We got a brand-new, spanking pressure cooker as a wedding gift last October. Husband had been after me for a couple of months to try it out. It's a fancy-dandy German stove-top model that is built like a tank, made to last, shiny and durable. And boy, does it work well! Here's a recipe for the first ever thing I cooked in it. A standard pot roast a-la-50s style. Nothing fancy, and really easy. All in less than an hour cooking time.
People ask me: Why the pressure cooker? In short, it's fast and the food comes out moist and fork tender. If you don't always plan ahead and use the slow cooker. Use the pressure cooker -- your fast cooker friend!
Ingredients
3 lbs Boneless Chuck Roast
3 tbs Olive Oil
2 large Onions (Yellow - Chopped fine)
2 Cups Beef Stock
4 Carrots (Chopped into inch pieces -- about 2 Cups)
8-12 Red Bliss Potatoes (or Red Creamers) (chopped to 1- 1 1/2 inch sizes)
3-4 Celery Stalks (Chopped fine)
2 tbs Garlic
2 tbs Soy Sauce
2 tbs Worchestire sauce
salt
pepper
Salt/Pepper chuck roast
Combine beef stock, garlic, soy sauce, worchestire sauce and set aside
Heat olive oil in 8 qt pressure cooker on high. Sear chuck roast on all sides, careful not to burn. Do not flip multiple times. Be patient. Once you've seared, pour stock mixture in pressure cooker over the roast.
Add carrots, onions, celery, potatoes
Close pressure cooker and attain "high" pressure.
Cook at high pressure for 1 hour.
Release pressure according to manufacturer's directions.
Picadillo, or Cuban Beef Hash, is that savory combination of ground beef and stuff. I say stuff because there are about as many different versions of Picadillo as there are people. Some people like it sweet, some spicy (not very many Cubans), and most like it savory. What follows below is the way you are most likely to eat it at my house. Unless, of course, I run out of something. Then, what you'll eat is an improvisation of whatever is around.
Picadillo takes a while. It takes a bit of time to get those potatoes to soften. Be patient. You are not going to overcook the meat--don't worry. It's also important to follow the stages below in order, otherwise the textures wont be right. You don't want mush.
A couple of notes. "Chopped small" is not the same as minced--I like texture. I like my Picadillo a bit wetter than most people. Also, I believe in easy, for the most part. I like using Badia. It's cheap, easy and good.
Ingredients
1 Cup Raisins
1/2 Cup Red Wine
2 tbs Olive Oil
1 1/2 Large Sweet Yellow Onion (Chopped Small)
1 Orange Bell Pepper (Chopped Small)
1 Red Bell Pepper (Chopped Small)
2tbs Minced Garlic
2tbs Badia Sazon Completa
2tsp Ground Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Ground Clove
1/2 tsp Asafoetida Powder (Don't know what this is? Look here: Asafoetida Powder)
2 lbs Ground Beef
2 15oz Cans Tomato Sauce
2 Pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes (Peeled and Chopped Medium-Small)
1 Cup Green Olives (I like Castlevetrano)
Salt to taste
I recommend a 5 quart non-stick pan. Everything in one pot. No sense in getting lots of things dirty. Those of you that are wondering what red wine to use, I use whatever I have around. Currently, we are drinking Apothic Red. We really like Apothic Dark, but that was a limited release. I am told that Apothic Dark is coming out again in the first quarter of 2014. Get it!
Soak raisins in red wine for at least an hour. Read that again. At least an hour. It is important that the raisins plump.
Sauté bell peppers and onions in the olive oil until soft on medium high heat.
Add garlic, Badia, black pepper, clove, asafoetida and stir. In about 15 seconds, you will note the frangrance change. When you do . . .
Add the ground beef and brown. Don't worry if not perfectly brown. Make sure to break up all the meat. Do your best.
Add the tomato sauce and stir.
Add raisins with the wine.
Bring to simmer.
Add potatoes.
Bring to simmer. (If already at simmer, continue)
Cover and reduce heat to low. Maintain low simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.
Ten minutes before you call it "done," add olives. Stir. Wait. Skim any fat on top. Stir. Serve.
Every now and again we'll take a break from the '50s and highlight a recipe that is tried and true and a favorite from our kitchen. Today, it's the Cuban Quiche. You read it correctly, the Cuban Quiche.
This is what comes of a Cuban boy from Miami in the kitchen with too much time on his hands. You never know what you're going to get. I love Cuban picadillo. For the uninitiated, picadillo is a savory ground beef mixture that is usually eaten with rice and has as many variations as there are people who make it. (I'll post my recipe sometime in the future.) One day, I was sitting around minding my own business, and a strange thought popped into my head. What would happen if I combined the savory/tropical taste of picadillo with the hearty richness of quiche? I had had meat quiche before (Quiche Lorraine anyone?) but it was to fancy and delicate. I wanted something strong and aggressive. Well, I think I hit pay dirt! Let me know what you think in the comments:
Ingredients
5 eggs (room temperature)
1/2 cup Whole Milk
2 tbs Balsamic Vinegar (If you can get this: Beekman Black Drizzle, it is AMAZING!)
2 Cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese, finely grated
1 1/2 Cup Gouda Cheese, finely grated
1 tbs All Purpose Flour
1 Pie Crust (I like the Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crust)
1 lb Ground Beef
1 Bell Pepper (Red), minced
1 Yellow Onion (Large), minced
4 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbs Badia Sazon Completa
1 tsp Kosher Salt -
Take the eggs, milk, balsamic vinegar, flour, and salt and combine in a medium bowl. Whisk together until all the egg yolks are broken and the ingredients are well-combined. Add cheeses, beat further. Now you are starting to understand why it was important that the cheeses where FINELY grated. The finer the easier it is to incorporate and the better the Quiche will turn out! You do not have to beat it to death, but ensure that you have a nice, gooey, consistent mixture. It is important that all the ingredients are evenly distributed. Set aside.
Spread pie shell over a 9 inch prepared (butter, Pam, whatever you prefer) pie pan. It is essential that you blind bake the pie shell. If you do not have experience blind baking a pie shell, click on the instructional video below, it is an EXCELLENT tutorial from America's Test Kitchen.
While the pie shell is blind baking, saute onions, and bell pepper over medium-high heat until onions are translucent and bell pepper is soft. Add garlic and saute further for about 10 seconds until garlic blooms (you'll know, the smell will be incredible). Add the Badia Sazon Completa and stir. Now, add the ground beef and brown, taking care to break up and chunks that may form. Ensure that ground been pieces are as small as possible and cook through.
Take the cooked beef and our into the now cooked pie shell ensuring that it is equally distributed along the bottom of the shell. You want to make sure you get beef in every bite. Now, pour the egg mixture over the beef. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes depending on your oven. They are all temperamental.
Use the toothpick test to test for doneness:
Any questions? Ask away! Make sure you let me know what you think in the comments!
COMBINE sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt in medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
STIR in marshmallows, morsels, nuts and vanilla extract. Stir vigorously for 1 minute or until marshmallows are melted. Pour into prepared baking pan; refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan; remove foil. Cut into 48 pieces.
I hate big parties for New Year's Eve. Well, truth be told, I really don't care for big parties at all. I like small groups that stay around 6-10 people. They are much easier to cook for, you can talk to everyone, and, as host, you can make sure everybody has a good time. Fortunately for the husband and me, we had the best of all worlds for New Year's. A small, intimate party, hosted by somebody else: our good friends Rebecca and Jay!
Rebecca is a wonderful mixologist. She can pour a stiff drink that wont hit you until it's too late for you to realize what you've done. Well, she did me in on New Year's Eve. "What can I get you?" She asked. "Make me something sweet," I answered. What happened then is still hazy, but I had one of the best drinks I've ever had - and the one drink gave me a buzz that lasted for hours. Here's the recipe for the Stiletto. Enjoy!
Fill cocktail shaker with the cracked ice and add Amaretto, Bourbon, Lemon and Simple Syrup. Shake Vigorously to blend and chill. Divide the ice cubes between two old-fashioned glasses. Strain half the mixture into each glass. Garnish with Lemon Peels. Rub Peel round rim of glass then drop in! Serves 2.
By the way, Rebecca inverted the recipe in the drink she gave to me, doubling the Bourbon and singling the Amaretto. All I can say is WOW!
The recipe came from: Highballs and High Heels. Click on the name if you want to purchase the book.
Combine all ingredients until well mixed. Make 1 inch meatballs. Braise meatballs until done. NOTE: When braising, lightly fry only, then stew in favorite liquid (I prefer a 1:1 redwine/stock combination) to prevent drying.
Use as a dip, condiment, or in place of Paprika when needed in a recipe. I especially like to use the paste because it combines more easily with other ingredients. Also, because I'm in control of what I put in, I can control how spicy it is! The Roasted Bell Peppers bring out the Paprika's earth flavors.
Ingredients
2 Roasted Bell Peppers (Any Color Except Green)
2 tbs Hot Hungarian Paprika
2 tbs Sweet Paprika
4 tbs Ketchup
3 tbs Red Wine Vinegar
2 cloves of Garlic
Throw everything in the blender and process on lowest setting possible until you have a nice, thick paste. Makes approximately 1 pint. You need to refrigerate. At my house, it's gone in about a week. We put it on everything.
Yes. I know that cooking in the Fifties was all about convenience and opening jars/cans. But, as you will learn from my postings, if I have it at home, can substitute, or make-up, I'm not going to the store. So, when the Tropical Pork Chops recipe called for 1/2 cup of prepared sweet and sour sauce, I looked around the house to see what I could come up with. I think you will appreciate the results. Let me know.
Here is what you will need:
4 tbs Pineapple Juice
4 tbs Ketchup (or tomato sauce - whatever you have closest to you)
1/2 cup Red Wine Vinegar (Apple Cider Vinegar will work too, but not as well)
1/4 cup Light Brown Sugar (Regular Sugar will work too, taste will be brighter)
1/2 tsp Kosher Salt (OR 1/4 tsp table salt, you decide)
1 tsp Grated Fresh Ginger (OR 1/4 tsp powdered Ginger)
1 tbs Cornstarch (dissolved in 3 tbs water)
Combine pineapple juice, ketchup, vinegar, sugar, salt and ginger in a small saucepan whisking periodically, bringing to slow simmer on medium heat -- just enough to melt the sugar.
When you have the simmer going, introduce the Cornstarch solution and whisk slowly until the liquid becomes a bit syrupy and develops a glossy sheen. Note, it WILL NOT tremendously thicken on the stove. Simmer for about an additional 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand until liquid returns to room temperature.
Once at room temperature, store in favorite container and refrigerate until use. The sauce will thicken a bit more in the refrigerator, but it will not become gooey. If you're going to use it for dipping, you may want to pull it out 1/2 hour early to let it get to room temperature.
I thought I'd start off easy by tackling a "dump and serve" recipe from our book of 1950s cuisine. Although the name was inviting, the recipe called for little more than taking some prepared sweet and sour sauce, combining it with pineapple chunks, and dumping the concoction over some browned pork chops. Completely uninspired and totally pedestrian. Although I've got to give it massive props for quick and easy, and, yes, the result would have yielded a perfectly edible set of pan-fried chops, the experience would have left me somewhat empty inside -- and somehow, the blasé recipe did not conjure a Luscious Luau in my mind.
In four simple steps, the recipe wanted us to:
Combine pineapple chunks, sweet and sour sauce, raisins and brown sugar in a bowl.
Brown chops.
Dump combination sauce over chops and simmer until cooked -- about 10 minutes.
Serve over cous cous (I doubt they had this in the 50s, in the U.S., but what can you do?)
So, what could I do that was simple and at the same time increase the flavor quotient? I added a flavor-paste rub. Before browning the chops (which were not chops at all but a chopped pork loin), I dosed them with a rub designed to bring out a Luscious Luau flavor.
Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and form a paste. Take the paste and spread it over both sides of the chops! Put the chops in the refrigerator (covered or it they will stink up the fridge) for at least two hours.
By the way, if you don't have pork chops, relax. I didn't have pork chops at home but I did have a 1 1/2 lb pork loin. Here's what I did:
Take the loin and cut it in half, leaving you with two even cuts.
Take those halves, and slice them in half again for four "chops."
Presto! Four "Chops." As long as you don't over-cook them (internal temperature 145 degrees) they will be moist, juicy and tender.
Eagle-eyed readers will have noticed that I used crushed pineapple rather than pineapple chunks. Well, I didn't have any chunks. I'm over it. Are you? Use what you have. Repeat with me. Use what you have. Not surprisingly, I found that the crushed pineapple combined very well with the cous cous.
Oh! Before I forget, I didn't have any sweet and sour sauce either -- I'll post that recipe for you tomorrow. Who needs store-bought?
During 2014, Retro Gourmets will dedicate itself to the food of the fabulous fifties. As a year-long project, we will cook our way through Publications International's Best-Loved Food of the '50s. Each week, one or two recipes from the book will be highlighted, along with the ups and downs of making each one. Yes, we'll tackle the easy ones; we'll also tackle the hard ones. Along the way, your hosts Alex and Zuaelie (cooking from A to Z!) will thrown in some 50s trivia, fun facts and cooking tips -- often highlighting some kitchen products they can't live with out. Have a question? Post in the comments and they will do their best to answer. Although not professional chefs, each one carries extensive cooking experience in a variety of settings. No, they are not fussy, just practical. And, they know how to make due with what they have!
Want to follow along? Purchase your copy of the book at Amazon by clicking here: Best-Loved Food of the 50s
