My daughter, Maren, flew to Reno last night and will be gone for a couple of weeks to work on her Internet businesses, one of which is : http://www.powersellerprincess.com.
I asked her what she wanted for her ‘Last Supper’ and she said, “Ropa Vieja!”.
Ropa is flank steak that has been gently simmered in a broth until it’s falling apart tender, shredded by hand into long strings (I know, sounds disgusting but it’s not…) and then cooked in a seasoned tomato/wine/beef stock for extra flavor.
Traditionally, this Cuban dish is served with black beans and yellow rice. I made it easy and used canned black beans that I heated on low with fresh bay leaves, garlic cloves and dark rum. I also took the easy route with Vigo yellow rice mix, which is delicious but probably not as healthy as homemade. Oh well.
Had to have a green salad, which I dressed with one of my favorite vinaigrettes. This dressing is strongly flavored enough with olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic and Dijon to stand up to the bold flavors of the dinner.
I found a recipe for Heath Bar cookies and I made the dough three days ago to keep in the refrigerator for times like this. They were ready to bake…so I made some of those for dessert. The cookies were very thin, crispy around the edges and chewy in the center with a buttery toffee flavor. Unfortunately. Because I couldn’t stop eating them.
We drank an Italian wine that I had never heard of that turned out to be strong enough to not be overwhelmed by the food…I’m not sure it complemented what I ate but definitely didn’t wimp out. For those of you who can’t read the label real well, it’s a neprica 2007 from Italy by Tormaresca. On the back of the bottle, the name ‘neprica’ is a composite of the grapes it’s blended from: Negroamaro, Primitivo and Cabernet. Berry flavors and lots of tannin.
Here’s a picture of our cat, Cooper, who sat in on the festivities.
Maren left for Reno full of Ropa and her family’s love.
Read Also:
