Slut Raspberries

 

During the weekend I saw one of the most decadent desserts ever made in television with a scandalous name: Slut Raspberries in Chardonnay Jelly! made from the Queen of Food Porn, Nigella Lawson. Although this dessert its luxury at its best to my surprise its quite simple to make. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 bottle good fruity chardonnay
11 oz raspberries
1 vanilla bean (split lengthwise)
10 gelatine leaves (16g)
9 oz superfine sugar
heavy cream (to serve)

Method:

• Place the wine and berries in a bowl and allow to steep for half an hour. Strain the wine into a saucepan and keep the raspberries to one side. Heat the wine with the vanilla bean until nearly boiling and leave to steep on one side for 15 minutes.
• Soak the gelatine leaves - which you can find in the supermarket these days - in cold water for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, after removing the vanilla bean, reheat the wine and stir in the sugar until it dissolves; allow to boil if you want to lose the alcohol.
• Add a third of the hot wine to the wrung-out gelatine leaves in a measuring jug and stir to dissolve, then add this mixture back into the rest of the wine and stir well. Strain into a large jug.
• Place the raspberries, equally, into six flattish, clear glass serving bowls, and pour the strained wine over the top.
• Allow to set in the fridge for at least 3 hours, though a day would be fine if you want to make this well ahead, and take out of the fridge 15 minutes before serving.

Serve some heavy cream in a jug, and let people pour this into the fragrant, tender, fruit-jewelled jelly as they eat. 

image & recipe via: nigella

Bloody Mary Pops

Bloody Mary's is one of my favorite cocktails. Growing up in Baja is a staple for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We used to drink it with beer and clams and its know to cure any hangover. So when I discover this pop cycle recipe I was thrilled! Here is the complete recipe:

Bloody Mary Popsicles



Ingredients:

1 ½ lbs tomatoes (about six 2 ½ inch diameter in size)
1 celery stalk
Juice of half a lemon
4 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon of chili powder
¼ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
Pinch of salt
½ cup vodka

Instructions:

1. Place all ingredients except the vodka in a food processor or a blender and process until everything is pureed. Pass mixture through a medium strainer and then return strained mixture to blender or food processor. Add vodka and process for another 20-30 seconds to blend well. Pour mixture into popsicles mold.

2. Freeze for about 2 hours or until mixture starts to solidify enough to hold a popsicle stick upright. Insert popsicle sticks and finish freezing popsicles overnight. To release popsicles run hot water on the outside of popsicle molds for a 2-3 seconds.

recipe via: endless poptails

Kitchen Cutie

I recently came across a story featuring Dita Von Teese about food on The New Potato. They have a picture of her extremely pink kitchen. Perfect for any retro gal and although I'm not a pink kinda girl (know a few) I appreciated all the vintages features such as the lamp, the retro floor and  the beautiful head vases. You can always get the look on the Big Chill! For more Dita and food check out this, this and this. Also a link on her favorite foods.

image via: google

Green Cleaning

During the week I conquer some deep cleaning but in a green way. Lately I been obsessed with home blogs and one of my favorites is Manhattan Nest. I was thrilled when I found out that Daniel (MN author) is writing a column for Design Sponge all about cleaning ( I know I'm a huge dork) and I was surprise about the products he uses and his methods. So I decided to give it a go and to my surprise it really works!! Now I'm going to convert to green cleaning and save a ton on cleaning supplies...plus my corneas won't have any third degree burns with those pesky cleaning fumes. Here are the basics:

The staples of a good cleaning toolkit are as follows:

1. A few empty spray bottles for mixing your own cleaners.

2. White vinegar is great for deodorizing and disinfecting, and its acidity means it’s good for breaking down calcium in tubs and other inorganic compounds around the house. Need to clean glass or wood floors? One part water, one part white vinegar. Done. Vinegar smells, well, like vinegar when it’s wet, but the scent quickly dissipates when it dries.

3. Baking soda is a very gentle but powerful abrasive, and it’s good at cutting through grease, so it’s a great option for cleaning pots and pans, ovens and stove tops. It’s also safer and cheaper than commercial cleaners. To scrub away messes in the kitchen, mix one part baking soda with three parts warm water and get to work. Place a box of it in your fridge to keep food odors at bay.

4. Dish soap is great when diluted in water as an all-purpose cleaner or mixed with baking soda into a paste to scrub things in the bathroom, like grout. For an all-purpose cleaner, mix two tablespoons dish soap with two cups of water. Just remember to wipe everything down with water to avoid leaving a soapy residue.

5. Lemon juice has mild bleaching properties, naturally deodorizes and disinfects and is great to mix with a vinegar solution for bathroom and kitchen cleaning. It smells fresh, too!

6. Rubber gloves. Your hands will thank me later. If you’re at the dollar store already, get fancy and spring for the $1.49 gloves that are made of thicker rubber and extend further up your forearm. That’s class.

7. A toothbrush. Toothbrushes are essential for cleaning hard-to-reach areas like corners, around faucets, the edge of a kitchen sink, grout lines, the base of your toilet . . . the possibilities are endless!

8. Sponges with a soft and rough side (much like your personality) are helpful when scrubbing stuff with natural cleaners. Low-tech cleaning products do take a bit more elbow grease, but you can usually make up for that with a little light scrubbing.

9. A lint-free cloth is good for cleaning almost anything, including glass and acrylic, and wiping down counter tops.

10. Recycled paper towels. Yeah, I know they’re wasteful, but sometimes you need to be able to throw it away and be done with it. You’ll know when the occasion to use a paper towel arises because the mess will rank high on the grossness scale.

image via: hayanarts

Club 200 Cal

 or

This is what 200 calories looks like. Brilliant and Scary at the same time...you decide. More options here.

image via: imgur

Culinary Charts

We been fans of Pop Chart Lab for a while. We love their famous haircuts chart but recently they starting adding culinary charts. Our favorite is the coffee...of course but the culinary tools is a close second. Besides being beautifully design they are extremely informative. Check them out!

images via: pop lab charts

Scallop + Cauliflower Soup

This soup looks so deliciously decadent! Rich, creamy and zesty and the herbs are always right.We have to make it during the week. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

For the Soup:
1/2 lb butter
Extra virgin olive oil
2 cups diced white onion
1 cup sliced leek whites
2 shallots, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
2 stalks lemongrass
1/ bunch thyme
1 head cauliflower, stem removed, florets roughly chopped
1 cup heavy cream
2 quarts milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
Kosher salt
White Pepper

For the Scallops:
30-40 bay scallops or 16 sea scallops
Grapeseed Oil

To Assemble and Serve:
Fennel fronds or microgreens
Maldon Sea Salt

Method:

For the Brown Butter:
In a small pot, gently heat the butter until it stops bubbling and begins to turn from yellow to light brown. Remove from heat and strain through a fine meshed sieve into a small bowl. Reserve warm.

For the Soup:
In a large pot over medium heat, add olive oil. When oil is smoking, add onions, leeks, and garlic. Add a pinch of salt and stir frequently, avoiding any browning whatsoever. Peel the outer layer of the lemongrass. Using a heavy object, smash and bruise the lemongrass stalk until middle is split. Add the lemongrass and thyme. When vegetables are translucent, add the cauliflower. Cook, stirring frequently until the cauliflower begins to soften. Add heavy cream and milk to barely cover the cauliflower. Cook until cauliflower is very soft. Remove thyme and lemongrass. Transfer mixture to blender in batches and blend, adding milk to thin out to desired consistency. To each blending batch, add about 3 tablespoons of brown butter. Strain the blended soup through a fine meshed sieve into another pot. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Reserve warm.

For the Scallops:
In a pan, heat grapeseed oil to smoking point. Season scallops and add to the pan, making sure to develop a crust on the bottom of the scallop. Flip the scallop and continue cooking on the other side. Remove scallops from pan and drain on paper towels. Slice scallops as desired and reserve warm.

To Assemble and Serve:
Heat the soup to desired temperature. Place the soup in a bowl. Top with scallops, fennel fronds, and sprinkle with Maldon sea salt. Optionally add a drizzle of brown butter over the top.

JJ’s Tips:
Since butter is purely for seasoning in this recipe you really want to use the best butter you can find. The self-respecting cook with soul has two choices here: a lovingly-made, local farmstead butter, or the most expensive French AOC butter at the local upscale grocery. AOC stands for appellation d’origine contrôlée, merely an official French designation meaning that the product is certified to be made “the old way” and live up to it’s reputation. So that six dollar log of Normandy butter slowly melting in your tote bag is the real deal – made as those clog-wearing nuns always made it – from the milk of sedated French cows grazing among the foggy orchards on salty, seaside grass. You get the point – it’s all about the butter elevating the cauliflower.

Whether your scallops are small or large, make sure you’ve salt and peppered both sides before you sear, so they can develop a crust. They won’t need to cook much, so keep a close eye on them and flip with a small spoon or spatula when the first seared side is golden brown. Let the other side cook for about 15 seconds and transfer the scallops to a paper towel and leave them alone for a minute or two. Now you can trim them down to bite-size by slicing right though them. How long do they really need to cook? Consider that really fresh ones can be eaten completely raw, so really it is up to you. I say the less, the better.

*original recipe by jj proville // photography by vicky wasik

Crate Garden

Every summer I always tried to start a garden and every winter I fail. Some of the reasons is because we rent and unfortunately our landlord has an extensive list of things we cannot change on the property even thou is for their benefit. After watching this episode of Extra Virgin we got inspired to create our own crate garden and the best part is... is not permanent and we can remove the crates plus were we shop for cafe ole they have tons of crates for us to grab for free. Look how inspiring this images are!

images via: pinterest

Valentines for Foodies

We confess...Valentine's Day is one of our least favorite Holidays! All these week people have been asking us if we have any plans for V-Day and to be honest the answer is NO. We haven't celebrated this Holidays in forever and is not that we are not romantic but we don't need a holiday to tell us how to feel and this is why...We usually do a date night once a week and although we do low key dates (movies, museums, dinners) we really enjoy it. Here are some of our favorites things that we do:

uno.cooking / dos.drinks / tres.cinema / cuatro.exhibitions / cinco.dessert / seis.dinner

Here's a link to one our favorite episodes of TopChef Masters dedicated to the art of seduction... foodie style! 

image via: hayanarts

Mardi Gras

Chicken & Sausage Gumbo

Banana Foster

Mardi Gras is just a couple of days away and the festivities already started in our neighborhood (Hillcrest). Here are two of our favorites dishes to eat during this colorful celebration.

Chicken & Sausage Gumbo (serves 6-8)

INGREDIENTS
½ cup canola oil
2 lb. bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
8 oz. andouille sausage, cut into ½" pieces
4 slices bacon, cut into ½" pieces
1 cup flour
2 ribs celery, finely chopped
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1 small green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. cayenne
6 canned, whole peeled tomatoes in juice, drained and crushed by hand
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bay leaf
10 oz. okra, trimmed and cut into ½" slices
4 cups chicken stock
Cooked white rice, for serving
Hot sauce and filé powder, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat ¼ cup oil in an 8-qt. Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in two batches, season chicken with salt and pepper, and add chicken to pot; cook, turning once, until lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Add sausage and bacon, and cook, stirring, until their fat renders and bacon is browned, about 5 minutes; transfer to plate with chicken.
2. Add remaining oil, and reduce heat to medium-low; stir in flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until this mixture (called a roux) is the color of dark, reddish caramel, about 8 minutes. Add celery, onion, and pepper, and cook until soft, about 6 minutes. Add thyme, cayenne, tomatoes, garlic, and bay leaf, and cook for 3 minutes. Return chicken, sausage, and bacon to pot along with okra and stock, and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through, okra is tender, and gumbo is thickened, about 30 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove and shred meat, and discard bones and skin; stir meat back into gumbo. Season with salt and pepper, and serve with white rice on the side. Serve with hot sauce and filé powder for sprinkling over each serving.

Banana Foster (serves 4)

INGREDIENTS
1½ cups light brown sugar
8 tbsp. unsalted butter
½ tsp. kosher salt
1 stick cinnamon, broken in half
6 underripe bananas, halved lengthwise, and then halved crosswise
¾ cup dark rum
Vanilla ice cream, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS
Heat sugar, butter, salt, and cinnamon in a 12" skillet over medium-low heat, and cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves in butter. Add bananas, and cook, stirring gently, until soft, about 10 minutes. Add rum, and using a match or lighter, ignite to flambé, and cook until flame dies out. To serve, spoon bananas and sauce over scoops of ice cream in bowls.

recipes via: savour

Taco Bar

In Mexico we do get together for Super Bowl Sunday and its call "Futbol Americano" and instead of doing a traditional BBQ with burgers and hot dogs we always do Carne Asada or a Taco Bar. We served skirt steak with tons of fresh salsa, veggies, pickle chiles, cilantro, lime and of course chard corn tortillas. Here are some ideas for your own Taco Bar:

A taco bar lets guests select their favorite fillings and fixings, choosing from chicken, pork, lettuce, radishes, cilantro, cheese, sour cream, salsas, and a squeeze of lime.

Ingredients (serves 8)

1 head romaine lettuce, shredded and refrigerated (until crisp and dry)
8 radishes, thinly sliced (about 3/4 cup)
1 cup fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
3 limes, cut into wedges
1 pound queso fresco, crumbled, or Monterrey Jack, shredded
8 ounces sour cream
Roasted-Tomato Salsa
Salsa Verde
Salsa Cruda
Carnitas
Poached Chicken
1 to 2 packages corn tortillas (12 count)

Directions

Arrange lettuce, radishes, and cilantro on a large platter. Place limes, cheese, sour cream, and salsas in separate serving dishes. Place chicken and pork in separate warm serving bowls. Garnish chicken with cilantro.
Toast each tortilla in a hot skillet or directly over a gas flame until softened, 15 to 20 seconds per side. Stack tortillas in a dish towel, keeping them wrapped.
Arrange all of the ingredients so that guests can make their own tacos.

Cook's Note
To keep the toasted tortillas warm, wrap them tightly in a dish towel, then in foil. Place in a 200-degree oven for up to 30 minutes. Remove foil, and transfer tortillas -- still folded in the towel -- to the buffet.

images & recipes via :ms

NEW Menu!

 

The NEW menus at cafe ole are UP! The all time favorites are still there but we made some changes for you. We are digging deep  into our roots and bringing some SPANISH and MEXICAN flavors from Jamon-Jamon to the Ole Melt! For the latest NEW & UPDATES likes us on the cafeole fb page and follow us on cafeole twitter too!! And don't forget to check our cafeole blog for recipes and more.

images via: cafeole

Catching Graphics

 For the last two weeks I been under the weather and although I been working yesterday my body took a toll on me and had some necessary rest. While I was skipping from channel to channel I happened to find an old favorite "Catch me if you Can". Truly I can get over this movie. I can watch it a hundred times..it's it Leo, the lovely sets or the amazing score...either way the most compelling thing about the movie is the intro and I'm a sucker for a graphic intro...like this one too!

images via: catch me if you can dvd