Arctic Char BLT Sandwich

Which fish is both one of the main protein staples of the Inuit Eskimos and a fish of stature among western royalty? It's the Arctic char. The Arctic Char is a member of the Salmonidae family and similar in taste to trout and salmon. Here is a simple and quick recipe that is mouthwatering.

Ingredients:

8-9 Potato Bread Buns
1 Head Boston Lettuce
1/2 Red Onion thinly sliced (8-9 slices)
1 Tomato thinly sliced (8-9 slices)
1/2 lb. bacon cut into bun size strips ( 2 to each sandwich)
Mayo to Taste
Salt to Taste
Clarified butter

In a saute pan heat the clarified butter at medium hi heat. Season the Arctic Char lightly with salt. Toast the Potato Bread buns and cover with mayo to taste (preferrably lightly). Place Arctic Char, onions, bacon, tomato and lettuce on the bun, in that order. Cover and you have a great tasting sandwich everyone will enjoy.

Lechon Asao' and Other Great Food!

In an effort to focus my writing into more of wht I truly love I have decided to change the direction of this blog into mainly a Puerto Rican Food blog and sprinkling of other food I love. The essence of this blog is Lechon Asao as the picture you see at the top right of the blog. For a posting to make it in here it will have to be related to or as good as Lechon Asao...I hope the picture takes you back to great memories of the last time you roasted a pig on an open pit and if you have never done it you need to experience it. Now. So welcome or welcome back and I hope we have fun and great food...

Fourth of July Grilling II

I hope your 4th of July weekend is going great. I myself have 1 BBQ under my belt and a couple of more to come. My first turn at bat was taken with Spare Ribs. Here are some tips for great ribs:

1. Marinade the meat or rub in the seasonings at least 1 hr before cooking more is better but if it’s done too long, unless it’s a tough cut, you could overpower the meat. One to 3 hours is good enough.

2. Grill bone side down until the bones start to separate from the meat without turning.

3. Brush BBQ sauce or any sauce that has sugar only at the tail end of cooking.

4. Allow the ribs to sit for 10 minutes before eating or cutting this helps the meat stay juicy.

5. Use tongs to handle the meat forks will pierce the meat and allow the juices to escape. This reduces the flavor and moisture of the meat.

You can try this tips this weekend or the next time you grill ribs and you will see and taste the difference.

Fourth of July Grilling

The Fourth of July is a quintescential BBQ date across the US. Here are three quick tips to make sure your BBQ experience is safe and fun.

Make sure you:

1. Defrost meat before cooking so you get even cooking and do it in the fridge.

2. Marinate food in the refrigerator and don’t reuse the marinade unless you boil it first

3. Do not serve cooked meat in the same plate you had the raw meat (unless you clean it before re-using it)

Put some Ribeyes on the grill this weekend and enjoy the festivities.

Risotto Recipes

There are many risotto recipes. When prepared right this is a truly magnificent dish. A little patience and practice you to can cook a great risotto. Here is a great Risotto recipe with some options that can add great taste:

1 medium chopped onion

½ stick of butter, divided in 2

Large pinch of Saffron threads

1 ½ cup Arborio rice

1/2 cup dry white wine

4 to 6 cups of chicken broth

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

¼ cup of prosciutto or (diced) bone marrow (optional)

Put the stock in a medium saucepan and heat at medium low temperature, add the saffron.
In a large skillet over medium heat Cook onion and prosciutto or bone marrow, if you have it, until soft in 2 tablespoons butter. Add rice and stir 2 to 3 minutes until completely covered in the butter.

Add wine; stir until absorbed. Keep the heat from medium to medium high; stir in ½ cup of broth. Cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, until broth is absorbed. The mixture should not be dry or runny.

Continue stirring and adding remaining broth ½ a cup or so at a time, allowing the broth to be almost completely absorbed before adding more, until rice is tender and mixture has a creamy consistency. It will take between 20 and 30 minutes.

Stir in cheese, salt, pepper, cream and remaining butter. Stir until mixture is creamy, about 2 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning and serve immediately.

I hope you enjoy this great risotto recipe. A dish that will certainly please the whole family.

My Recipe Manager

There’s a great tool for the kitchen that can improve your cooking, shopping, organization and overall enjoyment of cooking. It’s the recipe manager. I personally use Master Cook Deluxe version 7 but it’s up to version 9. You can easily keep all your recipes together and organized with a good recipe manager. The recipe manager provides a wealth of cooking tips and techniques, helps in menu planning and even prints a shopping list for individual recipes or even menus. This planning tool can really help make cooking easier and more fun. Look around and see which one you prefer and invest in one you like. I myself am ready to upgrade and will evaluate version 9 of Master Cook but I will also look at other recipe managers before making my decision. Stay tuned to hear my results.

My Three Favorite Cookbooks

I want to share with you my favorite three Cookbooks. They are a treasure of cooking information. They are:

Puerto Rican Cookery (Cocina Criolla) by Carmen Aboy Valldejuli
Jacques Pepin Fast Food My Way by Jacques Pepin
365: No Repeats, A Year of Deliciously Different Dinners by Rachel Ray

The first available in English and Spanish is the premiere cookbook of Puerto Rican cuisine. The second is one of many books from a great teacher of cooking and in my opinion the best at teaching cooking technique Jacques Pepin. You can’t go wrong with any of Jacques’ books. The last one by Rachel Ray is a great resource for great, quick recipes that build on each other giving you great flexibility in the kitchen.
These are some of my favorite books. They have great recipes, techniques and cooking tips that will help you enjoy cooking and dinner with your family for years to come.