Mangia: Peruvian Chicken

So yummy. Served at a local café in Cusco, it had me coming back for more (3 times).

1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds)
4 tablespoons white vinegar
3 tablespoons white wine
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons paprika
1 1/2 tablespoons cumin
2 teaspoons black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
juice of 1 lemon
1 quart cold water

Preparation:

Combine vinegar, wine, oil with garlic powder, cumin, paprika, black pepper, and salt. Mix well to form a paste. Add lemon juice to cold water. Trim chicken of any excess or loose fat. Wash chicken thoroughly with lemon water. Place chicken in zip-top bag. Pour spice paste over chicken. Coat chicken completely with mixture rubbing into every surface. Try to get the paste under the skin as much as possible.
Seal bag and place chicken in refrigerator for at least 2 hours. The chicken will have more flavor the longer it "marinates" in the spice mixture. Do not refrigerator more than 24 hours however.

Preheat grill and prepare rotisserie. Place chicken on rotisserie and on the grill for approximately 1 1/2 hours at a temperature around 300 degrees F. (150 degrees C.) Test chicken for doneness by measure in the temperature in the thickest part of the thigh. Chicken is done at 165 degrees F. (75 degrees C.).

This chicken is frequently served with dipping sauce. A simple version of this sauce is made from combining 1/2 cup of mayonnaise with 2 tablespoons mustard and 2 tablespoons lime juice.

Mangia! Florentine Frittelles

The Italians have a way of making anything sound sexy. Toilets to us are ‘tolettas’ to them. Holy crap to us is ‘schifezza santa’ to them. And doughnuts to us are ‘frittelles’ to them. Frittelles is a traditional Florentine pastry specially made for Carnival. They’re a perfect nourishment to keep your energy up and appetite curbed while you navigate the maddening crowds of party goers in the canal city of Venice. They taste quite yummy (or ‘squisito’) with a Bellini cocktail as well!

To feed a multitude, you will need:

1 3/4 cup rice (cheap rice is best here)
1 quart milk
The zest of one lemon
3-4 Tablespoons sugar
A walnut-sized chunk of sweet butter
3 eggs
1 jigger of rum or sweet wine (the recipe calls for rum, but try Vinsanto)
4/5 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Oil for frying
Confectioner's sugar
Simmer the rice in the milk until it's quite done, then stir in the sugar, lemon zest, and butter and let the mixture cool.

Separate the eggs and whip the whites to soft peaks. Stir the yolks and the rum or wine into the rice mixture, then fold in the egg whites, flour and baking powder. Drop the batter a teaspoon at a time into hot oil and fry the frittelle until they are a rich golden brown. Drain them on absorbent paper, and when they have cooled dust them with confectioner's sugar.

Mangia: English Brekky

My cooking skills remain debatable within some circles but there’s one meal I can easily whip up and that is an authentic English breakfast. I won’t bother rehashing what you can find on the Internet. Instead, I’ll recite the recipe from memories of helping make this simple, quick and hearty dish every morning while in lock up over the New Year weekend in a cottage outside Oxford. Don’t worry about measurements and specifications; the beauty in this brekky is that any tosser can make it while emerging out of their late Saturday night pub crawl coma.

Ingredients:
2-3 cups mushrooms
1 tin of baked beans
2 tomatoes
½ cup orange juice
3-4 rashers (i.e.: Canadian bacon)
2 bangers (i.e.: sausage)
2 eggs
4 slices bread
cooking oil
butter

1.) Turn the oven on to broil.
2.) Slice a cup or two of mushrooms, set aside for now.
3.) Pour a couple tbs. of cooking oil in frying pan and place under low to medium heat on the stovetop, place the rashers in the pan.
4.) In a separate stirring pan pour the baked beans and simmer on low heat.
5.) In yet another stirring pan, drop in 2 tbs. butter and simmer on low to medium heat. Toss the sliced mushrooms in, periodically stirring until they’re light brown.
6.) Slice tomatoes in half, place on an oven dish and lightly drizzle cooking oil over the tops. Place the tomatoes in the oven under the broiler. Not sure for how long but keep an eye on them! You want them to be grilled, juicy and the skin slightly crisp.
7.) Pop bread in the toaster; get the kettle going.
8.) Flip the rashers over and crack two eggs to fry sunny side up.
9.) Toss in a half cup of orange juice in to the mushroom pan (yes, OJ!). Stir and sprinkle in some salt and pepper.

A cup of Earl Grey or English Breakfast tea goes great, steep and drop in a few cubes sugar and milk. Throw it all on a plate and slop on whatever condiments you like (HP sauce, mmm!)

Mangia: Swedish Toscas

Somewhere between 3rd and 5th grade, we were assigned to report on a country in the world and to bring to class a dish from that region. My choice was Sweden and I brought Swedish Toscas, mini almond tarts. Oh, and cheers to you Elin Nordegren, fellow Swede from a land where Toscas are the tarts and not the women. I hope you 5 Wood his ass to the wall.

Tart Crust
6 tbsp butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)

Filling
1/3 cup almond meal (finely ground almonds)
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp butter, room temperature
1 1/2 tbsp milk
2 tsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Make the tart shells: In a medium mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. With the mixer on low speed, gradually beat in flour, salt and almond extract (if using) until dough is crumbly and has the texture of wet sand. Spoon evenly into 18 mini muffin cups and press the dough down to create tart-shell shapes going up the sides of the muffin cups. Bake shells for 6-7 minutes.

While shells are baking, make the almond filling: In a medium saucepan, combine almonds, sugar, butter, milk and flour. Cook over medium heat, whisking frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Set aside until shells are ready.

Remove the tart shells from the oven and use a small spoon to press an indentation into the center of each one (because the dough will spread a bit during baking). Fill each indentation with almond filling. Return tarts to oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, until shells and the edges of the filling are lightly browned. Use a knife to loosen the tarts from the edges of the muffin tin while they are still warm. Let cool in pan for 15-20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 18 mini tarts.