Make Your Own: Dulce De Leche

 Milk and sugar. Slowly simmered until the sugar caramelizes and produces a sweet, thick, and creamy spread. Now that's the stuff of dreams. Well, at least MY dreams anyway. I' talking about Dulce de Leche, that wonderful stuff which goes well on pretty much anything. Cake, crackers, toast, pancakes, cookies, ice cream, flan, cheese.... I could go on all day. 

Dulce de Leche, and its many sweet cousins (The Mexican Cajeta, the Colombian Arequipe, the Peruvian Manjar Blanco...) have been finding their way into American supermarket shelves over the past few years. Usually, you can find at least three different brands of Dulce de Leche in the grocery store. But, if you don't like any of the brands available, you can't find any, you're a do-it-yourselfer, or you just want to impress someone with random culinary knowledge, here is an easy and rather inexpensive way of making Dulce De Leche. This is not the traditional recipe, which would require quite a lot of time and constant supervision. If you are interested in the traditional way of making it, however, Alton Brown has a great recipe for it. 

The easy way requires a can of condensed milk, a pot of boiling water and about 2 hours of your time. 

1) Peel the labels off of the can.

2) Poke 2 holes on top of can with a can opener. VERY IMPORTANT STEP! Otherwise it could explode :(

3) place can in pot. Cover with water until just before top of can. Simmer on medium high heat.

4) Make sure water level is always constant. In about 2 hours, you should have Dulce de Leche.

Enjoy!

Mystery Ingredient of the Week: Gandules!

Chances are, you've never heard of gandules. Or if you have, you've probably never tried them. Gandules are a type of pea (called green pigeon peas in english) that usually come from Ecuador and are widely used in Puerto Rican and Dominican cuisines. They are high in protein content and can be found in the "ethnic" food aisle of the grocery store (Goya sells canned ones, which are easier to cook since it eliminates the pre-soaking step). I was introduced to them by a Puerto Rican family friend, and have been hooked ever since. My favorite way to cook them is by making Arroz con Gandules (rice with gandules), a hearty dish which I usually serve as an entree, but is surprisingly a great accompaniment to brisket. I hope you give gandules a try. Maybe you'll discover you love them as much as I do!

 

Arroz Con Gandules

•  Bacon, or Smoked Sausage, or Ham chopped
• Garlic, chopped
• 2 cups Rice
• 4 cups of water
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, chopped
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 1 packet of Sazon Goya with Coriander and Annatto
• 1 can of Gandules

Add just enough oil to cover the bottom of a pot. Place over medium high heat. Add meat, bell pepper, onion, and seasoning. Saute until onion becomes translucent, stirring constantly. Add garlic and gandules. Add rice. Mix well. Add water and turn up heat to high. Add salt to taste. Let boil until water level has reduced considerably and turn heat to low. let simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes. 

Enjoy!

Two for One: Pork Tenderloin

When it comes to grocery shopping, frugality has become my new motto. So, imagine my excitement when, on my last trip to HEB, I found a 2.5 pound pork tenderloin for $5! That' s a really good deal, especially since it's one of the leanest meats available, and less fat means more usable meat. Pork tenderloin is very easy to cook, and can be seasoned with pretty much anything you like. The main thing to remember when cooking pork is not to overcook it, because you'll end up with a dry piece of meat. Therefore, a meat thermometer is a good tool to have. A range of 150 to 165 degrees F will result in a tenderloin that's moist and safe to eat. I chose to do a pineapple pork tenderloin because I have fond memories of the pineapple glazed pork my mom used to make when I was kid, but it could have easily been seasoned with chipotles in adobo sauce, or honey mustard (Like I said, the seasoning possibilities are endless). The best part about this dish, however, was that I got two different meals out of it. The first night I served the tenderloin with rice and steamed broccoli, and with the leftovers, I made yummy tacos al pastor (pictured). Two delicious meals for the price of one, now that's a great deal!

Pineapple Glazed Pork Tenderloin

• 2 Pork tenderloins, 1 to 1 1/2 lbs each
• 1 can of sliced pineapples, juice reserved
• soy sauce
• 3 to 4 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• Salt and pepper

Generously rub tenderloins with salt and pepper and place them in a roasting pan. With a large fork, poke holes all around the tenderloins and insert chopped garlic pieces into the holes. In a bowl, combine one part soy sauce to two parts pineapple juice. Pour this mixture over tenderloins and let marinate for at least an hour. 

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place sliced pineapple rings on top of and around tenderloins. Put roasting pan in oven and roast to about 160 degrees on a meat thermometer, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest about 5 minutes before slicing to serve. 

Leftovers? No problem! Chop leftover meat into small pieces and place in a saute pan with a bit of oil, chopped white onions, and fresh chopped cilantro. If you like a bit of heat in your food, you could also add some hot sauce (I use Cholula, because it's not too hot and adds a nice flavor). Lightly coat corn tortillas in oil and place them on a cookie sheet. place about a tablespoon of the prepared meat filling on each tortilla and fold over. Bake in a 300 degree oven until tortillas start to to harden and are a golden color. 

Enjoy!

The First Post

Hello out there! If you are reading this, awesome. That means someone else besides my mother and my neighbor's cat decided to check the blog out. So thanks! 

Spoon diaries is a documentation of my forays into the culinary world, which are sometimes successful and sometimes not, but I pretty much enjoy them all.  All the recipes on here are ones that I've tested (and tasted!), some which I've made up myself, some which are family recipes, others that look yummy and want to try, and some are recipes that, through trial and error :(, have taught me to be a better cook. I hope that you enjoy them, try some out, and discover (or re-discover) that your passion for cooking is as big as mine!

Thanks for dropping by!