Valentine's Day, Cafe Rio style...

This year for Valentine's Day I attempted a Cafe Rio feast for my husband, as we are both fanatics. He spent the week in San Diego on business, and after a very long day of meetings, flights and car rides, he made it home to my arms, safe and sound (at 9:12pm to be exact). I was thrilled to see him for the whole hour and a half of Valentine's day we spent together; and he was thrilled to be home, especially when he discovered the food that was waiting for him.

I found these on the internet, and every one claimed to be actual Cafe Rio recipes. I'm quite certain they aren't (except the salad dressing, which tasted about the same), nevertheless they have still become Andersen favorites (especially the pork) and I thought it'd be wrong of me not to share...

Sweet Pork
Ingredients:
3-5lb. pork loin or pork roast (bone-in roasts are cheaper and more tender)
1 1/2 cans Coca Cola
1 c. sugar
7oz. can chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
1 t. dry ground mustard (heaping)
1 t. ground cumin (heaping)
1 t. minced garlic
1/2 c. brown sugar (recipe didn't call for this - I included it for extra sweetness)
Instructions:
Place can of chilies in a bowl and cover with coke. Once the chilies are no longer coated with adobo sauce, remove them and throw away. If you prefer HOT, leave a few chilies in. I removed all but one chili and it was the perfect combination of sweet and spicy. Combine all ingredients (except pork) in a blender and mix. Place pork in crock pot and pour sauce over the top. Cook on high 4-6 hours or low 7-9 hours. Carefully turn roast over halfway through cooking. Remove pork and shred, then throw it back in and mix with juice. It may be liquidy, in which case you'll want to use a slaughtered spoon when serving.

Cilantro-Lime Rice
Ingredients:
1 c. long grain rice
2 c. water
2 chicken bouillons
1 t. butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. lime zest
2 T. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 t. sugar
3 T. fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions:
In a saucepan combine rice, water, bouillons, butter, garlic, and lime zest. Bring to boil, cover and simmer 15-20 minutes, or until rice is tender and water is absorbed. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over rice.

Black Beans
Ingredients:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/3 c. tomato juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 t. ground cumin
2 T. olive oil
1 1/2 t. salt
2 T. fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions:
In a non-stick skillet cook garlic, cumin and olive oil over medium heat just until you can smell it. Add beans, tomator juice and salt. Continually stir until heated through. Just before serving, stir in cilantro.

Creamy Cilantro Dressing
Ingredients:
1 envelope buttermilk ranch dressing
1 c. mayonnaise
1 c. milk
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 tomatillos (look like green tomatoes surrounded by husks)
1/2 serrano pepper with seeds removed
Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in blender and mix until smooth. Refrigerate 1 hour to thicken.

And voilà! A romantically yummy dinner for two!








I found the tortillas at Costco - $5.99 for a package of 44! That's cheaper than the 12-packs you can buy at the grocery store (and at least a hundred times better - just another reason I love Costco)! Once you try these you'll never go back. They are uncooked, which means when you throw them in the pan for the entire minute and a half they take to warm up, they come out smelling and tasting like hot fresh restaurant-style tortillas!


This food was to die for! We've had it for dinner the last two nights and will probably eat it again tonight. Needless to say, Neil was pleased. Hope everyone else had a Happy Valentine's Day!