Carne Seca

After living in New York I bought myself a Mexican cookbook. New York City is a place of many cultures and of many restaurants - we ate exceptional Cuban food, Guatemalan food, El Salvadorian food, Puerto Rican food - but good Mexican really is hard to find. Its even difficult to find the right ingredients at the grocery stores. At one point, D's cousin (a Brooklyn resident) stumbled on canned enchilada sauce at a store in New Jersey and bought enough to stock us up - that's how desperate our Mexican food situation was.

Ironically, I learned after moving back to the West Coast that my very favorite Mexican restaurant has 3 locations in the United States - 2 in Phoenix and 1 on on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. While this could have saved me in my futile search for passable Mexican, I'm curious to see how authentic the Manhattan location actually is.

I finally got around to using this cookbook last week. I don't know what took me so long, but I'm glad I finally did - this was probably some of the tastiest meat I've ever had. Carne Seca translates to "dried meat" in Spanish and that's exactly what it is - meat that is slow cooked, seasoned, then dried. I used it in enchiladas with red chile sauce, but its just as good on its own. I'll definitely be making this one again!


Tucson Carne Seca
From The Border Cookbook


Dried Beef

3 lbs round or shoulder chuck roast
3 tbsp white vinegar
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp fresh black pepper
10 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tbsp groud dried mild red chile
8 cups water
juice of 2 limes

Combine all ingredients except the lime juice in a dutch oven or large, heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil, skim off any foam, reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for 2 - 2 1/2 hours until the meat is very tender. Cool the meat in its cooking liquid for 30 minutes. Strain the cooking liquid, reserving for later use.

Tear the meat into thin shreds and transfer it back into the original pot. Add 1 cup of the reserved cooking liquid and simmer over medium heat until all liquid is evaporated. Toss meat with lime juice


Dried Seasoning Blend

1 tbsp groud dried red chile powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Transfer the meat to 1 or 2 baking sheets, spreading it thin. Sprinkle the meat with half the dried seasoning blend and bake the meat at 275 for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, stir well, and sprinkle with remaining seasoning. Return to oven and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until browned and dry.

Meat can be refrigerated for 2 days

Ropa Vieja

I like food. Really. I like to buy it, I like to cook it, and I really, really like to eat it. And I don't discriminate. Unless it comes from the sea, I probably like it. But if I had to pick one favorite this would be it. Ropa Vieja.

It means "old clothes" in spanish, and its a traditional Cuban dish. I first discovered it while exploring Cuban cuisine at a place called Havana Cafe in Phoenix, AZ. It was my first time eating there (now I'm a regular customer whenever I'm in town) and I'd never heard of the dish, but it sounded good. Its basically a stew of shredded beef, peppers and onions, seasoned with garlic, cumin, oregano. My dad and I once took my grandmother, who grew up in Cuba, and she said it was the most authentic Cuban dish she's ever eaten in the States.

This recipe is straight from Havana Cafe's website. I tried making it once a few years ago and it couldn't have gone worse. The butcher gave me the wrong - more expensive - cut of meat, which just didn't shred right. I didn't know how to peel tomatoes so I just threw them in chopped (I've since learned) and it was underseasoned. But I couldn't let my favorite dish go without a fight; no, this recipe deserved a second chance! So with a few more years of cooking under my belt I tried again, and I'm sure glad I did.


Ropa Vieja
courtesy of Havana Cafe

2 ½ pounds Flank Steak

4 Bay Leaves
1 Onion, cut into eighths
1 Carrot, sliced
1 Potato, cut into quarters
Salt and Pepper
Water to cover

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Onions, thinly sliced
4 cloves Garlic, minced
2 medium Green Peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
2 Habanero Chiles, seeds and stem removed and chopped
1 can Chopped Tomatoes
1 can Tomato Paste
Oregano
Cumin
2 Bay Leaves
Salt and Pepper
1/3 cup Red Wine

Wash the flank steak and place it in a large heavy pot. Add the bay leaves, onion, carrot, potato, salt and pepper; bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1-2 hours until meat is tender.


Remove steak to a plate and cool, strain liquid into a bowl and set aside. When steak is cool enough to handle, shred it using two forks.

In a large fry pan, add olive oil and sauté the next 5 ingredients until tender. Add the tomatoes, wine, and 1 cup of the reserved liquid. Season to taste and cook for about 20 minutes uncovered to reduce and create a sauce for the shredded meat.

Add the shredded meat and season to taste. Serve with rice and beans or moros.

Cuban Dinner

The actual Cuban name for this is Picadillo, but in my family it is simply known as Cuban Dinner. My whole extended family goes on vacation together quite a bit, and every time we are all together we convince my grandmother to make this. Though, I won't lie, its not much work to convince her :) My grandmother grew up in Cuba - my great grandfather was in the CIA and was based at Guantanamo. This is her recipe, based on what she ate in her childhood. Nowadays picadillo can be quite fancy, with potatoes or olives or capers or all sorts of yummy things mixed in, but this recipe is nice and simple. Just like Cuba, in the 30's.

Gran's Picadillo

1 lb ground beef
2 peppers
2 onions
Garlic
1 small can tomato paste
Red Wine
Cumin
Oregano
Black Beans
Rice

Brown beef in a large pan - it does not need to be done all the way, you'll be cooking it again. Remove beef from pan and saute chopped onions, peppers, and garlic. When the onions are done, remove 1/3 of the veggies and mix into the black beans. Return the beef to the pan with the remaining veggies. Add tomato paste plus 1 can-full each of water and red wine. Season to taste with cumin and oregano.

Serve with rice and black beans. My gran also serves with crusty bread or crackers.

Meatloaf!

This was my first attempt at meatloaf. I grew up eating it - my mom was all about frugal meals and this when ground beef was cheap. D, on the other hand, had meatloaf practically for the first time this summer at his grandparents'. Let me say, he was hooked!

We are getting ready to move so we've been trying to use up as much food as possible. We still had a TON of meat in the freezer from the last Costco run, so this was a logical choice! We both really liked it!




Meatloaf

Original recipe found here

1 cup of finely chopped onion
1 celery rib, chopped fine
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 carrot, chopped fine
1/2 cup of finely chopped scallions (can substitute onion)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 tsp Worscestershire sauce
2/3 cup ketchup
2 1/4 lbs ground meat (I used beef and turkey)
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
2 large eggs, beaten slightly
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley leaves


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large heavy skillet warm the olive oil. Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and scallions andn cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Cover the skillet and stir occassionally until the carrots are tender, about 5 more minutes. Stir in salt and pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and 1/3 a cup of ketchup. Cook for 1 more minute.

In a large bowl, combine the meats, eggs, vegetables, bread crumbs, and parsley. Form into a loaf and put into a rectangular baking pan with 2-inch high sides. Cover the loaf with remaining ketchup.

Bake the meatloaf in the oven for 1 hour.