A little piece of Spain...

Paella

Spanish Dish Recipe

Paella is a traditional dish of Spain. Its home is Valencia, but variations exist in the different Spanish provinces.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Dry white wine

1 ts saffron (azafrán)

Olive oil or Pam

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup long grain rice or yellow rice with zaffron (Mahatma is one brand)

1 red bell pepper

1 orange bell pepper

3 cups chicken stock

6 oz breast of chicken, skinless

1/2 lb fresh shrimp

1 lb mussels

2 lb clams

2, 3 oz lobster tails

1/2 cup artichoke hearts

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup chopped tomato

Pre-cooking:

Preheat oven at 350*
Let peas defrost
Chop the onion, tomato and bell peppers
Peel the shrimp (this is a science of which we can talk some other time)
Cut the chicken in small cubes
Scrub the clams and mussels, discarding any that are open (dead)

Cooking:

Spray the frying pan with PAM or olive oil
Preheat the frying pan for one minute at med-high heat
Sauté the onion 2-3 mins until limp and brown
Add the rice, sauté until golden stirring so it won't burn
Add the wine and saffron (if not already in the rice) and stir until all the wine is absorbed
Stir in the peppers
Add 2 cups of chicken stock, 1/4 cup at a time stirring until the rice absorbs the stock (this is going to take a while)
Add the last cup of chicken stock
Add the cubed chicken
Add the shrimp, clams, lobster and mussels, tucking them in the rice
Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes until mussels open
Add the peas, tomato and artichokes and bake for 2 more minutes

Tips:

Saffron (azafrán) is really hard to find, and expensive, but is worth getting if you plan to make this dish since it gives the rice a yellow coloring and adds the essence of the paella flavor. Sometimes you can find rice with the saffron already in it, which is much cheaper than buying the saffron by itself.
The smaller the clams are, the better, since they cook faster and are easier to eat.
To peal shrimp easily:
Hold the shrimp so that you can grab it from the back and peel off the legs of the shrimp
Peel off a piece of the shell around the head area
Hold on to the head area of the shrimp and pull the tail, when done correctly the whole shell while come out.

A little piece of Brazil...

Feijoada

Brazilian Dish Recipe

For 300 years, feijoada has reigned supreme in the Brazilian kitchen. Invented by slaves, who started mixing their masters' pork leftovers to the black beans that were used to feed the animals, it got a touch of Portuguese and Indian cuisines and today is served all over from the hole-in-the-wall little joints to the most sophisticated restaurants. And every family seems to have its own feijoada favorite recipe.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 red cayenne pepper, chopped

4 cups dried black beans, soaked overnight, drained

1 lb. salt pork, boiled for 5 minutes, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 lbs. Portuguese sausage (linguiça) or Italian sausage

1 lb. smoked Polish sausage, cut into 2-inch lengths

1 lb. smoked lean ham hocks

2 lbs. corned beef, cut into 2-inch cubes

1 lb. pork spareribs, cut small pieces

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

4 bay leaves

1 fresh orange, washed very well, cut in half

2 quarts water

6 oranges, peeled, sliced

How to prepared:

Heat the oil in a large, heavy, deep pot and stir-fry the onion, garlic, and cayenne for 2 minutes or until light golden brown. Add the beans, salt pork, Portuguese sausage, smoked Polish sausage, ham hocks, corned beef, pork spareribs, salt, black pepper, bay leaves, halved-orange and water. Cover and simmer for 2 hours or until the beans are tender, stirring occasionally and adding water if needed to ensure that the beans are completely covered while cooking. Serve with sliced oranges, manioc meal with butter and eggs, white rice, collard greens, vinaigrette sauce, and cachaça (Brazilian spirits) cocktail. Serves 8-10.