First attempt at plantains

For a reason that is none of your business, I decided to try making some food involving plantains this past weekend. I may have been a little drunk, and I may have been dancing to Spanish language love songs while cooking, but that did not prevent some culinary magic from working itself despite my inebriation, lack of experience with the ingredients, and limited kitchen resources.

The first dish I cooked up involved seasoning some oxtail with a pre-made jerk rub, searing it in olive oil, and braising it in red wine (Apothic Red is my current kitchen red).

After I had the oxtail on the back burner, I lightly caramelized some chopped green plantain in butter with a light dusting of sugar and allspice. Once the plantain had a nice golden color, I added it to my Dutch oven, put on the lid, and let it sit for a good 8 hours on low heat.

Unfortunately, there are no pics of the finished product because I devoured it like a drunk fat man.

While the oxtail and plantain simmered away, however, I set to work on the yellow plantain I had also picked up at the local grocery store. I threw two and a half tablespoons of butter into my pan on a low heat and, once it had melted, I dropped in a cinnamon stick for a minute or two before adding in the diced plantain, again with sugar and allspice. I caramelized this plantain a bit more than the first batch, then pulled it all out of the pan.

Once the pan was nothing but melted butter, browned bits, and a cinnamon stick, I added in about a half cup of heavy whipping cream and beat it gently with a whisk for a few minutes to make a nice little cream sauce.

After the sauce thickened a little, it was snack time. I just poured the sauce into a custard bowl (added the cinnamon stick in for a visual touch, as well as helping to scoop...), and put it on the plate with the plantains. Nothing fancy, but it got the job done. I highly recommend giving this a shot.

Comments

Voices in my head, or: Why do I cook?

Every time I chop a vegetable, slice a steak, drop garlic into oil, or scrub a pan, I hear voices in my head: my mom, my dad, my grandmothers, friends from college like James and Liz, friends from adulthood like Rick and Claudio, internet friends like NerdyCap , and tv chefs like Gordon Ramsay, Jeff Smith, Anthony Bourdain, Jacques Pepin, and Alton Brown, all of the folks who have taught me, directly in person or indirectly through books, tv episodes, or live streams, about cooking. Steak frying with minced onion and minced garlic Sometimes I hear them instructing me on what I'm doing, the same words I've heard repeat in my head hundreds or thousands of times. "Don't let the garlic overcook or you'll get a bitter taste," mom says every time. Claudio often hits me with "If you hear them sizzling, they're sautéing. If they're quiet, they're caramelizing." "Why the fuck are you fucking doing this, you stupid donkey?!" ...

My Mexican restaurant

Some nights (and weekends), I just don't feel like cooking, so I do go out to local restaurants from time to time. My most frequent haunt is El Idolo, a Mexican place just on the edge of Bartlett, TN. It sits a good 1/8 of a mile from the geographic center of the county, so it's reached easily enough from everywhere. They also have the best damn margaritas in town. I've come here frequently and long enough (since they opened, to be honest), that I don't order a drink - my server brings my drink when I've been seated. Incidentally, I go for the medium (used to be large, but they added a new size that's for my Sundays only) margarita on the rocks, no ice, no salt. When a new server starts at "the 'Dolo" (as we call it), it usually takes them 2-3 visits before they remember, and then it's smooth sailing again. Most places that I've ordered this just mix a normal margarita, then top it off with their mix; the 'Dolo says, "nah, hermano,...

A Spicy Tuesday Night

In my younger years, I did not enjoy spicy foods. Luckily, I grew up... Recipe for habanero cream sauce Tonight for dinner, I made chicken and veggies with a new favorite: habanero cream sauce. I started with a couple mushrooms, a couple radishes, some shallot, a little yellow bell pepper, and a few cloves of garlic. I generally try to group ingredients by when I want to add them (I call them "firm," "soft," "aromatic," etc.). In this case, the sliced baby bellas and diced bell pepper were "soft," the sliced radish and slivered garlic were "hard," and the minced shallot and minced garlic were "aromatic." A little knife work, and they were ready to go, which meant it was time to tackle the habanero. I cut it up last just to help prevent getting that heat mixed in anywhere it didn't need to go. I mince that shit down so I can mix it around pretty thoroughly, and I threw that into the a...

ODG Eats

Search This Blog