Chicken basics....

Why do I call this chicken basics????
Chicken, onions, celery, & carrots simply marry harmoniously!!!! In addition to this they are must have basics for your fridge...to this delight I added paprika, bay leaf, marjoram, orange zest, lemon, oregano, and rosemary than braised it slowly in champagne.  Boil up some penne and toss with parmigiano reggiano and you got yourself a weeknight comfort food dinner!!!

Pierna Asada

This is a new twist for me as most of my post are traditional foods that I grew up with. This pork leg however is a traditional dish found in Cuban homes.... why is it going to be a tradition in my home you ask??? Well I adopted a delicious Cuban little baby last year and will always do my best to introduce his culture in our home making it our tradition too!!! I am not going to lie I have searched a ton of recipes and this was not my first attempt but it was certainly my first success because what is important about making the pierna asada is getting the delicious crispy and golden!!! I found this recipe online by an old little lady showing her work on you tube.. pekiskitchen. All she used was salt!!!!

NEW YEARS 2012

For the last 7 years my husband and I have a tradition of celebrating New Years by ourselves with brand new pajamas. It's quite exciting as we make a fancy dinner that includes indulgence of our palatte! We serve Prosecco, Champagne, Caviar, smoked salmon, etc..... What I would like to really talk about is the pasta I have been doing for the last 7 years. My local market is Fresh Market and every year they sell little pastas's that are called Sachetti (little bags). They look like small little money bag filled with mozzarella, asiago, ricotta, a parmeggiano cheeses. I serve it with extreme richness of black truffles, chantarelles mushrooms and creme fraiches, and a generous amounts of parmeggiano reggiano. When I say its heaven in your mouth I literally mean it. The chanterelles melt in your mouth along with the black truffles!!! After this we never get to the next course which is a protein of some sort, this year I made filet mignon but I made it for New years day dinner as again we never get the the next course after eating richness of the Sachetti pasta =)

Christmas in my home

I grew in in a home with many cultures, Panamanian, Italian, and Chinese. For Christmas, however, we tend to lean toward the Italian traditions yet without forgetting where the other dominant side is from, Panama.

For Christmas we serve a variety of seafood and it is a feast of many courses that last all night. Sometimes depending how many we are we do not get to finish what is on the menu. We do not serve everything all at once as we cook it as we eat it. Some of the traditions are bacalao salad (salted dried cod fish), insalata rinforze, which is a cauliflower, pickled red peppers, carrots and anchovies salad. Another salad is an octopus salad that we make. Traditionally, the typical Italian Christmas involves 7 fishes. Depending on the household you will find a little more or a little less. What you will usually find is spaghetti with clams!!! In Naples, Italy you will always find eels on the menu too. Not easy to find in south Florida I found some beautiful Bronzino fish. My menu this year did involve 7 pieces of seafood yet we only got to 5 of them but ate the rest within the next few days =) Two more things that you would always find in my mothers house along with the seafood is a beautiful ham and delicious Panamanian tamales!!! Although we make the ham Christmas Eve and show it, our household tradition is to eat it the next day with Crackers, cafe con leche (coffee w/ milk), and some panettone! I love Christmas and our Christmas feast but most of all I take pride in doing Christmas the way my mother taught me.

Thanksgiving 2011

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because I from first hand experience have seen this holiday how it brings together everyone from every culture. I love how everyone seems to adapt to this wonderful day of thanks. This is also a holiday I kind of like keep the food traditional, as I cannot seem to think of celebrating Thanksgiving without a turkey. In my home, we always have a delicious turkey, mashed potatoes made with butter, evaporated milk, and cream cheese. A vegetable of some sort should also be included, this year I created a savory tart with duck fat Brussels sprouts. The stuffing is one of those things that I like to play around with and be a little creative, this year I did a cornbread stuffing with French chestnuts, cherries, andouille sausage, and lots sage! AHHH and the cranberry sauce! So easy to make and I have heard so many different recipes for this tart delight I even heard of someone making it with rum! I made my cranberry sauce with blood orange juice, cranberries, and sugar, nothing fancy just refreshing. Of course let’s not forget desserts! Every year I usually make a panna cotta with figs that have been macerating in vin santo which is an Italian dessert wine, this year however, I made a bourbon candied orange pecan pie that sounded quite intriguing as I was glancing through the Epicurious website. I also made a vanilla ice cream and an orange and bourbon glaze to marry them both together! AMAZING!!!!!

Last, but not least, I couldn’t forget to make a Thanksgiving cocktail! I created a delicious apple cider martini! Cozy and refreshing…

The holidays in my home have always been special! My mother always made a huge event of all of them and the linens and décor were always spectacular. This year I got a beautiful orange red tablecloth and found some old orange linen napkins and I went to the crafts store to get some raffia ribbons in red, orange and brown along with some glittery orange leaves. The colors in the table looked so vibrant and so warm that it felt like it was a cool fall day in my dining room in Miami!!! =) The point is, dress up your Holidays and find inspiration where you can! This Thanksgiving was just my husband and I but my mother taught to always make it special even if it just two of you! 

Rib-Eye & Gorgonzola Mashed Potatoes!

Every morning I sit on my balcony to drink my coffee and I get so much inspiration from my beautiful rosemary  plant. I absolutely love rosemary but when I think of cooking with it I can't help but to feel it belongs with something hearty! Nothing pleases my husband more than a good steak not just any but a rib-eye steak!! the simplicity in the marinade is to just slather olive oil, salt, garlic, and some beautiful rosemary sprigs. His second favorite things is Gorgonzola cheese in which you can put in a salad but why waste beautiful juices from the rib-eye in a salad when you can make a rich creamy mashed red potatoes with a Gorgonzola cheese overload!!! A must of course to finish this enticing plate of flavor is a beautiful robust bottle of Bordeaux! Cheers!!!

Cornished Hens with Duck Fat Potatoes and Brussel Sprouts

These little hens are as tasty as thanksgiving turkey yet cooks in just about an hour!! I love making cornished hens and there are a variety of ways to cook them!!! For me however what marries quite perfectly is rosemary, garlic, and some citrus. For this recipe I stuffed the cornished hen with key limes that I found at my local market.  The juices that flow from them while being cooked with white wine, carrots, and celery has to be served with delicious duck fat potatoes!!! My inspiration when making cornished hens is almost like a mini thanksgiving dinner for two!!! Along with the little hens and duck fat potatoes i served brussels sprouts cooked with pancetta (Italian bacon) and balsamic vinegar!!!