En la Cocina (In the Kitchen)

This piece pays tribute to and was inspired by three women who played pivotal roles in my upbringing; my mother (far right), aunt (center) and grandmother figure (far left).

En la Cocina/In the Kitchen
mixed media on canvas
48" x 60"
Available directly from my studio or through www.latinpopshop.com

Sabor Latino

Last night I made Arroz con Pollo. It's really very easy for anyone to achieve authentic Latin taste with this dish. I make it exactly as my mother taught me.

ARROZ CON POLLO

I recommend cooking this in a Caldero. It makes a difference.
If you don't have a Latin grocer near you, you can get them online or...I actually got mine from Kmart (Martha Stewart makes 'em...go figure )

Ingredients:

A:
-6 boneless/skinless chicken thighs cut into bite size pieces (you may also use drumsticks/boneless breast/wings cooking)
-Cumin
-Adobo

B:
-1 can beer of choice
-1 cup water
-1/4 cup Goya Recaito
-Dried Oregano (4 shakes)
-1 packet Goya Sason (with culantro and achiote)
-1 packet Goya chicken bullion (or a cube)
-1/4 cup tomato sauce
-6 (or more) olives

C:
-2 ½ cups long grain rice

D:
-1/2 cup frozen green peas

1) Season chicken well in Adobo (to taste) and Cumin (3-4 shakes, don’t go crazy).
2) Brown chicken over med-high heat in Caldero and add ingredients in B.
3) Cook covered on medium heat for 5-7 minutes.
4) Add rice (C) and stir.
5) Cook over medium heat un-covered until bubbling or rice is visible (about another 5-7 minutes). Careful not to let it dry out. Stir.
6) Cook 20 minutes, once again covered, until water is absorbed and rice is cooked. Add peas (D) over rice during the last 5 minutes. Fluff (mixing peas into the rice) before serving.

Serves about 3-4 normal humans or 2 hungry men (with a bit leftover for lunch).

Tradición

The New Year's Eve cooking officially got underway yesterday. I spent the afternoon in the kitchen preparing dessert.

Arroz con Dulce (aka: Arroz con Coco) is a Puerto Rican version of rice pudding. Coconut, cloves, ginger and cinnamon are the main flavor components of this dish. It's not a runny pudding, like the typical kind. In fact once spooned into serving platters and cooled it "sets" and can be served in slices. I made quite a few plates.
I'll be preparing a few other Puerto Rican treats for ringing in '09.

Note:
There's a few variations (on measurements mostly) on the recipe out there. The link above is to the one I followed...though at one point I abandoned it and just followed instinct as usual.
I also made it times 5.