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Recipe
The Classic Mojito and a Basil- Cucumber Variation

You will need:
Limes: if you are using Key Limes, use 4 per glass, if you are using conventional limes, use 1 ½ large limes per glass.

Sugar: don’t bother with fancy measurements, a good soup spoon full of organic cane sugar will do.

Rum: pour in a good ounce or so of quality dark rum, like Venezuelan Cacique. Do not pay attention to those who say that light rum has to be used in a mojito- it is simply not true.

Ice: a few cubes

Mint: use about 2 leaves of mint per glass, roughly torn up.

Sparkling water: just use enough to top off the glass.

How to:
Slice the limes in half, and into quarters if large enough. Use a citrus juicer or your hands to squeeze the lime juice directly into the glasses. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve. Add a few of the lime rinds to the glass and use the back of the spoon to grind the rinds and extract some of the essential oils. Pour in the rum and stir well.
Tear up the herbs and add to the glass. Stir in the ice.
Top off with a dash of sparkling water and serve right away.

Basil Cucumber Mojito:
Instead of using mint leaves, use 1 large leaf of fresh sweet basil. Tear it up roughly and add to the drink.
Peel a cucumber and cut it in half horizontally. Thinly slice it lengthwise into long strips. Add to the glass and stir it around, before topping off with the sparkling water.

Everyone loves the classic mojito cocktail, especially in the Summer. There is nothing quite as refreshing and delicious as the combination of sugar, rum, lime juice, and mint. Here we give you our classic mojito recipe, so that you can mix some up for your friends at your next fiesta. Try our basil- cucumber variation for a new twist on the older version.
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August 19, 2008   |   0 comments
Tags: Caribbean, Caribbean, Drinks, Fusion, Latin America, Summer
Recipe
Cafe con Leche Flan

1 cup half and half
½ cup strongly brewed coffee
½ cup sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs
1 T sugar
¼ tsp vanilla extract

½ cup sugar + some water
Small individual baking dishes (2 large or 4 small)

Preheat the oven to 325º F and bring a pot of water to a boil.
Make the caramel by placing the ½ cup of sugar in a small saucepan, and adding just enough water to moisten the sugar. Turn the heat on medium high, and cook until the sugar begins to caramelize. It will start to darken slowly, but keep an eye on it, because once it starts browning, it goes quickly. Test out the color of the caramel by placing a small dollop on a white plate.
Once the caramel has arrived at the appropriate dark brown color, moving quickly, pour it into the dishes that the desserts will be baked in. Move it around so that it coats the bottom of each dish evenly. Set the dishes aside for the caramel to harden.

Mix together the vanilla, coffee, half and half, and condensed milk. Place on the stovetop, and bring to a bare simmer. Turn of the heat, and let cool slightly.
Beat the eggs with the sugar until pale yellow in color and thoroughly combined.
Slowly pour the coffee/milk into the egg/sugar mixture, and whisk to combine. The hot coffee/milk could cook the eggs, so pour it in gradually, tempering the mixtures first.
Place the individual baking dishes into a larger pyrex dish that holds them all comfortably.
Pour equal amounts of the custard into the individual baking dishes. Pour the boiling water into the larger pyrex, so that the water reaches about halfway up the sides of the custards. Carefully place in the oven.
Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, and the custards do not jiggle when moved.
Remove the dishes from the pyrex, and place into an ice water bath to cool, then refrigerate until cold.
To serve, cut around the edges of the dishes with a small knife and invert the custards onto the serving dishes.
You can always heat up some rum in a saucepan, pour over the flans, and then light them on fire for a showy display.
Buen provecho!

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October 10, 2007   |   0 comments
Tags: Caribbean, Desserts, Latin America, North America
Recipe
Asopao de Pollo con Arroz / Chicken Soup with Brown Rice (and Yucca, Taro, and Squash)

For the Sofrito base:
1 tomato
1 onion
½ red pepper
½ green pepper
½ Anaheim pepper
3 cloves garlic
Some olive oil, about a glug or two
Salt

For the Asopao:
¼ cup brown rice
1 sweet potato
1 yauti­a or taro, cut in half
1 piece of yucca, cut in half
1 ½ cups cubed butternut squash
1 whole chicken, cut in half or quarters
4 liters of water
3 limes
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste

Soak the brown rice in a bowl of water.
Blend together the ingredients for the sofrito. Traditionally, this base calls for pork fat and salt, but we just use olive oil to keep it light. You can add as much or as little salt as you like.
You will use about ½ cup of sofrito in this recipe, and then save the rest in the fridge for other fun Puerto Rican recipes.
Peel all of the root vegetables and squash, then cut them into cubes. You can use about half of a yucca and a taro, but just adjust the water level if you choose to use the whole thing. I find that it is just too much root vegetable in the pot.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot.
Pour in about ½ cup of sofrito and simmer. You can add a bit more salt at this point.
Add in the chicken pieces and let them cook with the hot sofrito for a few minutes, until they start to brown.
Pour in the water and add the yucca, sweet potato, and yauti­a to the pot.
Bring the water to a boil, and then simmer for 30-40 minutes.
Once 40 minutes have passed, transfer the chicken to a cutting board, and when it is cool enough to handle, take off the skin. You can remove the meat from the bones, but I like to keep some attached to the bone for more flavor.
Drain the rice from its soaking liquid and add it into the pot, along with the butternut squash, lime juice, tomato paste, and peeled chicken. Return the contents to a simmer for 45 more minutes, or until everything is cooked through.
At this point you can also use a fork to smush the butternut squash pieces against the sides of the pot and thicken the sauce.

Garnish with cilantro, lime, and avocado.

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October 10, 2007   |   1 comments
Tags: Caribbean, Chicken, Entrees, Fall, Latin America, North America, Soups and stews
Recipe
Shrimp and Scallion Croquettes/Croquetas de Camaron y Cebollin

For the Croquetas:
2 + 2 T olive oil (separated)
3 T all purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ lb of shrimp, shelled and de-veined
5 scallions
2 Yukon Gold potatoes

For the Breading:
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1 cup bread crumbs

Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a saucepan.
Pour 2 tablespoons of the oil into a saucepan, and once it is medium hot, add in the flour and whisk the mixture until there are no clumps, and it looks like a smooth paste. This is called a roux, and it will create a nice thick base for the croquetas.
Cook the roux for about 3 minutes letting it bubble slightly, all the while whisking.
Take the pan off of the heat, and slowly pour in the chicken broth, still whisking.
Put the saucepan on the heat and bring it to a boil, whisking all the while, to make sure that there are no clumps of the roux. Turn the sauce down to a simmer, and cook it for 15 minutes, until it is nice and thick.

Peel the potatoes and cut them into medium sized chunks.
Place them in a small pot and cover them with water. Boil until they are soft, then drain them and let them air- dry.
Mash them with the back of a fork, or the bottom of a glass, until they are smooth.

Prepare the shrimp by rinsing and drying them well.
Chop each shrimp into small pieces; each shrimp can be chopped into about 3 small chunks.
Season them with salt and keep them cold until you are ready to use them.
Slice the scallions thinly, but keep separate the white and pale green parts from the darker green parts.
In a saute pan, heat up the rest of the oil on medium high heat, and then add in the garlic. Cook the garlic in the oil, but do not let it get too brown.
Add in the white and pale green parts of the scallions.
Next, toss in the chopped shrimp, and season with some salt. Once the shrimp are cooked through, take the pan off of the heat, and toss in the chopped greens of the scallions and stir the mixture well.
Combine the potato, the thick sauce, and the shrimp in a bowl and mix well. You should have a nice thick mass.
Prepare three bowls. One with the flour, one with the eggs (well beaten), and one with the bread crumbs.
Form croquetas by taking a small amount of the mixture and shaping it into an attractive finger-like shape.
Dip them first into the flour (shake off excess), then into the egg (shake off excess), then into the breadcrumbs (shake off excess).

Heat up about an inch of oil in a saute pan on medium heat, and fry the croquetas in the oil until nicely browned and crispy.
Flip them over and cook through on the other side.
Place on a plate lined with a paper towel to drain the oil, and serve warm.
Drizzle with lime juice and enjoy a Caribbean treat!

Makes 8 croquettes.

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October 10, 2007   |   0 comments
Tags: Appetizers, Caribbean, Fish, Latin America, Meze & Small Plates, Side Dishes