Daily Loaf

We have a rule at my house: “She who cooks, does not clean”. Since I’m the only one who cooks around here, “she” is me! And, since my daughter is in the midst of that twilight zone that is teenagedom, she is indefinitely removed from the equation. (We’re just thankful that she resurfaces for meals once in a while!) Unfortunately for him, this means that my husband gets stuck with the dinner dishes most nights. He is a pretty good sport about it, though. (He takes out the garbage and irons his own shirts too!) I think he realizes that if I had to cook AND do all the dishes, the meals around here would be pretty sparse. In fact, you’d probably find a lot more empty take-out containers in our trash bins.

The only rub to this arrangement is that he only seems to manage to fit three things at a time in our dishwasher, which means that I have to constantly get in there and reorganize. He also splashes water everywhere and never wipes down the counters or dries up the floor afterward. (Hmmm. Maybe I don’t have such a good thing going after all!)

One evening not too long ago, I was crossing through the kitchen on my way to somewhere, when…..

CRASH! BAM! BOOM! Thud…..

The next thing I knew I was flat on my back on the cold, wet and very hard, tiled kitchen floor!

CRAP!

For a minute or two, time stood still. The first thing I was aware of was my poor husband’s look of pure panic as he peered down over me. The poor guy was really concerned (or was that a fleeting wave of guilt I saw flash across his face). He didn’t know what to do and neither did I. I was afraid to move for fear that something was broken. Surely, that searing pain running up and down my spine couldn’t be good.

He helped me up and over to the couch to survey the damage. The good news is that I didn’t split my head open. It didn’t look like anything was actually broken either. The bad news is that while I was trying not to split my head open, I broke my fall by turning my shoulder and hip into it, and totally screwed them both up. The worst of it was my foot. When I slipped (in a puddle of water left on the floor by “Mr. I Never Wipe Anything Up”), my foot was wrenched under the edge of a kitchen cabinet and was jammed in a position that no human foot should ever be subjected to. By the time I found an ice pack, that foot was already swollen to twice its normal size and had begun to turn a very lovely shade of aubergine!

This seriously sucked!

Needless to say, I spent most of the next day sitting on my ass, popping about a hundred Advil, with my foot propped up and bathed in ice. When dinner time rolled around, I was in no effing mood to cook. Luckily, I had made a really great picadillo the night before and there were leftovers in the fridge. But, the yellow rice that went along with it was gone. I hobbled over to the kitchen to see what else I could serve with that picadillo. I was definitely in need of some serious carb therapy!

I remembered that I had some pizza dough thawing in my fridge. SCORE! I could slather that gorgeous picadillo on top and make a Picadillo Pizza! Sure, it was unconventional, but then so am I. Besides, I wasn’t about to hop in my car and make a grocery run in my condition during the five o’clock rush!

For those who don’t know, picadillo is a traditional dish in many Latin American countries, made with ground meat, tomatoes, onions, peppers and various other regional vegetables, herbs and spices. It is kind of like a hash, and it’s usually served over rice. The version that I like to make, includes olives, capers and raisins, and is flavored with garlic, cumin and oregano. I also like to add slivered almonds and cinnamon to mine. I had it that way once in a great little Cuban dive in Ybor City and loved it!

Picadillo is a simple dish to prepare and it really pops with lots of interesting flavors. Leaving it to sit overnight actually makes it better, so don’t be chintzy with your ingredients. Make a lot of it so you have some leftovers to make this great pizza too.

Picadillo

Ingredients:
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large onions, diced
1 green and 1 red bell pepper, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 packet Sazon Goya seasoning (Publix carries this in their ethnic foods section.)
2 pounds ground beef (I like a mix of sirloin and chuck. You can use any kind of ground meat – even pork, chicken or turkey.)
1 cup white wine
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup Manzanilla olives stuffed with pimiento, sliced
1 cup raisins
1 tablespoon capers
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup blanched, slivered almonds
Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add onions, peppers, garlic and Sazon seasoning and saute over medium heat until soft and tender, about 5-6 minutes. Add beef and cook until no more pink remains.

2. Add wine and simmer until it has all been absorbed. Swirl in the tomato paste until it dissolves.

3. Mix in the rest of the ingredients, except the almonds and chopped cilantro. Cover and simmer on medium-low heat for about 20 minutes. Remove the cover and stir in the almonds. Continue to simmer for another 5 minutes, or until picadillo begins to thicken. Season with salt and pepper, if needed.

4. Serve over some fluffy white or yellow rice and top with chopped cilantro.

Picadillo Pizza

Ingredients:
1 ball of pizza dough (see notes)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups leftover Picadillo
2 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup grated Cotija cheese, (optional, see notes)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 450 degrees F. If using a pizza stone, preheat it in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. Heat the leftover picadillo in the microwave until warm and stirable, about 1-2 minutes.

2. Roll out the pizza dough on a lightly floured surface. Brush with olive oil. Top with picadillo, leaving about a 1-inch border. Sprinkle on the Cotija cheese, if using.

3. Slide pizza onto the pizza stone or a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake until crust is puffed up and golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Notes:
1. You can make your favorite pizza dough recipe for this. Since this is basically a quickie leftovers recipe, I used store bought dough. It worked great. You could make it even simpler by using English muffins, bagels or pita bread. Also, don’t worry about measuring the picadillo exactly. Just use what you have.

2. Cotija is also known as Queso Anejado or “aged cheese”. It is a salty and pungent crumbly cheese somewhat like Feta, and is often used in tacos, soups, salads or over beans. I have found it in both Publix and Sweet Bay markets.

Enjoy!

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