thumb and index finger. (I found they are easiest to fold and seal if you don't overfill them. Be especially light on the "wet" ingredients like the spinach/tomato mixture and the cheese).
   
7. Place the pies on a greased baking sheet and brush the exterior surfaces with more beaten egg. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden.
   

Enjoy!!!!

Lebanese Orange Cookies

What you will need:

1/3 c. cooking oil
1/2 c. butter, softened
1/3 c. sugar
1 tbsp. orange juice
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. sugar
1/3 c. honey
1/3 c. finely chopped walnuts (didn't use because Scottie is allergic)

In mixer bowl, beat cooking oil into butter until blended, beat in sugar. Add orange juice, baking powder and baking soda, mix well. Add flour, a little at a time, to make a soft dough. Shape dough into 2-inch ovals and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden. Cool pastries on rack.

(I did 20 Minutes, you want them a little hard so they aren't too soft when you dip them in the honey)

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the 3/4 cup sugar, honey and 1/2 cup water, bring to a boil, boil gently, uncovered for 5 minutes. Dip cooled pastries into the warm syrup. Sprinkle immediately with nuts. Dry on wire rack. Makes 2 1/2 to 3 dozen cookies.
- recipe from Cooks.com


Enjoy, and see you all on the 22nd of November at my house for ITALIAN NIGHT! -Angie