On to some food!
I’m repeating BIRRIO for whatever remaining cold days are ahead.
BIRRIO – Columbian Stew
Ingredients
- 2 dried chile peppers, stemmed and seeded
- 2 dried ancho chiles, stemmed and seeded
- 2 New Mexico dried red chile pods, stemmed and seeded
- water to cover
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 thin slice of onion, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 ½ onions, chopped
- 3 ½ pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cut into chunks
- 6 bay leaves
Directions
- Place the dried chiles into a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until chiles are softened, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Pour chile sauce mixture into a blender. Add garlic, onion slice, pepper, oregano, cumin, and cinnamon. Blend until smooth.
- Layer chopped onions in the bottom of a slow cooker. Place chuck roast over onions and add bay leaves. Pour the chile sauce on top. Cook on High until beef is tender enough to shred with a fork, about 5 hours.
- Remove beef from the sauce. Continue cooking sauce until is reduced, 35 to 45 minutes. Add beef back in and season with salt.
And you can’t have stew without bread! Cheese Bread!
PANDEBONO (Columbian Cheese Bread)
Ingredients
- ⅔ cup cassava starch or yuca flour
- ¼ cup precooked cornmeal or masarepa
- 1 cup Mexican queso freso or Colombian quesito
- 1 ¼ cup feta cheese
- 1 large egg
Directions
- Pre-heat the oven to 400°F.
- In a food processor, place the yuca flour, cheese and masarepa. Process until well combined. Add the egg slowly while food processor is running.
- Divide the mixture into 12 equal size portions, shaping them into balls.
- Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden on top. Serve warm.
Next we’ll go across the pond with one of my favorite breakfast/brunch dishes
FRENCH TOAST CASSEROLE
Ingredients
- 1 loaf French bread (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into 1-inch cubes
- 5 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened milk
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- maple syrup, for serving
Topping
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
Directions
- Grease 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Place bread cubes in baking dish. In large bowl, whisk eggs, milk, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Pour mixture evenly over bread cubes.
- If making casserole ahead, cover baking dish and refrigerate overnight. If baking immediately, let stand 30 minutes at room temperature to allow bread to soak up egg mixture.
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- To make topping: Drizzle casserole with melted butter and sprinkle with brown sugar and pecans. Top with strawberries and blueberries.
- Cover and bake 35 minutes then uncover and bake 10-20 minutes, or until topping is browned and egg mixture has mostly set.
- Remove from oven, cover loosely with foil and let stand 10 minutes. Dust with confectioners’ sugar. Serve with maple syrup.