Saturday, January 23, 2010

Sloppy Joes

Is Friday and my friends are coming to my home in 1 hour and I have no time to cook anything fancy, so sloppy joes is always plan b.




  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2/3 cup chopped onions
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon of pepper
  • 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon of flour
  • 1 cup water or beef broth
  • 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire
  • 3/4 cup ketchup or 1/2 cup of warm tomato sauce mixed with spoon of tomato paste
  • toasted hamburger or sandwich buns



In a skillet add beef, garlic, onions, green peppers, salt, pepper and cumin.


Cook until meat loses red color, stirring occasionally.


Drain off any excess fat otherwise is to greasy.


Stir in water or broth, Worcestershire sauce, flour and ketchup or tomato sauce mix.


Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes or until desired consistency.


Serve in toasted buns. Also you can make a green salad and some grilled zucchini this will add a healthy touch. :)


Any leftovers may be frozen for up to 6 months or refrigerated for 3-4 days.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

"Guacamole dip" winter time


The word guacamole comes from two Aztec word "Aguacate" meaning avocado and "Mole" meaning mixture. Guacamole is always good when is fresh, if is winter you may not find freshingredients, so you work with what you have, for this recipe you will need the follow ingredients if you have more people just double the amount, if you going to store left over, make sure that you spread a thin layer of lemon or lime juice on top to prevent discoloration:

2 large avocados
1/2 white, yellow or any onion
1 small tomatoes
1 spoon or garlic minced if you have fresh garlic
1/2 teaspoon of Salt and black pepper
1 lime or 2 spoons of container lime juice
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of chili pepper powder
1 teaspoon of salsa picante
1 spoon of olive oil
What to do:

Chop the onion, tomatoes in fine pieces.
Peel and mince the garlic if you have a fresh one otherwise skip this step.



Cut the avocados in half and remove the stones.
Use a spoon to hollow out the green flesh part of the aguacate.
Chopped the avocados into small to medium chunks and put into a bowl.

Place the tomatoes, tomatoes, lemon juice, chili pepper, cayenne pepper, salsa picante, salt, black pepper and olive oil on top.

Then mix everything very nicely, making sure that all the flavors come together. I always wait cover for 5 minutes before serving.



Serve with corn chips, tortillas o vegetables, y a comer








Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Spicy Latino Chili


This afternoon, I was feeling like spicy latino chili BTW this is how Paul refers to me. Chili is a very easy and basic recipe, and you don't have to spend a lot of money, and you can put in the freezer for as long as 3 weeks. I don't usually add whole tomatoes, you can if you are going to eat it in the next couples of days. I used to make this for a dear friend of mine in Boston and he kept it in individual-size tupperware for a long time.


So you will need:


  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 1 15 oz can red pinto beans
  • 1 15 oz can tomato sauce
  • 1 6 oz can tomato paste
  • 1 tablespoon apple vinegar
  • 1 large onions, diced finely
  • 1 large green bell pepper, diced finely
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced or 2 spoons of garlic
  • 3 tablespoons chile powder
  • 3 tablespoons of salsa picante
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cumin, ground
  • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper, ground
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper



What to do with all this:

In a large pot, brown the ground beef, making sure to continuously break

up large pieces with a spoon or spatula. Once browned drain fat off. Return to the pot.

Add onions and green bell pepper to the ground beef and cook over medium heat while stirring until the onions are soft and translucent.


Add the garlic, chile powder, cumin, sugar, thyme, cayenne powder, oregano, and black pepper. Heat over medium heat while stirring for 5 minutes.



Pour in the beef broth, pinto beans, tomato sauce, tomato paste, cider vinegar a

nd salsa picante. Stir to mix well. Reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 45 to and hour. Wait at least 1 hour before serving, 2 before refrigerating.



Y a comer.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Absolute Thai Restaurant...Jose goes Thai in Chinatown DC



My new neighborhood is Chinatown, have so many restaurants and choices, but one stand up for me is Absolute Thai Restaurant, the waiters are from Thailand, they know every single dish so well, and their service is out of proportion.


The food is very good no no is very great...hot is hot, otherwise ask for the spice trade, is dangerous but terrific, the ingredients are very fresh you can tell by the quality of the food.

When you visit the restaurant try the grilled salmon with spice mango sauce or the Potpourri rice is a mix of seafood and eggs with rice is delicious. The location is like a secret behind the Verizon Center in a corner, outside does not look like a big restaurant, but inside is very nice.

The music in the background is perfect, so if you are having a lunch or dinner meeting that is the place for you, or for you first date is comfortable and quite. Also they have happy hours, the drinks and finger Thai food is tasty and affordable.

Did I mentioned that the food is realllyyyy good. I guess I did.

Absolute Thai Restaurant is located at 521 G St NW, Washington, DC
(202) 506-7272‎
Photos by Jose Mendoza

Hope you enjoyed as much as I do every week.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Saturday Sloppy Jose


Is Saturday night is 22 degrees outside, not much to do for fun, hungry and with some left over from the steak that I a grill.

This morning I went to the store and I bought a baguette that will become the main part of the infamous call Saturday Sloppy Jose. This recipe is just for Paul and me today, if you have more people just double or triple the amount of bread and tomatoes.

If you don't have in off steak you can complement the sloppy with cheese or ham.

You will need:

  • 1 fresh baguette
  • left over of the round steak cold slice in thing slices for one sloppy you will want 4 minimum
  • 1 round slice tomatoes
  • 1 small avocado 1 inch slices
  • lettuce or mixed green or anything green in your possession :)
  • 8 green olives cut it in half
  • 4 spoons of olive oil
  • 4 spoons of balsamic vinegar
  • Salt and pepper as much as you want
  • Spice muster


what to do,


Turn the oven at 400f, 10 minutes before you start to prepare the sloppy

Cut the baguette in 3 parts, I just used 2 parts don't use the corners can get to dry when you put it in the oven, then open it in one side as is show in the picture



Add oil and vinegar a little big of salt and pepper and stick it in the oven for 5 minutes.


When you have the bread ready, start to put everything together.

The green goes first then tomatoes, steak, avocado, olives, and top with some oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and spice muster, and is listo para comer.



Saturday, January 9, 2010

Jose's Chicken Soup (Sopa de Pollo)


The famous sopa de pollo that is good for your soul or when you are sick. I remember when I moved to the Unites States, I got very sick and a dear friend of mine offered to "make some chicken soup." I was very impressed for the offer, so I asked him do you have all the ingredients and the time for all this? and he smile very big opening the kitchen cabinet and grabbing a can of chicken soup, opened and put it in a saucepan, I almost past out, bless his little heart.



So I decide to cook my modified version of my Abuelita soup, you will need:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic , chopped
2 medium carrots, chopped
3 medium potatoes, chopped
2 medium stalks celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 big green pepper chopped or whatever is on sale
1 teaspoon of jalapeño powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoons of black pepper

3 tablespoons of GOYA Sofrito cooking base if you don't have it just used chicken stock base
1 carton (32 ounces) chicken broth (4 cups)
3 cups of water
1 cup of yellow sweet corn
2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice or use the plastic lemon container
4 chicken thighs
1/2 cup of rice
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
1 ripe medium avocado, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
Lime wedges

Let's start:

For the sofrito:

In a frying pan pour olive oil and the chopped garlic, onion, green pepper and jalapeno, mix 3 tablespoon of GOYA Sofrito cooking base or the chicken stock base, salt, black pepper and the cumin. Saute covered for about 5 minutes, you will see that it will become a paste. Set aside.

In 5- to 6-quart sauce pot, heat oil over low heat until hot. Add the chicken and make it brown.

Add broth, water and the sofrito to the chicken and let it come to boil.

Add the vegetable mixture, cover sauce pot and heat to boiling over high heat for about 30 minutes.

After that, lower the heat and then add the sweet corn, lime juice and chopped cilantro into broth mixture in sauce pot.

Again heat to boiling over high heat for 10 more minutes.

Remove sauce pot from heat.

Ladle soup into a large soup bowl and sprinkle with avocado pieces.

Serve with lime wedges to squeeze over soup.

and that's it for now,

This recipe is dedicated to my friend Jeff : )


Thursday, January 7, 2010

Great Coffee discovery at Columbia Heights NW DC


Tynan Coffee & Tea

After church last Sunday, my friend and I just randomly stopped in this beautiful coffee shop. Very clean and modern inside, the staff smile at you and they treated me like a friend. I had a regular brew, it was fantastic, the color, the smell, the amount and the taste, so far one of the best coffees that I have had in the city. If you have a chance go there for coffee, they also sell coffee beans.

Tynan is also metro accessible, also they have music in the background but you still can have a conversation or a nice date.

Tynan
1400 Irving Street Northwest
Washington, DC 20010-2850
(202) 299-081
Disfruta un buen cafe...

Photo by Jose Mendoza

Friday, January 1, 2010

Paella de Jose


Paella is something very easy to cook, the only problem is that we need to cut a lot of different ingredients to make it just right, so that when you taste it you don't have big pieces of meet in your mouth. I use is Jasmine rice, it cooks faster and absorbs more the juices. This is best cook with a paella pan (paellera) otherwise a skilled will do.

Anyhow let's start for what we need:
3 cups of rice (anything that you have)
2/1 cups of chicken broth (less sodium) if you don't have it mix water with chicken flavoring season powder, for better use warm is better.
1/2 cup of white wine
3 cups of water
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 small can of olives sliced ripe for garnish

1 can of sliced pimientos
1 small can of sweet peas

1 green pepper
1 red or yellow pepper for garnish

1 small onion diced
2 tomatoes diced
3 teaspoons of rosemary fresh or dry
1/2 cup of Parsley well chopped

Olive oil (by eye ball)
1 lemon
1 spoon of garlic (chopped)
2 spoons of Adobo all purpose seasoning
3 Chorizo Español or Mexican (remove from skin)
2 chicken breasts (cut it into bite sizes)
3 pork loin steaks (cut it into bite sizes)
1/2 a pound of shrimp and/or scallops


Now the fun starts:

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in large skillet, add onions and peppers, saute 5 minutes, stirring continuously.

Add tomatoes, garlic and thyme, saute 5 minutes more or until the liquids evaporate and the sauce looks thick, remove and reserve aside.


Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper and add to the pan.

Add 3 tablespoons oil, heat over medium-high heat, add chicken and sausage, cook until lightly browned and set aside, repeat this with the pork as well.






Deglaze the pan with 1 / 2 cup white wine, reserving the liquid aside. Approximately 30 minutes before serving la paella, heat the oven at
400F-204C.

In a paella pan or skillet (about 14inch or 35cm in diameter), mix the deglaze liquid, the rice, saffron and 5 cups of broth, heat over high heat, stirring constantly until it boils, remove the pan from heat, season with salt to taste.

Distribute the chicken, chorizo, shrimp/scallops over the rice.

Bake uncovered in the bottom rack for 20 minutes top with green peas, continue baking 5-10 minutes more, or until the rice absorbs all liquid and it feels soft but still consistent. My personal opinion is not to stir the paella but in 3 times take a wood spatula around the paella pan and push the rice away from the edge to aloud the rice on the edge to cook and absorb the juices. If needed add the remaining broth to soften the rice more without stirring the paella.


Turn off the oven and do not remove the paella from the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and cover with a cloth, before garnishing with lemon wedges, julienne green peppers and parsley.


A good companion for paella is a great Sangria. (see my sangria recipe next time)

Y a comer...

Pictures by Jeff Borg