Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

Spanish rice, and all of its many variations, is popular in all the Spanish speaking parts of the world, particularly in Latin America. Spanish rice is really just Spanish in name only though, since it is not really a dish popular in Spain. Rice is not native to the New World countries. It was brought over by the Spanish in the 1500’s. Because rice was introduced to Mexico and the rest of Latin America by Spain, it is believed that’s how this dish got it’s name of Spanish rice.

As with any popular dish, Spanish rice has many different variations. If you order rice in northern Mexico, you most likely will get the rice cooked with chicken broth and tomato flavors—traditional Mexican (or Spanish) rice. However, in southern Mexico, ​plain white rice or arroz verde or green rice, are more common. In Mexico, however, what we call Spanish rice is just known as arroz rojo or red rice.

Spanish rice was one of the many dishes I prepared for our Old World/New World fiesta. Old World/New World Fiesta

Spanish Rice

Sometimes Spanish rice is referred as a dry soup or sopa seca in certain parts of Latin America. This is a hearty dish made with all kinds of fresh vegetables. It can be served with just about anything and will compliment it well.

1 1/2 cups white rice

1/2 cups tomato juice or V-8

1 onion, chopped fine

5-6 tomatoes, chopped

1 TBSP garlic

2 cups chicken broth

1-2 jalapenos, diced fine

1- 2 cups peas

salt & pepper to taste

1-2 tsp dried oregano

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

1/3 green onions, sliced

olive oil for cooking

Get a large skillet very hot and add the oil. Add the onions, jalapenos and garlic and saute for about 2-3 minutes, or until the onions and jalapenos are softened.

Add the rice and saute for an additional minute or two.

Add the tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, tomato juice, seasonings and chicken broth. Mix everything together well, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for about 30 or so minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir occasionally, to make sure the rice doesn’t stick.

When the liquid has evaporated, the rice is listo, and ready to eat. Spanish rice can be served with anything, but pairs really well and is traditionally served with beans of some sort, usually refried beans or frijoles charro, on the side.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

I haven’t been out walking much lately due to our weird and inclement weather. We’ve had a lot of snow, cold weather, and today it is supposed to rain. it’s all to be expected though. It is the middle winter after all. When I have been out about about, the lakes have been pretty quiet.

I did see a pair of Northern Shovelers though, on one of our sunny days in between the snowy days. They were fishing for food, and liked to be bottoms up more than face up.

Every now and then they would come up for a breath. I had my camera at the ready so I could click as soon as I could, in the hopes of getting a good shot or two.

Catch the sunshine when you can and enjoy the day.

Mole verde, also known as pipian verde, originated in the region of Oaxaca of Mexico and gets its name from its green color (verde). It is one of the seven most popular types of mole found in this region. The color is achieved by using toasted pumpkin seeds, romaine lettuce, spinach, cilantro and tomatillos or any combination thereof. But for a traditional verde sauce, tomatillos are a must. Anything else is just a bonus. Mole verde is has a milder flavor than most of the other mole sauces, and is popular in dishes that contain chicken.

Mole had its origins in pre-Hispanic Mexico, when it was called mulli and was made with turkey and served in Aztec rituals and other festive occasions. One of the most treasured ingredients used in the mole is xocolatl, or gourmet chocolate. The classic mole version is the variety called mole poblano, which is a dark red or brown sauce served over meat. The dish has become a culinary symbol of Mexico’s mestizaje, or mixed indigenous and European heritage, both for the types of ingredients it contains and because of the legends surrounding its origin. I love a traditional mole with chocolate, but a mole verde does not contain chocolate, or at least this recipe does not.

Chicken Mole Verde

One of the many dishes I made for our fiesta was chicken mole verde. It was so good, and it was yet another a very big hit with all my guests.

3 onions, sliced, divided

8 cups chicken broth

3 lbs chicken, cut into thin strips

6 medium serrano chilies

1 poblano chili, roasted and charred

1 TBSP cumin

1 cinnamon stick

salt & pepper to taste

1-2 tsp ground cloves

1 lb tomatillos, skins removed

1 TBSP garlic

1/3 cup fresh parsley

1/3 cup fresh cilantro

1 1/2 cups roasted pepita seeds

1/2 cup roasted slivered almonds

1/4 cup Peruvian peppers, optional

olive oil or avocado oil for cooking

sesame seeds for topping

Roast the poblano chili until completely charred, then sweat it in a plastic bag for at least about 30 minutes. Remove the charred skin, rinse and remove the seeds.

Get a large soup pot very hot, then add the oil and the onions. Cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until softened. Remove some of the onions before adding the chicken and reserve for part of the topping for later. Add the chicken and continue to cook until the chicken is cooked.

Place all the other ingredients into a food processor, except for the the cinnamon stick, sesame seeds, the Peruvian peppers and some of the cilantro for the topping. Process until it has all made liquified, then add to the chicken and onions.

Add the cinnamon stick and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes or so. Add the Peruvian peppers, if using, towards the very end of the cooking process. The serve and enjoy. !Desfruita!

All the flavors of the spices just blend together perfectly and your taste buds will really be in for a delicious treat. You can serve this over rice or as tacos in cooked tortillas. I had both corn and flour tortillas available for both this dish and the chopped, cooked steak, just for that reason too.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Did you know that it is National Love Your Pet Day today? Did you even know there was such a day? I didn’t, but I don’t need a special day to love my pets. I love them EVERYDAY. They are not just my pets, they are my fur babies; they are my four-legged children.

National Love Your Pet Day is a special occasion dedicated to celebrating the bond between humans and their beloved pets. Animal Behaviorist Colleen Paige started this holiday in 2006. It’s a day to shower your furry, feathered, or scaly friends with love, attention, and appreciation. This day focuses on giving extra attention to our pets. The day encourages pampering our pets and focusing on the special relationship pets hold in our lives.

These are our current fur babies. We have loved and lost so many more over the many years. They are always in my heart as well. Always and forever, or should I say “furever”.

Nicky (Nicodemus) playing hide and seek.

Otis catnapping in the sun.

Otis and Nicky giving each other cuddles.

Juneau in her element.

Dorrie Dew looking so pretty.

Juneau and Dorrie smiling pretty.

Everyday is a good day to love your fur babies. They love you everyday too, more than we can ever know. 🙂

Shrimp and garlic! Two absolute favorites of mine, and for many others around the world too, especially in Spain. In Spain, this wonderful creation is known as gambas al ajillo. Gambas Al Ajillo I make garlic shrimp a lot, and I make it different all the time. But that’s OK. They make it different all the time in Spain as well. Just like anything that has been around for a long time, and is very popular in many areas, there are ALWAYS many different variations of the same dish.

This time I made my gambas al ajillo with some very thinly sliced whole garlic cloves that I “crisped” up slightly before adding the rest of the ingredients, then finished it off with butter at the end. I also added a bit of fresh thyme to the recipe. I didn’t have any sherry, but I did have brandy, which I like even better, so brandy it was.

Gambas al ajillo (garlic shrimp) is most likely to have originated from the central or southern regions of Spain, where seafood dishes play a very prominent role in the local diet. This popular tapas dish is most prominently found in the Andalusia region and the capital of Madrid. According to some Spanish legends, King Alfonso X of Castile was the one to include tapas in Spanish cuisine. It’s said that eating small dishes with a glass of wine helped him recover from some illness. Since then, he decided that wine wasn’t allowed to be served unless it was paired with a tapa or a snack plate.

I had everything else already made and prepared before our guests arrived, but gambas al ajillo is an al minute dish, that only takes a few minutes to prepare. And I put on a little show for everyone too. I made sure I had a big flambe for them, that garnered a lot of ooohs and awwws. Needless to say, everyone was very impressed, by both the giant flambe and the end results. 🙂

As you can tell, I always have fun in any kitchen. I love to play with my food. I highly recommend it to everyone who loves food too. Be creative and see what happens. No recipe is ever set in stone. Recipes are always evolving and changing, and they are different in every house, every city or town, and every region. So next time you are cooking something up, don’t be afraid to add your own signature style and flavors to it to make it your own.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Have fun, stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

One of the dishes I made for my old world/new world fiesta was chorizo with sweet & sour figs. Old World/New World Fiesta This was something totally different, and very good. They were also another big hit, though in all honesty, everything was. 🙂

I love all kinds of fruits and vegetables. I am from California, after all, the land of fruits and nuts. 🙂 But I don’t buy that many fruits any more, especially fresh fruits, because I can’t eat them all at once before they go bad, and Larry is not a big fruit person. But I do love them.

It is believed that figs were first discovered in Asia Minor, then spread along the spice trade routes through the Mediterranean, and to the rest of the world from there. Figs have been around seemingly forever, and have been around since before recorded history. They are the oldest fruit, in the world. Figs have been cultivated for thousands of years, and they have been an important part of many ancient cultures, including those of the Mediterranean and Middle East. The fig was mentioned in the Bible, and it is believed to have been a staple food for the ancient Greeks and Romans.

From a spiritual symbol to a luxurious treat, the fig tree is steeped in ancient meaning and for millennia, has symbolized wisdom and success in an abundance. Fig trees were so highly valued by the ancient Greeks that it was considered an honor to bestow upon the winner of various competitions.

In Roman times figs were considered to be restorative. They were believed to increase the strength of young people, to maintain the elderly in better health and to make them look younger with fewer wrinkles.

Chorizo is a type of pork sausage that has been a staple in Spanish and Mexican cuisine for centuries. Originating in Spain and brought to the New World by Spanish settlers, chorizo is made from ground pork and a variety of spices. The sausage is typically seasoned with smoked paprika and garlic, and can be found in a variety of styles, ranging from mild to spicy.

Mixing the sweet figs together with the spicy sausage and a sweet & sour sauce was just a perfect combination of all these wonderful taste sensations.

Chorizo with Sweet & Sour Figs

In both Spain and Mexico, there are lot of different varieties of chorizo. But here, not so much. When I was out purchasing all my ingredients, I wasn’t finding what I was looking for. There was a very nice Mexican lady explaining something to someone else nearby, and I asked her to help me as well. I explained what I was trying to make and asked her advice for the best type of sausage to use. She recommended I use Andouille sausage. She was very helpful and the dish came out perfect. Muchas Gracias Senora.

2 lbs smoked chorizo links or Andouille sausage links, sliced in large chunks on the diagonal

1 TBSP garlic

2 cups dried figs

1 1/4 cups boiled cider or sherry vinegar

2/3 cup black mission fig balsamic vinegar

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

fresh chopped parsley

olive oil

Get a large skillet very hot and then add the olive oil and the chorizo pieces. Cook for about 2-3 minutes per side, or until the chorizo is browned.

Place the figs, along with the water, vinegar, brown sugar, and spices, into a large heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and continue to cook for about 10 minutes or so, or until the sauce thickens a bit.

Then combine the figs and sauce with the cooked chorizo. Sprinkle the chopped parsley on top and serve it up. This is a definite treat for your taste buds, with sweet, sour and spicy all in one bite. !Esta mui rico!

Walk on the wild side a bit, and venture out to try new things. You just might surprise yourself. Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

When we were in Mallorca, we saw some of the largest heirloom tomatoes we had ever seen at a local farmers’ market. Each one was about 2 lbs. They were beautiful and HUGE!

I love heirloom tomatoes. They are my favorite tomatoes, and seeing these HUGE tomatoes in Mallorca inspired me, and they were a must for our fiesta. So when I saw a recipe in my Spanish cookbooks that highlighted these delicious beauties, I was all over it. 🙂

Heirloom Tomato Salad

Don’t be fooled by this simple salad, because it is composed of just a few basic items. It’s deliciously beautiful. Simple is often the best. The more colors you can use for this simple salad, the prettier it will be. And I learned something new too. In all my years of restaurant experience I never knew that you were not supposed to refrigerate tomatoes. The cold kills the flavor of tomatoes. In every professional kitchen I have ever worked in, and in my own kitchen, we have always refrigerated our tomatoes. But now I that’s not the case. So you see, old dogs can learn new tricks. 🙂

5-6 large, varied heirloom tomatoes, sliced in wedges

5-6 large basil leaves, chiffonade

1 TBSP garlic

3 TBSP fresh chives, chopped small

6 TBSP olive oil 2-3 TBSP lemon balsamic or balsamic vinegar

salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste

Gently toss everything together. I like my salads nice and peppery, so I added about 1 TBSP of ground pepper. I also like my tomatoes lemony, so the lemon balsamic vinegar and/or lemon olive oil is perfect for this salad. The lemon and pepper really bring the flavors of these scrumptious tomatoes to life.

This colorful, simple will be a delight no matter how you eat it, on its own, or as a side dish with other food, especially Spanish style foods. 🙂

When in a rush or stressed out about food, just remember the K.I.S.S. rule, and keep it simple (stupid). Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Our fiesta was a huge success, despite that literally half of my guests who I invited backed out at the last minute. Needless to say, I was very hurt and frustrated with this, but the show must go on, right?! And go on it did. 🙂

I prepared ALL this food. Half of it was from Spain and half of it was from Mexico. They are traditional, everyday dishes from both places, Spain, being the old world and Mexico being the new world. Everyone was very happy and it was a delicious fiesta and evening. As you all know, I have tons of cookbooks, from all over and many different ethnic cookbooks. I love them all too. But this whole menu came from just two cookbooks o solamente dos libres de cocina.

You will see the recipes for everything I prepared, all in good time. My friend Elizabeth was so funny. She didn’t think I could do all this all by myself. Surprise! That’s what you learn how to do in almost 40 years in the restaurant and catering business. You learn real quick how to meet deadlines, work under pressure and to cook large amounts of food fast and clean. 🙂

The menu for the evening’s festivities included:

1) a charcuterie board with Spanish chorizos, Manchego cheese from Spain and Asadaro cheese from Mexico.

2) Barcelona style olives Barcelona Style Olives

3) pickled onions Pickled Onions

4) pico de gallo, guacamole and sour cream Pico de Gallo

5) an heirloom tomato salad

6) sweet and sour chorizo with figs

7) mole verde chicken with both corn and flour tortillas

8) steak marinated in lime juice, chili oil and cilantro, for steak tacos

9) garlic shrimp or gambons al ajillo (shrimp in Spain are known as gambons, whereas in Mexico, they are known as camarones.)

10) Spanish rice

11) frijoles (beans) charro

12) flan

13) churros with chocolate

14) chocolate covered strawberries

15) sangria

Everything, with the exceptions of the chocolate covered strawberries and the tortillas, was handmade, with lots of love, by me. Most everything was made yesterday. I was in the kitchen all day, but it was definitely a labor of love. The thing that hurt the most with all of my no-shows was that this was my birthday party, and I had already delayed it 10 days after my birthday. But, it all worked out, as it usually does. For those who missed my fiesta grande, their loss. That’s all I can say about it. There will be plenty of other parties and grand celebrations yet to come in the future, of that, I am very sure. I love to entertain and I love to cook for people, and yes, I love to show off my cooking expertise as well. The garlic shrimp was made al minute (at the last minute) and of course I was showing off a bit, and I purposely created a huge flambe flame to wow and awe everyone. 🙂

After we were all full and no spacio para nada mas, (no room for anything else) we all sat down and enjoyed the slide presentation I put together with our pictures from both Barcelona and Cabo San Lucas. I had it all set to Spanish Flamenco music to set the mood, and to put us all in a Spanish frame of mind. It was a deliciously fun evening.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Make everyday a fiesta, grande o pequino. Make the most out of every opportunity. Have fun, enjoy each and every moment, stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

This is just a quick little note to say it’s “Party Day”. I know I am teasing you all once again, but hopefully it will all be worth it in the end. I have to start all my cooking for our old world/new world fiesta. I will be in the kitchen cooking and decorating all day, then it will be time to let the fiesta begin. You will “see” it all soon.

Have a great day and make everyday great. ‘Til next time.

Yesterday, I gave you all a little teaser about another salad I made with my lentil salad Warm Lentil Salad. Today, I will share that recipe idea with you. Basically, I turned one salad into two salads, with the addition of just a few ingredients and a few tweaks here and there. Both were delicious, but I actually like the second version better than the first.

I turned the first version, which to me was more of a side dish, into a meal. I put it all on a bed of shredded Romaine lettuce, added some grilled onions, more olives and more tomatoes, and topped it all with grilled chicken. The boys both had Feta cheese added to theirs too. Then I dressed it all up with a champagne vinaigrette. Delicious!!!!

Champagne Vinaigrette

This is just a simple vinaigrette, with basic ingredients. It only took a few seconds to whip up, but it tasted divine. It was a perfect match for the salad too. It really brought all the flavors together.

2/3 cup champagne vinegar

2 TBSP Dijon mustard

salt & pepper to taste

2 TBSP honey

1 1/2 cups olive oil

Whisk everything together until everything until it is all well blended. I tend to add more pepper because I like things more peppery too.

This dressing is simple, yet elegant at the same time. It will dress up any salad.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.