Mom's Rice Salad

Your comfort food is nice and all, but mine is better. My Dominican mama made this rice salad, and a potato equivalent, a few times each year and it would always be a special treat. Sure you can eat it cold, but it's so much better luke warm or at room temperature. I always preferred the rice to the potato because I felt I got better access to all the ingredients. This salad is fun to look at too because all the ingredients mixed into the rice look sort of like confetti! Chances are you won't find this salad anywhere else. This truly unique. So please don't tell my mom I'm sharing this recipe with you!

Ingredients:

2 cups of uncooked rice
3 cups of hot water
salt to taste

1/2 cup of canned tuna
1 green pepper finely diced
1/4 red onion finely diced
3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
1/4 cup of roughly chopped olives, capers and red pimentos
4 tablespoons of mayo
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the rice Raquelle-style. Set aside.

Soak the diced red onion in the red wine vinegar while you prepare the other ingredients. Let is marinate for about 5 minutes or so and drain.

Add the tuna, green pepper, olives, capers, red pimentos and red onions to the rice and mix. Season with salt and pepper. Slowly incorporate the mayo tablespoon by tablespoon until it's to the consistency that you like. I go light on the mayo but you can always add more.

Eat at room temperature. It's hearty enough to eat alone with maybe a light dessert to follow. It reheats well just make sure to only nuke it for up to 30 seconds and not to cook it because of the mayo. You can eat this cold too!

Mom's Rice Salad

Meatloaf Plate

 Cheddar Cheese Stuffed Meatloaf ~ Cucumber & Dill Salad ~ Grilled Corn with Sea Salt

I cannot count how many times I've made some version of this plate but I have yet to post it here. Usually, this meal is accompanied by buttered red potatoes but I wanted to keep things light and I omitted potatoes altogether. There are a couple things to keep in mind with this plate. For the meatloaf, instead of making one gigantic loaf, I make smaller individual loaves. Four mini-loaves per 2 pounds of ground beef. I use ketchup instead of a tomato sauce because I like how it creates a tangy coating. I stuff my meatloaves with cheddar cheese when I can. It's just nice having a little surprise in the center of each loaf. Also, Carlos loves ordering a custom plate of meatloaf, corn, pickles and mashed potatoes from a nearby restaurant, so this plate is inspired by that combination. I hope you'll give it a try!

Cheddar Cheese Stuffed Meatloaf

Ingredients:
2 pounds of ground beef
2 slices of cheddar cheese (half slice per loaf)
1 small onion finely diced
1-2 garlic cloves minced
1 egg beaten
1/4 cup of breadcrumbs (or less based on taste)
Ketchup
salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste

Makes 4 loaves

If you are not sure of the seasonings, make the mixture and try cooking up a tiny patty on the stovetop. When cooked, taste it. You can always add seasoning but you can't reduce it.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

In large bowl, add the ground beef and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Then add the diced onions, minced garlic, egg and breadcrumbs. Mix thoroughly with your hands (don't even think about using a spoon it won't work). Separate into four servings.

Take a 1/2 slice of cheddar cheese and create a small stack by breaking it up. Mold the individual loaf around the cheddar cheese so it's completely hidden in the middle.

Once your four loaves are done, add them to a baking dish lined with foil. Squirt a generous amount of ketchup on each and coat the loaves with ketchup using your hands. Cover very loosely with foil.

Add to your oven and make for 25-30 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for 5-10 minutes more, depending on how well done you like your beef.

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Cucumber & Dill Salad

Ingredients:
3 pickle cucumbers or 1 English cucumber
1 tablespoon of dill (or less per taste)
juice of 1/2 lemon
3 tablespoons of light olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Slice the cucumbers very thinly but keep the skin on. Season with salt and pepper and add the dill. Add the juice of the lemon and the olive oil and mix. Let sit for a few minutes before serving.

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Grilled Corn with Sea Salt

Ingredients:
4 ears of corn
Sea salt to taste
Light olive oil

You can use flash frozen corn if corn is out of season. Just let it thaw first.

Heat up your grill pan until it's nice and hot.

Now comes the sexiest part of this recipe. Take each ear of corn and drizzle some olive oil on it. Then with your hands, very sensually rub the oil all over that ear of corn. Trust me, the ear of corn will like it very much.

Add the corn to the grill and cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side. While it's nice and hot, add some sea salt.

Sunday Roundup ~ April 4th, 2010

Today's Sunday Roundup is devoted to sexy food shots and where you can find them. We eat first with our eyes, then with our mouths and the visual aspect of food is very important.

@FoodPorn on Twitter ~  I highly recommend you follow @FoodPorn which showcases user-submitted shots of decadent food.

Closet Cooking ~ His apartment, although small, must be bursting with light because all of his photographs are stunning.

Smitten Kitchen ~ 'nuff said. Her camera must be state of the art or she must have the most amazing photographic skills.

Cookin' Canuck ~ I also think her kitchen must be bursting with light because her food shots are superb. It's a big part of why I'm drawn to her recipes because the dishes look good enough to devour.

Coconut & Lime ~ I hardly ever make anything from this blog but I always love to look at the photographs.

Posy Gets Cozy ~ This is a craft blog but occasionally the author Alicia Paulson, will post recipes accompanied by beautiful photography. Her blog is definite eye candy for anyone who likes anything pretty.

Warm Pineapple With Coconut Sorbet

While I was searching for cleaning tips on Real Simple, I stumbled upon the recipe section and found this little gem. Caramelized Pineapple With Coconut Sorbet. It was too good NOT to make. I mentioned the dessert to a few people and they were all excited to hear about how it would turn out. I modified the recipe a little bit. I added a tablespoon of water because I felt that it made the sauce smoother.

A friend suggested adding something crunchy on top. You could always toast some coconut flakers or some crushed flaked almonds. Also, if you are not sure where to find coconut sorbet, try your local Whole Foods Market if you have one. They usually carry an array of sorbets and I can always find unique ones there. Otherwise, there are plenty of coconut sorbet recipes on the internet.

Ingredients:

Half of a Pineapple sliced into half moons
2 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of water
coconut sorbet

Makes 4 servings.

Just a few tips for the pineapple: if you don't have fresh pineapple, use 4 canned pineapple rings and cut them in half. If you do have fresh pineapple, make sure you cut out a bit of the core because that part is mostly inedible.

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan. Add the brown sugar and water and stir. Heat a bit until the mixture is combined and add the pineapple slices. Cook the pineapple until it begins to soften and shut off the heat.

Take four small bowls and add a large scoop of coconut sorbet into each. Add a couple of slices of cooked pineapple and drizzle some sauce over the top. Serve immediately. Devour immediately.

This came out so well that I squealed with delight at the very first bite. Enjoy!