So, summer is upon us and the heat is climbing.

You know what that means right?  BBQ’s!!

Here is a quick, easy recipe that I used to make these delicious-falling-off-the-bone ribs!

What you’ll need:
Dry rub (any brand you prefer will do).
Dark brown sugar.
BBQ sauce (again, your choice).

Cover your ribs in dry rub then place in a pan, meat side up.  Cover the top half of ribs in brown sugar.  Add about quarter cup water into the pan and cover with tin foil.  (photo below)

Bake in the oven at 325 degrees F. for 3 hours.

Once finished, take ribs out of pan and place on grill.  Brush on BBQ sauce and let grill for about 5-10 min and your ribs are ready to eat!  A little time consuming but it’s easy-peasy.  

I got this recipe partly from my sisters boyfriend, Matt, and partly from an episode of Man v. Food.  It’s great.

Food Adventure #2

Paella.  It’s just so delicious.  It has everything I could ever want in 1 dish.  This paella was made and served at Brunella’s baptism after-party during our trip to Peru.  I would love to learn how to make this at home one day.  Just watching how they cooked it was amazing.  

Dessert

So I love desserts, but sometimes I just want something simple yet delicious.

This is plain yogurt with honey and strawberries.  Done.
It’s so easy and light.  It’s amazing. 

Appetizers!!
I LOOOOVE little appetizer snacks before a good dinner.  I got this idea from my sister.  It’s thin crackers with rondelé cheese spread (by Président) with cherry tomatoes.  The herbs in the cheese spread and the sweetness of the cherry tomatoes really go well together!  Great for dinner parties, try it out!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything.  I just got back from Peru and I’m still on a fruits and veggies roll.  I just can’t stop!  So this is my post:

Fresh Salad w/ homemade dressing
-Butter Lettuce
-Cucumber
-Tomatoes
-Olive oil
-Balsamic vinegar
-Lime/lemon juice (just a splash!)
-Salt and Pepper

Make sure you wash everything really well!  Mix the Olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and lime/lemon together in a cup or small bowl.  Salt and pepper to your liking.  It’s fresh and light.

The next few posts are pretty simple dishes.  I promise I’ll start cooking more meals. 

Carne Asada

Felipe and I were feeling a bit San Diego-sick, missing the delicious Carne Asada that was so easy to get.  We finally decided to take matters into our own hands.

This recipe is just for the Carne Asada marinate.  There are plenty of different types, but this is the one we went with, and it’s tasty!  We pretty much eyeballed the measurements, it’s pretty hard to mess up.
We also used skirt steak, it’s what was recommended on a couple of cooking sites.

Carne Asada marinate:
Limes, juiced
Jalepeño, seeded and diced
Vinegar
Olive Oil
Garlic cloves, diced
Cilantro, diced w/ stems
Cumin
Salt
Pepper
Tapatio/tabasco 

For extra spice:
1/2 Habanero pepper, diced
or
Chili powder/sauce. 

Dice your garlic, cilantro and jalapeño’s(don’t forget to seed!) and toss into a medium bowl.  Add 1 teaspoon cumin, stir.  Squeeze your lime juice into the bowl, then follow it up with about 2 tablespoons of vinegar and about 1/2 cup to 1/3 cup of olive oil.  Mix then salt and pepper to your liking.  Don’t be afraid to taste your marinate!  Add Tabasco or Tapatio for some spice.  If you’re feeling extra daring, add a little chili pepper powder OR a Habanero pepper(spicy!).

Put your steaks into a large freezer bag, pour in your marinate, mix it around and set aside in the fridge for a few hours.  Once ready, grease up that grill and start cooking!

For the salsa, use the Pico De Gallo recipe.

Tip:  For those of you who don’t have time to prep or are too lazy, Trader Joe’s has AWESOME Carne Asada steaks that are pre-marinated.  Make sure you get the thin sliced steaks and not the tri-tip.

Pancakes

They’re pretty basic.  I used Aunt Jamima buttermilk mix, but I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1 egg for extra flavor and fluff.  Simple.

I do have a pancakes from scratch recipe that I will put up eventually(when I’m not lazy).  Cheers!

Food Adventure #1

Last Thursday Felipe’s parents came to visit for the week.  On Sunday we decided to take them up to St. Helena to go wine tasting at our favorite vineyard, Pride.  The Pride vineyard is such a wonderful place!  The wine is great, the view is gorgeous and the tour guide is very friendly and really knows his wines.  Anyway, after the tasting, he recommended a restaurant called the Bistro Jeanty in Yountville(a little south of St. Helena).

It. Was. AMAZING.  First let me start with their bread…

Their bread was some of the most delicious bread I’ve ever had! Baked in the restaurant so it was nice, fresh and warm!

I also had the opportunity to try escargot for the first time.  I was a little apprehensive at first but I’ve always been curios so I dove in.  Let me tell you, it’s not bad.  Not great either, but definitely not bad.  The flavor is very similar to eating clams but without that sea flavor to it.  It was also covered in a butter/garlic sauce, which can make anything taste amazing.. :P

As an appetizer I also had a tomato cream soup w/ a baked puff pastry on top.  My mind exploded when I took the first taste.  It was sooooo good!  I can’t even describe how delicious it was.  I love soups and I’ve had so many different kinds, but this soup.. this soup is by far the best!

Then my main course.  (above photo)

I had the beef stew.  A very simple dish done perfectly.  It was mashed potatoes, carrots, peas, and the softest, most tender, melt in your mouth beef.  It was great.

For dessert, chocolate crème brulée!  It was the crème brulée on the bottom, then chocolate mousse on top, then the melted caramel!  Ahh, amazing!

Perfect end to a perfect day!  I’ve already decided that I will be going back soon for more!

Pico de Gallo

Why buy it when you can make it? Super easy and tastes way better when it’s fresh!  Goes great with carne asada tacos(recipe coming soon)! Recipe feeds two people.

1/2 cup cilantro, diced
2  Tomatoes, seeded, drained and diced (Roma tomatoes used in photo)
1/2 Red Onion, diced
2-3 limes
Tabasco 

Mix the tomato, cilantro and onion in a bowl.  Slice limes in half and squeeze into bowl, mix well.  Add a couple drops of Tabasco or more if you like it spicy.  Salt and pepper to taste! And done!

Lentils

This dish, if done correctly, is very easy! But the prep time takes forever.  This is another dish introduced to me by Felipe.  It’s a great and hearty “comfort food” type dish that really fills you up.  I’m not exactly sure where the origin of this dish is from, Felipe mentioned it’s more Italian than Peruvian.  Anyway, I love it!

Note!
If you are using dehydrated lentils, it is recommended to soak them before cooking. About 1 cup of lentils should feed about 2 people.  Go ahead and pour your lentils into a colander and set the colander into a bowl of cold water.  Let soak for about 4 hours or over night, whichever you prefer.

So this dish is Lentils with sausage and Peruvian style rice, so I’ll start with the rice.

If you have a rice cooker, this is will be easy-peasy.  The measurements will feed 2-3 people.

Peruvian style rice:

2 cups Long grain rice (about $2 a bag at your local grocery store)
Olive Oil
Garlic (2 cloves, diced)
Salt
2 2/3 cups boiling water 

Take your rice pot and place on the stove, pour about 1 1/2-2 tablespoons olive oil and put on Med-High heat.  Once oil is heated, add garlic and stir til golden.  Add the rice and stir until rice and olive oil is well mixed.  Now add your boiling water and salt to taste(i usually use about 1 tablespoons worth).  Then move your rice pot to the rice cooker and turn on.  Usually takes about 40 min to cook.

Lentils w/ sausge:

1 cup Lentils
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 yellow onion, diced 
2 roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and drained
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 polish sausages, sliced

Before you begin cooking, boil your lentils in a pot of water for about 40 minutes or until lentils are soft.  Once finished, drain the water using a colander and set aside.

Begin with pouring some olive oil into a medium sized pan and heat on med-high heat.  Toss in onions and stir until it begins to turn clear(about 2-3 minutes) then add garlic and sausages and stir until garlic/onions begin to golden.  Next drop the heat to medium, add tomato paste and continue stirring until paste has melted down a bit, then mix in tomatoes.  Stir for a few minutes or until tomatoes begin to soften.  Finally, turn the heat off, add your lentils and stir until everything is well mixed.

This dish is great when served with an egg! but if you don’t like eggs, you can leave it out. ;]