Saint Valentine's Day Menu Made Fast

People are often very busy to spend time in the kitchen even for special occasions like Saint Valentine's Day, but everyone would like to have a lovely dinner with candles, roses and no too much time in the kitchen, so we can have time to look pretty and get romantic; because we are not tired.

I come from a family where at a point of time everybody was working. I remember my mother making lunch very quickly every day, and I do not means  sandwiches. In places like Venezuela lunch is the most important meal of the day so people expect to eat chicken, beef or fish, rice, fried plantain (I love it), salad and some beans. Believe me that with some good ideas and the right ingredients you an get fresh and tasty food everyday.

With that background you cannot expect from me to spend more  than 45 minutes in the kitchen to make a whole meal. Now for Saint Valentine's Day I plan to stick with my plan, a wonderful meal for two, wine, roses, candle and a lot of time to do my hair, my nails and look beautiful for my date...

The secret to make meals fast for this holidays as wll for the everyday is become a smarter cook which means that you'll spend less time in the kitchen but still preparing a delicious dinner or lunch for your family or guests. Here some tips to make your Saint Valentine's menu made fast:

• Keep your pantry well stocked as well as your refrigerator.
• Plan your menus in advance and do your groceries with those menus in mind.
• Save time keeping  in the refrigerator already cut onions, sweet paper, garlic, etc. Do as much in advance as you can. Keep it in  airtight containers in the refrigerator until needed.
•  Read your recipes twice before start cooking and take out everything you need one time.
•  Have a food processor.
•  Keep your knife sharp.
• Prepare ahead, create the habit of preparing your ingredients the night before, ei. chopping vegetables, prepare marinade, etc.
• When you start a recipe, take out all ingredient and measure all your ingredients to avoid time consuming trips for the refrigerator or pantry.
• Clean as you go. Start cooking with a clean kitchen and end with a clean kitchen. Put away the ingredients after you use them. And while you are eating leave the fried pan filled with hot water, by the time that you finish eating everything will be easy to scrub off.
• You do not need to cook everything from scratch, take advantage of the ready made products like, cooked sauces, beans in can, or any veggie in can or prepackaged like broccoli. This will save you a lot of time.

These are just some ideas to help you to save time when you cook. In the meanwhile here my Saint Valentine's Menu, it is very fast to make following the tips given above and remember, you can start cooking the day before.

My Saint Valentine's Menu 

Tuscan Porchetta.

Boneless pork loin seasoned lemon, pepper and served on a bed of vegetables and lemon slices

Braised Chicken with Mushrooms
Bone-in chicken breast with mushrooms and tarragon

Sauteed  Broccoli and Glaze Sauteed Carrots

Sauteed broccoli and   Baby Carrot finished  with a delicious butter and sugar glaze 

Rice Pilaff

Rice cook in the oven automatized with onions

Tiramisu (to be made the day before)

Cake made with biscuits  dipped in coffee  layered with cream  and flavored with liquor and  cocoa

Get the recipes in my next edition... I'll see you around

Tuscan Porcheta

In my last post I spoke about the Saint Valentine's Menu Made Fast, you can find in that post tips to make fast your food preparation and I introduced a menu for your Saint Valentine's Day Dinner Party.

Tuscan Porcheta, it's a recipe from the Book Food Made Fast Simple Suppers (Oxmoor House) one of my favorite books for easy recipes. I hope you enjoy it, I made this recipe last December when my family was here and we really enjoy it, I hope you to.

Tuscan Porchetta
Serves 6

2 Lemons
3 Lb (1.5 Kg) Boneless pork loin, rolled and tied
Salt and fresh ground pepper
2 teaspoons Fennel seeds, crushed
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 fennel bulb trimmed and thinly  sliced
2/3 cup dry white wine (5 fl oz/150 ml)

1. Prepare the Roast: prepare the oven to 400 F (200 C). Finely grate 1 tablespoon zest from 1 of the lemons, then thinly slice the second lemon. Season the pork generously with the salt and pepper ad the lemon zest, then sprinkler with the fennel seeds, patting them firmly so they adhere to the meat.
2. Roast the Pork: In a shallow roasting pan just large enough to hold the pork, mix together the onion, fennel, and lemon slices, forming a bed for the meat. Sprinkler with salt and pepper and drizzle with 1/3 cup (2-1/2 fl oz /75 l) of the wine. Please the pork on the bed of vegetable and lemon slices. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center register 145-150 degrees F (63-65 degree C) and the  pork is barely pink in the center, about 1-1/2 hours. Transfer the pork to a carving board, cover loosely with aluminium foil, and let stand for 10 minutes while you make the sauce.

3. Make the Sauce: Meanwhile, place the roasting pan on the stove top over medium heat, add the remaining 1/3 cup wine to the vegetables, and cook, stirring to scrape up the browned bit from the pan bottom, until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Snip the strings and cut the pork into slices. Arrange on a platter with he vegetables and sauce, and serve.

Saint Valentine's Day ... Romance is in the Air

We are very close to February, the month of love as people say.
 Every where I go I can see hearts red and pink, chocolates and every thing that reminds me that soon it is time to celebrate Cupid's adventures on Earth.

Then I think, where is my Valentine? and I realize that I married him and we have the most beautiful baby boy. The  roses, the chocolates, the pink and red things disappeared from the map. It is sad to say.

I have realized that is not being married, having a baby, or  routine that kills the romance. The romance killer for me is ... WORK. When you are in a committed relationship, married or not, and you want to "build your dreams" one usually work more,  that means more working hours, multiple jobs or also working during the holidays and weekends.  At times the relationship may  become almost zero, and every body is too busy  and tired at the end of the day.   Cupid is gone, there is no more time for romance, as my my husband says "living in the tired zone".

Some people think that this is only a commercial day, they may be right, but it is the perfect day to celebrate your love and relationship. You have all the excuses to celebrate and  improve it, so stop thinking that you are too busy,  you don't have time, and the romance is gone. Bring back the romance , it will not come to your life in a mail order. You have to create it and  take advantage of all those red, cute,  and romantic things that you see in the stores, buy some of the stuff and create your own day, for both of you to celebrate.

This  February, I am inviting to all you busy bodies to get some time off for yourself. I will do it myself.
I plan to celebrate Cupid's adventures next month regardless of my busy schedule. I invite you to do the same, not only in February but the rest of the year.

Romance... yes, I need some of that, so I will prepare that day in advance. This is my plan of action:

• I will arrange in advance the baby sitting of my son for that day.
• I will clean the house, but I will not kill myself doing that.
• I will set my table in a very romantic way... yes,  red and pink roses in a short vessel. I saw one at Martha Stuart web site, I love it, not too feminine, so my husband will feel comfortable with it, because this is his day too. You can check  Martha Stuart web site for instructions and more ideas.
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• I will plan my menu (check my Saint Valentine's Day Menu) and stick with the plan - easy, affordable, good looking, sexy and tasty  (Food somehow  can wake-up the passion).
• I will cook for fun and not because it is routine. I will play my favorite music (gaitas venezolanas, Search Amazon.com for gaitas venezolanas) while I cook, because I want to feel happy and I will invite my husband to give me a hand, but only that because he will take over of the cooking.

• I will chose the drinks that we like, even if I will be drinking wine and he will be drinking beer.
• I will not buy a present. He does not have to do the same but I will write a note with things that I love about him.
• I will not argue with him... I promise. I will not think about sad things on  that day.
• The two days before Valentine's Day, I will think about  the positive things about my husband.  I will ask him to do the same.
• I will serve the food in my favorite china, that I always use for other special occasion... because this is a special occasion too.
• I will use my new set of wine glasses.
• I will be relax.
• I will dress for the occasion, and I will invite him to dress up even if we spend the night at home.
• I will tell  my husband that I LOVE HIM.
• I will enjoy myself with my life partner that day.
• I will dance with him.
• I will feel sexy, think sexy and behave sexy...'
• I will play the music that we love - I will dance for him as before - some Buda bar music (Search Amazon.com for buda bar), sexy and chic, he will love it.

• I will kiss him a lot...
• I will make the dessert time very special... I may chose for something sexy like fruits and ice cream with melted chocolate... Yummy!! and sexy.

This is the plan... I have to think now about my menu.

Baked Ham with Pinapple

As a part of the Venezuelan Christmas menu, we have the baked ham with pineapple. Many people may think how come the dinner has pork and also ham?... well Venezuelans like meat, and our Christmas Menu is full of meat, and we love pork.... so you will see pork in the hallaca (do not worry you can make the hallaca with chicken), in the Pan de Jamon (Ham Bread), roasted pork and now baked ham (pork ham)... that's why after he holiday we have to go to the gym and try to burn those calories hat we put on... But Christmas it just once per year, so enjoy the excess... and be happy... try a little bit of everything, you do not need o eat all, but do not deprive yourself in this time of the year... Merry Christmas and good eating!!
If you want to have a variety of meat in the dinner try Baked Turkey, Roasted Pork, Baked Ham and the hallacas could be make of a mix of chicken, beef and pork.... Hum!!! nice..

BAKED HAM WITH PINEAPPLE

1 ham precooked , about 5 kg
2 tins of 600 grams each one of sliced pineapple
500 grams of papelon (syrup with sugar and water, light brown)

Directions:

1. Turn on the oven at 400 F
2. Put in a bowl the liquid from the tin (sliced pineapple) and in other bowl the pineapples.
3. In a big pot put the liquid from the pineapple can, 1-1/2 cup, add the papelon (in another pot mix sugar and water and make a syrup, use brown sugar, about 2 cups) - mix together the two syrups and put the pot on the stove, let it boil and cook until you get a thick syrup, use a wooden spoon to stir the mix.
4. Put the ham in a baking pan, deep. Cover the ham with half of the syrup made, passed thought a strainer.
5. Cover the top and the sides of the ham with the pineapple, support the pineapple with wood sticks (you can decorate also the pineapple with cherries), pour the rest of the syrup on the ham with the pineapple.
6. Put the baking tray with the ham in the oven and baked for 1 hour, about 12minutes per kilo of ham, pour syrup on the ham time to time during the baking time from the same baking tray. Turn-on the broiler of your oven and bake it for 5 to 10 more minutes.
7. after this time, take the ham out of the oven and let it get cold before cutting it. Cut it in slices, place the slices on a tray and decorate it with the pineapple.

PAN DE JAMON (HAM BREAD )

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The Pan de Jamon (Ham Bread) is part of the traditional Venezuelan Christmas Menu, in Venezuela, people make their own Pan de Jamon, but you can also find a good quality Pan de Jamon in the bakery, and some people make this bread at home to sell to their friends or neighbors.

The Pan de Jamon (Ham Bread) is a soft bread filled with jam and /or bacon, raisins, olives (stuffed with sweet pepper).

Together with the hallaca, the Pan de Jamon represent Christmas, when you see a Pan de Jamon out of the season in somebody house it is like they bring you the feeling of Christmas.

This recipe is not complicate, take a litle bit of time but it is worthy, if you now how to make bread, it will be much easier for you, but do not miss to try this bread. Out of the Christmas season, you can make small version of this bread and carry it to work for breakfast ... and it is simple delicious... I hope you enjoy it.

100% Venzuelan...




(3 breads, 24 to 30 portions altogether)

INGREDIENTS

1 spoonful of leavening (yeast);
1/2 cup warm water ;
1 teaspoon of sugar ;
1-1/2 cup of milk at room temperature;
1 kilo of flour;
5 spoonfuls (75 grams) of margarine;
6 spoonfuls, (90 grams) of butter;
1- 3/4 teaspoon of salt ;
6 spoonfuls, (100 grams) of sugar;
3 eggs;
1 kilo of cooked, ground ham chopped, you can use slices of ham too;
3/4 cup of raisins;
30 olives medians (seedless)- chopped;
1 spoonful of butter;
2 egg yellows;
2 spoonfuls of water;
1/8 teaspoon of salt .

PREPARATION

1. In a bowl put the leavening (yeast), the warm water and the teaspoon of sugar.  Mix them slowly, cover the bowl with a cloth and let rest it in a warm place until it rises, about 20 minutes


2 In a big bowl pour the milk and add the mixture from the step 1. Mix together. Add 1/2 kilo of flour and is mixed with your fingers. It is put in a site without airflows, cover it with a cloth and it is let rest until rising, 4 hours.


3. In the same bowl add the of the flour, mixing it with the fingers, if the mixture is very dry, adds 2 spoonfuls of cold milk. Cover it  with a cloth and one puts in the refrigerator by 6 to 8 hours or until the following day.


4. Remove the mix from the refrigerator, put it on a table, and add margarine, butter, the salt, the sugar and the eggs one by one, knead the mix until everything is all together. In the end, when the mix is well united, bat rising and dropping repeatedly from the stop until all the mix is come off of the table and the hands, around 50 times.


5. Divide the mix in three equal parts to make breads.


6. Sprinkle with flour the table  and extend each part of the mix with a roller pin, extends until being of 1/2 to 1 centimeter of thickness and in rectangular form. Cut it with a nife to get the shape.


7. Divide the ham, olive and risins in three parts, add to the extended mix at 2 or 3 centimeters of the edges.

8. Roll the mix with all the stuff inside, close the ends of each bread. Place them in a metal tray, coer the metal tray with a very thin layer of butter. Cover the bread with a cloth for 2 hours, without airflows.

9. Meanwhile preheat the oven at 400 degrees.


10. Put the tray in the oven for 15 minutes, brush the the bread with a mixture of 2 beaten egg yellows with 2 spoonfuls of water and 1/8 teaspoon of salt  and continue baking for 5 minutes more until being gilded superficially. Remove them from the oven and put them on a grill to cool.
Repeat the baking process for the other 2 breads.

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Christmas Chicken Salad

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The chicken salad is part of the Venezuelan Christmas menu, it is a cold salad. Our Christmas menu contain chicken salad, hallaca, pan the jamon (bread filled with ham, olive and raisins), roasted pork or turkey (some people make also chicken) and baked ham decorated with pineapple. It is wow!!! of course for the meat lovers....

You can  decorate the salad with green peas, asparagus, red sweet pepper, boiled egg , it is up to you, the presentation.

This is a typical recipe of Christmas Chicken Salad from Venezuela, I hope you enjoy it.

I took the pictures from http://www.elfogondepolo.blogspot.com/ soon I will issue my own chicken salad pictures, my family is coming for Christmas this week and it will be a lot of cooking at home, so I will have the opportunity to share with you all my own creation, in the mean while, the pictures will help you to have and idea about the final product.

Chicken Salad

(12 portions)

Ingredients:

·         1 Chicken, 3kg, cleaned and washed already, 7 cup of water and 3 spoon of salt to cook the kitchen or 8 cups of chicken meat already cooked and cut in very small pieces.

·         The white part of 1 leek  and some of the green, cleaned and cut lengthwise.

·         1 medium size onion cut in two

·         1 kg (2 lb.) of potato chopped like cubes 1 cm., 8 cups – 4cups of water and 2-1/2 teaspoon of salt to cook the potatoes.

·         1 carrot peeled, chopped like cubes, 1 cup – 2 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of salt to cook the carrot

·         2 tins of asparagus, 450 gr. Each one.  Chopped in pieces of 2 cm each, leave some without chop to decorate.

·         2 cups of green peas, 1 tin of 450 gr.

·         1 yellow apple peeled and chopped in small pieces

·         Juice of a 1 medium onion

·         ½ cup of oil

·         1 scoop of English sauce Worcestershire ( or any other brand)

·         ½ teaspoon of white pepper

·         5 teaspoon of salt

·         ¼ cup of vinegar

·         2 teaspoon of mustard

·         2- 1/2 teaspoon of sugar

·         1- 1/2  cup of mayonnaise

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Directions:

1.      In a pressure  cooker put the whole chicken, water, salt, leek, and the onion. Boil and cook for ½ hour. Remove from the fire and let the pot get cold before opening. Take the chicken out and let it cool, set aside.

2.      In another pot put the 8 cups of chopped potatoes with water and salt. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until are soft but firm. Remove all water with a strainer and let it cool, set aside.

3.      In another pot, put the carrot, water and salt. Cook for 25 minutes; remove all water and set apart.

4.      Remove the skin to the chicken. Cut the chicken in very small pieces with your hands (very small). Set aside.

5.      In a big bowl and with a wooden scoop mix the chicken, the potatoes, the carrots, the asparagus, 1 cup of green peas and apples.

6.       Prepare the vinaigrette mixing in a bowl the onion juice, the oil, the English sauce , the vinegar, the mustard, the sugar, the salt and white pepper.

7.       Add the vinaigrette to the bowl with the chicken and the cooked veggies.  Remove slowly with the wooden scoop. Add the mayonnaise.  Remove slowly until everything has mayonnaise.

8.       Put the salad in the display tray.  Even the salad, to make flat the top. Decorate the salad with 1 cup of green peas and the whole asparagus.

9.       Put in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Serve it cold.

Venezuelan Chritsmas Menu

Venezuela is a Latin American country, located in the north cost of South America, its food reflect the culinary influences of successive waves of migrants. The cosine has incorporated ingredients indigenous to the Americas, Africa, Arabia , and Europe.

I will be posting the different dishes from the Venezuelan Christmas menu, mean while, I hope you enjoy these pics.  See you.

From here you can clink in the links above the picture and you will be taken to the recipe.

Venezuelan Christmas Menu:

Hallacas: 

 

Pan de Jamon:

 

 Baked Turkey

Roasted Pork

 

Baked Ham

Chicken Salad 

Black Cake 

 

Drink: Ponche Crema

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Does the battle sport a such contour?

Baked Turkey Recipe

BAKED TURKEY

Recipe from the book: MI COCINA a la manera de Caracas by Armando Scannone)www.elplacerdecomer.com , Translated into Enlish by: Karina Espinoza
This recipe can be used for thanksgiving or for your Christmas Menu...

 

INGREDIENTS

1 turkey of about 8 kilos;
2 or 3 limes;
1 teaspoon of salt and 1/8 tsp of ground pepper to rub the turkey inside previously;
1/2 kilo of blended onion, 2 cups;
 ¼  cup of  vinegar;
3 spoonfuls of oil;
12 crushed clove of garlic;
the white part and something of green of  4 of chive chopped finely , 1 cup;
the white and something of the green, of wild leek chopped finely, 1 cup;
3 stems of celery in pieces, without the leaves;
3 bay leaves;
3 spoonfuls of salt;
3 spoonfuls of English sauce Worcestershire;
1 teaspoon of worn out pepper;
2 either 3 small branches of teaspoon thyme (or 1/4 if dry it is ground).
3 or 4 small leaves of salvia;
2 small branches of parsley;
1 cup of dry white wine;
3 or 4 spoonfuls of cognac;
the pulp in pieces of 2 chopped apples, in pieces and without the heart and the seeds;
1 bare orange and finds out;
1 cup of consomme;
1/2 sugar teaspoon;
 1/8 teaspoon of worn out pepper.

 

1. Clean the turkey, if it has breakage in the skin agrees to stick close to them, eliminates the neck (that is left aside), eliminate the excess to  of fat and skin, especially in the back part. Wash it and rubs it with lemon  outside and on the inside. Rinse it well. Rubs the interior  of the turkey with the teaspoon of salt and the 1/8 of pepper teaspoon.

2. Crush the onion, the vinegar, the oil and garlic together, goes to a package to do a marinade adding to him cebollín, wild leek , watch over, the laurel, the salt, the English sauce, the pepper, the thyme, salvia, the parsley, the wine and cognac. With that marinade and in an appropriate turkey pan, rub the turkey  in the inside and on outside and put it in the refrigerator for several hours, turn over the turkey every so often.

3. Preheated the oven at 450 degrees. 


4. Introduce in the cavity of the turkey, something of the marinade, 1 leaf of laurel, the whole orange and the pieces of apple. Tight the thighs of the turkey  and the the wings, so that they are close to the body. Put inside of the oven an oven  proof bol  with water to have humidity within the oven. Put in a tray to bake, the turkey with the breast upwards pour the marinade and put the neck in the pan. Covers completely the turkey with bacon or slices of bacon . Cover the turkey with foil, put the turkey in the oven, on the low grid, bake it for 50 to 60 minutes, about 8 minutes per kilo. Remove the foil , turn the turkey to  one side and bake it 30 minutes more, until it is golden. After that time, turn the turkey with the brest upright, without covering  bake the turkey for 30 more minutes, until it is golden. Put the turkey by the side that is not golden and bake it for 30 more minutes, until golden. For a total of 3 to 3 1/2 hours. Every time yu turn the turkey pour on the turkey from the juices in the oven pan.

5. Remove the turkey from the oven, put the turkey on a tray. Remove what is inside of the turkey, put the apple  aside. Cover the turkey with foil (aluminum paper) and  left it aside. The tray and the marinade that is in the tray are going to be used it in the preparation of the sauce.

 6. Eliminate the neck and the fat from the turkey pan. Put the  rest of the marinade in a blender and blend it well. Pass the marinae through a fine strainer, tightening solids against the walls of the strainer. It is put aside. For the rest that is adhered in the tray, add 1- 1/2 of water to create a consomme put it to the fire to facilitate to scrape all dark completely adhered to the tray. It is strained through a fine strainer, do not blend it, to conserve its beautiful color. It is left aside. The apple is blended th the 1/2 cup of remaining consomme. It is put aside.

7. Remove any fat floating on the surface of the consome and the rest of the sauces, use a spoon for this.

8. Mix together ina a bol the marinade, the strained sauce, the crushed apple, the rest of the salt and of the pepper, mix, one takes to a fervor cooks about 2 minutes, add salt and papper, if necessary, and it retires of the fire.

This is our real Baked Turkey for our Christmas dinner 2010

The Venezuelan Hallaca

THE VENEZUELAN HALLACA

One of recognized plates in the Venezuelan gastronomy is without doubt the Hallaca. This masterpiece of our cooking one is most traditional of the plates in the the Christmas season in  Venezuela.

The hallaca is the result of the historical process that our society has lived. From its cover made of banana leaves to the details that adorn and compose their stew, and the most fundamental ingredient, the mass of corn flour and colored with "onoto" , the hallaca is the most visible expression of the mixing of races of the Venezuelan.

Each ingredient has its roots: the banana leaf, used by the African black as well as by the American Indian, to wrap the hallaca, when you unwrap the hallaca you will be in front of our indigenous past, because the masa made of corn flour ande colored with onoto, with that s magnificent yellow color; then, in its interior we can appreciate the arrival of the Spaniards to this land,  hen, pork and caw, olives, capers, raisins… all mincemeat finely, stews and wonderfully distributed are part of exquisite manjar.
The hallaca's ingredients came from differents roots and  they  are complemented harmoniously in the hallaca, expression of the colorful mestization and del that is part our history. The word " Hallaca" it comes from the guaraní and it derives from the word " ayúa" or " ayuar" that it means to mix or revolver, of these words is presumed that " ayuaca" it is a mixed thing, then by linguistic deformation step to be called " ayaca". Another version is conceited that the word comes from some native language of the West of the country, whose meaning is " envoltorio- wrap"  or " bojote". Whatever is the origin of this word, we know that " hallaca"  is 100% Venezuelan, no only by name, but by itds preparation and  pride of our kitchen.

The hallaca appears splendid in the Christmas table of all the Venezuelans as the queen of our Christmas dinner, without social distinctions. The cooking of the hallaca is also an important part of our Christmas celebration, when all family come together to prepare the hallacas at home, we also give some hallacas to our friends and family for everybody to taste.

There are many recipes for the hallacas, and this will varie depending of the region of the cuntry, and the flavour of the hallaca become local for everybody, who make it with the ingridients and seasons from each region.

INGREDIENTS FOR THE MASA
1 1/2 kilo of bacon,
1 1/2 water cup and 2 teaspoons of salt ;
2 1/4 kilos of dry, clean and selected pounded white maize,
30 pounded maize cups spanish stew or 5 kilos of Mass of Maize;
3 cups of the broth where the hens cooked or of Consomme of Hen;
5 spoonfuls of salt;
6 spoonfuls of seeds of onoto.

PREPARATION OF THE MASS 9.
The same day that prepares the stew, that is to say the day previous to the preparation of the mass and the hallacas, the pig butter is prepared with which it is going away to knead the mass. For it the picadito bacon with 1 1/2 is put in a kettle water cup and the 2 teaspoons of salt and cook until it gilds and no longer it produces more fat, about 30 minutes. The fat is strained through a wire strainer, is let cool and woman who hides herself with mantel leaves itself until the following day in a fresh place, not in refrigerator. 5 butter cups are obtained. 10. The same day also the maize cooks to make the mass. For it is chosen and the running water maize is washed very well until this one leaves is transparent. It is put in a pot, preferably of stainless steel, with sufficient water that covers about 10 centimeters. One takes to a fervor and one cooks by 25 to 28 minutes or until moderating just a little bit but conserving itself hard in center. One retires of the fire, one eliminates 1/4 to him 1/3 of the water that still it has and cold water is added to him again until taking it to its original volume and it is let cool in covered fresh site until the following day. 11. The day that is going away to prepare the hallacas puts the maize in a great strainer and it is washed well, squeezing it under running water. It is let slip very well and the dark tips, small pieces and rest of skin take off to him that still can have and that becomes more visible when cooking it. 12. One wears out with machine to grind maize with the mill then very tightened, for the hallacas, is desired that the mass is very fine. It is put aside. 13. Meanwhile in a kettle part of the butter is put, 2 cups, with onoto. One takes to a fervor, one cooks briefly and one goes out. The time essential must cook only to obtain a color dark caramel, because it must be avoided that onoto is burned. Hardly arrived at that point one retires of the fire and once obtained the wished color it is strained to eliminate grains of onoto. Part of that butter is going to be used to color the mass and starts off to lubricate the leaves. 14. In a table or table the worn out maize is put and to him they are gotten up, kneading it, the butter, 3 cups without coloring and 1 cup colored following the color that is desired the mass and the salt. Everything is united and kneaded very well. One again goes through the machine to grind maize to obtain a united good mass and compacts. Later the hen broth, 3 cups is gotten up to him, and it is kneaded again very well until the mass is smooth and compacts. It is put in a great tray and it is covered with a humid cloth.

PREPARATION OF THE ADORNMENTS OF THE FILLING OF THE HALLACAS INGREDIENTS 1 kilo of pimentones red; 3 spoonfuls of oil; 1/2 kilo of bacon; 150 grams of almonds, 2 by hallaca; 1/2 kilo of rather small onions; 2/3 of cup, 150 grams, from small capers, 4 to 5 by hallaca; 2 1/2 cups, 400 grams, of olives medians, 2 by hallaca; 2 1/4 cups, 1 box of 250 grams, of you happen without seeds, 8 to 10 by hallaca; 1/2 cup of vinegar pickles picaditos. All the adornments can get ready the eve and keep them in the refrigerator separately. 15. The furnace to 350 degrees is preheated. 16. They wash pimentones. They are dried. They are greased with the 3 spoonfuls of oil. They are put in a metal tray. They put in the furnace and they are hornean by 50 minutes or until they begin to gild, giving them returned from time to time. They remove from the furnace. They are placed on a humid good cloth. They become involved and when cooling they take off the skin to them and the seeds and are cut in plasters of 1 centimeter in width. 17. The bacon, already cooked, is cut in thin plasters of 4 to 5 centimeters in length. If the bacon has not cooked along with the pig, it is put in water with salt covers that it. One takes to a fervor and one cooks 7 minutes. One slips and it is let cool before cutting it. 18. They whiten or the skin to the almonds takes off. For it in a pot amount of water takes to a sufficient fervor covers that them. The almonds are added. Some seconds are left and without cooking they remove again. Still I warm up takes off the skin to them. 19. The onions are peeled. They are washed and they are cut in thin wheels. 20. The capers and olives slip. You happen are cleaned and any takes off to them palito that can have. The pickles slip and they are cut in small pieces. All the adornments are put separated, aside.