Braised Short Ribs, Mashed Sweet Potatoes, and Creamed Spinach

My friends and I have a monthly Mahjong party that we take turns hosting. This month was my month, so I decided to make a holiday meal complete with christmas flavors, spiced mulled wine, fresh gingrebread cookies, and christmas music. So, I settled on adapting this Braised Short Ribs recipe, because I haven't had short ribs in a long time, it's a relatively inexpensive cut of meat that can feed a crowd, and I didn't feel like roasting a whole turkey to be festive. But instead of shredding it and serving it w/ it's juices over penne, I decided to let the meat stand for itself and serve it as is after it finishes braising in the oven. This dish tastes remarkably like my mom's lamb shank stew, except with short ribs. It was one of my favorite dishes that she made when I was little. And Lo and Behold, I've inadvertently stumbled over the secret to that flavor. HA! I can honestly say this was probably a hit with my friends too, because I have no leftovers. Always a good sign.

Arroz Con Pollo

One of my favorite parts of our Florida Thanksgiving Vacation was exploring Little Havana. I love Cuban food. I was first introduced to it when I was in grad school in NYC, which also has a huge Cuban population. And to be honest, Cuban food got this poor starving college kid through school. Every weekend, I'd walk down the street to the cuban cafe, and ordered yellow rice, black beans, and chorizo with a cup of cafe con leche, which is probably just as yummy and strong as the Vietnamese Cafe Sua Da, for about 3 bucks for everything.

So, when we arrived in Miami I wanted to see the difference between NYC Cuban cuisine and Miamian Cuban cuisine. After exploring every tiny cuban neighborhood in Miami, my conclusion is that NYC got it pretty darn close. In the process, I also made Raquel a huge fan of cuban food. So, I decided to try my hand in making one of the dishes since we're seriously lacking in authentic cuban food in the bay area.

Now, I've made Arroz Con Pollo (Rice and Chicken) before, but it never tasted quite right. So, I scoured the net for a new recipe, and found this one. It's from La Fonda Boricua, so it's obviously not Cuban, it's Puerto Rican, but I was game to try it anyway. Holy moley, we loved it! I think the key was to add beer! Ah beer....what a great ingredient. It added a very distinct tang and kept the rice moist.

I also added my own enhancements to the sofrito by adding a serrano chile. And, I ended up giving my adobo spice blend a kick with ancho chile powder. Finally, I added some fresh trimmed green beans in at the last minute for that added crunch and freshness. Raquel thought it was missing something, which it was, because I didn't have any annatto oil or achiote powder, since that's a local cuban ingredient. But, it was still close. Although, it did make me proud that Raquel has developed such a discerning palette since she's met me. She's come a long way from purely eating pho and power bars.

Mmm.. now if I could only get my hands on some cuban espresso.

Pork and Pozole Stew

So, it's seriously cold right now. I'm freezing! So, I started looking for a dish that would warm us all up. Also, we were celebrating one of our favorite holiday traditions, The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show! It's a tradition that started a couple of years ago, when my good friend, Anthony, came over and introduced me to the show. Every time we watch, we end up critiquing the stage set, the fashion, the girls' walks, and the authenticity of their boobies.

Anyway, I settled on another dish from Cooking Light, which is slowly becoming my new favorite publication, Pork and Pozole stew. The meat was so tender and flavor, we loved it. Also, I don't normally use pozole, or hominy, in my dishes. But, I will now! You can get a massive can of it at Safeway for just a buck, it adds a nice texture to the stew, and has a load of vitamins and minerals. Plus, it's local. You just can't beat that. Lastly and most importantly, it was muy caliente, to reflect the muy caliente girls on tv, and to warm up the muy caliente girls watching them.

Pan-Roasted Pork Tenderloin in Pomegranate Sauce, Brussel Sprouts w/ Pancetta, and Sweet Potato Gratin

Holy wow, if there ever was a meal for seasonal cooking in Autumn, this would be it. Unfortunately, I can't post a link to the recipes, because I got them out of the Cooking Light magazine. But, I can guarantee you that it's easy and every element of each course was in season. Pan-roasting a pork tenderloin is a really good way to sear the meat and keep it juicy, and you can't go wrong with using the leftover juices and pomegranate juice to make a light au jus.

Also, I never expected to like the brussel sprouts as much as I did, because whenever my mom made brussel sprouts when I was a kid, I hated it. I always thought it had a strange flavor. But, if you flavor it with pancetta, dijon mustard, maple syrup, and apple cider vinegar, it creates a perfect creamy emulsion to complement the flavor of the brussel sprout's bitterness.

Finally, I really feel like sweet potato is a super food. It has a huge amount of nutrients, and is healthier for you than regular potatoes or even white rice. I'm not sure how it compares to brown rice, but the sweet potato gratin was a better fit for this meal. I'll definitely be making this meal again this season.

Beef Stew and Brown Rice

No, I haven't abandoned my blog. I've just been kinda busy with work and vacationing in South Beach, Florida for Thanksgiving. In any case, I thought I'd post a couple of my back-logged meals here. It's true that I don't have a lot of red meat in my diet. But, after a brief consultation with Sidewalk Monkey, who is a licensed acupuncturist, apparently I have a slight blood deficiency from the lack of iron. So per her suggestion, I cooked some lean beef.

Growing up in Hawaii, I was used to a tomato-based beef stew. But, now that I've moved to the Bay Area, I've discovered that there's a lot of beef stew here that's red wine based, so I experimented with this Beef Stew. YUM-OH! I used extra lean beef, added a few more veggies, and served it over brown rice. The depth of flavor is so different from the tomato based stew. And this particular recipe even adds a zesty orangey tangy note to it. Give it a shot, and you'll see what I mean.