Tags
chuck roast, cocoa, coffee, fire-roasted tomatoes, Garlic, green olives, hearts of palm, honey, lime juice, olive oil, onion, orange juice, pearl onions, Spices
Who the hell is Dom Pedro you’re asking? And what does he have to do with pot roast? The Portuguese-born Dom Pedro I was the first ruler of the Empire of Brazil back in the 19th century. He has nothing to do with pot roast per se, but here we join together some of the best of both Portuguese and Brazilian flavors, for a winning combination. Continue reading
You know how sometimes the culinary gods intervene? This dish came about because those gods were playing and romping through my life. However, as happens now and again, those gods led me to deliciousness! This is redolent with Mexican flavors, it’s filling and it’s flexible! 
Nothing says Sunday dinner like a nice hunk of roast beef, right? Some good gravy, roasted or mashed potatoes, maybe some green beans, asparagus, carrots or rutabaga…these, however will only be bit players. It’s all about the meat. Now, doesn’t that just scream “Sunday dinner, call the kids”? 
Every Cuban woman (or man, I suppose) knows how to make Picadillo. It’s quick and delicious, but it’s never as good as “mami makes”! Some things transcend cultures, don’t they? I learned how to make this from my mother-in-law and from The Latin Lover’s great-aunt, both damn fine cooks. It’s a very valuable recipe to have. 
I had some mini-pepperoni that just seemed like they would be a nice addition to some lean ground beef…I was thinking maybe a taco-like thing, but The Latin Lover said, “We haven’t had meatloaf in a while. I love meatloaf”…well, what more could a Goddess want to hear? 
I hope you are familiar with the Asian chef, Ming Tsai. He did a series on PBS and he had a restaurant in the Boston area, Blue Ginger. Anyway, this is based on a recipe from one of his books. They are so good, sloppy and just plain delicious. I think they’re better the next day. 
Sloppy Joe’s were always my birthday request when I was but a wee one. I still love them. My mother made hers with tomato soup, but I tend not to use canned soups…I think it might just be a bit of snobbery on my part, because there really was a reason I asked for them every year. They were sublimely delicious! 
This sauce is incredibly complex and absolutely delicious, with flavors leaning well into Spain and wandering just a bit into Portugal. Sherry vinegar, smoked paprika, cinnamon, olives, orange and almonds are significant players in both countries, tracing their roots back to the Moorish habitation of the peninsula for some 700 years. Make certain you have good bread to mop. You don’t want to miss a drop! 
I’ve been toying with cooking steak from the freezer for awhile now. I somewhat regularly cook hamburgers directly from the freezer, but let’s just say that steak hasn’t been wildly successful. Until last night. The steak was a perfect medium-rare, so you can have steak for dinner, even if you forget to take it out of the freezer! 
Salisbury Steak is just a lovely way of saying that we’re looking at a thick hamburger “steak” with gravy. And I’m all over that. I hate those thick burgers, that in order to eat them you have to unhinge your jaw, like a python. I always eat those types of burgers with a knife and fork anyway, so why not add some terrific gravy? 