Mojo Marinated Chicharron ( Latin Style Fried Pork Belly)

For those who are unfamiliar, chicharron (Chee Chah ROHN) is a type of fried pork common in many Latin American countries.  It is prepared using chunks of the same meat that bacon comes from, but the skin is left on and it is uncured and still in slab form before being cut into pieces.  I am not much of a fried food person, but some chicharron once a year is darn tasty!  It's crunchy on the outside, the meat is tender, and the layer just beneath the crisp skin is slightly chewy, mmmmm, mmmm, mmm!  Chicharron on its own is often eaten as a street food or a snack


This particular recipe is even more wonderful because you marinate the meat and pack it with flavor before frying it.  I dare you to try eating it without licking your fingers!  My mouth is watering just thinking about it!  Enjoy this recipe for some out-of-this-world chicharron!


You can see my video for the process here.  It's in the middle of cooking the mofongo, so part of the video is frying plantains too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSqcUatytmk&feature=player_embedded

*This is the same recipe that I use for my mofongo or Latin style stuffed fried green plantain mash


Chicharron     

1. Desired amount of chicharron, marinated overnight in mojo recipe above.  You only need maybe 1/3 lb of chicharron for the actual mofongo, but I got 1.5 lbs and enjoyed the rest on its own.  It's super cheap.  Just ask the butcher to cut you some pork belly with the skin, meat, and fat all in tact.  Cut the chicharron into 1-1/2" - 2" pieces to fry. 3/4 cups water 1 tsp baking soda    

     
Procedure:

1. Rub the marinated chicharron in the baking soda.  Cook the chicharron  over medium low heat (Skin side UP--you don't wan't to cook it in water or it'll get chewy, not crispy) in 3/4 cup water. The reason for drying it is because the marinade adds a lot of liquid and excess liquid will make your chicharron chewy.  It isn't supposed to cover the meat. 
2. After about ten minutes of cooking on medium low (it should look very close to cooked, if not cooked), transfer the meat into a separate, ungreased, pre-heated pan to let it fry in its own grease over medium high.  Be sure to turn the meat two or three times to allow it to become crispy and brown on all sides.  
3. Alternatively, you can also just fry it the chicharron the whole way it its own fat, rather than doing water, if you don't want to risk messing it up and getting chewy chicharron. Traditionally, the process is to cook the chicharron in 1 cup of water over medium low until the water evaporates, then it fries in its own grease.  This doesn't work for this recipe since we used a liquid marinade, not a a basic salt or salt and oregano dry seasoning.  Besides, many people end up with chewy chicharron with the water process anyway, and some opt to just fry the meat in its own grease the whole way, skipping the water altogether. 

Haitian Stewed Chicken

I initially intended to write this post on the 12th, not because I planned it, but because it just worked out that way.  I hadn't had Haitian food since I was living in Miami, and I recently pulled out all of my books that had been packed away.  I've been going through a few of my cookbooks again, including my Haitian cookbook, The Art and Soul of Haitian Cooking.  When I came across the stewed chicken recipe, I just had to make it!  I'm actually glad that I made this dish on the 12th.  I felt closer to a very dear friend of mine who passed in the earthquake.  I would have shared this dish with her and we would have surely exchanged stories, laughed, and listened to some music over a great meal.  This post is in honor of her and her love of life, her contagious joy, and her love and pride for her country.

For those who have never tried Haitian food, I encourage you to give it a shot.  This recipe is very easy and super delicious!  In honor of my dear friend Stephanie and of all those who perished that day and in honor of every soul that was touched by the earthquake in any way, I hope that you will be encouraged to try something new and experience a taste of Haiti.

As an introduction for those who may be unfamiliar with Haitian cuisine, it is very similar in technique to other Afro-Caribbean cuisines--it has a strong focus on braised meats in a spicy, well-seasoned sauce that is most often served with white rice or seasoned rice and beans.  Out of all of the Afro-Caribbean cuisines that I know, I would say that Haitian food is closest to Jamaican.  If you like Jamaican food, you will love Haitian food too.  Although Haitian food tastes very different from Jamaican food, the ingredients are quite similar.  Haitian meats are marinated and braised in a sauce that contains everything that Jamaican meats do except where Jamaicans would use allspice, known by Jamaicans as pimento berries, Haitians use whole cloves.  Also, Haitians also add vinegar and, like their Dominican neighbors, tomato paste.  This particular recipe is very easy, authentic, and you probably already have all of the ingredients to make it.  Haitian stewed chicken has a rich, spicy, slightly tart flavor. The cloves impart a deep, rich flavor that has a wonderful aroma.  All of the flavors combine create a very unique flavor that is sure to delight the palate!

Also, as with many other Afro-Caribbean cuisines, the meat is chopped into bite-sized pieces using a good knife and a hammer to pound the knife through the bone.  This technique, although a bit intimidating at first, is actually very convenient because flavor penetrates the meat much more thoroughly, and cooking time is significantly accelerated.

Here is a recipe that I have adapted, with some changes, from The Art and Soul of Haitian Cooking by the Haiti Institute in DC.  I highly recommend this cookbook, by the way.  It is very authentic and has tons of great Haitian recipes, including baked goods, drinks, and even candies and ice creams.

Haitian Stewed Chicken
1 whole chicken, or about 8 drumsticks, chopped (bone-in) into bite-sized pieces (3-4 per drumstick)

1/2 a medium green bell pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

6 whole cloves or about 1/4 tsp of ground cloves

5 green onions, minced (if you don't have them, no biggie)

1/2 tsp thyme

1 whole scotch bonnet pepper (habanero is a perfect substitute and is much more readily available in most areas) (do NOT break the skin of the pepper or your dish will be too spicy)

1-1/2 TB tomato paste + water for diluting (about 1-2 TB should be enough)

juice of 1 lime + extra juice for washing the meat (about 1 lime)

1-1/2 TB white vinegar + habanero hot sauce (traditionally pikliz vinegar, vinegar from a seasoned hot pepper and veggie pickle, is used)

1 tsp chopped parsley

salt and pepper to taste

2 TB of oil for frying

Procedure:
1. Wash the meat with lime juice and let set for about 5-7 minutes, no longer than 10.  Rinse and pat dry.

2. Crush the thyme, parsley, garlic, lime juice, bell pepper, and onion in a mortar and pestle or grind in a small blender or food processor until a uniform paste is achieved then add in whole cloves

3. Cover and rub the meat with the marinade.  Marinate the meat for at least 1 hour.  I discourage marinating overnight as acidic marinades can cause meat to become tough if left to sit for too long.

4. Remove the chicken from the marinade, reserving the marinade for later use

5. Brown the chicken in the oil over medium heat

6. Add in the reserved marinade, the thinned tomato paste, and the vinegar/pikliz

7. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes until chicken is done

8. Serve with white rice or Haitian rice and beans

*Although this is not done traditionally, I like to strain out the solid onions and peppers after cooking is done.  It's not necessary, but it is just my preference because I like the nice, smooth sauce that results.

Fluffy, Silky, Buttery Brioche

So I keep hearing all of this talk about how great brioche is, how it's so buttery and delicious.  Well, I was craving a nice, somewhat sweet bread and since I already made houska/challah I decided to go for brioche.  The funny thing is, I've never actually had brioche before.  In fact, I've never even seen it besides on TV and online.

Well, I actually just took my bread out of the oven and, unfortunately, a small piece got stuck to the bottom of my loaf pan.  I was disappointed, especially considering that I actually sprayed the pan before baking, but that little piece missing gave me a window into just how ridiculously amazing the texture of this bread was.  The bread was soft, airy, silky, and oh-so-good...almost melt-in-your-mouth fluffy and soft.  I cannot wait until this bread cools so I can dig in!  Based on the small piece that I tasted (since it stuck to the pan anyway), this recipe was a 100% success.

I actually used a French recipe for this, but I measured out everything using my measuring cups and spoons after I weighed out the metric volume amounts.  I had my doubts about this recipe because there is a TON of butter, and you feel like there's no way there is even enough bread for all of that butter, but there is!  Yummy, yummy, yummy!  It's sort of like when you make a good, flaky buttermilk biscuit--you feel like "where on earth is all of this butter going to fit?" but once you bake it, you're just like, "mmmmm, perfection."

Well, here you go!  Cheers to me for not being forgetful or lazy and actually measuring to convert from metric for once!  Enjoy :)





Ingredients:
1. 7 TB warm milk
2. 2-1/2  tsp dry yeast (use what you prefer, but note that double acting will taste a bit yeasty)
3. 3c + 3 TB all purpose flour (you may need to add more based on feel of the dough.  It will be soft and sticky before the first rising)
4. 4 TB sugar
5. 1-1/4 tsp salt
6. 5 eggs, gently beaten
7. 2 sticks + 2 TB room temperature butter, cut into small pieces (I actually ended up cutting 1 TB or two from the total butter amount because I was scared, and it actually turned out perfect.)

Procedure:
1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a medium-sized bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Allow to proof for 10 minutes in a warm place.

2. Combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.

3. Add the eggs and the yeast mixture and mix (you can do this by hand if you don't have a machine).  You should have a soft, sticky dough.

4. Knead the dough intensively for 15 minutes so that it will be smooth and elastic.

5.  Stud the dough with the butter pieces and knead until the butter is well-incorporated

6. Place the ball of dough in a large, greased bowl and cover with greased plastic wrap.  Refrigerate and allow to rise overnight.  The goal is to have it double in size, but it is recommended to let it rise overnight for optimum results.

7. Preheat oven to 350F

8. Punch down the down dough until it reaches its original volume.  Form the bread into the desired loaf shape and place into a greased pan and cover with greased plastic.  Allow to rise in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.
         *If you want the same loaf shape as photographed above, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and place close together in a loaf pan, as pictured.  If you have a scale, weighing the balls for equal weight would be ideal; otherwise, simply divi out balls that look about the same size.

9. Remove plastic and brush the top of the bread with egg wash.  I did mine with yolk and a little water only since the yolk creates a sweet, rich glaze which goes well with brioche.  The original recipe just calls for a regular egg wash with a whole egg.

10. Bake in greased pan for 45 minutes.  Your brioche will be very dark on the top, maybe a little darker than photographed because I had to bake an extra 15 minutes from when I took the photograph to get the bake time that the original recipe called for.  Oops :).

11.  Let cool for at least one hour.  Enjoy!

References: http://www.patiss.com/recette/pates/brioche.html

Tips:
To store, wrap the bread  loaf itself (not with the pan, just the loaf) up really well in plastic and, if possible, store inside a large container for optimal freshness.  Fresh bread lasts about 3-5 days.

Bread generally freezes well, so freezing half for later use may be a great idea, even if you plan to eat it within the same week.  Simply thaw on the counter.  You can also refrigerate the loaf in an air-tight container, which is what I do after the first 24-48 hours.

The original recipe says that brioche dough also freezes very well, but not to freeze it for too long.  I'd recommend wrapping it up well in plastic, then in foil before putting in a Ziplock to protect from freezer burn.

Wonderfully Rich and Delicious Shrimp Stock

I am an NPR fanatic.  Back when I was in grad school, I didn't have cable, and I was just fine was it because I'd just keep my NPR on all day long, and I just loved it.  There was always something new and interesting on the "Dianne Rehm Show" or "The Story," plenty of hilarious moments on "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me," "Car Talk," and "The Moth."  One particular show that I fell in love with is "The Splendid Table."  Host Lynne Rossetto Kasper always shared such great recipes, and I loved hearing her creative suggestions for callers in recipe ruts.  Her recipes always sounded so amazing, yet they were never overly complicated.

As a regular listener of "The Splendid Table," I had mentally bookmarked a number of Lynne's mouth-watering recipes.  One of those recipes was the Rustic Shrimp Bisque shared by Melissa Clark.  Today, I finally had the chance to try the recipe and WOW!!  Talk about an easy recipe that packs some shockingly serious flavor!  In just 3 simple steps and 20 short minutes you can have a wonderful, restaurant-quality shrimp stock for soups, bisques, or seafood rice dishes.

As usual, since I didn't have a few of the ingredients (the wine and the brandy) I substituted with whatever I had around.  Below is the recipe that I used.  The original recipe can be found at the link at the bottom of the page.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1. shells from 1lb or so of shrimp, well-rinsed
2. 1 TB of butter
3. 2/3 c beer (I used Modelo)
4. 1 TB of cachaca (Brazilian sugar cane alcohol) or white rum
5. 6 cups of water
6. 1 clove of garlic
7. 1 bay leaf
8. 3 sprigs fresh time, or 1 pinch of dried thyme
9. salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:
1. Melt butter in a medium sauce pot and cook shrimp shells over high heat, stirring frequently, until lightly browned.  This should take about 3 minutes.

2. Add beer and cachaca and continue cooking over high heat until the alcohol is almost evaporated.

3. Once the alcohol has nearly evaporated, add 6 cups of water, bay leaf, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper.  Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

4. Strain shrimp stock into a bowl, pressing the shells before discarding them.

References: The Splendid Table, http://www.publicradio.org/columns/splendid-table/recipes/soup_shrimp_bisque.html