Guatemalan Recipes for Forever Family Day

Today is Garrett's Forever Family Day! It is the first time the whole family is actually together to celebrate (last year Chris was deployed, and two years ago he was deployed when I picked him up). We are very excited to celebrate our family all together.

I am still trying to get my montage of Garrett's year done so that I can post it. However, I have been having technical difficulties all day and the little ones have demanded snuggle time.

For now I thought I would post the recipes for our dinner tonight. We are having Momma CiCi and Jack, Angel and Zach, and hopefully Meg, Ben, and Nathan up for dinner. I've already started cooking and I can't wait to dig in. Give these recipes a try -- not too difficult and super yummy! (I combined three recipes for the pollo en pina to make this delish meal, but the rest of the recipes I found as is on the cookbook wiki or at RecipeHound.)

Pollo en Pina (Chicken in Pineapple)

Ingredients:
3 ½ - 4 lb chicken in pieces (I use “pick of the chick” or Fryer chicken) – remove skin
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz. lime juice (juice of 2 limes)
1 whole ripe pineapple (save juice) or 20 oz. can of pineapple chunks in juice
2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 whole cloves
1 in. stick cinnamon
2 bay leaves
½ c. olive oil
½ c. white vinegar
½ c. dry sherry
2 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Chicken stock, if necessary
Red peppers, to garish

Directions:
Marinate the chicken in garlic and lime juice for 2 hours
Cook chicken in skillet w/ marinade or oil until browned (about 15 min)
Combine the chicken and other ingredients in large sauce pan or casserole. If using fresh pineapple, be sure to save the juice to include. If using canned pineapple use the juice. It may be necessary to add a little chicken stock to cover the chicken, especially if using fresh pineapple.
Cover and simmer over low heat until the chicken is tender, about 45 minutes.
If the sauce is abundant, partially remove cover and cook down sauce for another 15 minutes.
Serve chicken and sauce over Guatemalan style rice w/ red pepper slices as garnish


Arroz Guatemalteco (Guatemalan style Rice)

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. oil
2 c. long grain rice
1 c. mixed vegetables (carrots, onion, celery, sweet red peppers finely chopped, and sweet peas)
4 c. chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat oil in skillet
Fry rice until it has absorbed the oil stirring constantly
Add vegetables, salt, pepper, and chicken stock
Bring quickly to a boil
Cover and reduce heat to low
Cook 20 min or until rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed.


Fried Plantains

Ingredients:
1 qt. oil for frying (I never use this much vegetable oil)
Plantains

Directions:
Preheat oil in large deep skillet over medium heat
Peel the plantains and cut them in half
Slice the halves lengthwise into thin strips
Fry strips until browned and tender
Drain excess oil from plantains on paper towels


Frijoles Negros Volteados (Fried Black Bean Paste)

Ingredients:
1 15 oz. can black beans, partially drained
1 Tbsp. oil

Directions:
Mash black beans in can with a fork until paste-like consistency
Heat oil over medium heat in skillet
Add mashed beans and mix well w/ wooden spoon
Stir until mixed bean thicken and liquid evaporates
Continue to mix until bean paste begins to come away from the skillet and can be formed into a sausage shape by shaking the skillet
Serve warm (with tortillas, cheese, sour cream, or bread)


Pastel de Tres Leches (3 Milks Cake)

Ingredients:
Cake:
9 eggs, room temperature
1 ½ c. sugar
12 Tbsp. butter, softened
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. cream of tartar
Three milks:
2 c. heavy cream
5 oz. evaporated milk
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
Cream icing: 2 c. heavy cream
1/3 c. sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Separate egg yolks and whites, keeping whites at room temperature.
In bowl of an electric mixer, cream Sugar and butter together until pale yellow and fluffy.
Add egg yolks and beat until fluffy again, 2 to 3 minutes on medium-high speed.
In a separate bowl combine flour and baking powder.
In a third bowl mix milk and vanilla.
Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk mixture to the butter mixture (a fourth at a time) until all are combined. Beat until smooth after each addition.
Beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form and, using a large spatula, gently but thoroughly fold into flour-and-butter mixture.
Grease bottom of a 9- by 13-inch metal baking pan. Pour in batter and bake for approximately 25 minutes, until golden brown.
Allow to cool. (May also be baked in an 11.5- by 17.5-inch sheet pan for 20 minutes; this size rises very evenly, helpful for inexperienced cooks.)
Milk mixture: Stir the milks together thoroughly; do not beat. Do not refrigerate canned milks before using.
Cream icing: Whip cream and sugar together until stiff.
When cake is cool, slice or peel off the thin top crust.
Ice sides first, creating a small lip on top to catch milk mixture.
Pour milk mixture evenly over top of cake (if necessary, poke holes in cake with a knife or toothpick to facilitate soaking; you will probably need only 3/4of mixture).
Finish icing top.
Refrigerate.