Valentines Sugar Cookies

Sugar Cookies

February is here and I have to say that is one of my favorite month of the year as is December and July because they are the months when my babies were born.  Ana was born February 11, 1999 so she is turning 13.  I know the BIG "13", she reminds me of it everyday for the past 2 weeks.  She is a fire cracker she has such a great personality and great qualities of a leadership.  She is a miniature Donna Summer look alike.  Since February is her month her favorite cookies are sugar cookies, so she asked for heart shaped sugar cookies for her birthday party.  I have to say that I have tried many recipes of sugar cookies and I finally found one that I truly love from The Martha Stewart Cook Book/Collected Recipes for Every Day.

This is Ana my new Teenager to be

Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 Ts salt

1/2 Ts baking powder

1/4 Lb (1 Stick) butter, softened ( I used unsalted)

1 cup sugar

1 egg

2 Tb brandy

1/2 Ts vanilla extract

Preparation:

1. Sift together the dry ingredients.

2. In an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light.

3. Add egg, brandy and vanilla and beat well.

4. Add the dry ingredients a little at a time and mix until well blended.

5. Wrap and chill the dough for at least 30 minutes before rolling.

6. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
7. On a lightly floured board, roll out 1/3 of the dough at a time.
8. Roll to 1/8 inch thick and cut out with cookie cutters.
9. Put shapes on parchment-lined cookie sheets and bake for 10 min. ( Do not allow to brown, I left them for 8 min)

10. Cool on racks.
11. Decorate with Royal Icing.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did.
Enjoy!!!

Colombian Hot Sauce/Aji

Colombian Hot Sauce/Aji

Recipe:
1/2 cup of cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup of green onions, chopped
3/4 cups of tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup of water
4 Tbsp of hot sauce
1tsp of salt

Directions:

1.  Place cilantro, green onions and tomatoes in a food processor and pulse on chop.

2.  Remove it and place it in a small bowl and mix it with the water, hot sauce and salt.

* you can add more or less hot sauce depending how you like it.
Enjoy!!!!

Chicken Soup(Colombian Style)/Sopita de Pollo

One of my favorite foods have to be Colombian, I lived with Colombian relatives for about 7 years and I have to say that the experience I had living with them was absolutely amazing.  The culture and traditions are wonderful and the food gives you that feeling of warmth when you eat it.  "Yuyi" showed me how to cook many things from arepas, empanadas, tamales and many more dishes.  She is from Cali, Colombia and her background is of African-Colombian, her food had this amazing taste that it was not enough with one serving.  Something that she would cook a lot was Sancocho de Gallina and Sopa de Pollo, she would add green plantains, and corn, it would taste just delicious.  She would always make different kinds of soups everyday.  She told me that Colombia was big in soups and soup is always served before the main dish which consists of rice and whatever stew or meat is served with.  She continues that tradition here in the Unites States with her children and grandchildren.  I could never loose weight while living with her because she would always feed us.  In the morning coffee with pan de bono  or bunuelos, by 1:00 pm our so called "dinner"  was ready and by 6:00pm coffee with pan de mantequilla or pan dulce con arequipe.  Like I said we were always eating.
I hope you guys enjoy my version since I left out the green plantains (could not find them around here)  and the corn.
Enjoy!!

Chicken Soup/Sopa de Pollo


Recipe:
1 whole chicken cut into pieces (I used drumsticks)
10 cups of water
1 1/2 cups of butter squash, diced
1 cup of carrots, chopped
1 medium yuca (cassava), peeled and chopped (can use the frozen kind also)
5 potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tomato, diced small
1/4 cup green onions, chopped finely
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 chicken bouillon cubes
1tsp ground cumin
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 tsp salt (add more if needed)
1 tbsp adobo Goya

Directions:
1.  In a large pot, place chicken, butter squash, carrots, chicken bouillon and salt.  If adding corn and plantain this is the time to do so.  Add the water and boil for about 30 min.

2.  Add the yuca, potatoes, tomato, green onions, garlic, adobo and cumin and let it boil until the yuca is cooked completely (If you used frozen yuca, since that's pre-cooked yuca just boil until potatoes are well done). 

instead of me chopping the tomatoes, this is what I do, because my baby Mei-Li does not like cooked tomatoes. so she cannot tell.

3. When yuca is done stop cooking and let it sit for about 5 min. and then add the cilantro to the pot of soup. 

We usually eat this with a side of white rice, avocado and a spoonful or more of Colombian aji.

I hope you guys enjoy it!

Chicken with Pinapple Sauce/Pollo con Piña

Chicken with Pinapple Sauce/Pollo con Piña

Peru has one of the most great cuisines of the world. It is the original fusion food, having influences from almost every continent over the last 500 years and combined them with ingredients and dishes that provide a direct link to the Incas. I most say that Peru is best known for ceviche, which is marinated raw seafood dish. Peru's food is remarkable for the diversity of ingredients, from wonderful fresh fish to astounding varieties of potatoes, corn and chilies, and for preparations that encompass the world, from stir-fried beef to pasta with shrimp.
One of my favorite type of Peruvian food is Chifa which means "to eat rice" in Mandarin.  Chifa is the Peruvian term for Chinese food.  Because many Chinese ingredients are hard to find in Peru, the Chinese modified their cuisine and incorporated many Peruvian elements (mainly Spanish, native and African) into their cuisine. 

My favorite Chifa dish is Pollo con piña, I hope you guys enjoy as much as I do.

Chicken with Pinapple Sauce/Pollo con Piña


Ingridients:
4 boneless chicken breasts, cut in medium size cubes
2 thin slices of fresh ginger

2 Tb of soy sauce

salt and pepper

2 Tb of oil

1 (8 oz) can of diced pinapple

1-2 Tb sugar

2 Tb of water
2 Ts cornstarch, for thickening

1 red pepper, cut julienne style

3 green onions, chopped lengthwise




Preparation:

1. Marinade chicken with salt, pepper, soy sauce and ginger.
2. Heat oil in a large pan and drop chicken in to hot oil. Fry for about 10 minutes.
3. Remove chicken from pan.
4. In the same pan, add the pinapple and juice, sugar. Bring to boil.
5. in a small bowl combine the water and the cornstarch moving it until is well combined.
6. add the thickening to the pinapple constantly moving it  until it thickens.
7 Turn fire off and add red peppers and green onions

7. Pour the sauce over the chicken, and serve over white rice.

Alfajores

I just love Alfajores!!! I was born in Lima, Peru and I remember when I was little my grandmother making them and the whole house smelling like pastry and my cousins and I running to the third floor where my grandmother had her kitchen and just waited until the cookies came out of the oven and watch my grandmother put them together with manjar blanco (Dulce de leche).  It was just amazing, every single bodega (store) in Lima sold alfajores wrapped individually in parchment paper for an equal or lesser amount of a US quarter.
But many people think that Alfajores originated in Latin America...well, that is incorrect.  The 'alfajor' is actually a traditional Arabic confection called 'Alaju' that was brought to Spain by an Arab general named Musa Ibn Nusair during the conquest of Medina Sidonia, Alcala de Guadaira and Carmona.  The name Alfajor originated from the Nebrija-Spanish Dictionary as 'alfaxor' or alaxur'.
Alfajores presence became known in Southern Spain during the 12 and 13th centuries being developed in Andalucia 'Cuidad de los Gitanos' (City of Gypsies).  Alfajores were brought to Venezuela and Peru first by the Spaniards and then made itself known through out all Latin America.
I do hope that you have enjoy this bit of history and that you will also enjoy this great recipe.

Alfajores

Recipe:

3/4 cups of sugar

1 1/2 cup of unsalted butter (2 1/2 stick)

2 tsp lemon zest

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

2 cups of corn starch

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

dulce de leche

shredded coconut

powder sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven at 350° F 

2. Line cookie baking sheet with parchment paper

3. Mix sugar and butter until light and fluffy

4. Add lemon zest

5. Sift all purpose flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder and baking soda together

6. Add sifted dry ingredients to the butter mixture, do not over mix 

7. Roll out the dough, using as little flour as possible, about 1/4 inch thick 

8. Cut with a small round cookie cutter

9. Place cookies 1/2 inch apart on prepared cookie sheet

10. Bake for 8-10 minutes

11. Remove cookies immediately to cool on a wire rack

12. Once cookies are cooled, spread cookie with a teaspoon of Dulce De Leche, then sandwich together      with another cookie

13.  Roll the sides in the shredded coconut

Enjoy!!!

Strawberry Cupcake

My daughter NellyBe is turning 14 this coming Saturday and we have been planning this party for the last month, she decided to have a Pink and Black Party.  Yesterday she tells me that she wants pink cupcakes for her party, I thought maybe a dark chocolate cake with pink butter cream frosting, but no she wants it.  Well last night I got to work and my first batch came out to doughy which I did not like but the second batch with a bit of changes came out awesome, I will definitely put up some pics after Saturday of her party , but for now I hope you guys enjoy this recipe.

STRAWBERRY CUPCAKE

Ingridients:
2 1/2 stick of unsalted butter at room temp.
3 cups of sugar
1 1/2 cup pureed frozen strawberries
4 1/2 cup of cake flour  ( 4 cups of all purpose flour + 5/8 cups of starch)
5 1/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
8 egg whites
2/3 cup of milk
2 to 3 drops of red food dye

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven at 350° F
2. Set up cupcake trays with liners
3. Using a stand mixer cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy

4. Mix in the strawberry pureed

5. In a separate large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt
6. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until fully incorporated

7. In a small bowl whisk together the egg whites, milk and coloring

8. Add the half of the milk mixture to the rest of the batter and mix until incorporated about 1 min.

9. Add remaining half and mix together

10. Place batter in the cupcake liners filling 1/2 way
11. Bake for 20-25 min
12. Allow cupcakes to cool for 10-15 min

13. Frost cupcake with the forsting of your liking ( I frost them with a Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting)

* You can also use (3) 9 inch round cake pan or (3) 8 inch square cake pan

ENJOY!!!

Chocolate Chip Scones

I have to say that I absolutely enjoy the mornings in my house, the ratchet of my kids getting ready in the morning, the noise of my 5 year old Christopher laughing and running after my two chihuahuas, my 8 year old Mei-Li following my 13 year old NellyBe around, Nellybe complaining about Mei-Li and my 12 year old Ana running up and down the stairs trying to get ready, the house just feels completely empty as soon as they are goan to school.  Most of the time I eat breakfast by myself, but today my hubby decided to accompany me during breakfast, he is out of the house everyday around 5 am so we don't get to eat breakfast together very often.  Wilson is a Sergeant in the US Army so when he is able to eat breakfast with me or the kids is very special, I decided to make one of his favorite SCONES.  The first time i made the scones was a year ago for a PTA breakfast at my children's school, the teachers loved them.  My husband was my helper he tasted all the different scones i made, i think he gained about 3 lbs after eating almost half of the batch of scones I made.  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my husband Wilson those.

CHOCOLATE CHIP SCONES

ingredients:

1 cup of all purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp of sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled and cut in cubes

3/4 semi-sweet chocolate chip

1 egg

2 tbsp milk

preparation:

1.  In a bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder and sugar

2.  Add butter and rub in with fingertips until butter is reduced to size of rice grains 

3.  Stir in chocolate chips 

4. In another small bowl mix eggs and milk

5.  Add liquids to the dry ingridients with a fork, dont over mix

6. Press dough out onto lightly floured surface to 8-inch round

7. Cut round into 6 wedges.  

8. Transfer wedges to prepared baking sheet, spacing 1 inch apart. (Can be prepared one day ahead, so you could cover and refrigerate at this point if needed). 

9. Bake at 425°F for approximately 12-15 min. or until golden 

ENJOY!!!!