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?

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.

Venezuelan Black Cake or Christmas Cake - Torta Negra

The Venezuelan black cake is a variation of the fruit cake, because it is an Latin American recipes is a Latin variation of the English version, as I mentioned in a post before, this black cake is a bit more spongy that the Trinidadian version and the among of spices is also minor. The black cake or Torta Negra cannot miss in a typical Christmas dinner, that we take on the Christmas Eve, usually closer to midnight, in my family, we usually take dinner at 10 pm an leave midnight to open the presents, the children are so excited that they do not go to sleep until they open their presents, and play with them, well we always go to sleep around 2 or 3 pm on Christmas day, it is a day that the family get together to enjoy the company.

You will find a black cake in almost any Christmas dinner in any Venezuelan family, closer to my family home in El Tigre- Venezuela there is a lady who has a cake shop... and around Christmas time her shop is very busy making only black cake, which is decorated with almonds and cherries and syrup,with very nice designs, no icing, You will find our black cake in weddings, we called "bolo", it is the same recipe, but the cake is decorated with the formality of the occasion.

The recipe that I will post below, is from MI COCINA, A la Manera de Caracas by Armando Scannone, Page. 558.  There is something that I love from Scannone, you follow the recipe and the result is accurate, and he give a lot of detail but bring the recipes across in a very easy way. It is a pity that his boo is only in Spanish. But if you are interested you can check http://www.elplacerdecomer.com/

TORTA NEGRA VENEZOLANA: Venezuelan Black Cake
(12 to 14 portions)

Ingredients for 1 lb (1/2 kg) of fruit mix, sufficient for one cake:
1/4 cup peeled almond
1/4 cup hazelnut (peeled) 
1/2 cup nuts
1/4 cup orange (crystallized with sugar)
1/2 dried prunes - seedless
Chop all ingredients above very small
1/3 cup of rum
2/3 cup of black beer
1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon of ground Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg, grated
1/4 teaspoon of fresh ginger, grated.

Method:
One or two weeks before at least prepare the fruits for the cake, mix together all the ingredients in a bowl. The among is sufficient for one cake. Cover the bowl (airtight) and put it in the refrigerator until the day that you will prepare the cake.

Ingredients for the cake
500 gr, 2 cups of the fruit mix prepared before
175 gr of salted butter, 12 scoops
butter to grease the cake pan
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1-2/3  cup of sugar
5 eggs
2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
Everything at room temperature

Method

  
1. Take out from the refrigerator the bowl with the fruit, around three (03) hours before of the cake preparation. keep it cover until it get room temperature.

Step 1
2. Turn on the oven at 374 F.
3. In a round baking pan (25 cm diameter / 9.8 -in) and 8 cm deep (3 -in) . Grease the baking pan and sprinkler with flour. Set aside.

Step 4
4. Place butter and salt in a large bowl of electrical mixer and beat  until light in color and creamy consistency. Continue mixing  and add sugar and continue beating for 5 more minutes. Add eggs, one by one,  and beat it for 5 minutes again.

Step 5

Step 6
5. Sift together flour and baking powder. Set aside.
6. Finlay add the mix of flour and baking powder, one part of the flour and one part of the fruits, use a wooded spoon. One part of flour and one part of fruit. The process should end with flour. Mix all together very good.
7. Pour the cake mix in the greased and floured baking pan.

Step 7
8. Bake the cake for 50 minutes  or until you introduce a knife in the center of the cake and this come out clean. You may have to cover the cake at the end with wax paper to avoid to cook to much the top of the cake.

 Step 9
9.  Remove the baking pan from the oven. Let it get cool for some minutes and while the cake still hot turn the cake on the cake plate or where you plan to display it. Decorate as you wish.

As you see is very easy, try to make this cake and tell me your impressions... see you later