Sunday night dinner - Cuban style!!

So the Devenny's (that would be us) and the Jordan's have a long time tradition of having Sunday night dinner together. Sometimes we have hamburgers and sometimes we go gourmet...its just whatever we are in the mood for on that particular night. We switch houses each week and when it isn't at our house we don't bring anything but ourselves. We eat early and leave early so the kids can get in bed for school. We've been doing this for a while and I look forward to it each week. I decided I may as well add our meals to K is for Kitchen!!

Last week we had dinner at the Jordan's and she did a traditional Cuban meal. Ana is Cuban, so she grew up eating homemade black beans and rice, friend plantains, etc. VERY YUMMY! She was nice enough to type out ALL the recipes since they are not recipes you would be able to find online. Old family recipes!

Black Beans

1 lb. bag of black beans
2 med yellow onions
1 green pepper
Chopped garlic
Olive Oil
Complete Sazon
Mojo
1 can tomato paste
1 small can tomato sauce
Ham chunks
Small jar of pimentos
Green olives (optional)

Two days before:

Wash the beans. Make sure to remove any rocks or debris you find.
Fill pressure cooker ½ way with water and add the clean beans
Cut green pepper in half and seed. Add ½ of the pepper to the pot
Cut 1 onion into quarters and add to pot.
Close pressure cooker and let sit overnight.

Day Before:

Remove any floating beans.
Heat to high and then reduce to med for 20 minutes.
Turn off and allow all vapor to come out. This takes a while.
In a blender, puree the rest of the green pepper, 1 onion and 2 tsp garlic. (This mixture is called Sofrito)

Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté the Sofrito.
While the oil is still hot, add the Sofrito and cook for 5 minutes and add 2-3 shakes of Complete Sazon.
Add the tomato paste and the tomato sauce and cook for 10 minutes
Add ham chunks and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
Add olives.
Add this mixture to the beans.
Add one squirt of Mojo to the beans.
Cook without the lid off for 10-15 minutes, let cool.
Replace the lid and put the cooker in the refrigerator.

Day of:

Heat the beans on low or simmer prior to serving.

Serve over white rice.


Cuban Bread

5 cups bread flour
2 packages dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups hot water

Cuban bread should be consumed in a day or so, since it lacks shortening, and therefore, has a very short shelf life.

Directions

Grease a baking sheet to prepare it for 2 small loaves. In large mixing bowl, combine 4 cups of flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Blend well. Heat 2 cups of water to 125º F and add to mixing bowl, beating ingredients with electric mixer for approximately 3 minutes. Add remaining cup of flour slowly, making sure it combines with other ingredients to form a non-sticky batch of bread dough.

To hand knead the dough, remove it from bowl, sprinkle additional flour over a kneading area, and knead dough for 5 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. To knead with electric mixer and dough hook, work dough for approximately 5 minutes until elastic and smooth.

Lightly grease a large bowl, place the dough inside, and cover the bowl with oiled plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise in a warm location (approximately 90º F) for 15to 30 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Punch the dough to deflate and place it on a floured work surface. Form the loaves into round or oval shapes and place on the greased baking sheet. Slash the loaves with a cross or 2 parallel cuts.

Fill a pan with hot tap water and place it on the lowest rack in a cool oven (do not preheat the oven). Put the bread loaves in the oven on the middle shelf above the water. Turn the oven temperature to 400º F, baking the loaves for approximately 45 to 50 minutes, and removing them when they are a dark golden tan in color.

Using a wooden spoon or your hand, lightly tap on the bottom of the loaves, listening for a hollow and hard sound, which indicates the bread is properly done. Place the bread on a cooling rack and serve the same day it is baked.


Tostones (Fried green Plantains)

Vegetable oil for frying
Green plantains
Salt

Peel the plantain: Cut the ends of each plantain off with a sharp knife. Use the knife to cut through the peel along the entire length of the plantain. Loosen the peel along the cut and remove peel by hand.
Note: The greener the plantain, the tougher it is too peel. You may need to help things along with a sharp knife. Cut the plantain into chunks, about 2" wide.

Fill a large skillet a third full with oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the plantain slices while the oil is still warm and fry for a couple of minutes on each side, until they begin to brown to soften, but not brown. (Don't let your oil get too hot at this point!)

Remove the plantain and drain on paper towels.
Use a plantain press or the bottom of a coffee cup to smash the plantains to about half their thickness.

Increase the heat and fry once again until golden brown
Remove and use paper towels to absorb excess oil. Sprinkle with salt to taste and serve.


Platanos Maduros (Fried Ripe Plantains)

Ingredients:

2 ripe plantains
1 tbs canola oil or sunflower oil

Preparation:

Peel the plantains
Slice the plantains, the best way to slice them is either diagonally or cut the plantain in half and slice lengthwise. The plantain can also be sliced lengthwise full size, but the smaller diagonal or half slices are easier to manage.
Heat the oil over medium heat in a large frying pan and add the plantains
The plantains will cook very quickly, make sure to turn them before they burn and cook until golden on each side. You can use a spatula or a fork to turn them. If the plantain flesh is still pink or white it means that it is not yet fully cooked.
Place the cooked plantains on a paper towel to drain any excess oil. Serve warm

Doesn't that all sound delicious!? Trust me when I say, it was. It was such a treat to eat such authentic foods! They also marinated a pork butt in Cuban marinade (Mojo I think?) and then smoked it and served it pulled with the black beans, bread and plantains. DELICIOUS!!

She also made 2 yummy desserts. One of the best cookies and cupcakes I have ever had and I am not kidding!!

Peanut Butter-Cup Cookies

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 12-ounce package small peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped

Heat oven to 375° F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Fold in the peanut butter cups.

Drop tablespoon-size mounds of dough 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake until light brown around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a baking rack to cool.

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

1 18.5-ounce box yellow cake mix (plus the ingredients called for in the package directions)
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
2 8-ounce bars cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
24 pieces candy corn

Heat oven to 350° F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners. Prepare the cake mix as directed but with the following change: Add the pumpkin pie spice and substitute the can of pumpkin puree for the water called for in the package directions.

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin tins and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool.

Meanwhile, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and sugar until creamy. Spread on the cupcakes and top each with a piece of candy corn.

Tip - The cupcakes can be baked and stored at room temperature, covered, up to 2 days in advance. Frost them up to 12 hours before serving.

*****Ana did them in mini bundt pans and they looked so cute!!

So there you have it, a traditional Cuban meal for your next dinner guests. I promise they will not be disappointed. Thanks Jordan's! YUMM YUMM!!