Friday Feast: Cookbook Edition

This week is pretty crazy and out of the ordinary. We have Angie’s sister and her large family in town as well as a 1 year old birthday party. So I won’t be cooking this evening, but I thought I might share the cookbook I have been using lately to cook. My friend Rich, who got me into cooking, turned me onto the TV chef Jamie Oliver. Not too long after that recomendation, Jamie’s App for iOS (iPhones and iPads) went on sale.

 

I. LOVE. IT.

The recipes are set up perfectly, and are really pretty easy to make. Every time I have trotted out one of these recipes it has been a big hit. The cook book has pictures for each step, a fantastic shopping list function, some really helpful videos teaching cooking skills that I never learned. Here is a screen shot of the app on my iPad.

I am able to set the iPad up on my counter and cook to my heart’s content. Quite a big help for someone just venturing into the culinary arts!

 

Friday Feast: Tampa, by way of South Carolina

The first food I ever fell in love with was Cuban food. Growing up in Tampa my mom made a pretty decent Chicken and Yellow Rice with Black Beans, but my friends moms made killer Cuban food. Here in South Carolina, most people haven’t heard or tried much Cuban food so it is always a treat to introduce some folks to the food.

One particular meal that I have grown fond of making for friends is the Cuban dish, Picadillo. Picadillo is a sort of ground beef in tomato sauce. The great thing about it is the way it combines the sweet and the savory. Two of the ingredients are green olives and golden raisins. These two not only give the dish a great color, but an awesome flavor.

Recipe:

• 3 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cups golden raisins
• 2 (8 ounce) jars green olives, drained and chopped
• 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 1/2 cup Goya Mojo
• 1/2 bunch cilantro
• Directions:
• Brown the ground beef in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat until crumbly and no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Pour off any excess grease, then stir in the onion and garlic; cook for 2 minutes before adding the red pepper, green pepper, raisins, olives, tomato paste, Mojo, and cilantro. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 10 minutes, or until the peppers have cooked to your liking.
This is a pretty simple recipe, but it taste fantastic! None of the ingredients are hard to come by and the only one you may be unfamiliar with is Mojo. Mojo is an incredible blend of Citrus juices, garlic, and spices. You can find it at most, if not all, grocery stores in the Grand Strand. If you happen to go to one of the Lowe’s Foods in the area, you can on most days even find Cuban bread. If you make this meal, the Cuban bread (a long loaf like French that is crispy and flaky on the outside and light and airy on the inside) is a perfect compliment.

One other change I made to the recipe was to replace the ground beef with ground venison. This swap doesn’t affect the dish at all and gives it a South Carolina flare!

You can garnish the dish with some Oregano and the other half of the chopped raw white onion. Last time we made it, we served it with black beans and yellow rice and homemade Sangria.

 

Friday Feast: Danger, Men Cooking

 

 

Four years ago my buddy Rich came to our house and cooked a red Indian curry that I fell in love with cooking. Since then, much to my joy and my wife’s chagrin, I have been cooking about once a week. I love it! The mess I typically leave, my wife does not.

On Fridays from now on, I am going to share the ups and downs of my culinary escapades. Where do I get my recipes? Who did I cook for and why?

One particular difficulty is the city I live in. Myrtle Beach is not known as a foody destination. One big thing I am going to include is Low Country twists on recipes I use and where to find obscure ingredients in the Pee Dee.