January | 2009 | Eric Rivera's Cooking Blog

Plantain Pizza

January 26, 2009 by ericriveracooks

Welcome to my Frankenstein. I’m always trying to think of something new to bring to my stomach and let me just tell you, this is a good recipe. Ingredients: Pork -1lb. pork shoulder -Brine with 3/4 gallon water, adobo seasoning, 1 cup of salt, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 cloves garlic for 2 days Crust -3 green plantains Sauce -1/2 cup sour cream _1 tbsp. chopped oregano -2 tbsp. hot sauce. I used Tapatio -1 tbsp. lemon juice Toppings -Pepper jack […]

Categories: pizza, Pork • Tags: Fusion, pizza, Plantain, Pork, Pulled Pork, recipe, Sauce

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Gigantic Chicken Wing Post:

January 25, 2009 by ericriveracooks

Ok, I love chicken wings……I think that’s the first step is admitting I have an addiction. The second step is obviously showing you how to get addicted, am I right? Also, there is a super game that is coming up that is pretty popular that involves two teams playing some football so I think this is a good time to lay this out on the table. First, the process of cooking wings. Yes, you can simply deep fry them if […]

Categories: Appetizer, Chicken • Tags: Appetizer, Buffalo Wings, Chicken Wings, Party Food, recipe, Sauce, Technique

Puff pastry stuffed with guava, mandarin, peaches, and lemon

January 24, 2009 by ericriveracooks

Ingredients: -1 cup guava -1 cup mandarin -2 cups peaches -1/3 cup lemons -1/2 cup sugar -1 tbsp. gelatin -powdered sugar -Puff pastry (Link) —-This recipe will make 5 Take one puff pastry sheet and cut into 3 inch squares. Dust a cookie sheet with some flour and pre-heat oven to 425F. In a medium sauce pan on medium heat cook the mandarin, sugar, lemon, guava, and peaches for 10 minutes. Stir frequently. Drain the fruit and transfer the juice […]

Categories: Dessert, Puerto Rican Style • Tags: Dessert, Fruit, Puerto Rican Style, recipe

Baby Spinach and Red Pepper Chicken Salad

January 24, 2009 by ericriveracooks

Ingredients: -6 cups baby spinach -3 Green olives sliced -2 plum tomatoes -1 chicken breast (use my red pepper chicken recipe) All you have to do is cook the chicken! Then add all the ingredients together. An italian dressing goes great with this. Enjoy, Eric

Categories: Chicken, Salad • Tags: Chicken, recipe, Salad, Spinach

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Rice and Beef Stuffed Bell Pepper

January 24, 2009 by ericriveracooks

Ingredients: -2 bell peppers -1 lb ground beef -1 tbsp. sofrito -2 cups cooked white rice -2 tbsp. fresh cilantro chopped -1/4 lb. chorizo (meat) Brown the chorizo and ground beef together and drain the grease. Combine the meat, cilantro, rice and sofrito in a large skillet and cook for 5 minutes on medium heat. Remove the mixture from the heat and pre-heat your oven to 325F. Cut the peppers open and remove the seeds and spine. Spoon the mixture […]

Categories: Beef • Tags: Beef, Bell Ppper, recipe, Rice, Stuffed

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My first request:

January 22, 2009 by ericriveracooks

Lavender cookies and/or lavender fudge. This whole lavender thing is a new ingredient for me. My sister gave me a bunch of it that is organically grown and harvested, whatever that means….ha! I never cooked with it until last night and not only does it make your house smell good it tastes pretty darn good too. I’m not a big dessert guy but I think I can pull this cookie and/or fudge thing off . I’m going to do a […]

Categories: Random Rants • Tags: Random Rants

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Roasted Chicken With Lavender Gravy

January 22, 2009 by ericriveracooks

Chicken in a 1 gallon bag with brine mixture. I added garlic and marjoram to the brine. Stuffing: Onion, Squash, Plantain, Pepper, and Salt Potatoes covered with shallots and ham All done! Presentation Chicken: -1 whole chicken -Brine mixture with added garlic and marjoram Baste for chicken: -1 tbsp. melted butter -1 tsp. oregano -1 tsp. lemon juice Stuffing: -1 green squash, peeled -1/2 white onion, diced -1/2 plantain, diced -pinch of salt and pepper Potatoes -2 thinly sliced yukon […]

Categories: Chicken, Potatoes, Sauce • Tags: Brine, Chicken, Gravy, Lavender, Potatoes, recipe, Stuffing

Blackened Chipotle Pork

January 21, 2009 by ericriveracooks

Ingredients: -2 boneless pork chop about 8 ounces each -1 tbsp. ground chipotle pepper -1 tsp. paprika -1 tsp. black pepper -1 tsp. kosher salt -Brine, with 1 tbsp. chipotle pepper added Brine the pork for about 2 days. Once you remove the pork from the brine mixture make sure you pat the pork dry with a paper towel. In a mixing bowl combine the pepper, salt, chipotle, and paprika. Cover the pork with the dry mixture. Pre-heat oven to […]

Categories: Pork • Tags: Brine, Chipotle, Pork, recipe

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Inaugural Luncheon Menu

January 20, 2009 by ericriveracooks

Just wanted to post this because I thought it was pretty cool. The menu from Inaugural Luncheon. http://inaugural.senate.gov/documents/doc-2009-recipes.pdf

Categories: Random Rants

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Brining

January 20, 2009 by ericriveracooks

Brining is a process that allows you to lose less moisture while you are cooking meat. I use a simple brining technique when I cook turkey, chicken, and pork. When you cook things for a long time in the oven like your turkey, chicken, or pork you will notice that most of the time the top part of your meat that is not in a roasting pan is usually dry. Brining will help solve that problem. Also, it will add […]

Categories: Technique • Tags: Brine, Technique

Microplane

January 20, 2009 by ericriveracooks

One of my favorite tools to use in the kitchen is a Microplane. It is a smaller handheld grater than you can purchase that is easy to use and doesn’t require a lot of space to store. I use it for grating cheese, ginger, zesting fruit, and many other things. Without going into an infomercial and getting Vince from Shamwow or Billy Mays to yell at you please visit this website, (LINK) and visit their selection. They don’t pay me […]

Categories: Tools • Tags: Tools

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15 minute tomato pasta

January 20, 2009 by ericriveracooks

Ingredients: -1 can stewed tomatoes -1 cup tomato sauce -2 tbsp. pesto -2 strips bacon chopped into small pieces -1 tbsp smoked paprika -cooked linguine. Takes about 10 minutes In a medium sauce pan cook the two strips of bacon. Add the sauce, stewed tomatoes, pesto, and smoked paprika. Cook for 10 minutes. Serve on top of linguine. Enjoy Eric Mindy was still hungry after the tostone with ahi tuna so I whipped this up. She had a bad day […]

Categories: Pasta • Tags: Pasta, Quick, recipe

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Tostones with Seared Ahi Tuna

January 20, 2009 by ericriveracooks

Ingredients: -2 4 ounce Ahi Tuna fillets -1/3 cup soy sauce -1 tbsp fresh ginger, microplaned -1 tsp. crushed red pepper -1 plantain Tuna-Combine the soy sauce, ginger, and red pepper. Marinade the tuna for 15 minutes with the previously combined ingredients. Cook on high heat for 2-3 minutes on each side. Tostones- Cut a plantain in 2 inch slices. Place slices into a deep fryer for 5 minutes. Take plantains out and flatten them then place back into the […]

Categories: Fish, Fusion, Puerto Rican Style • Tags: Fish, Fusion, Plantains, recipe, tostones, Tuna

Meat stuffed bell peppers

January 20, 2009 by ericriveracooks

Ingredients: -1lb. ground beef -1/2 lb. italian sausage -1/2 white onion diced -4 bell peppers -1 tbsp smoked paprika -1 tsp cayenne pepper -1 tsp salt -sharp cheddar cheese Combine all the ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Pre-heat oven to 350F. Cut the bell peppers in half and hollow them out. Place meat mixture inside of the bell peppers then place on a cookie sheet and cook for 25-30 minutes. Enjoy Eric

Categories: Beef • Tags: Beef, Bell Pepper, recipe

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Sliders

January 20, 2009 by ericriveracooks

Ingredients: Burgers – 1lb. Ground sirloin -1 tsp. dried oregano -1 tbsp. seasoning salt (Johnny’s, Tony Chachere’s, etc.) -1 tsp. paprika -1 egg – 1/4 cup tomato sauce Should make about 9 sliders Buns -I use Costco dinner rolls -1/4 stick of butter, melted – 1 tbsp. garlic salt Toppings -1 avocado sliced -6 strips bacon cooked Sauce -1 cup BBQ sauce (check out my BBQ sauce recipe) -1 cup mayonnaise -1/4 cup hot sauce (i used a mix of […]

Categories: Appetizer, Beef • Tags: Appetizer, Hamburger, Party Food, recipe

Eric Rivera's Cooking Blog

Food, because I just want an excuse to cook.

Monthly Archives: January 2009

Plantain Pizza

Gigantic Chicken Wing Post:

Puff pastry stuffed with guava, mandarin, peaches, and lemon

Baby Spinach and Red Pepper Chicken Salad

Rice and Beef Stuffed Bell Pepper

My first request:

Roasted Chicken With Lavender Gravy

Blackened Chipotle Pork

Inaugural Luncheon Menu

Brining

Microplane

15 minute tomato pasta

Tostones with Seared Ahi Tuna

Meat stuffed bell peppers

Sliders

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