Search Results for: blog cooking a to z adobo

A to Z Cooking: B for Bacon is Not Just for Breakfast

Bacon is meat that comes from the side of a pig and has been cured and smoked. Because it is the fat in bacon that makes it so tasty, fat should be 1/2 to 2/3 of the total weight of the bacon. Slab bacon is bought in large slabs and has to be sliced. It is moderately cheaper than sliced bacon. (Frankly, I don’t care–I don’t want to mess with cutting off the rind and slicing a large slab of pig meat!) Everyone knows that bacon is great on salads, or as a standard breakfast side dish. Bacon can be … Continue reading →

Cooking A to Z: Adobo

Adobo [ah-DOH-bo]–This sauce is of Mexican origin and is made with chilies, herbs and vinegar. It is also a dried seasoning or rub made mostly of garlic and spices. You can purchase adobo seasoning or sauce. I use adobo (the seasoning) mostly on roast chicken and pork chops as a rub. I use adobo sauce with rice or as a marinade for meat. However, living in a community that is 99% Hispanic I can tell you that in Latino cooking, adobo is as common place as ketchup, salt or pepper. My best friend puts adobo in everything: tuna fish salad, … Continue reading →

Rocco Dispirito’s Book: “Now Eat This! Diet”

Last week on “The View” they had a special segment with the author, Rocco Dispirito, of “Now Eat This! Diet” where he claims you can lose 10 pounds in just two weeks. Rocco says that when you eat more food, your metabolism works at a higher rate and you burn calories faster. However if you starve yourself and you binge after, your body processes those calories as fat. He says there is scientific and medical evidence that shows if you eat more, you lose weight faster. In his diet you eat six times a day, every two-and-a-half hours. On the … Continue reading →

The Road to Super Bowl Fun

It’s been 13 long years since the Green Bay Packers played in a Super Bowl and now that the drought is over, residents in Wisconsin are ready to party like college co-eds on graduation day. I’m sure it’s the same way in Pittsburgh, but since I live in Packer Nation I can only speak of the craziness that has engulfed my neck of the woods. People have been planning Super Bowl parties since the minute the Green and Gold won the NFC Championship game in Chicago against the Bears. Stores are decked out in Packer colors and are offering everything … Continue reading →

Simple Seasonal Dips You Can Make with Your Kids

In a previous blog I mentioned that my 4-year-old daughter is enrolled in a cooking class. She absolutely loves it and has fast become my second set of hands in the kitchen. Each week her teacher introduces a new theme, which is incorporated into all of the classroom activities (cooking, reading, art projects, etc.). With fall in full swing, acorn squash was this week’s featured ingredient. The recipe my daughter made is listed below. It couldn’t be simpler to make… and believe it or not my persnickety little eater actually tried some of it (which is another reason I enrolled … Continue reading →

Cultural Smorgasbord—-Mexican Rib Eye Steaks and German Brats with a Twist

I grew up in Hawaii, which is well known for its cultural diversity and equally varied cuisines. In the Aloha State it’s not unusual to have a breakfast of Japanese rice, Portuguese sausage and Hawaiian sweetbread; lunch of Filipino Chicken Adobo and Chinese noodles; and dinner consisting of Italian pasta and kalbi (Korean short ribs). As we countdown to Independence Day I thought it would be appropriate to salute our nation’s wonderfully rich cuisine with the following ethnic dishes that can be easily grilled up for a classic Fourth of July picnic. The first recipe features an All-American rib eye … Continue reading →

Battered Potatoes

I was surprised at how delicious these little potato bites were. As a testimony to their ultimate yumminess–all five of my children ate them. (With appropriate amounts of ketchup of course.) These are great little tidbits if you’re looking to serve something for a party or as an appetizer. I think the secret is in the salt blend and what is nice about that is you can customize your own version. In my version, I don’t use pepper because my kids don’t like it. But of course, if you like pepper–pepper away! You will need: 8 medium potatoes 2 cups … Continue reading →

Spicy Sloppy Joes with Cold and Crunchy Coleslaw

The road to the Super Bowl will go through the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field after all. The Green Bay Packers will host the New York Giants on Sunday, January 20th in the NFC Championship Game after New York upset the Dallas Cowboys this evening 21-17. Which means one thing for me (and the rest of my fellow Wisconsinites): It’s time to start planning our game day menus. In my previous blog I shared the dishes I made (and others that I gorged on) for the playoff party I attended on Saturday. Now that our beloved Packers are headed to … Continue reading →

Twice Delicious–Roasted Chicken & Chicken Noodle Soup

I often buy whole chickens because they are on sale. Not only that but it’s a meal that you can cook once and then have on hand for at least a couple of days. Up until now, I’ve only used my leftover whole chickens for sandwich meat. . .but one snowy, cold day I had an “a ha” moment, and the result is what follows: Roast Chicken When it comes to roast chicken, I cheat. I have tried a variety of combinations of spices, and I’ve even rubbed my chicken in adobo–which my family also likes. However, our absolute favorite … Continue reading →

Latino Food Guide Pyramid

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There hasn’t been a lot of food news lately other than the same issues regarding cloned foods, tainted foods, and the ban on trans fats. But here is something I read recently that caught my eye: a new Food Guide Pyramid featuring traditional cooking and latino foods. Some of you who have been reading my blogs for awhile probably already know this but for those who don’t, I am a minority in a mostly Hispanic community. Being the cooking enthusiast that I am, I have since learned how to make pernil, sofrito sauce, adobo seasoning from scratch, arroz con gandules, … Continue reading →