tostones

I live alone. Therefore, I don't have to follow any food rules at home. This occasionally leads to things like tostones and wine for dinner. These are pretty traditional (I understand) in Latin American households, as a breakfast treat.

Tostones are fried plantains. A plantain looks like a banana, but has more starch in it. Before they're ripe, they're practically unpalatable - they're like a raw potato. But when they look like bananas past their prime, they are sweet and oh so delicious.

Most plantains I get at my local grocery store are green. And when they're green, they're inedible. I like my plantains yellow to the point of turning brown or red. So, I buy them green and pop them in my produce drawer (not in the fridge - I keep a drawer in the cabinets full of potatoes, yams, and plantains...and sometimes garlic) until they turn yellow-red.

These plantains get double fried, and get beat up a little. Have fun.

Ingredients

1 ripe plantain
a bowl of salted water
vegetable oil
salt

Peel your plantain. You'll need to use a knife to cut a slit down the side, but you should be able to peel it from there. Slice it into 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces. Put the pieces in the (very) salty water.

Put a pan on high heat and pour in enough vegetable oil to cover the pan about 1/4 inch up the sides. I use a wooden spoon to check if my oil is hot enough. Just stick the handle of a wooden spoon into the oil - if a bunch of bubbles appear around the spoon handle, your oil is ready.

Dry off the plantain pieces and slide into the oil when the oil is ready. You just want the slightest bit of color on this first fry, and that won't take long. Flip them over once you start to get the little bit of browning. When the other side is slightly (slightly!!) browned, take them out of the oil and place them on paper towels. Remove the oil from the heat so it doesn't get too hot.

Then, using a meat mallet or other flat and heavy item (I use a heavy bottomed water glass), smash the plantains so they're about 1/2 inch thick. Do this gingerly at first - you don't want to really mush them all up or break them apart.

Once they're flat, return the oil to the heat and do the spoon test again. When the oil is ready, put the plantains back in. This time around, you want to let them cook until the edges turn crispy and brown. Flip them, and let the other side brown up, too.

Drain on paper towels, sprinkle with salt while they're fresh from the pan, and serve.

UPDATE: They're also great baked. I came home from vacation earlier this week and found a practically black plantain in my kitchen. I sliced it into 1/4 inch pieces (like a banana), tossed the pieces in a teaspoon of canola oil and baked at 400* F for about 12 minutes, flipping halfway through. Wowza, were they good. I think extra ripe and baked may win the plantain contest.

shepherd's pies

My friends and I throw themed dinner parties for one another. They generally involve some kind of play on words, be it alliteration, rhyme or otherwise. Anyway, now that you know I'm one of the cool kids (ha!), let me give you the recipes I made for our Shepherd's and Skullsplitter dinner party.

Many of my friends don't eat beef (well, certain kinds of beef), and one of them is a pescatarian. So, I actually made one traditional pie and another using Quorn. However, only the meat recipe is below.

To me, shepherd's pie is a clean-out-your-fridge kind of food, so rarely do I go at it with a particular recipe in mind. When I was a kid, my father used to throw it together anytime we had leftover mashed potatoes. Which was anytime my mother made mashed potatoes (I always suspected he threw an extra potato or two into the pot behind her back; so much does he love shepherd's pie).

I made my first shepherd's pies (two huge pies - one lamb and one beef), for my girlfriends and I to eat at my 10th birthday party. Did I mention I'm one of the cool kids? Anyway, here's the recipe.

Ingredients

Filling
1 lb of meat (I used sirloin this time, but I've used everything from leftover ribeye to ground beef)
4 large garlic cloves, minced
5 diced carrots
1 large diced onion
1 1/2 c frozen green peas

Potatoes
4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 - 1 c milk
3 tbs butter

Gravy
1 beer (or use chicken stock or water)
wondra (I LOVE wondra, but a corn starch slurry or some sifted flour will also do the trick)

Seasonings
your favorite meat seasoning
salt
pepper
cayenne pepper
paprika
olive oil

Preparation
The night before, you'll want to cook the steaks. First, this breaks up what can be a long process (and since this is really meant as a use for leftovers, hopefully you'll just have leftover steak). Secondly, you're going to be cutting the steak into bite-sized pieces, and if you cook the steak right beforehand, and then cut it, you lose some of the juices.

You can cook them in your favorite way (broil, grill, pan-fry). I broiled them. Sprinkle them liberally with your favorite seasoning, allow them to come to room temperature, then cook. The steaks I had were about an inch thick, and I wanted them fairly rare inside (as they will be introduced to heat again later), so I broiled them for two minutes per side.

The day of, get all your vegetables diced and cut the meat into bite-sized pieces. Preheat the oven to 400* F. Peel and cut the potatoes, put them in a pot, cover them with water and boil them for about 15 - 20 minutes, or until a fork is easily inserted into them. While the potatoes are boiling, prepare the filling.

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, saute the garlic, onion and carrot in the olive oil until just softened. Add salt to help this process along. Add the peas and cover. Lower the heat to medium-low and let simmer for about 3 minutes.

Raise the heat to high, add the meat and cook for about 1 - 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. The point here is to get some of the meat to stick to the bottom of the pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat, cover.

By now, the potatoes should be ready to mash. Drain them and then place the pot back on the hot (but off) burner. This will allow any excess water to steam off the potatoes. Give the pot a shake every few seconds. Once the steam coming off them has lessened, toss in the butter. Mash the potatoes with a potato masher or other instrument. Add the milk in small increments (you may not need it all) and stir it in until you reach the consistency you want. Then, season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste.


Assembly and Gravy

Transfer the meat and vegetables into a baking dish, spreading them out evenly. Then make the gravy.

Place the saucepan in which you cooked the vegetables over high heat. Hopefully, you have some meat and/or juices stuck to the bottom of the pan. When the pan is hot, pour in half the beer (or 1/2 cup stock or water). With a whisk or fork, scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen the stuck bits. Stirring continuously, sprinkle a fine layer of wondra over the liquid. Continue alternating liquid and wondra until you get the gravy consistency you prefer. Remove from heat and season lightly with salt and cracked pepper. The amount of seasoning you will need will vary based on what liquid you used, and you don't want to oversalt, since you've salted the other components of the dish.

Finally, you're ready to assemble fully. Pour your pan gravy over the meat and vegetables. Using a spatula, transfer the mashed potatoes on top of the meat and vegetables. Spread them out evenly (kind of like frosting a cake).

Sprinkle paprika over the top of the mashed potatoes (this will help them crisp up a little). Place the pie into the oven. Bake for 30 minutes to an hour, or until the top looks crisp around the edges.

Serve like you'd serve a lasagna. Or a pie.



I hope that wasn't too complicated! Enjoy.