Champurrado (Mexican Cinnamon Chocolate Drink)

Champurrado is a rich Mexican drink thickened with "masa" flavored with cinnamon, vanilla, and chocolate.

It is most enjoyed in winter with bread usually "Bolillo" or other baked goods. It is delicous with sweet corn tamales or other sweet varieties of tamales some are pineapple or strawberry flavored.

This is my mothers recipe taught to her by her aunt and mother and so on. My mom is well known among her friends for making really good "Champurrado"

Ingredients:
-2 Cups "Masa" dough (bought from a Mexican store that produces fresh corn masa which is made from ground corn treated with water and lime aka calcium carbonate to release it's nutrition)
-5 cups milk
-1 can of Evaporated milk
-10 cups water
-8-10 small cinnamon sticks
-2 tablets of Mexican chocolate (chocolate abuelita or Ibarra)
-2 cups of sugar or sugar to taste.
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract (the real stuff)

Directions:
(1) In a pot on high heat bring water to a boil with cinnamon sticks until it becomes redish, fragrant and infused. To make it become a deep color when it comes to a boil and turns darker shock it with a water to stop boiling when it boils again it will be darker

(2)In another pot while you are doing step 1. Heat milk and evaporated milk on medium heat while step 1 is being completed. This is so the milk will be hot when you add it to the other pot later, if it is cold it will shock it and you will stir and wait forever.

(3)While step 1 & 2 is happening blend masa in a blender with some water until it is like a thick shake and set aside. When step 1 is complete add Blended masa and stir in one direction until thickened and masa is cooked about 10 minutes

(4)At this point add hot evaporated milk and milk mixture and stir, add 2 tablets of Mexican chocolate and sugar to taste.

(5)When chocolate tablets melt and vanilla extract. Stir well. Turn of heat and you are done ENJOY!

IMPORTANT NOTE: NEVER DIP A SPOON THAT HAS BEEN PUT IN YOUR MOUTH OR HAS SALIVA FOR REASONS UNKNOWN IT CUTS THE THICKNESS AND RICHNESS OF THE DRINK THIS IS NOT SUPERSTITION I DID ONCE AND MY MOM GOT SO UPSET AND IT WASNT AS RICH.

Mangu (Breakfast Green Plantain Mash)

This is a Dominican breakfast recipe. This is how I make it, I DO NOT KNOW IT IS AUTHENTIC SO PURISTS DONT GET MAD AT ME. I simply saw a recipe for this on a website I love called: dominicancooking.com

I tried their recipe for this dish and I did not love it so I made it to my own liking and my own way. It is similar to the "Fufu de Platano" eaten by Cubans as well as "Mofongo" but the only thing it has in common with those is the "garlic" and mashed green plantains

So today Wendsday I woke up craving it and made it for breakfast MY WAY who knows maybe some Dominicans make it like this to.

Ingredients for 1 serving:

-Water
-1 green plantain
-1/2 onion minced
-3 cloves garlic, peeled, crushed and minced
-1 teaspoon or less vinegar (optional I think I would prefer it with none next time)
-Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions: (1)Peel green plantains carefully, slice into rounds, place in salted water and bring to a boil covered and simmer on low for about 10-25 minutes.
(2)Heat olive oil in a pan, sautee onions and garlic on medium to medium high until fragrant and onions are translucent. Add a tiny bit of vinegar and sautee 1-2 minutes.
(3)Add plantains and mash in season with salt and pepper and add some of the water the plantain boiled in to loosen it up a bit so it wont be so hard. (next time I recommend mashing plantains in a bowl seperately with a fork then adding the sautee in a bowl and mash in with a fork, add some of the plantains cooking liquid to loosen then season with salt and pepper)

(4)Eat as soon as possible or it will stiffen.

(5)I think it would taste really good with some sour cream, but I ate it with 2 fried eggs done over easy with a nice soft yolk.

Lengua Entomatada (Beef Tongue in Tomato)

This is one of my favorite parts of beef. My grandmother prepares it in a delicous tomato and red wine based sauce with cuban herbs, spices, olive oil, bell peppers, onions, and garlic.

It is delicous with fluffy rice so the rice can soak some of the savory rich sauce served with a raw salad typically of cucumber, tomato, and onion (I like to put Mojo de Ajo on the salad)

Ingredients for preparing tongue:
-2 1/2 lbs. of beef tongue
-2 bay leaves
-4 whole peeled garlic cloves
-1/2 onion
-salt to taste
-water

Ingredients for the rest and sauce:
-1 whole onion cut in half and julienned
-1 green bell pepper cut in half, cleaned and julienned
-6 cloves of garlic peeled, crushed and minced
-1 can 15 oz. of tomato puree
-1 cup water
-1 Cup of Red Wine (when cooking Cuban food you don't need fancy wines to cook GOYA brand wines work great with Cuban food)
-1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
-1 teaspoon ground cumin
-black pepper to taste
-Salt to taste

Directions for beef tongue:
(1)Bring water to a boil in a pot, add bay leaves, oregano, pepper, onion, garlic, salt and beef tongue. When boiling cover and simmer on low for 2-3 hours. (If boiled any longer it will become to tender and break easily)


(2)Remove beef tongue when done and get rid of the stock and stuff we don't like the stock from the beef tongue.
(3)When you remove the beef tongue, wait for it to cool a but, remove the hard skin covering the tongue also remove excess fat then slice it about 1/2 inch thick or 1 inch thick slices. Set aside and reserve. Directions for the rest and sauce:
(1)Heat generous amounts of olive oil in a pan on medium to medium high, sautee bell peppers, onions, and garlic until fragrant and the onion is slightly translucent.
(2)Add red wine and bring it to a boil, add tomato puree, dilute with a littel water to form a sauce, add oregano, cumin, pepper, and salt to taste bring to a boil and cover then simmer on low covered for about 5 minutes. (3)Uncover and add beef tongue slices then bring back to a boil cover and simmer an additional 5 minutes then turn of heat. Sprinkle chopped parsley or cilantro to garnish (4)You are done enjoy.

NOTE: The sauce is NOT suppose to be really thin so do not dilute with to much water. Also some people like to use the beef tongue stock instead of water but for some reason it grosses my mother and grandma out so they just throw it away and use water. Plus the stock from the beef tongue is really greasy and may make the beef tongue flavor too strong.