Copy and Taste

Video

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 22:05:27 -0400

Lentils with Powdered Beef

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 22:01:29 -0400

As prepared by our friend Rosita and her staff:

Ingredients:

Beef:

Beef round
Green onions
Tomatoes
Garlic
Soy sauce
Salt
Secret seasoning (paprika, cumin, garlic powder, onion, indian spice)

Lentils / Guiso:

Green lentils
Green onions
Tomatoes
Garlic
Secret seasoning
Chicken bouillon
Ketchup
Vegetable oil
White vinegar
Rice

Directions:

Beef:

Slice the beef into large strips.
Marinate beef in mixture of tomato, green onion, garlic, soy sauce, salt, and seasoning. Reserve quarter of marinade for use later.
Sear meat in butter then add water to cover. Cook until tender (approximately 45 minutes in pressure cooker and 2-3 hours in oven)

Lentils:

Soak and wash lentils.
Put in a large pot and cover with water and salt.
Boil, cover, and cook about 20 minutes.

Guiso:

Shred tomatoes. Discard skin leaving the juice and pulp.
Dice green onions and mince garlic.
In a saucepan add vegetable oil, green onion, garlic, secret seasoning and saute until tender.
Add bouillon cubes and tomato. Add a little ketchup, and mix together.
Add the guiso to lentils and bring to a boil.

General:

When the beef is tender take it out of the liquid and let it cool.
Shred beef by hand and then put it into a food processor.
Using the reserved marinate, saute with oil in pan and add white vinegar. Add beef.
Serve with rice on the bottom, a layer of lentils, and beef on top.

Hindsight:

Cooking this dish is easy with a kitchen staff! Best served buffet style, with a side of patacones.

Summary:

A typical Colombian dish, tasty at any time of the day as a snack or full meal.

Lentils with beef

Mon, 13 Aug 2007 21:50:52 -0400

Lentils with beef

In celebration of a ten-day trip we’re taking to Colombia...

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 01:15:37 -0400

In celebration of a ten-day trip we’re taking to Colombia with our friend Paul and his family in Bogotá, we prepared 4 authentic dishes with the help of Patricia McCausland-Gallo’s book Secrets of Colombian Cooking.

While selecting recipes, we picked a few that required prep times of 3 hours or more, and when we asked Paul if this would take up too much of the night to cook, he said, “You have to learn to eat like Colombians do … Late and long.” Indeed, the meal took 6 hours from start to finish. A new Copy and Taste record.

We leave tomorrow to taste the real thing, and what a superb feeling to know we’ve earned it!

Photo

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 01:12:30 -0400

Yuca Frita y Patacones

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 01:07:52 -0400

Yuca Frita:
6 to 8 Servings

Ingredients:

1 pound peeled yuca
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups oil for frying
Salt, for serving

Directions:

Cut yuca lengthwise into quarters. Cut each piece of yuca lengthwise into 1/2-inch sticks, or into 1/4-inch sticks if you like more toasted, crispier sticks.
Place the yuca in a medium pot with 6 cups of water. Cover, bring to a boil and cook until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well and dry with paper towels.
Pour the oil into a deep, medium, heavy pot, and place over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot (325 F), add the yuca sticks and deep fry for 5 to 7 minutes or until lightly golden on all sides.
Remove the pieces with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
Sprinkle with salt and serve.

Patacones:
6 to 8 Servings

Ingredients:

2 plantains
2 cups oil
Salt, for serving

Directions:

Cut the ends off the plantains and peel. Cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks.
Pour the oil into a deep, medium, heavy pot, and place over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the plantain pieces a few at a time, and fry 6 to 8 minutes. (If the oil doesn’t cover the pieces, fry for 4 minutes, turn and leave 4 more minutes). Remove the plantains from the oil with a slotted spoon.
Put the plantains on a work surface. With a heavy pot, press well on the pieces on plantain until they become thin and even.
Return the plantains to the oil and fry for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Remove them with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
Sprinkle with salt and serve with lime wedges.

Hindsight:

While we thought these turned out a-mazing, Paul shares this tip from
his Grandmother: It’s important to have a high temperature contrast between the oil and the food you’re frying. Freezing the plaintains and yuca before cooking in the oil results in a crunchy outside and a soft, tender inside.

Although, we enjoyed the yuca fries as a snack while cooking, they would have been best served along with the sobrebarriga.

Summary:

Courtney says, “Hells yes!” This is her favorite thing we have made thus far.

Patacones

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 01:00:43 -0400

Patacones

Arroz con Lentejas y Coco

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 00:57:07 -0400

Ingredients:
4 Servings

1 tablespoon oil
1/4 cup diced white onion
1/2 cup lentils
1 cup rice
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups coconut milk

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.
Add the diced onion and saute 2 minutes.
Add the lentils and 1 cup water and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the lentils have softened and absorbed most of the water.
Add the rice and salt, and stir for 2 minutes more.
Pour the coconut milk and bring to a boil.
As soon as you see the rice on the surface, and most of the liquid has evaporated, cover the pot; reduce the heat to minimum and cook for 20 minutes.
Serve.

Hindsight:
Watch the pot. The lentils burn easily.

Summary:
Forgettable but necessary staple.

Ajiaco Bogotano

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 00:51:26 -0400

Ingredients:
4 Appetizer Servings

1 chicken breast
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
Chicken stock
1 ear of corn, cut into rounds
2 whole green onions
1/4 bunch cilantro
8 small red potatoes
4 medium yellow or Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and sliced
4 T julienned guascas (stems removed)
1/2 cup heavy cream, for serving
1 tablespoon capers, drained, for serving
1 avocado, thinly sliced, for serving
Salt

Directions:

The night before, marinate the chicken breast with onion, garlic, and salt.
In a medium stockpot, place 5 cups of water, the chicken breast, green onions, cilantro, and salt. Cover, bring to a boil over medium heat, and simmer for 20 minutes.
Uncover, remove and set aside the chicken breasts, and discard the green onions and cilantro. In another pan, add the yellow potatoes to the chicken stock and simmer for 1 hour.
Add the red potatoes, the corn, and the guascas, and simmer uncovered until cooked. Season with more salt and pepper and serve with the chicken (cut into strips).
Serve with the capers and avocado on top and cream on the side.

Hindsight:

This soup simmers on the stove for a long time, and it takes a careful eye to keep the broth from evaporating too much. In the end, ours was more stew than soup. Also, we think that using chicken stock made from bouillon cubes could remedy this problem—keep adding more stock until everything floats.

The leftover juices from the sobrebarriga would be an impeccable stock for the soup.

We were told in order to truly call our soup ajiaco we would need something called guascas. Unfortunately, guascas only grows in Bogota and is near
impossible to find outside Colombia. Paul’s mom instructed us to
substitute capers, not sure how this compares.

Summary:

We can’t wait to get down to Bogota and try the real thing.

Ajiaco

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 00:42:57 -0400

Ajiaco

Sobrebarriga

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 00:38:25 -0400

Ingredients:
4 Servings

Meat:

1/4 cup diced tomato
1/4 cup minced onion
1/8 cup minced scallion
1 tablespoon minced cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon powdered bay leaf
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 pounds sobrebarriga, clean

Hogao:

1 tablespoon oil
3/4 cup diced onion
3/4 cup peeled and diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/8 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon minced cilantro
1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Directions:

Combine the tomato, onion, scallions, cilantro, salt, bay leaf, and pepper and rub all over the meat. Refrigerate for 1 hour or overnight if desired.
Cook the sobrebarriga in one of the two following ways:
- In the Oven: Preheat the oven to 250 F. Place the meat in a baking pan, add 1 cup of water, cover tightly, and bake for 2 hours or until tender.
- In a Pressure Cooker: Place the meat and 1 cup of water in a pressure cooker over medium-low heat and cook until tender, about 40 minutes. Remove from the pressure cooker, and place in a baking pan or oven proof serving dish.
While the meat is cooking, prepare the hogao: In a large saute pan over medium heat place the oil and saute the onions, tomatoes, garlic, Worcestershire, salt, and pepper. Lower the heat to low and cook for 10 to 12 minutes. The raw onion flavor will have disappeared. Add the cilantro and set aside.
Remove the meat from the oven or pressure cooker. Turn the oven heat up to 475 F. Cover the meat with hogao and sprinkle with bread crumbs.
Bake for 10 minutes. Serve.

Hindsight:

Let’s face it, we rushed this thing. If we were true to tradition we would have marinated for a night and baked for a day to maximize flavor and tenderness.

Summary:

This dish earned us the right to visit Colombia. We’ll cook this dish again if the time ever comes when having kitchen help isn’t so socially taboo.

Sobrebarriga

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 00:37:55 -0400

Sobrebarriga

Video

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 15:57:54 -0400

Avocado Salad

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 15:39:57 -0400

Jay Davies submitted this to us:

Ingredients:
Serves 6

2 ripe avocados
3 red tomatoes
1 yellow tomato
2 green onions
2 cloves garlic
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Directions:

Dice the avocados and tomatoes into chunks.
Thinly slice the green onion (the whole thing).
Finely chop the garlic using a knife or press.
Throwing everything into your serving bowl.
Toss with olive oil and balsamic and salt and pepper to taste.

Hindsight:

Despite preparing it only five minutes before serving, the avocado texture turned gummy. It tasted good, but didn’t look too pretty. We’re currently researching how to prevent this, but we’re guessing something like lime juice might do the trick.

Summary:

Super easy salad for when you need something exotic in 5 minutes or less.

(Creamy) Cajun Chicken Pasta

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 15:35:01 -0400

Alison Gerardot submitted this to us:

Ingredients:
Serves 6

8 oz linguine pasta
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, sliced into thin strips
4 tablespoons butter
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
8 fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 green onions, minced
3 cups heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add linguine pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
Meanwhile, place chicken and Cajun seasoning in a bowl, and toss to coat.
In a large skillet over medium heat, saute chicken in butter until no longer pink and juices run clear, about 5 to 7 minutes.
Add green and red bell peppers, sliced mushrooms and green onions; cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce heat, and stir in heavy cream. Season the sauce with basil, lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder and ground black pepper, and heat through.
In a large bowl, toss linguine with sauce. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

Hindsight:

We’re not too sure if we cooked the cream to the right consistency, but as it was, we thought it might be best served in a bowl rather than a plate.

Summary:

Everyone but Courtney liked it. Too soupy, she says.

Blueberry Crisp Pie

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 15:30:58 -0400

Felicia Sullivan submitted this to us:

Ingredients:

Filling

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (or more) sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
7 cups fresh wild or regular blueberries or 32 ounces frozen wild or regular blueberries (do not thaw)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Crisp

3/4 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
big pinch of salt
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup yogurt

Directions:

Filling

Whisk 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar and cornstarch in heavy large saucepan to blend.
Stir in blueberries and lemon juice. Cook over medium heat until mixture bubbles and thickens, frequently stirring gently, about 13 minutes.
Chill filling until cool, about 1 hour.

Crisp

Combine the oats, flour, and sugar together in a medium bowl.
Stir in the butter, and then the yogurt and mix until everything comes together in a dough-like texture.
Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the blueberry mixture.
In a 9” pie dish, add a rolled out pie crust. Add filling.
Add topping, ensuring you distribute evenly.
In a pre-heated 400 degree oven, place pie on rimmed baking sheet and bake until crust and topping are golden and filling bubbles thickly, about 25 minutes.
Serve lukewarm/chilled with gelato!

Hindsight:
We used a silicone casserole dish, but we now advise against this. Probably best baked in a traditional pie form.

We decided to get “crazy” and “just roll with crumble”. If you’re short on time or don’t want to make a crust it’s a good option. Although, without the pie crust ice cream or gelato becomes mandatory.

The crisp to blueberry ratio seemed lopsided. It felt like gallons of blueberries to teaspoons of crisp. When we make this again we’ll probably double the crisp — and add a bit more brown sugar.

We experimented with “Rice Cream” for the first time and loved it!

Summary:
This is one of those recipes that taught us you can make something so delicious with such little effort. Domesticism, here we come!

Blueberry Crisp

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 15:28:25 -0400

Blueberry Crisp

Video

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:34:58 -0400

White Bean Salad

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:26:30 -0400

We found this recipe from Andrea Tam:

Ingredients:

White beans
Garlic
Olive oil
Bacon
Sweet onion
Cherry tomatoes
Parsley
Crumbled blue cheese
Verjuice
Bread

Directions:

Drain the can of beans and rinse well.
Mince garlic, some olive oil, and heat over stove with bacon, until bacon is cooked through.
Add onion and cook very slightly.
Pan off heat, pour in the verjuice.
Mix bean, cherry tomatoes, crumbled blue cheese together. Pour in the verjuice mixture. Add olive oil. Stir.
Toast slices of bread.
Toast on bottom, beans on top. Serve!

Hindsight:

This recipe was challenging because it didn’t have any exact amounts of ingredients to use. We went with 2 cans of white beans, 2 cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar, and everything else to taste. Also, we omitted the bacon for our veggie friends.

Verjuice was something totally new to us. The food dictionary at Epicurious.com explains it is, “an acidic, sour liquid made from unripe fruit, primarily grapes”. Apparently, it hasn’t been widely used since medieval and Renaissance times. Who knew? Either way it is difficult to find in the US so we substituted apple cider vinegar.

The salad can be served slightly warm or chilled. We recommend popping it in the fridge for 15 minutes or so.

Summary:

Despite having nuked the bread into smithereens, the salad was good on its own; Probably best served next to a chunk of meat.

White Bean Salad

Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:19:01 -0400

White Bean Salad