Cuban Culinary Success for Ruby!!!!

Cuba Night was a culinary success by almost all accounts! And I'm exhausted, so this should speak for itself...

My first ever attempt to roast a huge cut of meat (and I actually had two, so that added another level of complexity with timing) turned out great. The Mojo distributed equally, and the taste was great. My timing was perfect, too.

I ended up covering the salad too, and that turned out yummy.

The lime sorbet was a hit. We added a shot of tequila and a sprinkle of coarse salt when serving (as the sorbet author suggested) and it really did make all the difference. EVERYONE partook in that, even those who normally don't drink.

Mango sorbet okay. Banana yogurt didn't turn out because I had my ice cream maker on overdrive and it wasn't cold enough. Alas, it wasn't needed.

The jicama sticks, chicken skewers, and sauces were very tasty, too. I'm having left over jicama sticks with an abbreviated version of guac (what to do with 7 left over RIPE avocados??) today.

The yuca gratin turned out better than any of us expected. I mean, you can't go wrong with anything baked in cream, butter, salt, and garlic, but the yuca added an alternate taste to potatoes and I think this made the difference, too. The cold bean/corn side dish was great, given the extreme heat we have.

The one true disappointment (recognized by us all) was the missing Cuban Opera Cake. A new member signed up to bring this, and then "suddenly" fell ill. This member sent me a message claiming that the cake was done and he wanted to find a way to share it with us, but alas never responded to several messages from members offering to come pick it up. I suspect there was never a cake in the first place. The biggest regret is that Rachael (the group organizer) and I had several off-line discussions about this cake and she was preparing to make it but it was snagged by this new member right away. Clearly this new member does not realize that beyond the social connection, this group is all about EATING, so not having a dish is worse than a dish that doesn't turn out as expected.

I'm still wiped out, so recovering by the pool is my only objective today. I just swung by and it wasn't open yet...look, I'm slathered to my hairline in sunblock and I went through the agony of inserting my contacts today. They'd better open soon...

The Gourmet Hostess (round 2)

I agreed to host the June event because I'm not sure how many more I'll be able to attend. If the job change comes through, then this could be the last event for me. I planned a Cuban theme this time. My menu:

Cocktails & Tapas:
Papa Hemmingway & Mojitos
Achiote Chicken Skewers with Guava Sauce
Spicy Jicama Sticks with Cilantro Lime Aïoli

Lime Sorbet Prelude

Avocado & Mango Salad

Main Course:
Lechón Asado
Yuca Gratin
Cuban Beans with Jicama & Corn

Mango Sorbet Interlude

Dessert:
Cuban Opera Cake
Honey Banana Frozen Yogurt
Cuban Coffee


I pulled the Papa Hemmingway recipe from the Three Guys From Miami Cook Cuban book, and I found the mojito recipe when I was reading about the proper way to muddle a cocktail. What a fabulous blog!!

Most of the recipes are courtesy of Epicurious, though the Mojo pork roast is from the Three Guys cookbook, the sorbets are from The Perfect Scoop, and the jicama sticks, aïoli, and honey banana frozen yogurt are a culmination of my own/modifications to recipes in my collection.

The big event is next Saturday night, so I'm working on my to-do list this week to help me pull this off!! Lots to do!

I'm on the hunt for inexpensive domino sets. I'm wondering if the local dollar stores will carry these? I'm also on the hunt for an ice crusher and an owner of a lime tree. Between the sorbet, cocktails, and Mojo, I need approximately 40 limes. When I lived in Cali, everyone had lemon and lime trees on their property...looks like it's a trip to Sam's Club for me.

Anyone who enjoys rich, gourmet food and a desire to bake should check out the Cuban Opera Cake on Epicurious. Seriously. I can't want to try this. It makes me drool just anticipating it next Saturday!!!

Culinary Experimentism

There is a reason the ice cream books say you should use premium ingredients, and it's not just about taste. It's about texture.

I attempted a lemon sorbet with Splenda instead. Taste--wonderful. Quite tart (my preference) and rich flavor. Texture--needs improvement.

The freezing process started off normal enough. It was starting to slush within the first 5 minutes, so I distracted myself for the remaining time by reading. When I checked on it after 25 minutes, it was, um, interesting.

This fluffy ice was bursting through the lid. The frozen ice was so soft and airy, that it wouldn't hold a shape with a spoon. I packed it into a container, but when we were ready to serve, it was hard like a granita that hadn't been forked. Softening a bit lent to spoonable, but it didn't hold the shape of the ice cream scoop, so it was like a bowl of frozen lemon ice slush.

So, taste was good, but texture is off. Clearly the chemistry of sugar does something to make it bindable during freezing.

I'm going to attempt again with the Splenda baking mix (half sugar, half Splenda) and see if there is an improvement. I'm also going to attempt with some added alcohol (probably vodka). I wonder if that would alter the viscosity of the sorbet?

Honestly, I will continue to make sorbets with the real sugar deal. There is no substitute for the real thing worth sacrificing when making for an event. However, I have friends who are South Beaching, plus I could stand to lose a few myself, so when I'm making it on my own, I'd like to have a less sugary blend.

Race Day festivities

No ticket to the race this year, but I'm going to a cookout tonight, and I decided to try out some of my gourmet club recipes to see how they do...see what kind of modifications I may need to make for next time.

I really want to try this triple layer lemon pistachio cake, but the hosts this evening aren't fans of lemon cake, so I'll wait for another event. The picture in Epicurious is amazing.

So, I decided to try the Mango Banana Cake instead. My modifications: 1 9 inch square pan, 1 pan regular size cupcakes (6) and 2 mini muffin pans (total of 12). Also, I did not attempt the mango curd given some of the reviews. Plus I'm not sure if the cookout guests are curd fans. So instead, I made a mango glaze (1/3 cup mango purée with 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar) and a dark chocolate frosting. But I did follow the cake recipe exactly. Probably used every single mixing bowl, dish, utensil I own trying to keep dry separate from wet, and adding dry and mashed bananas in 3 waves.

I iced 6 of the mini cupcakes with the mango glaze and the remaining six with the dark chocolate glaze (before whipping into a frosting). Then I iced the regular cupcakes with the mango glaze, and I cut the square cake into 2 triangles, placed a layer of glaze between and on top, and made a double-layer, right-angle isosceles masterpiece. Then I whipped the chocolate frosting. It's currently chilling in the fridge right now. It's my plan to ice to cupcakes and the cake with the frosting before I take it to the party.

And I made a fantastic honey banana frozen yogurt and mango sorbet.


Mango Purée
2 ripe mangoes
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
Juice of 1/2 lime
1-2 shots Triple Sec

Sorbet: Simmer sugar and water until dissolved and put to the side. Purée mangoes with lime juice and Triple Sec. Set aside 1/3 cup of the purée (for glaze). Add the simple syrup, then chill mixture. When ready, make according to ice cream maker instructions.

Glaze: Make glaze with mango purée and powdered sugar. Whisk until dissolved. Set aside.


Chocolate Frosting
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
4 ounces fine dark chocolate, chopped/broken into pieces ( used Ghirardelli semi-sweet)
1 Tbsp. honey

Bring cream to a boil. Pour over chocolate and honey. Let sit for 5 minutes. Gently whisk together. Set aside and allow icing to come to room temperature.

Drizzle for icing/glaze. Beat with electric mixture for fluffy frosting. I think it could use some more sweetness, so I suggest adding powdered sugar to taste during the mixing process. I chose to leave mine alone so it is in contrast to the sweetness of the mango glaze.


Honey Banana Frozen Yogurt
[Please note: This is my own creation...I will likely continue to modify slightly until I find the right flavor.]

3 very ripe bananas, peeled
Juice from 1/2 lime
1 1/4 cups Greek style yogurt, 2 %
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey

Purée all ingredients in a blender. May need to stir or work with a spatula to get all ingredients mixed. Freeze in the ice cream maker immediately to preserve the flavor and color of the bananas.

Amazing consistency, texture, and taste. Perhaps a tad too much honey, but I only had 3 bananas. Maybe add another banana to balance it out next time.

Little Man weighs in...

Ats & Crafts day with my main man, G. We're making a homemade jewelry box for his mommy's birthday next week, and I also told him we would make our own homemade ice cream. I gave him 4 flavors to choose from, and of course he wants two. Top of his list: blueberry frozen yogurt and orange popsicle ice cream. He chose these over other offerings, such as green pea ice cream...I thought he'd find the exotic amusing (especially since he likes all things green), but he said "Yuck!"


We'll likely half or drop the full quantities somewhat, as he doesn't need 2 quarts of full fat ice cream and neither do I. I'm also omitting the small amounts of liquor for his benefit. I certainly don't want to lose my Good Aunt privileges.

UPDATE: the jewelry box is precious. Bright jade green covered in sparkly beads. He did most of it, I only assisted with the glue and paint touch ups. So, so precious.

The blueberry yogurt turned out fantastic. I accidentally bought fat free plain yogurt, and you couldn't tell. Yumm-O! The orange popcicle...not so much. I think the oranges were too bland. Perhaps I should replace half with pure OJ concentrate instead next time? Not sure.

Little Man wants to try the green pea next time...so adventurous.

What to do with ripe, juicy pears?

Make sorbet, of course.

I mostly followed the recipe. My own variation included leaving the skins on during the simmer and purée steps, but then used a fine mesh strainer to sift the gritty bits to create a very smooth mixture.

Although the pear flavor is more subtle than the previous flavors I've made, this is by far the best consistency and texture I've ever produced. I think it's a combination of factors. Last time, I had to soak the freezer bowl because the strawberry batch stained it. This meant letting it dry (and unfreeze). Before sticking back in the freezer, I wrapped it in a linen towel and then in the plastic bag. After completing the freeze, the entire mixture simply lifted from the bowl clean. I think this is key--bone dry before freezing, smooth and well-chilled mixture, and smaller batch size.

Ingredients:

4 ripe pears, peeled and cored
1 1/4 cups water
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

[Variation: I just realized I forgot the lemon juice, and as stated above, I didn't peel the fruit.]


Preparation:

Cut the pears into chunks. Place in a large, nonreactive saucepan along with 1/2 cup of the water. Cover and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pears are cooked through and tender when poked with a knife.

Transfer the cooked pears to a blender (at this point, you should have about 2 cups of fruit) and add the remaining 3/4 cup water, sugar, and lemon juice. Purée until smooth.

[Modification: I chose to simmer the fruit until tender and make a simple syrup from the remaining water and sugar in a separate pan on the stove. Then I let both mixtures cool for a while before pouring into the blender. I also kept the blender lid vented because of the heat build-up. So I started by puréeing the fruit and then I poured in the syrup.]

Chill the mixture thoroughly, then freeze according to ice cream maker directions.

Spicy Strawberry Sorbet

I made a mango sorbet a few weeks ago. Mom brought a few very ripe mangoes from home, and I used a sorbet recipe from my book. I'm a mango-on-the-side kind of fan...I normally cannot tolerate it on its own. But let me just say this was some great sorbet. We picked up sweet sticky rice from the Thai place, and this made for a very tasty treat.

I'm going to try it again for my gourmet event next month. In the meantime, I want to rave about my new favorite sorbet: spicy strawberry.

I've made it twice now, each a bit different. I think I like the consistency of the first batch better, but I like the flavor of the second batch more. The difference (I believe) is 2-fold: (1) strain the strawberry purée, and (2) beat the snot out of the peppercorns so more of them crack.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup water
3 tablespoons black peppercorns, crushed coarse
1 quart strawberries (preferably local), hulled
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, or to taste


Preparation:

In a saucepan combine sugar and water and bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Stir in peppercorns and remove pan from heat. Cover pan and let syrup stand 1 hour.

Strain syrup through a fine sieve into a food processor or blender and discard peppercorns. Purée hulled strawberries with syrup until very smooth and force though sieve into a bowl, discarding seeds and other solids. Stir in vinegar and chill, covered, until cold. Freeze mixture in an ice-cream maker.


Last Sunday, I made this for the gourmet club. I beat the peppercorns with a rolling pin and a hammer, and not many of them really cracked--therefore, it was a very light spice in the sorbet. Very nice, but I would have preferred a bit more kick.

Today, I made this for me. I didn't want to take the time to strain the strawberry mash, and now I think it is well worth the step--otherwise, it's still has a lot of air bubbles, which will make for a cotton candy-like texture around day 2. Also, I broke my omlette pan pounding the peppercorns, but it was worth it. More of the oils were released in the syrup-making process.

More to post later...I've taken pictures of my latest home make-over room (the office!). When they're developed, I'll post some here.

Shamrock Run/Walk

Since my training has derailed fast, I'm trying to keep active/motivated with other races to fill in the weekends. Enter the 4 mile Shamrock Run/Walk on Saturday. Good news: I *think* I improved my average time. Bad news: I need to do something about the continued blisters I get on the bottom of my feet. This has nothing to do with training or the lack thereof--it's a sock/insert/shoe thing that I haven't mastered yet.

In other news, I will be moving to DC this summer. This alone deserves it's own post, but I have neither the time nor the energy to really write about it right now. Bottom line: I pushed the issue at work and have made my desires clear to multiple folks in management. It was a risk, but one that I needed to take.

As if I don't have enough to juggle, I finally found a breakthrough with therapy. I've struggled for MONTHS to get into an office on a consistent basis. It's been a corporate insurance nightmare. I finally got onto a schedule and then my therapist left last month. However, his counterpart runs a 6 week cognitive behavior group for anxiety management, and he helped me get a spot. I start Wednesday. Lots of uncertainty, but I'm going into it with an open mind and hope that I'll emerge with some coping strategies.

I was going to make my Guiness-Chocolate ice cream and attempt a Bailey's and coffee creation, but I ran out of time this weekend. Alas...there will be more times to create for the work folks later.

10K

It's been 10 days and 18 hours since my last training workout, so it should come as no surprise that I am in pain right now. The good news: another training race completed. The reality is I need to kick this into high gear if I'm to survive the mini that is a mere 8 weeks from now.

I am wiped out. The massage today was so-so, but at least I had one. Can't complain about that.

Git-R-Done

My slow pace is one of the reasons I've struggled with training so far. Last year I made a hitting a 15 minute mile stride my goal, but over the course of 17 weeks, I was able to move from 18 to 17 minutes per mile...quite far off the mark. So this time I decided to eliminate the pace as a goal and focus on better conditioning so I don't die after this race. During our first training meeting, I learned that last year's walking coach cannot train with us due to arthritis, so the back-up coach (who is normally one of the running coaches) is leading this group. His natural pace is about a 12-13 minute mile. Seriously.

No joke, it discouraged me. The next two training days were lucky for me--due to scheduled events, I trained on my own with the treadmill. But when I had a migraine one day, I flaked on the walking group, and then last week I had a doctor's appointment scheduled during training. I know why I'm avoiding it, but I didn't know what to do about it. So this morning I responded to both coaches in email and told them how I felt. I explained that the pace is going to be an issue for me until I am either more conditioned or in better shape, and I felt like I was caught between doing the things that are necessary to get into shape yet not hitting my minimum training assignments if I couldn't keep up the pace with the group. I told them I would show up tonight (I have to travel for work on Wednesday), but I needed them to tell me if the slower pace would be a problem for the group. If so, they'd need to help me put together an individual plan I could do to meet what I need, too.

So. Tonight was okay. Sara (my normal coach) wasn't there, but Dale the super-walker was, and he acknowledged my email. He said that above all else, the most important thing is for each of us to meet our individual training needs, not the needs of the team. There is a new woman in the group nursing an ankle injury, so he paired us together, and then he made an effort to keep circling back from the front of the pack to the end to make sure we stayed connected.

I feel better now. Of course having to travel for work means one more chance for me to disrupt a very sensitive habit right now. SIGH.

In unrelated news, the ice cream was a hit at work. The boys loved it. Guinness-Chocolate ice cream is a guy magnet. I must perfect this recipe...add to my bag of tricks. It was a bit too soft, but that could be the beer.

My training tomorrow is called "Getting Things Done." It was kinda both my request and a requirement from my boss. When I get caught up in my suppliers' crises, I struggle to get the mundane stuff done because I over-prioritize the urgent stuff. This is partially why I end up staying late at work, but it also happens when I have a long work to-do list and nothing to really leave work for. The never-ending battle I face...and I tend to create it for myself, too. Another reason I'm reading "Never Check E-Mail in the Morning" which, believe me, is nearly impossible to do right now. If I can master this, I can reclaim my job. (:

I'm obsessed with Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann. I can barely wait for each Monday night, even though Bruno over-performs his surprise each time. Too bad it conflicts with Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles. I was beginning to like that show.