Alfajores

Alfajores are the most delicious little cookies.  They're two subtly sweet cookies which have dulce de leche in between and then topped with powdered sugar.  If you've never had an alfajor, you must try them- you won't regret it, or maybe you will after cookie #9- lol.  My personal preference is to make a thin cookie so that you have a nice crunch when you bite into them, coupled with the smooth texture of the dulce de leche... bliss, total and utter bliss.   So here's my recipe:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups flour
1 cup cornstarch
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 can condensed milk

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter and sugar together on high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy and has turned about two shades paler.  Next crack in the the eggs, add the vanilla, and blend well for about 2 minutes on high speed. Once blended well, add the milk and blend once again.  In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, cornstarch and baking powder and then add to the wet mixture in thirds, blending evenly each time.  Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl every now and again. You should have a semi firm dough.  Sprinkle a little flour onto your work surface and begin gently kneading the dough, adding more flour as needed to prevent it from sticking.  Cut a piece about the size of your palm and begin gently rolling out the dough.  I like the alfajores to have really thin cookies so I rolled the dough out quite a bit to achieve this. Using cookie cutter, begin cutting your shapes. I put a silicone mat on my cookie sheet and then transferred the cut-out shapes to the sheet.  Put the pan in the oven and let the cookies bake for about 10-12 minutes. Once baked, remove the cookies from the tray and let them cool completley.

For the dulce de leche- all you'll have to do is cook the can of condensed milk in water.  I added water to my crock pot (about 6 cups) and put the can into the water. Just let it cook on the high setting for about 3 hours.  You could also do the same thing in a pressure cooker for about one hour.  Just a warning though, let the can cool a bit before opening it, otherwise the heat will expel the contents out like a volcano and you'll have dulce de leche everywhere.  I learned the hard way!

To assemble, add a little dollop of dulce de leche on one side of the cookie and top it with another.  Sprinkle the top of the cookies with powdered sugar.

P.S.  There is no easy way to eat this... they're messy and gooey and you'll have stuff all over your hands, but it's so worth it!

Herbed Turkey Patties with Left-over Thanksgiving Turkey

We had tons of leftovers this year for Thanksgiving.  I hate to see food go to waste so I decided to make something similar to a crab cake, but with turkey instead.  I ended up using the rest of my leftover turkey and mashed potatoes.  I made enough for my husband and I to eat and the rest I put into a zip-lock bag and stuck it in the freezer.  Now I have room in the fridge, leftovers gone, and dinner for one of those nights when I don't feel like cooking.  I served this with the left over green bean casserole and voila. Thanksgiving leftovers are almost outta here.

Herbed Turkey Patties:
2 lbs. left-over thanksgiving turkey(approximately)
3 cups mashed potatoes
2 eggs
1 onion
4 garlic cloves
1/2 cup chopped fresh parlsey
1/2 cup fresh chopped sage
2 tbsp. fresh chopped rosemary
2 tbsp. fresh chopped thyme
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 cup bread crumbs (plus more for breading later)
2 eggs (for batter)
cooking spray

The first thing to do is pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Next  add the turkey to a food processor and blend until you have the consistency of ground turkey.

Next, chop up the onions, garlic and herbs and transfer to a non-stick pan sprayed with non-stick spray.  Saute for about 5 minutes and then add the turkey, browning it a bit.  Add the salt and nutmeg and combine well.

Add the mashed potatoes to your food processor.  Blend until nice and smooth.  You can omit this step if you want a more rustic patty.

Next transfer the potatoes, turkey and herbs to a mixing bowl.  Taste to see if it needs salt.  Next crack both eggs into the mixture and blend well.  Add the bread crumbs and combine well.  Now begin forming the patties. The patties need to be dredged in egg and then bread crumbs and placed on a cookie sheet.

Lastly, spray each side of the patty with a little cooking spray and bake for about 25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

I topped the patties with a little cajun dipping sauce.  All I did was combine mayo, ketchup, creole seasoning and cayenne pepper.

Chicken Pad Thai

So I know this has nothing to do with Thanksgiving but I couldn't help myself.  I have been craving Asian food lately like it's going out of style.  Pad Thai was always so intimidating to me.  Like it would be so difficult or unattainable at home, but alas, I was surprisingly mistaken.  Like the broccoli beef, this was quite easy.  The most tedious part was chopping all of the veggies, but I personally find chopping vegetables therapeutic- weird I know...

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 package flat medium width rice noodles

1 carrot
1/2 red pepper
1 bunch scallions
1 tbsp. minced ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
4 eggs beaten and cooked
1/2 cup bean sprouts
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. siracha (asian hot sauce with the rooster on the front)
1/2 cup unsalted roasted peanuts
canola or peanut oil for stir frying
4 lime wedges

Begin by thinly slicing the chicken breasts into slivers.  Season with a little salt and set aside.  Add 2 tbsp. of canola or peanut oil to a wok and turn the heat up to high.  Once the pan is hot, add the chicken and saute until the chicken is cooked through.  Transfer to a holding plate. In a separate pot, add some water and bring to a boil.  Peel the carrot and slice into thin matchstick pieces.  Slice the red pepper into thin strands and add to the wok with a little more oil and the carrot.  Saute on high heat for a few minutes, until the veggies still retain a bit of bite, but don't get soft.  Transfer to the holding plate.  The water should be boiling by now.  Drop in your rice noodles and cook them for about 4-5 minutes.  Making sure that they're al dente since you'll continue to cook them a bit in the wok later.  Transfer the noodles to a colander and rinse with cold water to prevent the noodles from sticking together.   Add a little more oil to the wok, and scramble the eggs.  Cook them until they're a soft scramble- you want them slightly on the wet side.  Put them on the holding plate once cooked. Slice the scallions on the bias and roughly chop your cilantro and set aside. Now it's time to  create the sauce for the pad Thai.  In a separate bowl, add the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, siracha, hoisin sauce, fish sauce, brown sugar and rice wine vinegar.  Combine well with a whisk and set aside. Add a little more oil to the pot and transfer the noodles to the wok.  Gently stirring around.  Dump all of the cooked ingredients on your holding plate and the eggs and begin gently tossing everything around.  Next add the sauce and continue to toss.  Add the scallions, cilantro and bean sprouts- reserving some cilantro and scallions for the garnish.  Once everything is combined well, transfer to a plate.  Garnish with the cilantro and scallions in the middle and top with the crushed roasted peanuts.  Serve with lime wedges.  Enjoy!

Lemon and Thyme Shortbread Cookies

These cookies only have a few ingredients and are super easy to make.  Although the combination seems strange for something sweet, it works really well.  They're light and delicate and perfect for afternoon tea.  Sprinkle them with sugar before baking to get a nice sparkle.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups  flour
1 stick butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar (plus more to sprinkle on top)
2 tbsp. lemon zest
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. thyme (if using dried, use about half a tbsp.)
1 pinch salt

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Whip the butter until it's nice and soft.  Add the sugar to the butter and whip it until it turns two shades paler.  Add in the flour and begin kneading.  Next add the lemon juice, lemon zest, thyme and salt and continue to knead.  If you want a shortcut, you could knead it in the food processor.  Just add the butter and sugar first then all of the ingredients.  Flatten out the dough into a disc.  Place a damp paper towel over the dough and begin gently rolling out the dough.  I used cookie cutters to form cute little shapes.  Transfer the cookies to a cookie sheet and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake until the start to turn ever so lightly golden. Transfer to a cooling rack and serve.

Beef with Broccoli

This was an easy meal with lots of crunchy broccoli and tender flank steak.  It only took me about 30 minutes to make- perfect for a weeknight meal.

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs. flank steak
1 onion
1 tsp. fresh grated ginger
3 garlic cloves grated
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/3 cup water
2 tbsp. hoisin sauce
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
2 cups fresh broccoli florets
canola oil for stir-frying

First thing to do is add a little canola oil to a wok.  Slice the flank steak against the grain and lightly dredge in cornstarch.  Once the wok is hot, add the beef and quickly sear the meat.  Do this in batches to avoid over crowding the wok and creating a braising effect. In a separate pot, add 1/4" of water and ever so lightly steam the broccoli.  Remember, you'll add it back in later so it should be a little firmer than you'd like at this point.  Once all of the beef is cooked, remove from the wok and set aside. Finely slice your onion, and grate the ginger and garlic.  Next add a little more canola oil to the wok and transfer the onions, garlic and ginger.  Cook on high heat stirring frequently. Next transfer the broccoli and steak.  In a separate bowl, combine the water, soy sauce, brown sugar, hoisin sauce, and sesame oil. Stir well and dump this sauce into the wok, tossing around all of the ingredients.  The cornstarch on the beef will add as a thickener.  Cook for about 2 minutes before removing from the heat.  Serve with steamed white rice.  Enjoy!

Southern Banana Puddin'

This past summer, my mom and youngest brother, Eric, came to Dallas for a visit.  We decided to take a road trip to Austin, and on the way there stop at the Texas BBQ capital- Lockhart.  There were two restaurants that had been featured on the Travel Channel's 101 Tastiest Places to Chow Down: Smittey's BBQ and Black's BBQ so our interest was piqued.  Long story short, we unanimously decided that we liked Smittey's a ton better.  In fact, we really wanted to like Black's because the couple that owns the business are the cutest little old people ever, but we just didn't care for the taste of their meat.  However, the one redeeming factor was that this is where I met Banana Puddin'. And it was GOOD too.  Made from scratch with the vanilla wafers and whipped cream- it was bliss.  When I got back home I emailed my friend, Jessica and asked her how I had lived so long without knowing about Banana Pudding.  According to her,  (which by the way, she is totally a southern girl)- you can't say pudding.  You have to say "Puddin"  to sound legit. She is no newcomer to banana puddin' either.  So this is my attempt at making it myself from scratch.

Ingredients:
6 cups milk
6 egg yolks
1/3 cup flour
1/2 stick butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. banana extract or 1 tbsp. banana liqueur
4 bananas
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2  box of vanilla wafers
1 1/2 cup whipped cream ( I beat some whipping cream with a dash of powdered sugar)

In a large mixing bowl,  blend the milk, egg yolks, vanilla extract and banana extract.  Set aside.  In a large non-stick pot or pan, add the butter and allow it to melt.  Next add the flour and combine it to form a roux.  Once the roux is formed, add the custard mixture and whisk it well.  Allow the mixture to cook on medium heat, breaking up and dissolving all of the flour into the custard.  Let it simmer until it's thickened, stirring occasionally. If it doesn't thicken to the desired consistency, add a little flour and whisk it into the mixture.  Remove from heat and transfer into a container with a lid and place in the fridge to cool completely.

I assembled the pudding into a nice wine goblet.  Make sure the pudding is completely cooled before assembling. I layered it as follows: a layer of pudding, whipped cream,  next a layer of wafers, then some more banana pudding, then sliced bananas and lastly top with whipped cream and a vanilla wafer and mint leaf to garnish .  If you were assembling it into a casserole dish, you'd start with pudding, then the wafers, then pudding, then bananas, then pudding then you'd top with whipped cream or do another layer of pudding and wafers, depending on how deep your dish is. However you assemble it, it's delicious!

Vietnamese Style Chicken Soup- Chicken Pho

I caught the most awful flu this week.  I was stuck in bed most of Monday and all day Tuesday.  I couldn't breathe and my throat was killing me.  The only thing that was appetizing to me in that condition was a brothy, gingery, soup.  Since we moved to Dallas, we kept seeing signs for "Vietnamese Pho" (pronounced "Fuh").  For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, Pho is a Vietnamese soup where a clear broth is poured into a bowl and lots of toppings are added.  There are all kinds of toppings, but one of the more common ones is the one with really thin rare beef.  I have never had Pho, so I can't quite title this dish "Chicken Pho" because I have no idea what the original should taste like, but if my inclinations are right, it probably was very similar to this recipe.  Although, I did kind of use a shortcut by using store-bought broth instead of making it from scratch. But hey, under the circumstances, I'm sure you'll forgive me right?

Ingredients for the broth:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 Quarts chicken stock
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. fish sauce
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp. fresh chopped ginger
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. white pepper

For the Toppings:
Sliced chicken breasts
Thinly sliced red onion
Chopped cilantro
Thinly sliced red pepper (or red chilies)
Fresh chopped ginger
Sugar snap peas or snow peas
Thinly sliced carrots
Scallions
Lime juice
Cooked rice noodles (about 1/2 cup per person)

Optional condiments:
Hoisin Sauce
Siracha hot sauce

First thing to do is add the chicken stock to a pot and bring to a boil.  Add the chicken breasts into the broth and let them cook.  Next add the ginger, coriander seeds, fish sauce and soy sauce.  Let everything cook undisturbed for about 30 minutes.  You'll notice that a foam from the chicken  will rise to the top of the broth- we'll have to strain the broth before serving.   Remove the chicken breasts, and rinse them well.   Once cooled, slice into really thin pieces and set aside.   In a separate pot, bring 6 cups of water to a boil and cook the rice noodles until they're al dente.  remove, and rinse with cold water to remove excess starch and to prevent the noodles from sticking.  Peel the carrots and cut them into long thin strips. Add some more water to a pot and blanch the carrots and sugar snap peas. Sliced the onions, red pepper,  and scallions and chop up the ginger and cilantro. Now run the broth through a fine mesh sieve and return to the pot (clean out the pot before adding the broth back in).  Bring the broth back up to a boil.  Add the toppings to a bowl and then scoop the boiling broth over the top.  Add any of the desired condiments I mentioned above and lots of lime.

Please note, traditional Pho usually has star anise added to the broth, but I am not a fan of licorice tastes so I omitted it.  Also, the traditional broth takes hours to make and is usually made with bones and skin, but I prefer the cleaner tastes of the chicken breasts. Lastly, one topping that is usually present in Pho is bean sprouts, but I didn't have any on hand.

This was one of those meals that I immediately feel like eating again, even though I just had it a few days ago.  Especially since the weather has been considerably cooler.

El Palacio de los Jugos- A Miami Landmark

As I mentioned in my previous post, Brandon and I had to travel home to Miami for a family emergency- all is well now though.  It was a very short trip, but one of the days, we decided to hit up a famous Miami landmark called "El Palacio de los Jugos" which means "The Juice Palace".   The place isn't fancy or anything but they have the nicest tropical produce, milkshakes and Cuban treats.  The main reason for our visit is to buy fresh coconut water.  Basically a guy stands there with a huge machete and chops of the the tops.  You can buy the coconut whole with a straw in it, or you can buy the water in a half gallon.  Coconut water is one of my favorite things to drink, and now that we live in Dallas, it's one of the things I crave the most.  They also have a huge selection of prepared dishes and desserts. Their fruit salad is amazing too.  When we lived in Miami, we would just drive by this place and really take it for granted. These kinds of markets have sprung up all over Miami, but this one here is the original.  Now whenever I go back to visit, this is a place I always try to visit. If you're ever visiting Miami, this is one of those places you'd want to check out.  Anthony Bourdain should have totally covered this place when he did his Miami show.

If you're ever in Miami, check it out... if only for the coconut water machete man... lol

Exciting Times for The Yuca Diaries

The New Yuca Diaries Logo!

I have been meaning to write this post for some time now, but for several reasons I have been pushing it off.  I finally had some down time because I caught a horrible flu and have been laying in bed.  I am all bundled up with my laptop, a box of tissues and some ginger tea.

First off let me start by saying that right after I got back from our trip to Kentucky, I was contacted by a producer from the Univision show, Delicioso, hosted by Ingrid Hoffman and Maggie Jimenez.  Some of you may know Ingrid from her show on the Food Network called Simply Delicioso.  Basically, they're doing a show about food bloggers, and I will be featured as one of the guests.  They're planning on hosting a contest, where at the end of the segment, they'll ask fans to visit the Univision website and vote for their favorite blogger.  The winner will then be flown to the Delicioso set to record a segment with Ingrid.  To say that I am honored is a HUGE understatement.  At this moment, I don't know the specifics, like when the show will air or when the voting will begin but I will keep you posted- I need all the help I can get.

Please excuse the poor quality of these pictures, I had to create a snapshot from a video.

Secondly, I have been working on re-designing my blog.  It's been kind of tricky because I am having a few issues with the design aspect.  At the moment, the blog is live, but there are a few changes I am working on.  The margins need to be fixed so that I can add the widget column and so that the pictures don't cut off.  Also, when I imported the content from this blog into there, the format of the posts was all wonky.  Needless to say, this was going on while I had to prepare for the show, was working on the biggest event my department does, and had to fly home for a family emergency.  It is still a work in progress but I'd like to share it anyway with you.  Just keep in mind that I still have to tweak a few things.

These things aside, I am happy with how it's coming along.  Brandon created the logo which just adds to the sentimental value for me.

The new blog is simply  www.theyucadiaries.com

xoxo,
Rox

Cod in a Light Coconut Lime Curry Sauce

I was in the mood for a hot comforting meal since it’s been really hectic at work and the temperatures dropped way down today.  These flavors are always so comforting to me, the warming ginger, the mellow coconut milk, this mild but firm fish and the balance of acidity from the lime juice fit together perfectly.

Ingredients:

4 cod fillets
1 small onion
2 tbsp. fresh green pepper
2 tbsp. fresh red pepper
1 tbsp.  fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 garlic cloves
1 can coconut milk
1 ½  tbsp. red curry paste
Juice of one lime
2 tbsp green onions
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt

Dice the onion, peppers, and mince the garlic and ginger. Saute in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes on medium heat. Add the curry paste to the pot and blend in.  Add the coconut milk, salt, and cayenne and let it simmer for about 5 minutes and stir well.  Next gently add in the fish fillets.  Let the fish and squeeze the lime into the pot.  Blend the sauce well, making sure not to disturb the fish too much.  Allow everything to cook for about 10 minutes on medium heat.  Serve over fragrant Jasmine rice.