Moroccan Tapenade ... With A Kick

Another recipe I found for the tapas night was this amazing tapenade!  I love tapenade anyway, but this one has a spicy little kick that is so great. 

The only thing I really changed about this is the amount of olive oil I used and the method ... and I doubled their original recipe to make two cups.

400 g Kalamata olives, pitted
3 big cloves of garlic
2 tablespoon harissa (definitely adjust to taste!)
2 tablespoon lemon juice
a handful of chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup olive oil

Throw everything into a food processor and process until desired consistency is reached. 

I served with a thick crunchy crouton type cracker.  You could serve with any cracker or bread!

Bonnie Bread

I've had this photo sitting in the drafts for ages ...

I made this up years ago.

I use bake at home bread rolls that I sometimes have in the freezer.

You can put anything on top.

My favorite things include but are not limited to :

olives ... any and all kinds
sundried tomatoes
artichoke hearts
pine nuts
feta cheese
asparagus
salami
mushrooms
top with a bit of mozzarella cheese

Cut open the bread rolls, top with your choice of toppings, bake in oven til cheese is melted ...

Bonnie Makes The Pollo

Has anyone besides me made this yet ?

IT IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD !

... and easy to make.

Try it.

You'll like it !

Pollo Guisado con Papas

Foods of The World - Potluck

This is a savory dish, wonderfully complemented by sweet amarillos, the recipe for which also follows. It may seem a little strange--rice and potatoes?!--so let me just say, a Puerto Rican diet is not for the faint of heart, or for those watching their carbs! But trust me, once you get a whiff of this while it's cooking, you won't care how many calories or carbs are in it. If you feel the need to assuage any guilt, though, serve it with a salad.

Pollo Guisado con Papas
Stewed Chicken with Potatoes

6 chicken pieces (I use boneless, skinless thighs, but it's your preference)
2 or 3 large Russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large sweet onion, cubed
6 - 12 cloves garlic, minced (depends how much you like garlic!); can substitute minced garlic you buy in a jar
12 green olives (you can always pick them out if you don't like them, but cook with them for flavor)
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 Cup white cooking wine
1 Cup olive oil (if you're concerned about the amount, you can reduce it, but I wouldn't go less than 1/2 a Cup)
1/4 Cup white vinegar
1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt

Combine everything in a large pot, stirring to coat the chicken and vegetables with the sauce mixture. Push the chicken down, covering it with the vegetables, to keep it tender and ensure it cooks through.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium high. Keep at a steady boil, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and stir, ensuring the chicken is covered again. Cook 30 more minutes. Check potatoes for tenderness; if necessary, cook an additional 15 minutes. If you don't serve it immediately, reduce heat to low and cover.

Serve over white rice with amarillos on the side.

Amarillos
Fried Plantains

These sweet, fried plantains (platanos) are called amarillos in Puerto Rico, and maduros in Cuba. Amarillo means yellow in Spanish, and maduro means mature or ripe, so they're both apt names for the ripe, yellow plantains used to make them!

Ripe plantains (also known as green bananas), 1 plantain per 2 people should be enough
Olive oil (or vegetable oil, if you prefer)

Allow plantains to ripen at room temperature until yellow with black spotting, to the point where they almost look spoiled. Depending on how green they are when you buy them, this could take a week or more, so plan accordingly. You can speed the ripening process by storing the plantains in a brown paper bag with a small apple. Just be sure to keep a close watch on them to prevent spoiling! This is what they should look like.

Using a very sharp knife, cut off the ends of the plantain and split the skin down the length of it. The fruit inside should be pinkish-yellow. Carefully peel. A plantain's skin is thinner than a banana's, and it adheres a bit more to the fruit when it's ripe, so it's not as easily peeled as a banana. Cut off any bruised spots.

Pour oil into a shallow frying pan, about 3/4 inch deep. Heat oil over medium heat. While the oil is heating up, slice plantains into wedges, about 1/4 inch thick.

Place plantain wedges in oil but do not overlap them.

Fry, turning once, until deep golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Serve and eat together. The two flavors mixing and melting in your mouth...heaven!

You can reheat leftover pollo guisado in the microwave or on the stove top, but I recommend reheating amarillos on a lightly greased or foil-covered baking sheet in the oven or toaster oven at about 300 degrees for just a few minutes.

I hope you enjoy this meal as much as I do. ¡Buen provecho!

Spaghetti with Tomatoes, Basil, Olives and Fresh Mozzarella

I tried a wonderful new recipe for dinner tonight. It was fresh and perfect for a hot summer night. It seemed a little strange at first, because the sauce isn't cooked at all, but it is absolutely delicious!

Here it is. Enjoy.

Spaghetti with Tomatoes, Basil, Olives and Fresh Mozzarella

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes (about 6), chopped

3/4 pound salted fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/4-inch cubes, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups chopped fresh basil

1/2 cup halved and pitted black olives (I used Kalamata olives.)

4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

1 pound spaghetti

1/2 cup olive oil (This may not look like enough, but it's plenty.)

3 cloves garlic, minced (I used eight!)

DIRECTIONS

In a large glass or stainless-steel bowl, combine the chopped tomatoes with the mozzarella, basil, olives, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the spaghetti until just done, about 12 minutes. Drain,, add to the tomato mixture, and toss.

Heat the oil in a small frying pan over moderately low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Pour the oil over the pasta and toss again.

I didn't toss the pasta and tomato mixture together. I left them separate so that when we have leftovers, we can heat the pasta and still have the fresh tomato topping. Therefore, when I served it, I heaped a generous bunch of the tomato mixture on top of the pasta. Don't forget to dig to the bottom to dip out some of the vinegar for the pasta.