Category Archives: Puerto Rican Style

Puerto Rican Cuisine: Plan B

February 24, 2011 by ericriveracooks

I was supposed to teach a Puerto Rican cooking class last night but the weather decided it wanted to take control of the fun and excitement so the people that run the shop where I was going to cook decided to reschedule because of the threat of snow. The forecasters said anywhere between 1-8″ of snow would fall so this freaked the hell out of everyone and well……SHUT DOWN EVERYTHING. There was one problem with this, I was […]

Categories: Beef, Duck, Pork, Puerto Rican Style, Seafood • Tags: Cooking Blog, Dinner, Food, Food Blog, Puerto Rican Cuisine, Puerto Rico, recipe, Restaurant

Dinner, my place: Puerto Rican Food

November 3, 2010 by ericriveracooks

Had a chef over for dinner on Monday night. It was my first time cooking food in my house for a chef so it was a really nice experience. I started the party off with salt cod fritters with a trio of sauces. The sauce on the left is the first sauce I ever made…..mayo-ketchup. It’s a standard sauce in Puerto Rico and it’s just a mixture of ketchup and mayonnaise! I made the mayonnaise so it’s not the typical […]

Categories: Pork, Puerto Rican Style, Seafood • Tags: Blog, Cooking Blog, Dinner, Food, Mofongo, Plantain, Puerto Rico, Pulled Pork, recipe, tostones

Braised Plantain Maduros with Coconut Cilantro/Lime Rice and Avocado

June 30, 2010 by ericriveracooks

And it’s even served in a coconut shell. How cool! Eric

Categories: Puerto Rican Style, Rice • Tags: bacon, Blog, Cilantro, Coconut Rice, Cooking, Cooking Blog, Dinner, Lime, Plantain, recipe, Rice

Bacalao and Bacalao Fritters

June 2, 2010 by ericriveracooks

Bacalao…….salt cod…..or as Mindy calls it, “Oh my God, that smells awful”. I love this stuff, I grew up on it. When properly handled it turns into an amazing fish dish that you can enjoy anytime of the year. I was reading Michael Ruhlman’s Charcuterie book and he talks about the origins of salt cod. The Viking’s used to air dry it on their ships and the salt of the sea air would cure it as they went around and […]

Categories: Puerto Rican Style, Sauce, Seafood • Tags: Bacalaitos Fritos, Bacalao, Cod, Cod Fish Fritters, Dinner, Fish, Food, recipe, Salt Cod, Seafood

Fried Pork Chop, Yellow Rice, Avocado Puree, Pepper Medley, a night in Puerto Rico….

March 23, 2010 by ericriveracooks

Had a couple friends stop by the house on Saturday. It was supposed to be mojito/game night but we never got around to the whole game thing. It’s a guarantee now that if you come over I will cook, I can’t help it. I need to terrorize my kitchen and work it to its limits and make sure that everyone who comes into my house is left satisfied. The people who came over have seen my cooking over the last […]

Categories: Appetizer, Pork, Puerto Rican Style, Rice, Salad, Sauce • Tags: Avocado, Cooking Blog, Food, Fried, Pork Chop, Puerto Rican Style, recipe, Rice

Adobada Deviled Ham Sandwich

February 19, 2010 by ericriveracooks

Want to eat great pork? Ask a Puerto Rican to make it for you. Keep telling me about your great pork recipes and then I’ll wait patiently until you visit Puerto Rico (or me) and you will finally see why I smile a little bit everytime I try your recipe. Take a trip, it’s worth it (click)!!!! Ingredients: Smoked Ham, cubed Recao leaves (coriander leaves) Yellow and red roasted bell peppers Sweet onion Pique, my own, made with peppers from […]

Categories: Puerto Rican Style, Sandwich • Tags: Cooking, Cooking Blog, Deviled Ham, Food, Puerto Rican Style, recipe, Sandwich

Ropa Vieja

January 20, 2010 by ericriveracooks

A friend of mine, Valerie, asked me if I could come up with a recipe for Ropa Vieja. It’s a dish that’s tossed around the Hispanic community from culture to culture. Every recipe I have seen has different ingredients and methods behind the madness for these “old clothes”. One of the things that I saw remained constant was the braising of the meat, pulling it apart, then placing it back in the braising liquid. I had the basic idea of […]

Categories: Beef, Puerto Rican Style, Rice • Tags: Annatto Oil, Avocado, Cilantro, Cilantro Oil, Cooking, Cooking Blog, Flank Steak, Food, recipe, Rice, Ropa Vieja, tostones

Mofongo with Dungeness Crab, Saffron Buerre Blanc, Shallot Jam, and Cilantro Oil

December 28, 2009 by ericriveracooks

Definitely going on the menu one day……. Ingredients Dungeness Crab….two of them……fresh from a seafood market in Longbeach, WA Mofongo Plantains….yellowish brown….there is a reason for this Garlic, minced Olive oil Adobo (my mix) Saffron Buerre Blanc Butter White Rum Saffron Cilantro, minced White Wine Vinegar Salt, tt Shallot Jam Shallots, minced Balsamic Vinegar…reduced Black Pepper Pectin Cilantro Oil I’ll link this up shortly Procedure Mofongo Peel and bake the plantains in an oven at 350F until soft Remove from […]

Categories: Dinner, Puerto Rican Style, Sauce, Seafood • Tags: Buerre Blanc, Cilantro Oil, Cooking Blog, Dungeness Crab, Food, Mofongo, recipe, saffron, Shallot Jam

Christmas is the next day since the family is all here….

November 27, 2009 by ericriveracooks

Well, if that’s the case then let me throw a few things together! We celebrated Christmas Eve with the family today so I pulled out a few more tricks out of the bag. Puerto Rican style pork loin, stuffed bell peppers, and yellow rice! That’s how I do Christmas with my parents so it was easy to make it for Mindy’s family. Stuffed Bell Peppers with Mom’s stuffing Yellow Rice with Garbanzo Beans I loved reading other blogs about how […]

Categories: Puerto Rican Style • Tags: Beans, Bell Peppers, Cooking Blog, Dinner, Food, Food Blog, Pork, Puerto Rican Style, recipe, Rice, Stuffed

Sofrito Rice Soup with a Vegetable Stock

October 4, 2009 by ericriveracooks

Don’t ask about the stuff on the table…my wife is decorating for a bridal shower……..cute crap everywhere, ugh. Soup! Would have been much better with chicken or shrimp but I’m trying to see how good I am at cooking like a vegetarian. Result? Pretty damn good. Ok, back to meat! I’ve been cooking like a vegetarian for about a week now and after I eat something I’m usually hungry about an hour later………..it’s like eating Chinese food but without the […]

Categories: Puerto Rican Style, Soup • Tags: Cooking Blog, Puerto Rican Style, recipe, Rice, Sofrito, Soup, Vegetable Stock

Fried Plantain Cups with Sofrito Stuffing and a Fancy Mayo-Ketchup Sauce

October 4, 2009 by ericriveracooks

Go to Puerto Rico, eat plantains, and eat mayo-ketchup. It’s pretty hard to stay away from mayo-ketchup sauce in Puerto Rico because it’s pretty much served with everything. Well, I’m going to make an admission that will make me sound like a complete snob……I won’t eat ketchup anymore that has high fructose corn syrup. Also, I won’t eat mayonnaise that is from a big jug. Why eat them anyway when you can make better quality stuff yourself? This is Eric […]

Categories: Appetizer, Puerto Rican Style • Tags: Appetizer, Cooking Blog, Food Blog, Plantain, Puerto Rican Style, recipe, Sofrito

Black Bean Soup

September 24, 2009 by ericriveracooks

The weather is starting to change here so I’m here to help you out. A little black bean soup never hurt anyone unless you remember the Great Black Bean Wars of 1340……so many lost…..so many Equipment: Stock pot Ingredients: 4 cups black beans 1 gallon chicken stock 2 tbsp. lard (The Swinery) 2 cloves garlic 1/2 white onion, medium diced Celery, medium diced 1 yellow bell pepper 5 or 6 pimentos……….from my front yard…….that makes it hard for you to […]

Categories: Puerto Rican Style, Soup • Tags: Black Bean Soup, Cooking, Cooking Blog, Dinner, Food, Food Blog, Puerto Rican Style, Soup

IxaRiveraCooks: Mofongo and Chicken Soup

September 12, 2009 by ericriveracooks

My mom is on fire with recipes! Here is her take on Mofongo, a typical Puerto Rican dish (on the left), and chicken soup. Mofongo Equipment: Mortar and Pestle Saute Pan Ingredients: Two plantains, sliced Two garlic cloves, smashed BACON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A few fresh oregano leaves Olive oil Salt and pepper to taste Procedure: Fry the plantains until cooked then let rest Cook bacon then let rest Place a little bit of the plantain, garlic, bacon, oregano, olive oil, salt, and […]

Categories: IxaRiveraCooks, Puerto Rican Style • Tags: Chicken Soup, Cooking, Cooking Blog, Food, Food Blog, Mofongo, Puerto Rican Style, Puerto Rico, recipe

IxaRiveraCooks: Avocado Gazpacho and Hummus and Guacamole

September 12, 2009 by ericriveracooks

My mom is taking over this post to give you three fantastic recipes. She did her own pictures and wrote the recipes! I think it’s pretty damn cool and if she keeps this up I might just give her her own blog, it will definitely be a lot more fun than this one! Her presentations are much better than mine and I can always count on a pretty flower to be included in the pictures. She cooks everything to taste […]

Categories: IxaRiveraCooks, Puerto Rican Style • Tags: Avocado, Cooking, Cooking Blog, Food Blog, gazpacho, Guacamole, Hummus, Puerto Rican Style, recipe

Aioli- Revisited

August 19, 2009 by ericriveracooks

Late night snacking! The pictures don’t do this any justice. It was too late for me to care. It’s late, you want something easy, and you don’t want to make a huge mess…………WHAT DO YOU DO?!?!?! I do aioli over some bread with garden fresh tomatoes and herbs. Equipment: Mortar and Pestle Mixing Bowl Whisk Baking Sheet Ingredients: 7 cloves organic garlic 1 garden fresh tomato, sliced as shown Fresh rosemary 1 Egg yolk 1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil […]

Categories: Puerto Rican Style, Sauce • Tags: Aioli, Appetizer, Bread, Cooking Blog, Food, Food Blog, Garlic, recipe, Sauce

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Eric Rivera's Cooking Blog

Food, because I just want an excuse to cook.