Caja China Cooking History and Delicious Recipe Ideas

Seemingly, there is as much mystery surrounding the origins of the "caja china" as there is about how to use one for those not familiar with the roaster. Stories have been told about the roughly 150,000 Chinese laborers who came to Cuba in the 1850's, and that they brought the cooking style to the island, hence the term "caja china." Research, however, indicates no known record of the roasting box dating this far back. In fact, there appears to have been relatively little co-mingling between the Chinese and Cuban cuisines. So where then did the box originate, and where did the name "la caja china" (the Chinese box) come from?

According to food anthropologist Sidney Mintz, a more likely scenario is that the term "china" or "chino" does not represent the country in this case, but is actually a common Hispanic term that describes something as exotic, mysterious, or clever. Using this interpretation, "la caja china" would translate as "the clever box" rather than "the Chinese box." This hypothesis is strengthened by renowned Cuban chef Maricel Presilla of the restaurant Zafra in New Jersey when she states, "Cubans like to call anything that is unusual or clever Chinese. And this is true all over the Caribbean. Pretty much any culture there, whether Cuban or Puerto Rican or Dominican, they have somewhere some kind of thing like this-a Caja China." (Sifton) Variations on the box can be found in various countries, and go by a variety of names. In Peru there is the "caja china criollo," in the Cuban community the "caja asadora" (roasting box) and "asador cubana" (Cuban roaster).

In Louisiana's Cajun community it is referred to as a "Cajun microwave." The reality is that all these roaster boxes are very similar in their style of cooking, using heat from charcoal and the pressure of an enclosed roasting box to cook large amounts of food in an incredibly short amount of time. Not only is the cooking time shortened from eight or more hours for a large pig to just four, but the meat comes out incredibly tender. It is, in my opinion, the best kept secret in the American barbecue community today. You can purchase one, along with its accessories, at http://www.shoplatintouch.com. Once you own one, you'll wonder what took so long.

Delicious Venison Stew Recipe For Healthy and Economical Wild Game Cooking

Health considerations are one reason why there is a growing popularity of wild game. Venison contains about half the calories of beef, and has just one-eighth of the fat. Also, because of the low fat content, venison freezes well.

This flavorful venison stew recipe makes an inexpensive meal out of what can be an expensive piece of meat. It works perfectly for tougher cuts of venison, as the slow cooking tenderizes the meat nicely. This venison recipe also turns out great in the crockpot.

Ingredients:

1 pound venison stew meat, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 medium red bell pepper, diced

1 medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups unsalted beef stock

1/3 cup chili sauce

1/2 cup dried apricots, diced

1 14 1/2-ounce can white or yellow hominy

1 14 1/2-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

juice of 1 lime

1 tablespoon minced cilantro

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit, unless using a crockpot.

Toss the venison cubes with a light coating the oregano, salt, pepper, and cumin. Warm the oil in a frying pan over medium heat on the stove top. Brown quickly, then remove with a slotted spoon and place in a crockpot, dutch oven, or a large and heavy pot.

Saute the onion, garlic, and bell pepper in the remaining oil. When they have softened, spoon the vegetables from the pan and put in the larger pot with the venison. Add the beef stock, chili sauce, and apricots. Stir to combine, and cover the pot.

Cook the venison stew over in the pot over low heat (slow simmer) for at least 6 hours, stirring occasionally, and until the venison is tender.

During the last half hour of cooking, mix the hominy and black beans into the stew. Take the stew off the heat, stir in the lime juice, and add the tablespoon of cilantro.

Serve the venison stew hot, adding more cilantro, if desired. 

Chinese Cooking Recipe - The Secret Of The Delicious Delicacy!

Chinese cooking recipes for the American homes are just an adjusted recipe of the original Chinese recipes. They taste good and marvelous. The original recipes are favorites for many across the world as they taste delicious. For example, let's consider the process of making Chinese recipes. They are seasoned with a combo of sugar and chilies to produce a dish with a real flavor. The addition of few more nice spices and the cooking of the recipe over the flame are the specific characteristics of the Chinese cooking recipe and this has brought fame to it thought America. It is very easy to prepare the recipes and they are generally made in pieces as per the Chinese manner of food preparation.

There are various elements or ingredients in the list of the Chinese manner of food preparation. Chinese soups, noodles and rice are the most popular among them. One can easily point out the Singapore Noodles as the most popular of the Chinese cooking recipe when it comes to talking of the famous recipes across the world. It is prepared by roasting shrimps or pork with noodles. Bean sprouts, noodles, steamed rice, garlic, shredded Napa cabbage and Soy sauce are the important contents of the recipes and they can added with ingredients of their choice. The vegetables and the ingredients are cooked in the flame and the noodles are fried deeply in oil. Then they are both mixed in the end. Chinese food lovers throughout America prefer the Szechwan and Shanghai type of noodles.

A Chinese green fried with shrimps is the other popular recipe that is made by the combination of Chinese mushrooms and greens with marinated shrimps. The preparation of the recipe details the deep frying of the fish along with the vegetables to get the particular flavor. When they are served with rice it can be considered as full meals for two persons. The Manchurian recipe is the other well known of the Chinese cooking recipe. A mixture of chicken, noodles and vegetables constitute the Manchurian. Extra care should be taken in adding the correct quantity of vegetable, sauces, spring onions, and spices for the preparation of the Manchurian. The vegetables and the chicken are well mixed and made rolled into small balls which are then fried deeply in oil to get a crunchy product. The fried balls are provided with gravy to get the exact flavor. Spring onions are decorated alongside to make it colorful.

Making of the dish and adding spices alone does not sum up the Chinese cooking recipe. In truth these recipes are nutritional and healthy too. The recipes involve the cooking of both the vegetarian and the non vegetarian items. These recipes have attracted a lot of food lovers because of the addition of various kinds of spices. These recipes are listed in almost all restaurants. The Chinese culture is very well propagated to the foreigner as well.

A Delicious Tri Tip Roast Recipe - Grilling Tri Tip Can Be Easy!

Do you like to throw big barbecues in your backyard every weekend? Is throwing a few steaks on the grill and relaxing with your friends the ultimate fun for you? If this is true you may want to try buying a tri-tip. One of the best cuts of beef and enough to serve many people yet it is one of the least expensive steaks you can buy. One large steak versus a bunch of little steaks is easier and better for grilling and one tri-tip can easily feed 5-6 people.

Many people on the East Coast are unfamiliar with the tri-tip as a steak. East Coaster's see the tri-tip as a roast which technically it is but when grilled the taste resembles that of a steak. All the BBQ restaurants on the West Coast are guaranteed to be cooking up this cut of beef.

Steaks can be prepared in many ways. Once way is to marinate the meat overnight so that the flavors can fully incorporate into the meat. You can also use a dry rub which you put on just before placing on the grill. One favorite method of cooking is to use a dry rub and add your favorite flavored BBQ sauces ten minutes before its finished cooking leaving it with a crisp crust and juicy center. Be sure to grill your tri-tip over indirect heat at approximately 325 degrees. This way the meat is actually slowly cooked so that it comes out tender and succulent.

Don't be in a hurry with the tri-tip though it can easily take 60-90 minutes to cook or more depending on size. Figure approximately 30 minutes per pound cooking time.

If you are the type of person who has to burn the heck out of a steak to eat it then the tri-tip is definitely not for you. The tri-tip should be served medium or even medium rare. When the center temperature reaches 140 degrees it is time to remove it from the grill. Let it sit uncovered for about 10 minutes to allow the juices to settle and not pour out at the first slice. Enjoy!

A Delicious BBQ Chicken Fajita Recipe to Enjoy This Summer

With the hot weather now creeping in, or for those of you lucky enough to see all year-round sun, it's a perfect time to get outside in the garden and fire up your barbeque!

For this fajita recipe, you will need:

• 1/2 cup of BBQ sauce


• 1/2 cup lime juice


• 2 teaspoons olive oil or vegetable oil


• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped


• 1/2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes


• 3/4lb boneless skinless chicken breast


• 4 flour tortillas

This fajita recipe will serve four people.

Directions to make BBQ Chicken Fajita Recipe:

1. 
   Finely chop and fry the garlic for 2 minutes before mixing in the lime juice and BBQ sauce
   
   
   


2. 
   Place the mixture in a bowl and add the chicken breasts, mixing around until covered. Allow to marinate overnight for best flavour.
   
   
   


3. 
   Pre-heat the BBQ making sure the coals are glowing red. Brush the BBQ grill with olive oil and place the chicken on the BBQ
   
   
   


4. 
   Cook the chicken for approximately 7-10 minutes, making sure the meat is completely white inside.
   
   
   


5. 
   Whilst the chicken is cooking, chop up the red pepper into rings and place on the BBQ for the last 4 minutes, flipping them halfway.
   
   
   


6. 
   Using sharp knife, cut the chicken diagonally into thin slices. Remove the peppers and cut all rings in half.
   
   
   


7. 
   Wrap in warm tortilla along with a sprinkle of pepper flakes. Add salad and garnish as desired and enjoy this BBQ chicken fajita recipe!

I recommend a  refreshing, crisp green salad to enjoy with this meal. A simple salad I tend to make really quickly is baby rocket, watercress, cucumber, a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of crushed rock sea salt. The peppery taste of the rocket and watercress compliments the sweetness of the BBQ sauce marinade.

Hot and Delicious Singapore Noodles Recipe

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Total cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4 to 6

Ingredients for Singapore noodles recipe:

150 g (5 oz.) dried rice vermicelli
oil, for cooking
250 g (8 oz.) Chinese barbecued pork, cut into small pieces
250 g (8 oz.) peeled raw prawns, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons Madras curry powder
2 cloves garlic, crushed
100 g (3 1/2 oz.) shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
100 g (3 1/2 oz.) green beans, thinly sliced on the diagonal
1 tablespoon soy sauce
4 spring onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal

Directions for Singapore noodles recipe:

1. If you want to try the Singapore noodles recipe, keep in mind these guidelines. Start by placing the vermicelli in a large bowl, cover with boiling water and soak for about
5 minutes or so. Drain it well and spread out on a clean tea towel to dry.

2. Then heat the wok until very hot, after add 1 tablespoon of oil and swirl it around to coat the side. Then stir-fry the barbecued pork and the prawn pieces in batches over high heat and remove from the wok and set aside.

3. After that, reheat the wok, then add 2 tablespoons of the oil and stir-fry the curry powder and garlic for about 1-2 minutes or so. Add the mushrooms and onion and stir-fry over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes or so, or until the onion and mushrooms become a bit soft.

4. Then return the pork and the prawns to the wok, add the beans and 2 teaspoons water, and toss to combine. Add the drained noodles, the soy sauce and the spring onion. Toss well and serve immediately.

Nutritional Value for Singapore noodles recipe:

Protein 10 g;
Fat 7.5 g;
Carbohydrate 25 g;
Dietary Fibre 3 g;
Cholesterol 60mg;
Energy 905kJ (215cal)

Quick and Delicious Falafel Recipe

These deep-fried balls of spiced meshed chickpeas are to be served in pitta bread with Tabbouleh, lettuce and a salad.

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients for falafel recipe:

225 g/8 oz. chickpeas, soaked
overnight and then cooked until soft
2 pitta breads or 2 slices of dry
bread
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
garlic cloves
2 dessertspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground chilli
2 dessertspoons plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
sesame seeds, for coating
oil for frying,

Directions for falafel recipe:

1. When you will be interested in cooking the falafel recipe, follow these guidelines. Blend the chickpeas in 2 batches if you do not have a powerful food processor or if is not too big.

2. Reduce the bread to crumbs in the processor, then add the garlic, the onion, the chilli, the cumin, the flour, the salt and the parsley, and blend to a paste.

3. With your food processor still running slowly, add the chickpeas, until it forms a thick paste. Depending on the moisture in the onion, the consistency of this thick paste can vary: if it is too dry, add a small amount of water while blending; if it is too wet, simply make more breadcrumbs and combine.

4. Roll the mixture using your hands into 2.5 cm balls and coat it with sesame seeds. Fry the balls in hot oil until they become crunchy.

5.To make them easier to separate, place ding-film between layers, but only if you are freezing the falafel.

Healthy & Delicious Chili Chicken Recipe Cook at Home

We live in a very busy world. It is often hard to keep up with the laundry and daily house chores after working all day, let alone try to prepare a good meal for your family that is not just quick, but nutritious for them as well. Homemade cooking can allow you to not only prepare nutritious meals, but they will think you have been cooking all day. After working all day, it is very tempting to just stop and buy take out food, but this isn't really very good for your family to eat on a regular basis.

We are in a world that is full of convenience. Homemade cooking can be very simple all you have to do is be a little creative. Cooking could be fun if it's not a complicated recipe.

Home Made Chili Chicken Dinner

Family dinner doesn't get any better than this convenient yummy-in-the-tummy chicken dish. After all, self-cooking food assured with top class of "quality control" and less expensive!

Preparation Time: 25 minutes;
Cooking Time: 45 minutes
Servings: Makes 4 servings

Ingredients-

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 large chicken thighs with skin and bones (about 2 pounds)
Ground cloves
1 1/2 cups diced seeded red bell peppers
1 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup coarsely chopped pitted imported green olives
4 small bay leaves
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 teaspoon hot chili paste or 1 small Serrano Chile, chopped
1 1/2 cups jasmine rice or long-grain white rice (9 to 10 ounces), rinsed, drained
2 to 2 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth

Method-

Heat the oil in a large skillet on medium-high flame. Sprinkle chicken generously with salt and pepper, then lightly with ground cloves. Add chicken to skillet and sauté until brown, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to plate.

Pour off all but 4 tablespoons fat from skillet. Add bell peppers, onion, raisins, olives, bay leaves, garlic, and chili paste to skillet. Saute until vegetables begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add rice; stir 1 minute. Press chicken into rice. Add 2 cups broth; bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until chicken is cooked through and rice is tender, adding more broth if dry, about 20 minutes.

Crockpot Macaroni Cheese Recipe and 3 More Delicious Crockpot Recipes

I know that a lot of you have at least one of these efficient and time saving appliances hidden away somewhere in your kitchen collecting dust. You probably thought that the Crockpot was just for making soups or stews.

Well, below are some easy to prepare and delicious Crockpot recipes you can try at home:

1. 16 Bean Soup

Ingredients:

- 1 package 16 Bean Soup
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon crushed oregano
- 2 cans no-fat chicken stock
- Additional water to cover
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- 3 carrots diced
- 1 large onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic sliced
- 1 pound turkey Italian sausage sliced
- 2 cans stewed (or diced) tomatoes

Directions:

- Combine first 5 ingredients (liquid should cover mixture by 1"-2") in Crock Pot Cook on high for 2hours.
- Add remaining ingredients and shift cooker to low and cook for additional 3 hours

- For more zing, add cayenne or crushed red pepper when adding second set of ingredients.

Serve as complete meal or over rice.

Freezes well.

2. All Day Crockpot Delight

Ingredients:

- 2-3 lbs. boneless chuck, cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1/2 c. flour
- 1/4 c. butter
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. pepper
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 c. beer
- 1/4 c. flour

Directions:

- Coat beef cubes with the 1/2 cup flour.
- Brown in melted butter.
- Drain off excess fat. In crock pot, combine browned meat with onion, salt, pepper, garlic and beer.
- Cover and cook on low 5-7 hours (all day) until meat is tender.
- Turn control to high.
- Dissolve remaining 1/4 cup flour in small amount of water.
- Stir into meat mixture, cook on high 30-40 minutes.
- Serve with rice and salad.

3. All Day Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

- 8 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
- 4 cups (16 ounces) shredded sharp Chedder Cheese
- 1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
- 1 1 /2 cups milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

- Place the cooked macaroni in crockpot that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
- Add the remaining ingredients, all except 1 cup of the cheese, mix well.
- Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of cheese and then cover and cook on low setting for 5 to 6 hours or until the mixture is firm and golden around the edges.
- Do not remove the cover or stir until it has finished cooking.

4. Apple Brown Betty

Ingredients:

- 3 lbs. cooking apples
- 10 slices of bread, cubed (about 4 cups)
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 3/4 c. brown sugar
- 1/2 c. butter or margarine, melted

Directions:

- Wash apples, peel, core, cut into eighths; place in bottom on crock.
- Combine bread cubes, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, sugar, butter; toss together.
- Place on top of apples in crock. Cover.
- Place crock into outer shell.
- Cook on low setting 2 to 4 hours.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Cooking and Eating Italian Food - Delicious Food For the Family

Fresh ingredients:
Cooking Italian recipes depends upon one basic fact: the freshness of the ingredients. No processed foods are used in the creation of these delightful, elegant, yet deceptively simple meals.

Olive oil and garlic:
Staples of an Italian kitchen are olio d'oliva (olive oil) and aglio (garlic). Always choose extra virgin olive oil and fresh garlic. You will not see any garlic powder or garlic salt in a traditional Italian kitchen. Another common ingredient when in many Italian dishes is pomodori (tomatoes), which are used fresh in sauces, served in the antipasti or starter as a garnish over toasted bread, or in salads. Olive oil is used when Cooking Italian recipes for frying, sautéing, dressing on salads, and every other place where we would usually use shortening or vegetable oil.

Italians love their mealtime, and they take a long time to get through the entire meal. Dinner typically starts around 8:00 PM and is over around 10:00 PM. Family is key to Italians and you will often find children in the kitchen, learning to cook right along with the adults. The family comes together over the meal and large, boisterous meal times are not uncommon in an Italian household, with lots of shouting, laughter and good natured teasing accompanying the pasta. Cooking Italian recipes is something the Italians take very seriously.

The courses in an Italian meal:
The antipasti, or starter course mentioned earlier comes to the table on platters family style. It can be something as simple as a bruschetta (toasted garlic bread) with a variety of toppings to a more sophisticated dish made with zucchini flowers and grated parmesan cheese. By the way, when pronouncing Italian words, the 'ch' sounds like a 'k,' so the word bruschetta is pronounced bru-sketta. To get the 'ch' sound in Italian, put two c's together as in Gucci.

Following the antipasti, the primi piatti, or first course is served. This is usually a pasta course, but can also be a soup, crepe, polenta, rice, or gnocchi. Pasta is also a staple in Italian recipes, and you will usually find a pasta dish set on the table for every evening meal. Explore the Italian cookbooks for your favorite pasta or other starchy dish for your primi piatti.

The next course is the main course, or the secondi piatti. This is a meat course, served with a contorni or side dish. Beef, pork, veal, fish and poultry are all served and eaten with relish in Italy. Side dishes, or contorni, are sometimes salads, but often are starchy dishes like potatoes or beans.

Desert is not to be forgotten as a sweet, but not too sweet, end to your cooking Italian recipes experience. One of my favorite Italian deserts is contuccini. Contuccini is a small version of the popular Italian cookie called biscotti. These sweet, but hard, little almond cookies are served after a typical Italian meal with a sweet desert wine. Set shot glasses in front of your guests, fill each one with the desert wine and instruct them to dunk the contuccini in the wine before eating it. Delicicio!

Delicious Crockpot Recipes For The Family

For the working family these recipes work a wonder. Come home, relax, and enjoy a meal you only slaved 10 to 20 min prep in the morning.

Recipe #1:

To Die For Pot Roast

3 1/2 to 4 LB Rump Roast

1 Bag Of Baby Cut Carrots

3 Large Onions

5 Potatoes

1 Can Of Cream Of Mushroom Soup

1 Packet Of French Onion Soup Mix

1/4 Cup Water

Place rump roast in the crockpot. Place the baby carrots around it. Chop up onions into quarters. Slice up potatoes into small chunks, and place around the beef. Add mushroom soup and the onion soup mix. Mix about a 1/4 cup of water into the crockpot. Depending upon how thick you like your gravy mix you can add more water. Place crockpot on low for 8 hours. Stirring occasionally. Beef just pulls right apart. Serve with a nice side salad or some garlic bread. You will be coming back for seconds, thirds and fourths.

Recipe #2:

Moist Meatloaf In the Crockpot

2 Eggs

3/4 Cup Milk

2/3 Cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs

2 TSP Dried Minced Onion or Garlic

1 TSP Salt

1/2 Teaspoon Marjoram

1-1/2 Ground Turkey

1/4 Cup Ketchup

2 TBSP Brown Sugar

1/2 TSP Worcestershire

In a large bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients. Crumble the beef over the mixture and mix well. Shape into a round loaf; place in the crockpot. Cover and cook on low for about 6 hours. In a small mixing bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar, and worcestershire sauce. Gently pour it over the meat loaf. Cook for about 15 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for about 15 - 20 minutes before cutting. Serve with some garlic mashed potatoes and your favorite vegetable, and your family will think it was the best meatloaf ever.

Recipe #3:

Cheesy Chili Dogs

1 full pack of hotdogs

2 cans of chilli

1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup

1 can chopped green chillies

2 - 3 Dashes of hot sauce ( if you like it spicier judge accordingly)

10 hot dog buns

1 large onion chopped

Toppings:

Shredded cheddar cheese

Sour Cream

Salsa

Place the hot dogs in a slow cooker. In a bowl combine the chilli, soup and green chillies; pour completely over the hot dogs. Cover and cook on low for about 4 - 5 hours. Serve the hot dogs in the buns, you then top it with the chilli mixture, and onion. Then add the toppings you want. Great for kids. It can be cut up and served with Macaroni and Cheese.