A great way to kill a day

Before I make a dish I usually spend quite a bit of time looking at recipes on the internet.
When I found skirt steak at our local Mexican supermarket my quest was for the perfect Ropa Vieja. I think I found it. This recipe is one I came up with after combining different elements from the recipes I found. It is an all day project. None of the cooking is difficult but there are a lot of steps to making this and it isn't something you can whip up when you get home at 5 o'clock. This meal took the better part of a day but it was really worth it and it makes enough for a small platoon.
My Ropa Vieja
3 lbs skirt steak
2 carrots cut in chunks
1 large onion cut in 8ths
3 celery stalks cut in chunks
1 TBS dried oregano
Salt
Pepper
4 cups chicken broth (homemade is best – don’t want it to be too salty)

Make sure to buy real skirt steak, the dish is called Ropa Vieja (old clothes) because of the way the shredded meat looks like rags.

Brown the meat in a stew pot in a little bit of oil in batches about five minutes a side– you want to brown both sides.
(set the browned ones on a plate while you sear the rest) When the meat is done and out of the pan add the carrot, celery, onion and oregano. Season with salt and pepper.

Put the meat in and pour the chicken broth over it and simmer for several hours until the meat is falling apart.

When the meat is done let it cool then take it out of the broth and strain the vegetables out and reserve the broth. Shred the meat.

Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables:

1 green pepper
3 red peppers (they don’t have to be huge)
1 large yellow or white onion
2 large cloves of garlic, minced or two teaspoons of the stuff from the jar
four or five small ripe tomatoes cut into eights (you can used canned if fresh aren't available)
1 tsp ground cumin
½ cup of sherry
1 TBS cornstarch dissolved in water
Tabasco sauce to taste
Cut the peppers in half then cut each half into ½ inch strips. Cut the onion in chunks about the same size.
In the pot you cooked the meat, sauté the onion and pepper in a little oil until the onion starts to go translucent. Add the sherry, tomatoes, garlic, and. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make a slurry with a little water and 1 Tbs of cornstarch. Add to the broth you strained from cooking the meat and reduce it either in the microwave or in a pan until it is slightly thickened and you have about 2 ½ to 3 cups of broth. I just let the broth cool and skimmed the fat from the top and added the slurry to that. I like more sauce but reduce to 2 1/2 cups if you prefer less.
Add this to the peppers and onions and tomatoes and then all the shredded meat – shake some pepper sauce and stir then taste it to see if it needs salt or pepper and simmer for an additional ½ hour.

Serve over white or yellow rice, with or without seasoned black beans.
Every recipe I saw called ½ cup of sliced green olives but I didn’t add them because William hates them but I added some to mine and it was really excellent.

At the same Mexican Market I found a package of achiote seed so I decided to make achiote oil and my own yellow rice.

Achiote Oil:

1 cup corn oil
2 ounces achiote (annatto) seeds.

Heat the oil and annatto seeds in a small skillet over medium heat just until the seeds give off a lively, steady sizzle. Don't overheat the mixture or the seeds will turn black and the oil will turn a nasty green. Once they're sizzling, remove the pan from the heat and let stand until the sizzling stops. Strain and reserve in a jar with a tight-fitting lid at room temperature for up to 4 days or refrigerate.

Basic Yellow Rice (Arroz Amarillo Basico)

INGREDIENTS:
3 tablespoons annatto oil
2-1/2 cups rice
4 to 4-1/2 cups boiling water or chicken stock
2 teaspoons salt

Heat the oil in a saucepan with a tight-fitting lid. Add the rice and stir to combine. Stir in the boiling liquid and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook until the liquid evaporates. Cover and cook over very low heat for 20 minutes, stirring after 10 minutes.

I wanted to make arepas to go with this but ran out of time because I had to get hay for the horses but this recipe looked good:

Arepas

1 cup masa harina

1 cup warm water

Dash of salt

1 tsp cooking oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Place the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl and gradually add the warm water and oil, mixing to form a stiff dough. Let rest for 5 minutes.

Knead the dough for a couple of minutes. Take a small amount of the dough and form into flat, round cakes approximately 3" to 4" in diameter and approximately 1/2" to 3/4" thick. shape and press around the edges to make it even and smooth.

Continue making these patties until the dough is used up.

Grease a heavy skillet or griddle and set over low heat. When the surface is hot, place the patties, one or two at a time, on the griddle to brown on both sides, approximately 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove from the griddle. Drain on paper towels. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes.