Jackson Heights Life

Coquito, OMG.  Years ago we used to have a coquito contest.  There would be about 12 - 15 of us getting
together in Throgs Neck at a friends place.  You name it they were there...politicos, friends, business people
and they were all there for the junk.  That's right Coquito!

We had a hell of a party and the following week my friend Gerson would have the annual "pasteles Making
gathering".  In the coquito contest it was just as it sounded.  People would have to make it home and bring it
ready for drinking.  As you can imagine by the end of the "contest" no one was in shape to judge anything
thus I got cheated out of my place in coquito history...LOL.  On the "fiesta de los pasteles"
(pastels making gathering) a dozen or so of us got together and basically made pasteles.  My friend had all the
ingredients and everyone brought their own poison (BYOB) + extra for the Host of course. 

Someone would peel the Yuatias, another the guineos, calabaza and and that good stuff.  Someone else would cube
the pork butt and others would make the sofrito, recaito and prep the onions, peppers and whatever else we
would shove into the masa.  It was like an orgy of drunks trying to tie up pasteles in the Platano leaves.  Oh yeah,
it got ugly...LOL  GOOD TIMES....GOOD TIMES

There is quite a few ways of making coquito and while I know how to make it some may find it can be too sweet and
not sweet enough for others.  Then again if you are coquito virgin you'll love it...OH YEAH!!!

Try this one since it is more traditional than the Newyorican one some of my frineds make....I think I'm going to place it on the forum I started for Holiday recipes, but I think I'll make a batch tomorrow. 
OK, now for the real work

You can use white rum if you wish instead of the Gold...I like the gold.  If you want to cut down on the eggs you can as well, I just like it rich.  You should use a double boiler if you have it otherwise be careful not to burn it.  Combine the egg yolks and evaporated milk.  Bring to a boil and then lower the temperature to low and stir regularly.  Once the mixture becomes thicker (it should coat the spoon) take it off the range.  You should allow the mixture to cool off for 10 or 15 minutes.  Now take your blender and add the rest of the ingredients including your cooled off mixture.  Put it in the fridge a few hours and serve cold.  Once you taste it you can play with the cinammon and vanilla until you get to the point you want.  You can leave it out and simply pour it over ice if you preffer it that way.  If you can handle it a bit harder just add some rum to it...that's what I do  but if you want a lighter one you can use 1 cup of rum instead :buck2:

This is not a traditional holiday recipe, but I made it for last year's Christmas dinner and my family requested it again this year...

Moroccan Roasted Carrot Salad

for roasted carrots and dressing:
3/4 lb medium carrots, peeled and quartered lengthwise
1 red onion peeled and slivered into eighths
1/4 cup and 1 tbs olive oil
1 and 1/4 tsp salt
2 tbs sugar
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
1 tbs fresh grated lemon zest
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cayenne

For couscous
2 and 3/4 cups water
2 and 1/4 cups Israeli or Pearl couscous
1 tbs olive oil
2 tsp salt

Additions
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup crumbled feta (optional)

1. Make carrots and dressing
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. 
To roast carrots, place the carrots, onion, 1 tbs olive oil, 1/4 tsp of the sale and the pepper on a baking sheet.  Toss well and transfer to oven. Roast carrots, shaking occasionally, until they just begin to caramelize around the edges (about 30 minutes).  Carrots should be firm not mushy.

Meanwhile, make the dressing in a bowl by whisking together the sugar, lemon juice, rest of oil, spices and remaining salt unti sugar is dissolved. When the roasted carrots are cool enough to handle, cut them into angled 1-inch slices and toss them well with dressing.  Cover and marinate the carrots chilled for at least 4 hours.

2. Make couscous and assemble salad:
Bring water, salt and olive oil to boil in a heavy saucepan and stir in couscous, then reduce to simmer, uncovered, for 6 minutes. Cover pan and remove from heat. Let stand 10 minutes. Spread couscous in 1 layer on baking sheet and cool 15 minutes.
Transfer couscous to a bowl and stir in carrot mixture, the additions and salt and pepper to taste.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Here's a really nice applesauce recipe.  I always leave out the sugar.  It's from http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/applesauce/

Applesauce
Preparation time: 45 minutes. The sugar amounts are just guidelines, depending your taste, and on the sweetness of your apples, use less or more. If you use less sugar, you'll likely want to use less lemon juice. The lemon juice brightens the flavor of the apples and balances the sweetness.

Ingredients
•3 to 4 lbs of peeled, cored, and quartered apples. (Make sure you use a good cooking apple like Golden Delicious, Granny Smith, Fuji, Jonathan, Mcintosh, or Gravenstein.)
•4 strips of lemon peel - use a vegetable peeler to strip 4 lengths
•Juice of one lemon, about 3-4 Tbsp
•3 inches of cinnamon stick
•1/4 cup of dark brown sugar * (optional)
•up to 1/4 cup of white sugar * (optional)
•1 cup of water
•1/2 teaspoon of salt

Method
1 Put all ingredients into a large pot. Cover. Bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

2 Remove from heat. Remove cinnamon sticks and lemon peels. Mash with potato masher.

Ready to serve, either hot or refrigerated. Delicious with vanilla ice cream or vanilla yogurt.

Freezes easily, lasts up to one year in a cold freezer.

Anyone have any good ideas/recipes on quick hors d'oeuvres or finger foods for a holiday cocktail party?

I might try this:
http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2011/02/02/caramelized-onion-mushroom-gruyere-tartlets/
Caramelized Onion, Mushroom & Gruyere Tartlets

Shelby, this looks amazing!  I may have to try my hand at these.  Thanks for sharing!