Dinner Party & Carne Con Papa Follow Up

Thursday wasn’t as relaxed as I had anticipated being.

Fin de Semana

In other weekend food outings, my friend’s hubby celebrated his b-day on Sat. night and I was asked to cook dinner for about 30. I kept the menu super simple, but very savory. That super good pineapple guac and a spicy spinach dip were my offerings for starters. Formal dinner was my pollo en fricasse which is one of my staples. A smash. The chicken (en breve: tomato sauce, wine, carrots, olives, raisins, spices, etc…) went with rice. I then deviated a bit from my Latin roots and made party meatballs in chili sauce and grape jelly. The meatballs were high quality frozen ones that Monie picked up. The added touch was Sauvignon Blanc. ¡Que rico! I’d done these meatballs before, but without the vino. It really kicked it up a noticeable notch. That’s my new secret ingredient: really good vino. I feel a bit bougie when I try to get all Frenchie on them!

Oh wait, and the kicker: I had on some bad ass Max Azria pumps while I was doing all this cooking! Not to mention the dress and C.B. Herrera Swarovski rosary-like gold necklace. I have to stay oh so chic while doing all this! It really impresses people, ladies! (well, all the prep was done in really comfy green sweats and a tank top w/my GAP ballet slippers–ha, ha, ha).

And then I learned a that a group of the party goers do a brunch rotational during Spring/Summer. Reg put my name out there to be the brunch chef. How fun, (chi, ching) right!

Back to Basics, Again

Pressure cooking is wonderful. I think I said that before. I’m such an advocate, especially if you’re constantly in a hurry like me but don’t want to sacrifice good food. I’m so glad my mom trusted me enough to teach me how to use one. It’s my best friend in the kitchen, since I don’t allow anyone else in there while I’m cooking (well, except for M when she’s acting as my sous chef). Thanks to everyone who commented on the last pressure-cooking post.

Below are two recipes from the Mirro-Matic (1947) book (.25) that came with my cooker. And, yes, that’s it below! Looks like it’s in great condition! I didn’t post the picture of my other pressure cooker, b/c it just wasn’t coming out right. This one here is older and is smaller. I like to use it for smaller portions, obviously.

 Chosen in random flipping order and copied verbatim:

I also just noticed I’ve not shared any desserts! My bad! I will give you something to talk about later this week. I’m seemingly bad at keeping timely promises, so I’ll just leave it at sometime “this” week!

Eat well, love unapologetically, pray with true intention, and take care of yourself.

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Enjoy

Now, Mirro-Matic Recipes

Braised Lamb Shanks

Ingredients

• 2 cups dried Navy beans or Great Northern beans
• 3 slices bacon or salt pork
• 2 tbsp. chopped onion
• 1/8 tsp. pepper
• 4 tbsp. molasses or syrup
• 3 tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. dry mustard
• 2 cups hot water
• 1 tsp. salt

Preparation

Soak beans over night. Drain. Brown meat in MIRRO-MATIC Pan until golden brown. Add chopped onion and stir. Add beans, salt, pepper, molasses, sugar, mustard and water. Stir. Cover pan. Set MIRRO-MATIC control on vent tube at 15. When control jiggles, reduce heat and cook 30 minutes. Allow pressure to go down normally.

Serves 4 or 5.

Fish Chowder

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. fish (do not bone) haddock, halibut, etc…
• 2 cups water
• 1 sliced onion
• 2 sprigs parsley
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/3 cup salt pork or bacon diced
• 2 cups potatoes, sliced
• 3 cups hot milk
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 tbsp. flour

Preparation

Place fish in the pan. Add water, onion, parsley. Cover, set control at 15 and cook 5 minutes after control jiggles (okay, that’s funny!). Then reduce pressure by cooling cooker under faucet. Remove fish and bone carefully. Strain the stock. Add salt, sliced potatoes and pork which has been fried slowly. Cover, set control at 1 and cook for 6 minutes after control jiggles. Let stand for 5 minutes and then finish reducing pressure by running a very small stream of water of the cooker. Add flaked fish and hot milk.

Serves 6 to 8.

**END Mirro-Matic Recipes**