Oswald Rivera

Author: Oswald Rivera (page 52 of 83)

Linguini with Caviar

February 19, 2016 / Oswald Rivera / 0 Comments

If you ever wanted to enhance a common, nondescript pasta dish, then add caviar to it. It will garner “oohs” and “aahs” at your table. Most people think of caviar as that fancy-dan appetizer served at diplomatic functions or the debutante cotillion. And it is true, caviar is considered a dish of the upper orders. Yest caviar is simply processed, salted, fish row eggs. The three leading grades or types are Beluga, Osetra, and Sevruga caviar. This is prime caviar that comes from wild sturgeon in the Caspian Sea. At the supermarket, most caviar sold these days is the pasteurized caviar which is less expensive than wild sturgeon; and is heat treated and vacuum packed in containers or glass jars.

Caviar, whether the prime or less expansive type is a great addition to pasta. And in this recipe I recommend any string pasta you favor, be it bucatini spaghetti, fettuccini, angel hair, etc. You can even do it with noodles, like fusilli. I use linguini. But, again, you’re not limited. Bear in mind, for this recipe you don’t need the high-priced product—unless you really want to splurge.

LINGUINI WITH CAVIAR

5 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, sliced into thin rings
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
2 2-ounce jars caviar
1 shot vodka
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup heavy cream (1/2 pint)
1 pound linguini
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh basil, washed, dried, and chopped

1. In a medium-sized frying pan or skillet, heat oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add onion and garlic. Sauté until soft but not brown.
2. Add caviar and mix for a few seconds. Pour in vodka and cook until it has evaporated almost completely.
3. Sprinkle with Worcestershire sauce and blend in cream. Remove from heat, mix and keep warm.
4. Boil linguini until al dente, or desired tenderness. Drain, leaving a little cooking water and blend in the tablespoon of olive oil.
5. Pour caviar sauce over the pasta and mix well. Sprinkle with fresh basil and serve immediately.
Yield: 4 servings.

Steamed Duck

February 8, 2016 / Oswald Rivera / 0 Comments

Until recently I would get my steamed duck from Chinatown. Then, almost overnight, it couldn’t be found anywhere. The stores where I had gotten the steamed duck, hole-in-the-wall joints that had been making it for years, were no longer offering it. This was disconcerting to me. Unlike everyone else I know, Asiatic or not, I prefer steamed to roast duck. Chinese roast duck is ubiquitous. We all know it and it’s featured at almost every Chinese dinner. This being the week of the Chinese lunar New Year, the Year of the Monkey, every banquet will serve it. But, to my mind, where roast duck is the preferred dish, steamed duck is for the connoisseur. Roast duck I can pass by. Steamed duck I cannot. So, here I was now, bereft. I couldn’t find my beloved fowl. I asked more than one proprietor, why no steamed duck anymore? They told truthfully, it didn’t sell as well as its other cousin. This further baffled me. Didn’t sell? In anger I thought, What do you want from the Great Unwashed. What the hell do they know?

Still, it didn’t solve my problem. Which meant that now I would have to make my own duck or go unrewarded. I canvassed my friends and acquaintances in Chinatown and finally came up with the following recipe. My one criteria: it had to be easy. I wasn’t going to mess with fandangled steamers and fryers and what-have-you. Some would question whether the recipe given could be categorized as steamed duck, some would say it’s mote like braised duck—and I don’t use a steamer. It’s all semantics. My friends call it steamed duck, and so do I. The dish is delicious. That’s all that matters. With some hot rice on the side, and a light red or chilled white wine, it can’t be beat.

One final note. Most places in Chinatown use Long Island duck, which is notoriously fatty. I’ve discovered there is other duck out there where the fat content is minimal. If you can, try to obtain a wild duck, or Muscovy duck, or Bavarian duck—which need no trimming of fat. If you do use the Long Island species, then remove fat from the cavity of the duck, and trim excess fat from the neck and body. And follow the recipe as is.

STEAMED DUCK

1 duck (4-5 pounds)
1 tablespoon salt
3-4 strips orange peel, about 2-inches long
1 tablespoon Chinese 5-Spice Powder
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 whole star anise, smashed with the side of a cleaver
2 tablespoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed
3 whole cinnamon sticks
1/2 cup dark soy sauce

Vinegar Sauce:
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 red chopped, chili pepper

1. Rinse duck under cool running water, and pat dry with paper towels. With the tines of a fork or sharp knife, prick the duck all over.
2. Place duck in a large wok or pot. Add water to cover. Bring to a boil and blanch duck in the boiling water for about 1 minute. This is done in order to rid the bird of its gamy taste. Remove duck from pot, drain well, and rub evenly with the salt, including the cavity.
3. Stir in the rest of the ingredients (minus vinegar sauce) to the water in the pot or wok. Bring to a second boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and gently lower the duck into pot.
4. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 1 hour or until duck is tender (internal temperature using a meat thermometer should register 165 degrees F.)
5. Turn off heat and leave duck immersed in sauce liquid for another hour.
6. Remove duck from pot. Using sauce liquid, rub or brush duck all over. Cut into serving pieces. At this point, make vinegar sauce: combine ingredients in a small pan and heat briefly (about 3-4 seconds).
7. Heat a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add duck pieces, skin side down, and saute until skin begins to sizzle and brown. Turn and brown on other side.
8. Transfer duck to a serving platter and serve with vinegar sauce.
Yield: 4 servings.

Fish Fillets with Spinach

January 26, 2016 / Oswald Rivera / 0 Comments

I love cheesy fish fillets. You know the type, the more cheese the better. There’s something comfy and down home about such a meal, especially in the midwinter doldrums. And I like it simple: no mess, no fuss, just stick to the ribs cooking. The type of food that puts meat on your bones. In terms of what fish to use: any firm fish fillets will do: cod, halibut, turbot, tilapia, salmon, blue fish—whatever is available.

This entrée works with almost any kind of vegetable—broccoli, cauliflower, peas—but it works especially well with greens, even such suspects as bok choy and collard greens. In this rendition, I use spinach. What makes this recipe unique is that even if you have kids who don’t eat fish and hate spinach, they’ll savor this dish. The cheesy sauce will hook ‘em every time.

Now, you can elect to use frozen veggies or fresh. If you can get them, go for the latter. If using a frozen vegetable, just make sure it has thawed and is well drained. Otherwise, you’ll have too much liquid and the dish will be runny.

With a good hunk of bread, and a light red or white wine, this beauty hits the spot.

FISH FILLET WITH SPINACH

1 pound fish fillets

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

3 tablespoons flour

1 packet instant chicken bouillon granules or 1 chicken bouillon, crushed

Pinch or dash teaspoon ground nutmeg

Pinch or dash of cayenne pepper

Pinch or dash of white pepper

1 cup milk

2/3 cup shredded Swiss or Cheddar cheese (or any cheese-mix desired)

1 bunch fresh spinach, washed, and coarsely chopped

Juice of ½ lemon

¼ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Pinch or dash of paprika

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Rinse fillets under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels. Cut into serving

pieces, set aside

3. Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour, bouillon, nutmeg, cayenne and white

pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly.

4. Stir in milk. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

5. Add cheese, cook and stir until it melts. Remove from heat and set aside.

6. Place spinach in an ungreased baking pan or baking dish (I prefer cast-iron). Sprinkle with

lemon juice .

7. Arrange fish over spinach, sprinkle with salt, and spread cheese sauce on top. Bake, uncovered for about 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and paprika. Return to oven and bake 5 minutes. Place on serving dish, or serve straight out of the baking pan.

Yield: 4 servings.

Oven Fried Chicken

January 14, 2016 / Oswald Rivera / 0 Comments

I love fried chicken, always have. But there’s always the persistent health concern. The more thorough among us worry about the fat content, even when not using hydrogenated oil. Problem is, I was brought up on chicken cooked in fat, either lard or left-over grease my mother would keep in a jar in the fridge. I know, you’re saying: “Yuk—what would that do to you arteries, not to mention your waistline?” Guess what, it was the best fried chicken I ever tasted. And I yearn for those days. Now, when I fry chicken I use olive oil—but that’s an expensive proposition if one is going to use good quality olive oil every time. And I still hanker for the Crisco.

I’ve discovered another way to cook chicken that is just as tasty and, yes, healthy. That’s oven-fried chicken. What I like about oven-fried chicken is that it comes out just as crispy, tasty and as juicy as my mother’s hallowed larded chicken. It’s become my favorite method of making the legendary dish. In honor of full disclosure, this recipe comes from an old, tattered cookbook of mine from the Rival Home Economics Department, Rival Manufacturing Company, Kansas City, Missouri. I’ve modified the recipe in terms of the seasoning used. Now, I don’t know if the Rival Company is still around, but the recipe lives on in all its glory. Tasty, fried chicken without the fat content. What more could you want?

OVEN-FRIEND CHICKEN

1 broiler/fryer chicken, about 2 1/2 to 3 pounds, cut up
2 1/2 cups bread crumbs or crushed potato chips
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
3/4 cup evaporated milk

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Rinse chicken pieces under cold running water, and pat dry with paper towels.
3. Combine bread crumbs or crushed potato chips with the seasonings.
4. Dip chicken pieces in evaporated milk. Roll in seasoning mixture.
3. Place in a baking pan and bake 45 to 60 minutes or until chicken is tender.
Yield: 4 servings.

Braising Meat (and Poultry)

One of the easiest ways to prepare meat and is by braising. But some of my acquaintances complain that they can’t get it right. For the record, according to Funk & Wagnalls Standard Desk Dictionary (I love that name “Funk & Wagnalls”) denotes braising as: “To cook (meat) by searing till brown and then simmering in a covered pan.” That’s it. The only caveat I would add is that you can also cook poultry the same way. It’s fairly quick and easy. And, if done right, will render a juicy cut of meat.

The other thing to remember about braising is that the cooking time varies with regard to size and shape of meat, its quality, it’s lean or fat composition, and the extent the meat has been marinated, if any. Lastly, it goes without saying that frozen meat or poultry should be thawed before cooking. That being said, follow the steps given below and you shouldn’t have any problems.

In the recipe given I use pork chops. But it can apply to steaks, lamb chops, fish steaks, spareribs, ham, chicken cutlets, turkey sections, duck pieces—whatever your heart desires. Also, I prepared the meat Nuyorican style. That is, I employ a mortar and pestle to grind fresh the ingredients, and then rub the seasoning into the chops.Finally, we dredge the meat in flour before cooking. If you want, you can skip the flour, season the meat with salt and pepper and cook in olive oil and/or butter. Your choice.

BRAISED PORK CHOPS

8 lean pork chops, 1/2-thick (about 1 1/2 pounds)
12 whole black peppercorns
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup flour (I prefer barley flour)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chicken broth

1. Rinse chops under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.
2. In a mortar, crush peppercorns, garlic, oregano and salt.
3. Place chops between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound lightly with a mallet.
4. Rub seasoning into pork chops.
5. Place flour in a plate, and dredge chops with flour on both sides.
6. Heat oil in a large skillet or frying pan and cook over medium heat until golden brown (about 3-4 minutes per side).
7. Add chicken broth. Cover pan tightly and cook until vapor begins to escape. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, until meat is tender (about 5 minutes). Remove meat and drain on absorbent paper towels. If desired, you can make a gravy by whisking in more flour to the pan, and stirring over medium heat until browned. Gradually stir in milk (making sure no lumps form). Continue cooking until thickened. If gravy becomes too thick you can thin it with a little more milk.
Yield: 4 or more servings.

Shrimp with Thyme-Flavored Cream Sauce

January 2, 2016 / Oswald Rivera / 0 Comments

Something to start the coming year, a devilishly scrumptious entrée. It harks back to haute cuisine. So, if you’re one of those skinny model types or a compulsive dieter, this ain’t for—-unless you crave something sinfully delicious. And, let’s be honest about it, we all need to indulge once in a while. What’s that famous line from the play Auntie Mame? “Life is a banquet and most suckers are starving to death.” So let’s break out the flour, milk, butter and wine. Add to it fresh raw shrimp, and all ladled over wholewheat linguini (my one crumb to the health conscious). And that’s it, let’s party! Oh, yes, for the wine I would suggest a good, classic white like a Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc—-or champagne! Make it that special dinner. What a better way to start the new year?

SHRIMP WITH THYME-FLAVORED CREAM SAUCE

5 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon chopped shallots (can use onion, if desired)
1 pound saw shrimp, shelled and deveigned
1/2 cup dry, white wine
4 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons fresh thyme (or 3/4 teaspoon dried)

1. 1 pound wholewheat linguini In a sauce pan or skillet heat 2 tablespoons of the butter. Add shallots, shrimp and wine, and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes.
2. In a separate saucepan, melt the remaining butter, add the flour and stir with a wire whisk until blended.
3. Heat the milk to a boil and add it to the butter-flour mixture, stirring vigorously with the whisk until the sauce is smooth and thickened.
4. Meanwhile cook the pasta according to package directions (some prefer it al dente. I prefer it tender—you’re choice).
5. Add the sauce and the thyme to the shrimp mixture and cook slowly 5 minutes longer. Pour over the pasta, and serve.
Yield: 4 servings.

Hangover Cures for the New Year: Revisted

December 29, 2015 / Oswald Rivera / 0 Comments

“My brain is melting into my feet.”

—Mel Brooks

It’s that time of year again, kiddies. New Year’s is just around the corner; and you know what that means: the perpetual New Year’s eve hangover. Yes, New Year’s revels have been with us since the beginning, and so have hangovers cures. The ancient Romans recommended eating deep fried canaries as a sure-fire cure. The ancient Libyans quaffed a mixture of sea-water and wine. The ancient Greeks recommended eating sheep’s lungs. The ancient Chinese swore that eating horse’s brains was the cure. In the 1800s in the U.S. it was thought that soaking your feet in mustard would do it. Among our Irish brethren it was thought that burying the person up to the neck in moist river sand would generate a cure.

Today in Mexico the national cure is menudo, a broth made of boiled tripe. In Haiti, it’s sticking 13 black-headed pins in the cork of the bottle you drank from that will deliver you from the hangover. In Puerto Rico, at one time, it was said that rubbing a lemon under your drinking arm would be the cure. In Poland, it is still recommended that drinking pickle juice is a good remedy (I would think twice about that one). A more modern cure among scuba divers is taking a blast from an oxygen tank. Some say a steam sauna is the best way to get rid of a hangover. But what if you don’t have access to a sauna?

My experience with hangovers comes from my wild and misspent youth when I was known for more than my share of imbibing. The following remedies are what I consider to be tried and true options, as far as the primordial hangover is concerned.

1. Drink plenty of fluids. Booze dehydrates you. Replenish your system with fruit juices and water. Orange juice with its vitamin C content is especially good.

2. Take a hot shower. This relaxes constricted blood vessels and tense neck muscles.

3. Avoid caffeine. It dehydrates you more. Drinking black coffee will probably make you sicker.

4. Tray good ole Alka Seltzer the next morning. Avoid aspirin, Tylenol or Ibruprofen. Aspirin is a blood thinner, and just like alcohol it can intensify the affects of a hangover. Tylenol (acetamoniphen) can adversely affect the liver. Ibuprofen can cause stomach bleeding.

5. Sweat it out. Exercise the toxins out of your system. But beware that too strenuous exercise may dehydrate you more. I do a series of breathing exercises from our Kung-Fu Wu-Su system called 8 silk weaving. This is marvelous for easing a hangover.

6. Pop some vitamins. B vitamins (especially B6) help the body metabolize alcohol. B vitamin supplements also provide a boost of energy. Vitamin C helps detoxify the body naturally, reducing the affects of the poisons in your system.

7. Ginkgo Biloba (ginkgo seeds) is considered a good herbal remedy since ginkgo contains an enzyme that speed up the body’s metabolism of alcohol.

8. Drink skullcap tea made from an herb (skullcap) that eases withdrawal from the alcohol. It can be found in capsule or tablets in health food stores. I like skullcap tea sweetened with pure, raw organic honey. Believe me, you’ll feel better in an hour or so.

9. Another good tea drink is peppermint. The mint contains antioxidants which is a natural stomach soothener and digestive aid.

10. Ginseng tea or ginseng root (steeped in hot water) soothes the stomach and helps with stomach troubles (endemic to hangovers). I prefer Korean Panax ginseng tea (which contains fructose).

11. Which leads us to the next cure, fructose (or fruit sugar), which speeds the body’s metabolism of alcohol by 25%. Or try putting some raw honey in your tea (it’s more than 40% fructose). Recall that among old time bartenders the favored hangover remedy was just honey in hot water.

If nothing works you can always try the time honored “Hair of the Dog.” That is, having a shot on booze, preferably gin or vodka. Something about the blood stream dealing with the new alcohol and thus ignoring the old alcohol, and the hangover in your system. For the record, I have never tried this, and I don’t think I ever will. And then there’s offering prayers to Saint Viviana, patron saints of drunkards and, concurrently, hangovers.

But my best hangover cure of all is simply, rest, peace, and quiet. Just sleep it off.

Roast Cornish Hens

December 19, 2015 / Oswald Rivera / 0 Comments

For a holiday dinner, instead of the usual turkey, how about a Cornish hen roast? The warming spices in this treat will be a pleasant compliment to Christmas cheer. Here you have such staples as cumin and coriander to add an exotic twist to a classic dish. The hens are cooked in a glaze of honey, orange and ginger; then served over couscous. You family, friends and acquaintances will marvel at your ingenuity.

ROAST CORNISH HENS

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 cup fresh orange juice
1/4-inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 basil leaf, plus 1 tablespoon chopped
2 tablespoons honey
4 Cornish hens
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon fresh chopped oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
2-3 cups cooked couscous
2 tablespoons melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. First, make the glaze: combine cumin, coriander, orange juice, ginger, orange zest, garlic, and basil leaf in a small pot or pan. Simmer over medium-high heat until reduced by half, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Discard garlic and stir in honey. Reduce heat and simmer gently about 2 minutes more.
4. Meanwhile, rub hens all over with oil, salt, pepper, oregano, and chopped basil. Place hens, breast side up, in a roasting pan (I prefer cast-iron) and place in oven.
5. Roast hens until skins begin to crisp, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and generously brush with warm glaze. Return to oven and continue to roast until meat is just cooked through, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and generously brush with glaze again, Return to oven and roast until glaze browns, about 3 minutes.
4. While hens are roasting, cooked couscous (according to package directions). When done, place in a bowl and toss with melted butter. Serve with each hen atop a mound of hot couscous.
Yield: 4 servings.

Tembleque (Coconut Custard)

December 11, 2015 / Oswald Rivera / 0 Comments

Tembleque (pronounced “Tem-Bleh-Keh”) is the chief custard-based dessert in our repertoire. It’s been around in Puerto Rican cuisine for as long as anyone can remember. And it makes sense since coconuts are so prevalent in the island of Puerto Rico. Let me add that tembleque makes a fine dessert for the holidays, be it Hanukkah or Christmas. Something sweet to liven up this time of year.

When I was growing up back on the block, it was a family favorite. And in those days it was a hell of a bother to prepare.This was long before coconut milk began arriving on store shelves. We used genuine coconuts to extract the coconut milk required in the dish. First you took 2 large ripe coconuts, pierced them with a screwdriver, and drained their liquid into a small bowl. Then you split the coconuts and removed the inner white meat from the shell; and then separated the brown skin from the coconut meat. Next, you broke the coconut meat into pieces, rinsed them under cold water, and grated them finely. You placed this in a bowl; and added enough water to reserve coconut liquid so that it measured 3 1/2 cups. You boiled this liquid and added the grated coconut. You drained this liquid in a colander or strainer, pressing with hands to extract the coconut milk into a bowl. Next step, you heated 1 cup water, adding the same coconut shreds as before and again strained it into the bowl that held the coconut milk. Finally, you discarded the shreds. And this was the coconut milk that formed the basis of the tembleque.

The above method is interesting but time consuming.Today you can just go out and buy a couple of cans of coconut milk in any store. No need for any of the mess and bother described above. Which, by the way, is the original recipe I give in my cookbook Puerto Rican Cuisine in America (Avalon Books, Running Press). So, try out this fine dessert. It will leave you hankering for more.

TEMBLEQUE
(Coconut Custard)

2 cups coconut milk
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ground nutmeg
Ground cinnamon

1. In a large pot or saucepan, combine cornstarch, sugar, salt and vanilla. Stir in coconut milk, a little at a time, and blend well.
2. Cook on moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until mixture thickens.
3. Reduce heat to low and stir until mixture boils.
4. Remove from heat and pour into a slightly wet mold, or 6 small molds, or round pan.
5. Let cool, and refrigerate until firm. Invert into molds or serving dish. Sprinkle with nutmeg and cinnamon and serve.
6 servings.

Roasted Turnips

December 2, 2015 / Oswald Rivera / 0 Comments

We Puerto Ricans love root plants, or what some would call root vegetables. We’ve got plantains, yuka (cassava), yame, malanga, yams, you name it. When my family got to the mainland a couple of generations ago, we discovered winter root plants; and a whole new aspect to our cookery evolved. In the mainland you had such things as beets, rutabaga, artichokes, parsnips, radishes. We learned that you could cook these vegetables the same way as our forebears had done forever in the Caribbean. Boiled, fried, with a little olive oil over it . . . And we got recipes from our Anglo friends. This made us experiment even more.

The recipe given below follows in this vein. It’s roasted turnips. But you can substitute any good, firm, winter root vegetable. I’ve discovered that one of the best methods to enhance these tubers is to caramelize them using honey, sugar or, my favorite, maple syrup. The recipe is easy, but the result is a toothsome, tender veggie that makes a welcomed side dish to you next roast, chicken dinner, or juicy steak.

ROASTED TURNIPS

4 large turnips (about 2 pounds), peeled and cut into chunks
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon fresh sage or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
3 tablespoons maple syrup (can substitute brown sugar, honey, or molasses)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In a bowl, toss the turnips with the olive oil, salt, pepper, sage and thyme.
3. Drizzle with the maple syrup.
4. Place in a baking pan or dish (I prefer cast-iron). Bake for 45 minutes or until tender.
Yield: 4 servings or more.

Author, Warrior, and Teacher